《Leoy'shaah: Arch-Empress》 LeoyShaah I: NULL MY EYES ARE ALWAYS ON YOU, MY INFINITE-EMPRESS. Leoy''Shaah awoke from another horrid nightmare. ¡°Black sky!¡± She screamed. ¡°Black sky!¡± She threw off her blanket and ran from her hut. She felt the air like knives down her back. She ran to her friend Zayno''s house and cried for him to let her in. The rain poured down on her bare shoulders. So her tears were practically drowned out by the crying of the world. Zayno said nothing. This had been happening more and more often and he knew that she simply couldn''t handle her own visions any longer, so he allowed her to stay with him. As if a miracle, the rain began to clear up. So Zayno did what he always did to cheer her up and take her mind off of things: He took her out to see the stars. "Look at that one!" She wailed. "It is a deep red!" "It is red. Many lights in the sky are bright and calming for you." "Calming for me?" "Calming for you." She beamed. ¡°You know what we do when we can¡¯t go to sleep?¡± "I am going to count them." "1... 2... 3... 4..." She got to one thousand when she stopped. "What comes after? " She asked. Zayno smiled. "One-thousand-and one." Remember when I taught you?" "Yes! I remember now!" She said, ¡°See how far I can count!¡± Zayno listened to her count until she fell asleep in his arms, then he carried her to her home and laid her to bed. Zayno would do this until she was fifteen, until he was also fifteen. But when boys turned fifteen, they were given jobs, and Zayno¡¯s job was hunting. So when Zayno turned fifteen, Leoy''Shaah would have to deal with her nightmares on her own. The result was her crying and wailing throughout many nights. So she came to find that one day that her hut had been almost completely taken apart and only a few bricks remained. Men at the sight saw her and an unpleasant look washed over them. She did nothing to stop them. She watched them demolish the rest of the hut and have a new one built. Far, far away from everyone else. Felt horrid by it. But eventually she came to the realization that no one really loved her anyways, not like Zayno. She still had nightmares, but less often as she grew, and she became stronger in psyche. And in the will. Now she was twenty-four, about to turn twenty-five. The screeching of birds woke her up. She put on her clothes, carefully wrapping cloth around her waist and chest, then she went down to the river to bathe. It was clean, and she didn¡¯t have to wait for other women to get done, like the Chieftain''s wives, who were entitled to the utmost privacy. The village she lived in was simply known as "Mountain Village." It was small and compact with a tightly knit community. The people around were little more than polite. The chief of the village was an old man by the name of Quon. He had a long beard and was the wisest man in the village. Many even saw him as more than just wise, but also charismatic. Leoy''Shaah didn''t think so. But women were not allowed to speak their minds in the village, so she kept silent. Perhaps she could tell Zayno... But men of low status could not speak more than a woman either. The little use Leoy''Shaah got out of her mouth gave her more time to use her brain. In the scriptures of the stars, there was a saying that a rain bucket that was not emptied or tipped would be allowed to collect more water. That was Leoy''Shaah''s brain. Whatever she thought, whether it be something she was sure about or something that she simply thought for whatever reason. Pointless things, like death. She watched a butcher drive a knife into a rabbit, beheading it with one fluid motion. A motion that had been repeated hundreds, or probably thousands of times. Each becoming quicker and cleaner than the one before it. The rabbit died immediately, but not all living things did. When Leoy''Shaah saw Zayno swatting beetles that had crawled into their food supply, he had beheaded one much like the rabbit, yet it continued to scurry around as if nothing happened. It is so weird... I do not understand why these things happen. But why does no one ask questions? She asked questions. It was just that those questions stayed in her head. She had planned to ask Zayno. He always seemed to have an answer to her wonders. But alas, he was out hunting. That was his duty in this village, to hunt. That was one of the few things that still hurt her. Due to his late and long hours of hunting, sometimes camping out and only returning to the rising suns. And even then he would be too tired to talk to her. He would go to his house and shut the door. To sustain life by stealing it from others. She wandered deeper into the village. Huts were aligned in a ring around a large one, the house of the chief. The rest of the mountain erupted behind the village, continuing far higher, as if to scrape the sky. Usually, the village was in a cheery mood, but not today. Today, they were confused. She had overheard some guards walking around. They spoke of another settlement, a settlement north of Mountain Village in a flat area. It was rumored that this was a much larger village, one that was very far away. So far, in fact, that they had not even noticed each other until a few weeks ago. Sure enough, there were people up and about, waiting for the chieftain to come out. Leoy''Shaah¡¯s duty was simple. She was a washer, a person whose job was practically part of the description. She was to stand at the giant stone near the waterfall and take clothes to wash. Other women and some very young boys were there dunking clothes in the water. A full sack of clothes and other fabrics laid on the rocks. Leoy''Shaah sighed, taking a random shirt, and began to scrub. It was a butcher¡¯s shirt, covered in blood. Like the one from earlier. She thought. At least, that was what she thought, until something fell out of one of the pockets. A severed rabbit''s foot. She shuddered for a moment. She was not one to be too squeamish, as she had seen some death in her life, even of people, whether it be by plague or by murder, or by accident, she had seen enough death to be normal with it, but not accepting of it. But then again, she thought of dead animals as more of food than a living creature that had been robbed of its consciousness. So maybe it didn¡¯t count if she didn¡¯t watch them die. ¡°What have you got?¡± She froze. She recognized the voice. It was one of the chieftain''s wives, Abeer. ¡°It is a charm! It is very pretty. May I see it?¡± she demanded. Leoy''Shaah handed her the foot. She didn¡¯t have to give Abeer the foot. She could have told Abeer to go away, but she did anyway. ¡°Oooh¡­ it is very pretty indeed.¡± She seemed to be in a trance. ¡°My husband loves collecting charms¡­ He gives all his love to my sister-wives¡­ And they are all older! They cannot even bear children! Meanwhile I am young and beautiful, and yet he ignores me! Perhaps a present will convince him otherwise¡­¡± Leoy''Shaah felt a sick feeling come over her. Abeer was younger than her, and she was married. Leoy''Shaah was not. Also, the chieftain was quite old. Almost eighty, and he already had five children: Two boys and two girls. And they were prominent throughout the village, with the oldest of the boys being the captain of the guards, Kaqu, the middle one being a merchant named Dolew, and the youngest one, Kapeg, being the second in command of the hunters, being under Zayno. The older of the two girls was a priestess, and her younger sister had no profession, but was married to the second most wealthy man in the village. Oh, how Leoy''Shaah would love to tell this bitter woman that would never bear a child with the man that she craved the attention of! But Leoy''Shaah wasn¡¯t going to create trouble from nothing, and besides, how could she be one to talk? Leoy''Shaah was twenty-four, and her heart ached for a mate, yet she found every man to be repulsed by her, seemingly even Zayno. How did Leoy''Shaah know these things? Well, she used her ears more than she did her mouth. Zayno¡­ He likes to hunt¡­ The rabbit¡¯s foot! Abeer cradled the foot. Leoy''Shaah cleared her throat. ¡°Can I have it back please?¡± Abeer looked at her with pity. ¡°No¡­ but I will give you something you like.¡± She pulled a soft piece of bread. ¡°I was going to eat this for a snack¡­ But, It looks like you want it more.¡± Leoy''Shaah felt the word hurt her. She had always been slightly fatter than the rest of the women, partially because of Zayno leaving her with his kills for her to eat, as he knew she would get hungry during the nights. She wasn¡¯t necessarily fat in the sense of her entire body. But when she had no complete shirt on, like right at this very moment, her belly would show. ¡°No. I don¡¯t want your bread. I want my foot back.¡± The other women grew quiet, and some of the boys looked eager to see what would happen next. Abeer glared at Leoy''Shaah. ¡°What? For your husband? Oh, right, you do not have one.¡± ¡°I just want it back.¡± Leoy''Shaah insisted. Abeer looked disgusted. ¡°Fine, take your dirty foot back.¡± Leoy''Shaah cupped her hands, awaiting the return of her charm. Abeer looked at the foot, then at Leoy''Shaah, then at the foot again. She tossed it to her side and it landed in the pond. ¡°No!¡± Leoy''Shaah threw herself into the pond, casting water aside her path to find the foot. She heard the muffled cackling laughter behind her from Abeer. The other women watched in morbid curiosity as she flailed her arms. Leoy''Shaah didn¡¯t know how to swim. ¡°Hahahaha! Stupid girl!¡± Abeer taunted, strolling away. Some of the boys who were nice ran forward to rescue Leoy''Shaah from the waters, and the horrific downward drag of the waterfall¡¯s displaced water. By the time she was out, she was soaking wet and cold. It was then that the other women had snapped out of their trance and ran forward to throw cloth on her. Leoy''Shaah¡¯s heart and pride was hurt more than her body. She thanked them profusely and walked away to her hut. After she had changed into a new set of clothes, she heard the horn go off and immediately rushed to the center of the village, along with the others. A crowd of people had now gathered in a ring around the chieftain¡¯s hut, waiting for him to exit his quarters. The guard captain stood near. The wooden plates on his body clicked as he walked. He held a glinting obsidian spear and wore a defensive expression on his face. ¡°Stay back! Your chief will be out soon!¡± There was some chattering, mostly about the potential contact between them and the visitors. ¡°He¡¯s coming out!¡± Leoy''Shaah craned her neck to see the commotion. She was also quite short, though she didn¡¯t like to admit it. ¡®Hear!¡± Screamed one of the priestesses. ¡°Hear him!¡± Everyone in the crowd went silent. Like throwing a cloth on a fire. Sure enough, the chief emerged from his large compound. His hair rolled down his head untrimmed, as their god so commanded. Heaven-god. Immediately, the women bowed their heads, as they were supposed to. And the men got on their knees and put their foreheads on the ground. A woman''s purpose may have been to serve her man, but a man¡¯s purpose was to serve his god. Leoy''Shaah quickly realized she was the only one still standing, then she threw her head down. The Chief¡¯s eyes darted to her for a moment. Before her head dipped she saw a bit of disappointment¡­ or was it disgust? on his face. The priestesses glared at her. If looks could kill. An unmarried, short, antisocial, short haired, woman who for they knew, was possessed by demons and forced into nightmares when she was young. Yes. That woman. She didn¡¯t dare glare back at the priestess. They could easily order her to be exorcized. She shuddered at the thought. She remembered that women who had nightmares were gradually punished more and more. If they kept having erratic behavior, the next punishment would be more extreme than the last. And the men were to be put down. ¡°Close your eyes and pray,¡± The Chieftain said. ¡°Only when day becomes night,Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! does the world lose all its light.¡± But when we become dark, we know in our heart, that the stars bless us.¡± ¡°Amen.¡± ¡°You may raise your heads,¡± The chieftain softly spoke. ¡°Raise your heads!¡± The priestesses ordered. Slowly, the women raised their heads, and the men stood up straight. Chieftain Quon cleared his throat. ¡°Attention all my subjects! We have basked in solitude for generations here. Many of the elders, along with me can tell you from our experience, that we have not come in contact with another tribe for¡­¡± He trailed off. What does that mean? Leoy''Shaah thought, I wonder how old we are¡­ ¡°...A long time. But one season ago, that all changed. You see, our brave scouts and hunters have informed me and my family of another tribe¡­ One much larger than ours, in the flatlands.¡± ¡°Are there any questions?¡± One man, a builder by the name of Choi, raised his hand. ¡°Yes, you may speak.¡± ¡°Chieftain Quon, how is that possible, that they live in the flatlands?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Another woman, one who Leoy''Shaah recognized as a caretaker named Sohe, blurted out, ¡°How can they even be alive¨C?¡± Everyone stared at her. She threw herself to her knees. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m so sorry! Please forgive me, chieftain! Forgive my foolishness, please!¡± The crowd distanced themselves from the woman, as if she were disease. Leoy''Shaah felt her heart race. One of the priestesses said nothing, she quietly walked down from the altar and stood before Sohe. People stepped even further away. Sohe kept her head down to the ground. ¡°You were indeed foolish, girl. But I have to wonder, has your husband taught you nothing about respecting our exponent?¡± The priestess whispered. ¡°No¡­ no¡­ no¡­¡± The priestess rubbed her shoulders. Perhaps it is your husband who needs to be punished, and not you then, wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡± Sohe shook her head, sobbing silently. Leoy''Shaah quivered. Sohe wasn¡¯t one to blurt out what was on her mind. She usually rarely questioned anything. This seemed to be new. ¡°Where is he now?¡± The priestess asked softly. ¡°Out¡­ Hunting¡­¡± Sohe replied. ¡°Hmmm¡­ He is a hunter? Perhaps we will not be as harsh on him¡­ since he has greatly contributed to our village¡­ However!¡± The priestess raised her head. ¡°The woman before me has blasphemed, by speaking her mind without permission. However, her husband is a hunter¡­¡± ¡°I see.¡± Quon stroked his beard. ¡°I am curious, Sohe. Why would you break the silence of the god? This is not like you. Your husband is certainly not a fool, as I know him quite well. So what gives Sohe?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Sohe whimpered. Quon sighed. ¡°I will forgive you for now¡­¡± ¡°Oh thank you my lord!¡± Sohe cried. ¡°See your leave now!¡± The priestess hissed. ¡°Women, stay with your men¡­!¡± And maidens, or widows may leave if they want.¡± All the women who knew they fit the description stayed for a moment to see who would leave first and reveal their marital status. Eventually, a very old woman with wrinkles all over her body slowly hobbled alway from the crowd. Leoy''Shaah, and all the other women watched her leave as well. Only then did they follow suit. Eventually, the only woman left was Leoy''Shaah. The head priestess shot her a deathly glare again. Leoy''Shaah stared back. There was nothing the head priestess could do to punish her. Especially since she had not blasphemed like Sohe had. Chieftain Quon turned back to Choi, who suddenly looked pale. ¡°Speak, Choi.¡± ¡°How can they survive it?¡± Choi asked, ¡°We all know what horrors roam the land, the horrors that our ancestors faced. It is what drove them to call this their home!¡± Quon raised his chin. ¡°Because they pray to a god that gives them results fast!¡± He snapped his fingers towards the crowd, causing everyone, Leoy''Shaah included, to flinch. It was said that Quon was the conduit which their god chose, and with that power he could conjure powerful magic to extinguish any sinner or rebel to their town. It was said that he struck one of the guards with lightning and killed him because he tried to convince others that the gods were false. ¡°They pray to a fast and needy god, one who is undoubtedly another byproduct of creation¡­¡± He began to bite his nail, something that was recognized by the entire village as his communication with god. ¡°Whatever god they pray to is a fire, that will eventually run out of fuel¡­ They will eventually get eaten by the scaly monsters that live down below.¡± But¡­ If the reports are true¡­ They are much larger than us. That does not make any sense! Another man spoke up. Leoy''Shaah blinked. There were alot of people she had never bothered to get to know, mostly because of her isolation from the rest of the village at a young age. Even when she had talked to people, no one wanted to have to do anything with her. She felt like something was wrong. ¡°My Lord, may I ask what the economic implications are of this?¡± ¡°Of course, Carris.¡± Quon smiled, something he almost never did. Huh¡­ did he ask? Leoy''Shaah watched as the priestess and the crowd dispersed, leaving her alone. She took a deep breath and decided to take a walk around the village, mulling over the chieftain''s words. As she strolled through the winding paths, she noticed the villagers seemed preoccupied with their daily tasks. The women were tending to the crops, while the men were either hunting or working on various projects around the settlement. Leoy''Shaah approached a group of women harvesting vegetables from the communal garden. "Excuse me, how are the crops faring this season?" she asked, hoping to glean some insight into the village''s agricultural status. One of the women, Nisha, looked up. "Ah, Leoy''Shaah, the crops are not doing well. The rains have been plentiful, but the soil is becoming less fertile¡­" She trailed off. ¡°...But we will still have more than enough to feed ourselves.¡± But not you¡­ Leoy''Shaah¡­ Not you. ¡°Oh.¡± Leoy''Shaah said in a tiny voice. Nisha''s expression darkened. "Yes, the news is unsettling. We have lived in isolation for generations, and the thought of outsiders coming to our mountain is...unsettling. But the chieftain seems confident that our god will protect us.¡± ¡°Yes! Another woman added, ¡°Remember last month that chieftain Quon said we had had some cursed people among us.¡± She said that while looking at Leoy''Shaah. Leoy''Shaah nodded, though she couldn''t help but feel a twinge of doubt. ¡°The chieftain''s words about the other tribe''s god being "a fire that will eventually run out of fuel" troubled me. What if he is underestimating their strength?¡± ¡°Remember last year? We had the sacrifices? It appears we have not gotten rid of all the evil in our village.¡± A teenage boy asked, entering the conversation. He had a sack of fertilizer slung over his shoulder. The boy looked too gleeful, as if he would hunt these bad omens himself. "Have you heard anything else about this other tribe?" Leoy''Shaah asked Nisha. She shook her head. "No, not much. The guards and hunters have been sent out to gather more information, but they have not returned yet. We can only wait and see what the future holds." Leoy''Shaah thanked Nisha and continued her stroll, her mind racing with the implications of this news. As she walked, she noticed the other villagers seemed equally preoccupied, their faces etched with concern. Perhaps I can confide in Zayno later, when we have a moment alone. Then it hit her. Carris hadn¡¯t asked permission to speak. Leoy''Shaah spent no time trying to figure out why. Maybe Quon¡­ missed it with the way he dealt with Sohe and Choi? She thought. It didn¡¯t matter. Why should a man be punished for speaking his mind? Or a woman? And why did she find herself questioning these rules all the time? Maybe it was because of Zayno. It was because of Zayno. Zayno was the only other person she knew who refrained from participating in society like her. He was also the one who took her to explore near the base of the mountain. The reason was simple: One time Zayno told Leoy''Shaah that he was a traveler. ¡°What sort of traveler are you?¡± Zayno smiled. ¡°A traveler who has quit and wants to stay. I am from a land far away, and I do not like the way this village treats you¡­ But you must obey them, as they are most certainly wiser than you, at least, until the time is right.¡± She couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that she didn¡¯t belong. How could these people who looked at her with such contempt be a community she was a part of. If only I could speak to Zayno, she thought wistfully. Her dear friend was one of the few people in the village who truly listened to her and valued her thoughts. But with his duties as a hunter, their time together had become increasingly scarce. I haven''t seen him in a week¡­ I hope he is safe and alright. But Leoy''Shaah knew he was alright. Zayno was the toughest hunter. And she believed he could even stand against the captain in terms of combat and strength. It was said that every animal Zayno hunted, he would kill. He never missed with his bow either, landing impossible shots that he used to impress her with years ago. Leoy''Shaah sighed and stood up, deciding to venture out and see if she could find Zayno, he had taught her how to navigate down the mountain, and according to the hunters when they got back, they didn¡¯t hunt far from the mountain. Yes, I am tired of him leaving me. I will force him to come back! Grabbing a cloth to wrap around her body to keep herself warm, some bread still in her cupboards, and an obsidian cooking knife, she exited the hut. As she stepped outside, she noticed a group of men gathered near the center of the village, engaged in a heated discussion. Is that¡­? Recognizing one of them as the chieftain''s eldest son, Leoy''Shaah cautiously approached, straining to hear their conversation. "...can''t be certain of their intentions," the young man was saying, his brow furrowed in concern. "For all we know, they could be a threat to our way of life." Another man, a merchant by the looks of his fine clothing, nodded gravely. "Indeed. We must be vigilant. Chieftain Quon has assured us that the Perpetual God will protect us, but I cannot help but wonder if we are truly prepared for what may come." ¡°It''s alright, I suppose.¡± Captain Kaqu continued, ¡° Their magic might be powerful and bless them with great wealth, but the perpetual god will come for them soon and strike them down! For now¡­ We can start trading under the table.¡± The Merchant raised an eyebrow. ¡°How so?¡± We can negotiate with them¡­ Perhaps move down the mountain, use their protection¡­ We have gathered some information about them. They seem to have noticed us as well, and the fact that they have not attacked us has made me almost certain they are open to trade.¡± The Merchant gritted his teeth, "What if they conflict with us?¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°The other village. How big is their village? ¡°Does Quon know?¡± Kaqu laughed. ¡°He knows even more than I! Once the Perpetual god tells my father how to defeat these tribesmen and make them submit, our village will prosper once more. But for now we should be weary of their young and violent god. As the scrolls read: ¡°All gods below me are mischievous, violent, and have a taste for human blood.¡±¡± Leoy''Shaah''s heart raced as she listened, her mind whirling with the implications of their words. So even the men of high status are worried about this new tribe¡­ Suddenly, one of the men noticed her standing nearby and frowned. "What are you doing here, girl? This is no place for a woman to be eavesdropping." Leoy''Shaah flinched, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "I-I''m sorry, I was just..." She trailed off, unsure of how to explain herself. The merchant waved a dismissive hand. "Never mind. Run along now, and keep your thoughts to yourself. This is no concern of yours." Leoy''Shaah nodded meekly and hurried away, her heart sinking. I hope they don¡¯t tell anyone! Meanwhile, the men kept talking. ¡°Damn it! I forgot she lived here!¡± The Captain hissed, with a quick crack to his voice from his heart. ¡°You said this was a secluded area!¡± The merchant asked. ¡°Who was that girl?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ Ah! The possessed one.¡± Replied the captain, now at normal volume, ¡°She¡¯s crazy! I remember seven years ago she would shriek at night many times, did you not hear it?¡± ¡°I live in a different part of town,¡± The merchant admitted. ¡°That is why we had to move her. She is a bane in this village, she may even be cursed.¡± The merchant looked concerned. ¡°She should get an exorcism then.¡± The captain grimaced. ¡°Why? She has no family, no husband, and not even any friends. Sometimes I forget she even exists.¡± ¡°What about that Zayno boy? I see him talk with her all the time.¡± ¡°Perhaps he is planning to marry her?¡± The Merchant suggested. ¡°Why would he do something like that?¡± The captain grunted. ¡°She¡¯s cursed, and there''s no fixing her. No man or medicine can fix her. That boy, Zayno certainly can¡¯t! And besides, Zayno has his pick of the litter. I¡¯m sure no matter what woman he chooses for his bride, it certainly won¡¯t be her!¡± ¡°Perhaps he does it out of pity.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen that she is becoming more¡­ outgoing, and not in a good way. There were many times she had tried to sneak out with the hunters, but we always caught her and put her back here. But I grow weary of her antics. I don¡¯t have the heart to beat her. She¡¯s traumatised and can barely function. And I¡¯ll have to thank that boy later for keeping her out of trouble for this long.¡± The merchant looked visibly uncomfortable. ¡°What has changed?¡± The merchant asked. ¡°If she ever tries to escape again¡­ I thought it would be best to not stop her. So I gave the guards special orders to deal with her. Just let her leave¡­ And lock the doors behind her.¡± He dusted his hands off. ¡°As a matter of fact,¡± Kaqu continued, motioning in the direction Leoy''Shaah had been, ¡°I think she''s going to try and do just that.¡± Leoy''Shaah trudged down the path as it grew darker. Sol setting in the east casted eerie shadows against her as the trees slowly began to eat up rays of light. By the time she got to the gate, it was almost pitch black. And the wind whipped at her leggings and shawl. Please, don¡¯t let there be anyone here¨C Two guards stood at the gate. Upon seeing them, she hugged the rough mountainside. Maybe I should just go back¡­ No! I have to find him! She felt colder now. She was lost without Zayno in her life. Maybe it''s just he doesn¡¯t want to be friends with me anymore¡­ The thought made her stop. Nothing but darkening wind, whipping against her face, and the shadows that stretched longer and longer until she couldn¡¯t see the end. Part of her wanted to step out into the middle of the path, just so the guards would see her and drag her back. But she held out. He¡¯s the only one who will understand me. She marched forward. If the guards saw her, so be it. If they didn¡¯t¡­ Well, she would be on her own, searching for Zayno, out in the wilderness. She got to the rocks near the mountainside and began to scale them ever so slowly, to ensure that the guards wouldn¡¯t hear. She peered over the wall, the rocks were a one-way passage. While on her side it sloped, on the opposite side, there was no debris to help her over it. That would mean if once she climbed over, there was no returning until she managed to track down Zayno, or if she changed her mind and begged them to let her in. She inspected the wall up and down, grimacing. After she determined there was no other way than¡­ falling, she shifted to dangle her feet over the side. And with a deep breath, she dropped. Pain shot up her ankles when she hit the dirt path, she yelped in pain. ¡°What was that?¡± A guard¡¯s muffled voice asked. ¡°Probably an animal.¡± The other guard, of higher rank suggested. ¡°Aren¡¯t we going to check it out?¡± ¡°Why would we? If it¡¯s the hunters, they would have made themselves known.¡± ¡°What if it¡¯s a villager?¡± ¡°Why would it be a villager?¡± The elder guard asked, beginning to lose his patience. Well¡­ I¡­ I don¡¯t know, maybe they are trying to leave?¡± ¡°Why would anyone want to leave? There is nothing but danger down below.¡± That seemed to make him go quiet. Leoy¡¯Shaah had been holding her breath for quite some time, as if it would make her disappear. She wrapped the shawl tightly around her body, and walked away as quietly as she could. As she got further, her pace quickened. And as it quickened, darkness enveloped everything. Chills hit her feet first, then crawled up her ankles to her thighs. Then her thighs and her chest¡­ She shivered when it hit her neck, yet somehow she felt calmed by the allure of dusk. I should do this more often, she thought. But implied that while she had managed to slip away once or twice before, now the door was locked and no one was coming to rescue her. So it was up to her to find Zayno and return with him. I could just wait at the gate¡­ No, don¡¯t be a wimp Leoy¡¯Shaah! You aren''t still afraid of the dark are you? But she wasn¡¯t afraid of the dark. She was afraid of what hid in the dark. And this fear only increased as she trudged down the mountain. The reptilian nightmares everyone was weary of were diurnal, and slept heavily at night. At least, that was what the hunters told her. And besides, reptiles weren¡¯t the only thing out there. Something howled in the distance, and Leoy¡¯Shaah froze on the spot. She stayed perfectly still, although her body itself quivered from fear. It¡¯s just wolves¡­ She thought, Nothing to worry about. But she saw eyes glinting back at her. And she knew right then and there that she was being hunted. It was a wolf. And wolves traveled in packs, meaning¡­ Leoy¡¯Shaah reached for her knife. It wasn¡¯t there. I must have dropped it! And indeed she had. Upon her fall near the gate she had dropped her obsidian knife. And distracted by the conversing guards she had forgotten to make sure she still had it. So in her panic, she did the only thing she could do: Run. She burst into a sprint only to quickly realize she had chosen the wrong direction. But it was too late to change her mind. The wolf leapt out of its hiding spot and galloped after her. Leoy¡¯Shaah had never run so fast in her life. More sounds of rustling behind her; there were more wolves. She stole a glance behind her. Four wolves, including the first one, were bounding after her. The leading one was the largest and had the darkest coat of grey fur out of all of them. She forced herself to focus on what laid ahead. As she ran, the darkness enveloped her. She began scanning the ground in front of her for debris. One trip, and she would be dead. The wolves had no such problem. As a matter of fact, they very much liked the darkness. Not in a way a human would. While humans see darkness as something rather psychologically intimidating, wolves see it as nothing but a change in the environment. Something they are better equipped to deal with. That was when Leoy¡¯Shaah, being overwhelmed as she was, decided that screaming was the best option. She would not run her voice hoarse trying to produce an intelligible message, but rather, simply a primitive sound that was associated with panic, fear, and helplessness: ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!¡± The wolves flinched at this. How peculiar! A deer certainly didn¡¯t make that sound! But it didn¡¯t matter. An animal''s attention span was what made them what they were. They recovered in less than the amount of time that it took for them to complete their gait cycle. The leading wolf lunged forward, as the pack leader, he was entitled to be the first to draw blood, and taste, their prey. Or at least that was what it would seem. But the truth is that for animals, there really is no leader. The leading wolf was just the strongest and the fastest. He wore no trophies, nor did he brag about his kills. He had no way of reminding others that he was in charge, because even he himself didn¡¯t recognize his superiority. That is the funny thing about humans. We are the only animal with real rank. The wolf¡¯s bite found flesh. Flesh that he tore from Leoy¡¯Shaah¡¯s heel. She screamed again, tumbling down the steepening path. The wolves all lunged at her, but they could not land another attack. She was rolling down the slope now, so all they could do was trail along, huffing and growling, waiting for her to stop so they could tear her apart. ¡°HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!!!¡± She screamed. Maybe Zayno was nearby. Luckily, he was. Right at the slope began to slow, and the wolves closed in on her, an arrow impaled the leading wolf between the eyes. Thwack! It seized up for a moment, then died. The other wolves inspected their pack leader with innocent curiosity. They sniffed his dead body, then they quickly refocused on Leoy¡¯Shaah once more. Thwack! Another arrow tore through the left wolf¡¯s neck. It didn¡¯t die right away. It yelped in pain before it collapsed and bled out. The other two wolves now looked disturbed, almost frightened. ¡°Hey!¡± Her heart skipped a beat. Zayno¡­ Zayno! Boots scraped the ground behind her. ¡°Oh my god! Zayno!¡± She yelled. ¡°Alexandra!¡± Zayno shouted back. That was her first name. People rarely called her that, opting to refer to her by her last name. Maybe because they thought it was funny. But she didn¡¯t care what they thought. Not when I have you, Zayno. Zayno raised his bow again. The farthest wolf saw this and tucked his tail between its legs and its ears behind its head. It then retreated to the side of the path, disappearing into the night. Perhaps he had encountered this kind of situation before, and knew the creaking of the bow meant death. How it knew this, Leoy¡¯Shaah didn¡¯t know, but maybe these wolves were smarter than they appeared. But the second wolf did not back down so easily. Instead, it eyed Zayno with fierce canine determination, growling deeply. ¡°Alexandra¡­ get behind me, now!