Sovereign Servants - The Sending (VIRGIN EARTH Book 1)

by W. C. Jasper

  As they headed to the springs, Akini moaned, “I’m hungry!”

  Prince Jared responded promptly, “Bathing in the springs births tremendous hunger! That way, we’ll be able to eat more.”

  Akini: “Wait! Where’d this blue bird come from? And why is it sitting on Ribon’s shoulder?”

  Prince Jared screamed in a terrified voice, “Blessed heavens!” and quickly locked Akini in his arms from behind and yelled out, “She’s going to eat the bird! I’ll hold her! Someone knock her out!”

  His lock on Akini broke, thanks to Queen Maomi’s smack to the back of his head as she proceeded to calmly ask Ribon, “Where exactly did this bird come from?”

  Ribon answered in her extremely tranquil voice, “She was following me as we were climbing the mountain. There was something special about her. I slowed down and extended a finger, and she quickly took a seat. She seemed to develop an instant friendship, so I put her in my pocket and brought her here with me. She has an air of familiarity about her… I like her.”

  Queen Maomi extended her finger towards the bird and she quickly hopped onto her finger. Queen Maomi inspected her closely as the bird chirped sweetly. Queen Maomi said, “She does not seem to possess any remarkable intellect. But she is quite smart for a common bird. I like her too!” Queen Maomi gestured to Akini to come close, “Go ahead, extend your finger. Let her climb on.” Akini did an almost decent job (almost) of hiding her excitement and quickly offered her index finger. The bird immediately flew back to Ribon in a hurry. As everyone broke into a guffaw, General Thayman added, “It seems our Prince was correct after all. The bird clearly senses that Akini is trying to eat her!” Akini’s nostrils flared and she shot fiery looks at Prince Jared as everyone broke into another peal of laughter. Kaveri pulled Akini into an embrace, “Let’s avoid violence for today, my dear.”

  As they approached the springs, they noticed that every spring boasted a different temperature. The different amounts of steam rising from each one made it quite apparent as to which springs were hotter than the others. As they drew closer and closer, they noticed that not only were they shaped uniquely and set in place to form a beautiful pattern, but each one boasted a different colour. Numerous shades of blue, green, pink, and some even crystal clear. The springs were separated by platforms that were only a few inches wide. But the platforms were wide enough to allow people to walk on them. As they reached the springs and walked through them, they felt as if they were walking through a web of marble-tubs.

  “WOW!” said Queen Maomi in wonder.

  Kaveri: “This place is heavenly!”

  Ribon: “It really is. I might want to visit this place every week.”

  General Hana: “And I’d be happy to join you. This would be a much-needed escape from having to put with the daily burdens of having to deal with absolutely incompetent new recruits in the military.”

  Yaakub, as usual, contributed with his golden silence.

  Brimming with excitement, Yuroichi hollered, “Come on! Let’s jump in already!”

  “Patience, my dear,” said King Jeraash, “Jump into the wrong one, and you might just burn your skin off or freeze your innards. We are walking towards the perfect place that has the pools with the perfect temperature and are of perfect size.”

  Just as he finished his sentence, they heard Thaymas screaming in pain. The curious Thaymas couldn’t resist from dipping his hand in one of the pools and underestimated the temperature of that pool. As King Jeraash stared at him in reproach, he flashed an apologetic smile and leveraged his charm. King Jeraash shook his head and continued marching forward.

  They soon noticed a thin, wooden wall extending a long way down the middle.

  King Jeraash: “The left is for the men, and the right is for the women. The big one with crystal clear water will be suitable for all women to share. I am sure that its temperature will be comfortable and pleasing. The big pink one can be shared by us men. It is a tad bit less hot than yours and will suit the men perfectly. The wall in the middle extends such a long way so that you can try out the other pools as well. And also, do note that some of the pools are cold springs. It might not be the best idea to test them out in the current weather. That door in the roof over there will lead the women to their changing room that is set up on the surface of the mountain. And that one will lead the men to theirs.”

  A few minutes into their bath, as everyone was lost in relaxation and enjoyment, General Hana spoke, “Ahh… This is exactly what I need every day after having to deal with the absolutely useless new recruits. This is… wonderful…”

  Queen Maomi: “You really need to engage in more spiritual therapy, my dear Hana. You are always… How do I put this into words…? You are always too annoyed… And even though he does not show it, your King really worries about that. You really should think about that.”

  “Hmmmm,” nodded General Hana.

  Queen Maomi: “You know? If you were to get your anger under control, people might even stop comparing you to Bartholomew the Berserker,” and burst into a gentle laughter.

  General Hana: “I don’t much care about being compared to an extinct species. Moreover, I am not the only one who is compared to dragons, now am I?”

  Queen Maomi: “Just heed the advice, dear one. While it is good for the recruits to be terrified of you, it is still necessary for your own soul’s well-being to get some control on your wrath.”

  “Yes, My Lady,” replied General Hana begrudgingly, but with obedience that was birthed from genuine honour and respect.

  Ribon’s new blue friend had joined them in the springs as well. As the blue bird hopped around and investigated everyone, she was cautious enough to steer clear of Akini.

