by Eric Vall
“Then who lives in the south?” Marina questioned, and she pointed to the swaying grasslands.
“House Jubatus claims the plains and city to the south,” the jaguar Demi-Human explained.
“So, jaguars to the east, lions to the north and west, and let me guess … House Jubatus consists of cheetah Demi-Humans?” I said, since the other Demi-Human factions lived in their own natural habitats, and cheetahs lived in grasslands.
Jai nodded. “Yes, though some humans have found their way into Tikal and call it home now, too. Most of them have sworn fealty to either House Onca or Jubatus.”
“But not House Oel?” I asked with a frown. “Why not?”
“Because,” Jai sneered, and his spotted ears flattened against his head, “House Oel seeks nothing but the oppression of others that they deem weaker or inferior to them. Each House has its own way of ruling, which is why we have fought each other for generations, but House Oel’s method is to build upon the backs of those they control.”
“Is this why House Oel no longer rules over Tikal?” I surmised, and my voice rumbled with a suppressed growl. I hadn’t met anyone from House Oel yet, but I didn’t particularly like people who oppressed and subjugated others.
“Precisely,” Jai hissed, and his hands curled into clawed fists at his sides. Then his heated yellow gaze snapped to Nike. “You say Tikal was once a peaceful and prosperous city, and perhaps it seemed that way to an outsider child. But this was merely a veneer fabricated by House Oel. Oh, they were prosperous, yes, but House Onca and House Jubatus languished in poverty while the lions hoarded the wealth and benefits of Tikal. Eventually, we had enough. House Onca and Jubatus rose up against House Oel, and we decided to take our lives into our own hands.”
“How long ago was that?” Alyona asked as her delicate brow furrowed.
Jai shrugged. “Many, many years. Generations. It was our parents and our grandparents who revolted against House Oel, and since then, we have lived in a Tikal divided.”
“But why didn’t House Onca and Jubatus band together against Oel and establish a new order?” I wondered. “Why did the city break into factions?”
“House Onca and Jubatus might have suffered similar fates in the past,” Jai sighed, “and it was enough of a common ground for them to work together to disrupt House Oel. But once the lions were no longer in control of Tikal, both House Onca and House Jubatus did not want to bow before another ruler again. So, the Houses became autonomous, and now we rule over our own.”
I thought about pointing out that Tikal was still just a city in the kingdom of Rahma, which meant King Rodion technically ruled over all of the Houses, but given Jai’s history and hostility toward the crown, I decided to keep this to myself for the time being.
“But surely you must have some relationship with the other Houses,” Alyona said as she studied Jai. “You all live in the same city after all, even if it is vast and divided. How do you trade? Or feed yourselves?”
“We hunt and grow our own crops, and very few traders come to Tikal,” Jai growled, and his tail flicked behind him in irritation. “So, the only relationships we have with House Oel and House Jubatus are contentious ones.”
“What do you mean by that?” I asked.
The dark-skinned Demi-Human pursed his lips, and then he turned to look out over Tikal.
“You will see for yourself,” he grunted after a long moment of silence. “Now come, night is almost upon us. We must return to House Onca’s ancestral seat.”
Without another word, the jaguar spun around and marched back into the jungle the way we came, and my party and I shared concerned looks before we followed after him.
We quickly made our way back to the caravan of wagons, and then we mounted up again. The horses had been munching on the long grasses and ferns along the bases of the massive trees, and they were well rested and ready for the next leg of our journey.
Jai and his warriors continued to lead us down the dirt path we’d been traveling along, and the trail took on a slight decline as we descended into the valley. The towering trees thinned out somewhat as we approached the borders of Tikal, and I looked up into the red tinged sky. The sun was setting over the western desert, and light glinted and bounced off the sandy dunes before it reached tentatively into the depths of the city.
Once we reached the valley floor, the road we were on branched off into three different directions, and I guessed each trail led into the separate sections of Tikal. We followed the rightmost path that curved east into House Onca’s territory, but Jai and his men were anything except relaxed.
