“Especially if these accords are put into place to help us win a victory over our Zelinite enemy,” Luanren added.
“There was one more thing,” Jhahnahkan continued. “There was one planet that we encountered. This system was the farthest out, near the last ring of our galaxy. The people there were very interesting in what they had to say about us. It seems that they knew of our Touulug system, and even more, they knew about Ackturra. They told me of a legend that we Ackturrians came from another galaxy long ago, from a galaxy called the Milky Way. There is a star in that galaxy called Sol and that there was a great society on the fourth planet in that system. I do not remember what they were called, but what the legend says is that their planet was destroyed by a great war. They migrated to the third planet, once called Terra Firma. These people, knowing that they would never find a resolution to their many differences, the Terrans voted to split. One side would remain on the third planet while the other would migrate to another galaxy to live. Both sides agreed that this would be the best solution so they would never destroy themselves again. Along their way, they encountered this world and set up colonies. Some stayed and some moved on until they reached the Touulug system and finally settled on Ackturra.”
“I take it back, my brother.” Jhovahkan snickered, “That is a very entertaining story,” he said as he wiped his mouth with his napkin. “I must say, you may have been stricken with space delirium or maybe too much whiskey.”
Luanren stopped Jhovahkan by reaching over and placing her hand on his arm, “No, wait,” she said, looking at Jhahnahkan. “Please continue. This is most interesting. There are ancient scrolls of long ago that do talk about such a place and a warning of not repeating the same fate. The scrolls have been long hidden in the Crystal Caverns, archived and sealed until the appropriate time when they will be needed.”
“These scrolls have not been spoken of for over a thousand years,” Ghaia said. “You could not have known about these. If what you are saying is a truth, you may have found our ancient ancestors.”
“What else did they tell you?” Tamika asked.
Jhahnahkan continued speaking between bites of food, “You see, they also told me that there were many hidden things that we all have forgotten, things they said they cannot tell me. They said we must discover them ourselves. Once we have, we can return to our ancestor roots and join our brothers and sisters and finally live in peace.”
Qiaoshan stood up from the end of the table and looked at his son, “Jhahnahkan, you have been told more. You must tell us what these people have said. What did they teach you?”
“Father,” Jhahnahkan said, “they did tell me of secrets, but I did not fully understand. They told me it would come to me in time and swore me to keep the secret to myself. I did not even tell my most trusted crew members of my time with them.”
Qiaoshan placed his hands together, touching his spread fingers in front of him close to his chest. He slowly walked across the room and stood behind his son. The room quieted with an eerie silence as Qiaoshan rested his fingertips on the sides of Jhahnahkan’s head and closed his eyes.
The two fell into a trancelike state as Qiaoshan began to probe his son’s mind, searching for the deep hidden secrets. Jhahnahkan noticed that the stillness of the room was more than it appeared as everyone else seemed to be frozen in time, or as if time itself had slowed. He resisted his father’s mind probe and concentrated on blocking the memory from being exposed.
My son, Qiaoshan projected with his mind, do not resist me. You must tell me your hidden secrets. You will not resist me. Release to me your thoughts, he continued to probe his son’s mind without any success.
My father, you will not find the hidden answers that you seek. I will not let my word be broken. I will fight your mind probe.
Jhahnahkan concentrated on struggling against his father, as Qiaoshan continued to break the mind lock. The power from the two grew so strong that Qiaoshan was thrown back in a blast of power not even he had seen from anyone before. The mind link broke with a crackling sound as if an electrical discharge had occurred. Then the room returned to normal.
“My son,” Qiaoshan spoke, “you have blocked my mind probe with such a strong power. You do not possess a power crystal, yet you are able to resist me.”
“Father, I will not speak of this again until the time that has been given. The mind block that is in place was one of the secrets they taught me. They have given me this knowledge, and I have sealed it, and I vowed to keep the mystery. I do not fully understand all of these secrets. This is why they helped me to place this block on my mind: to protect these ancient mysteries from being revealed until the time is right.”
