“Yes we have far upgraded since we last interfered with your people.” The cold crawls up his face and solidifies with a reptile-like hexagonal pattern, his eyes taking on a lighter shade of blue than before.
“Interfered, try murdered, slaughtered. You had no business interfering with our homeland…” I step closer in his direction pushing through the avalanche.
“We had every right, given to us by your father who didn’t hold up his end of the agreement.” He cracks his neck. “Since he won’t give us what we want, we’ll gladly use you as collateral.”
“I’ll have you know he doesn’t very much care for me as deeply as you think.”
“Oh really, my sources say otherwise,” he laughs.
The battle commences once more and I go head to head with the Kutawala. He grabs my hand and I feel like I’ve been thrusted deep into a core of molten ice. It burns as it spreads frost quickly up my arm gripping my muscles tightly. I grit my teeth and ignite my flame. Ramiyah returns.
“You should have never won the war. You should have never succeeded in wiping out the other Dynasties. You should have never taken over Kimarr and killed my people. You should have never killed me.” Bluka encases one half of my body. It has a duel of its own as it faces off against the frost. Slowly restoring its rightful place and crippling the frost’s defences. It washes over the Kutawala’s arm and I hear him cry out. His eyes frantically watch his life flash before him by the hands of his arch nemesis, fire.
“Mercy. Murder. Mercy. Murder.” My head rolls left to right like the hand on an ancient clock. I favoured the former, but the latter calls to Ramiyah to restore the balance. A life for the lives of many. Children, husbands, wives, sisters, brothers, the elderly. I raise my hand readying a blow to his neck.
My love. He’s not worth it. You have enough blood on your hands. Ramiyah…
Death is an illusion. His life will move onto another where karma will deal with him. Not even confinement he deserves. I wonder if karma will fully sanction him for his crimes.
His heart is already heavier than a feather.
Mercy. “I could end you with one thought. You are not worthy of such. I am no longer consumed by anger and revenge, you are no more to me for now I have learnt not to make the same mistake and lower myself to your level. You are at my feet and I am standing tall with pride because I know my worth, and who I am.” Ramiyah confesses her deepest thoughts and feelings. She relieves her burden and is chained to the horror of her past no more. We release the Kutawala, tears shinning in his eyes. No words can explain what he sees in our eyes. He knows her words are true. Guilt-ridden, at first, he stumbles to his knees, chest rising and falling, flexing his arms. The tears dry up. He clenches his jaw and his eyes grow cold. I witness a challenge in his gaze, he wishes for something more and I am the key to his desires. He could not find the energy to turn his back upon Neter.
“We will be back.” I’m counting on it.
He clenches his fist, extinguishing the avalanche’s rays and retreats with his people over the wall.
Times up.
“Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow’”
32
End of this road
{Calista}
A portal opens, purely black with specs of grey dust. Rimorr shimmers within beckoning me forward. It enlarges until it completely covers a dying tree with a few huts behind it.
“Don’t do this sis,” Khari shouts. The wind blowing from the portal kicks up the dirt and creates mini sandstorms. The sky darkens and the only source of light emits from the portal, the stars above and the advancing lunar eclipse. There’s a gravitational shift, the stones on the ground levitate as a foot passes through the portal with the rest of its body barely visible. The King after a couple seconds fully materialises, his staff increasing in size and density, a spear with a sharp end and a crystal gold version of the Dynastic emblem with black engraving. His locks flow down to his waist, lightly patting his royal attire: a thick purple material slanted across his body with his arms bare and silver beads loosely wrapped around his neck with a tiger’s eye stone attached to it. With long strides he closes the gap to stand just over a metre away from us. He smiles stroking his full beard.
“I believe you have something of mine.” His voice booms across the distance.
Khari puts a hand to his forehead and pretends to look around. “Nope, I think you’re mistaken…your highness.”
“Suit yourself, either way I will get what I came here for.” The king says.
“That’s if you’re even here to begin with.” Dakarai whispers.
“I see you’ve got a good eye but tell me. How did you miss the purpose of Calista’s supposed kidnapping? A guy with your talents should have picked up on it the moment she came to you in need of help.”
Khari looks to Dakarai with a bored expression and subtly taps at his wrist. “You know as amazing as it is seeing a legend become reality, I’m afraid we’re going to have to cut this short as we’re in a bit of a rush.” Khari exclaims over the wind.
“That’s too bad, I guess you’ll never know.” He jerks his staff out of the ground and slowly steps forward.
Khari clenches and unclenches his jaw. Dakarai questions the King. “What’s your endgame?”
Silence.
