by Penn Fawn
Not far from them was the cause of all of the death and destruction.
Nyeusi, Kifo, and Amri flew over them at a height too long a distance to be struck by arrows.
All eyes were locked onto what took place above.
They watched the three make a circle, and Nyeusi’s main interest now was to get back to his foot soldiers before any of his traumatized cavalrymen did.
“I have a feeling this is not over,” Pseudomann said.
“Of course,” Mbou replied. “How could anyone think otherwise?”
“And, what does that mean for us?” Feignmann asked.
“We will wait a bit more to see what they do,” Mbou replied. “We do not want to give up any ground.”
They didn’t wait long before realizing the dead, which stretched so far and wide, provided an obstacle neither army cared to circumvent.
An attempt to go around the carcasses would take a great deal of time. What’s more was, it would have taken them away from their preferred path, one that led directly toward the opposition.
A movement in the sky caught the attention of Nyeusi’s men on foot.
It was he, Amri, and Kifo, returning to the place where his men were told to await further instruction.
The three swooped down before them, and Nyeusi’s instructions were that they were to return home and be vigilant.
Amri was instructed to keep watch over what the immortals were up to.
Kifo was instructed to be another set of eyes for him and alert him in the event of any dire news.
“And, where would you be off to?” Amri asked.
“The Isle of the Maimed,” he replied.
“That far, eh?” said a surprised Kifo.
“Yes,” Nyeusi replied.
“How long do you intend to be gone?” Kifo asked.
“A couple days at least,” Nyeusi answered. “Our brethren need to be informed, and I need some time away from here, time to myself to think. This is bigger than I had imagined or could have thought of giving our enemy credit for.”
“Think we have that much time?” Kifo asked.
“Who can say for sure?” Nyeusi replied. “We can only guess at their intent.”
Kifo’s face grew more solemn. “I do not think you should leave,” he said. “It’s not right, not at a time like this.”
Nyeusi looked him in the eye. “Your leader I am, but I am but one individual. I would not leave if I feared a threat was imminent. For that matter, my mind tells me this isn’t so, and I feel assured of it.”
“That’s nothing absolute,” Kifo said.
“There never were any assurances,” Nyeusi replied, “but we did not know. This battle is over.”
“Or, just begun,” Kifo said.
“Then we must prepare for the next round,” Nyeusi said, “and we’d better be well prepared ’cause we can’t afford to sustain losses like we did today.”
Kifo said nothing.
“There was always going to come a day when I expected you to show leadership. I had no idea when it would be, but today is that day,” Nyeusi added.
He directed his attention to Amri. “You must take charge in my absence,” he said.
“Okay,” Amri replied.
“Fly north again and keep watch.”
“It is done,” Amri said.
“The sentinels,” Nyeusi began.
“What about them?” Amri asked. By sentinels, Nyeusi meant lions. For the immortals, wolves were their sentinels.
“They know these lands more intimately than you or I ever could. Have them monitor affairs for us. They will keep you updated.”
“I will do that,” he said.
“Summon them to fight with you if needs be, but pray, do not allow so much as a strand of fur from another creature to be defiled unless absolutely necessary.”
“Very well,” Amri said.
“Kifo, you will be my third pair of eyes.”
“It is done,” he said.
“In the meantime, this much we know or could assume. It would take a vast number of beasts to consume or move so much carrion, and only the largest congregation of vultures could dispose of the rest. Anything other than that and the stench of death is something no one will want to be near.”
“Right,” Kifo said.
“Had they a mind to, ’twill take time to circumvent the dead should they have the gall to approach us.”
“After what we saw, they will be emboldened now,” Kifo said.
“Then they are fools,” Nyeusi replied. “Find out for sure, Amri, and if needs be, deal with them accordingly,” he added, and with that, Amri departed.
“I must leave now,” Nyeusi added.
“Very well,” Kifo replied.
“I am not deserting you in this dire time,” Nyeusi said.
“I never thought so,” Kifo replied.
“Again, I don’t suspect I’ll be gone for more than a couple days,” Nyeusi added. He then mounted his beast and flew toward the Isle of the Maimed.
By the time Amri drew nearer to the dead, the immortals had amassed some distance between themselves and the area. Both armies, for some time now, had been walking away from each other.
He was mindful of flying overhead, too low to the ground, or beyond them, lest the immortals notice him and become panicked into possibly thinking their adversary did not have enough of the day’s events. And so, he remained a safe distance away. Their backs faced his, so none saw him turn around and head back to his men.
Nyeusi, with a heavy heart, continued to fly away from them all.
The immortals were well on their way home when those who felt a bit unsure finally began to concede it looked as if the battle was truly over.
There was no surprise second wave of attack. Nothing ominous appeared on the horizon. Nothing from their wildest imaginations proved to be real. No army of Shetani in the tens of thousands had navigated their way through the thick forests, got past all possible obstacles, then decimated those who stayed back at the village and was now heading toward them.
At least there did not seem to be any sign of that now, the most panicky and skeptical of them conceded.
Others, by this time, made light of the day’s events.