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah scrambled to her feet. And as she did, the wolf behind her made his mind, charging at Leoy¡¯Shaah, using his superb sense of smell to trace her bleeding foot. But he would not settle for mere muscle. No, he wanted the meat from her. He wanted to taste the death of his prey. He bounded up in the air, mouth fangs bared. And taste blood he did, but only his own. The arrow ripped clean through the wolf, punching a hole though its head and killing it. Its lifeless body crumpled before Zayno¡¯s triumphant pose. He lowered his bow and sighed. ¡°Are you alright, Leoy¡¯Shaah?¡± She responded by throwing herself at him and wrapping him up in her arms. He struggled slightly, so she responded by sinking her nails into his back. ¡°Leoy¡¯Shaah¡­? Please talk if you must.¡± ¡°T-thank y-you¡­¡± She said, choking on her tears. ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Let''s get those wounds cleaned up, huh?¡± LeoyShaah I: 0001 Leoy¡¯Shaah had very few things going for her in life. She had no friends, not family, as they died when she was very young, after abandoning her, of course. And people looked at her with either contempt, annoyance, or disgust. Her early life had been plagued by misfortune and trauma. She had been left at the house of an elderly woman, one who she later learned from people who knew her, had no children of her own. All of her potential children had died in childbirth. The woman¡¯s name was Wanu, and it was the first time Leoy¡¯Shaah had felt like she was truly loved. However, Wanu was not liked by the community. They suspected her to be possessed. As Leoy¡¯Shaah eventually found out that the woman used to be the head priestess. But she had been caught trying to manipulate the sacred texts, and even destroy some of them, a crime punishable only by death. No man or woman, no matter the status, could so much as touch the sacred texts, not even the priestesses. Only the chieftain was allowed to read and assort the texts to preach to the village. Under normal circumstances, a violator of this commandment was to simply be hanged, or beheaded, but the much younger chieftain Quon was so utterly enraged by her defiance as someone he trusted closely, that he ordered the most painful death upon her. ¡°May the fire cleanse your wicked soul, witch,¡± Quon had said. She was then tied and thrown into a bonfire. All villagers were required by holy law to witness the death of a sinner. It was yet another commandment that had been imposed by the chieftain and the priestesses. Even the children were taken and sat down with their parents to watch the execution, including Leoy¡¯Shaah. If you could even call it an execution. This was also the first time Leoy¡¯Shaah could recall rebelling against the rules. Upon seeing her only motherly figure being tied up, and right next to a raging fire¡­ She screeched at the top of her lungs, attacking the eldest priestess, of whom had bound Wanu and had her foot on her back to shove her into the pit. Leoy¡¯Shaah had scaled her body with the power of her small child muscles and mauled her with her teeth and nails, leaving her with several scars on her face. In the end, her attack was futile. The rest was foggy, but she would like to believe that it took several men to pry her off of her victim. She watched as the woman she called her mother burned before her eyes. But she didn¡¯t dare look away. Not because she enjoyed watching, but because she wanted to remember that day clearly. She wanted to remember what was taken from her. Leoy¡¯Shaah had silently swore revenge. But years, and eventually a decade passed, and she had yet to plan, let alone, exact her retribution. And eventually, she realized, it didn¡¯t matter. She wouldn¡¯t even be able to get close to any of them before she would be put down. During those years, she had been plagued by nightmares that prevented her from thinking or scheming. She dreamed that she was the perpetrator of suffering. She dreamed that she was the chief of the village. That was her most vivid dream. But her nightmares took other forms, such as traumatizing events such as her mother being burned, being relentlessly bullied by other girls, and even some boys who joined in at times, and overhearing conversations about her behind her back. She was a curse, and one that they wouldn¡¯t bother to try and fix. She was forced to accept just how little she was in the grand scheme of things. What is the world? Only suffering? But Leoy¡¯Shaah also had strange nightmares. Not ones where she looked through the eyes of monsters of a human being, but ones where she saw things that didn¡¯t even exist: Shining spikes that erupted from the ground, metal birds that screeched through the sky and the stars. Boxes of metal that could show you something that wasn¡¯t there, a ray of light that was so strong, it could obliterate anything in its path, at the road across the stars above¡­ And one that she remembered most of all, a vision of the world, from the heavens. A world like a ball. She didn¡¯t know how, or why, but she knew it to be a sight to behold if it even existed. But the horrors came from one nightmare in particular: The Black Sky. An entity that ate the stars. Yes, Leoy¡¯Shaah had nightmares about something she came to call The Black Sky. A maw of space and time incomprehensible to her. A spot of darkness that she saw grew ever larger. This was the most horrific nightmare, because the black patch that ate the stars was real. In fact, she was looking at it right now. Leoy¡¯Shaah laid in Zayno¡¯s strong arms, so she could gaze directly up at the sky. The black patch was still there, and she could swear it was growing. She had first noticed the patch of darkness when she was 17, it was a small pocket of the sky with no stars. She had asked Zayno what it was, but he didn¡¯t seem to know. ¡°Perhaps we may find out sometime¡­?¡± He had answered her when she asked. Zayno looked down at her with a pleasant look on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t be worried Leoy¡¯Shaah, I am here now.¡± She almost let his soothing words lull her to sleep in his arms. Almost. But the anticipation was eating her alive. What sort of bad news could he possibly have? Then she realized. Zayno was supposed to be in a group of hunters. But there was no sign of the rest of the group he had set out with. ¡°W¡­ What happened¡­?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah whispered. Zayno stroked her hair, closing his eyes and sighing deeply. ¡°Something terrible¡­ Do you still want to know?¡± Oh¡­ Zayno¡­ ¡°I think I already know¡­ I just, I hope it isn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°While hunting¡­¡± Zayno heaved, ¡°...We ran into a camp set up by the tribe we had been scouting. They must have been aware of our existence already, because they were prepared¡­¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah closed her eyes too. Enough of the sky! Hmmmnnn¡­ Please god¡­ Help me¡­ Zayno scratched her hair while crickets chirped in the background. She felt like she wanted to melt in his arms¡­ ¡°And the chieftain¡¯s youngest son¡­ he was also one of them¡­¡± Zayno trailed off. There was silence for a long time after that. Nothing but the soft breathing of the both of them under a pine tree, with Leoy''Shaah cradled in Zayno¡¯s arms. It should have disturbed her. Made her sad. Made her cry. But she didn¡¯t. These people had zero love in their hearts for either of them, something that she had grown to accept. But one thing she would never let go was Zayno. He always understood her, and even when he didn¡¯t, he stayed so he could understand her better. I¡­ want him¡­ No, I need him! He has to be mine, he has to! Leoy''Shaah squirmed to push herself closer to his body. I love you, Zayno¡­. I love you. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go back!¡± She announced, shooting up from her relaxed position, startling Zayno in the process, but he recovered quickly and patted her on the head. ¡°They¡¯ll¡­ They''ll kill you! They hate us! They want us to suffer and die! They don¡¯t love either of us. And I think we would be better off without them! I want to marry you and run away! She thought, but she had not mustered the courage to tell him that. She was afraid that he didn¡¯t love her the same way. What would she do if he said no? What would she do if she pushed her only friend¨C family away because of her smitteness? She wouldn¡¯t be able to live with herself. She decided that she would find the nearest cliff and throw herself off the mountain. If I can¡¯t have you¡­ then I don¡¯t want to live.. So please say yes! Zayno sighed, ¡°I know that you don¡¯t like it, but those people can change. That is, if they want to, but they will warm up to you soon, I am sure of it.¡± Her teeth chattered. ¡°B-but what about you? What are they going to do to you?¡± ¡°They will know it was not in any of our control¡­ Do not worry, Leoy¡¯Shaah¡­¡± He trailed off again. ¡°Leoy''Shaah¡­ I have something I need to tell you. You need to promise not to be angry with me.¡± Leoy''Shaah¡¯s heart sank. What could he possibly say that would make me angry¡­ It hit her. ¡°Are you¡­ Leaving?¡± Zayno winced, biting his lip, ¡°There, You said it. Leoy''Shaah, I am so sorry¨C¡± She didn¡¯t wait for him to finish his sentence. She sprang up from Zayno¡¯s comforting arms and tackled him, using the weight of her body to push him into the soft ground of twigs and moist dirt. After mounting him, she threw her hands to his neck to throttle him. He didn¡¯t fight back. She raised one of her fists, half-crying and half-raging, but not quite sure what she would do with it. It wasn¡¯t until Zayno raised his hand calmly to touch hers, that she realized that nothing truly lasts forever. She wailed into his chest while he comforted her. ¡°It¡¯s alright¡­ My dear Leoy¡¯Shaah. Shhhh¡­.¡± ¡°No! You don¡¯t understand, I l¨C¡± ¡°Shhhh¡­¡± He chided. ¡°I know, I will leave on the first day of autumn. It pains me to leave you, but I hope someday¡­ we might find each other again.¡± ¡°Where are you even going to go?¡± She sobbed. ¡°You have everything you need¡­ right here!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah said, as she slid off of him. A managed to catch her in his arms, and cradle her yet again. He¡¯s so strong! ¡°Oh, Leoy¡¯Shaah¡­ I don¡¯t need any of this¡­ I neither do you. I have done my duty¡­ Raising you. And how you¡¯ve grown strong! But we can¡¯t love each other that way¡­ There are many fish in the sea¡­ Just as there are as many people who you can love as a partner¡­ Make no mistake, I do love you¡­ But not in a romantic sense¡­ You are like a sister to me.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah lowered her head. Sometimes, nomads came by the village to trade and talk, and they often told stories about the sea, a body of water so large that you could never swim across it. Often people fantasised about building some sort of structure to cross the sea, but no one ever tried. It was impossible to conceive. ¡°Hey,¡± He raised her chin with his hand, ¡°I can prove it to you. Tell me, Leoy¡¯Shaah¡­ What do you love about me?¡± ¡°You care for me, You are smart, you are kind¡­ You are confident.¡± She quivered. ¡°You are the only person who ever cared about me¡­¡± She trailed off. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. He was right. She didn¡¯t love him as a partner. She loved him as an older brother, maybe even a father. As if she knew, she never had a father. But she had a brother for sure. Leoy¡¯Shaah swallowed. For some reason, she didn¡¯t feel heartbroken. All of her romantic feelings for Zayno disappeared upon realizing this. ¡°T-thank you¡­ for taking care of me¡­¡± She cried. ¡°You¡¯re very welcome,¡± He replied. ¡°I¡¯m glad you at least told me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wanna go back¡­¡± She mumbled. I don¡¯t want to go¡­¡± ¡°Leoy¡¯Shaah, I promise I will be alright, you have my word.¡± She stared at him for a few moments. What a¡­ Brother¡­ She thought. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep. When the first rays of dawn hit her eyes, Zayno was already up. ¡°Good morning, Leoy¡¯Shaah, should I call you¡­ Little sis?¡± She felt her heart get warmer. But that warmth quickly went away upon remembering what situation she was in. ¡°Zayno¡­¡± She turned away, she knew she wouldn¡¯t be able to convince him to stay. ¡°Wait!¡± She said, wondering something, ¡°Why not just leave now?¡± Zayno chuckled. ¡°Well, I cannot leave all of my things behind, now can I?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah nodded, ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°And besides,¡± Zayno continued, ¡°I have a gift for your birthday¡­¡± Her eyes lit up. Zayno had always been there for her birthday. And he had alway gifted her homemade creations. Last time, he had skinned some raccoons to make her a capelet and hat, which were still in her closet. She didn¡¯t wear them out of fear someone might think she had stolen it. He seemed to have noticed also. ¡°Leoy¡¯Shaah I know you don¡¯t think these people care about you, but will you submit to their constraints, or will you defy them, that is up to you, but trust me when I say you cannot do both. Leoy¡¯Shaah let these words sink in. She understood them. ¡°What? What is it?¡± He chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s a surprise.¡± She stopped questioning him. No point in trying to ruin something nice. ¡°Are you ready to go back now?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah took a deep breath, suppressing her worries, ¡°Yes, I am.¡± He smiled, ¡°Good. Don¡¯t worry about anything. I swear to you I will be fine. All I will have to do is talk to them and explain what happened.¡± She nodded her head. ¡°Fine. Quit your promises, let¡¯s just go up to them, then.¡± ¡°Zayno,¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah started as they trudged up the mountain road, ¡°Do you remember when I talked to you about that black patch in the sky?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± Zayno replied. ¡°Is it still there?¡± He tilted his head up and stopped. ¡°Yeah¡­ I can barely see it, but it¡¯s there,¡± He stopped and looked at Leoy¡¯Shaah, ¡°Let me guess¡­ It¡¯s still there?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah nodded. ¡°It is. I don¡¯t think you know what it is, do you?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah inwardly didn¡¯t expect Zayno to give any other answer besides that he didn¡¯t know, or that it was nothing to worry about. Instead he took a deep breath, and ignored her, continuing along the path. This shocked Leoy¡¯Shaah. Is he¡­ Ignoring me? ¡°Hey! Did you just ignore me?¡± He sighed and stopped again. ¡°Do you really have to be that eager to begin?!¡± He shouted, whirling around. Leoy¡¯Shaah leaped back in a mix of fear and astonishment. Zayno looked horrified, ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I didn¡¯t mean to¡­ Scare you, or be mad¡­ It¡¯s just¡­¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you just enjoy it while you still can?¡± ¡°Zayno¡­ What are you saying¡­?¡± His shoulders slumped. I¡¯ll tell you when the time is right. But I need you to trust me. ¡°I always trust you, Zayno¡­ but, is there something wrong? Was it something I said or did?¡± ¡°No, no, no¡­ It¡¯s not your fault, it''s just¡­ I¡¯ve been really stressed out. Those men¡­ You see, including the son of the chief¡­ They weren¡¯t really good people.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah slowed. ¡°W-what do you mean by that?¡± ¡°Well¡­ There was a group of people who belonged to the neighbouring tribe¡­ And they saw them¡­ so they¡­¡± He dragged his finger across his throat. Leoy¡¯Shaah began to feel anxious again, ¡°W-what does that mean? That thing you j-just did with your finger¡­¡± But she knew exactly what it meant. The hunters had killed some of the villagers to cover their tracks. ¡°If you should know¡­ there were children among them.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah closed her eyes, and her fists. ¡°...And the son of the chief, he was the first to attack. I tried to help them¨C¡± ¡°Stop.¡± She interjected. ¡°Just¡­ Stop.¡± He sighed. ¡°When they question me, just let me do the talking. If you ever don¡¯t feel safe, or like someone¡¯s after you¡­ You can find me at my house.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah blinked. A few feet in front of them was the gate. She hadn¡¯t realized that they had arrived. ¡°Allow me,¡± Zayno said, leaning forward and rapping his fist on the wooden plates. Immediately, there was a response. ¡°Ah, Zayno! Back from the hunt? How much did you drag this time?¡± Zayno gritted his teeth and Leoy¡¯Shaah winced. The crunch of leaves emanated from the other side of the door as the two men began to open the door. It grinded against the mud as it slid open. Zayno turned to Leoy¡¯Shaah. Be quiet, he mouthed. The younger guard was the first to notice something was awry. He stopped short, causing the older guard to grunt as he was left with the brunt of the work sliding the door open. ¡°Sir¡­?¡± The older guard stopped and sighed. ¡°What is it? I¨C¡± He went silent. ¡°Where are the other hunters?¡± He demanded, "What is she doing here?¡± ¡°She wasn¡¯t supposed to¨C¡± The younger guard stuttered. ¡°Silence!¡± The elder guard barked, ¡°What is the meaning of this? Where are the other hunters? Where is Kapeg? Leoy¡¯Shaah blinked. She hadn¡¯t forgotten what the son of the chieftain¡¯s name was until the guard had spoken of him. Zayno took a deep breath. So much so that his entire body heaved with his lungs. ¡°They are all dead.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah was suddenly overcome with cold sweat. The old guard quivered. ¡°W-what did you say?¡± ¡°They are dead,¡± Zayno repeated, seemingly with more confidence this time, ¡°Almost all of them died to the neighboring tribe.¡± ¡°Sir¡­ What are we going to tell¨C¡± ¡°Silence!¡± The guard roared. He turned back to Zayno, ¡°We will not talk. You are to present this atrocity to the chieftain himself, and you will explain yourself to him! Do you understand?¡± ¡°I do.¡± Zayno said solemnly. ¡°Zajey!¡± The younger guard stiffened. ¡°Yes, sir!¡± ¡°Escort him to the town square!¡± He turned to Leoy¡¯Shaah. ¡°As for you¡­ Go home immediately, Unless you want to be a part of this too.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah stood her ground. The elder guard grimaced. ¡°Leoy¡¯Shaah¡­ I¡¯ll be alright,¡± Zayno smiled at her. ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­ He¡¯ll be fine¡­¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah marched past the guards, who began to head down a different path. ¡°I¡¯ll meet up with you!¡± She called out to Zayno as they hit the fork in the road, separating them between trees. No answer came from Zayno. At this point, panic rose back up to Leoy¡¯Shaah, as she desperately quickened her pace, perhaps in hopes of beating the guards to the square. She burst through her hut¡¯s doors, tossing her dirty clothing onto the floor without a second thought. She immediately rushed to her chest to grab a spare. Throwing it on her body, she immediately headed back out. She sped down the trail to the village. Damn it! She never really noticed how far her home was from the rest of civilization. But it had never mattered until now, Being near people. Her feet were rarely touching the ground now, her knees pumped and her shoes tore against the increasingly solid road. The street! Suddenly, a woman popped out from the building, and Leoy¡¯Shaah couldn¡¯t stop in time. ¡°Oomph!¡± She slammed into another woman. ¡°What the hell!? Watch where you¡¯re going, you stupid whore!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah recognized the voice, and sure enough when she rose up to face the woman, it was indeed Abeer. ¡°Do you know what my husband will do when he finds out what you did to me?¡± She exclaimed. ¡°You¡¯re going to be banished from here once and for all! Good riddance to you¨C¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah threw her hands forward, shoving Abeer back to the ground again out of pure anger, but these emotions quickly subsided, and Leoy¡¯Shaah quickly took off yet again, headed to the center of the village. You already banished me! She thought. When you people moved my house away! And that was if I was even a part of this town to begin with! Finally! She screeched to a halt. The sun fell on her body glistening with sweat, making her shine like a jewel that had just been polished. She swirled her head left and right. Oh, Zayno! Where are you? Suddenly, the bell tolled. That could only mean one thing: A calling for a town meeting. Sure enough, from the houses which formed the crescent around the centermost hut, came villagers of all ages. Some of them seemed to be eying Leoy¡¯Shaah with suspicion. ¡°Hear ye!¡± Screamed the scar-faced head priest. As if looks could kill. She glared right though Leoy¡¯Shaah¡¯s soul. Leoy¡¯Shaah usually didn¡¯t attend meetings. At least, not the non-religious ones. She immediately clasped her hands together to form a prayer. God please. I pray to you every single day! I follow the rules of this village! I never bothered anyone¡­ Well, anyone who hasn¡¯t bothered me, but I am asking you right now! I have never asked anything of you! I have never asked for good luck, or wealth, or social livelihood! Please, just answer this one prayer! Amen. She stayed silent for a few moments as people began to gather. She couldn¡¯t remember the last time she had actually prayed in hopes of actually improving things in the village, or in her miserable life. And the reason wasn¡¯t because she didn¡¯t want to bother god with all of her pointless requests, but because she didn¡¯t believe that he was there. The world¡­ and whatever laid beyond it¡­ In the sky sure seemed like a big place. Perhaps god had gotten lost¡­ or maybe, there were other places he was busy with. Or maybe he just didn¡¯t care. She looked around. She was surrounded with people, she realized, that had a lot more in common with her than she had initially thought. These people had no problems asking for material wealth and physical beauty. So if none of these people really believed in god¡­ Why would she? Maybe because I¡¯m the only one who cares. Please god, If you¡¯re out there, please don¡¯t let Zayno die. Suddenly, the horn blew. ¡°He¡¯s coming out!¡± Yelled one of the villagers. On normal occasions, Leoy¡¯Shaah would simply crane her head for a better look, but today was not a normal occasion. She went ahead and began plowing her way through the crowd that had formed almost a ring around the altar like a moon. The chieftain looked almost godly in the rising suns. His face was etched with grief and resentment¡­ Which Leoy¡¯Shaah had feared. ¡°Part ways!¡± Yelled the guard captain. His face was also twisted with despair, though his tighter skin was much better at hiding it than his father. The villagers practically trampled each other as a full squad of guards marched directly to the altar. She caught a glimpse of¡­ Zayno! He was barely walking, as the guards were doing most of that for him, dragging him across the ground like a dead animal. Though she was very much alive. Leoy¡¯Shaah feared that wouldn¡¯t last very long. She was also the only one still standing in the way of the oncoming escort after the orders had been given. They surprisingly didn¡¯t seem to care. The guard captain barely paid her any mind. He was too distracted with sadness to give her any attention. As if the atmosphere could be any more disturbing, people in the crowd began crying. They were not crying out authentic sadness for the man, as Leoy¡¯Shaah had no doubt they ever had a personal relationship with him, but because they had been conditioned to do so since birth. LeoyShaah did not know Kapeg either, but she believed Zayno more than all these people combined, as he had never lied to her about anything. Even if she had been presented with no evidence to the innocence of Kapeg, she still forced her mind to believe that the son of the man who ordered the execution of her mother, and forced her to be excluded from society for the rest of her youth, was deserving of death. Kaqu stormed past her and made his way up the altar. The chieftain''s four wives were also standing near him. The first four were crying and wailing, especially the third wife, who was perhaps the mother of Kapeg. Abeer was the four wives, and she glared daggers at Leoy¡¯Shaah. Leoy¡¯Shaah glared back. Suddenly, Leoy¡¯Shaah felt a strong hand push her away. One of the elder guards had shoved her to make way for the escort. ¡°Zayno!¡± She cried. Zayno gave her a sad look. It will be alright, he mouthed. Finally, he was left at the base of the altar. ¡°What happened to my son?¡± The Quon asked, voice shaking. ¡°We were on a scouting mission,¡± Zayno replied, ¡°We accidentally crossed paths with the other tribe¡­¡± ¡°And!?¡± The chieftain demanded, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Your son, Kapeg, ordered the hunters to kill the witnesses. But unfortunately, we were attacked by the tribe of whom we stumbled upon. Everyone went silent, staring at the chieftain. Then they began to whisper. ¡°Attacked?¡± ¡°He decided to kill witnesses¡­?¡¯ ¡°...The new tribe must be a threat¡­¡± The chieftain was in such disbelief that he stuttered in his next sentence. ¡°Y-you lie!¡± He insisted, ¡°The neighboring tribe is no threat to us!¡± Then why haven¡¯t we been able to have direct contact with them? Leoy¡¯Shaah couldn¡¯t help but wonder. ¡°Then why are you so afraid?¡± Zayno asked. W-what? Zayno! What are you saying!?¡± The chieftain stared down at Zayno with blank rage. ¡°...You¡­ Say that I am afraid?¡± He said, anger rising in his voice. ¡°You are afraid of your god,¡± Zayno responded. ¡°You count on the fact that he is not real.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah immediately became light-headed. ¡°Z-Z-Zayno¡­?¡± She began wobbling, not knowing what to do or say. ¡°Do you want to know what really happened?¡± Zayno asked. The blood vessels on Quon¡¯s wrinkled forehead bulged. ¡°The neighboring tribe already knew we were there. They were just waiting for us to make the first move¡­ And that we did.¡± ¡°I¡­ You¡ª!¡± ¡°And I tried to warn him. They were not going to attack us. Why would they if they had their people out in the open? I tried to stop your son from launching the attack¡­ but it was too late.¡± ¡°I watched him slay countless villagers¡­ But then the warriors from the tribe appeared and we ran¡­ Everyone besides me perished. They rode beasts of speed and stamina out to retaliate.¡± ¡°Y¨C¡± ¡°Your son, Kapeg, chased cheap glory¡­ and all he was given was a blade to the heart.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°He was a fool, like you.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah could finally take it no more. She fainted. Leoy¡¯Shaah came, it was when she was awakened by Nisha. She shook Leoy¡¯Shaah like she was mad. ¡°Wake up!¡± She sobbed, ¡°They''re going to put him to death!¡± With an animalistic wave of emotions washing over her right at that moment, she grabbed Nisha by her abdomen and neck, then threw her out of the way. After shooting at her feet so hard, her clothes almost came off, she leaned over Nisha with all of her hate and panic¡­ ¡°WHERE IS HEEEEEEEEE!!!???¡± She screeched. Nisha whimpered and crouched up into a ball before the uttering the a single word: ¡°C-c-cliff¡­¡± His mind went blank. It was at that point that a primal fury ignited inside of Leoy¡¯Shaah. She channeled it into her legs as she tore through the village streets. Once she hit the west side of the mountain, she hugged the flat area and spinted through the bath ponds. Running under the waterfall and through the rocky plateau. She reached the side that served as a farming area, speeding through crops, shoving maize out of her way. Finally she arrived at Scarred Peak, a point where the mountain had been split into two massive chunks. Every villager knew that according to the holy texts, the mountain had been split in two when the perpetual god selected the chieftain to carry his power. Since then, power has been passed down by generation. As one might imagine, these two pieces have separate paths at their base or plateau to get to one side or the other. And in Leoy¡¯Shaah¡¯s panic, and her lack of familiarity with this section of town, she chose the wrong path. She scaled the winding road that led to the top as fast as she could. But not fast enough. For right as she got to the peak, she saw Zayno¡­ ¡­On the other side. There was no bridge to the other side, as there was yet another holy law that forbade it. So she did the only thing that she could: Scream. The last thing she saw before she collapsed from exhaustion, was a group of priestesses pushing Zayno off of the cliff. LeoyShaah I: 0002 The following day, Leoy¡¯Shaah did something that surprised no one: She left. She didn¡¯t go in peace, though. When the suns began their ascension, marking the beginning of the day, the townsfolk noticed black pillar of smoke that had been camouflaged by dawn. The group of villagers (Including a squad of guards), upon arriving at the source, discovered the smoldering crisp that was Leoy¡¯Shaah¡¯s home. ¡°That woman is a demon,¡± Hissed the head priestess. ¡°Perhaps this was her exorcism, then,¡± Quon replied, gazing out the window at the column emanating from the east. I should have known that Zayno boy would have been a problem! All problems can be traced back to men!¡± ¡°As you say, chieftain¡­¡± The head priestess replied, ¡°...Do you think she will come back?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make me laugh, priestess! If she doesn¡¯t, she will become the next meal of those beasts! If she has any sense of danger, she will return within the next few days.¡± ¡°And if she doesn¡¯t¡­?¡± The priestess asked. Quon waved his hand, ¡°There would be no point in trying to find her. I hear the hunters say that reptiles drag their prey in their den.¡± "As you say, chieftain,¡± the priestess replied, but she felt a sense of unease. The forest seemed to be much less frightening in the day, even if Leoy¡¯Shaah knew that she was in more danger than at night. Sure enough, she walked carefully around a group of lizard-birds that were scavenging the leftover wolves that had been slain the previous night. They screeched at her defensively as she distanced herself from them. These birds would gladly prefer fresh meat over some animal carcass. She had, of course, brought a couple of pieces of meat and a loaf of bread with her before she left, as well as the coat that Zayno had made for her. Upon thinking of Zayno, even for a moment, she fell to the ground and sobbed. But she quickly collected herself. She had cried herself to sleep the previous night. Perhaps she had not gotten all of her tears out. Finally, she made it to the small pond at the base of the lake. There were many of those small half-feathered, half-reptilian creatures no larger than a chicken. Upon seeing her, they quickly retreated into the forest area. Leoy¡¯Shaah thre her head forward into the shimmering pond. The fish there also swam away. She rolled her whole body in. The pond was not very deep. If she had been standing the water would have not reached even her thighs. Still, she attempted to end her miserable life in the shallowest of waters. It did not work. She swallowed a huge amount of water and sighed, rolling onto her back. It shouldn¡¯t have been possible to cry more, yet she managed to squeeze every last salty drop from her eyes until they ran drier than the fabled desert. Zayno was gone. He was gone forever. She shot up and screamed, ¡°Is this your doing god!? You neglect your children!? Curse you for all of my life!¡± ¡°Show us your face! Stop hiding behind old men! Stop hiding behind words that mean nothing! Stop hiding behind uncertainty! Come down and show me who you are! Show me the all-powerful being who decided to take away all the light of my life! My name is Zayno! I will burn down the village if¨C¡± You want pain! You like watching me suffer?! How about I share that pain with the rest of your children!? But Leoy¡¯Shaah knew that she had no capability. If only I had the strength of a man¡­ What I could do with these hands¡­ But Zayno wouldn¡¯t want this¡­ Either god wasn¡¯t real, or he left his children to rot. Eventually, with a lot of heavy breathing and maybe some more crying, she got up and assessed her situation. Leoy¡¯Shaah needed to build a house if she was to survive out here alone. The suns were still rising, which meant she had plenty of time to try and build some sort of home. She looked up the long, winding path back up to the mountain. I will never go back there¡­ The first thing she did was look for materials. The area was luckily a popular area for hunting. So much so that the local animals, having even the most primitive intelligence, moved their habitation elsewhere, farther down the terrain, perhaps. The good news, was that meant Leoy¡¯Shaah was in not danger. She knew wolves stayed away from human structures, and reptiles were most active at day. The bad news was that it also meant there was very little opportunity to hunt. Sure, women in the past were the gatherers. But those times were long gone since the day that her ancestors called the mountain their home. She had no idea what fruits and nuts were edible. This was something that she realized when her stomach grumbled and she ate her food. It would not last forever. She would starve if she tried to hunt here. But Leoy¡¯Shaah began to realize that her biggest danger away from the safety of the mountain was not whatever creature might be lurking about, or her inevitable starvation. But rather the mysterious tribe that laid somewhere in the plains. Exactly how much of a danger they posed Leoy¡¯Shaah, she knew not, but she knew that a human could be more brutal than any animal. She started by doing what she saw every builder do: Gather leaves and shoots. She made no mistake in her expectations; she was building a home, not a house. Her visions of a strong, fortified hut quickly deteriorated. By the time the two suns reached the middle of the sky, she had nothing but a pathetic excuse for a shelter. 