The jaguar Demi-Humans clutched their spears and other weapons as we marched along the road, and their spotted ears and tails were constantly twitching back and forth. They also kept their heads on a swivel, and their shoulders were held high and hunched.
“What do you think is bothering them?” Ravi whispered as she leaned against me on the wagon bench.
“My guess is we’re close to another House’s borders,” I replied as I studied our surroundings. We were still in the eastern jungles around Tikal, but we were steadily making our way north as we entered the city, and the ground was growing sandier.
Our group was silent as we crossed the threshold into the city proper, and the horses’ hooves clopped and echoed down the stone-paved streets. As our caravan continued, I spotted more and more jaguar Demi-Humans peeking out from behind trees and other vegetation, and yellow and green eyes flashed from the doorways and windows of buildings.
As we turned down a wider road, though, Jai and his men came to a staggered halt in front of us, and Laika yanked on the horses’ reins to bring us to a jittering stop. The horses pawed at the ground and tossed their heads, and Laika was sitting ramrod straight in the seat beside me.
“What’s going on?” I muttered to the tense wolf.
“It seems we have encountered our first denizens of House Oel,” she replied under her breath, and her ears perked forward as her gray eyes narrowed.
I followed her suspicious gaze, and I quickly spotted what she was talking about.
Halfway down the block from where Jai and his men were standing were a pair of lion Demi-Humans. They were dressed in gold and ivory robes that complimented their golden hair, and gold jewelry glinted at their necks and along their wrists. Round tan ears perched atop their ears, and beige tails extended out behind them, though each lion characteristic had accents of black and darker brown. Their eyes were orangish-gold too, and they were currently narrowed in hatred as they regarded Jai and his jaguars.
I couldn’t see any marked border or territory line along the street, but neither party seemed to cross this invisible line as they glared at each other. The tension in the air mounted as the two species of Demi-Humans squared off, and even though the sun had nearly set, it was like high-noon in Tikal. I half expected someone to make a move and for all out chaos to descend upon the street, but after several long moments, the lion Demi-Humans sneered and hissed in derision at Jai. Then they turned to their right down a side street and disappeared from view.
Jai and his jaguar warriors seemed to release a collective breath, and then Jai motioned over his shoulder for us to follow him once more.
When we were moving again, I sighed and slumped back against the wagon bench.
“Well … that was intense,” I muttered and rifled my hair.
“Yes, it seems Jai was not exaggerating the state of affairs between the Houses of Tikal,” Alyona agreed with a frown.
“Bad blood exists between these people,” Laika remarked as her gray eyes swept over the streets, “they might not be open to talks of peace.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t really give a shit about what they’re ‘open’ to,” I muttered and crossed my arms over my chest. “As we pointed out to Jai, The Breach is Rahma, and Inati’s, most important concern. These petty disputes won’t mean anything if demons descend upon the city. The demons won’t care if people are lions or cheetahs or jaguars. The
y’ll kill anyone and everyone in their paths.”
“How do you plan on getting the Houses to realize this, Lord Evan?” Ravi asked as she looked up at me with wide blue eyes.
“Well, first I’ll have to figure out a way to even meet with the other Houses,” I sighed, “but something tells me that isn’t going to be easy.”
“We’ll find a way, my love,” Alyona said as she placed a hand on my cheek. “I have every faith in you.”
“Thanks.” I grinned tiredly and suppressed a yawn. “Once we get to … wherever we’re going, I’ll ask Jai how I can go about winning an audience with the other Houses. Then we’ll need to all get some rest. It’s been a long day.”
“You can say that again,” Ravi sighed and leaned against me. Her orange hair tickled my neck and smelled like a smoky campfire, but I found the scent both alluring and comforting.
We continued down the darkening streets of Tikal for another half hour, and in that time, we barely came across a dozen people. I suspected most of them heard us approaching and were hiding, but it was still unsettling to see such a vast city so empty. It reminded me of Hatra when I first arrived in the ruined city, and the notion made me a little sad.
