In the end of the war, nothing had changed. The Hallow Points Tribal Wars only escalated. It was in this wild chaotic time that the Second Renaissance decided to enter to spread their message. They knew that if they could change the outlook of the lives of backwards lifestyle, it would be easy to spread the message to the rest of the civilized universe.
During the beginning of the religion, the Second Renaissance tried to persuade tribes to help build towns and cities on their planets. It became Second Renaissance's true challenge to see if they could become a force to be reckoned with. During the beginning decades when the Santos rose to power, three of the Hallow Points' central planets Zestir, Victoza, and Hungaro became the focal points of the religion's experiment.
During the reign of Nero Santos, the dark and gloomy Hungaro became a dungeon for traitors to the crown. It became more notorious when its most infamous exile, the tart Amilie Santos, spent the rest of her life being guarded by hermaphrodites, transsexuals, and asexuals. During the long reign of Timon Santos, Victoza emerged first as a powerhouse planet and soon would be the main base of the Dreamweaver Project which Zestir became a hidden drug hub for medicines for illness that would turn to recreational drugs to sell for Troyuvant drug cartels. Then, during Cheron's short reign, Zestir grew into one of the nightlife areas and Victoza a political center.
By the time of Ichiamo's reign, Second Renaissance had achieved the impossible and the three main planets of the Hallow Points could compete with the likes of other planets.
However, there was an unwanted consequence. The tribes were more civilized, but thanks to their new tools mixed with an old mentality, they became more dangerous. These new equipped tribes became new soldiers for the sects of the Second Renaissance in their war.
All was coming back full circle as after years of straying from the cluster to make their mark, the battles of the Second Renaissance returned to the Hallow Points to make another mark: the ending of an era...
****
95 B.E.
Dorongo, Victoza.
Coming out of Dorongo Airport, Gavson Uva helped himself to coming down with his suitcase without some of his servants present. His wife, Paiga, followed close behind him. He presented a stern and courageous face as he went into his Didius cruiser. His bodyguard was more than pleased to open the door for him and Paiga. He closed it quickly, and went to the driver side and immediately turned on the emission.
Time was of the essence at this point; not because of the pressing meetings Gavson had coming for him when he goes to Solaria for a meeting with the other traders, but because he came at a worse time in the nation of Victoza. Any kind of swiftness that could be used so that the Uvas were as safe as could be were exercised immediately.
That was why he had two cars to the front of him and three in the back, all different colors and sizes in case of tribal assassins. They drove down the street, as Gavson and Paiga conversed with his bodyguard and laughing for once. It has been a while since they laughed and joked. The Uvas were under so much scrutiny for their tyrannical rule that most of their closest friends refused to be in the same room as them for fear of death.
Dorongo was already a war zone, but the arrival of the former Troyuvant leader had become the reason why the war escalated.
For the last four years, Gavson escaped from Troyuvant to make inquiries with the House of Latium. He was not in the vicinity when the massive Nova Bomb hit the drug planet and wiped out a majority of the Unknown Byzants. There were some that escaped with Gavson, looking for a new place to regroup. With the permission from the House of Latium, Gavson was given Victoza to control.
However, Victoza was not hip to Gavson coming in and trying to change their way of life. Victoza was populated with Vimeons from the Vimeo Tribe. To the tribe, Gavson was an unwanted outsider and had no problem bringing it to his attention. His new crew of Byzants he had with him made sure he was well protected from the madness.
Gavson gave his Byzants one order:
"Anyone that comes after me, kill them."
The Byzants followed Gavson's order to a tee. The streets ran ripe with blood as the two tribal gangs fought each other for the right to claim the planet. Unfortunately, the Byzants were at a disadvantage due to numbers, so Gavson had to be careful everywhere he went whenever he touched down in Victoza.
During the drive in the main Didius car, Gavson turned to Paiga. "When we get to the city, I want you to stay with your mother. Stay out of sight. I don't want them taking a shot at you." He just shocked his head. "Maybe you shouldn't have come."
Paiga caressed his cheek, calming his nerves. "I chose to come with you. And I'm not ashamed. Whatever we face, we face together."
Gavson was about to kiss Paiga, but Paiga stopped him.
"Let's wait until we get home," she said. "I don't want bad luck for us."
Driving down the expressway leading to onion domes of the major monuments of Dorongo, one of the cars exploded. High in the air the black Didius went, disrupting the flow of the street.
Then, there was another explosion. This time, it hit at the nerve of the entourage. Other cars ran into the fray, hitting anything that was in front of them. Fire was everywhere. Confusion was rampant.
One of Gavson's Byzant guards got out of his car and went to the blaze. He found that there was no one alive in the fray with some car pile-ups. His face went to sheer horror when he saw the burned bodies of the Varelas, buried in dirt but their faces were seen as clear as day. They did not know what hit them.