2 days passed. The hunger ate at her. She starved at it. On the third day, she decided to hunt. A risky, but necessary choice. But what would she hunt? Some of the more feathered reptilian birds were drinking near the river. They cleverly kept away from the snap-jaws, which could end their fragile lives in one bite, and swallow them whole with it. Meanwhile, Leoy¡¯Shaah crouched on the bush, awaiting the moment to strike. A gamble. Rewarding if they should come forth, punishing if they wander away. It was the bow that killed, not only the prey, the thrill of hunting itself. I should have brought a bow. But Leoy¡¯Shaah didn¡¯t know how to use a bow, so it would be useless. She gripped the piece of stone. Quick breaths. Keep it slow. Keep it fast¡­ Control it. But make it slow when you want. The birds suddenly froze, like a shared mind, and perked up. Damn! The biggest male, one with elegant stripes that had once been worn out of pride of the hunter of whom struck it with his own bare hands, stretched his wings. He turned toward the bush Leoy¡¯Shaah was hiding in, preparing for a quick departure. And Leoy¡¯shaah would not wait for that moment. She launched herself from the leaves. The bird had no time to take flight before Leoy¡¯Shaah crushed it under her weight. The other birds quickly left, something that would not have happened in an organized hunt. She looped her hands around its neck and began to strangle it. Its bones crunched in Leoy¡¯Shaah hands while it thrashed. Eventually, after what seemed like a long time, the bird stopped moving. Leoy¡¯Shaah had bent its head at an unsurvivable angle, yet its body still yearned for freedom long after. Leoy¡¯Shaah rose from the corpse of the small animal. Its death had been surprisingly bloodless, since Leoy¡¯Shaah had chosen not to use the rock at the last second, in order to leave both of her hands open to grab the bird. Leoy¡¯Shaah brought the creature back to her makeshift home and set it on a flat stone. She then stared at it for a long time, trying to decide how she would go about meal preparation. Cooking it over and open flame would have to do. And although the soil was moist, she was sure that if she looked hard enough, she would find some plants dry enough to sustain a flame. She chose some of the dry grass in the far plains. As Leoy¡¯Shaah carefully navigated downward, she scouted as well. Unbon territory is south east¡­ North is the way to go. She had no idea why she kept this thought to herself. She was no longer surrounded by the judgement of others nor did she have to be silent for the sake of not disturbing anything. ¡°Unbon territory is south east! So I will go north!¡± There was no response. Only the sound of the wind replied, whistling through her ears. Then again, she had not expected any. The plains consisted of a gradual transition from blades of healthy grass, to an arid region, thus was the reason for her people¡¯s wariness. The Unbon might¡¯ve extended their hunting grounds to that of Mountain Village, but their home lay in the dusty plains¡­ With the reptilians. She crouched in the tall grass. The Unbon could easily kill her should they spot her. She had heard the stories of how they had domesticated the stallions and rode them. Across the plains at sunset. Hunters told stories that they heard the war cries of the Unbon as they brought down lizard beasts hundreds of times their size. She moved forward in the grass, her stomach rumbled. The further she went, the drier the grass. Finally, she had progressed to an area where the grass was so dry that they broke in half when she stepped on them. She gathered an armful of them and was about to head back when she heard a sound that sent chills down her spine. ¡°Uuuuuuuraaaaaaaaaah!!!¡± She immediately threw her body down as she heard the thundering sound of hooves blow past her. After a few moments of earth-trembling cries, she rose back up, lower than she had crouched before still. And after a much longer time, she dared to slink her way back to her camp. She clenched her teeth at every crunch of the leaves until they became soft enough for her to run back into the safety of the forest. After a while, she found the courage to come back out, and begin rubbing sticks together to try and start a flame. Just a quick, small fire, She thought, If they see me, I¡¯m dead! Finally, the fire started, and Leoy¡¯Shaah quickly lept to her feet and went to retrieve the meat, returning a few moments later. She jabbed a particularly sharp stick through the meat and let it dangle over the fire, propped up by two other sticks. At first, the only smell she detected was the smoke that filler her lungs, causing her to almost retreat from the fire entirely. But what came next was the familiar smell of meat, which kept her close. She threw more leaves to keep the fire going, and the meat progressively became darker. Once Leoy¡¯Shaah was satisfied with her cooking, she carefully removed the meat from the stake, plopping it onto a large leaf to wait for it to cool. After what seemed like an eternity with her stomach begging her to scarf down the steaming meal, she finally took her first bite when the steam cleared. The texture had been achieved, no doubt. The toughness was mostly attributed to leaving the meat on the fire for a longer amount of time, even despite the fact that it was bird meat, which was known by hunters to be quite soft, even when cooked over the ideal times. But there was no way Leoy¡¯Shaah could have known this, for she had never bothered to learn anything about hunting or cooking, besides watching people who had the profession. She would never have thought just a few days ago that she would be stranded out in the wilderness. Alone. She took another bite, just as tough and flavorless as the first. Then she kept biting until there was nothing left. The rest of Leoy¡¯Shaah¡¯s day was uneventful. She did a little more to improve her new home. Adding sticks and bamboo shoots increased the structural integrity of the house by reinforcing what she had already started. In the end, she saw the house to be complete. It had two sections: the first floor being storage, and the second being where she slept. She reinforced this part the best she could, making sure every piece of bamboo was interlocked with another to form almost a container. After she had done all these things, she rewarded herself with sleep. Then, something happened that she had not experienced for a long time: A nightmare. As soon as Leoy¡¯Shaah rose from her bed, she immediately knew she was no longer in the world she recognized, a feeling all too familiar to her. An entirely fabricated world, one designed to torture her. But something was very different this time. Leoy¡¯Shaah almost felt like¡­ She had control? This experience was dismaying to Leoy¡¯Shaah; the last time she had a nightmare or dream was in her teenage years. And one characteristic that had been omnipresent though everyone was her lack of control. In those dreams, she did what she did in the moment. But when she looked back at it, she felt a sense of her own unwillingness. She never decided to move her body, it simply moved on its own to play out the rest of the dream. But here¡­ Here it was different. She could move, she was aware of what she was doing and that she was dreaming. Now feeling less distressed, she took some time to observe her surroundings. She was in the same house she had gone to sleep in, except¡­ It was much much bigger. The room was absolutely massive. All seemingly made from bamboo and twigs, but not in the shape of a hut, but a fortress. The ceiling was higher up and the floor felt more solid than before. And there was a full door instead of just a trapdoor. Leoy¡¯Shaah¡­ She froze. The voice was familiar to her, but she couldn¡¯t put her finger on it. She knew the voice made her feel safe and loved. It was a voice she associated with all good and¡­ Zayno!? Hearing her own voice almost shocked her more than hearing Zayno¡¯s. In her past dreams, she had never been able to speak, let alone, control what she said. After recovering, she approached the door. She grabbed the knob and began to twist. But then she stopped. If this is a nightmare¡­What happens when I open this door? What will I see? The worst possibilities ran through her mind. The world ending, Zayno dying again, me killing people¡­? Do I want to open this door? Her thoughts were not answered. Would she fall for yet another cruel, self-imposed psychological trap, or would she resist his sickeningly sweet tongue? Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Leoy¡¯Shaah felt like a fly drawn to nectar, with the only difference being that she knew better than a fly, but she still chose to go ahead. She took a deep breath. Whatever you went through when you were younger¡­ You were a mere child. Now you are grown! What can be so horrifying? Enough with your cowardice! Suddenly, the door opened¡­ On its own. Leoy¡¯Shaah jumped back in an unbridled rather unbridled fashion. She was more afraid of the door now more than anything. Her back slammed into a wall¡­ Except that wall didn¡¯t used to be there. It appeared that the room had changed while she wasn¡¯t looking at it. Yes, the terror of the dreamworld, truly remarkable. She turned back to the door only to notice that it had changed as well, for it no longer existed. Both the door, and frame segment of the wall were completely gone, merging the two rooms into a singular room. And in the center of that room, was a table. And on the table, was a cake. ¡°Happy Birthday, Leoy¡¯Shaah.¡± She shrieked and leaped away from her previous spot. The voice came from behind her and was unmistakably¡­ The voice of her late friend. She fell to the ground, painlessly, of course. As she had willed herself to not experience misery in her own head, though she was beginning to suspect that she was not in as much control as she had initially assumed. No! That can¡¯t be¡­ Her face was still to the ground, which she realized was no longer comprised of mere bamboo, but rather small individual particles that made up the complex texture of dirt. Sure enough, the next breath she took was filled with that of the earth. Her chest was prickled with hard sticks and rocks. She took her next shuddering breath. One unfortunately plagued by fear and uncertainty, rather than the solid reality she held near and dear. That being the very ground she called home. Don¡¯t turn around, don¡¯t turn around, don¡¯t turn¨C Leoy¡¯Shaah whirled her head around, not sure what she was really expecting to see. Would it be a ghost? A demon? A reanimated corpse? Or would it simply be nothing? But it was none of those things. It was just¡­ Zayno. It was just Zayno. It was just him. The sight of him in the vividly lucid moonlight nearly took her breath away. He was dressed in frankly impossibly beautiful clothing. How? She didn¡¯t know. But somehow, her mind curated the perfect clothing for a man she felt tugged at her heart with every chance he had. Somehow, he was more elegant and regal than she could ever hope to catch him with her own eyes. This impossible encounter tore her into two strips: Indulgence, and denial. Part of her wanted to run away, to quit. He wasn¡¯t real, he couldn¡¯t be. But yet there he was. And she found her other half attracted to him. Zayno didn¡¯t move. He simply watched her. Not in a glare or stare¡­ But just with awe and comfort. Like she was the one who had been taken from him, and not the other way around. Luckily, there was something that both of her half agreed upon. A truce. A shake of her hands. Crying. Leoy¡¯Shaah wept like the fiercest of storms. And rain that poured from her eyes soaked the dirt she knelt upon and the clothing that she wore. She found it quite easy to do. Her eyes were too dry sometimes, and she would merely irritate them further by trying to force something out that wasn¡¯t there. But the tears that came this time were not only bountiful, but refreshing in their own way. After she choked and sobbed, she eventually recovered and drew quick gasps to make up for her lost breath. She had not managed to drain her eyes¡­ Yet strangely, she had satiated her yearn to cry. She took a slow deep breath and turned around slowly. Again, part of her wanted to turn around and see nothing. Zayno would no longer be there, not even in her dreams, to torture her with his absence in her life. And the other part of her, wanted her one last look at the man she had almost proposed marriage to. He was still there. Wearing the same elegant clothes as before. Leoy¡¯Shaah, being the foolish woman she was, still could not decide her feelings on Zayno. ¡°Y-you¡¯re not real!¡± She cried, ¡°w¨Cwhat are you¡ª?¡± He put his fingers up to his lips, ¡°Shhhhhhhhh¡­¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah shivered. ¡°Speak! Speak to me with your voice again Zayno! I want to hear it! I want to hear from you again! I¡ª¡± Suddenly, he moved, no, teleported directly in front of her and laid a single kiss on her forehead. His pale white skin was the only thing that shone in moons. He stepped back into the full light above. ¡°Happy birthday, Leoy¡¯Shaah. I love you.¡± ¡°Z¨CZ¨CZayn-no?¡± Yes¡­ Yes, Leoy¡¯Shaah, It¡¯s me. I told you I would visit on your birthday¡­ And that I would¡ª¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah¡¯s mind finally snapped into place. His voice¡­ His body¡­ His touch¡­ It was all enough to melt her worries away in an instant. She launched herself towards him, to prove to herself that he wasn''t just¡­ A figment of her imagination¡­ Even if she knew well worth a damn that he passed less than a day ago, and she watched it¡­ This was her closure. This was her final goodbye. She was going to make the most of it. Zayno looked mildly surprised at her sudden decision to pounce on him like a feline. But he made no effort to dodge. She landed on him with the ferocity he knew her for: That undeniable hidden craving to have what she wanted at any cost, a trait suppressed only by Zayno¡¯s teachings of temperance and her own humility. Leoy¡¯Shaah mounted him almost immediately, much like she had in the forest. He didn¡¯t fight back, but then again she hadn¡¯t expected him to. There was one difference that Leoy¡¯Shaah knew would set her encounter with Zayno now and then apart: She knew what she would do to him. First, she kissed him on the cheek, then she hugged him. She looped her arms around him and locked them together like a greedy tick. And she squeezed him tight. I know you¡¯re dead¡­ But please, just let me have this. And he did. He complied with her wishes. He let her straddle, squeeze, and bury her face into his body. After a bit. She rose up from her. ¡°Please say something to me, Zayno! Tell me I''ll be alright! Lull me to sleep. Lull me to a permanent sleep! Give me the well deserved rest, so I can be with you in the afterlife!¡± At this, Zayno¡¯s body tensed, which, in turn, sent chills back into Leoy¡¯Shaah. But he relaxed soon after. ¡°I¡¯m sorry my dear Alexandra¡­ But you will not ever have the release of death, In fact, you will have quite the opposite. Leoy¡¯Shaah coughed. ¡°What do you even mean by that¡ª?¡± Zayno looked at her with a fair expression. ¡°Am I¡­ dead?¡± She asked, almost whispering. Did I die in my sleep? Is this the afterlife? Will I get to be with Zayno¡­ Here? Is this heaven?! Zayno then did something Leoy¡¯Shaah almost missed, he began to slowly slide away from her. He could no doubt push her away or flip her on her back with one fail swoop, but instead, he opted for the less violent approach. Luckily, or so Leoy¡¯Shaah thought, she managed to catch him doing so, and subjugate him once more. ¡°Answer me you¡­ Zayno,¡± She hissed. ¡°It¡¯s a surprise,¡± He answered simply, ¡°You can think of it as a coming-of-age gift, more so than a parting gift.¡± Now Leoy¡¯Shaah was thoroughly confused. And this time, Zayno did exactly what she didn¡¯t expect him to do: He rolled her off of him. Leoy¡¯Shaah quickly found herself facing the sky once more. But landing on the hard sticks and stones didn¡¯t inflict any pain on her, it was more so the idea that Zayno had gone ahead and shoved her off. Maybe¡­ Just maybe he¡¯s fed up with me now¡­ Leoy¡¯Shaah heaved a sigh, and it was because she looked up and saw stars. No black patch eating the stars. They were all there. All uncountable of them. The crunch of leaves unmistakably gave away Zayno¡¯s change in posture, let alone his strides away from the patch. Leoy¡¯Shaah rose from her place in the dirt as well. ¡°W¨C Hey! Where are you going?!¡± She called out, ¡°Come back!¡± Zayno stopped at the edge of the woods. He leaned against a tree as he overlooked the plains. The calm green mixed with the darkness of the sky, completely overshadowed the rich, seasonally diverse blades that laid side by side across the span of said plains, until eventually cross-hatching into the dry, cracked terrain devoid of life, and then finally, the obscure, wonderous far lands that no one dares venture beyond. Yet somehow, Leoy¡¯Shaah had the imminent feeling that Zayno¡¯s origins were even farther and greater than she could comprehend now. He stared off into the wildlife like he appreciated it very much, but was not satisfied. ¡°Come, Leoy¡¯Shaah. Follow me to the top of the mountain.¡± ¡°No. I won¡¯t.¡± He paused, then leaned back against the tree. ¡°Those people¡­! They killed you, Zayno¡­¡± Zayno cocked his head, ¡°How so?¡± ¡°I¨C¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah didn¡¯t know how to respond. She had been conflicted about whether or not she was dreaming, hallucinating, dead, or¡­ That this was Zayno, in the flesh. ¡°Are you¡­ Alive?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah asked, stuttering with every syllable. A complex wave of emotions washed over Zayno, most of which she couldn¡¯t decipher. She would have guessed that he was feeling some sort of confusion, pity, or maybe even some sort of happiness, though she easily mistaken happiness for amusement. It was when Zayno finally spoke, did Leoy¡¯Shaah finally begin to get a grip on the situation she was in. ¡°I am conscious¡­ But, I now lack a physical body.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re¡­¡± You¡¯re a ghost¡­ Zayno¡¯s a¨Ca¡­ Ghost. But! That¡¯s impossible! There are no ghosts, Quon said so¨C Quon. A sudden rage entered and exited her in such a superfluous manner, that she would have been mistaken to assume she had no ill-will towards a man who put her best friend, her brother to death. But she had undoubtedly felt these feelings, for her physical body told a greater story than her mouth ever could. She felt her skin nearly boil for that second, and she would have taken her boiling skin and had used it to perhaps smooth out some of Quon¡¯s wrinkles. Zayno, being the very observant, especially to the unintentional exhibitions of behavior that came from Leoy¡¯Shaah, man that he was, placed his hand on her shoulder. Leoy¡¯Shaah had been so blanked out by rage, even for half a moment, that she had completely ignored Zayno¡¯s practical teleportation to her side. But his loyalty far overshadowed the means which he used to achieve it. ¡°So you¡¯re not alive?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah asked, feeling tears well up again. ¡°Do you feel my hand on your shoulder, Alexandra?¡± Alexandra. Alexandra was a name she used to use very often, especially when she was a lot younger. She used it because she had been embarrassed to use her last name: Leoy¡¯Shaah. A name which was so odd, that it baffled many. And a part of those many thought it would be funny to remind her, or perhaps embarrass her over it. Leo was the name of the Beast-Warrior that fought the darkness in ancient tales. ¡°Y¡± Mean¡¯t ¡°and¡± or ¡°to join¡± or ¡°united.¡± ¡°Shaah¡± meant ¡°ruler¡± or ¡°leader¡± or ¡°savior.¡± So one could understand that this greatly upset Leoy¡¯Shaah. She had assumed the name Alexandra, especially since Wanu had chosen the name for her to stop the harassment from the other children. However, her last name had stuck to her like ox glue. She could not have ditched it like she had been ditched by her parents. Luckily, she had grown to like the name, almost glad that the people of the town spent every waking second conversing with her to remind her of it. And it had been none other than Zayno that had shown Leoy¡¯Shaah that her name was nothing to be ashamed of. ¡°If I ever had a name like you¡­ Geez, I¡¯d be flattered to have people calling me king!¡± It was that one phrase from Zayno that had persuaded her to quit running from a title that had meant mockery and humiliation for the longest time. To take such a grand title and wear it so unironically was what had filled her with the trust and love she still held for Zayno to this day. Even if he was dead. ¡°Alexandra,¡± he repeated. In turn, once people had somehow become bored of mocking Leoy¡¯Shaah, the name Alexandra had transformed into something of a more informal title. Something that Zayno would have yelled at her when she burnt bread, dropped a bucket, or tried to learn to swim without his help. Sort of a playful name that almost no one, not even Zayno himself, called her. She came to associate this name with attention-seeking. Whether the purpose was playful in nature, or serious. It was serious, in this case. ¡°Leoy¡¯Shaah, you can see me, and if you can see me, I am alive to you.¡± ¡°No you¡¯re not!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah said, stepping away. She felt the ground shift beneath her feet, as if she had wronged the land itself. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are¡­ or what you did with Zayno¨C¡± Suddenly, he disappeared. Leoy¡¯Shaah froze mid-sentence. There was no trace of Zayno anywhere, just her house, which she could barely see through the forest (It was now in its normal non-liminal form). He was completely gone. Leoy¡¯Shaah had seen people disappear before, but usually it was the chieftain who would display his power through a disappearing act. However, when Quon did it, he would vanish in a puff of smoke. Zayno did not. When Zayno vanished, he did so with no warning or trace. And so Leoy¡¯Shaah began to panic. ¡°Zayno¡­¡± She asked, ¡°Where did you¡­¡± Go to the mountain¡­ The voice echoed in her head. ¡°N-no! I won¡¯t go back¨C!¡± I am not referring to the mountain village, Alexandra¡­ I speak of the Dethroned mountain. Once the tallest, now only seen as a reminder of lost power. Power I took from the proud¡­ Find this mountain, and climb to the top. I will be waiting for you, for this mountain is in the direction of my home. ¡°Zayno..?¡± There was no response from her friend. She was only met with a light breeze that carried her hair backwards. Dethroned mountain¡­ How would I even climb such a mountain? Unless¡­ That thing¡­ That thing isn¡¯t Zayno¡­ At this point, the realization was setting into Leoy¡¯Shaah that perhaps she was not dreaming, and that perhaps this entity pretending to be Zayno was a spirit, ghost, or perhaps¡­ A demon¡­? No, it simply couldn¡¯t be. But there she was, and if her surroundings were as true as she saw, she had not been dreaming in the first place. Nay¡­ She thought, Spirits and ghosts cannot interact with us physically¡­ and even then¡­ Her stomach twisted. He would have to be a demon. She thought. It was the most logical explanation, at least, as far as magic went. Demons could appear as anyone, usually after death¡­ Which meant¡­ Zayno had gone to hell. Leoy¡¯Shaah¡¯s vision blurred. She felt as if her own soul were trying to leave her body. It couldn¡¯t be¡­ H¨Che¡­ But it was. It was true. There was nothing else known to have the ability to appear as human like her. Like Zayno¡­ Leoy¡¯Shaah fell to the ground, feeling sick, then she threw up. What little she had eaten the past few days came out like a river of rot. After a few gasps of air, she tried to console herself, however, she found it very hard to; She had discovered that her childhood friend¡­ Was an evil spirit, manipulating her, driving her away. Isolating her. Pieces fit together. Things that she didn¡¯t understand before, but hindsight be clear as the sunrise, that she now things were not as they had appeared. She felt a new emotion: one that she never dreamed of experiencing, for only one person had ever gotten as close to her as Zayno. Betrayal. She threw up again, but this time, her body had nothing left to give. So the world had nothing left to take. It was on that forest floor that she curled up into a ball and fell asleep. Now you have taken all but my life, so go on and take that as well. There was no response from this god that she died her heart out to, but she knew for sure he was hearing her. ¡°I¡¯ve had quite a life, really!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah insisted to her figment, ¡°The time has come for me now, and I have seen everything.¡± Oh Leoy¡¯Shaah, you couldn¡¯t be more wrong¡­ Zayno¡¯s voice. She swatted the soothingness and calmness of the voice. She could see through it now, she could see it now. ¡°You!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah yelled at the thing she book longer saw as Zayno. ¡°Unhand his soul!¡± She said this with the smallest strand of hope that the demon would release Zayno, preferably, back to life so she could reunite with him, but if not, at least to whatever heaven or other afterlife that awaited him. But also, she said this because it implied that Zayno was a hostage to this monster, and not the monster itself. ¡°I¡¯ll exorcise you! Give him back!¡± She choked, ¡°Show your face to me!¡± I¡¯m coming for you, Zayno! Though, again, she was not quite sure if she meant the soul the entity had taken, or the entity itself. Suddenly, Zayno appeared. He had mixed facial expressions that Leoy¡¯Shaah still had yet to simplify. It was that of expectancy. ¡°What are you!?¡± She curled her fists, ¡°Answer me, now!¡± The Zayno-thing cocked its head, "You already know who I am¡­ At least, for the most part. I am Zayno, I am your friend, your guardian¡­ And your adopted brother.¡± ¡°DON¡¯T LIE TO ME! I KNOW YOU AREN¡¯T THE MAN I LOVED! I KNOW YOU AREN¡¯T MY FRIEND! I KNOW THAT YOU ARE THE REASON I¡¯M OUT HERE¨C¡± Suddenly, Zayno disappeared again, but this time, he reappeared. Right. In. Front. Of. Her. Leoy¡¯Shaah jumped back, shrieking. ¡°Stay back demon! Take not another step!¡± Zayno remained frozen with his arms outstretched for a hug. His face was now one of pain and sadness. Leoy¡¯Shaah knew how he felt. Deep down she wanted nothing more but to dive into his comforting arms. But she couldn¡¯t. Not when she knew who¨C no, what he was. Don''t give me that look! You betrayed my trust first! But that didn¡¯t really matter, did it? It did to Leoy¡¯Shaah, who so precariously ignored the fact that Zayno would have been a demon from the start, not one that had transformed from boy to beast somewhere along the line like she would like to have it. Zayno sighed, ¡°Meet me at the top of the mountain, and I will reveal my true intentions to you. If not, that is fine. I wish you a happy birthday, and a farewell.¡± Then, Zayno disappeared, except this time, he did it more slowly so that Leoy¡¯Shaah could see him fade out into the forest. Alexandra stood for a long moment, unable to process Zayno¡¯s words, Meet him at the mountain? Hmmm¡­ Going back to the mountain would mean having to face the villagers one last time, and the thought scared her. What would they do? If she was so bent on unveiling Zayno, then the only thing that would take that from her yet again would have to be the villagers. But they were right all along¡­ Just not about me. Maybe they would figure out it had been the demon¡­ If he even is a demon. Leoy¡¯Shaah took a deep breath, then made up her mind. If Zayno was waiting for her at the top of the mountain, demon or not, She would meet him up there no matter what. I want my closure. And besides, she was hungry, cold, and exhausted from her stay outside. What comforts awaited her within the village certainly now outweighed the negatives. But would they accept her back? Leoy¡¯Shaah stood outside the gate. Even though it was the beginning of fall, and the cold was coming in for the next month, she still sweat like she was under the summer soles. She would have mistaken the gate to be unguarded if not for the shuffling that took place just on the other side; Soldiers making themselves comfortable behind the stone bricks. Although Leoy¡¯Shaah was perspiring, her teeth saw the season as it was and chattered louder than she would have liked. The guards seemed to have not noticed her approach, nor the chattering of her teeth, and so she would have had to assume they were wearing tight clothing designed for winter. How did she know this? She didn¡¯t. But, during cold seasons, she would see soldiers and hunters put coats on for protection against the harsh elements. Anyways, while the guards did nothing but stand still, and occasionally mumbled to each other, Alexandra was hatching a plan, one that would not only get her inside the village, but also disguise from the villagers as well, and by the time they became wise of her, she would¡­ Leoy¡¯Shaah shuddered. What would she do? Return to the wilderness once more? As if it was better than her home tribe? No. I will not think of the possibilities right now. I already have enough on my plate as is! There was a distant crack somewhere from the other side of the gate. The guards jumped. ¡°The hell was that!?¡± Asked one of the guards, the younger one, from his voice. ¡°Nothin¡¯, probably just some animal,¡± The older guard responded. ¡°What if it''s Unbon?¡± The younger guard warned. The elder guard grunted, ¡°Why would they? It''d be a death trap. ¡°We¡¯d the advantage.¡± ¡°It could still be them,¡± The younger one insisted, ¡°They worship a mad god that makes no sense of peace, not even in peaceful times.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what graces er plagues yer¡¯ ears boy, but I¡¯ll have a look if you worry like a girl about it!¡± Leoy''Shaah grabbed a small stone- Well, small by her standards, boys half her size could easily skip them, but large enough to separate its presence¨C And its significance from the ground it laid upon. Pebblits fine grained served only as a backdrop for what was about to commence; Leoy¡¯Shaah took said rock, then primed her arm back like she saw stone-shooters do with planks they imagined as rabbits, and tore her hand through the air, releasing the stone as it went. The stone swirled gracefully for some pathetic distance; Leoy¡¯Shaah had seen these Stone-slingers and shooters launch rocks that were larger, and greater lengths at that. But there was no need for far faring projectiles in this sense, for it clipped the low-hanging branch that leaned over the path, before clearing the treetop entirely, then plummeting down to its final testing place. Crack ¡°Sirs!¡± The younger guard exclaimed, they¡¯ve inside unbeknownst to ye and I!¡± ¡°Bloody hell, eh!?¡± The elder cursed, followed by the sound of wood scraping gravel. A spear. ¡°The enemy!¡± ¡°Watch your back boy! The Unbon are dark skinned and wear paint of war darker yet! Keep a sharp eye out.¡± ¡°Ay, sir! I think I see!¡± They must be a scout boy! It would be foolish to send more than two up to their deaths! We shall put the fear of go unto him, glory to Prophet Quon!¡± Both guards left their position in a hurry. As if synchronised now, Alexandra threw herself towards the rocky wall. She had seen no way of making it easier to climb, without giving herself away. But, she knew she could scale such an obstacle. Leoy¡¯Shaah gripped the jutting stones with all of her might and heaved herself over. She then hugged the wall and sprinted towards the forked pathways. She dared not look back, yet she did not know why. Would it be worse for the guards to know her as she was, or mistake her for an Unbon savage? All she knew was that a new day was beginning to dawn, and she was to confront the man she thought she once knew. Whether that end might be bitter, sweet, or perhaps a bit of both, she knew it was in the hands of God himself. LeoyShaah I: 0003 Leoy¡¯Shaah¡¯s house was as she left it: A charred structure nearly unrecognizable from its initial design. All flammable parts of the house had been decimated by her arson, leaving a skeleton of bamboo shoots and stones. She winced at the sight of it. She had planned to kill herself at the small pond, but that had been botched, she was now faced with yet another of many regrets. She desperately scoured the remains of the residence for one item in particular, a cloth that she would use for cleaning, bathing, and whatnot. She did not, however, plan to use it to bathe or wash her body, rather, she planned to use it to conceal herself. It was a stupid plan no doubt, but a stupid plan was better than none at all. Just as she was clearing some of the pitch-black debris from what was once her bedroom¨C or was it her bathroom, she finally found the cloth. She wrapped it around herself, attempting to imagine what she would look like with her disguise. Smells bad¡­ It had to have looked worse than she imagined; How could a charred cloak look good on anyone? But it would have to do. At least, until she could find a better disguise. Suddenly, she heard movement outside the property. Leoy¡¯Shaah, fearing the worst, crouched low and hid. ¡°Hello?¡± A voice rang out. It was a high pitched, but undeniably male voice. Leoy¡¯Shaah didn¡¯t respond. Of course! Why would she? This man she knew not; she had yet to socialize with any of these people. But I am¡­ No longer Leoy¡¯Shaah, so perhaps I may experience something more¡­ Favorable? Still, she suppressed the urge to call back, or even so much as crane her neck for a look. The man did not go away. ¡°Come on! I know you''re in there¡­ Somewhere¡­¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah took a deep breath before finally giving in to her curiosity. She rose from her position calmly, not before making some final adjustments to her makeshift hood, then greeted the man. ¡°Ahem, hello there! What brings you here?¡± She saw the man was wielding an ax and swallowed. ¡°Oh, I knew someone was there. Say, who are you? Never seen you in this area before, and who are you?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ I am Gretel!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah blurted. Damn fool-sounding name! The man looked puzzled, ¡°Well then, what would you be doing here at Leoy¡¯Shaah¡¯s house?