Book of Kayal: Strength of Unity

by Stryker Nileson

  The women started looking a little more masculine, with sharper features, smaller breasts and narrower hips, but it was a small change that could only be recognized by someone who was familiar with them prior to Ninazu’s treatment.

  Since she started the transformation, Eirene had been less patient with Thalia’s ridicule. On several occasions she expressed exaggerated violent behavior at her remarks – in relation to her usual attitude which still dulled in comparison to Dindrane’s. “Do not touch me.”

  “You are overreacting,” Dindrane said. She calmly played with a stick in the snow, making many shapes by scratching and poking at the soft snow between her feet.

  “So how is the situation going with the special parts…you know, down there?” Thalia asked.

  “It’s a rather disturbing sight, care to see?” Dindrane started to unbuckle her belt.

  “No!” Thalia was quick to stop her, pushing Dindrane’s hands away from her belt buckle. “Checking my own area makes me nervous enough.”

  Dindrane chuckled.

  Eirene took a deep breath and said, forcing herself to calm down, “This is just a test from Pax.”

  “Eirene,” Ganis said, approaching the three women, “is everything well with you?”

  Thalia stood and walked into the cave to get some dry firewood. Dindrane reacted by clearing a patch of snow from the ground, revealing the lifeless frozen earth beneath. The two exchanged no words.

  “It has been growing exceedingly difficult to control my impulses,” Eirene said. “This explains the violence I occasionally display.” She paused for a moment to produce her small statue of Pax and hold it tightly to her chest. “Pax’s teaching often point to the aggression of men and rarely to that of women. We must remain in control.”

  Thalia appeared from within the cave, with an impressive amount of firewood her strengthening arms allowed her. “It seems to me that you’re the only one struggling with it, Eirene.” She dropped the wood, ignoring Eirene’s spiteful gaze, and said, “Ganis, you have been growing more and more beautiful these past few days.”

  “This concerns me for several reasons,” Dindrane said. She started preparing the fire, gracefully working the flint.

  “It explains why she did not hesitate when she took the pill,” Thalia said. She took a seat next to Eirene, where she sat before getting the wood.

  “The pills are not supposed to affect your sexuality, you muscle-headed brute - only your appearance,” Eirene said, getting a look from the other three.

  “Did Eirene just use the word ‘sexuality’?” Thalia said, earning her a chuckle from Dindrane.

  “It seems the devout servant of Pax has been holding more than her anger at bay,” Dindrane said.

  “Yes, Dindrane. Suddenly she does not appear so innocent. I wonder what unholy things she consummated.”

  “It’s not an unholy act,” Eirene said, managing herself into a calm tone once more. It was a difficult effort, Ganis could tell, but fairly well hidden.

  Hephaestion returned from one of his hunts, with three dead hares hanging loosely from his belt. “For Pax’s sake, women, shave that dirt off of your face.” He paused for a moment in shock of how easily this comment came to him.

  Mumbling, Thalia entered the cave and immediately appeared with a sharp knife and a bowl of water. She headed towards the campfire Dindrane had made and rested the bowl by the fire to keep it warm. The others watched in amazement as the artisan, who always depicted mastery whenever she worked, crudely embarked on the complex task of shaving. Three bowls of hot water later, Thalia was shaved yet her face bled from several small scratches.

  “That was a mess,” Dindrane said. She burst in laughter when Thalia looked at her.

  “I have to admit that this is far harder than it seems,” Thalia confessed. “I suddenly have a newfound understanding of why some men choose to grow a beard.”

  “That is not why though,” Hephaestion said, a faint smile escaping him.

  “And you.” Thalia pointed at Hephaestion. “How the bloody hell do you do this every day? I don’t remember one instant where your beard did not seem smooth.”

  “I have far more experience than you in that one craft, if you may call it as such. Besides, Pertinax used to have his beard shaved far smoother than I.”

  Confused eyes made their way into Thalia’s expression. “How often did you touch his beard?”

  “Never.”

  Silence prevailed for a moment at the mention of Pertinax.