Alyona and Ravi had started to yawn contagiously some time ago, and even Laika was waning in her seat with the reins lax in her grip. Just when I was thinking about calling out to Jai and asking how much farther we were going, we turned another corner, and I knew right away we had reached our destination.
A grand palace made of wood and pale stone took up most of the city block before us. It wasn’t as magnificent as my own Lunar Palace, it didn’t have a dome of gold after all, but it was still a sight to see. Pillars of what looked like dark green jade framed the entrance into the palace, and the vast windows were open to the elements and without glass. The most eye-catching aspect of the building, though, was the colossal tree that rose up from the center of the structure. The trunk of the tree was nearly as wide as the palace itself, and it was apparent the building had been constructed around this central piece. The tree arched up into the sky for hundreds upon hundreds of feet, and the boughs drooped and brushed along the gabled roof of the palace.
“Amazing,” Ravi breathed in awe beside me.
“I prefer the Lunar Palace,” Laika remarked and scrunched her nose.
“And that’s why I love you,” I teased and leaned over to press a kiss against the wolf’s gray ears.
Jai and his men led us off to the side toward some stables, and we quickly dismounted from the wagons and stretched our legs. Nike and the dryads came around the caravan from one of the rear carts, and the sisters were yawning and knuckling their eyes.
“This place is so pretty,” Polina murmured sleepily while she leaned against her sisters. “I can’t wait to see what it looks like in the daytime.”
“This is the ancestral home of House Onca,” Jai announced as he approached our group. “We have lived here for generations, even when House Oel was still oppressing us.”
“I can see that House relations haven’t improved in the interim,” I said. “I thought you and your men were going to come to blows with those lion Demi-Humans we came across.”
“Normally, we would.” Jai pursed his lips and flexed his claws.
“Normally?” I echoed with a furrowed brow. “What’s changed?”
“Nothing,” the jaguar replied too quickly, and then he turned toward the palace. “Come, I will show you and your party to your quarters for the night.”
“Hold up,” I said and reached out to grab his shoulder. “I have a question to ask first.”
Jai glanced at me suspiciously and crossed his arms over his bare muscled chest. “What do you wish to know?”
“I want to know how to meet with House Oel and House Jubatus,” I said, and I barreled onward before the jaguar could protest. “Ideally, I would like to have a meeting with all three Houses present so we can begin working toward unifying Tikal. Preferably before The Breach reaches us or we die of old age, if the tension I saw between you and those lions is anything to go by.”
“Impossible,” Jai spat, and his tail bristled in rage behind him. “I will die before I sit across the table from those … those … ”
“Mean kitties?” Marina supplied.
“Bad cats?” Polina added.
“Evil bastards?” Trina suggested.
“Yes,” Jai growled and pointed at Trina, “she knows our enemies’ true hearts.”
“Ok, we’re all being a little dramatic here,” I sighed and shook my head. Then I raised myself to my full height and stared Jai down. “Listen, you said you would consider accepting our help. This is me trying to help. How can we fix Tikal if you won’t even address the problems that plague it?”
“Tikal will never be unified,” Jai snarled, and his yellow eyes flashed, “as long as my brothers are kept from their home.”
“Your brothers?” Nike asked from beside me, and his silver eyes were alert and curious.
“What do you mean ‘kept from their home?’” I followed up.
Jai sighed, clicked his tongue, and averted his gaze.
“Jai,” I pressed with a scowl. “Tell me what you’re talking about.”
The jaguar Demi-Human growled under his breath and finally looked back at me.
“The Houses of Tikal have reached a … stalemate,” he explained haltingly.
“Okayyyy,” I waved him on, “I’m going to need more information than that.”
“It was all House Oel’s doing, of course,” Jai spat and bristled again. “Several weeks ago, they kidnapped Lord Chax.”