¡± A pang of fear crossed her heart. ¡°Err¡­ I don''t know, I heard some of my neighbors speak about this house, and how some crazy person set the whole thing ablaze! I don¡¯t know who Leoy¡¯Shaah is, but can you tell me?¡± ¡°But, of course!¡± The man planted his ax firmly into the ground in a rather aggressive manner, before speaking once more: ¡°Leoy¡¯Shaah was a woman neither me nor anyone else really knew all that well, in fact, I¡¯ll admit ha not heard of her before I heard of this house fire. Supposedly, a woman named Leoy¡¯Shaah set this house a¡¯ fire. And the village has not seen her since. Have heard that she had self-exiled herself. Though, those are just rumors¡­¡± ¡°Say, are you from the farming district? I haven¡¯t seen you here.¡± ¡°I am,¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah lied, ¡°I have to say, had quite the trouble with soil recently. Perhaps we have not prayed hard enough.¡± The man went silent, which scared Leoy¡¯Shaah, she did not know whether this man could actually make out her features, and just did not know who she really was, or if she was adequately disguised. ¡°Ah, where are my manners? I am Hayden. Pleased to meet you.¡± He outstretched his hand, one that Leoy¡¯Shaah shook in a heartbeat. Had she not the disguise, she would have shrunk away from social interaction. But she was not Leoy¡¯Shaah, she was Gretel. The man scrunched up his nose. ¡°You smell like this house, burnt. And may I ask why you wear a cloak?¡± Lying time. She thought. ¡°I am actually a nomad,¡± She fibbed, ¡°I came here a few months ago.¡± Suddenly, the man looked worried. ¡°I suppose you joined the covenant then?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah snapped hastily, ¡°I had quite a time there. Your chief Quon is very charismatic!¡± The man hefted his axe, looking to the side. ¡°Anyways, I should be going now. I am a lumberjack, so I am headed to the forest!¡± He was about to leave, then a look of suspicion crossed his face. ¡°Hang on just a moment. Why are you at Leoy¡¯Shaah¡¯s house? I understand it to be of interest to explore such a place of¡­ Anger and sadness. But that doesn¡¯t explain why you have yet to leave as I.¡± ¡°Oh! Ummm¡­.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah was puzzled at how blunt the question was, this man spoke softly, perhaps to compensate for such an axe. ¡°Well, I heard this woman was quite a recluse!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah blurted. ¡°She was quite the disturbance, so they moved her out here.¡± Hayden raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Y-yes, and since she is gone, I was planning to rebuild the home¡­ And possibly live in it, or sell it.¡± Hayden looked at her for a few moments before shaking his head. ¡°This house is none of your property, and you certainly have no reason to be here unless Le¡­ Leoshah¡­ Ahem, Leoy¡¯Shaah gave you permission herself. It is wrong. You would not want someone to be out of your home, yes? Certainly not. Why would Leoy¡¯Shaah want that? I think not. I pity the girl. From what I heard, she was beyond saving. Offering herself to the forest as a noble sacrifice, as said by Quon himse¨C¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah remarked, ¡°What did they say about her?¡± Hayden lowered his axe once more, sighing. Perhaps he was getting bored of the conversation, one that was leading nowhere, after all. Good, I don¡¯t want to be disturbed. But must you leave so soon? What did they say about me¡­? Hayden scratched the back of his head. ¡°Err¡­ Quon had a gathering once more. He had informed us that Leoy¡¯Shaah had made a noble sacrifice, even in the time of bitter resentment of our ways, she knew what was right in her heart, and sacrificed herself to the woods. Quon said that she might yet be redeemed. ¡°W-well! That is certainly a story!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah bit her lip, ¡°Say, do you think that she could still be alive out there? It''s only been a couple of days.¡± Hayden shook his head. ¡°No chance. With the thing going on with the Unbon and all the dangers that lurk out in the dead of night¡­ I would be mistaken to believe such a frail woman could survive such a harsh Leoy¡¯Shaah¡¯s heart burned with affection. This man sounded incredibly empathetic to her struggles, even if you had managed to survive. ¡°So¡­ Yeah.¡± They stood still for a little while, neither really sure what to do. But Leoy¡¯Shaah decided to break the established silence: ¡°So, I suppose you have a lot of trees to chop, huh?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ Farewell, I suppose¡­¡± Hayden began to leave, but suddenly, he turned. ¡°As a matter of fact¡­¡± Hayden said, ¡°If I¡¯m really going to be honest¡­¡± He approached Leoy¡¯Shaah, causing her to almost take a step back from unexpectancy. ¡°I¡­ I am mainly going out to look for Leoy¡¯Shaah myself¡­¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah was stunned. ¡°I got excited when I saw you, since I thought that you might be her¡­¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah held her breath. Does he know?! ¡°But alas, you were not,¡± He said solemnly, ¡°I still try to help where I can. This woman obviously needed help¡­ Help that she did not have in time.¡± ¡°When I was very young¡­ My late father told me good deeds come around¡­¡± He looked at Leoy¡¯Shaah, ¡°Sorry for keeping you late, I¡¯m sure you have a schedule fuller than mine¨C and speaking of which, what is your profession anyways? ¡°Uh¡­ Ah, a-a nomad like you!¡± ¡°Ah! That''s what you told me earlier,¡± He put his hand to his head in a playful fashion, ¡°Anyways, I should be going now. There are houses for sale as you go further into town. I bought one recently. I have to say, It is very peaceful near the farming district.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll think about it.¡± ¡°Anyways, I¡¯ll see you later!¡± He strolled off into the direction of the forest. Leoy¡¯Shaah stood there, trying to make sense of what she was feeling. Was it love? No, not strong enough. Perhaps uncertainty? Yes, some of that was definitely there. But¡­ That sensation¡­ She swore she could have felt it before¡­ Yes¡­ It was that same feeling she had when she and Zayno had crossed paths for the first time. That feeling¡­ That was the dawn of a new friendship. When Leoy¡¯Shaah later got to the nearest body of water, that being a small stream that carried nearly crystal-clear water down from the alps, and gazed into her own eyes from the reflection, finding out rather quickly that her disguise only partially covered her face, despite her confidence from earlier. She took more care into tucking the parts on her face into areas which they could not slip from. In the end, she was satisfied, and strolled confidently into town. As she did, she noticed that the villagers, although noticing her, and eyeing her for a moment or two, ultimately ignored her for the most part, which Leoy¡¯Shaah was quite used to. However, she could sense that this was a different type of dismissal. The inadequate social interaction versus being that of a target of discrimination. I am no longer Leoy¡¯Shaah. She reminded herself, I am Gretel. Now, It seemed really, the only thing left to do was decide who Gretel would be. What sort of person might adorn a mysterious, let alone, charred cloak? Perhaps a sorceress? Leoy¡¯Shaah thought. No! I must be stupid! A sorceress would only arouse more suspicion! Perhaps It would be best to continue with my¡­ Less provocative profession. As she walked by, she noticed people weren¡¯t in the most pleasant mood. What got her to stop in her tracks, was the sound of a woman wailing. ¡°Nooooooooo, my babies!!!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah whirled around in a fashion she would later characterize to Gretel. The woman behind her was in a state of absolute despair, bawling like she had the sea to give rather than the rain. ¡°Please! I beg of you! Find them¡­ Waaaaaah!¡± She was latched onto one of the guards that was stationed near the area. ¡°Let go of me you crazy woman!¡± One of the guards responded, shoving her away, onto the ground. She landed in a pitiful crying heap. Leoy¡¯Shaah felt some sorrow for the woman, but Gretel matched the woman¡¯s despair. The second guard towered over her and lowered his spear. ¡°I am truly sorry for your children, Miss Serunya, but there be no bringing them back¡­ Not from those savages.¡± In response, Serunya knelt down and screamed. ¡°RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!¡± The guards stood there for a few minutes, then left. Leoy¡¯Shaah watched this woman weep with sorrow of her own. However, the woman took notice of Gretel staring at her. ¡°Huh? Woman? Can you please help me?¡± Gretel froze, trying to decide on a response. But the woman didn¡¯t allow her this privilege, she crawled up to her and grabbed her knees. ¡°My children were taken by the Unbon! Please, woman! You must be a veiled wife, of some sort of noble or merchant! All I ask is for you to persuade your husband to shed light of it! Please!¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Gretel asked. The woman wiped away her tears and stood up. ¡°My name is Serunya, I have two boys and a girl that were out hunting with my husband, Wohun. They have not returned in a day and with all the Unbon sightings in the past, I¡­¡± Serunya shuddered, ¡°Y-you are a wife or a concubine at least¡­ right? ¡°I am not. I simply wear this because I feel cold at times,¡± Gretel admitted, ¡°However, you might take this to Quon, I think he would be as enraged as you over something like this.¡± But Leoy¡¯Shaah knew it to be a lie. Quon didn¡¯t care about people, he casted Leoy¡¯Shaah aside like she was an animal, and Zayno was killed for bringing light to such an issue in the first place. Zayno¡­ Remember what you''re here for. ¡°I wish I could help you, but unfortunately, there is nothing I can do.¡± The woman stared at her with misery. ¡°You must be a witch then! Please, if you are, curse them or bless us. See into their minds and play tricks upon them!¡± The people nearby began to look at Gretel. Gretel gave a sad smile, then removed the woman from her ankles. ¡°I am sorry, I have no idea as to the dangers that lurk beyond the gates.¡± You do, and it is brutal. One more night and I would have been meat for the beasts. ¡°Perhaps you can find help with the hunters? They know the land better than others.¡± They will not help you. And even if they did, what would they help with? Searching? You know they are likely already dead, but you don¡¯t want to face it. I am Gretel now. How strange¡­ Serunya crawled away at this, and curled up outside of a house, presumably hers. Leoy¡¯Shaah saw she could do nothing more. This was a village of misery and sadness. And she knew not what she would do once she followed the silent calls of Zayno. And so, Leoy¡¯Shaah continued on her journey through town, making sure as to not cross paths with anyone that might recognize her. No time to look for a better disguise, I must get to the top of the mountain, but which one? She stopped at the pavilion. The tarps brought back painful memories, mostly of Wanu. Look, Alexandra! They are having a festival of the yearly blessings! What would you like? I could buy anything for you my dear! What a sweet smile she had. But flames did not discriminate. ¡°Oh hey! I haven¡¯t seen you around this area before!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah stiffened, but then Gretel relaxed. She recognized the voice: It was Nisha. ¡°Tis¡¯ be a new landmark for I.¡± ¡°Ooooh¡­ You are a Gypsy?¡± Gretel hesitated, all lies were different iterations, no point in trying to tie a frayed rope. Gretel stuttered, ¡°I-I am. My husband came to this town with me from a far away land. Nisha frowned, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t happen to be from the shiners in the distant east, would you?¡± ¡°Haha, no. I am merely from a standalone caravan moving north. I spotted this mountain and convinced my husband to take a rest here. Nisha began to look uncomfortable. ¡°What be troubling you?¡± Gretel said thoughtfully? ¡°Oh, nothing,¡± Nisha scratched the back of his head. ¡°I was unaware of how common travelers were¡­ Here? I¡¯m sorry if I come across as rude¡­ but, we have certain rules here that may be different from yours, to protect our village, we must pledge allegiance to our sacred ruler¡­¡± Nisha pointed to the statue of Quon that laid in the center of the massive plateau. It showed a much younger, regal figure dressed in the finest of garments. ¡°Ah, I see.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah said, trying to sound suprised at something she already knew. ¡°As I said, It is crucial to pledge your life to him and God. It is a sacred tradition that must be followed, should you or should you not call this your home. When you set foot onto this holy soil, you must follow this commandment.¡± Gretel blinked, not sure exactly how to respond to this woman, but Leoy¡¯Shaah did. ¡°I take it you are training to become a priestess?¡± Nisha took a step back in shock, ¡°Yes. How did you know?¡± ¡°I am a fine guesser, I suppose,¡± Gretel smiled involuntarily, but she kept it. Nisha raised an eyebrow, you wouldn¡¯t happen to be a witch, now would you?¡± Gretel chuckled, ¡°That''s the second time I was suspected as being such! Does this attire really suggest such a profession? Anyways, I should really get going now, there''s something I need to get to¨C¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Nisha stepped in front of her, blocking Gretel from leaving. She had a serious expression on her face. Damn it! What now? I am afraid I can¡¯t let you leave. Housing a sinner is as egregious as the sin of the sinner housed. Rejecting an invitation from Chief Quon is rejecting an invitation from the Lord himself!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah grinded her teeth. No! Dammit, no! Leoy¡¯Shaah knew Nisha had always been incredibly passionate about her services, but this was a bit much, even for her. ¡°So I won¡¯t let you leave and curse us all,¡± Nisha insisted, ¡°Please, go by your own volition, so I may not have to let the people know of your blasphemy.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah curled her fists. Haven''t you prayed to me enough already? God asked. It¡¯s really pathetic, how you get on your knees and say the things that you say. ¡°You said you were the strongest!¡± Shouted Quon. His voice hissed of old age, ¡°Where is my youth? Gone! Where is my power? Diminishing! Where is my trust for you? Running¨C Urk!¡± The thing snapped its fingers and Quon lost his next breath, yet he still stood. ¡°My, are you a revolting little waste of flesh and blood? Far too old to eat, you are certainly right about being past your youth. But you will never stop being useful as a vessel to me.¡± ¡°You told me you were the only one!¡± Quon yelled. ¡°You lied to me! There are more? Who do the Unbon pray to?¡± ¡°I shrug. You mean to tell me that you had not known the obvious? Of course there are others incubating in this world as well.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ You say quite a lot about my lies to you, but you have only your gullibility to blame for that. As for your lies, do these people know the true nature of the man they follow?¡± ¡°Quon lowered his head¡­ No, they can¡¯t know¡­¡± He trailed off, but then was plagued with another question, ¡°When you made me kill that Zayno boy¡­ What was the purpose of that?¡± The entity laughed, but not a confident, malevolent laugh, but rather an uncertain and distressed one. ¡°I shrug again. I did not force you to do anything, I simply whispered in your ear, and you went along and did it yourself.¡± ¡°But why would you ask me to kill him?¡± Quon asked. The entity seemed to ponder for a moment. ¡°Hmmm. I suppose I''ll tell you the truth. One day, as I was overseeing the village, like always, I noticed that Zayno¡­ Well, I couldn¡¯t read him. He was transcended beyond my visibility. Only a cold husk of skin and bone identified him.¡± ¡°Oh, and what does that mean?¡± ¡°That meant I could not know what his true intentions were.¡± ¡°You are an incubating god,¡± Quon said, ¡°Surely you must have a creator yourself?¡± ¡°Bah! You are stupid! You think that anything can create this? Nay, I was here when the dawn of the first light, and I will be here when the last sun sets, I am older than anything I surround myself with. My wisdom is infinite. You are but a blink in my eyes that I will soon forget. Make this last while you can, Quon. I will have forgotten you long before your bones become dust.¡± He cackled, as Quon stood there, frozen with fear and not sure quite what to do. ¡°Ah, that reminds me. Did you kill that girl like I asked?¡± ¡°No, not by my own hand. However, I did allow her to exit the village unprotected. Should she come back, she will not be let back in.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ What a coward. Does the idea of staining a blade with the blood of a defenseless woman disturb you, Quon? I might just make you slaughter children for my own amusement. Truly a remarkable animal you are. You killed Wanu¡­ but the fire masked her body from your eyes.¡± The god looked to the right. ¡°Hmmm, I can see the village right now, as clear as day. I see the Unbon have been giving them trouble, I will incubate a plan while you maintain order,¡± He floated past Quon, ¡°And I have one last request: If you see that girl again, I want you to have her brutally executed. I want you to spill her blood. Not like that hag, Wanu, where you looked away and refused to face your own power, no. You shall do this should she come back and immediately when she comes back, understood?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ My lord.¡± Then, the entity disappeared. ¡°M¡¯lord, all these years you never told me your name. What is it?¡± The entity laughed in response. My name? You¡¯ve been calling me by my name this whole time! ¡°Well, what is it then?¡± My name is¡­ God. Leoy¡¯Shaah walked alongside Nisha, her worries growing. ¡°Are you sure he is not occupied? Where I come from, it is quite rude to bother someone in prayer.¡± Nisha didn¡¯t respond, which only made Gretel panic further. Maybe I could slip away? She thought. Yes, I see no other way, but I must choose the right time. Nisha turned a corner, entering an area with a large amount of people trading and chatting. They gave a few glances, but none made any trouble. That was, until they crossed Abeer. Upon seeing Abeer, Leoy¡¯Shaah slowed her pace to that of behind Nisha in hopes of using her as some sort of shield to Abeer¡¯s observance. She had no such luck. She was a sharp-eyed one, that woman Abeer. Unfortunately, Abeer noticed them, mainly Nisha. ¡°Oh hello again Nisha! Say, have you run the errands yet?¡± She asked with a smile, and without giving Nisha a chance to answer: ¡°Who¡¯s this you¡¯re with? A new traveler?¡± ¡°Yes- I mean no, I have not completed today''s errands yet.¡± ¡°And where is my child? You left him at home?¡± Seeming mildly horrified, which was an expression that somehow existed. ¡°Yes, I have. He is fine, I left him with my husband and sister.¡± ¡°Oh, I guess I won¡¯t be paying you then,¡± Abeer said. ¡°There was payment involved? I was unaware. I thank you for reminding me, as my husband has barely managed to feed and house us, what a remarkable man he is!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah saw Nisha twitch. Perhaps in envy. Gretel cracked a smile. Abeer shot a death glare at Gretel. ¡°And who is this? Another traveler? As if we need any more mouths to feed during this time!¡± Like you do any work around here! But Leoy¡¯Shaah wasn¡¯t one to talk, she also had contributed very little to the community. I was rejected, you¡¯re simply lazy. ¡°This is Gretel,¡± Nisha motioned to Gretel, ¡°She is from the far south, and she had made quite a journey to get here.¡± Gretel waved and said nothing. Leoy¡¯Shaah was still sweating like a naked pig. Abeer looked at Gretel with some respect and suspicion. Better than pity and disgust, thought Leoy¡¯Shaah. Leoy¡¯Shaah also noticed she was beginning to share some traits with Gretel. She put that out of her mind. ¡°I assume you¡¯re taking her to meet my husband,¡± Abeer said proudly, ¡°If so, I hope you tell him how you neglected my child.¡± Then Abeer walked off and blended with the crowd. Nisha sighed, ¡°I do not like her. I see why Quon does not make love to her. It must be more pleasant to make love to a cactus.¡± Nisha smiled at Gretel. Gretel smiled back. After a bit more walking, Leoy¡¯Shaah caught something in the corner of her eyes. A figure, tall and with pale skin. It was Zayno. But Leoy¡¯Shaah could tell it was a non-human form of him, as he seemed like just an outline in the world, like he didn¡¯t fit in. Leoy¡¯Shaah could do nothing but stifle a gasp. He was in the dead center of the crowd that had collected in the square. No one paid him any mind, like he was invisible. Only you can see me Leoy¡¯Shaah. Do not worry about them¡­ However, I sense a presence here that I can only describe to you as¡­ Negative. Remember our promise. He turned and gazed up. Leoy¡¯Shaah followed his gaze, but it landed not on the mountain she expected, the village''s mountain, but a mountain not far to the northwest. A mountain with a flat plateau. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Nisha interrupted. ¡°Ah! Oh, I umm¡­ I-I w-was looking at the glorious mountain range there is here.¡± ¡°Yes! It is quite beautiful. The mountain range protects us from the far east. Where cruel badlands lie. That is why we must worship God and his prophet, Quon. He has kept us safe for many generations. You must understand.¡± Gretel nodded, turning back to where Zayno had been. He was no longer there. ¡°I do,¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah said, then she stuck out her leg to Nisha, causing her to stumble and fall, then she ran into the crowd and disappeared. The sun was beginning to set already, she had to make it, or else she would never know what Zayno was going to tell her. She could see nothing but black uncertainty that awaited her with Zayno. Would it be death? Life? Would she start anew? What horrors lied in the words of Zayno¡¯s tongue? Not the split peaks¡­ No, the flat one. But Zayno had claimed Dethroned mountain to be the tallest, even though Rival Peaks were the tallest. That didn''t make any sense. Off to Dethroned mountain I go! Leoy¡¯Shaah headed in the direction of the mountain. She walked quickly, then began to run when she saw less people. The fabrics that held the very essence of Gretel lashed ferociously in the wind that came to meet her. She could swear she saw an outline of someone every so often, a face. He¡¯s following me. Whatever thing Zayno was, he was certainly not evil, at least, not that Leoy¡¯Shaah knew of. There was once a man by the name of Hamud who had been a menace, stealing, killing, and causing destruction. And he was believed to be a vessel for a demon. According to the scrolls, demons were tricky, but were not patient. But Leoy¡¯Shaah couldn''t think of anything else he could be besides a spirit. She eventually got to the base of the mountain, well, not really the base, but the area where it met the elevation she already stood upon. From there, one could see the beaches of the coast. Then, she began her ascension. Purple and red-orange skies notified her of the sunset as she trekked around the mountain like a spiral. She would see it briefly, then it would disappear once again. Huffing, she took a break by the side. Many stairs had been placed long ago to make the trip to the top easier, however, it was said in the scrolls that Quon¡¯s ancestors annihilated the peak to prove his strength and connection to God. As one could imagine, such a gigantic amount of destruction impacted the stairs as well, chipping off huge chunks necessary for convenient climbing. It was upon reaching one of these ruined parts that Leoy¡¯Shaah took her break. She held onto her disguise tight, no longer to hide her identity, but to hide from the cold. The sky was getting progressively blacker. And white, yellow, and red dots sparkled. Leoy¡¯Shaah saw these dots, and was promptly hit with nostalgia. She was meeting her friend one last time. Perhaps he was, in fact, inviting her to look at the stars once more, by his side. Ah¡­ He is a lingering spirit, looking for one last goodbye. Leoy¡¯Shaah rose once more and stared at the gap in the stairs. It was covered with snow and fog made it impossible to see the bottom. She would die should she make a mistake here. Just jump, trust me¡­ That was Zayno¡¯s voice. Leoy¡¯Shaah hesitated, but found herself preparing to jump to the other side. She trusted him beyond anything, even if he wasn¡¯t who she thought he was. ¡°Here I go!¡± She ran and then leapt across the gap with all of the strength in her legs, she landed safe and sound on the other side. She caught her breath and stared back. The gap didn¡¯t feel so big now, but it had been dangerous nonetheless. She continued upwards, as did the temperature lower. Leoy¡¯Shaah came across more of these gaps and did the same, with some motivational words from Zayno¡¯s voice, but eventually, she began doing it on her own. Before she knew it, she was at the top. By now, her teeth were chattering, and she stood atop the round plateau that had once been almost half of the whole mountain. Decimated long ago, by a higher power. Leoy¡¯Shaah inspected all the rocks, nooks, and crannies that made up the surface of such a magnificent, yet flat peak. She found no signs of Zayno. By now, it was also very dark. The tri-moons had come up and were lighting the sky, but not only that, but the stars were ever-present on this night especially. And Leoy¡¯Shaah could no longer resist the urge to stare at them in utter awe. What made the heavens truly remarkable, was the sheer scale of it. Beauty was truly immeasurable. ¡°Magnificent, isn¡¯t it?¡± A voice asked. Leoy¡¯Shaah turned to find Zayno standing- no, sitting on a rock a couple of feet away. ¡°That''s what I like about it, you can see it from anywhere¡­ At least, you used to¡­ I should have known it would only be a matter of time¡­ Haaaah.¡± ¡°Z-Zayno¡­ There you are. What in this world be the reason you brought me here?¡± ¡°I brought you nowhere,¡± Urged Zayno, ¡°You did not have to obey my instructions, yet you did.¡± ¡°I followed your directions because I trusted you,¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah, said with a little more venom that she would have liked, ¡°What is the meaning of this anyways? What are you?¡± Zayno was silent. He seemed to swallow, but Leoy¡¯Shaah woulndn¡¯t have been able to hear over the breeze. ¡°A-answer me, or I¡¯ll¡­ I''ll¡­¡± She looked at the edge of the mountain. ¡°If you don¡¯t tell me everything you''re hiding from me right now¡­ I¡¯ll jump off this ledge and kill myself.¡± Zayno¡¯s head snapped away from the stars in partial disbelief, but Leoy¡¯Shaah suspected that he knew she would say that somehow. ¡°I will tell you. Please step away from that ledge, Leoy¡¯Shaah, I mean you no harm.¡± Damn! Why must your word be like a comforting lullaby? Leoy¡¯Shaah retreated back to the center. She slapped her arms to her sides. ¡°I¡¯m waiting.¡± ¡°I am God,¡± Zayno stated simply. Leoy¡±Shaah stared at him, ¡°What did you say?¡± I am God. I am the heavenly overseer. I am the man your leader seems to have confused with some other entities¡­ Yes, I am God, by the very definition.¡± ¡°N-no¡­ You¡¯re¡­ What?¡± Zayno slumped his shoulders, ¡°I know you don¡¯t believe me, ¡°Hahaha! Oh! I get it now! This is another nightmare isn¡¯t it!?¡± ¡°Leoy¡¯Shaah¡­?¡± ¡°Heh. I thought so. Everyone probably saw through my disguise too! What a waste! My whole life is ruined. And all thanks to you.¡± ¡°Leoy¡¯Shaah¡­¡± Zayno moved forward with blinding speed, or perhaps he teleported, but this no longer fazed Leoy¡¯Shaah. Still, Zayno aimed for her arm, but she simply slapped his hand away. ¡°Leoy¡¯Shaah, I know what you¡¯re thinking. Don¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°Shut up and get out of my head,¡± She said apathetically, ¡°If you were truly god, would you have let all this happen? Would you have let me suffer?¡± She shook her head, ¡°You pretended to be my friend for almost twenty years and I loved you! You watched my life crumble apart- You¡¯re probably the one that has been giving me those nightmares too! You¡¯re a demon! ¡°I hope I wake up from this hell!¡± And if this happens to be real¡­ I don''t care anymore. Leoy¡¯Shaah could take it no longer. She sprinted towards the cliff. ¡°Leoy¡¯Shaaaaaaaah!¡± Then she plummeted. This was a new experience. Falling¡­ for what seemed like forever, until the end. Suddenly, she felt warm arms around her. She knew it to be Zayno. Leoy¡¯Shaah, I will never let any harm come to you ever again¡­ Just give me a chance to explain myself, and it will all make sense¡­ Suddenly, she felt immense warmth radiate through her body, and light erupted in every corner of her vision. The falling began to slow¡­ Until she found herself standing on solid ground again. When the light faded, she was back on the peak of the mountain. She turned around in disbelief. ¡°Zayno! You¨C¡± Zayno¡¯s body was glowing and steaming. His clothes smoked as well. Eventually, his aura dimmed and he confronted Leoy¡¯Shaah. ¡°I know,¡± he said calmly, but also with a bit of worry and sadness in his voice. ¡°It hurts me to see you in harm, but there is little I can do.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah asked again, with no anger this time, only curiosity. ¡°Those nightmares you had as a child were no nightmares¡­ They were visions, Leoy¡¯Shaah. The world will end soon¡­ In a couple thousand years. The black sky in your nightmares, it''s real and it will soon devour this entire world. But that is not even the worst of it. What stories have you heard about the sky?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah shuddered from the information. It hit her harder than any physical injury had. ¡°Are you telling me¡­ That the world will end?¡± Zayno looked at her and sighed. You were cursed¡­ As they say. Your people worship a god, not God but a god. Quon is but a puppet to this god. And you have the ability to see gods, demons, and other evil that would otherwise be invisible. These people are controlled by Quon. ¡°B-but, there is only one God!¡± I thought so too. But the universe is absurd, and its rules constantly change, which brings me to the cycle. Suddenly, Zayno stuck his hand upward. And the stars in the sky began to blur. They stretched infinitely into long glowing lines, almost making Leoy¡¯Shaah dizzy. ¡°Your people have been told that your sun and moons revolve around your world, and not only that, but your world is a flat plane. That is mostly false. Your world is round, like every other world¨C¡± ¡°There are other worlds?!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah exclaimed. ¡°...Yes. There are other worlds of different shapes and sizes, most barren dead rocks floating aimlessly, but some hold life like this world.¡± ¡°The universe is in a constant cycle, one only I have bore witness to and lived to tell the tale. I have no clue as to how things started, or how long this cycle has been going on for, but I have seen a cycle happen. The universe is designed to end. It will contract rapidly at its death and collapse into an infinite point. It will become a magic well.¡± ¡°A well?¡± ¡°A magic well is a point where all rules are changed and morphed into something random entirely, pocket dimensions of their own. I use them to travel where I want, but they do not tear¡­ most of the time. However, when a point becomes massive enough. Everything inside changes. Rules, laws, things that are so normal you would simply not be able to comprehend what the previous cycle looked like. I grew accustomed to these rules. But, these wells are destructive, especially in small forms. An elephant poses no threat to an ant, despite how much more massive it may be.¡± ¡°But, I will not live to see the end of this universe. You, however, will.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah took a step back. What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°It means, my dear Leoy¡¯Shaah, that I have entrusted you to become the next heavenly overseer,¡± He spread his arms out. You will live longer than anyone else. You will outlive your people. You will outlive your friends. You will outlive your enemies. All will be but a blur to you in the times to come. No harm shall come to you until I see you fit to carry your own mortality. You shall have no other ability besides immortality. You shall walk across all lands, sail across all seas, fly across all skies, and jump between stars and galaxies. You will see it all, Leoy¡¯Shaah, you will see the evil and the good in the world. And¡­ It is the universe. Before Leoy¡¯Shaah could say anything, She felt dizzy, and fell to her knees. ¡°W-what¡­ are you doing to me¡­?¡± You have one more power that I never quite understood why you possessed¡­ But, nonetheless, you may see the invisible thing that never catches the eye of a common man or woman. You will see through all illusions. Take this great power, and lead the world to salvation¡­ Before it is too late. The world spun around her, and then¡­ She blacked out, only to wake moments later. May we cross paths again in the distant future¡­ Goodbye, Leoy¡¯Shaah. She wobbled to her feet and got up. Once her dizziness subsided, she quickly descended from the stairs. It was cold and at night now. She had no time to waste. She barely paid attention to where she was going, almost falling through the cracks several times. As she scampered down what seemed like the last flight of stairs, She noticed something peculiar: The torches at the mid-base were lit. They had not been lit when she had first ascended. She stopped short in her tracks. ¡°Is that¡­ Sohee?