  “Eirene,” Hephaestion said, “Dindrane, you should also start shaving. And for Pax’s sake, pick names that would fit your new appearances.”

  Thalia spared no comment while the two shaved, giving them instructions and ridiculing their mistakes. In the end, it was proven that she was, indeed, the most skilled of the three at shaving. When they were finished, she looked at Ganis and said, “One day this will be you too.” They all burst in laughter.

  5

  “How did you find me?” Ganis said as Ninazu approached her in the woods. She had been spending some time in the woods lately, trying to acquaint herself with the nature of Utyirth and its forests. The snow began to subside three days earlier, and the tree leaves began to reveal themselves.

  He slowly walked towards her, barely making a sound as his foot fell on melting snow and dirt. Some broken branches and twigs encountered him, but all remained silent. It was a rare skill to have, even for a Turian.

  “You’re a part of our Ona. We always find one another,” He said, sitting next to Ganis on large tree roots which split the surface in a show of natural force. “You make it seem like you don’t want to be disturbed.”

  “Aye,” she said. Ever since Initium Keep, Ganis had noticed a slight change in her accent. It was never really gone, but at times she managed to hide it well enough for only the most delicate of ears to catch.

  “You still don’t understand what it means to be part of an Ona.”

  “I have come to understand many things since my arrival at Utyirth, but the Ona is something that still eludes me.” She looked at Ninazu, with eyes expressionless as if just brought back from deep thought, and said, “Sometimes it feels like I know what it means to be of an Ona. Most of the times I don’t, especially when I see how well you and the others are attuned.”

  “It took many years of guided training and struggle for us to achieve such level of unity. Do not mistake your progress for a small feat, Ganis. You have come further than any of us expected in such a short period.” He paused for a moment and produced a leather pouch from his belt. “Anyway, I finally found the problem impeding your transformation.”

  Ganis took the pills Ninazu offered her and examined the contents intently. They were similar to those of the others, but the color was slightly darker and the smell stronger. “What was it?”

  Your body is different. I had to account for this difference while keeping the ingredients balanced. It was a difficult process. Whenever I changed the mixture a new herb had to be added to counter some of the effects, changing the mixture in itself and requiring yet another minor alteration.” He eyed the contents wearily. “I still am not certain if it will work, but my experiments suggest that the changes have all been accounted for.”

  “Then I should try it.” She took a pill out and in one swift swoop swallowed it. It had a fare more bitter taste than the one she took earlier.

  “One more thing, Ganis. You will need to avoid feeding to maintain your transformation. The pills contain some form of condensed blood. I hope it will suffice.”

  “It is a relief, Ninazu. I was concerned about having to carry around many concoctions and pills hidden away from others.” She stood and stretched.

  Ninazu delayed standing up for a moment. Ganis looked at him in silence as an aura of concern engulfed him He is keeping something from me, she thought. “What is it, Ninazu?”

  He smiled, a hidden smile under piles of hair, but Ganis knew he smiled. “The resistance you mention
ed. Can they be trusted?”

  “I believe so.”

  “Why?”

  “Because like all others, they crave freedom and they know what it will take to get it.” She looked at the top of the tree of which its trunk she sat on. Its highest branches started to come back to life with budding green leaves. “Sometimes our environment requires us to remain hidden, no matter what path is revealed to us.”

  “I see.” He stood and took a moment to contemplate, stroking his beard. “How did you manage to get them to see past the illusion of freedom?”

  “By showing them how it manifested itself in reality. I have no doubt that some of the prisoners escaped. It would be an easy thing to do with all the disappearances and the little care the guards give them, yet I saw in most of them a type of connection similar to that of the Ona.”

  “They were attuned?”

  “I would say empathetic.” She looked at Ninazu intently, rubbing her hands clean from dirt with her cloak. “They knew that without their efforts they would soon have no home to return to. You see, Ninazu, the Scylds have cornered them and gave them no choice but to fight - a grave mistake from their part and a grand opportunity for us. The resistance can be trusted.”