“To cripple your understanding and make you question everything you’ve been taught, not to mention fracture the First Dynasty’s infrastructure off course. How can you not see that? You’ve heard of the stories. How the First Dynasty were admired for their strength, loyalty and power, while my people were shunned for being different, not to mention our people developing a lighter shade of black. Regardless of how many times we united and provided social order and solidarity, presenting a united front against our foreign enemies, we were still looked down upon. Like dirt on the bottom of their feet. Once they were done with us they threw us to the wolves,” he pauses “To my understanding that is not how royalty should be treated. That is not how we treat our brothers and sisters.”
“So, all of this is out of jealousy? Revenge?” Dakarai laughs dryly, shifting his weight to his right foot and keeping an eye on me as I move closer to the portal.
“You have much to learn. Just like how their philosophy ‘whatever you put your mind to you will succeed at’ is all a lie. How external forces beyond our control can push failure, rather than success.” Khari walks over to Dakarai as he watches the King quickly close the gap. “I am here to teach you that with hard work and dedication you cannot always accomplish what you put your mind to. Today you shall be my first student as collateral for Rameses crimes.” The King charges them with his staff. Khari steps in front of Dakarai and prepares for a fight but is met with dust. The King completely materialises into thin air once he knocks against them. “You were right,” said Khari. He walks to the edge of the wall and signals at the twins as they approach.
“Calista.” Dakarai slips his hand under my arm.
“I don’t expect you to understand, but you need to let this happen. It’s for the best…”
“How… how can this be for the best? Ramiyah has poisoned your mind and soon she will take over your body. You’re not thinking clearly.”
“You’re wrong. My thoughts are my own I accept this. It needed to happen, I am enlightened and soon you will be when your time comes.” A gust of strong wind escapes the portal and sucks at anything in its path like a black hole. It targets me, pulling me out of Dakarai’s arms. He reaches out, our hands miss and I’m pulled further back. Khari manifests his air element and pushes us together. I blow in the wind like a kite and Dakarai plants his foot, struggling to hold me down.
“You have to trust me.”
“This is madness. I will not willingly allow you to do this to yourself.”
Give up son, she has made her decision. The king’s voice shouts through the wind.
Hurry up we’re losing her! Khari shouts at his s
iblings who begin to near the wall. With lightning speed Kwame and Aziza climb the wall and are soon stood beside Khari.
“I feel like I’m losing you. You’re everywhere but nowhere, I’m touching you but I can’t feel you. I can no longer tell the difference.” He grips onto my hand more tightly as he feels my fingers start to slip. “Don’t let go” he whispers.
Some red-light flashes from the portal and captures my siblings. They are unable to help Dakarai. They struggle to move faster than a walking pace. With the red blur slowing them down, they are of no help. At this moment, Dakarai could only depend on himself.
“Dakarai…”
“Hold on Cali.”
I barely move my lips and say, “let me go. You said it remember, we need to stand on our two feet first before we can become one.” My arms relax.
“No.” His words are rushed as he exhales.
“You are not weak. Tadaaki’s death was not your fault. Right now, your mentally still in the crouched position you were in all those years ago when you cried over his body. You need to rise; you’ve been down for too long, ignoring the pain rather than facing it. You know something is not right, so dig deeper don’t sweep it under the bushes and redirect your attention elsewhere. And as for me, you are not losing me. I am finding my path, you may not see it now but in time you will. You need to heal. In isolation you will find yourself.” The force gets stronger to the point where we are holding on by two fingers.
“Calista!” Aziza shrieks as she pushes against the red blur with all her might. It becomes a solid and fractures with every step she takes.
“We can save you.” Kwame shouts.
I don’t need saving.
Our fingers slip further. Dakarai changes tactics. Just as Khari and Kwame break free he releases me only to pull me back to him with a stronger wind created by all four of them.
“I am not ready.”
“Neither was I.” We’re face to face with only a thin gap between our lips. My siblings run towards me but time continues to work against them.
“Fear will get you nowhere, after all it is only an illusion. Rise my Prince. Rise.” I wrap my arm around his neck and kiss him.
“Remember who you are.” A light flash and I’m catapulted backwards into the portal. Dakarai drops to his knees- defeated. He pounds at the ground till his hands starts to bleed. Rain begins to pour down heavily as if announcing my departure. Dakarai’s cries get louder and louder with every thump. When he stops he stares off into the distance with an empty and blank expression. Nothing makes sense anymore.
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”
- Socrates.