¡± Sure enough, when she focused enough, she made out Sohee in the distance, with her frail demeanor as always, clutching her satchel and looking nervous. When she spotted Leoy¡¯Shaah, a look of pity washed over her, a look that ashamed Leoy¡¯Shaah deeply. Sohee reluctantly beckoned Leoy¡¯Shaah to continue down the steps. Leoy¡¯Shaah obliged. A grave mistake. Had she forgotten that she had no allies in this town? Truly foolish. But she will eventually learn not to make mistakes like these. After all, she has all the time in the universe¡­ As soon as Leoy¡¯Shaah took the final step to solid paved ground, she heard the clicking of armor, and rapid footsteps. Before she knew it, she had both arms behind her back, and found herself surrounded by armed guards, including the captain himself. He leaned down, ripping away her disguise in an instant. She clutched her body in response. The night was truly colder. ¡°I knew it!¡± He growled, looking away in utter anger for a few moments, before turning back. ¡°There you are, you little worm. Busy getting into trouble again? His mocking childish voice did not fool Leoy¡¯Shaah. Kaqu¡¯s facial twitches made it painfully obvious that he was a few steps from losing his composure entirely. ¡°We meet again,¡± Was the only thing Alexandra could muster through grunts and yelps. Kaqu wrinkled his nose, ¡°Indeed. Are you stupid? Going to the top without protection? It''s honestly a miracle that you survived¡­¡± He inspected her up and down. ¡°A fox who turns tail is not so stupid as to come back, yet here you are. You should have died in that forest¡­¡± He shrugged, ¡°No matter, If Quon allows it- speaking of which, perhaps I should ask my f-- I mean, Quon if he would have his carpenters carve a pillory just for you. But anywho, If he were to allow me, I will take you to the gate from which you entered, and have you reveal the weak spots.¡± ¡°I shall do no such thing,¡± Snarled Leoy¡¯Shaah, to which Kaqu took a few steps back, as if afraid of being bitten. Then I would happily put you to the blade. But unfortunately, Quon wants to watch your execution himself. So, we shall go now. Upon arriving at the square, they were met with Quon, dressed in the finest of garments. His robes made up of the finest furs man could hunt and skin. It made Leoy¡¯Shaahs coat look like complete garbage compared to his. Quon looked horrid in the combined moonlight and firelight. Wrinkles of old age and endless hardship plastered his wise face. But looks could deceive. Leoy¡¯Shaah had never seen him with a flat stomach, nor a tiresome workload. She left no pity for a facade that demanded such. As the guard marched her in a beeline straight for the stage which Quon and his family stood upon, she made out more and more details in the light. Faces. People. All tainted by the smoke and orange light emanating from the torches that lined the sides of the path they walked. All these people with grim expressions on their faces. Leoy¡¯Shaah was nobody to them, yet her death would still disturb them. Strangely, she did not fear for her death, rather, she feared for others for once in her life. She didn¡¯t know why. ¡°Move it,¡± One of the guards prodded her. ¡°Good evening.¡± Quon greeted in a eerily calm tone. ¡°I know that you and I have never met. May I ask you what you hold against this village? Why must you be so hateful?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah remained fixated on his boots. She couldn¡¯t help but wonder how many skulls he had crushed with his boots, not the ones he wore on his feet, but his metaphorical boots, the ones he could command to do his bidding at his whim. ¡°Very well,¡± Quon sighed, ¡°Are you sorry for what you have done? Are you sorry for your blasphemy?¡± ¡°You throw that word around a lot. I have to wonder if you actually believe it.¡± Quon took a step forward, but Kaqu came forth and whispered something in his father¡¯s ear. Quon grimaced. ¡°Nay, a swift end is one she must meet before the eyes of these people, now stand back!¡± A slight gasp rippled through the sides of the path, reminding Leoy¡¯Shaah of exactly how many souls would bear witness to her grotesque end. She stood firm, now raising her gaze directly into Quons eyes, to see if there was any soul left in the husk that stood before her. She saw no soul of any kind. None that she could recognize, at least. She closed her eyes. ¡°Do your worst. I¡¯ve suffered throughout my whole existence, and I see no more reason to play with life as if death isn¡¯t the only answer.¡± She spread her arms confidently, ¡°I hope you believe those lies you tell to us every day. The poison you feed us. And I hope that you believe by putting me to death, perhaps it might solidify how needless force might be in order for salvation through worship. I just want to let you know that I don¡¯t believe in your god. I believe in myself. One who has done nothing but love and care for me.¡± A larger gasp rippled again. Quon looked at them with mere annoyance, then reached for his battle axe, hefting it clumsily. ¡°I have never heard of this god you put your faith into. Do you mind telling me his name?¡± ¡°His name is simply God. Though, I¡¯ve called him something different¡­ You see, he was my one and only friend, he lived among us. He was a hunter, and when you killed him, you took everything from me. So now he has found me yet again. In his name, I will use your blade as an outlet for my voice, should it be here by the right ears.¡± You want to know his human name? His name was Zayno, and he was the one you threw off the cliff just three days ago.¡± Quon blinked, then he raised his axe in anger. The guard behind her threw his boot on Leoy¡¯Shaah¡¯s back, shoving her forward on the stage. ¡°Who¡¯s Zayno?¡± Muttered one of the guards. ¡°Beats me,¡± replied another. Leoy¡¯Shaah had no time to think, for the next second, the axe came down on her neck. LeoyShaah I: 0004 Leoy¡¯Shaah had mistakenly thought the axe had missed, but she felt something hard strike her nape. ¡°What are you? Blind!? Do it again, do it right!¡± Quon¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°Hold her down properly!¡± There were murmurs among the crowd. Leoy¡¯Shaah blinked. She had not perished yet, but her end would come quickly for sure.The guard protested. ¡°But you did hit her chief¨C!¡± ¡°Do you take me for a blind man?!¡± Quon demanded, ¡°I know what I saw with my own eyes! She moved away from the blade! Your folly, not mine!¡± Quon glared around at the rest of the guards, muttering under his breath, his gaze fell upon the captain. ¡°My son, come forth and hold her down for me,¡± Requested Quon. ¡°With pleasure,¡± replied Kaqu as he shoved the full weight of his body onto Leoy¡¯Shaah¡¯s back once more. She gasped for air. At this rate, she would probably die from the lack of air than a chop to the head. ¡°Damn it, my shoulders hurt. Pray let it be done in one swing.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah felt the pressure of something slamming into the back of her head. It hurt, bad. But she did not lose her grip on her mortal plane. What sort of thing are you tring to do here, Quon? You¡¯ve obviously missed your stri¨C Wait a moment. That wasn¡¯t her voice she was hearing, it was someone else¡¯s voice. Something else¡¯s voice. ¡°What the¨C Son, what sort of game are you trying to play here? The axe just missed her head entirely!¡± Captain Kaqu stuttered, ¡°I-I¡­ Father, have my eyes deceived me, or did the blade not cut her skin?!¡± ¡°If you can¡¯t do one simple thing, then get out of my way!¡± Quon seemed to make some sort of prayer that Leoy¡¯Shaah had never seen him do before. At least, one that she never saw anyone else do. His lips moved fast and abruptly, his beard shaded orange in every angle. ¡°Oh god, just finish the job already,¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah muttered. She didn¡¯t know where the confidence came from, she just felt it there. Gladly. She thought she heard someone whisper. Quon finished his prayer, for he had his arms on the axe. ¡°Get up.¡± He spat at Leoy¡¯Shaah, then he addressed the crowd, ¡°May all bear witness to this day, and may it leave you with a loving kiss rather than a scar. A reminder to never take God''s protection for granted.¡± Oh, how flattering. Why does something feel off¡­? There was the voice again. Was Zayno still around? Are you going to let this happen, Zayno? I thought you loved me. She was met with bitter silence. ¡°Look at me, Leoy¡¯Shaah, may I be the last face you see,¡± Quon said menacingly. ¡°Then let me allow my tongue to dance. Phuck you.¡± Then Quon swung the axe. He was an old man, perhaps only a few strokes from senility, but he had been a warrior in his youth, Leoy¡¯Shaah saw the blade move towards her throat. She didn¡¯t close her eyes, instead, she looked him in the eyes and saw little soul left, similar to a stash of meat that had been hidden, but not cleverly enough, from wolves. Craakkk! Clang! The axe handle flew off, shattering in the process and silence became dwarfed by an absence of sound that had yet a word to encapsulate it. Everyone gasped again. Did you see that? It looked like¡­ The axe was crudely made¡­ Must be¡­ Quon took a shaky look down at the handle of the axe he held. His breath also shook with confusion and¡­ No¡­ A feeling all too familiar to Leoy¡¯Shaah. He stood still. She had no idea what divided him, but she was beginning to suspect something wasn¡¯t quite right with him to begin with. Finally, he spoke, ¡°Take this woman to the pit of stones.¡± The guards seemed shocked, ¡°Sir?¡± They addressed the captain instead of Quon. Kaqu seemed just as shocked as the guards. But he made his decision swiftly, ¡°You heard the chief! Take her to the pit of stones!¡± The guards hurried and grabbed her by the arms and legs and dragged her through the icy streets. What was that!? What happened!? Leoy¡¯Shaah thought. Kaqu kept his distance from Leoy¡¯Shaah, as if she might explode any minute, he eyed her with confusion and fear. Leoy¡¯Shaah had never had never known the feeling of being feared, but in the times to come, she would find it to flow like the sap of a maple tree. Oh, the horror tht awaited! Leoy¡¯Shaah remained quiet throughout the journey, snow began to fall ever more. She could hear more people marching behind her. Quon and the priestesses, and perhaps some of the other villagers. The stone pit. An axe had many faces, wood, rock, animal, and of course, human. But this stone pit only served one purpose, not to be mistaken for simplicity over cruelty, for this area had been carefully crafted to seat man as well as death himself. The Pit had been used only once: A legend of a man who had¡­ Transformed into a beast and developed a taste for human flesh and a thirst for blood. He only met his fate when he was crushed ¡®neath the stones that fell upon him. Leoy¡¯Shaah then turned her attention to the stones that laid above. No mistake for nature, it had been manipulated by men who aimed to turn death¡¯s whim of life into a killing mechanism. Quon¡¯s voice boomed, with another voice echoing behind his: ¡°Throw her into the pit.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. In a flash, she was discarded into the hole in the ground like a deer carcass that had nothing left to provide to its hunters. She tumbled in, hitting rocks and sticks as she bounced down. Only the strongest of people could survive their stoning. That was why the fire was much preferred. That was why Wanu was killed. That was why Leoy¡¯Shaah knew of these horrific practices. Because Wanu told her. When the rolling finally stopped, Leoy¡¯Shaah raised her head, shaking and cold, catching a glimpse of Kaqu handing her raccoon coat to one of the guards. Bastard¡­ She rose up and realized that everyone was here already, looking down at her with worry and pity. And she saw a man out of the corner of her eyes that she recognized: Hayden. He had shoved his way through the crowd to get a good look at Leoy¡¯Shaah. The look on his face was one that Leoy¡¯Shaah dared to look at. Foundation built upon lies came crashing down, and rightfully so. Gretel. He mouthed. She looked away from him, really anywhere to set her eyes upon. Yes, Quons eyes would suffice. She would not look away, even in death. Quon seemed to struggle with every breath. But he glared at Leoy¡¯Shaah with bitter hatred she didn¡¯t understand. She had done nothing of harm to this man. She had been but a thorn in his boot, a small inconvenience that he chose to ignore. Why now¡­? ¡°Bring down the stones!¡± Quon shouted. May this demon perish where she stands!¡± The sound of crumbling and crashing came from above. She looked up, watching what appeared to be small pebbles, though she knew them to be boulders the size of houses, bouncing and crashing down the steep slope they had rested upon the cliff of. And they seemed to accelerate with every breath taken. They barreled towards her with lightning speed. She tore her gaze away from the chief and set it on Hayden. He had a look of horror and despair on his face. Upon seeing Leoy¡¯Shaah mirror his emotion with a refraction of anger ¡®neath, he came to be the one who looked away. He could not bear to watch another human perish, even one he barely knew. She glanced back at the rocks. The rumbling had melted away in her mind in place of clear thought. Then, she took one last look, a survey if you will, at the crowd. The last thing she saw before death''s hand took his spear, was an entity standing in the crowd. She could barely make out its face, or its sex. It had male features, but its face twisted and turned into variations of wrath. Its face ceased its transformation when it saw her, as if surprised that she could even see it. In a blink, it was gone, and the rocks came to her. ¡°It is done,¡± Quon said to himself under his breath, ¡°It is done.¡± Kaqu turned and vomited. ¡°Apologies, it was simply bad food,¡± he explained to the people who surrounded him. But none really showed any sign of reception. They stood frozen like that of a statue. The stone pit had not been used in their lifetime, and they had not expected it to be used. The priestesses, especially the head priestess, were beyond shocked, and maybe even revolted. Meanwhile, Quon stared off into space, trying to get over what had happened earlier. Had the axe truly missed like he had assumed. It had to have been ¡°Done like a true coward,¡± The entity spoke, ¡°Now, what do you plan to do with the Unbon?¡± ¡°Is now really the time?¡± Quon hissed under his breath, ¡°I suppose it is. We need the people to forget of¨C¡± Quon suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest and fell to his knees. I sense she is still alive. How was I wrong? I have neven been wrong! I blame you¨C- ¡°Who¡­?¡± Quon sputtered. And there she was, standing as if nothing had happened. She perched upon the magnificent boulders like a hawk upon the tallest trees. Her eyes filled with nothing but the will of God. ¡°How is she still alive!?¡± Quon seethed to the entity, ¡°How?! Is this your doing? Do you intend to mock me¨C?¡± Quon looked over at the entity. He wished he hadn¡¯t. The thing was twitching and seemingly having some sort of erratic episode, it stumbled and rolled and made retching sounds, then it crawled into a fetal position and clutched its face. Its head and body began to solidify into a coherent form. It was a man¡­ And his features became more defined by the second. His chest inflated and compressed. The light! The darkness! The Black Sky! The Black Sky is coming after me! Quon took a step back I made a deal with the devil! God, what is this that I witness!? ¡°DON¡¯T SAY MY NAME IN VAIN!¡± The entity rose and shook the world with his booming voice, ¡°YOU HAVE NO WAY OF COMPREHENDING MY NATURE!!! YOU HAVE NO POINT OF REFERENCE FOR POWER; NONE STAND AGAINST ME! NONE EXCEPT YOU. FINISH THE JOB! KILL HER!¡± Quon did a double take down at Leoy¡¯Shaah, who cocked her head in defiance. Quon closed his eyes. Burn her with fire. Burn her with fire. Burn her with fire. He stopped and shot up. ¡°Burn her! Burn her with fire!¡± Quon screamed. The priestesses yelped at the sudden outburst. ¡°Purge that abomination from my sight this instant!¡± The eldest priestess swallowed and approached Quon. ¡°My chief¡ª¡± She rested her hand upon his shoulder. ¡°Unhand me you wench!¡± Quon shrieked, grabbing her by the hair and dragging her near the edge of the cliff. ¡°Please! My chief, I only wish to see what you see!¡± She said through labored breaths. He dragged her close to him with the strength he had left. ¡°No. No, you do not!¡± He then threw her to ground, mere inches away from a fateful plummet, and she promptly scurried over to safety of the others. What is that? A¡­ Another god?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah thought. ¡°No!¡± Screamed the entity, ¡°Don¡¯t let them look at me Cennend! Let me choose who I want to be! Not them! They don¡¯t know what they want of a god! They don¡¯t know! I do! Let me choose!¡± Quon felt compelled to do three things: Walk away, throw himself off the cliff, and investigate the entity further. He felt the strongest of the third. He took painful steps toward the entity. ¡°Wrath, lava! Despair! What do I want to be? Let me choose¡­!¡± ¡°You must have something left to give me!¡± Quon shouted. The priestesses gazed upon him like the madman that he was. ¡°That¡¯s it! Make lava exist from nothing!¡± ¡°N-No!¡± ¡°You are a god, then prove it to me!¡± Quon shouted. ¡°I have no strength left to fight it!¡± He gasped. His arms steamed and morphed. He screamed in pain. His face finally came into view. But it was a mortal face. Taking the form of a man with orange hair¡­ His skiing came into place as well. Tan. his nose short and his eyes full of hate. ¡°How did she become what she became? She did not ask for it! I demanded it!¡± Then his body began to cool. But just as Quon thought it was over, one last transformation happened. His body stiffened. ¡°I know my name. It was to be Manipu!¡± Then, a thick barb began to sprout from his body. One with many legs, no arms moving about. But his skin flew over it like a cloth and the many small hands disappeared under his skin. Nrrrhaaaaaaaahhhh!!! ¡°Help me! Fill me with the power you gave me before¡­ do it again!¡± I have many children, many children who you may worship¡­ I am the Black Sky, I turn what you understand into something you cannot comprehend¡­ In return, I feed on this world. Manipu coiled backward, but just as he was about to jump onto Quon and kill him, he stopped and fear stroked his heart. A woman''s voice only he could hear: Careful my pseudo-brother, you made a deal that you have to honor, regardless of how worthless you are¡­ Manipu wiped his bloodied mouth, ¡°Then your family will pay.¡± But Quon didn¡¯t listen Leoy¡¯Shaah stared up at the silent scene that was on full display, but only to her. None of the other villagers paid it any mind. They simply stared at Leoy¡¯Shaah in shock. Some had even fainted. Leoy¡¯Shaah wanted to see what sort of horrors were taking place far above the pit, but she already knew what was going on: Quon was having a conversation with his god. Quon jerked forward over the cliff and screamed. ¡°SHOOT HER WITH FIRE! DO IT!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah saw dim glows around her, arrows being lit, and logs, sticks and leaves being thrown in. She knew what was about to occur. I feel so calm¡­ and yet¨C The air became painful. Not even heat, just pain. As if she were flaying upon the sight of a thousand suns. But she knew that such a grandiose comparison meant nothing if had not the means to comprehend it. She collapsed to her knees and cried from the excruciation, her tears simply boiling away. Eventually, the pain became nothing to her. Served a plateful, she could only eat so much. She shakily rose from a blackened spot on the ground. Her clothes had been completely eaten from the flames, and her hair blackened at the ends. She took a step forward, then another step, then another. Slowly, she made her way up the curved edges of the pit. Villagers screched in terror and ran away. She marched agonizingly, as the smoke began to clear, she saw three figures. The priestess, Captain Kaqu, and Quon. Quon¡¯s cowardice returned. ¡°She¡¯s still alive? Nonsense! Fire cleanses the wicked soul¡­ She is nothing but wicked! There shall be nothing left of h¨C¡± Then Leoy¡¯Shaah emerged from the shadows, her feet the coals and the ground a pair of feet. She clutched her bare breasts and the wind picked up further, wind trying to reunite fire and ice, Leoy¡¯Shaah melted a path that then smoked. Leaving not an inch to survive the blazing encounter. Such an ungodly sight it must have been! But Quon stood firm. Kaqu flinched, as if about to turn and run, but (Story incomplete) LeoyShaah I: 0005 Leoy¡¯Shaah starved for nearly a decade before a villager mustered the courage to sneak into the dungeons and free her. Leoy¡¯Shaah was suprised to find that this villager was none other than Nisha. All the guards had been mobilized to defend the rest of the town, and the prisoners were left for dead, all except her. Her time in prison had forged her mind with the mistake of man. The rooms grew quieter every day since her imprisonment. With her only social interaction being that of the wailing pleads and cries of the imprisoned, all out of view. They had been talkative with Leoy¡¯Shaah initially, but the knife of death had slowly pried their soul from their bodies. Slowly, these voices died out, and in their place came the smell of rotting meat. Needless to say, the first words to come from Nisha¡¯s mouth were ¡®I¡¯m¡¯ and ¡®sorry.¡¯ ¡°I haven''t seen you in quite a while,¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah said, as she slipped on a garment. ¡°The ax shattered¡­¡± Nisha muttered. ¡°What was that?¡± Nisha looked away. ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°I am surprised you still remember that day,¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah replied. I hear whispers of war through the roots of the dying trees. What has happened here?¡± ¡°The Unbon attacked us, just like you said¡­¡± ¡°Just like any person would be able to predict!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah snarled. ¡°Haah¡­ I don¡¯t know what to tell you¡­ I had no idea where you could be! But things have changed greatly since your imprisonment.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°The Unbon have brought their god to bless this town¡­ but in return we must give sacrifices,¡± They first demanded my husband. He was a brave man¨C¡± She stopped. ¡°I want you to bless him, Leoy¡¯Shaah¡­ Please.¡± ¡°Get out of my way,¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah hissed. She no doubt wore a snake¡¯s shedded skin in her voice. Her voice rattled like the venomous reptiles of the harsh plains. ¡°I know you have your next steps in mind¡­ If God has really bestowed you with these¡­ abilities, perhaps we can combat their mad god as well!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah looked out into the bitter cold, ¡°And who is their mad god?¡± ¡°The same name as the tribe bears, Unbon. He is strong and fast, they say.¡± She stopped, as did Nisha. Before them laid a sight of destruction. Many of the houses burnt and destroyed. ¡°Unbon is rumored to be the god of Brash¡­ And¡­ Well, they call him that. But we call him the menace. Leoy¡¯Shaah frowned. ¡°Are those banners?¡± Nisha sighed. ¡°A lot has changed while you were gone, I am sorry.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah stared at the banners. ¡°Who put those here?¡± ¡°People from a kingdom in the north came and put these here. They said that this village was part of their territory. They are the Kwnuollans.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah had heard of these people before, but only in brief eavesdropping of nobles. ¡°I find that quite preposterous!¡± Nisha added, ¡°The Unbon have been relentless.¡± ¡°So, who is the new chief?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah said. ¡°There is none.¡± Nisha said. Leoy¡¯Shaah stopped again. ¡°Then who is in charge?¡± Nisha looked sheepish now. ¡°That would be governor Kazezne.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah pondered for a moment. Nearly a decade ago, she had been told the turh about everything by this prisoner. He had passed away not long after she had arrived. What if she had been jailed later? She couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it had been luck, or if there was a higher power at play. She hoped for the latter. As one could imagine, telling someone such a monstrous, life-shattering truth would be met with denial, madness, and utter shock, along with a plethora of other emotions. Leoy¡¯Shaah¡¯s calm demeanor was not to be mistaken for indifference. Shortly after her only source of social interaction disappeared, she began to go insane. But at the end, she was so drained of energy and will, that she refused to A monstrous building laid in the center of the town square. It was not the only of its kind, as it was surrounded by similar monolithic structures, but what made the center one monstrous in particular, was its shadow. Just when you would think the roof could not reach any higher, its curved wedge of a roof split down the middle, forming a pincer-like design. Leoy¡¯Shaah had not been sure as to what sort of thing compelled the architect of said building to create such an oppressing structure, but she knew the effect it had on the area. Plants within the shadows wilted, the suns treating it as their plaything. Leoy¡¯Shaah could see the terror behind Nisha¡¯s calmness. Still, the building was silently killing any will in these people. ¡°I don¡¯t believe in their God,¡± Nisha said, ¡°And I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll believe anyone anymore.¡± ¡°Good. Nisha, I have something I have to tell you¨C¡± ¡°Leoy¡¯Shaah!?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah froze; She had heard that voice years ago. Before she could decide what to say, a young man ran up to her in disbelief. ¡°She¡¯s alive! I told you she was the messiah!¡± He was not the only one to come. At least three others, one of whom Leoy¡¯Shaah recognized as Sohee and Hayden. It had been Hayden¡¯s voice she had heard, but she was surprised by a boy nearly a head smaller than her. He jumped out excitedly, ¡°Yes, yes! She looks exactly like she did when I first saw her!¡± ¡°How do you do, Miss Alexandra?¡± He asked chivalrously, extending a hand that was obviously shaking. Leoy¡¯Shaah eyed this boy with curiousity, but also concern. She eyed him for a few seconds before ultimately rejecting his offer. Wait¡­ that smell¡­ Leoy¡¯Shaah was practically drooling, but she didn¡¯t realize exactly how hungry she was until she saw Sohee¡¯s basket. The rich aroma tore through her nostrils, and she could not hold herself back. She lunged at Sohee, who dropped the basket and squealed. Leoy¡¯Shaah tore off the basket to find a vibrant assortment of food: Cheese, bread, fruits, and potatos. She ravaged it all, leaving not even the smallest of scraps behind. When she finished, she doubled over to clutch her stomach, which had an extreme reaction to the abrupt introduction of food. Mushy strawberry and potato oozed from her mouth in digestive defiance. Hayden¡¯s expression was unwavering, even bearing witness to one of Leoy¡¯Shaahs lowest moments, he still plastered a smile on his face. One that, admittedly, twitched with concern. By the time Leoy¡¯Shaah recovered, which only took a minute or two, she rose, invigorated, and almost matched the boy¡¯s excitement. He was ecstatic, but Leoy¡¯Shaah completely ignored him for the time being yet again. She greeted Hayden, having the words already preloaded under her tongue, ready to release into conversation, ¡°Hello Sohee, apologies for *ahem* taking that delicious basket, and hello again, Hayden.¡± In the almost ten years of her imprisonment, she had quite a bit to formulate thousands upon thousands of plans, conversations, situations, and complications. All of which she had neatly played out and resolved in her mind. Yet she forgot much of it not long after she opened her mouth. ¡°Hayden¡­ I¡­ I don¡¯t know what to say¡­¡± That was the thing. She had said quite a lot of things to Hayden while biding her time away from the suns, but the voice in her head was easily satisfied by her fabricated episodes, so it did little to prepare her for his reactions and responses. ¡°So¡­ I want to be blunt with you, miss¡­ Leoy¡¯Shaah. Where did you get your powers?¡± ¡°I got them from a god-like entity. He claimed he was the creator himself, but I am unsure of that.¡± ¡°I knew it!¡± The boy leapt up, before falling silent to await Leoy¡¯Shaah¡¯s response. Leoy¡¯Shaah trembled with anticipation, unsure of where the conversation might lead. She hoped they would not return her to whence she came. ¡°So¡­ Is it really you then? I don¡¯t know what to say¡­ But, Leoy¡¯Shaah, we¡¯ve spent quite some time trying to find you.¡± He sighed, ¡°Listen Leoy¡¯Shaah, I know this might sound strange, horrid things have been happening to this town. And I think you might be capable of helping us.¡± ¡°Will you join us in getting rid of the Unbon with your witch powers!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah finally had to ask: ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°I am Wylent!¡± The boy puffed up his chest. ¡°I am the one who reminded everyone of your powers. These two here assumed you to be merely a witch, to which I say, nay. You are far stronger than that! You are a god''s vessel! A soon to be leader!¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Leoy¡¯Shaah nodded. And why would you think that?¡± ¡°Hah! I¡¯ve dreamed of you! I never forgot that day! That day where I saw you break an axe, survive an avalanche, and walk on fire! Everyone ran that day! All ran, including my own parents, but not me. I knew you were not a witch to hurt us! You were a savior sent from the heavens! You are a vessel that will lead us to victory!¡± She looked around. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be all that surprised by what I said. Please tell me what has happened.¡± ¡°Invaders came from the front, back in 1026, not long after you went missing. They were the ones who allowed the Unbon to terrorize us for the past seven years.¡± Hayden explained. ¡°Hayden, you wouldn¡¯t happen to be¨C¡± ¡°I am. We currently have two enemies, and Kaqu had no idea¨C¡± ¡°Kaqu is still alive?¡± There was silence that followed. ¡°Yes. He is the captain of the guard unit, and other combatants.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah didn¡¯t know what to think. It had been Kaqu himself who had ordered her to be put in the dungeon in the first place. ¡°We no longer have a god, Leoy¡¯Shaah. When Quon passed, it appeared that God died with him. The Kwnuollans came soon after. We tried to stop them, but we had no defense. Their god came and did as he pleased.¡± ¡°But if what you say is true¡­ You might be our salvation.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah didn¡¯t know what to think. ¡°I¨C¡± Then Nisha spoke. ¡°Our shamans have said that people with gods linked to them have immense power. If you have a god linked with you¡­ Then, we might just be able to stand a chance.¡± By now the boy had been trembling with excitement. ¡°You would abandon your faith?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah snapped, ¡°How do you know he isn¡¯t listening to us scheming against him?¡± The question was meant to do two things: To uncover Hayden, Nisha, and Wylent¡¯s true intentions, and the second, to explain how the village had fallen so quickly. In the past, one walking by the village would assume it to be defenseless and unaware of its danger, but this was untrue, as any enemies would soon fall to fatigue, disorientation, and other weakness. Sure, if you incubated one of your own, you would stand a chance, but that chance would be very slim. Now the village was actually defenseless, and Leoy¡¯Shaah suspected she knew why. If our god exposed himself to our actions truly, he became one thing and one thing only¡­ His name Manipu. ¡°No. It was our faith that abandoned us, not the other way around! You think we would still march to our deaths in the face of betrayal? Why?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah responded with a glare. ¡°If you¡¯re wondering, Kaqu doesn¡¯t know about you yet. And if you want it to stay that way, you should hear us out.¡± ¡°Why should I?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah asked. ¡°Why not leave this God-forsaken place? ¡°Because the head priestess was the one who sent us!¡± Nisha interjected. A look of horror and anger spread across Leoy¡¯Shaah¡¯s face. ¡°You mean¨C¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Hayden approached Leoy¡¯Shaah and stood in front of her in case she were to become erratic. ¡°Listen to me, Leoy¡¯Shaah. The harsh woman we knew is gone. She is not who you remember.¡± ¡°She killed my mother. She helped that monster incubate a god,¡± She seethed, ¡°You don¡¯t know, do you? Quon isn¡¯t even from here! He came from the east!¡± She jerked her hand to the direction she supposed was east, ¡°He was sent here by a kingdom in the east to take this land, and control us! And that is exactly what he did.¡± ¡°We know,¡± Nisha sighed, ¡°The governor told us everything. At first, we didn¡¯t believe him, we insisted it was a lie, but the truth was soon unveiled. Kaqu¡¯s father was a liar and a false prophet. We know, Leoy¡¯Shaah, and we thought and we schemed. And now we are here. Please help us. We beg of you.¡± ¡°Agreed. We have no idea what power you might be capable of. The villagers have also spoken of rumors of a god living among¡¯st them.¡± Sohee insisted, ¡°Besides, have you ever seen your reflection? You have not aged a day since the last we saw you!¡± ¡°I must meet the priestess first.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah insisted. I must have a talk with her.¡± Hayden gritted his teeth. ¡°No. We must first take you to the shaman who helped us locate you.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah reluctantly accepted the offer. ¡°I will see where this takes me.¡±