  6

  There was not much the Parthans could do other than wait. Ganis had started to change, the new pills appeared to be a success, and the wait was coming to an end. But with waiting came other problems, and Eirene’s excessive loss of control was becoming threatening to the mission.

  The tracks of a deer led Ganis and Eirene deep into the Scyld forest. The melted snow, albeit not entirely so, made their movements swift and unhindered. It felt like a simple chore without the snow, quick and bountiful.

  Amidst the chase the two huntresses came across a wild boar. It was an easier target to catch than the distant deer, not that the tracks indicated it was far off.

  Eirene reacted swiftly. She crouched and drew her deadly bow, arming it with a steel-tip arrow of Thalia’s craft. She released the arrow with one swift motion, but she was too late and far off the mark. The boar had taken notice of her and quickly rushed off.

  “Demons below!” Eirene snapped, kicking at an unsuspecting bush.

  It was the first time Ganis saw her miss a target. “Calm down. This isn’t worth angering yourself,” Ganis said, standing up.

  “We will starve in this desolate place.” Eirene gestured violently at the trees around her.

  This place, Ganis thought, was far from desolate. Life was budding again with the melting of snow and hunting was becoming easier.

  “Let us go after the deer, then.”

  “Do not patronize me.” Eirene reached for her dagger and boldly stared at her companion.

  “I didn’t intend to offend you, and I apologize if I did so. Certainly there is no need to draw weapons?”

  Eirene smiled and lunged at Ganis, dagger drawn. She slashed at her mercilessly, but her blows met only air. “You will never be one of us!” she shouted.

  Ganis dodged her anger-fueled attacks easily. One of the necessities of battle was to maintain control over emotions in the heat of a fight. It was what separated the veterans from the new recruits; what prevented the deadly mistakes that claimed the lives of many soldiers.

  “Stop it!” Ganis shouted. She hit Eirene’s wrist amidst one of her chaotic strikes and disarmed her. With careful footing and a sudden push she managed to pin Eirene to a tree. Eirene attempted to free herself, but the struggle was no match for Ganis’ iron-like grip.

  “Release me, you damned fiend!”

  “No.”

  “Release me. I command you!”

  “No.”

  “I won’t forgive your insolence, creature of darkness. Do you truly think that you have become one of us? Think again, because that‘ll never happen.”

  The words coming from the priestess struck at Ganis’ heart like thousands of tiny needles, digging their way into her core. Bringing her more pain than any steel could. Yet Ganis did not retort. She simply held her position in silence, awaiting Eirene’s rage to fade away.

  What do I do? Ganis thought. She could have kept Eirene pinned to the tree for some time yet to come without exerting any serious effort, and it gave her time to think. Her words wound me. Is this how badly I long for being one with the Ona?

  Her words are those of anger, not of meaning, Excelsis Dignus, Eos projected.

  Eirene continued to struggle and shout her hateful words.

  Yet she speaks them so honestly. Tears started forming in Ganis’ eyes.

  Remember how far you came from your Peacekeeper days. Channel the strength this memory gives you. Her words do not hurt you because they are true, they hurt you because you believe them. Eos was right. Eirene could say whatever she wanted, in this feral state, and it would not have changed the truth. The priestess merely projected what she knew Ganis though.

  Ganis shook away her doubts and focused her thoughts on the moment. Eirene needed her. It was not the time to be weak. Ganis eased her grip, but it still proved firm enough to prevent Eirene from escaping. “Priestess,” she shouted. “have you abandoned Pax already?”

  “What?” Eirene’s fidgeting was brought to an abrupt end. Her eyes widened in confusion.

  “I remember you welcoming the challenge of the transformation as a test of Pax. Perhaps I was mistaken about you.” She released her grip entirely and walked away, turning her back on the priestess disappointingly.

  Eirene’s eyes went cold and she stood still for a long moment. “How dare you question my belief?” Her voice was hesitant. The inner conflict was still unresolved. “You don’t control me or understand the true path of peace and everlasting light.”

