After having his fill, Sinfus stopped drinking and breathed out as his mouth sealed once more, and sat up as Gelga tore a cloth from her clothing and wrapped it around her arm as she spoke. “There you are. You’re okay, now. I said you would be.”
Sinfus clasped Gelga’s hand and looked at the surrounding creatures as she continued her speech. “Your mouth healed, well, that’s strange, but at least now we know we can feed you when the time comes.”
Sinfus rose with Gelga, and looked upon the creatures as Karkor turned and spoke in his deep manner. “They’ve stopped, all of them. What do you think it is, lord Sinfus?”
Sinfus looked at the creatures with curiosity, as they did to him, and spoke calmly with his thoughts. “I don’t know, but I don’t think they’ll hurt us, after all, we’re one and the same.”
Light came down as it filtered through the many pillars of the stone mass. Sinfus stood with his followers and turned to them as he pointed ahead to a heavy archway that was the entrance to the structure that which they were in. “Let’s go outside, with or without the blade, we can still help Kaimana!”
The others followed, Gelga taking Sinfus’ side as Karkor and Hersei followed closely as the others did. The four-armed one spoke as he hefted the bag of the shattered blade in his hands. “Sinfus, maybe we can fix the blade. There must be a way, couldn’t there be, Hersei?”
Turning to the single-eyed one for solution, the four-armed mass had a look of question on his simple features as Hersei produced his thoughts, as all left the structure. “There always could be…I’m sure we could think of something.”
Sinfus led the lot out of the structure, and stopped as he looked upon the surroundings before him. The city was destroyed and in great ruin. The city he once knew and loved was now left as nothing but fragments, dusty and spread out before him as Gelga and the others looked out upon the sight in shock as Sinfus fell to his knees and shook his head, speaking thoughts of intense torture, all others feeling his pain as he spoke. “It’s gone, the city is gone…my Oomer. Kaimana abandoned me, abandoned our people. He left the city to destruction!”
As Sinfus’ anger and pain grew, the others felt it deeply. Inside the stone structure that which they had left, the mass of Keraij were quite silent, but Sinfus’ pain reached out to them too and caused them to go crazy with his emotions of betrayal. Leaping, clawing at one another, and taking to the air, they filtered out through the pillared mass and rent the sky, as Sinfus sat on his knees and dug his claws deep into his face and tore it open, yelling out in pain as all others shimmered at his shared emotion. “Damn you, Kaimana!!!”
As the cry of pain and betrayal rent the riddled air of Keraij, it was soon snuffed as Sinfus’ mouth sealed, leaving him solemn on the ground, his followers and his lover standing at his side upon the scene of desolation.
-Chapter 2-
Present
At the Order of the Aura, it was calm and still, a soft breeze taking in the foliage of the great tree of mass in dance as leaves rustled gently on the wind. The green walls shimmered as the night was serene, and the moon dealt down well-deserved beams upon the ground below.
A young girl walked across the grounds with a hood about their head, pressing through the fruit trees and making their way to a chamber door at the innermost wall, a necklace dangling around their neck and feeling the warmth of her grip as she held the bound object firmly.
The door creaked open as the hooded one entered, and closed it, looking upon the torch lit scene as it was quiet and undisturbed inside. It was at that moment the silence was broken as the sound of something shattering took the air, having seemingly come from behind a counter in the corner of the room.
The hooded one removed their covering and revealed their features of brown hair, done up in a ponytail, brown eyes, garnered with spectacles, looking upon the scene, as the girl hid the necklace in the confines of her clothing and walked over to the counter as she heard a continuing racket.
A girl emerged from the counter and held her hands behind her as she looked around as if trying to look innocent of a crime. The girl had brown eyes, curly, long, brown hair, and wore a vest, her pale skin showing on her arms as she looked at the other girl and spoke.
“Hey, Henk…ummm…what’re you doing here?”
The one known as Henk peered over the counter with curiosity, and spoke. “Not much. Just thought I would stop by and see if you were done here, yet… are you breaking things again, Mensh?