The guard knocked on the door twice. One to alert Kaqu, and the other to inform him that they must answer with haste. The door flew open, and Kaqu appeared in the doorframe. ¡°What be it?¡± He asked in annoyance. ¡°They say the girl has returned!¡± ¡°You would have to be more specific!¡± Kaqu barked, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t mean that one we locked up years ago, would you? Do those people really still think she is holy? She had been merely a witch as most. But she was human nonetheless. Perhaps they found what remains of her?¡± The guard now looked visibly disturbed. ¡°I thought I had informed Marak of this poisonous fantasy these people hold so dear. They still want to believe God is with them. I saw him leave my father to death. There is no god watching us, soldier. We are but at the mecry of other men, and whatever chaos throws at us, and whatever we may inflict upon ourselves. Remind these people of who made the choice to spare them.¡± Kaqu began to close the door, but the guard put his foot between it. Kaqu glared at this man before seeing the change in his behavior. The human shimmer in his eyes was gone. Kaqu was stunned. ¡°That I have treated you with all but respect, as you deserve, ser. But might I remind you that I dine from the larger plate and not the smaller one? Marak sees this as only trouble for the future. And might I add that it was only when we had been brutally crushed ¡®neath the boot of our adversaries, and relentlessly ambushed and pillaged by those barbaric Unbon, did you finally surrender us to their clutches?¡± The soldier¡¯s strange tone held both despair and pride, as if two men were molded into one form, one that both reveled and suffered in a single breath. ¡°I hope you understand, that if Marak sees you in your times of weakness, he shall strike, and he has a quite venomous bite.¡± Then the soldier left. Kaqu kept the door open in utter confusion. Maraks mind altering techniques proved fearsome once more, and Kaqu knew this was only but the beginning. He wasted no time rushing back to change into his armor, then he headed out. Before him, paced a crowd of people as always. The tradition of village announcements had been kept. But Kaqu knew he could not speak freely, for his keen eyes spotted several men who were undoubtedly Kwnuollan agents. Still, he spoke with vigor, and he would persuade these people with every word he spoke, that they were to ally with him, and not them. Still, he felt his influence becoming smaller. Should a god still linger, I would have found him and used him to do my bidding, not as father had allowed it an advantage. Nay, I would have a sword to his neck. Another figure caught his eye. A young man with a dark grin on his face. He wore a cloak that brimmed with malice, from whence it came, Kaqu could not imagine. But the man¡¯s features were frightening. A sadistic smile that seemed only to grow with Kaqus attentive gaze, fitted accordingly with yellow teeth, all perfectly aligned and straight, yet all the same hue and shade as one another. He had not one missing. His presence almost beckoned confrontation, but Kaqu knew better. This man was defiant in his own right. He dressed the same, and held the same value of Kwnuollans, yet he stood out solely for his utter avoidance of like-minded people. Yet Kaqu ultimately felt that he recognized this man somewhere. He was a mixture of many things, but Kaqu could sense that somewhere inside that man was a familiar individual, but he could not put his finger on it. Kaqu ended his speech early. If things went well, perhaps the Kwnuollans would finally put an end to their horrendous alliance with the unbon. Pray their god forsake them. Kaqu thought bitterly. He looked back at where the mysterious individual used to be. To no surprise, he was not there when Kaqu returned his gaze. After he ended his speech early, as there was no news other than what he spoke, he returned to his home. It was grand and overlooked much of the village, having been built into the mountain that loomed over all. He sighed deeply. He was the last one. The very last. The horrors he discovered nearly a decade ago had not escaped him, as a matter of fact, he remembered the day as clearly as day. He had come home to find a bloody masscere. All had been slaughtered, Quon¡¯s wives, and all of his children had been brutally killed. The only body he did not find in the house was that of Abeer, the youngest wife. Kaqu suspected initially that she had gotten lucky, and fled, as Kaqu hadn''t found her anywhere in the village. Or maybe she had been killed, and was simply lying somewhere in the village. But as time passed, a horrid possibility crept upon Kaqu, presenting itself from the dark part of his head. Abeer had committed this atrocity herself. It nigh made sense, she had been a bitter, indifferent, and envious woman. Kaqu had run Quon, only to discover he had passed as well, having finally succumbed to his injuries¡­ Injuries cuase by that wretched Leoy¡¯Shaah. It filled him with some sort of closure to know that she had been rotting in some dungeon, the location of which, lost even to him. Yes, that sense of relief was what perhaps allowed him to resume his life rather than ending it. How can I ease my pain when these forces fight me wildly? We have lost all that has given us strength! Our god has left us to fend for ourselves, all the while the blasphemous people cry of oppression. They have all they ever wanted, yet feeble beliefs continue to actuate them against me! I have protected them all these years, and this is what they return to me? Kaqu didn¡¯t know it ¨C or perhaps he did, but had drowned himself in denial ¨C that the world was changing rapidly, and were the rules as well. A time where God did not touch his subjects, and when he did, he did so tenderly, but that was long in the past. Now there was no longer one silent, watching god. No, there were two, three, four, five! And Kaqu knew that people would speak for another very soon. Kaqu remembered something else, the time his father told him what the truth really was. Quon was a rebellious man. If you crossed him, he would no doubt cross you back, and deny you which you sought. Quon told Kaqu when he was only an adolescent, the origins of his journey. Quon had fled from a vile, wretched god in the east, and he had been sent under the guise of a mere mission to establish the spread of this god¡¯s power and influence, but remarkably, this was not very far from the truth. Quon had been in possession of a god of his own. One that had promised him newfound power, unlike any before him. And this power would only amplify with time. In fact, when Kaqu had been first called to Marak, he found a strange woman in his place. ¡°If you god ever shall return, the woman had said, ¡°We will feast upon him, and destroy his fibre, until there is nothing left, then we shall build a castle of his bones. Do not fear your god, he has given up his power already¡­ Fear us.¡± Kaqu had left, disturbed. He had returned the next day, however, to confront the woman with his wrath, only to find Marak instead, eviscerating his will to swing a sword with his mouth. Instead, he filed it to a blunt edge and conversed with Marak instead. Marak was a small man, but he was surrounded with a punishing aura that evoked a sort of redundancy in Kaqu. The whole meeting was fair and level, but upon leaving, the bitter reality set into Kaqu. He would be replaced swiftly and when that day came, he decided that he would not go down with a fight. He had been mistaken, that event would not be marked by a day. It would not be abrupt, rather, it would be a slowly burning candle. That candle would indeed go out in a blink, but it would not have had anything warning of its death. It would burn with the same brightness and ferocity as it always did, until it didn¡¯t And even though Kaqu felt like this, he was not stupid. He knew of the undermining that was taking place beneath him, until the ground enveloped him and he would be put in a casket. I¡¯ll burn this village to the ground before I let you take this from me! Strangely, all of this misery could be traced back to a single day: The day that Leoy¡¯Shaah had been imprisoned many moons ago. It kept him up at night. If he had left Leoy¡¯Shaah in the snow to her own devices, he would have perhaps returned in time to save his family from their fate. I blame you for this, Leoy¡¯Shaah. I hope you are burning in the deepest pits of hell.
Leoy¡¯Shaah did not expect to be popular, especially not in a positive manner. As she entered the town, people began to recognize her. But a few guards came by to protect her from the attention. ¡°Leoy¡¯Shaah! Is it true? Is it ture you survived all the death that you were condemned to?¡± A man shouted. ¡°My parents told me of your power!¡± A girl screamed. ¡°God has returned! And he has brought forth a new vessel!¡± One person reached out to touch Leoy¡¯Shaah, their hand was slapped away by Wylent. ¡°You are not to touch her! Only look!" ¡°Her hair is still singed, I can smell it! Her body stronger than rock, flame and blade all the same!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah felt the attention grace her body like warm water poured down her neck. She found it hard to imagine how men could not go mad over this immense pleasure. A few agents walked by, shaking their heads in confusion. Eventually, They arrived at a gate which led to a house with rocks surrounding it. The guards pushed back the people and closed the gate behind them, proceeding to accompany the group into the building. LeoyShaah I: 0006 It was barely after dawn when Leoy¡¯Shaah awoke to the smell of food. Rising from her bed, she followed the scent. It led down the hall, and across the center room. Pushing open the door, her face was hit with warm rayes of light. It was springtime, yet in all of her troubles, she had forgotten. Eating at a single table, was the priestess. Leoy¡¯Shaah froze in shock, lost for words. Yewnie beckoned Leoy¡¯Shaah forward, to which she hesitantly obliged. She was hungry, and she decided she would not talk to Yewnie alone. She would not even look at her. Scarfing down some of the food immediately, Leoy¡¯Shaah grabbed one of the goblets and began to chug, only to stop at the taste. ¡°That''s some herbal tea I brewed,¡± Yewnie said, smiling, ¡°Do you like it?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah, not making eye contact, turned the goblet to its side and poured out the tea, it seeped into the cracks of the bricks that made up the large patio. Leoy¡¯Shaah did not steal even a single glance at Yewnie, though she could somehow sense that her smile faded immediately. She set the goblet back down on the table and uttered a single word: ¡°Water.¡± ¡°Help yourself,¡± Yewnie said with a sad smile, motioning to a large kettle. Leoy¡¯Shaah poured her water, then she finished the meal. Having been satisfied with her hunger, she rose from her seat. ¡°Wait.¡± Yewnie commanded, ¡°Be rude to me all you want, but I need some answers from you. You need to help us, please.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t care about me, you care about my abilities,¡± She replied spitefully, ¡°And I will not answer you under any circumstance.¡± Yewnie was stunned for a moment, but apparently, she had prepared for this moment; she regained her composure relatively quickly, ¡°And who would you rather serve, them?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah gritted her teeth, ¡°You are no different from them. The mere reason that you brought me here speaks for itself!¡± ¡°Hold your tongue! Do you hear yourself? If Kaqu and I were truly the same, would you be roaming freely?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah took a single step forward, intimidating Yewnie to such a degree, she armed herself with a knife. ¡°I will never forget my mother, or Zayno.¡± Yewnie blinked, as if she was confused, but she remained standing, and ready to defend. Laughable. What would her puny knife possibly do that an axe could not? Leoy¡¯Shaah thought she saw somthing out of the corner of her eyes. She mouthed Hayden involutarily, but there was no one there. Damn, this stress is getting to me! ¡°I don¡¯t want to be here any more than you do¨C¡± ¡°Speak for yourself!¡± Yewnie sighed, deeply. ¡°This is not your battle, it is ours. It is not your battle, because we have never been your people.¡± ¡°No, I have never been your people.¡± ¡°Listen to me!¡± ¡°Shut up hag!¡± Yewnie sat down, exasperated. Then she began to weep a bit. Leoy¡¯Shaah felt a tinge of pity for the old woman, losing all will to continue berating her, silently entering the building. She made her way back to her room and stared at the ceiling until the sun came up. When the sun came up, Leoy¡¯Shaah expected Yewnie¡¯s face to be one of grief, but she was suprised to find she had not a trace of sadness. Yewnie¡¯s scarred and mangled face displayed only Contentedness. ¡°Where is the shaman?¡± Lencan had asked one of the guards. The guard shrugged, ¡°He left.¡± ¡°When? How did he leave?¡± ¡°I permitted it.¡± Yewnie said. ¡°He had but served his purpose.¡± ¡°We still know close to nothing about Leoy¡¯Shaah,¡± Hayden said, eyeing her with suspicion, ¡°We know nothing about the men of the Kwnuollia, and what their purpose is here.¡± ¡°Their intentions are plainly obvious: We are but a stepping stone in their path for power. Quon laid the groundwork, as did I, when under Manipu¡¯s influence. ¡°Who¡¯s Manipu?, a voice asked. Wylent. ¡°Oh, not him...¡± Muttered Sohee, under her breath. Wylent was certainly a sight to behold, his proud stance, combined with his adequately equipped body, proved to be both charming and embarrassing. He leaned against a wall, ¡°So, have we seen Leoy¡¯Shaah¡¯s power?¡± ¡°If Leoy¡¯Shaah is truly connected to a god, you must not say her last name so casually!¡± Yewnie barked. Wylent flinched, but then he revised his question: ¡°Have we seen Alexandra¡¯s God power?¡± ¡°No. We do not know anything for sure, but what we do know is what we¡¯ve seen with our naked eyes and what the shaman told us: Her body certainly brims with power. ¡°Immortality.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah blurted. Wylent snapped his fingers; an annoying new habit that would soon become notable to Leoy¡¯Shaah in the future. ¡°Only gods are immortal!¡± ¡°Incorrect. The priestess said, ¡°But, you might be onto something, Wylent. All the gods the travelers and messengers speak of do not wield the same power as you. Their leaders and hosts have other abilities, but if you are truly, completely immortal, as we hope¡­ you might just be the leader this village needs.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah didn¡¯t want to face it, but that was the case. She was destined from the start to rule the people who once hated her. Now, there was an entire group awaiting her supposed ¡®Arrival¡¯, which they believed would mark the beginning of their salvation. ¡°Is there a certain time I could reveal myself fully?¡± The priestess nodded. ¡°That time is now, Alexandra. People have not stopped talking about the girl who survived death three times! It''s been almost ten years, and they have not been silenced. You can kill a person, not a belief.¡± ¡°Then how were the old gods murdered?¡± Asked Hayden. Leoy¡¯Shaah now realized something: The kind, mild-mannered Hayden was slowly fading. In his place was a man ten years older. ¡°Leoy¡¯Shaah had not changed in her time locked away. Which was a both relieving, and depressing revelation. But she would soon come to realize that her time was not finite, yet she arranged her day almost religiously, as if death was lurking around the corner. ¡°They weren¡¯t murdered!¡± Yewnie replied, ¡°They were eaten. A god¡¯s energy cannot be destroyed, at least, you cannot see it that way. My theology comes back in bits and in pieces, yet I put it all together faster every day; I have studied countless of these incidents, and most have ended the same way, being eaten.¡± ¡°Think of it now ¨C think of it carefully ¨C imagine two droplets of water on a leaf. One a blue drop of the berry, and the other a red drop of blood. Let we say the Blue drop is bigger ¨C bigger tenfold ¨C and he falls upon the red drop. The blue drop has been destroyed, hasn¡¯t it!? Nay, If you look carefully, you may see that the blue drop is not perfectly blue. This is what it is. Now imagine oil and water ¨C well! That would be so different, now wouldn¡¯t it? You¨C¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of your blabbering!¡± Wylent blurted, ¡°We should take her right now!¡± ¡°For once, I agree with Wylent. If Alexandra can gather a large enough following¡­ She might become more powerful.¡± ¡°Am I just a weapon to you?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah said, feigning indignance; really, she had gotten over her supposed ¡®salavtional¡¯ value, perceived by these people she barely knew. ¡°No way!¡± Wylent shouted. ¡°I wish to be ruled and would not question your supremacy! You would look good, resting upon a pedestal!¡± For the first time, Alexandra directly acknowledged Wylent¡¯s existence. She stared into his eyes, seeing a soul full of personality, hope and joy. Phantom tears plagued her. ¡°I see no peasants.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah said, overlooking the village from the mountain, dressed in a cloak. Nisha, and Yewnie also dressed in a cloak, one that well hid their face. Leoy¡¯Shaah was forced to cover her face with a mask. ¡°Because there are none,¡± The priestess said, spitefully. ¡°It became too much of a problem, so the poors were moved down the mountain, near the gate.¡± ¡°And let me guess¡­?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah started. ¡°Bah, there be no need for guessing. Go down and see it with your own eyes if you must.¡± ¡°I shall decline that offer.¡± ¡°Apologies for an intrusion, but there is a situation ¨C one that requires your immediate attention.¡± Lencan¡¯s voice rang out from the back. Yewnie straightened her back. ¡°So¡­ I guess it¡¯s just us again. Nisha chuckled awkwardly. How has it been? You know, all this time?¡± ¡°Horrid.¡± She turned to Nisha, ¡°I watched a starving man eat himself alive, starting with his feet, and ending with each of his hands. He cried all night. Then, one of the other prisoners managed to find a way through ¨C my good friend Eleren ¨C strangled the crying man with his bare hands, wishing him a peaceful afterlife.¡± Nisha¡¯s face dropped expectantly. If it had been an exaggeration, Leoy¡¯Shaah would have been smiling behind the mask, but it was not; and Nisha would never know if Leoy¡¯Shaah had been stretching her leg or not. Hello again, Gretel. Fancy a visit sooner?¡± After Marak had taken his morning bath at the hot springs ¨C nigh deserted of all but him ¨C He dressed and took a ride on his finest steed to the edges of the forest, humming as he went. He rode slow enough to be seen, and to be intercepted rather quickly. Not by steeds, but by something much slower, and more powerful than a steed. Marak knew for sure that he had been spotted when he heard the horn blow somewhere behind him. He took a quick glance ¡®hind him, to find a trio of unbon trailing him. The horse grew frightened at the sight of, not the unbon themselves, but their steeds: Lizards with tongues that flapped about viciously, they moved slyly, close to the ground, but were the fastest Marak had ever seen. Even slowing his horse just a slight amount, would result in these unbon riders gaining an absurd amount of distance. The horse neighed and winnied in fear, It knew not the pact between the intelligent creature that rode it nor the intelligent creature that rode its natural predator. The horse galloped faster, putting all of its speed into several powerful bursts to put as much between its fears and itself as possible. Marak was keen and expertly trained, he knew that the horse was doing it all wrong, burning all of its energy in one go. Marak could have easily steered the horse away from danger, had it been the case. But this was exactly what he wanted. Sure enough, the horse began to lose its energy, and momentum. Finally, it slowed to a trot, and kneeled down, accepting its imagined fate. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Marak leaped off the horse with giddyness seen only in children. The thrill of it! Marak had imagined for that brief chase that the Unbon had been after his head. The more enduring lizal-beasts caught up in a matter of moments, yielding obediently to their masters. Marak exchanged glances with his horse, its confusion, his of disappointment. The lead scout dismounted his steed and approached Marak. ¡°What are you here for so early?¡± Demanded the Unbon. ¡°I just wanted to greet you and your people formally,¡± Marak said, innocuously. The Unbon grunted. ¡°You let us chase you¡­ Why?¡± ¡°Oh, you wouldn¡¯t get it.¡± Marak said, trying to hide his excitement. ¡°Please, do try and explain.¡± Marak ignored him now. ¡°Did the governor send for you?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Did you come bearing important news?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then what are you here for?¡± He demanded again. Marak sighed. ¡°Haaa¡­ You people have no formalities?¡± The Unbon blinked. ¡°I do. We do. Stop running around like a little child and tell me what you would like me to bear to my chief.¡± ¡°I have nothing to tell you, but what I do have is an offering.¡± The Unbon relaxed, and what would that be?¡± ¡°Feed me?¡± The unbon behind the leader laughed. Marak mimicked his laugh¡­ ¡­Precisely, and accurately. The unbon stopped short and terror filled his eyes as he heard Marak imitate his voice in perfect detail. The front Unbon took a vaguely combative stance. Not openly expecting battle, but responding to its increasing likelihood. ¡°Go home, Mr. Marak. We have no time for your nonsense.¡± ¡°I believe you do. I would like to have all of your religious men relocated to our establishment.¡± The Unbon looked startled at the request. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because this is no place for a god to grow!¡± Marak threw up his hands. This place is desolate; unsuitable for incubation.¡± The Unbon scout scratched his chin. ¡°I will send this to my chief. There are no promises.¡± Marak stood in the sandy wind as the Unbon scouts mounted their reptilian steeds and headed off into the dust distance. The wind was picking up further. Marak walked back to his horse, who had regained his energy, and was awaiting to return. ¡°You must look regal.¡± Insisted Nisha, ¡°That is the only way they are to believe it is you.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah had a question on her mind: ¡°How have the last ten years been, really?¡± ¡°Oh, probably nothing compared to what you went through.¡± Nishas replied hastily. ¡°Oh, all I did was rot.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah said, stopping in her tracks, Nisha walked ahead, then when she realized Leoy¡¯Shaah wouldn¡¯t continue, she stopped as well. Leoy¡¯Shaah crossed her arms. ¡°Tell me about your late husband, Nisha. I have not gotten to know any of you all too well. And if times have truly changed, perhaps I should give assimilation another go.¡± Nisha looked worried. ¡°My husband died many years ago ¨C around a year after your disappearance ¨C After that, the resistor magic went down, and the Unbon closed in. They¡­ Took the front by force and rammed down the gates. If you go down to where you used to live, you probably won¡¯t recognize the area, for it''s been changed completely; all the trees are chopped, downed, and gone. The gate has been rebuilt as it was previously constructed, but the Kwnuollans plan to build an entire fortress around the establishment, sealing us under a tight fist.¡± ¡°And how do you know this?¡± ¡°Kaqu. Well, not him directly, but through Yewnie. She is one of the few people he still trusts¡­¡± Nisha trailed off. ¡°I was going off on a tangent, wasn¡¯t I¡­?¡± She sighed, ¡°After those bastards the Kwnuollans took the gate and entry section¨C¡± ¡°Entry section?¡± ¡°Entry section,¡± Nisha looked down at her sandals, ¡°The part near the gate. The Kwnuollans have been dividing the plateau into multiple sections. Leoy¡¯Shaah cocked her head, ¡°I¡¯ve never noticed that before. Huh.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Nisha replied again, ¡°I¡¯m not sure what the point of it really is, but Yewnie has told me she suspects Kaqu is beginning to lose trust in her.¡± ¡°All this lying!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah said, turning so the suns rays lit only half of her face. ¡°If Kaqu falls, I think he wants to bring down everyone with him.¡± ¡°We must not let that happen then,¡± Nisha said, invigorated, ¡°If we want to prevent this¡­ we need you, Le¨C Alexandra.¡± ¡°You barely even know me.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah said, almost whispering, ¡°Neither does that boy.¡± Nisha nodded her head back into the compound, but he sympathised with you ¨C and I do as well.¡± ¡°It''s decided.¡± ¡°What?¡± Did I say that out loud? Leoy¡¯Shaah sighed. ¡°Lesser of two evils, so I¡¯ve heard¡­ I will help you drive these madmen out of our home.¡± Our home¡­ ¡°Leoy¡¯Shaah, I¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t. I am glad I am out of that hole. And it wasn¡¯t your choice to make, Nisha, It was theirs.¡± ¡°How do we know we can control her?¡± Lencan asked. ¡°You¡¯re getting ahead of yourself, Lencan. We should be focusing on keeping her with us, then we can worry about that later.¡± ¡°Pardon, but it seems like an issue that we would have to address at some point. Yewnie rose up from her seat indignantly, ¡°Does it make sense to worry about controlling something when it is not even in your possession yet?¡± The Mountain village didn¡¯t have a mouth to dispute that. Hah! If it did? Nay, forget it. ¡°I suppose not.¡± Lencan said. Does Kaqu know of Leoy¡¯Shaah?¡± ¡°No. And the villagers pose no threat either. He is a smart man underneath all that shell; he won¡¯t believe something unless he sees it with his own eyes.¡± ¡°May I leave now?¡± Hayden asked. ¡°You could have left whenever you wanted.¡± Hayden got up and exited the room, to which Yewnie sighed. ¡°I would not recommend keeping secrets from Kaqu. You are right, he is a smart man, but not smrat enough to avoid this trouble in the first place,¡± Lencan warned. ¡°Exactly why we must replace his power with a fresh one.¡± ¡°That was not what I meant¡­¡± ¡°What did you mean?¡± Lencan sighed. ¡°And how will we allow her to spread influence if we cannot allow Kaqu to see her?¡± ¡°He won¡¯t.¡± Yewnie replied, smiling. But her face dropped quickly, ¡°Kaqu is the least of our worries, let me deal with him. You and your men, as well as the carpenters, will deal with the Kwnuollans and the Unbon.¡± Lencan frowned. ¡°Kaqu poses a bigger threat than you might realize. He bows to the Kwnuollans, and if he finds out, so will the Kwnuollans.¡± ¡°You are wrong, Lencan. I have been around him for many years; he has kept me close, as I am one of the last members of his father¡¯s covenant.¡± Lencen looked at her with worry. ¡°I shall leave now, my priestess. Please be safe.¡± ¡°Save your worries for yourself and your men,¡± replied Yewnie. If they kill me¡­ Kaqu wll have not a shred of sanity left. The next morning, the collectors entered the village, led by Marak himself, they entered through different gates, their armor reflecting in the rising suns. People stumbled into their houses to collect whatever they had and throw it on the road for the collectors to grab. The smarter villagers let their door be broken down and their house ransacked, for they knew that collectors would do it anyways, no matter how much of offered. ¡°If there is nothing of value,¡± Marak said, ¡°Return it to them. We are not thieves. We are caretakers.¡± The soldiers returned the items to houses indiscriminately, leaving the owners and residents very confused and rattled. Another man that accompanied the collection, and one that Marak hated very much, Lanzat, came to him. ¡°Front section, ser?¡± Marak plunged his face into his hand, his pale face wicked with frustration. ¡°God may blink twice¡­ You really are as stupid as they say!¡± ¡°Dunno what you mean ser.¡± Stupid¡­ ¡°The front has nothing, travelers that come and go before tax day.¡± ¡°So why don¡¯t we catch them?¡± ¡°Why not hunt rats instead of deer?¡± Marak asked. ¡°Go do your job.¡± Lanzat ran off, mumbling. Marak glared into the distance. He gazed at the compound integrated into the side of the mountain. Someday¡­ It will be mine. Leoy¡¯Shaah and the rest of the group awoke to the clamor and confusion that came with such an event. ¡°They just come and go as they please.¡± Wylent said, seething. ¡°We will destroy them in your name, Alexandra.¡± ¡°Quiet, Wylent.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah waved him off, then turned to Nisha: ¡°Why do they do one section at a time?¡± ¡°It''s too difficult to tax them all at once.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah squinted. ¡°I don¡¯t see any sections, can you explain them to me?¡± Nisha pulled a small scroll out of her robe. ¡°I have a map you can look at.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah took the paper and unfurled it. Sure enough, there was a map of the village. It was different from what Leoy¡¯Shaah remembered. When she had looked at a map in the village before, the mountain had been grand in size compared to the part of it they lived upon. And for the longest time, Leoy¡¯Shaah had been under the impression that those parts of the mountain were inhabitable. She had been mistaken. Where those blank areas used to be, were instead shaded areas, indicating civilization. Leoy¡¯Shaah turned to Nisha, ¡°How is this possible? Those are unstable areas.¡± ¡°Tell that to them.¡± Hayden¡¯s voice came from behind. They both looked at him with intrigue. ¡°I was one of few lucky people not to be completely out-skilled in my work.¡± He explained, ¡°Cutting down trees is all I know, and they would use those logs to build their structures.¡± ¡°How¡¯d they do it?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah asked. He shrugged. ¡°I really don¡¯t have the faintest idea.¡± He began to fish something out of his pocket. ¡°When I was working there, I managed to sketch down their designs.¡± He handed Leoy¡¯Shaah another piece of paper, which she took hurriedly. ¡°This is a triangle,¡± She stated. ¡°After I told Yewnie about this, around five or so years ago, she told me these were our designs, the ones Quon possessed.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah was taken aback, ¡°That can¡¯t be true. Why would Quon not expand the village? If he had these notes¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, Alexandra. Yewnie didn¡¯t know either, apparently, Quon had kept that even from her.¡± If he had these notes¡­ Why would he not use them to expand? It makes no sense. Come on down now. The collection is over, you need to make your debut. ¡°C-can¡¯t we just prepare a bit longer?¡± ¡°There''s no time left, Alexandra. If we don¡¯t do this now¡­ Things will just get worse.¡± She swallowed. ¡°I am not¡­ I don¡¯t like being around many people.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like it either. But they need you. We need you. And so what if Yewnie thinks you¡¯re just a tool? She doesn''t command your every step, nor your every thought! Don¡¯t think you will be serving her. She can¡¯t control you anymore, Leoy¡¯Shaah. Move on from the past, Alexandra, or there won''t be any future.¡± Sitting in the dressing room was a tailor managing his articles. He had a thin needle in his mouth. It nearly flew off when he saw Leoy¡¯Shaah enter the room. He looked very afraid. ¡°Ahaha! It is you. I¡¯ll go fetch some of your articles¡­¡± ¡°What did she tell them¡­?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah hissed to Nisha. ¡°Whatever she needed to ¡ª in order to make this work.¡± Hayden whispered. Stand up here, p-please.¡± The tailor said, motioning to a small pedestal. Leoy¡¯Shaah stepped upon it. ¡°How does this suit you? He asked, waving a silken dress. Leoy¡¯Shaah hesitated. ¡°H-how many options do I have?¡± ¡°As many as you want!¡± The sailor cried with forced enthusiasm, ¡°And if you don¡¯t like any of them either, I¡¯ll just have some more made.¡± She exchanged glances with Nisha and Hayden. What do you think? Do you like it? Mouthed Nisha. Hayden was inspecting the other suits. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look all that good. No, I don''t think I would like it.¡± ¡°No problem, now take another look at the re¨C¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like any of them. No¡­ Not any, no¡­¡± She saw the light in the man¡¯s eyes fade as he clasped his hands together, seemingly tring to produce any response; he found none and silence followed. ¡°Can you make armor? I think I should try some on.¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°L-let''s have a look at some of these¡­ I¡¯m sure you might change your mind. ¡°Ahh, here it is.¡± He pulled out a very thin bodysuit. ¡°What do you think of this¨C¡± ¡°How dare you suggest such a revealing outfit!¡± Wylent said, frustrated, ¡°If she said she wanted a damn armored one, and make her an armor one!¡± More silence followed. But she didn¡¯t tell off Wylent this time. The tailor quickly threw the dress onto one of the tables and rushed for his kit. He began taking out threads and muting to himself. Eventually, after getting out the things he needed, he raised his head. ¡°What sort of armor?¡± Before Leoy¡¯Shaah could speak, Hayden interrupted. ¡°Stop. Alexandra, the armor would send the wrong message. We don¡¯t want to suggest war or aggression¡­ Not yet at least. It can¡¯t be a foundation, no¡­ ¡°Well, what do you propose?¡± The tailor said, exasperated. Hayden looked at Leoy¡¯Shaah, who turned away in embarrassment. ¡°Make her a cape. Make it from your hair¡­ ¡°Make it from my hair.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah blurted. Hayden and the other looked at her with confusion. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Asked Hayden, cutting off the tailor who would have asked the same exact question. ¡°The smell of cinders¡­ It¡¯s comforting to me.¡± She said. ¡°Yes, but¡­ How would we make it from your hair¡­? ¡°Cut it.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah said. The suitor blinked, as if seeing an opportunity for the first time, ¡°W¨C How would we cut your hair? I what I¡¯ve heard¨C¡± ¡°What did you hear?