  Ganis remained silent. She continued walking away from the priestess.

  “Look at me, Ganis.” Her voice calmed. She rushed towards Ganis and held her shoulder, turning Ganis to face her.

  Ganis prepared herself for another brawl, tensing her muscles and shifting her weight, but Eirene intended no such offense.

  “Thank you,” she said with a gentle – yet masculine – voice, returning to her usual tone. “I did not mean what I said. I was consumed by rage.”

  Ganis relaxed. “The pills are changing you, Eirene. I understand it’s a difficult time for us. We must help each other out until we get accustomed to our new bodies and minds.” She paused for a moment, struggling to utter the next words. “You were right about this. It’s a test - and a difficult one too.”

  “Well spoken.” Eirene produced the statue of Pax. It has become withered since she first saw it on the Siren’s Tear, Commodore Habitus’ ship.

  “You could ask Thalia to make you another one.” She nodded at the small figurine of Pax in Eirene’s hand.

  Eirene smiled, looking at the faded face of Pax. “Thalia did not carve it for me. It was entirely my making, and it cannot be replaced. You see, Ganis, to make a Lenion figurine you need naturally fallen wood from a sacred tree only found in Nosgard.”

  “You must have gotten it just before we came to Utyirth.”

  “Indeed.” Eirene rubbed the figurine’s head with her thumb. “It is unlikely that I will ever get another one. Even if I do, it will be sacrilege for me to discard a Lenion figurine.”

  Ganis hummed and nodded. “Come. Let us find this deer.”

  7

  It was a dark night marked with a crescent moon and cloudy skies when the Parthans gathered for the last time in their makeshift cave shelter.

  “Have you chosen your names yet?” Hephaestion asked. He sat by the fire, the closest of the nine Parthans to the heat, and held his hands by the warm flames, eyeing it intently as it gracefully danced. He had a pile of twigs and firewood by his side, but never reached for it to feed the fire.

  “I have chosen mine, Drain,” Dindrane said. She left her red hair long and braided, shaving her beard entirely. After her transformation was complete, she could easily be mistaken for Percival, with the exception of being
slightly shorter and more muscular.

  Hephaestion turned his head to Thalia’s blue eyes. She preferred to cut her hair short, even as a woman, and completely removed her pony tail, allowing her blonde hair to form vertical spiked strands.

  “Thalus,” she said, stroking the scruff of a beard she had on her chin.

  “And I have chosen to be Rein,” Eirene said. Keeping her long hair tucked into her red armor and her beard completely shaven. She had not managed to grow a beard, but the few buds were quickly removed whenever she noticed them.

  “I suppose there is no need for Ganis to change her name,” Hephaestion said, “unless they already know of you in Scyldur.” He eyed her wearily. It would have been an inconvenience if her deeds reached Scyldur, and could influence their mission if anyone recognized her – a difficult task with the effect Ninazu’s treatment had on her.

  “Aye,” Ganis said, “I’ll keep it.”

  “Very well, then.” He looked at Thalus, indicating to him that the weakening fire needed more fuel. Thalus obliged immediately and naturally. “We head to Scyldur tomorrow and see what we can do to infiltrate their society. We do not know enough about the Scylds to have a reliable plan. I believe we would fare better without one at this point.”

  “What of Ganis’ time at Initium Keep?” Percival asked. He stood next to Drain, looking strikingly similar with his red hair and grey eyes. It took Hephaestion some time before he regained his composure and answered.

  “I suspect there are significant differences between how the prisoner and guard Scylds in Initium Keep live and how the Scylds in the city live,” Hephaestion said. “We should not rely on what we know of Initium Keep.” He eased back onto his seat, getting away from the strengthening fires.

  A few moments of silence prevailed before Thalus broke it. “Who would have guessed that we will be sitting in a cave somewhere in Utyirth, talking to…changed versions of ourselves – some more than others – and discussing a completely unplanned infiltration.” Thalus scratched his head in amazement. “I think I’m losing my mind.”