****
Hozumi Zantrapa was enjoying his morning wine, awaiting word on his friend coming to Zestir. He had been anticipating this for years. He could not wait for him to come back to finish what they started.
His wife Laska came to him and kissed him on the forehead, amazed at his vigor this morning. He got up bright and early to fix his own suit. He wanted to be perfect for the visit. Laska knew that her husband would be perfect no matter what he put on. It was only a visit from his former partner.
He turned on the television to news. That was when he heard the breaking news. He called for Angela to join him and together, they heard the words:
“…This is the scene that has happened briefly. The caravan that included Gavson Uva, his wife Paiga, and several bodyguards, were all killed in a massive explosion…”
Zantrapa and Laska's mouths were wide open. Laska went to a trash can and vomited. Then, their three cellphones started ringing. Zantrapa knew what it was pertaining to. Everyone was getting the news.
His good friend, Gavson Uva, had finally met his end. He knew who did it, but like most people, it became an unspoken truth.
He answered one of his cellphones ringing.
"Yes? Yes, I got the news. Where's his body now? No...No! Leave it there until I arrived."
Zantrapa put the phone in his pocket. Laska walked scarily to him and hugged her husband tight, crying her eyes out as Zantrapa just glared at his wall; more specifically a portrait of him and Gavson shaking hands and smiling as if they were on the same inside joke...
****
Bringing his body to Zestir, Zantrapa played host to the funeral of Gavson Uva a week later. Zantrapa led the proceedings, not pleased with the state of his nation. Ever since the carnage started by Gavson's conquering crusade, it has been death after death after death.
Carnage struck once again. This time, it claimed Gavson himself.
After the funeral, Zantrapa met up with several of his colleagues. They patted him on his shoulders, expressing their grief. But it was not grief he felt after the funeral. Somehow, his sadness turned to anger.
When he was done, he went straight home. He could not deal with a wake no matter how much his Byzant crew wanted him there. Frustrated about what to do next, Laska came to him and caressed his cheek.
“Gavson would have wanted you to take Victoza as your own."
“I’m sure he would have as well,” Zantrapa said. “I say we star
t right away.”
“Do you want to make it official privately?”
“No! I want all of Victoza to know. Make it known to the rest of the traders in Syra and Tier. They need to know what’s going on here. Maybe we'll get some support."
He took out his cellphone and made some calls. Most of calls he made, he told them the same message. "I will be taking over both Zestir and Victoza. I'll be making the trip in a couple of days and I will clean up Victoza of Vimeo!"
****
The minute he arrived in Dorongo, Victoza, he wasted no time with festivities or welcoming wagons. He went straight to work, finding trails and match those trails with other activities. It was how Gavson Uva managed to keep up the fight against the relentless Vimeo Tribe.
One day, in the press conference that dealt with his new post, he also took the time to express his shame in what happened to his best friend and all of Victoza at Dorongo Castle.
“…I want to give the word out to all of Victoza. Nothing has changed. I will hold responsibility over Zestir and Victoza. To the Vimeo Tribe, I say one thing. I don't want to fight you. But if you fight me, you won't last. Let it be known to you right now that you may have killed a good man, but there are more of us where that came from. If you think you can kill us all, then I would love to see you try.”
It was a declaration of war and as Zantrapa ordered his fellow comrades, the word was spread. All knew two things was for certain: the Vimeo Tribe would ignored the new trader of Victoza, and Zantrapa was not going to live much longer...
****
A month went by since the death of Gavson. After the special speech, Zantrapa kept his cool. He made sure that he came heavy with guards and artillery. He was a target, but he was going to be an armed and equipped target.
Zantrapa decided one day to take a break for lunch at the hotel he was staying. He knew he was not safe in his own home or Dorongo Castle. So he and Laska decided to jump from hotel to hotel to do his work. Laska was really supportive of this even though she did not like to be jumping from place to place like she was running from the law.
On that day, Zantrapa was putting his evidence together. He stayed there for three hours, neglecting lunch. Laska had a good meal, but it digested quickly with worry for her husband. Like a madman, Zantrapa wanted to make sure all the information was put together for his Latium masters.
When he was done,he left all the top secret documents with Laska to keep until he got back.
He stressed to her, "If anything happens, this information goes straight to King Ichiamo Santos."
He kissed his wife goodbye and off Zantrapa went.
Laska waited for a little while as she just stared at the vast amount of information Zantrapa accumulated with Gavson over the years; history about everything that had happened before, during, and after the Force of Arms War.
Then, she saw that he had forgotten his lucky hat. He never went without his lucky hat in all the years she had known him. She picked it up and went to the window.