Ghaia stood and began to speak, “Qiaoshan, do not make your son break his word. His honor is at stake, and I would not think you would want your son dishonored. His integrity is needed on the council,” She said, looked over at her other son, “We have been lacking this as of late.”
Jhovahkan stared back at his mother, “My brother has come here to dishonor me then. He wishes to make me look bad. I will not stand for this!” he exclaimed. “I will continue to oppose his appointment to the council.”
Luanren stood looking at Jhovahkan, “You do not need anyone to help you look bad. You have done that yourself. Your desire for more power has begun to corrupt you. You must restore your own honor by yielding to the rest of the council’s decision to admit your brother.”
“You cannot make me yield!” Jhovahkan said with an evil-looking grin. “I am the rightful heir to lead the council.”
“Not while I am still alive!” Qiaoshan said with a harsh voice.
“Turn the council over to me! I will have the resolve to win this war with the Zelinites. You have failed to lead us down the path of victory.”
“Enough!” Ghaia shouted as she interrupted the squabble, “This will not get us anywhere. There will be no more discussion on this tonight.”
“Your mother is right,” Tamika said with the voice of reason, “We should put aside our differences and get back to the celebration that we all came here for. My brother is going to be appointed to the council tomorrow. He will seek out his power crystal in the ritual of Ack’raamon. I am very proud of you, Jhahnahkan. You have returned from your journey and brought back hope to us of winning this war.”
“This is not over yet,” Jhovahkan said, staring at his brother. “I will fight you tomorrow, and you will lose.”
Jhovahkan stood and turned to his brother before walking out, “I look forward to seeing you in the morrow, when I shall defeat you. You will not be admitted to the council if I have anything to do with it.”
Tamika looked at Jhahnahkan, “Do not do it, my brother. Do not fight him. He will kill you if he has the chance.”
“Do not worry, my sister. He will not defeat me at Bant’tuuk. I have been gone a very long time, and I have had much time to train in the art. My brother has a surprise in store.”
“I will be standing at your side,” Tamika said with a sorrowful voice. “I hope you are right. He is very powerful and is a champion Bant’tuuk fighter.”
“Yes, I am aware of his talent. I know what you are thinking, and I do not want you to interfere. You must not use your crystal to protect me. I will win the fight on my own.”
“Tamika,” Qiaoshan said, “I know you desire to help your brother, but he is right. You must not help him. He must win the fight on his own accord in order to gain Jhovahkan’s respect on the council.”
“I give you my word,” Tamika said reluctantly. “I will not interfere.” She turned to Jhahnahkan and gave him a hug. “Goodnight, my brother. Go now, rest, for tomorrow will come quickly.”
* * *
Chapter 3 – Bant’tuuk
Palace Compound
Jhahnahkan spent the entire night restless. He tossed and turned. His body was wet with sweat. It was very early morning when he began to see a dream, but it was more like a vision. He found himself standing at the cent
er of a circular room fully adorned with ancestral figurines of times long ago. The ceiling was open to the sky, and he could smell the scent of flowers in the air. It seemed as though he could hear the enchanting sound of a nearby stream caused by the water rushing over rocks of the riverbed.
The red sky glistened with electricity, and you could hear the sound of crackling as the atmosphere discharged across the air and resonated in the background.
In his vision, he saw the other council members standing in their assigned places. His father, Qiaoshan, stood before him, holding his clear power crystal. The crystal-white sheen that enveloped them gave him the feeling of well-being. Then all at once he felt as if he was being carried away through a vortex as the vision changed from a serene setting to one of incipient dread. Jhahnahkan heard as if there was a distant voice echoing in his head over and over, whispering to him, Do not resist the crystal. It will make you powerful! He tried to fight the pulling force by grabbing at the surrounding air as if he could swim in the strong current of energy, but the pull was too powerful. The force pulled him violently further away. He could feel the presence of someone being with him in the vortex, but he could not see who it was.