  Kaveri spoke in jest, “It seems our new friend is still keeping her distance from you, Eevay,” and laughed teasingly at Akini. Akini pouted in anger as usual, as Kaveri continued, “We should think of a name for our new friend. Any suggestions?”

  “Why don’t we name it Thaymas? It is after all as much of a coward as him!” sulked Akini.

  Everyone burst into laughter as Queen Maomi spoke, “Dear one, I’m sure that the very reason she is keeping her distance from you is because she is afraid of you! Just calm your soul a little, and I’m sure she will join you soon. Okay. Do this. Close your eyes and focus on the wonderful hot water of the springs healing your skin.”

  As soon as Akini closed her eyes and started focusing on the water, she tangibly felt the water purifying her skin and rejuvenating her flesh.

  Queen Maomi: “Breathe slowly as if you are savouring every breath of air. The way you slowly savour the tastiest fried salmon prepared by Uncle Thayman.”

  As Akini breathed slowly and her mind entered a truly calm state on a rare occasion, she felt the blue bird sit on her shoulder. Akini’s eyes quickly popped wide open and exploded with excitement.

  “Stay calm now,” said Queen Maomi knowing full well that she would have screamed in joy, “Don’t scare it away.”

  Akini calmly, slowly, and extremely cautiously offered her index finger. The little bird investigated her finger for about a second and hopped on happily. Akini was finally smiling after a lot of pouting. A much-needed change of posture for her cheek muscles.

  Yuroichi exclaimed, “I’ve got it! Let’s name her Neeli!”

  Ribon: “As in…”

  Yuroichi: “Yup!”

  Ribon tilted her head slightly and nodded, “Hmmm… I do like it.”

  “Well,” said General Hana, “That certainly did not take much thought, huh!”

  Most people did echo her feelings to some extent, for ‘neelam’ was the word for ‘blue’ in the ancient Jerudian tongue.

  “But it’s beautiful!” said Akini, defending the name.

  “Not really,” said General Hana, still in staunch disapproval of the name.

  Queen Maomi laughed softly, “Well, Ribon seems to like it, though. It’s decided then. Our new friend shall henceforth be called Neeli!” />
  The women enjoyed the springs to the fullest. The hot springs not only brought them incredible physical relaxation and rejuvenation, but also brought great rest and refreshment to their souls. They shared idle chit-chat, old stories, and quite a few laughs. If they could, they would have stayed there until night fell.

  The men were enjoying their baths just as much. As everyone relaxed and enjoyed the pink pool, Prince Jared and General Thayman chose to dip in a blueish-green one next to it. They were conversing with the others by resting their chin on the platform separating the two pools, with the rest of their body from the neck down submerged in the water.

  Noticing the visible steam coming from their bodies, Thaymas inquired, “Isn’t that more painful than relaxing?”

  Prince Jared shook his head as General Thayman replied, “Everyone is built differently, Son.”

  “I’d like to give it a try,” said Thaymas.

  “You probably do not want to jump in,” said the man who seldom used his precious words. And precious were Yaakub’s words, as Thaymas would soon find out.

  “I’d still like to try a dive,” replied Thaymas respectfully.

  Thaymas jumped about four feet into the air and dove head-first into the steaming green water. About three seconds later, he was seen dancing on the platform like a spider on fire, yelling, “OOOH!!! AAAAH!!!! BLESSED HEE— AAAAAAA!!!!!”

  Everyone laughed until their eyes teared up and struggled to quiet down as Thaymas added, “Look at my skin! It’s almost purple! How are you two even staying in there!? And not to mention - finding it relaxing!!?”

  It took a moment for the laughter to wane. And once the laughter started to wane, Prince Jared answered, “Like your father said, dear Brother. People are built differently. Our bodies have a resting temperature that is quite higher than you all. And also, your father and I have skin that is considerably tougher and rougher than the rest of you.”

  Thaymas: “Oh...”

  “But,” added Prince Jared, “we are still humans,” and raised up his right hand. Thaymas was shocked to see that his skin too had visibly changed redder.

  Thaymas looked to his father in shock as General Thayman spoke, “Not me, son. My skin is far tougher than this fragile and tender child’s,” and raised his hand to reveal his skin to be almost unchanged.

  Prince Jared: “But I still outclass you in every form of eating competition with ease!” The smugness on his face knew no bounds. And while it was factually correct that he could defeat pretty much any human on the face of the planet in almost any eating competition, the truth of the “with ease” was questionable.

  General Thayman retorted, “Says the adolescent who still cannot eat his food until someone blows on it and cools it down for him!”

  “Hey! I BLOW MY OWN FOOD!”, Prince Jared was quick to respond. His angry countenance was almost half as adorable as his daughter’s. He added in a high-pitched voice, “And come on, Uncle! I have a sensitive tongue! That is not fair!”

  As everyone laughed in a merriness that was completely devoid of any worries, King Jeraash added, “He blows his own food! This! My fellow Jerudians, this is the world’s greatest warrior!” The Earth was once again graced with Yaakub’s immeasurably precious, gentle laughter as everyone lost their sanity in laughter and Prince Jared very slowly and steadily lowered himself into the water and disappeared.