“Who is Lord Chax?” I questioned.
“He is the leader of House Jubatus,” the jaguar explained, “and House Oel captured him. Except … House Jubatus didn’t know it was the lions who had done this.”
“Alright,” I frowned, “well if they didn’t think it was Oel … then they thought it was you?”
“Yes,” Jai hissed and narrowed his eyes, “and in retaliation, they kidnapped my most trusted advisors, Raed and Jamir.”
I blinked as I processed this information, and then I sighed. I could see where this was going.
“And what did you do in response?” I asked Jai and crossed my arms over my chest.
“Well, House Jubatus refused to release my advisors until Lord Chax was returned to them, but House Oel would not relent to such a demand.” Jai scowled, and his ears flattened against his skull. “So, I took Lord Kinba’s daughter, Aaliyah.”
“And Lord Kinba is the head of House Oel?” I guessed with a sigh.
“Yes.” Jai nodded curtly. “I thought he would release Lord Chax in return for his daughter, which would mean House Jubatus would let go of my advisors.”
“But now no one will make a move until their demands are met, and the three Houses just continue to argue in circles,” I concluded with a groan, and I rubbed tiredly at my forehead. “Am I right?”
Fucking hell, this was playing out like a soap opera about gangster families bickering over turf.
Jai pursed his lips and nodded again. “So, you see, Lord Evan, peace in Tikal is an impossibility. Eventually, someone will kill their captive, and then the Houses will be at war. You have traveled all this way for nothing.”
With that, the jaguar turned and walked away, and I guessed he wasn’t going to show us to our rooms anymore. Some of his men stayed behind, though, so I assumed they’d get us where we needed to go.
“Well, the Houses of Tikal don’t sound very nice,” Polina pouted. “It’s not very nice to take people away from their families.”
“No,” I growled, “it isn’t. And they’re all guilty of it.”
“I am reluctant to place the blame on them fully, though,” Alyona said as she frowned after Jai’s retreating back. “If the crown of Rahma had helped this city more … ”
“This isn’t your fault, Alyona,” I said and tilted her chin up to meet my eyes. “You were locked away in the mountain
s for years. This isn’t on you.”
“I know,” she sighed and put her hand over my own, “but what are we going to do about it now?”
“Can I just kill all the lords and elect a new leader of the city?” I snorted, and I was only half joking.
“No, dear, you cannot,” Alyona laughed dryly. “Remember our purpose for this campaign. We are trying to reestablish people’s trust in the crown and my father, yes, but we’re also trying to establish people’s trust in you, too. The people of Rahma are afraid of you right now, Evan. You are the black dragon, a harbinger of doom and death.”
“I kind of like the sound of that,” I laughed.
“Yes, well, while bringing doom and death to our enemies is certainly the job of a king,” Alyona smiled up at me, “so is caring for your people, and even if they do not want to admit it, the citizens of Tikal are your people. If you kill the lords here, the rest of Rahma will no longer trust you, and our campaign will be over before it truly begins. You must learn to solve some problems with diplomacy, my love, not just brute strength, if you want to be king one day.”
“Oh, I will be king,” I growled, “there’s no doubt about that. But fine, if diplomacy is what it takes, then that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to force these Houses into submission with diplomacy alone.”
“And how will you accomplish this, my lord?” Laika asked with a sharp, fanged grin.
“Well, I’m glad you asked, Laika of the Royal Guard.” I smirked. “Because first, we’re going to sneak into the territories of House Oel and Jubatus, and we’re going to meet with these stubborn fucking lords. And then they are going to listen to me, whether they want to or not.”
Chapter 13
We spent the night in House Onca’s jungle palace. Jai’s jaguar warriors showed us to a hall of rather lavish guest rooms, and they even provided us with a dinner of tropical fruits, some kind of seasoned and delicious roasted bird, a red starchy vegetable like a potato, and sweet wine. My party and I were ravenous, and we ate several helpings before we finally retired.