Jhahnahkan awoke with a start and raised straight up, panting and covered in sweat. He tried to swallow, but his mouth was too dry. He got up and went over to the basin in his room, turned on the cold water, and put his head under the stream.
Taking a long drink and then soaking his head, finally quenched his panic.
The computer in his room came to life with a beeping sound, “Good morning, sir. How was your night?” the computer inquired.
“Restless.”
“I am sorry, sir. Maybe a good hot cup of java would be in order.”
“Yes, thank you. Java dark, strong, and hot.”
The computer began brewing his order and shortly dispensed the drink into a cup.
“Is there anything else I can do for you this morning, sir?”
“Yes, you can put a shot of whisky in that as well.”
The computer moved a dispenser arm over to the cup and promptly added the request into the cup, “There you are, sir, just as you ordered…please enjoy.”
Jhahnahkan took the cup and blew on it before he sipped the drink. He set it on the table to cool and walked over to the balcony and opened the double doors. The fresh air soothed his mind as he began to wake up and realize that it was morning.
“Computer, what is the current time?”
“The time is 5:45 a.m., sir. You have an appointment at the Bant’tuuk arena in fifteen minutes.”
Being aware that he was going to be late, he began to dress himself, “Computer, why did you not wake me an hour ago?”
“Sir, I am sorry that you did not wake up. I did try to wake you, but you did not respond. I reset the wake-up call for every fifteen minuets and then you finally awoke just a few moments before the next alert.”
“Computer, reset clock for aggressive wake-up mode,” he ordered just before running out the door.
Jhahnahkan arrived at the Bant’tuuk arena just moments before the match was about to begin.
Tamika rushed over to him and helped him put on his armor and helmet, “Brother, where have you been? You should have been here and prepared thirty minutes ago”
“My computer was set for passive wake-up mode. I got here as fast as I could, but do not worry. I am ready,” he said confidently.
As he was being helped with his body armor, he looked over and saw Jhovahkan. He was already standing at the entrance to the theater, holding his weapon, grinning at him with an evil sneer. He could hear him laugh in his mind.
The armor covered the player’s arms from their wrists to their shoulders. A padded chest plate went down from the shoulders and wrapped around the waist and was tied together at the back.
Leggings were worn to protect them from their hips to their ankles. A helmet was placed on their head and wrapped around the chin. The face and mouth of the helmet was open, allowing the player to see and taunt their opponent.
The contestants wore gloves to protect their hands, and the Bant’tuuk staff of six feet in length was held as a weapon. On one end of the staff was a hooked blade, and the opposite end was made blunt, which had many uses during a match.
The two fighters were either colored red or blue. The Bant’tuuk arena was a huge circle within a circle. The inner circle was ten feet in diameter and colored blue. The outer circle was twenty feet in diameter and was of the color red. The outer circle was divided into four sections where the challenger had to remain. Just outside the smaller circle, evenly spaced around the perimeter, were four smaller discs, each one foot in diameter. These discs, at the start of the game, are blue, the color of the defender. Players must not contact the colored areas opposite their own, with the exception of the color discs. The object of the game is for the challenger to turn each of the smaller discs red by touching them, while the defender can change them back to blue. During the battle, there are few rules; the player can use their staff in any fashion to gain control over their opponent in the arena. The challenger has fifteen minutes to change the small discs all to red, which will cause the match to end and the challenger wins. If all the discs are not changed to red after the allotted time, the defender wins. If any player comes in contact with the opposite colored space, a penalty is dealt, which turns one of the discs in favor of the opponent.
Jhahnahkan stood at the entrance of the Bant’tuuk arena opposite of his brother. Both stood ready, their staffs held out in front of them horizontally. They stared at each other in the eye, waiting for their father to sound the gong.
Qiaoshan, who was standing at the front of the arena on a platform, was overseeing the competition.