As Henk stood with a well-knowing look on her face, the girl, Mensh, produced the shattered remnants from behind her form and set them on the counter, speaking as she leaned on the counter and sighed. “Yes, I keep breaking stuff the past few days. I don’t know what it is, but promise me you won’t tell Maela. She’ll kill me if she finds out! I’ve already had a hard enough time trying to hide everything I break. I don’t want to know what will happen when she finds out!”
Henk smiled and pressed down on Mensh’s hands assuredly, and spoke. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell her, but she’s bound to find out, sooner or later. After all, at this rate there won’t be anything left to make medicine in!”
Mensh made a look of horror as Henk laughed, the door creaking open behind her as a dark figure entered and shut the door. Henk caught the look of despair on Mensh and stopped her laughing, and turned to meet the figure. A boy stood with dark, messy, brown hair, his blue eyes glimmering in the torchlight as he wore a tan scarf tucked into the collar of his green jacket, a kerchief with a straight line drawn on it, put there by way of charcoal, mounted upon his blank and emotionless features.
Henk smiled upon the boy and turned to Mensh who was wiping her brow and letting out a sigh. “Mensh, it’s only Amen. Don’t panic so much.”
Mensh stuck her tongue out, tiredly, and lowered herself behind the counter and started picking the pieces of shattered glass up, speaking to the two of Amen and Henk as they stood behind the counter, listening. “Yeah, I guess…I just thought it was going to be Maela! I better clean this up fast before she gets here.”
Henk leaned on the counter and looked upon the roving eyes of Amen, and spoke, catching the silent boy taking glimpses upon her, causing her to feel slightly flustered as she produced her words. “You have plenty of time, Mensh. It’s late, and Maela is never up that late, not at all. We should go for a stroll when you’re out, aye?”
Mensh produced herself from the counter confines of the stone chamber and held broken glass huddled to her body as she spoke her reply. “Let’s go, now. I want to dispose of the evidence!”
Outside the moon hung high, silent and just as the three walked amongst the fruitful trees. Amen leaned on a tree with his back and rose up to climb it as the two girls walked together, and stopped beneath him. Henk watched Amen climb around the foliage and turned her view to Mensh who was hiding the broken glass inside the confines of a hollowed tree. After hiding the evidence of her breakage, she put some leaves and branches over the opening to cover it, and turned to Henk, leaning her back on the tree as she gave a sigh of relief.
“I’m glad that’s done. Hey, Henk, how’s it going searching Amen’s mind, there?”
Henk looked up at Amen in the tree as she sat on the grassy ground, soft and gentle as she rested her body. “It’s okay, I guess. I haven’t gotten anything out of him yet. I’m not sure if we ever will know what happened to him, what made him become silent. It just seems that the memory is too deep and hidden, most likely out of pain.”
Amen dropped between the two and rested his back on the tree, looking upon Henk as Mensh took his other side and sat, speaking. “It must have been pretty bad to make him silent and forget how it happened.”
Henk looked upon the eyes of Amen as they basked in the moonlit night, and spoke.
“I’m sure it was, but he wants to remember. I need to do it for him.”
Mensh stretched her arms and leaned on her knees, playing with her curly hair as she spoke her mind of the matter. “True.
I just hope that when it comes back to him he doesn’t get hurt. The past can be a painful thing.”
Henk agreed and looked away from Amen, shyly, as she could not take his stare, and looked out at the moon above. “I know. That’s the last thing I would want to happen to him.”
Mensh caught the look of care in Henk’s eyes and hid a smile, looking upon Amen as she spoke as a soft breeze came over the three. “I believe you when you say that. I’m sure it’ll work out just fine. I guess you only need to try and see, right?”
Henk nodded to her friend’s words and leaned back as to rest on the tree, and found herself, in actuality, on Amen’s shoulder. Feeling awkward of the unintentional contact, Henk tried to get up, but was pulled back softly to rest by Amen. Mensh smiled at the scene and continued leaning on herself, looking out into the moonlit night as she sat with her two friends under the foliage.
