“Let’s start from the beginning, shall we?” He picks up a tray of incense and blows its smoke into my face. My mouth forms to shout what the hell! But it’s already too late. Our minds merge and blinding light rips through my brain.
“Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die”
- Buddha
20
The Civil War
{Calista}
For the first time, I don’t just witness the devastation, but I live it. It’s like I have remembered what I had forgotten. I have awoken. I am more than a fly on the wall.
The Emperor and Kings are seated around a table, in what looks to be an outside room. Tree branches covered the ceiling and plants gently wove themselves through the open doors. The polished wooden floor covers the ground. Windows fill the whole room letting in streams of sunlight.
“…we propose a treaty. One that will ensure we forever have each other’s backs, as long as it stands. This also means we should share our resources. Emperor Rameses, since you have the greatest empire, we feel we could learn a lot from you, as you could, about our spirituality along with other things.” Pause. “I along with everyone at this table is offering a lifeline, do you accept?” King Amare confidently makes his statement and addresses everyone at the table. The Sixth Dynasty was looked down upon for being the most inexperienced of the collective along with their alarming attachment to the ancestors, and a higher power both internal and external.
The look in Emperor Rameses eyes said it all. As the head of the First Dynasty, he held a lot more power than the rest. He was able to inherit a vast empire with multi-talented individuals blessed with advanced abilities. If there were changes that needed to be made in Genapa, he was the person to consult. Because of bad blood and bad minded people, they frequently had many disputes. When the Emperor replies it was without a doubt in the most calm and expected manner.
“There’s no way, we may from time to time live by the same rules, but we are not the same. Our kingdoms stand as individuals, it’s best if we keep it that way. Besides, I don’t see the point of having a treaty…” The Emperor also didn’t see the point of this get-together. It was bad enough that he had to travel by sea rather than a portal, which took near enough five days due to poor weather.
King Amare fired back with the same calm exterior, but his frustration remained apparent in his eyes. Every idea he had was shot down, apart from the minor ones that created the least impact outside his Kingdom. For all he cared, the Emperor was doing it out of spite, jealousy and fear.
“I’m talking about unification, and you’re suggesting we stay separate. Have you forgotten before our technological advancements the Dynasties moved like one heartbeat? They were individuals but functioned as a collective. Unity was our strength.” It was still hard to believe that technology could be that destructive. It somehow had the power to deter them from their spirituality and turn their backs on the Deities that looked down on them from the universe. Ma’at and others must weep at the pitiful sight they have become.
“That was the past.” The Emperor rolls his eyes and does a little flick of his hand. His Jasper beads rustle under his long sleeve Kente robe.
“And I’m talking about the future. Why do you keep on denying what is truly a blessing, rather than a curse? What about brotherhood and sisterhood scares you so much? Are you that ignorant, that you won’t even consider the possibility of total security, without jumping to dismiss any idea that could possibly threaten your hierarchy?” The king gives him a stern look. “Oh, you didn’t think I hadn’t noticed. How as the last one in the chain, you feel to disregard any idea I have because we do not live the way you want us to. That is- we choose to live by traditions that ultimately frighten you because you’ve been brainwashed into fearing true spirituality.” He was right there. But brainwashed by whom?
“Are we really going back there?” Around the table, the other Kings start to mutter over each other. The Queens and Empress Nubia were next door and after hearing the raised voices halted their discussions to seek the root of the heated argument. The men’s voices grow as they tried to get their opinions heard. No one was willing to back down. By the looks of it, they were tired of all the fighting and were beginning to take King Amare’s side. Outside, the king’s children, Ramiyah and the Prince, eavesdrop. It was known that their father and the Emperor could never see eye to eye, but this felt different. The Prince’s Psychic abilities were running wild. Something terrible was going to happen, and even Ramiyah could feel it.
A month after the meeting, the twins parlous feeling clouded Genapa. It started with a bang. The sound of a gun ripping through the air, with a massive round ball following it. It looked like a grenade of some sorts, but it had a greenish glow that seemed nuclear and toxic. Dangerous enough to poison and kill anyone within a mile radius. An anchor at its base separates itself mid-flight and disintegrates into a shower of electrified metal. Lucky enough for Kimarr it all began on its outskirts, so they had just enough time to blow their horn and seek help. Help from the one they wanted it least from. Unfortunately, some of the indigenous people of the rainforests and mountain didn’t make it. King Amare quickly wrote a message on a papyrus scroll and sent two messengers via a portal to the land of the First Dynasty, Aelburn.
Within a day, word quickly got around that the Fifth and Third Dynasty had lost half of its empire and were on the cusp of extinction. Still, there was no word from the Emperor. The king’s messengers never returned, and help was not received. He had to depend on his own people and ask his children, barely entering adulthood, to do whatever they could to help out. Whether it was to tend to the people or defend the wall. Either was a must. Tamari was to assist wherever he could.