One fellow referred to the adversary they once so dreaded as the Shitani. This appellation stuck in his peers’ minds.
They had a hearty laugh when he mentioned this. Meanwhile, predatory and opportunistic beasts began to slowly then steadily appear where the dead lay to feast.
Lions ate with no concern about packs of thieving hyenas who dined not far from them.
Wild dogs appeared, and again, the lions could not have been less concerned. No covetous beast, after all, thought it necessary to steal anyone’s kills.
More and more lions came and packs and more packs of hyenas and wild dogs.
The area, which would henceforth be called The Elephant Graveyard, became the scene of the most enormous outdoor feast then known.
Black specs high up in the sky appeared seemingly out of nowhere.
It looked as though some were circling while others moved about haphazardly. These were vultures. They, plus the lions, hyenas, and the wild dogs, would all die after consuming the poisoned flesh.
By this time, Amri had already flown back to his men to inform them that an attack by the immortals on their base did not seem likely.
Chapter VIII – Isle Of The Maimed
NYEUSI, WHO WANTED to ensure his animal got enough rest, did not intend to return to the isle until the following day.
There were over a hundred miles between him and its coastline and roughly seven miles of sea between it and the mainland.
He hadn’t flown toward the isle in months, but he remembered how to get there as well as if he’d traveled to it yesterday. Being a man about town, so to speak, he also knew where it was safe to land to rest while en route to his intended destination.
He paced himself well, thereby avoiding overtaxing his or his bea
st’s energy. In time they arrived at the coastline, and the stupendous animal took him over the sea.
They headed east of the Bay of the Maimed upon reaching the isle’s coastline. This bay was the main port of entry where recalcitrant immortals were later transported to the Dark Cliffs, a stretch of precipitous rock along the other side of the isle.
Its span was close to twelve miles. The highest point was nearly five hundred feet above sea level. Its rocky terrain jutted out from the ocean floor at close to ninety degrees.
Nyeusi intended to take the most direct path toward Lucirion, which is where the City of the Damned or home of the dark lords, Shetani condemned to a life of immortality, was located.
He loathed that place, more so than he did Yagan or the Valley of Death. Their landscape was similar, and the darkest of clouds seldom ever left the area.
In view facing those who approached was a volcano yonder that appeared hell-bent on erupting but never did. The ash it spewed was chiefly why the sky often appeared dark.
The air always had a smoky smell yet somehow, the Shetani chose this location above all else on the island to have the main base.
They were hardly ever out in the elements to enjoy it, for the City of the Damned was principally below ground, carved out of the bedrock. At times, above ground, the color of its skies was orange/red.
The silhouette of flying kilmans was a common sight on the horizon. The isle was one of their mating and breeding grounds.
It was home to a sizeable population from which the Shetani aimed to select the least ill-tempered to tame, or to domesticate, to as much a degree as that was possible.
Lucirion was a hilly and mountainous region. There were no buildings within the city, but several caves, which were entrances to that underground world.
Its area spanned several square miles wide and deep beneath the surface. Exactly how much was anyone’s guess.
Those who weren’t transported to the isle to reside there in perpetuity were employed in the city’s construction and maintenance.
The latter were the fortunate ones, meaning immortals who never angered their captors to the point where they relieved them of a limb or more.
The watchman, Kalinda, plus two youngsters Nyeusi did not know, were on duty when he arrived at Ashside Mountain, a chief point of entry.
“Nyeusi,” he said. “My Lord. Can it really be you?” he added.
“It is,” Nyeusi replied.
“It’s been probably over half a year now,” Kalinda said.
“It has, Kalinda.”
“I thought we’d never see you again,” he said.
Nyeusi smiled. “You look well,” he remarked.
“Thank you, sir,” he returned. “Allow me. Please,” he said, and Nyeusi let him take hold of the reigns on his kilman.
“Has she eaten?” he asked.
“She has,” Nyeusi replied.
“Good,” Kalinda returned. “Abysinnia is who you seek,” he added.
Nyeusi nodded his head. “How did you know?” he asked.
“It can only be,” he replied. “I don’t suppose you’re here on vacation.”
Nyeusi smiled.
“If I may say so, it must be that you’re on a serious errand. I have not forgotten your dislike for this place, or so it’s been said.”
“You have a good memory,” Nyeusi, who didn’t care to address any specifics, replied.
Kalinda was on point. The place he referred to wasn’t merely the city or Lucirion, but the entire island.
It was little more than a penal colony, slave camp, and home to most things he considered dark.
There was a thriving gargoyle community within the mountainous regions northwest of there. While he could tolerate the gargoyles to some degree, ghouls populated the areas most pleasing to his eyes, the forests.
“Very well,” Kalinda said. “I won’t keep you any further. The guards will escort you.”
They lead him into the cave, toward Abysinnia.
It all looked familiar. Things hadn’t changed much since the last time he was there. Friends and subordinates were intrigued. Some were delighted to see him, but he hadn’t the time for small talk or much time to exchange pleasantries.
The watchmen took him directly toward the man he sought.