Back at the City of Murta Sota, the great ash ridden form of a structure, the owl Hoosun stood watching as Samana and her warrior friend, Kurlank, dealt out blows with their swords at one another, practicing amongst the pillar encircled tower top.
At the side of the great owl was a lizard like creature, standing upright and sturdy, decked out in a red robe, royal and well-trimmed as he stood, his massive, frilled head seething in and out as he watched the training and spoke to his friend scathingly. “Looks like she’s pretty good, quite a hero she is. Only but a few days ago she fought the Red Wolf and she’s already beating away at practice.”
Hoosun bowed his head in agreement as both watched. “I agree, my old friend. She does seem to be doing quite well for her injuries. I’m sure in a good week’s time we can have her up to full ability, if not even better than before.”
Samana guarded a heavy blow from Kurlank and lost her footing, and slipped onto her knee. The metal one took his blade from hers and sheathed it in a slit in his waist armor, and held his hand out to her to help her up, speaking in an echoing voice. “You’re doing well, but remember that this is the first day. You can’t be perfect.”
Samana accepted his gesture as he pulled her up from the stone ground. Dusting herself off, she sheathed her blade and smiled upon her friend. “Yeah, I know. I’m not expecting to be getting back up to speed, just like that.”
The lizard and the owl approached the other two as the scaly hands of the speaker clapped out his approval. “Very good, young Samana, I believe Hoosun is right. Within a week you’ll be back to your former swiftness with a blade, if not better.”
Samana bowed her head to the lizard, thankfully, and spoke as Kurlank rested his metal garnered grip on her shoulder. “Thank you, Hatchlen. I’ll try hard to fit that ideal.”
The lizard showed sharp teeth and gestured his friends to follow as he led them off from the towering sight, speaking as they walked down great forms of stone and ash ridden steps.
“I’m sure you will, young Samana. Now follow me. Let us eat and get that energy of yours up. You can’t train on just air, especially when you’re breathing here!”
The four made their way down the steps, the promise of refreshments, water and food holding promise for all but the metal one, as he did not have the need or will to feed.
-Chapter 3-
Present
Daylight had come upon the sandy ruins of Oomer as the council sat amongst the ruins in silence.
The light had brought detail and recognition to the council as they all stood or sat in rest. All wore blue clothed and silver trimmed garments, chains hanging from their waists with hoods blooming from the top of their cloaked forms. The one known as Karkor had the top half of his cloak torn down, and wrapped around his waist, seeing the world through one sole eye that sat above two specks that were the nostrils on his face. Two twins, Fisu and Kisu, sat next to each other on a flat rock mass. One, a girl, was trim and tall with piercings all over her as her brother bore a good resemblance to her, but with streamline muscle to his image. The girl dressed with her cloak half undone and about her waist, wearing a vest heavily garnered with silver as her brother wore his cloak about his upper half, very proudly.
Amongst the others was a calm figure named Fenra. He was the image of a bear, standing tall with his massive form, his cloak about him as he surveyed everything around him with sharp eyes, always watchful of his surroundings. One called Borka, a hairy boar of a warrior, carrying a massive javelin upon his back, stood at the scene, great tusks penetrating the sealed skin on his face, forging allowance of verbal contact easily as he could rip his mouth open easily with a gesture of his jaw. Hersei sat in a corner, his hunched form a grim sight as one of his eyes had been gouged from his skull. He was scarred brutally from past conflicts.
A frighteningly dark figure, one named Mastaba, stood on the sandy scene, cutting a well-fashioned blade into his face, feeling the flesh seal, open, and then seal once again on his features as he stood disturbed. He wore a well-trimmed blue and silver cloak, hanging low as silver latchings kept it tight upon his slender figure. Atop his hood was fixed a well-curved and extremely sharp blade. A strap was built into his hood, in custom fashion, to fix around his head to keep the blade firm when used in combat.
The leader of the cursed, Sinfus, sat solemn with his wife at his side. His face cut a jagged impression as he was rather slender and built with firm muscle. His cloak was worn about his body well, and as his hood covered his long black hair, a red crystal rested at the top of the hood’s mouth, shining brightly in the sunlight beaming down.