  After a minute or so, Thaymas and his skin had recovered from his shock enough to re-enter the pool. After joining the others in the pink pool, Thaymas inquired curiously, “I’ve always wondered something… How is it that most of the rare, mysterious metals/minerals you people come across are usually found by Prince Jared? I mean… I know that he often goes on his exploratory expeditions alone… Even so… Even after applying the correction for a proportional balance, it seems like it is far too often that he happens to be the one to find such things…” King Jeraash looked over at General Thayman. After a momentary flash of puzzlement, General Thayman suddenly broke into laughter.

  Prince Jared’s eyes exhibited quite the confusion for a few seconds before he finally exclaimed, “No, no, no! No! NO! That is NOT it! Please don’t do this!” King Jeraash and General Thayman savoured the moment to the fullest and laughed to their heart’s content as Thaymas and Yaakub remained completely clueless.

  Prince Jared shook his head and buried it in his forearm as King Jeraash spoke, “You see… My brother is the greatest warrior to have ever walked the Earth. His intellect, wisdom, creativity, and general excellence in most things is supreme. He loves exploring new places, discovering new things, and even inventing new things. And that is the reason he enjoys and goes on so many of these expeditions. But the Ferianoy forest… It is different from any other forest on Earth. There is so much that the general public is not told about what exists inside the Forest of Ferianoy. There is so much in there that even we don’t know about… It is believed to be the oldest forest on Earth. It is believed that long, long ago… It was like a gigantic garden. During a time before civilisation… when people did not even wear clothes. Some say it used to be called the Garden of Shaan Shueisha… Shaan Shueisha means ‘Perfect Creation’ in the ancient Jerudian tongue. Some even say that the very first dragon came out of the Garden of Shaan Shueisha. And there is no doubt that most of the land creatures definitely originated from that Garden. But every time Jared goes on an expedition inside the Ferianoy forest, he always takes three wolves or lions with him. Would you like to guess why?”

  Yaakub shook his head with his blank expression as always and Thaymas’ face very clearly reflected the amazement and deep curiosity that filled his mind. Thaymas spoke with a look of absolute wonder, “I mean… We all know that dragons are extinct… But even if they weren’t, it would be foolish to only take a few of the wolves or lions along for safety. With so few, it would just mean death for everyone. I am unable to venture a guess here.”

  “Hmmm…” said King Jeraash with a profoundly thoughtful face, “The reason he always takes three of the wolves or lions with him is because… Jared… He is the kind of person… He is the kind of person to get lost on a straight path!” King Jeraash and General Thayman burst into an uncontrollable laughter as their faces wrinkled in an attempt to remain intact. Lost in his laughter, General Thayman slapped the platform around the spring so hard that his hand started to bleed!

  Thaymas and Yaakub watched on as the King and General Thayman laughed as if they were about to lose their sanity.

  King Jeraash continued, “You see… For all the talents my brother has been blessed with, Sathyam also bestowed a weakness upon him in the spirit of fairness. Jared has zero sense of direction! Zero! So every time he goes on an expedition, he just loses track of everything and gets lost and ends up happening upon the rarest of things in his lostness!”

  As the King and General continued laughing like maniacs, Yaakub and Thaymas stared at each other, unable to understand what was so funny.

  After four whole minutes of being unable to control their laughter, King Jeraash and General Thayman finally calmed down. King Jeraash seemed to remember something and spoke with a solemn voice, “This reminds me something rather important. Do note that what I mentioned about the Forest of Ferianoy is absolutely true. There is no joke there. And what I said about the Garden of Shaan Shueisha is also a very true part of the lore. And since we have come to discuss these things, there is another thing I should reveal to you both. Lost in between lore and legends, it often becomes difficult to keep track of what is true and what is a fairy-tale… You see… Apart from being officially titled as the world’s greatest warrior, some people also say that my brother is immortal.”

  Thaymas’s face was flooded with confusion, as expected. But even the eternally-empty face of Yaakub which never gave away any expression, now displayed some confusion. For this was an outrageous and even a grave fabrication.

  King Jeraash: “I am sure that you two already know that immortality is a topic that is never t
o be joked about. So I know that I don’t need to tell you what a grave fabrication this is. But such outrageous talk is usually formed based on some underlying reasoning. The people who floated this nonsense about immortality also based it on a very true fact. It is important that you know the reason for that as well. And remember to not divulge this to anyone. Not even to Ribon, Yuroichi, and Akini. Am I clear?”

  Thaymas and Yaakub nodded. And in a rare occurrence, Yaakub’s eyes expressed true curiosity.

  King Jeraash: “There is a certain logic that lies behind this talk about Jared’s immortality. You both must have heard that when people are on the verge of death, they see a light. It is said that when one is in that state, a voice tells them to walk towards the light, and if the person makes it to the light, then they cross over into the afterlife. And anyone who is in that state, will always choose the light because… In that realm, one knows instinctively that the afterlife is a better place… But you see… If Jared is ever in that state, and sees the light… He would never be able to find his way to the light because he is the kind of person to get lost on a straight path!!! So he certainly cannot die!”