By the second day the King managed to provide sanctuary for the Fifth Dynasty. Sadly, their daughter didn’t make it, and a few weeks later their Queen’s heart gave out, leaving her husband behind to fight for his people. He joined heads with King Amare, and they devised a strategy to attack. So far, the Intel they had gathered about their attackers was minimum, but it was enough to know who they were dealing with. Albinos that appeared allergic to the sun’s rays. Their eyes looked lifeless, a blue that was lighter than the sun’s reflection on the ocean. They were the original walking dead. They came with deadly machinery. One bullet to the head and you were dead.
Surrender was not an option.
Weeks after their initial attack, at last, the First Dynasty replied. They said they could help out however they could; this didn’t include their empire coming to their rescue. Instead, the Emperor proposed they come to them, while they ensured safe travel. This complicated things. There was no way the Emperor expected the King to leave behind his kingdom. One thing they were taught was to always protect what was yours. Protect your home; your legacy. If they go, that could possibly be the end of their reign. The conclusion of the Sixth Dynasty in the south. Spirituality in its entirety could cease to exist. Maybe that’s what the Emperor wanted, which is why he put limitations on his help.
King Amare started to suspect the Emperor’s motives in all of this. While he sat comfortably in his kingdom, lives were lost in Genapa. Heirs to the throne were slaughtered. As much as it pained him, he didn’t want to lose his children too, nor his Queen. But what could he do, when the Albinos were loaded with strange magic and bombs larger than the size of a football. This indicated that it was more than an ordinary war. This was a takeover to the death, and whoever survived would most likely be their slaves. Strangely enough, King Amare started to also question how they got in Genapa in the first place. All of the Dynasties had men and women who protected the gates with their lives. How did they manage to pass them, unless they were let in? He needed evidence to support what seemed like fleeting conspiracies. And the biggest was staring him in his face. Emperor Rameses. There had not been word of the Albinos moving north, which only meant they had their eyes set on a specific target. If they wanted to tak
e over Acirfa, why not challenge each of the Dynasties? But for this to reach this level of success, they had to have help from inside Genapa.
Two months passed, and Genapa suffered its worst. The Third and Forth Dynasties were completely annihilated, and the Fifth Dynasty was still barely surviving within the Sixth Dynasty’s kingdom. Ramiyah and her brother protected the wall, but their powers could only extend so far. They had yet to reach their full potential. They did as much as they could. No one had heard much from the Second Dynasty, but it seemed they were taking matters into their own hands, rather than depending on the First Dynasty. Less than half of their kingdom was destroyed and with it their villagers. Lucky enough they had a plan that could save their people. Underground passages to the River Elin and the other kingdoms. They sent their people in first and left behind half of their warriors to defend their wall. No one knew of these passages, and it was best kept that way. There was no way the Albinos could know about it. Just before they decided to go through with their only son, Dakarai, matters got worse. The Albinos had broken through their walls and were on route to completely surround them. King Adebaya and Queen Jendayi had to make a decision. Expose the passages and seal their people’s fate or stay behind. This also meant they had to take their son with them. He was safer by their side, especially with the help of his Custodian Tadaaki. As much as they didn’t want to, they went on the run, leaving their home and their people to fend for themselves.
Two weeks passed, and the war came to an end. It was the autumn season on the verge of winter. The Albinos barged through King Amare’s walls. Villagers scattered. The Prince shouted at his sister to run. She didn’t listen. He drags at her hands, she bats him away like a fly. An Albino aims at a young boy, and the Prince ran off to save him. As he swept him up and hands him over to his mother, he felt time slow down. Maybe he imagined it did. At a distance he saw a group of Albinos target Ramiyah. Their blades whipped out from behind them, more substantial than a tree branch. Their magic lingered. Ramiyah stood not far from them and prepared her hands.
In the Prince’s mind, he saw what would happen next, and shouted at nearby Warriors to protect his sister. They were too far and of no help. They couldn’t use the portals, the Kutawala’s magic seemed to be tampering with the Ethers. But how? He locked his mind with hers and tried to get her to retreat. She fought him. The Albinos charged her, and all he could do was watch. He called his father, but he too was unable to make it. Ramiyah swirled her arms around, as she threw the Albinos into each other’s blade. It didn’t stop there. More forwarded. And more after that. The Prince charged forward catching some of the Albinos with his mind. He seized a blade and threw it like a javelin. Then tears started to stream down his face. He was unable to shake the recurring image from his mind. He called her name. She couldn’t hear him amongst the battle cries and clinking of metal. The Albinos all threw their blades down on her, and she blocked with the metal gauntlets on her wrists. She infused them with her Blue Flame and exploded. Immediately, the Albinos burn and turn to ash.
She looked to her right and saw two children awaiting death. They were so young. Fear holds them in prison, unable to move. As the Prince charged for his sister, she ducked to save them. He was getting closer but couldn’t seem to catch her. The closer he reached, the further away she appeared. Unable to focus on anything but them, she missed something. An unexpected attack. A black ball was released from its cannon. It grew larger as it spun in the air. The Prince cried out. The tears falling faster. He reached out his hand.
“Ramiyah.” He cried tumbling to the ground.
It was too late.