He was sitting at the head of Asamando in the company of some of his best fighters.
“Do my eyes deceive me, or is that Nyeusi I see enter the halls of Asamando?” he said.
“Your eyes do not deceive you, brother,” he replied.
“I’m surprised as any to see you here. The talk about was you’d abdicated any allegiance to these lands.”
“The underworld is immense. I cannot be everywhere,” Nyeusi replied.
“I ask only because you never were tight-lipped about your feelings toward our home,” Abysinnia said.
“I’m not here to debate you, little brother,” Nyeusi said, and Abysinnia didn’t much care for how he addressed him.
“Clearly, you are capable and confident enough to lead and manage affairs without my being around.”
“You speak the truth,” Abysinnia quipped.
“There’s no time,” Nyeusi said.
“To the point then. What wind blows you this way?”
“Only the most urgent, most pressing of matters as you will no doubt be assured. The chief council must be summoned to an assembly at once.”
Abysinnia was silent.
“Again, there’s no time for wrangling. Lend me your ears in privacy, and before long, you’ll better appreciate why I stand before you.”
Abysinnia’s eyes met those of his trusted confidants. They rose, and all parities withdrew from his and Nyeusi’s presence.
Nyeusi walked up to him and spoke barely above a whisper.
“’Tis still not private enough,” he said. “Let us retreat to the chamber.”
“As you wish,” the younger brother, now taunted by curiosity, replied.
“Troubles the likes of which I have never seen is upon us,” Nyeusi said the moment he entered the chamber with him.
“Speak, for you so addled my mind that I can’t bear to wait for the council to arrive.”
“Very well,” Nyeusi said, and Abysinnia was all ears.
“Pray,” Nyeusi continued. “Do not suffer yourself to believe you’re immune from danger on this island refuge. A creeping necrosis beyond it has spread like a plague.”
“The immortals,” Abysinnia replied.
“Indeed,” Nyeusi said. “What else? Out and roaming about in numbers you will find difficult to comprehend.”
“Do continue,” Abysinnia said.
“I commenced to cull them, but they devoured upwards of six thousand of my finest men and beasts of burden in one swoop!”
“No!” Abysinnia exclaimed. “And those numbers! You engaged them to war?”
“Not to war,” Nyeusi said. “I intended to surprise and obliterate them.”
Abysinnia said nothing.
“But they found out, and I have no way of knowing how.”
“I wonder myself,” Abysinnia said. “How in the world could they know of developments taking place so far away from them?”
“I cannot say,” Nyeusi said. “But they had some way of knowing.”
“Go on.”
“They marched out to meet our troops head-on. I am hurt and ashamed to say, they defeated me.”
“Incredible,” the younger brother replied. “What beasts did you bring to battle?”
“Elephants,” he replied. “Regrettably. ’Twas a terrible mistake. Aside from transporting supplies, they were of little purpose other than serving as target practice for the enemy.”
His brother said nothing.
“I all but cried blood. Not in the presence of our brethren, but on my way here, while I lay my beast down so that we might get some rest.”
“I cannot imagine you crying.”
“I did,” Nyeusi admitted. “Like if I had a min
d to fill a river.”
“I see,” Abysinnia said.
“The slaughter was a terrible, terrible sight to behold. It produced a wall of carcasses. Beasts and our brethren were slain all along the front lines. To the benefit of those who survived or what was left of our troops, ’twas to the point where the dead formed an enormous blockage, a fortification.”
Abysinnia’s face grew long.
“You at least could have let us know what was going on, brother. I mean prior to your attempt to take them on.”
“I felt compelled to act and act immediately,” Nyeusi replied, “so surprised was I when I learned of their numbers.”
“And, what do you estimate that might be? I’m afraid to ask.”
“Somewhere in the tens of thousands,” Nyeusi replied.
“No!” Abysinnia exclaimed.
“I’m afraid they managed to establish a thriving community during years of our paying where they now reside little mind.”
“I see,” Abysinnia said.
“The world beyond, as you know, is vast. I cannot split myself into two or more. I can monitor but so much. I can only spend but so much time with our kin in the mountains and so much with Amri’s men, and of course, I am seldom ever here.
“Our kin to the north steer those who enter the portal toward the Forest of Souls, where we assumed, they were no match for the ghouls.”
“How they grew to so large a force must be looked into,” Abysinnia remarked. “So near to Ghouland yet they managed to escape the clutches of those bloodthirsty devils? Something’s amiss.”
“Indeed. There are many questions, but escaped they did and given that they managed to thrive and in such numbers is the more pressing matter. How, whys, and so forth, can be addressed later.”
“Okay,” Abysinnia replied.
“They have long begun, as is their wont, to obliterate all that is green around them. This evil, my brother, appears beyond my ability to contain or subdue.
“Left unchecked, in time only the damned may survive something like this, and they too can be confined to the ether provided our enemy learns the way.”
“There are but a few damned, and few if any immortals know about what you mention. Still, they are the scourge of the world beyond the lair and now much more a threat to even us here. Not so much us on the isle, but you know what I mean.”