His wife, Gelga, held his arm tightly in care. She was beautiful, even when cursed it showed through. She wore a black and blue dress, ruffled black and soft fabric forming a sleeveless vest she wore as she clung to her love. Bands of silver were strapped to her arms, and black sturdy boots were upon her feet as she knelt. On her head was a small tiara, the silver gleaming in royalty with a red crystal, like that of her husband’s possession, embedded into it as she sat lovingly with him, as she felt worry creep upon her.
All of the council sat silent, until the scene was broken by the questioning twins, each finishing parts of their shared sentence to the others, in combined effort. “Hey, it’s daylight, finally, so why are all these things, the Keraij, hanging around still?”
Around the scene, the Keraij, cursed and twisted, were resting upon the setting of broken stone and sand. Sinfus looked upon them and spoke his thoughts as sunlight beamed down upon all around them. “You’re right, they should be afraid of light. After all, the chronicle of Shirindul said so, but maybe…that’s it!”
All stood to attention as Sinfus stood and looked upon the vast creatures, and continued his thoughtful speech. “The book said that one led them, and that these creatures are empty…without souls. We have souls and wills of our own, as they followed one long ago, they follow us. That is why they followed us out!”
Gelga stood at his side and spoke in a manner of discovery. “That makes sense. They started going into a frenzied state when you discovered the wreckage, and since we do not fear light, that lack of fear is dealt upon them as well! It would also explain how you live. They must have fed you as you slept.”
All stood and agreed in thought to the conclusive ideal. The creatures were theirs to command, and would do as they were willed to.
Sinfus looked upon his followers and spoke upon them. “My council, they can’t harm anyone as long as we don’t want them to. We can still make right, perhaps we can use them for good. We can hunt down the Elushu. Hersei, your senses are strong, do they still live?”
The one-eyed one stood nodding his head as he closed his eye in thought and spoke.
“Yes, they are. I sense it.”
Sinfus stood holding his lover’s hands as the thought of his father’s sword filled his mind and his council’s as well. The blade was broken, and it would stay that way, as would his sense of honor, as he had made an oath upon his father to drive the blade into Druskele, the leader of the Elushu’s heart. If he wanted his honor back, he would have to fu
lfill this promise.
All stood in silence, and then Hersei spoke up with a thoughtful solution to the matter.
“Sinfus, the blade was made at the Order of the Aura, in the very confines of souls by Omegeira. Could we not fix the blade by going there and forging it together once more?”
Sinfus thought through the solution and thought it a conceivable plan. Voicing his approval through thought, he stood before his council, resting a sturdy hand on the shoulder of the wise Hersei. “He’s right. That could work. I could regain my honor, and the promise upon my father, it could be fulfilled. We shall fix the blade, and with it and our new army, we will bring vengeance upon the Elushu!”
All seemed agreeable to the notion, Gelga grabbing Sinfus’ arm as she was at his side.
“Sinfus, what of the Dawn Bringers, they abandoned our city?”
Sinfus made as much of a torn look as he could, with the lack of a mouth to express, and held his lover's hand as he looked out upon the mass of sand, stone, and Keraij, the voice of his thoughts scathing and bitter as he spoke. “He was my best friend, but that only makes his betrayal greater. He will share the same fate as those of the Elushu, for the death of my people is as much his responsibility as it is the Elushu’s!
As the judgment of their leader rang out in their minds, all stood in agreement awaiting the next thought of their leader as silence soon overtook the scene.
Sinfus spread his thoughts and looked upon the Keraij, sweeping his hand over their distant images as he spoke. “Before we journey, we shall meditate and test our will with these creatures, so that we can control them better, and with this, there would be no risk of harm to another, innocent and gentle. What do think you of this, my council?”
All thought agreement and nodded their cursed forms. Sinfus held his wife with his arms as the council looked out over the mass of twisted creatures, many thoughts passing through them as they thought of the past and what the future would hold. They were here, and would have to make the best of it, for it appeared that fate had brought them to this purpose, to wreak vengeance upon those who wronged them.
The Order of Events: The Council of Eight Page 4