Epilogue
Rebirth
{Calista}
In the darkest corners of the room where the candle light could not reach, curious eyes danced. They whisper amongst themselves waiting for a legend to become true. The roof opens up, the bricks slowly being removed as they pile up on top of each other to the far corners of the room. The Lunar eclipse with a red ring to it finally sets and the ceremony begins. My feet massage the cold marble floor. A few of the hooded figures separate from the dark, some waft sage and incense around the room, others splash some liquid substance on my body. The smoke quickly clouds the room and creates a misty atmosphere that makes it hard to see. A hooded figure steps toward me and glides their thumb along my face drawing tribal patterns with red paint. Black candles are lit and arranged in a circle around me. Citrine, black moonstones, quartz and labradorite are spread out around the candles. The flames lengthen as the eclipse magic enters the room guiding my energy.
I throw my head back and allow the silk robe to fall from my body. Upon his throne, the King raises his staff. It lifts me into the air, my feet dragging along the floor as I’m brought closer towards him. White strings whip out and circle my wrists and ankles. They hold me suspended in the air. With a mind of their own they gently squeeze at first. I feel her pushing through the walls of my body and mind, making it extremely hard to breathe. The ring around the eclipse grows in size and creates beams of light that resembles snow flames. The light dances with the flames, leaving imprints in my shadow. I feel my body become numb. The strings squeeze once more with the red energy and flames warming it up before its purpose is fulfilled. For a second, I lose consciousness. In my mind, I am falling from a cliff into a black substance that crawls over me like miniature spiders becoming one. The staff is lowered and my body falls in the air. My hands are off the steering wheel. She needs to take control. A shock runs through my body, absorbing the red energy around me. My right hand smashes into the ground, fracturing it as I fall to one knee. Red and orange wings sprout from my shoulders shimmering like a ghost. Ramiyah’s spirit animal has risen in her revival. It flaps its wings and roars before diving inside my body.
The king’s feet shuffle as he rises to his feet. The whisperings in the corners come to a still. “What is your name my child?”
My head rises as deep breathes are drawn in through my nose. “Ramiyah. First born of the Sixth Dynasty.” One by one the bodies of the dancing eyes become visible, as they step out of the shadows. They’re drawn to me like a moth to a flame. In a spiral they kneel welcoming her. They watch with awe as my arms slowly rise from my sides to spread in the air, head thrown back, relishing in life.
The black substance solidifies around my body but remains as a liquid as it creeps up my face. In a matter of seconds it covers me completely taking me to a realm deep in my mind I never knew existed.
The Ankh around my neck glows brightly and a strong wind knocks out the dancing flames on the candles. Zaire steps forward with a Jasper stone outstretched in his palm. The jasper rises out of his hand and like a magnet embeds itself in the loop of the Ankh. Bluka illuminates my skin.
To some great evil is reborn; to others their saviour has returned.
Welcome to the beginning of the end.
Author’s note
This book idea sort of came to me within a dream. Initially, it started in the middle of my long-term storyline, which I have decided to compact within a series. So, I had to find some way to backtrack without giving away a lot of information that would essentially shock the reader as I flesh it out as a plot twist. At times I struggled to write this novel because I was always thinking books ahead especially when I had already completed the novel in my head and had only half written it. But once I was able to note down all potential links throughout the series starting with book one, I found it much easier to focus on how I wanted to tell this story. Such as was I going to fully build my fantastical world in Acirfa or was I going to show a sneak peak and move swiftly on with the storyline- as you can see I chose the former as it made more sense in terms of establishing a deep emotional connection with the reader. Therefore, when plot twists and other knowledge is learnt in novels to come they will feel more inclined to react the way I wish them to.
In the beginning, I wanted to tell a story that wasn’t generic but is unique in every possible way as I draw from knowledge and inspiration that I have gathered over these past couple of months from tv series/movies, books as well as the events I would go to during my childhood. As the first novel has come to an end, I realise it is more than that. I wish to not just present an alternative to the common, but also to awaken the blind to the truth to teach them that they are much more than what others tell them they are or should be. Essentially, the purpose of this book is to remind people of the greatness from which they came and the greatness that rests within.
Everything, my time, energy and words, that I poured into this novel was only me expressing myself in a more suitable way that I would not be able to do verbally. With my writing I begun to unveil the world through my eyes. I provided an alternative mindset that is usually a part of the minority.
All in all, with this novel my main message is that: you can be whoever you want to be all you have to do is love yourself and understand th
e energy that surrounds you is an external reflection of yourself. And as the title of this novel in one way suggests, you are the master of your peace. You as an energy life form is a masterpiece expressing itself in many variations, and until you realise who you are, you will forever be asleep, ignorant.
This novel is only the beginning of me revealing to you my masterpiece, as I write my greatness into existence. Asè
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The Masterpiece (The shadow I cast Book 1) Page 16