She eventually came downstairs to the main floor to find that Zantrapa was already in the car. As soon as he closed the door, there was a loud explosion. The blast was so strong, it pushed Laska back against the wall. Everyone around the blast sustained some kind of injury or burn.
Hozumi Zantrapa died instantly...
****
In just two months, two large funerals were held for two special traders. By this time, there was no more putting it to the side.
It seemed as if the death of Hozumi Zantrapa reawakened lost passions of blood and battle that had been lost from the Hallow Points for a long time. Citizens of Victoza started making noise in the streets and fighting with one another. There were marches, bottles thrown, fires were started. There was an influx of anger never seen since the last bouts of tribal warfare.
Looking from a distance with vested interest from the window of a hotel room were three males who could not be happier at the turn of events.
"Revenge has been served," Issac Arius said to his partner Cassio Ramirez, and Truncalo, a tribal chief of the Vimeo.
"So what now?" Cassio asked. "How do we capitalize on this? They may just as well go wild on us."
Issac turned to Truncalo. "That's where our new friend comes in."
"I told you it's not that easy," the black-skinned Truncalo said. "I need to persuade the other chiefs to go along with it. They want a return on their investment. The House of Latium has disrespected them for so long. They see the Byzants as only an extension of that."
"That's why you tell them about us. Tell them the Byzants wanted to take down the House of Latium just as badly as your tribe did. If that doesn't persuades them..." Issac took out some vials of metine. "Give them this. One taste of this and their minds will change in seconds."
Truncalo took the vials and put them in his pockets. Issac looked back at Cassio with a mischievous grin. They were well on their way to the start of a beautiful partnership...
SEVENTEEN: END OF THE CENTURY
98 B.E.
Ichiamo Santos had ruled Crystal Metropolis and monitored the entire Aventine Monarch Galaxy for twenty-eight years. At this point, the former fool in all of Crystal Metropolis was being celebrated as the second best Santos to rule their planet after Nero Santos. He was going into his seventies and bigger due to his time of grieving, but he still had the strength to run an effective administration.
The only great fallout in his rule and life was how he handled the Katharina situation. Since her execution, there were rumors that Ichiamo was losing his mind, like past Santos kings before him.
Nero had his scandals to include his vivacious sexually-charged daughter. Timon had his drama executing strators and assassinating family members. Cheron had his mind-boggling God complex and maniacal intricacies against everyone.
Ichiamo had his failed relationships and the ultimate end with Katharina. It brought on the point that Ichiamo may have been a great leader, but there were things that could still escape him.
However, the rumors faded when Ichiamo went back to doing what he did best. He worked harder than ever, determined not to let what happened with his late wife disturbed him any longer. There was still the matter with his young adult children by her: Timon, who had taken on his middle name Cassius, and Luciana, who had taken on her middle name Isabella.
Spending more time away from the wild Crystal Metropolis lifestyle, Cassius was angry and refused to talk to his father for years. He asked permission to go to Guapa for that reason, along with continuing his education. Isabella, on the other hand, stood by her father through the tribulation times. She knew about what her mother had done and was applaud by Kate's behavior. She knew that being in that position meant Ichiamo might have to make a decision that could make people hate him.
Still, despite several discrepancies and his aging, Ichiamo Santos was still king of the galaxy. His determination to work harder got his hands into almost all planets and moons in the entire ATM. There was not a planet in the entire ATM that did not know Ichiamo’s name.
Some of his old friends passed away, and younger males took over power positions as strators, lators, cursers, and soldiers.
One of those people was former Democrat Guard Alonso Fontaine.
Three years after the death of the queen, Alonso left the Democrat Guard and became a lator, thinking that he could be more help to the people if he was more with the people. Lators were just the ticket. He still kept up with the king’s dealings and that Democrat Guard heart was still there within him in spite of the change in career.
Another great supporter and friend was pilot Lucius Gaines, who became general of the Beau Lombard fleet. This meant he was more involved with Crystal Metropolis than ever before. Finally, he was able to bring his family to the planet after much persuasion.
Lucius’ son, Rafe Gaines, was getting older, and that was the thorn to Juliet’s backside. She knew that anything dealing with Rafe
she would have to agree. To secure Rafe’s future, she made the move, saying goodbye to Solaria, probably forever.
It took a while, but in the end, Juliet Gaines adjusted to Crystal Metropolis life and its surroundings. It made things easier for the Gaines family. Plus, Lucius made more with his new rank than he did as a regular pilot. However, she knew that she could never really be accepted into a world of debauchery, sex, and greed.
Others who had been loyal to the king for years had taken on power positions. One thing was for certain. Those that had been instrumental in saving the legacy of Ichiamo's rule were rewarded with riches and titles never imagined.
INIQUITOUS DOMINION: The Galactic Classic Page 33