Jhahnahkan looked around the arena plotting his strategy, while his brother made no moves. His eyes stayed fixed on his brother. The crowd that was seated in the observation seats waited impatiently. Some cheered for Jhahnahkan, while others cheered for Jhovahkan.
“Fellow Ackturrians,” Qiaoshan began, “welcome to the Bant’tuuk challenge. Today we have Jhahnahkan, youngest son of the house of Sö’, who comes before us today as the challenger.”
The crowd became elated and clapped and cheered at the announcement.
“The defender of the Bant’tuuk arena is Jhovahkan, oldest brother of the house of Sö’.”
The crowd went even louder with his announcement of the defender.
“There is much at stake today with this challenge. Jhahnahkan has been removed from his command with the commencement of his appointment to the high council. His brother removed him from his command without the consent of the council and has dishonored his brother. Therefore, the challenge today is to restore his command of his ship, the Telenian, after his instruction is complete and he has fully trained in the ways of the power crystal.”
The crowd began to stand and cheered for the challenger, chanting, “Jhah-nah-kan, Jhah-nah-kan, Jhah-nah-kan, Jhah-nah-kan.”
“The stakes for the defender, should he lose, shall turn over his appointment of fleet commander to his brother and thereby restoring his honor with the council.”
The crowd went even wilder and began to chant, “J-hovah-kan, J-hovah-kan, J-hovah-kan.”
Using a short breathy beat, they chanted faster and faster, causing the crowd to go into frenzy. “J-ovah-kan, J-hovah-kan, J-hovah-kan, J-hovah-kan.”
“Defender, take your place in the center circle.”
Jhovahkan moved from the entrance of the arena. As he walked, he turned to the crowd and lifted his arms, holding his staff over his head as if he was already the winner, and caused the crowd to go even wilder.
“Challenger!” Qiaoshan commanded, “…move to a red area of your choice to begin.”
Jhahnahkan moved to the closest red section and faced his opponent, knees slightly bent. He held his staff out in front, ready for action.
“It is written, so shall it be done!” Qiaoshan shouted as he sw
ung and struck the gong, signaling the start of the competition.
Immediately, Jhovahkan swung his staff at his brother. Jhahnahkan also swung his staff and blocked the hit, which made a loud clack as he pushed off. The two staffs connected several more times. Jhahnahkan started to make his way over to the closest disc. He swung and counterattacked his brother’s every move as if he already knew which way he was going to swing.
“My brother,” Jhovahkan said with a panting voice, “your game has improved. You are stronger than I gave you credit for.”
“I warned you, my brother,” Jhahnahkan panted. “You should not have underestimated me. I have had a long time to practice Bant’tuuk.”
“Not to worry my dear brother, you will not win.”
Jhahnahkan successfully changed the first disc red. He twirled his staff, and with one mighty blow with the blunt end of the staff, he struck his brother in his midsection.
Jhovahkan fell backward and onto his back surprised. The fall took his breath away, which gave Jhahnahkan time to run over to the second disc to turn it red.
Jhovahkan flipped back to his feet and rushed over to his brother, swinging his blade end of the staff.
Jhahnahkan leaped into the air just high enough so the blade just missed his feet. He spun in the air and came down, tossing his staff in the air over his brother’s head. The staff twirled toward the center of the inner circle, and as if Jhahnahkan moved in slow motion, he leaped in the air over his brother’s head. Grabbing his staff, he aimed the blunt end of the staff in the center of the ring. As the staff landed, he pole-vaulted across the room, landing on the disc on the opposite side of the arena, promptly changing that disk to his side.
The crowd all came to their feet and cheered for Jhahnahkan as they clapped vigorously.
Jhovahkan growled as he ran to his brother again and took another swing, causing their two staffs to clash together.
Back and forth they battled hard, and with only two minutes left on the clock and one disc left to change, Jhahnahkan swung his blade at the end of his brother’s staff, cutting its blade off. With the other end of his staff, he hit the blade was falling in mid-air and knocked it out of the arena’s playing area.
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