The ball smashed into her back and exploded. As it blew, so did she. A hurricane of limbs. An earthquake of Blue Flame that erupted and destroyed anything it touched, including the children. Tamari teleported and scraped up the Prince just in time before he was caught in the catastrophe.
Out of harm’s way, the Prince let out a deep harrowing cry for the death of his twin. His eyebrows twitched. Hands tightened. His whole body tensed. The tears dried up, and he cried out again. The force behind his voice was enough to crumble the remaining kingdom walls, and kill a few Albinos, but not all of them. His potential lingered behind his cries. As he screamed in their heads, blood started to drip from his nose, as it did from everyone else’s eyes and ears. He couldn’t keep this up forever, or he would pass out. Any second longer and his mind would have split.
Tamari tried to calm him down, but he understood this needed to happen. Tamari felt his pain, and all he could do was not react. His heart had turned to stone. The Kutawala took his love. His mind became blank. His arms hanged lifelessly by his side. Out of the Prince and Ramiyah, he could only save one. It tore his spirit in half when he was unable to make the decision himself. Anger burned under his skin.
The Kutawala had to pay.
They burnt down their home, and now they must do the same to them. But they had to be strategic about their next move. They couldn’t become savages, stoop to their level. They must remember this day and use it as a constant reminder to never repeat the same mistake. Never underestimate external forces at play.
They want death.
They’ll give them death.
They want war.
Well, here it comes.
The King entered the throne room with the Albinos lingering behind him. The warriors around them with their spears and lightweight armoury were of no match. The Queen held her stomach as she stared lifelessly into the Kutawala’s eyes. Her fists clenched with her bangles banging on her wrists and her metal rings digging into her knuckles. She wished to harm him as he did her offspring, as he slaughtered her people, but she refused to stoop to their level of savagery and complete disregard for hueman life. When the time comes, her warrior spirit would rise with the help of her ancestors, for now, she would have to maintain the sanity amongst her people. Be the rock. The foundation.
The leader stepped forward and prodded my father to kneel before him in surrender.
Strength, not weakness.
By any means, don’t accept defeat.
Behind the Prince’s back, Tamari forced the King’s staff into his hands. At that moment it was as small as a baton. If he expanded it, it could do severe damage especially with the Red Sunstone entwined with it. Could he take that risk and expose Genapa further? He may even kill himself if he destroyed it. But that wasn’t the reason why Tamari gave it to him. It wasn’t to wield it but to protect it. Especially as King Amare had other plans of his own. The King knelt, dropping slowly to the ground. The Albinos laughed, the Kutawala raised his head and looked at the King from under his nose.
This is not over yet.
The King smirked and smashed the clear crystal at the leader’s feet. Thick smoke erupted. Crystallised. It filled the room and spread to completely cover the whole of Kimarr. As the smoke fanned out, they disappeared, banishing themselves to a dimension, only a few have travelled to. Rimorr. The place of mirrors.
What remained was concealed by a liquid-solid barrier unbreakable to the average being.
“The truth is a double-edged sword, some it cuts down others it cuts free.”
21
Release
{Calista}
My vision blurs, and I’m back in the Prince’s underground lair. He rubs his finger along my jaw and waits for me to return back to reality. When he’s satisfied he gets up and places a revolver in front of me. He doesn’t say a word, just watches. Not caring if it is a trap, I rush to pick it up and point it at his head. In the corner, Tamari clears his throat.
“Why should I believe you, huh?” I shift from one foot to the next. “You blow some smoke in my face, show me the war supposedly first-hand, which completely contradicts my father’s retelling, and what, now I’m just supposed to believe you?”
“Yes.” He states plainly. “You know, I didn’t realise why you were such a perfect match, now I see it. You’re just like her, rebellious, smart, and skilled. If I w
anted to tamper with your mind, I would have done it a long time ago. Hell, you wouldn’t’ even notice me doing it.” I knew the gun was empty before I picked it up. Like I said, a test.
Suddenly, I jump over the table between us and shout, “Stop lying”, as I attack the Prince. He’s ready for my attack and somehow is able to grab me by my throat. He thrusts me into the air and whispers, “He’s not so high and mighty as you think.” Anger laces its poison around his tongue. I grow tired of the games and don’t fight back. His grip tightens playfully. He continues to stare into my eyes, almost hypnotised. Some weird effect I have on him grows stronger. His hands loosen, and he turns his back on me.
“Your father is a cunning man. When they invaded our Kingdom the first person we looked to for help, was him. Despite our differences, we knew they could help us best. But by doing so, we made ourselves look like fools because all along he was the cause of the problem. The benefactor, which is why they suffered least of all. He made a deal with the Kutawala. We were supposed to be his brothers and sisters. He betrayed us. He brought in the enemy to exterminate us like rats.”
The Prince slams his hand into the wall. It crumbles at his feet.
Tamari closes his eyes and pinches his nose.
I feel their pain. My life is a lie.
“Stop lying.” I croak. My left eye flutters with disbelief. You mean to tell me the man I had tried so hard to impress all my life, is a murderer -the cause of such a catastrophe.
The Masterpiece (The shadow I cast Book 1) Page 10