¡± Nisha asked. ¡°I¡¯ve heard¡­ Well, she was the one taken to be executed long ago¡­ And she survived the fire, rock and blade.¡± ¡°You saw it, not heard it. Yes?¡± Wylent remarked. ¡°Y-yes¡­¡± The tailor¡¯s eyes darted around, looking for a rational conversation, ¡°How woulld I cut your hair if it is as indestructible as you?¡± Everyone turned to Leoy¡¯Shaah. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Could you try cutting it?¡± The tailor was done questioning anything at this point, muttering to himself and walking into another room. When he returned, he held a giant razor. ¡°Shall I do it for you, madam?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah nodded, and the man closed the blades around her long, loose hair. He grunted and she felt a light tugging at her head, but the blades did not snip shut. ¡°Impossible¡­¡± He muttered. ¡°It is true¡­¡± ¡°Allow me to try! Wylent said, sitting up from a stool, ¡°If I cannot do it for you, then I will.¡± ¡°Please, go ahead.¡± Wylent marched over to the razor and snatched it out of the man¡¯s hands, he marched back to Leoy¡¯Shaah, holding it around her hair. ¡°Shall I?¡± She smiled at him. Seemingly flustered, he quickly closed his arms together. The hair did not budge. He retracted, ashamed.¡± ¡°Please,¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah said, stretching out her hand for the tool. Wylent handed it to her and retreated back to the stool. Leoy¡¯Shaah pushed down on the handles like she had seen them both do. Snip. A good majority of her hair fell to the floor. Shocked, Nisha yelped, Hayden¡¯s eyes widened, and Wylent¡¯s face was cracked with a smile. Shaking, the tailor had been still as a statue, but now he was fierce with the sudden motivation to show as little reaction as possible to this event he beheld. ¡°What sort of trick was that!?¡± Hayden said, astonished. ¡°How did you do that?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah was also still, her eyes halfway closed. She touched the back of her head, feeling the fresh stiff strands that gave a sense of almost addicting pleasure to rub her skin across. Retreating her hand, she brought a small tuft of loose that had not fallen. She let it drop from her hand to the continued bewilderment of her associates. ¡°How?¡± Hayden demanded, but she saw in Leoy¡¯Shaah¡¯s eyes that she had not the slightest clue. ¡°She can will her own mortality!¡± Yelled Wylent. ¡°Truly a master of her own body and self!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah smiled at that one. Nothing to bring up such an uncomfortable mood like this boy Wylent. He was potentially a secondhand embarrassment, but Leoy¡¯Shaah found him to be endearing at the end. He saw her satisfaction, and fell silent with her emotion as well. Just then, Sohee ran into the room. ¡°The people are becoming impatient, what¨C!¡± Sohee stared in confusion at what she saw, but shook it off quickly. ¡°Please, they are asking for the new god!¡± ¡°New god¡­¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah muttered to herself, ¡°Perhaps I should ask this sailor to sew her mouth shut.¡± ¡°Well, It¡¯s about time I saw this¡­ I¡¯ve had to witness the start of a magnificent era! I¡¯ve had no god to pray to since I was blessed with the sight of your smoking figure! The tails of heat whipping around to destroy those who oppose it!¡± Wylent blurted furiously, ¡°But what excites me the most is we¡¯ve but only scratched the surface. I¡¯ve heard gods rise and fall, and gods who have not cared for their supporters¡­ I have the right to walk aside¡­ ¡° ¡°Imaigine now that others are graced with the sight!¡± he said, shaking with boldness. ¡°I would love to trek among this small group, but others must see what this new era shall bring forth!¡± Soon, the group marched outside the compound, onto a stage, and Leoy¡¯Shaah took fron to that stage. There were not as many people as she had imagined, which had been tens of thousands of heads bobbing up and down, making her feel so incredibly small. She had to admit, she did feel a bit disappointed that reality did not live up to Wylent¡¯s fevored outburst. Still, there were more people than she could count, and she stopped at ten when she became aware of how her finger instilled fear and uncertainty into these potential subjects. They flinched when she traced her hand across her view of the crowd, and rightfully so; She had heard of witches that could evicerate an entire group with but the flick of her hand, and these people saw her had a force that could dwarf any magic aped by those who merely studies, and did not allow it to fully consume or merge with them. And Leoy¡¯Shaah closed her eyes, hoping this crowd would disappear now. She thought of Zayno, unfortunatly. (CHAPTER NOT FINISHED) LeoyShaah I: 0007 A long time ago, a man named Quon sought refuge from his all-powerful king under the guise of a religious mission. Well, not really guise at that, but he was not entirely truthful of which religion he planned to grow. The truth was, Quon had discovered a powerful entity of his own, one who claimed to be the creator himself. Quon was filled with the will to incubate this god in a remote village. He was accompanied by other missions as well, ones who were much more loyal to Lord Hrukain. Slowly, Quon¡¯s god picked them off and ate them. Quon finally discovered a small village near the mountains. Quon turned to his navigators, who had by now been completely converted in the absence of the other missionaries, and asked them to find a safe path up the mountain, and they obliged. Quon made his settlement, but the villagers did not fall so easily¡­ They saw Quon as yet another threat, and resisted. Eventually, they fell to his influence, and followed him to the seclusion of the mountains, where they remained in solitude for many years, until Quon died. Quon had yet to bring his insane plans to fruition, but the god refused to die with his weak mortal champion. After the god left, the village was suddenly and hopelessly defenseless. And it remained that way for nearly ten years, until a woman emerged from her imprisonment. A woman named Alexandra Leoy¡¯Shaah, who had been thrown in and left to rot many moons before, even before her time locked away, she had survived impossible feats of mortality, leaving a permanent intrigue that rippled through the village until she returned. And when she returned, she found many things had changed, most for the worst. But when one door closes, another opens, and Leoy¡¯Shaah would find the events witnessed, not just by the villagers, but by their children, had created a following, one believing her to have a god-link. These people would eventually become a formidable weapon, sharpened by the woman who would lead them to ascendance: Alexandra Leoy¡¯Shaah. ¡ª The Recordians Kaqu¡¯s afternoon was relatively pleasant. He had conversed with a few merchants still loyal to the mountains, or at least, the ones he still trusted. The Captain-chief had taken a stroll through the courtyard, and through the many halls. The compound had several ends that stuck out like bricks that had slipped from their holes, jutting out of the mountainside further. Kaqu knew what these bricks were. They were made from stolen designs. One, that he would find out later that day, had been taken from a storeroom dedicated to his father. They were unfinished, as they lacked the means necessary to complete it. In the end, from the plateau, It would look like a rotting log, with its many rounded, cube-like corridors, seemingly in permanent hiatus. Kaqu would often walk down these corridors by mistake and find himself at the tail end of a hall. Sometimes, there would not even be a dead end, but a large hole that led to a far fall to doom. Kaqu would be enraged when he came across these in particular, racing to find the person responsible, to which he would turn up no answers. Now, he had just gone into his room, when a messenger came to inform him of a shocking discovery. Kaqu gritted his teeth at the news borne to him: Leoy¡¯Shaah was alive. It had initially nearly made his heart stop and condemned him to the same fate as his father, but that did not happen to Kaqu, because he realised that this was a new world, not his father¡¯s world, where there was solitude, peace, and total, utter control. Those times were long gone. ¡°Send scouts to watch them,¡± Kaqu choked. The messenger left without a word, and as soon as he disappeared from Kaqu¡¯s sight, he exited his room to his father¡¯s study. How¡­? How had she survived it all? He thought as he moved hastily down the halls. Either she¡¯s a witch¡­ Or the legends were true and she¡¯s linked to a god somehow! If it were the latter¡­ Kaqu knew she would be much more dangerous. Kaqu stumbled into the study. Truthfully, Quon had died long before the compound had been constructed, but Kaqu had named the room after his father for what it contained was of Quon¡¯s work and study. Dozens of notebooks and even more loose papers lined every inch of room. Kaqu rifled through them as quickly as he could without damaging them. He came across the sacred texts, which were of Hrukainian origin, and spoke of an ancient god that created the universe. Kaqu scoffed upon seeing the scrolls now. Many parts had been erased, torn out, and changed to shift his subjects towards his god. All effort had been futile in the end. Kaqu crushed what remained of the papers in seemingly secondhand frustration, and threw the ball to the floor. He continued his search for the notebook, which contained countless entries on abilities and entities that came after the black sky appeared. Finally, he fished out a worn journal, its pages nearly falling out, its threads nearly falling loose, and seeming to be many decades old, and opened it. The front page had been signed by his father himself, but Kaqu ignored it in his search for answers. He stopped abruptly as a page titled: Witches of the West and East, Students of the ambient energy 2/25/0075. Kaqu frowned for a moment upon seeing the date, but he quickly understood that the date was the time since the black sky had opened, and strange events began happening. On the first two pages were crude drawings of two women, both nearly identical, except one version was clothed in strange garments and the other was fully naked. A line was drawn at the bottom, listing off strange apparatus. The common witch performs craft with her hands but there have been many reports of witches in possession of strange tools to aid or increase the effectiveness of her magic(k). Kaqu grunted. He was more divided than before. Leoy¡¯Shaah was a woman, and she was definitely in possession of some of the most defining traits of a witch-to-be, she was disturbing, alienated, and seemingly full of anger directed at the village. But was she a witch? Kaqu, more hungry for answers, flipped to the next page. He was immediately greeted with a disturbing drawing: A man with yellow teeth and a sick pale face grinning at him. His face was shaded and unrecognizable as human. Kaqu felt his heart leap up to his throat. He was not disturbed by terror invoked by the face itself, but because he recognized the face as something that he had seen before. This man¡­ when I was giving that speech¨C The door opened, and two soldiers walked in, their armor clanking as they went. Kaqu closed the book quickly and slipped it into his robe. The soldiers approached him, cornering him. What the blasted hell are you doing here? Make yourself known before I have you both hanged!¡± The men looked at each other and laughed. Kaqu was chilled to the bone upon the realization: These men were his own. ¡°We have been sent here to retrieve valuable archives¡­¡± One of the guards trailed off, eyeing the stacks of notes and tones, ¡°In the name of Governor Kazezne, you are to give up this storage of information to Kwnuollia and her King by the next sunrise. ¡°I have not heard of this order.¡± Kaqu shot back, ¡°I openly challenge Kazezne to a case.¡± The soldiers didn¡¯t flinch at the request, instead, they simply turned and left. Leaving Kaqu wondering if they would deliver his message or not. He decided he would go to bring his grievances to Kazezne himself later, but for now¡­ Kaqu fished the notebook out, flipping to the page which the drawing of the disturbing man was. He stared at it for a few brief moments, familiarizing himself with the face and getting over the way it unnerved him, then he slammed it shut. Kwunollia''s god was strong. And as far as Kaqu was concerned, their own was not watching over them. This Leoy¡¯Shaah, if the legends about her were true¡­ She could be the thing that either he could use against the Kwnuollians¡­ Or the thing they would use against him. Kaqu strode out of the study, taking whatever he found most interesting to keep from the governor, and locking the door behind him. He was still the captain of the Mountain Guard and could fight Kwunolllians, but with what magic? He paced down another corridor until he ran into a servant, a woman named Jellan. Albeit, she had been provided by the Kwunollians as a gift, he trusted her almost ironically compared to his own subjects. For a few years, he had wanted to abuse her for everything her people were doing to his village. He would often fantasize about beating her into a crying bleeding pulp, and one night, he had been affronted in the presence of his subjects by riders who had requested a meeting be had with him. And in the meeting, he had been revoked entirely of the gate sector, and the construction division, which he had used to rebuild parts of the town as well as expand. The materials, both Kwunollian and Mountain Villages. ¡°Our timber and stone reaped by our regal hands shalt not rest next to a mere chieftain''s stone. Our materials have been tainted, and our God-vessel demands the taint be removed by transferring all material under full Kwunollian management. If you do not, I am afraid, our god requires all stone be smashed and paved, and all timber be burnt to ash to remove the scent of the unbelievers.¡± The covenant member had narrowed his eyes at Kaqu in such a disrespectfully accusatory manner, that Kaqu had to dispel a sudden murderous urge to crush the man¡¯s skull in his hilt-calloused hands. After the meeting, when he had returned to his compound through the mountain tunnel, he decided to take out his rage on Jellan. Taking his father¡¯s axe, he marched to her room with avidity in stealth, and stood by her quarters, peering in. Kaqu was shocked to see she was sitting on the floor, sewing a torn blanket that had belonged to him. He suddenly felt the rage and bitterness eviscerate from his body and returned to his room once more, only to wake up in the morning with the fixed blanket folded beside him. He hadn¡¯t felt any ill will against her since. But he knew not to get too close, for if she was a spy, confessing information to her would be the biggest blunder of all his life. He had thought of testing her as a spy. But even asking her to slit her own throat would prove nothing. A spy would rather die than reveal their true nature. He would keep her close, he decided, but he would keep his axe closer. ¡°Send scouts to the local villages and tribes to recruit potential users of witchcraft, I want all of them sent to me at once!¡± Jellan looked distressed at the command, but seemed to oblige, nodding in response. She headed off down the hall, disappearing around a corner, meanwhile Kaqu retreated the other direction, with only one thing in mind. He was going to see Leoy¡¯Shaah for himself. Going out in secret was a process that had to be familiar to every small ruler. He donned a cloak, one that was slightly different in design every time he went out, as did his guards¡­ At least, the ones he still trusted. He then exited with them through one of the many passages carved out of the mountain, making his appearance as unassuming as possible. Kaqu strolled by some Kwunollian riders who paid him, nor any of his guards any mind. It would have not mattered if they did. Kaqu watched them with a bit of envy. They rode horses, something that none of the guards ever needed to do, for the plateaus land. Although flat and appearing ideal for cavalry, the land was small for a horse and for the longest time Kaqu had not seen any need for horse riders, but it grew miserably obvious that soldiers on horseback were a formidable enemy, one the mountain village did not possess. Kaqu swallowed this shame along with a thick glob of mucus formed from the chilly weather this particular day. Eventually, he found himself at the gate of Yewnie¡¯s compound. He paused before ringing the bell of the fence. He had not visited Yewnie in person for a few months. It was said that she was very busy maintaining the village traditions, and attempting to recover any signs of deities around that could be adopted in hopes of strengthening the town. Kaqu and Yewnie had been the ones left to pick up the pieces of a broken belief ¨C and to rescue all the people whos faith abandoned them. It had been Yewnie who had restored the sacred texts to that of what they used to be. Kaqu rang the bell, trying to hide whatever frustration he felt about Yewnie. There was no chance he would doubt himself in front of Yewnie, even if he did inwardly. There was a small chance that Yewnies old age had dulled her mind in the same ways that had befell the late chief Quon, but it was far more likely that Yewnie had not been telling him everything, and today he was going to find out one way or another. A man appeared at the window, Lencan. He was outfitted head to toe in lightweight metal armor, and his face was that of mixed confusion and surprise. He moved away from the window, and the door clicked open five seconds later. ¡°Captain Kaqu, what brings you here ser?¡± ¡°Step aside Lieutenant! Speak no more, I order you to retrieve Leoy¡¯Shaah at once!¡± ¡°Ser?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t play me for a fool, Lieutenant! Retrieve the girl at once!¡± Lencan obliged quickly, although Kaqu could still see the hesitation in his eyes. He silently envied the amount of Loyalty Yewnie¡¯s men had to her. She had only lost but one of hers in the past five years, and she had been a mere assistant at that. Meanwhile, Kaqu saw his soldiers around him donning the emblem of Kwunollia. It burned him with bitter rage, he could now see exactly how much the Kwunollians had undermined him. He could bet a thousand slaves that it had been Marak¡¯s decision or involvement that had led to his own people brandishing the Kwunollian flags. Kwunollians had bought out merchants, travelers, and healers. They held the town in the palm of their hand ¨C all this and Kaqu had no plan of action¡­ Yet. There was a storm in his mind of how to take down these insufferable invaders. But perhaps¡­.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Kaqu gritted his teeth. Lencan had not returned. He would take matters into his own hands then. Kaqu stormed through the center room and down the hall to where Lencan had gone, but a woman popped out and stopped him, a woman he recognized as Yewnie. ¡°Stop.¡± She commanded, looking diligent. ¡°What are you here for Kaqu?¡± ¡°You never told me about the witch!¡± Kaqu spat, ¡°So I came here to see for myself!¡± He attempted to sidestep Yewnie, but she did as well, and spread her arms out too, blocking him. ¡°Move out of my way!¡± ¡°Or what? You¡¯d lock me up like you did that poor girl?¡± Kaqu suddenly felt a tinge of wrongness. Why did he still hold a grudge against this girl? She did nothing to provoke anything of the punishment she had been sentenced to, besides disrespecting Quon¡­ Who had in the end, doomed the village anyways. ¡°What do you plan to do?¡± Yewnie asked, ¡°Are you going to jail her, try and kill her?¡± Kaqu felt immense guilt now, multiplied by Yewnies remarks on the reality that had slowly begun setting into Kaqu. Nevertheless, he kept a keen, spiteful look on his face. He would not show this woman just how right she was. ¡°She is cursed,¡± reasoned Kaqu, ¡°The day that she was sentenced to death was the day I lost everything, Yewnie.¡± Yewnie sighed. ¡°I understand¡­ I really have no clue as to how such an atrocity had gone unnoticed." Kaqu leaned forward, I accepted their fate, and if there is a god out there who may take their souls, I prayed to him. I will not, however, stand by and allow Leoy¡¯Shaah to sabotage everything. Whatever happened that night might have been only a coincidence, what she is doing to this village right now is of her own volition and all her actions either.¡± He paused. ¡°Don¡¯t you realize that Leoy¡¯Shaah is the reason Marak has been so invasive in his presence? He has been so diligent that he noticed her before even I!¡± He growled, ¡°What about that you do not understand. I am not my father¡¯s son, I am trying to save this town before Marak destroys everything we¡¯ve built! These people do not even know what the Governor has planned for them! Once a firm hold is established, the poor will become slaves and the rich puppets!¡± ¡°No! You''re blind to another option, Kaqu!¡± Yewnie snapped, ¡°Her powers render her immortal, Kaqu! Do you understand that in none of the journals Quon has written, has it said any god or deity was capable of giving a mere human immortality!? We need another deity to watch over us, and Leoy¡¯Shaah has what we need to prevent Marak from finishing off this village.¡± ¡°Have you ever asked her what we¡¯ve taken from her?¡± Yewnie said, voice cracking. ¡°You were just a boy then, but we once killed an elderly priest named Wanu, one who I knew to be sweet and kind to everyone she knew. She had even been the one to accompany Quon here to help him build this town, but I ordered her death in the name of Quon. For merely touching the sacred scrolls. Only now did I realize what she was trying to do. She was trying to show us the truth, all the scrolls ¨C even the ones Quon did not want us to see. The scrolls spoke of one of the oldest gods, one that wore no face, and ruled all. But he¡¯s been long forgotten.¡± Yewnie shook her head. ¡°I have no doubt you¡¯ve looked at these scrolls too. They cure us of all the poison swallowed in the years before.¡± Kaqu relaxed. ¡°Let me speak wil her. ¡°Look at me! Yewnie cried, She hates me more than you! Please do not treat her as your father did!¡± ¡°I will do as I please,¡± Kaqu replied, shakily, ¡°Now move.¡± Yewnie shuffled out of the way, surprising Kaqu, but he overcame it quickly and proceeded ahead. ¡°She is different now. She will respond if you talk.¡± Yewnie. Kaqu said nothing and pushed through the door at the end of the hallway. His heart nearly stopped for the third time that week when he saw Leoy¡¯Shaah. She had not aged a day, and looked regal ¨C almost holy in the light shed through the window. Kaqu felt sudden inferiority upon looking at her. Leoy¡¯Shaah¡¯s eyes shone with¡­ Disgust? Not fear, hate, or any of the other emotion he thought she would had to have held against him, but she simply seemed repulsed by hsi very presence. She was clothed in a strange cloak, one made from a rough, yet soft looking fiber that shone the same color as her hair¡­ Was it a trick of the light, or was her hair seeming to be dark crimson? Kaqu stumbled into the room fully. Daring to steal another look at Leoy¡¯Shaah, she turned her body to the side, so the rays bathed her right side and creases of her shoulders. Her head remained fixed on his person, swiveling to counter her body¡¯s orientation to the window. She glared at him like an owl, her eyes shone with a fierce emblem of the grudge that faded over time. She didn¡¯t say anything to him, or move any more than she had mere moments ago, only giving slow, hesitant blinks, the trait of a cat who is daring to trust. Sheathed claws ready and sharp to strike at any moment. Yewnie was right, this was not the Leoy¡¯Shaah that Kaqu had punished a decade of moons ago, no. She had been a mere child in the body of a grown woman, an embarrassment to herself, regardless of her feats. Now, she had mentally matured in her time imprisoned. Kaqu straightened his back and reminded himself who he was. ¡°Leoy¡¯Shaah¡­¡± He said, looking her in the eyes. ¡°We will meet again.¡± Her voice low and ready to pounce on any subject presented. The veins on Kaqu¡¯s head bulged as he was reminded of the moment Leoy¡¯Shaah had said these exact words, and they still rang in his head. ¡°What is your business here?¡± Kaqu asked. ¡°What sort of powers do you possess that reder you all but unkillable?¡± ¡°I have been inspected by a shaman. He claims I derive my power from an unseen, powerful force. I am a prophet, a leader. I am destined to lead this village out of its rut, and to the mountain peaks where it belongs.¡± ¡°Do you understand who you talk to?¡± Kaqu replied. ¡°I do. I am talking to the captain of the guard.¡± ¡°I am both the captain of the guard and the current lord of this town. You shall not cross me again Leoy¡¯Shaah. Whatever you think you are capable of, I might remind you I can easily put you down as I did ten years ago.¡± ¡°Easily.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah echoed. ¡°Like it took that whole unit to imprison me. Here I stand. I am greater than I was before.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. You have nothing besides your invunerablility. You cannot curse me, you cannot summon or call upon demons. You cannot evoke spirits. You cannot do any of these things. I have heard of humans who have no god on their side achieve the impossible. They are well feared and the strongest of them rule.¡± He gritted his teeth. I know what you are trying to do, and it will not work. You will lose to these adversaries, Leoy¡¯Shaah. That is why I must remove you first, before they see our weakness.¡± Kaqu began to approach, resting his hand on his hammer. If a blade could not cut her, he could surely concuss her. Suddenly, a figure ran into the room, sliding into his path. Kaqu immediately swung his hammer at this opponent. His rough hair and short beard became apparent as he came into the sunlight, he wore simple peasant clothes, outfitted with armor. Kaqu cursed and his hammer bounced off the man¡¯s armor. The man responded by raising his axe, which came into view only a few seconds before Kaqu caught wind of the weapon. Suprised, he leapt back, leveling his small hammer at the ax wielder. The housecarl wore no helmet, suggesting he was not expecting to fight. ¡°You stayed! Why?¡± He hissed, not to Kaqu, but to Leoy¡¯Shaah, ¡°Yewnie told you to leave!¡± ¡°You dare swing a weapon at me?!¡± Croaked Kaqu, ¡°I could have your head put on a pike for merely holding a weapon in my direction, put that down and let me to Leoy¡¯Shaah!¡± The housecarl still did not budge, and Kaqu knew that he would lose a fight with no adequate arms, he would have to hope his voice would be enough. Hope! Hope is all I have now? Pathetic. My father might have condemned us to solitude and cowardice! And of course the hunter may kill the bear who sleeps peacefully, but he held that grip tight, and now we¡¯ve crushed that delicious fruit we¡¯ve held for so long! ¡°Hayden¡­ Stand down.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah said, ¡°He cannot kill me, and he cannot apprehend me. He is no threat as he is.¡± ¡°No threat?¡± Kaqu laughed. ¡°You''ve truly lost your mind down there haven¡¯t you? So what if you¡¯ve been protected all the time? Do you not understand that gods can simply eat you? Do you not realize that if you take a step too far, Marak and that blasted governor will end you?!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah turned to Hayden. ¡°Leave us.¡± ¡°You¡¯re pretty damn lucky that I¡¯m not that boy Wylent. He would have worked his blade before his mouth, please be careful Alexandra.¡± Then, Hayden left. Kaqu marched towards Leoy¡¯Shaah until he was only a few feet away from her, then the door opened and Yewnie stepped through, glaring at Kaqu. ¡°Hayden told me what you were going to do. I am here to prevent that. It is time you must set down your swords and think.¡± ¡°When I saw you that day¡­ I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. That perhaps you were a witch¡­ But if you are an incarnate¡­¡± He trailed off. ¡°Perhaps Yewnie was right about you.¡± ¡°I have thought of many things locked up down below¡­ One of those things was you, Kaqu. You are not my enemy, nor do I have any reason to hate¡­ Not even when you killed Zayno, for he came back to me.¡± Kaqu frowned. ¡°Who is this Zayno? I have never met a man named Zayno, nor have I ever put him to death.¡± ¡°I do not know him either. Leoy¡¯Shaah, please tell me who Zayno is. My old age is failing me yet! Please, Leoy¡¯Shaah, forgive me and remind me of the souls that have passed.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah felt a burst of confusion and rage, which luckily, she put into words. ¡°How do you not remember¨C¡± Suddenly, she went silent. ¡°Do you remember when I came up from going out with the hunters?¡± Kaqu, seeming calmer now that the hammer was on the floor and not in his clutches, sighed. ¡°Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. You snuck out with the hunters to watch them, but then they were attacked by the Unbon, and you were the only survivor. That was the day I lost my brother.¡± Yewnie nodded. ¡°I remember that as well.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah shivered. How did neither of them remember putting down Zayno? Throwing him off the cliff? Impossible. Unless¡­ ¡°I suppose I owe you an explanation as to how I gained my powers.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah said. Yewnie nodded to her. Kaqu suddenly seemed to snap out of his calmed state. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear any of your deranged tales! I do not care as to how you got them!¡± ¡°Let her speak!¡± Yewnie said, can you not see how she¡¯s grown? ¡°She is not a child to be berated any longer. If there is truly a god linked to her, the most you can do is respect him.¡± ¡°Zayno is the God who gave me my immortality.¡± Kaqu seemed stunned. ¡°I-I¡¯ve never heard of this Zayno.¡± ¡°That is because I think he did not exist.¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah said. Yewnie blinked. ¡°What could that mean?¡± ¡°I think he¡­ Erased himself from our history.¡± Kaqu laughed, ¡°That is absurd, Leoy¡¯Shaah.¡± If he is that strong¡­ Why did he give me¡­ Kaqu slowly began to fade in confidence, until he had a desperate look on his face. ¡°This god you speak of¡­ Did he wear a hood and cloak? What did his face look like?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah frowned at the specificity of the question, but retained the vagueness of her answer. ¡°No, he was a normal human like all of us.¡± Yewnie looked concerned. ¡°We can figure out everything about you later when you get your followers organized.¡± Kaqu looked horrified. ¡°Followers!? How many?¡± ¡°Around two dozen or so, sir.¡± Lencan had entered the room. ¡°Leave us, Lencan! Why are you not at your post!?¡± Yewnie exclaimed. ¡°With all due respect Ma¡¯am, when three of the most significant members of this chiefdom are in one room, all presumably armed, I insist upon interfering as much as needed, lest I see you all go mad and cut each other down.¡± Lencan tapped the spear that he held onto the ground. Kaqu turned and glared daggers at Lencan, who did not seem all that intimidated, even if said daggers be projected through the lens of the captain of the guard himself. Yewnie tooka short breath, ¡°I appreciate your concern, Lencan, but your fear is misplaced. We fight with your tongues and not our hands. Please return to whence you came.¡± Lencan turned to Leoy¡¯Shaah and nudged his head at her. ¡°Miss Alexandra?¡± Kaqu and Yewnie looked quite shocked and turned to the poor Leoy¡¯Shaah, who suddenly felt the burden of authority, not just that, but a snappy respect for a growing commanding presence. It was perhaps just getting into Leoy¡¯Shaah just how elite she became, simply out of pure intrigue and desperation, nonetheless she withstood the loyalties divided between both Yewnie and Kaqu. ¡°No blood shall be shed today, Lencan. Ease your worries. May you never waver.¡± For seemingly the first time, Leoy¡¯Shaah saw Lencan¡¯s eyes light up. ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am.¡± He retreated quickly back into the hallway. Kaqu grinded his teeth in anger. What sort of social training did Yewnie give her? Soldiers at her beck and call¡­ Imagine it! But would it really be as horrid as I wish it? How soft-spoken, yet so influencing. Bah! Imagine if Marak caught wind, it would be hellish! Meanwhile, Leoy¡¯Shaah quivered with anxiety. The words ran smooth like a well-oiled wheel; they just came to her and she spoke them. I am afraid that Kaqu is very truthful in his fears.¡± Yewnie said, ¡°The threat that the Kwunollian konkwurers poses a valid threat to us. ¡°You don''t even understand what they can do. Kaqu said, spitefully, to Leoy¡¯Shaah. ¡°He is like a wolf! He is kept only on a leash by Kazezene! Yewnie, do you not recall my many meetings with Kazezne? Kazezne would much prefer to keep me as a leader, I do say! He even told me that if I were to remain compliant, he would keep that Marak at bay. And that Marak himself, you do not understand the feast in his eyes, his crave for conflict and glory. I suspect he may possess some sort of power he has yet to unveil!¡± ¡°You are a coward, as was your father. He came here to hide from an enemy, not caring how many he endangered for his own selfish visions of power. How do you think a god ate him up like a snack and left!¡± Enraged, Kaqu exploded at Yewnie. ¡°What did you tell her about my father? Why must you taint his name further? Let him rest in peace and be forgotten! Why must you remind me each and every day, who¡¯s lineage I carry!? My father had no love for anyone! Is that what you want to hear? Well, we¡¯ve all known that by now! And Marak will come and finish the job when that gate in his pen comes off its hinges! You gain nothing by cursing him!¡± ¡°She told me nothing!¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah snapped, her voice melting into blackness. ¡°Your father had many men where I was left; Eleren, who told me all about your father and his binding to his wicked god! Tell me now, Kaqu! Tell me, is what he said true? Kaqu had a ghostly look on his face, as if all his vigor had been drained. ¡°My father never told me anything. I found out all on my own over the past ten years¡­ When a man is buried, sometimes his secrets will sprout up from his soil¡­ Leoy¡¯Shaah¡¯s inquisitive wrath fled her, and she saw Kaqu as he was, not selfish, loathsome, or wrathful. He had held a grudge, sure. But it had eviscerated quicker than a ray lit a room. He was a coward. Nothing else but a coward. "You complain about Marak¡¯s poison seeping unto your people¡¯s blood, but look at you! Look at them! Governor Kazezne knows not the land like we do. His soldiers are mainly ours as well¡­ He is spread thin like butter that you cannot taste! You are indeed a coward, Kaqu. You are not a rogue like your father, but you do have his mind and his presence. Please bring that of yours to our side, and let us make a plan.¡± Yewnie¡¯s voice went from berative, to calming and coaxing. Kaqu frowned. ¡°You forget the Unbon. They are the main leverage of the Kwnollians. Trapped between our mountains and the growing Kwunollians, they move into ours; Murdering, pillaging and reaping as they please. Kwunollians use them as a blade to our neck, Leoy¡¯Shaah. You have no concept of leadership, command, discipline! If you think you are special, you are not any more special than the warlocks who seek power like my father did! You treat people softly, and you will watch them become comfortable and docile. Look at how you talked to Lencan; he''ll probably imagine sleeping with you any day now! You have no wisdom either!¡± ¡°Better than a coward for sure!¡± barked Leoy¡¯Shaah, ¡°And I will learn to fight and manage my people as well.¡± Kaqu gritted his teeth. ¡°I realize now that I cannot convince you to stop this god inside you from having what he wants. I will leave now, but if I am to catch you recruiting and preaching in the middle of day, I shall banish you! Do you understand that?¡± Leoy¡¯Shaah nodded. ¡°When I become skilled enough, I will no doubt cross blades with you, Kaqu.¡± Kaqu shook with anger and frustration, ¡°I hope the both of us live to see that day, Leoy¡¯Shaah!" ¡°You should worry more about yourself, Captain¨C or should I say, Chief Kaqu?¡± Kaqu said not another word as he left the compound, riding away in self-pity. Now he saw the despair that had eased its way into the village; even the merchants who once bathed in luxury, were treated as terribly as the peasants they once looked down upon. And when Kaqu went to sleep, he dreamed that he had died along with the rest of his family at home. He wished his father had told him that he loved him, even if he didn''t. Most of all, however, he hoped the Leoy¡¯Shaah would be right all along, and that by some miracle, she would be able to defend the village. Because if she didn''t, he knew a fate would befall these people - worse than death even - a life of servitude in a crumbling society, built upon lies to begin with. Lies that could no longer bear their own weight. But Leoy''Shaah was this nasty whip; one that lashed all who denied the reality that, they were all cattle to be grown, then eaten when they came of age, when in face they still had horns to impale, and mighty muscles, that if given a hearty meal, could withstand the forces that would dissolve them in just a matter of time. That manly, assertive attitude, not to be mistaken for the blubbering spiteful mess that was before him ten years prior; That was her deity, growing and becoming more defined in feature. Come to think of it, Kaqu realized that what she had in her was the basic components of a diligent leader. She would have much to learn. And he saw it in her eyes she would pursue it yet! What Kaqu did not worry about, was whether or not that leader would be benevolent, or tyrannical. It hardly mattered to him anyways. But he never thought about what would happen if Marak''s severed head laid in Leoy''Shaah''s lap, Its eyes still wide with harbinger fear, and Leoy''Shaah looking down with dissatisfaction. LeoyShaah I: 0008 ¡°Mother¡­ I have returned,¡± the boy said, stumbling through the hut, ¡°I¡¯ve brought water.¡± ¡°Black sky¡­¡± She croaked, ¡°It eats me¡­¡± The boy shook his head, pouring the bucket he held into a chipped cup, he dripped it into her mouth. Suddenly, without warning, she sprang up from her bed, and throttled him. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to find your siblings!?¡± She roared at him. ¡°Uwihel told me to miscarry you, and I should have done so, you weakling! I don¡¯t need your help, go find your brother and sister before I sell you to endenturment!¡± As he fell back, she chucked the wooden pail at his face, causing water to spill and his nose to bleed. He stumbled out of the hut and onto the fields. The road was all but unpaved, as money had been spent elsewhere, into things that did not benefit the bottom classes ¨C and not even the middle classes either. He walked carefully down the long road, with endless plants sprouting up from either side. It was a long walk for his twelve-year-old legs, and he would often take more rests than he would have liked. His much older siblings had no problem earning his mothers love, and he would often think that she had forgotten him, but the occasional beating had reminded him she was aware of his existence. Almost two years ago, his brother and sister left the house, and they never returned. His mother also fell ill, and the sickness crawled into the mind, slowly eating it. And she had not the money to pursue treatment, for his brother and sister had taken it all when they left the house for the last time. The boy¡¯s name was Galwyn, and it had seemed to him that his brother and sister would not return. Galwyn¡¯s older brother, Zerik, was well known ¨C and feared ¨C throughout the village, he was calm in demeanor, but violent at a moment''s notice, being able to contend with his much larger peers ¨C at least according to his sister. One would have to think he was an expert hunter, for he certainly knew his way around a bow and arrow, even a stone and sling. But the way he killed animals was so incredibly sloppy and wasteful, that he was quickly expelled from the hunters group. He did not seem to mind all that much, coming home to drop off his stuff, and leaving once more that day. When he had returned, he carried the bloody, fresh skull of an elk. Galwyn¡¯s mouth gaped in shock at the kill, but Zerik brushed it off and went to his room silently, and he did not come out until the next morning¨C not even to eat, and he returned to his much more meagerly-paying job as a farm laborer. As for the reason he was feared¡­ When Galwyn was younger he was pushed around and abused by a gang of thugs, men much older and stronger than him. Coming home with cuts and bruises, his mother could have cared less; looking at him with undeserved disappointment¨C but Zerik¡­ Galwyn had never seen Zerik so enraged in his whole life. And it became the first time Galwyn bore witness to the dark side of Zerik. Zerik had taken a deep breath, and left the house. He did not return until Galwyn was sleeping on his hay bale, and knocked as quietly as he could. The door was not locked, and it did not even have a knob¨C But Zerik was a polite man, or so it had seemed, until the very next moment, in which he had entered the room, quietly placing a soft, yellowish-white thing on the board that jutted out of the wall as his nightstand. It was crimson at one end, and the other end seemed to split off into long limp straws of their own. He left addressing Galwyn with only one phrase: ¡®I¡¯ll be back.¡¯ Galwyn had been to tired tending to the fields that day to even heave his sore body out of bed to take a closer look at the object. He squinted, the dark playing tricks with his eyes. The object looked like many things in his innocent mind. He decided it looked much like a glove¡­ That was until Zerik had returned, and Galwyn figured out what it really was: A severed human hand. Zerik had returned with an appendage, then another, and he continued to walk through the door, carrying different body parts and tracking blood on the floor, all while the horrified Galwyn lay paralysed in his bed, unable to cry or open his mouth. Finally, Zarik returned with a sewing kit, and went to work with his back to his younger brother. Galwyn¡¯s suspense and terror grew until Zerik revealed his horrific creation: A full human body, stitched together crudely¨C no, the parts had seemed to be mismatched¡­ All the parts were from different people, and the head was of none other than the ringleader himself, the one who had tossed him around, beat and slashed Galwyn; A vulture had finally fallen victim to the vicious hunter. Galwyn knew not if it was merely a figment of imagination, as it had been many years ago, but he could have sworn the man had been alive¨C Barely, but enough to dart his eyes around, trying to make sense of his situation, and opening his mouth, letting out a stream of blood.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Galwyn¡¯s screams shook the whole house, and he continued his long terrified plea for help until his throat became irritated and lost all vocality, leaving him raspy and tired. He fell asleep shortly after, waking in an undisturbed room. There was no sign of last night¡¯s events, no blood, gore, or loose threads, leaving Galwyn wondering if it had all been a strange nightmare. But he had been wrong. For that morning, while in the field, word came to him that a body had been hung up on the bell into town. Perhaps the memory had simply been fabricated entirely, even if the body was real, the fact that it could have been his brother¡¯s doing, and not simply the barbarians of the south, that had done the horrific deed ¨C and something like this would not be uncommon as far south as the village laid, though usually, the parts would be strung up and scattered, often as a warning message. And the Brootizh kept their promises when they made one. Galwyn had remembered Zerik giving him an awful smile. Galwyn allowed that memory to be one he questioned to this day, and with more time than ever on his hands, His sister, Jhilvea, was the middle child. From the earliest he could remember, she was just like any other girl, bubbly, friendly, and full of energy. But as she and Galwyn grew older, he began to observe Jhilvea lose that spark ¨C one normally meant to fade out much later in one¡¯s life, when they would enter adulthood ¨C and become more¡­ Mature. Mature in speech, formality, and wisdom, it seemed. Jhilvea was incredibly smart ¨C at least, to Galwyn. And as she got older, she interacted with Galwyn less and less, leaving him and his older brother alone at night, while their mother drank her way into sleep. As much as Galwyn admitted he could fill an entire journal with endless pages about his brother, his sister was far more mysterious than his brother; Jhilvea was ¨C albeit, still far more motherly than his actual mother, she would often cut him off without prior notice, and much like his brother, she would leave for long times ¨C but she was much more furlative with her trips, as they would usually take place under the cover of night ¨C and she would not head into town like her brother, rather, she would head opposite of the town: deeper into the wilderness ¨C not past the borders, Galwyn had hoped. Sometimes, she would see him at the window, watching her leave off into the fields, he would pull back at the last second, and when he would look again, she would be gone into the pitch-black, 7-foot-tall crops, only to return for breakfast, usually providing it, in fact. Galwyn often felt rather ashamed to admit it, but he had felt more maternal-like care come from her. She seemed to care for mother as well; Galwyn had seen her sneak into mother¡¯s room many times when he was very young. And so one night, when she had prepared the substance, and had delivered it to mother, Galwyn had confronted her when she returned to her room. ¡°What have you been giving mother?¡± Galwyn had asked, head tilted high to meet his sister¡¯s gaze, her cold, yet somehow loving -eye stared back for a moment before answering: ¡°Well, Galwyn, it¡¯s a medicine that makes bad things go away.¡± She smiled at him and ruffled his hair, ¡°Go to sleep, and I¡¯ll bring you that bread that you like.¡± Galwyn would watch Jhilvea wander off into the night yet again and would fall asleep to his mother coughing endlessly. Galwyn assumed Jhilvea knew what she had been doing. He had often seen her with books on various topics relating Galwyn found himself at the center of town now, off to once again try and look for any sign of his brother and sister. He was almost sure they would be long gone by now, but he did not want to displease his mother. He quickly crossed the roundabout which the carriages would be wheeling through, and marriage at the center where many shops were laid, as well as the bell. He had taken his own money, as he knew that mother would have spent all off hers on alcohol, and went to some of the shops, to see what he could pick out. He deeply missed his siblings, they seemed like the only family he had, and now that they were gone, he was left with his mother, who harbored nothing but disappointment and resentment towards him, and he had no clue as to why. Luckily, Jhilvea had left much of the medicine she had concocted for mother in a cupboard, and had entrusted Galwyn in giving it to her when she was not around. ¡°She is not aware of the medicine. If she becomes so, it will lose its effectiveness, do you understand Galwyn?¡± Galwyn had nodded and pledged to not let his mother know of her treatment until she was healthy once more. He hoped that day would come, as she only seemed to be getting sicker and sicker in the past months. LeoyShaah I: 0009 Kazezne did not like the Unbon all that much. As a matter of fact, he was quite frankly disgusted with their politics, and depiction of Brash. It had been the god adopted by the Kwunollian colonial initiative. But it had slowly begun to take a sort of liking to Kazezne and his firm foothold, as well as his sense of order and hierarchy. Kazezne was no alien to that of exploring ¨C and possibly conquering territory. He had come across many tribes, who although had been acquired and assimilated in the end, showed a remarkable sense of community, and understanding when it was time to surrender to the unyielding Kwunollian acquisitioners. The governor had never seen such organiation, yet such primitivism, and on such a scale as well. When the Kwunollians had first organized the clans over 300 years ago. And Beck, their god, had been left back in Kwunollia. Kwunollia had provided two of her god¡¯s favorite disciples. Eleren, Yewnie, Wanu, and a very knowledgeable theologist, Quon. Mediums that had been specially trained, had fallen ill, and had not recovered until a few years ago. One had curled up into a ball, clutching his stomach, and the other one fell unconscious for several days, bedridden. And the final one had suddenly reported the certain anger and resentment, that of which through his person, before it eviserated, never to be sensed again. Kazezne, who had been tasked with taking over the colony, had encountered the aggressive Unbon and their god, Brash. And brash indeed they were, usually attacking encampments every week or so, and when met with another blade, not surrendering under any circumstance. Kazezne knew that things could take a very erratic turn at this point, so he paused the mission, taking careful steps to establish an anchor point in the territory, before running head-first into acquiring the colony curated by their explorers. For all he knew, these Unbon might¡¯ve burned it to the ground just from their sheer territorialism. Kazezne was well educated, like all other officials, in the act of adoption, and incubation. When the sky became enveloped in darkness, and new rules were discovered, binding some, and liberating others, it marked the beginning of the Kwunollians. And they would stop at nothing, in order to spread their rules onto others. But Kazezne, not in over his head over asserting their rules, knew that they would not spread their power too thin. He was careful as to how much he let this deity influence his rule and his people. Why not? It would be as foolish to stretch your god for miles, and his watchful eye having to maintain all with the limited size he was, as allowing a god of the land to control them. Thus, he would allow for the mixture of their two powers. Marak had a different way of looking at things. He did not see why the Kwunollians could not simply march in to take what they wanted. Kazezne was more cautious with his plans to remain friendly with the tribe, in case things went wrong. But Marak had headed southern expansion, particularly, having the Unbon move further south, sandwiching them, and permitting them to leak their borders into the mountain village. Marak hated not the religion, but the people who bore it. He talked of them almost as if they did not deserve the god. ¡°It is wasteful,¡± he had said. And Kazezne did This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. The Unbon disliked Marak to a great extent as well. They saw him almost as a threat to their god. He was all that they were, but more dedicated, religious, and fit for the role of bearing the god¡¯s crown. Kazezne did spite this, but he saw it as nothing more than an establishment of dominance. After all, he had been hand-picked by the King of Kwunollia himself, Yheurgs de Laurenk. King Laurenk had a massive selection of candidates. Well mannered, aggressive, socially smart, logically smart, strategists and high ranking members of the clergy alike. But Kazezne could not bring himself to imagine why the King would choose Marak, of all the choices that he had, but Kazezne had a few theories. Marak could have been unwanted. Yes, the king was simply getting rid of Marak, which was a smart move, and one that Kazezne would have appreciated greatly¡­ That was if he weren¡¯t gone along with Marak. But Marak had been obedient. Even if he often pushed for things that he personally desired from his position, he never really pushed that hard. Kazezne would see him push through and make little changes, trying not to disturb Kazezne. He was doing a terrible job at it. Kazezne would undo whatever little things that Marak would say and do. Upon making a successful agreement with the Unbon ¨C despite Marak¡¯s forward-inching advancement, slowly rewriting borders by the week ¨C Kazezne had sent for Eleren, Wanu, Yewnie, and Quon. He was shocked at what he found. Upon meeting Yewnie, he had discovered the village to have been in a depressing state. Sickness and violent tendencies from the northwest had cornered the poor village, and there were no surviving members of the original initiative except Yewnie, and a man named Kaqu, who claimed to be the son of Quon. It hadn¡¯t taken a scholar to figure out what had happened: Some evil entity had inflicted its malevolence upon the people of the Mountain village, leaving the people mentally scarred and amnestic When he was but a young boy, during the times in which people were slow to catch on to exactly what fantastic changes were graced upon the world ¨C changes that the most radical, aggressive, and ambitious men, triumph above order ¨C Kazezne had seen the destruction of these towns firsthand. The towns had rejected hosting a deity to protect them or aid them other than themselves¡­ That had been a fateful mistake; A small army led by a madman wielding this new ¡®magic¡¯, took the town in less than a day. Kazezne had proudly seen the town be taken back decades later ¨C albeit, ravaged, and stripped of all its dignity ¨C It proudly bore the Kwunollian flags without hesitation. It would have not been too far-fetched to assume the town had a god, but it had forsaken them some time ago, and they had never recovered since. The Unbon had taken advantage of this and had consistently threatened the town since the death of its chief, chief Quon himself. Kazezne was struck with intrigue. This town should have cheered and sang at the sound sight of the Kwunollians, but they did not. Instead, they eyed Kazezne and Marak with fear and distrust. He had first blamed Marak for this image created of the Kwunollians. If the people were to resist, it could end with bloodshed and destruction. That would be good for neither party. But the Governor soon realized that Marak was only partially¨C If at all, to blame for the perception these people had of Kwunollia. No¡­ With every year passing, and now in the ninth of the effort, Kazezne knew something was not summing. How had they survived this long with no god? Kazezne suspected that perhaps there was a god who had watched over this town¨C not Collehk, their god¡¯s name. But one that had soiled this land before them. Yes! And Kazezne questioned no one about this. As they were so insignificant as individuals that he would not even consider their take of the matter. He knew that there was a god that had come and gone, and he knew that Yewnie, Eleren, and Quon were of LeoyShaah I: 0010 I regret many things I did a very long time ago. Not that I remember precisely what I did ¨C someday I will ¨C but I find feelings instead. I wish I could say sorry to everyone I wronged. I wish I could go back and change my actions. I wish I could say things that I didn¡¯t, and not say things that I did. And sometimes, I wish I had not followed Zayno up that mountain. Sometimes I wish I lived a normal life, or maybe even lost it prematurely. In the end though, time only flows forward. And it seems, no matter how many times something happens, I never learn. Anyways, I have much work to do¡­ So be at peace. And to whoever reads this¡­ May you never waver.
Marak awoke in a dim cell. Even in his groggy state, he recognized where he was¡­ In prison. He caught a glimpse of something lurking in the shadows on the other side of the bars. ¡°Lahura!¡± He shouted. ¡°God damn you slut! Did you put me in here!? Answer me, hag!¡± The woman turned around, slowly. She looked down at Marak with disgust. ¡°You¡¯re finally awake¡­ You don¡¯t have to be so rude¨C¡± Marak shot up from his bed and slammed against the iron bars, shaking the entire thing. ¡°You¡­ You put me in here¡­ Now, let me out before I have you hanged!¡± Lahura ignored his threat. ¡°Is it true? About the girl Leoy¡¯Shaah?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t answer a single phucking question of yours until you let me out, bit¨C¡± She swung her hand from the other side, but somehow, Marak felt the impact hit him in the cheek, and it was a strong one too ¨C strong enough to knock him back onto the hay mattress. ¡°Quit your whining and listen to me.¡± Lahura said. ¡°Why would I trust a traitorous whore like you?¡± Marak said, recovering quickly. ¡°No wonder¡­ That tea I¡¯ve been drinking¡­ You¡¯ve been putting poison in it, haven''t you!?¡± ¡°You¡¯re delusional.¡± Lahura insisted. ¡°I¡¯ve not even touched your tea.¡± Marak spat out a chunk of blood that had hardened. ¡°You¡¯re a liar and everyone knows it.¡± ¡°So what if I¡¯m a phucking liar?¡± She said, sinisterly. ¡°No one will believe you anyways.¡± ¡°Ahhh¡­ so you¡¯re working with Kazezne again. Even after you depreciated Canconcilla?¡± ¡°You tainted Canconcilla on your own just fine. Kazezne doesn¡¯t tighten your leash himself, because that would mean he would have to stoop to your level and take time out of his day to deal with you. I am not Kazezne, I hate your guts and I would like nothing more than to see you rotting on the side of the road, a product of one miscalculation, and disobedience.¡± Marak laughed. ¡°Isn¡¯t Kazezne a bit too old for you? What is it like, I wonder? Is it wrinkly?¡± Lahura swiped at him again, but Marak was quick, catching her pseudo-arm like a cat to a mouse. And like a cat, he bit her arm. His teeth bit nothing but air, but her quick retrieval of her arm indicated the pain was transferred back to her. ¡°A new trick I see?¡± Marak snickered. ¡°Maybe Kazezne prefers it over your real hand¨C¡± Lahura slapped him with her other hand and smiled at the dazed Marak. ¡°Listen here, you insufferable bastard! If I killed you, Kazezne would not be pleased.¡± ¡°Of course you want to please h¨C¡± She hit him again, but Marak, appearing tired of her little games, swatted her arm away, not even aiming to nip it again. ¡°Jokes aside, I never thought I¡¯d see your stupid face again. I¡¯d like to think Kazezne keeps you here for your sexual services, but the truth is perhaps much more depressing. He didn¡¯t order you to take me, did he?¡± ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡± Lahura responded. ¡°He ordered me to fetch you and bring you back.¡± ¡°And why would that be?¡± Marak spat. ¡°I¡¯ve done nothing but be loyal¡­ But you¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a traitor. I stopped you from declaring war on the Unbon!¡± Marak laughed, ¡°They¡¯re all but primitives. What would they do? Throw rocks? Ride their lizards to their deaths?¡± Hellenga shook her head. ¡°Do you have any idea how big these Unbon are? They might be primitives, but they rule for miles! Our trade routes are between Unbon territories: The West Unbon, and the East Unbo¡­¡± She noticed Marak making a talking hand gesture before staring her down past the bars. ¡°If your job is to retrieve me, then you shall let me out at once, and I shall take this issue to Kazezne himself!¡± ¡°I am afraid the Governor is preoccupied with meeting with the Unbon Chief.¡± She said, smirking at him. She grinned wider at the angered expression Marak wore. That Governor... He wants to ally with those brutes? They know nothing of tactics. You cannot train men like that in the ways of fine warfare! Yet that was what Kazezne intended to do. At least, that was what Marak assumed he would do; It made the most sense, after all. If Kazezne were to succeed with making an agreement ¨C most likely one which Mountain village and its current leader would benefit from ¨C Marak¡¯s leverage against the pitiful Kaqu would be slain in one fail swoop. All because of this disgusting, traitorous whore! Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Marak clenched his teeth and fists in sheer anger. Lahura leaned forward, ¡°Aww. Looks like someone is getting angry! Are you gonna bark at me like a dog? Are you gonna bite me? Aww I bet you do~¡± Marak glared at her silently, trying to imagine how he could kill her from inside the cell. She cocked her head. ¡°Unfortunately, I couldn''t let you die. And I can¡¯t kill you now either¡­ Not yet.¡± ¡°Kill me¡­¡± Marak seethed. ¡°I¡¯d like to see you try, you wench!¡± ¡°You have no idea how much stronger I¡¯ve gotten since we¡¯ve last seen each other!¡± Lahura said. ¡°Now, shut up and lay here until I return.¡± She tossed a small metal object through the bars, a razor. Marak watched it bounce strangely into the corner. He turned to look back at the sorceress, who was starting up the stone stairs. ¡°Just in case you can¡¯t wait for me.¡± She remarked, smiling. ¡°Just try not to make too much of a mess. Oh, and do it lengthwise, saves time.¡± Kazezne prayed in the morning. He did not pray often. Walking the path of order was already enough worship. However, he felt as if Behck had left him as his lowest. He was face to face with the chief of the Unbon: A large, darker-skinned man who wielded a staff. His hand outstretched, awaiting Kazezne. The Governor swallowed his disgust and met his hand. These men knew not of even the most basic hygiene. As a matter of fact, Kazezne would even go as far as to wonder if this was part of their culture. ¡°Good day, Mr. Governor.¡± The Chief smiled. My name is Ulukbactun, but you may call me Uluk. I am very happy you responded to our invitation.¡± Kazezne put on an uncomfortable smile. He sympathised with Marak more and more by the second. ¡°Yes. It was the least I could do. What is it that you wanted to talk about?¡± ¡°Come,¡± Uluk said, motioning to a large communal structure, ¡°we shall eat and talk Mr. Kazezne.¡± Kazezne entered the hut, with Uluk following suit. It was unlike the huts in the Mountains, being much larger ¨C although it was noticeably lower in quality. It was not fashioned with lightweight wooden skeletons, nor was the roof made of a more durable material. The hut was large enough to have a round-ish table that laid in the center. Several of whom Kazezne assumed were high ranking members of the tribe were already seated around the area. They all eyed Kazezne. ¡°Sit.¡± The chief motioned towards a mound, which Kazezne realized was a hollowed log with animal hide as the seat. He sat carefully, straightening his back and surveying the rest of the room, which was well lit from the flaps on the roof. Multiple guardsmen stood by the entrance of the hut, slowly seeping in. Uluk sat down at the back end, in the largest of the seats, which appeared to be a mound of dirt and hay, which were too, covered in animal skin. Uluk lounged in a way that would have been very disrespectful. Had this meeting taken place back in the united clans under Kwunollia, Uluk would have been jeered out. His smell alone would have driven all members aways. ¡°Let''s discuss the contents of our meeting.¡± Kazezne insisted, no longer asking or being polite at this point, for he was nigh sure that the man who sat before him was the sort of man to take a word at face value, and not pay attention to the emotion conveyed. Or perhaps he did, but he did not care for the emotion, because it did not matter to him. ¡°Hold on, Mr. Governor,¡± Uluk said, waving his hand dismissively, ¡°we¡¯ve not eaten yet.¡± ¡°Apologies, but I do not care to eat, I care to discuss our terms, and our plans for the future I might add.¡± Uluk moved his hand, as if he was trying to calm an angry dog. It was this movement that offended Kazezne beyond belief. It was such a condescending gesture, one of such reserved for a babbling woman or a man having a panicked ramble. It was unacceptable to Kazezne, and yet¡­ He was the chief, and there was nothing Kazezne could do besides leave, and sour this relationship. If Marak had been here, he would have no doubt taken this man¡¯s jaw off. ¡°Now, now,¡± Uluk said, ¡°No man may think clearly on an empty stomach.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve eaten rather recently.¡± Kazezne remarked. ¡°And besides, I am not in the mood to dine at this hour, especially with issues I must tend to upon my return to Canconcilla.¡± ¡°That is nonsense, Mr. Governor!¡± Uluk laughed. Then, in the corner of his vision, Kazezne saw figures entering the hut. Women carrying bowls and wooden slabs with food on them.¡± ¡°Come now, eat as you wish, and then we may talk.¡± Kazezne did not touch any of the food besides the bread, which he recognized was made from Canconcillan wheat. He looked around for an ingredient to put on it. There was no butter or seed oil anywhere. He grimaced, and took a bite of the plain bread. Kazezne had about three slices of the loaf, while the rest of the men dined like they had not eaten in days. Even the chief himself cleared plate after plate, before finally finishing. After all the plates and bowls had been retrieved, Uluk laughed and spoke to Kazezne: ¡°Mr. Governor, I would now like to begin our discussion.¡± He motioned to the guards, who all exited the hut but two. ¡°Now,¡± Uluk said, ¡°a man named Marak recently visited our village, and he was quite an interesting man. He rode by our land like a rogue! And my men nearly mistaken him for an enemy. Had they taken their bows, they would have surely killed him!¡± Most of the men at the table laughed. A few more than others. ¡°I have to say,¡± the chief continued, ¡°that although he is a madman, he is much more lively than you!¡± Uluk adjusted his seat. ¡°Now, this man Marak brought forth a request to my ears. He requested we bring our religious men to your village, Canconcilla, and strengthen our god there. Is that so?¡± Kazezne nodded. ¡°Yes, It would be in our best interests to make our connection to your god stronger, considering he rules this land.¡± ¡°But that is not all, is it?¡± Uluk said. ¡°What else do you want?¡± ¡°We have a god as well. His name is Behck. He is the god of rule and order, he wants to adopt your god, and perhaps they shall work together to combine their strength.¡± There was an uproar. Many of the men began to chatter in a frenzy, all the while the chief himself sat in his chair motionless, attempting to process what had graced his ears. Eventually, he came to. ¡°Silence!¡± He shouted at the men at the table. He turned to Kazezne. ¡°You propose that your god come and mix with ours?¡± ¡°No¨C¡± Uluk suddenly laughed. Which made Kazezne put on a feeble smile. ¡°You¨C! Hahaha!¡± He then slammed his fist down on the table, almost shaking the entire hut. He slumped to his seat. ¡°You are a funny little man, Mr. Governor!¡± Uluk chuckled. ¡°You have a very serious complexion that not many men see through.¡± Kazezne felt angered and disturbed. These men did not take anything serious. And when they did, they were brutal and merciless. What angered him more was there was some truth to Marak¡¯s claims, these men could not be assimilated. Perhaps the religious men, perhaps¡­ But no man born or raised in a den like this, by savages, could ever defy his own surroundings or people. Never. ¡°I disagree,¡± a voice came from behind. A woman, accompanied by two guardsmen. Lahura! A mixture of relief and newfound worry washed over Kazene. The governor had decided to retrieve a previously disgraced sorceress, against the warnings of Kwunollia, and he was taking a liking to her by the second. Uluk rose up. ¡°A woman! A woman shall not speak without the permission of her master!¡± I apologise, Mr. Kazezne but Brash frowns on females who interrupt such important manners. ¡° ¡°She lives with my permission.¡± Kazezne asserted. ¡°Now, shall she have a seat?¡± Uluk scrunched his face. The men at the table began to talk again in their guttural language. Uluk gestured for silence with his hand and that was what followed. ¡°I don¡¯t see why not.¡± He said, uncomfortably. ¡°But she shall remain educated on our customs, should she ever return, she will be removed from my presence.¡± Kazezne wore nothing but a small smile as Lahura pulled a seat from behind him. ¡°Hello, your Honor,¡± Lahura greeted.