The Ascension Trial

by CJ Embers

  What is wrong with me, wanting to be with a deity? I demanded to myself.

  The idea was preposterous.

  …But strangely alluring.

  Giving myself a mental shake, I shoved those thoughts to the back of my mind and focused on spending time with Oren.

  Many villagers we passed looked at me with fear in their eyes, and they visibly shied away from me. Occasionally, we passed by those who were angry rather than scared, but they didn’t do anything rash.

  Sitting on a bench not too far away was my mother with one of her friends. She was holding my half-sibling and cooing over him. Her friend noticed me, and when my mother sensed something amiss in her friend’s attitude, she looked up.

  Seeing me, many expressions flitted across her face, all of them too fast for me to make out. I had no intention of stopping, but my mother had other ideas. She stood and met me in the middle of the street. Seeing the child up close, my stomach churned with disgust and betrayal.

  “I know you two haven’t been properly introduced,” my mother said.

  “Why would I want to know him?” I questioned snarkily.

  My attitude rolled off her. “I named him Ayzen,” she said with a soft smile.

  “So who’s the sperm donor?”

  This one didn’t roll off her as well, and her face darkened. “You know the fathers are no one’s business except the—”

  “The what?” I interrupted. “The Tehji’s? Funny, because I remember slaughtering them.”

  My mother sighed. “Fine, if you must know— Kasiya, the former stablehand, is his father.”

  Every fiber of my being tensed, and I inadvertently lay a hand on the pommel of my sword, my fingers tightening around the metal.

  The mere thought of Kasiya, the man who I had shared one of my few happy memories with, being with my mother in that way made me see red.

  I had liked him, and now knowing he had knocked up my mother only a few months prior to that day we shared in the stable filled me with an overwhelming disgust.

  My mother noticed my rage and took a step back. Oren noticed right after and mentioned we should go. We turned around, only to be met with three villagers coming down the street with angry expressions and gripping weapons.

  Oren immediately stepped in front of me and ordered the villagers to turn around. My fingers wrapped around the grip of my sword when they didn’t stop.

  One more time, Oren demanded they stop, and one more time they didn’t listen. I pulled my sword from its sheath and stepped up beside Oren. Citizens were leaving the area, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.

  Someone came from a building to the right, jogging to catch up to the three villagers, and I recognized Rorik. I didn’t have time to call out to him before he grabbed one of the men, whipped him around, and swung the forging hammer that was gripped in his hand.

  The man’s jaw shattered and he dropped to the cobblestone. The remaining two had jumped back in shock and were glancing between their ally and me. Rorik raised his hammer and took a threatening step towards them, and they took off.

  I was speechless and had to force my legs to move. I had never seen such a side to the blacksmith. As Oren and I stopped in front of him, I thanked him.

  “Don’t mention it,” he said, sliding the hammer back into his tool belt. His arms were covered in black soot and beads of sweat rolled down his temples. “I’m sick of stupid people in this village.”

  Despite the near attack, I couldn’t help but chuckle. “You and me both.”

  “I have to get back to work. Stay safe.” He gave me a nod and returned to his smithy.

  Oren and I exchanged glances, then I glanced down at the one with the broken jaw. He was still breathing, and I found myself wishing the blow had been just a bit harder.

  A few guards showed up moments later, and I silently grumbled about their impeccable timing. When they arrived, I ordered the mess cleaned up and the two survivors hunted down and executed.

  No longer in the mood for a walk, my second and I returned to the palace. The moment the large doors were closed, Oren said, “I think it would be best if you stay in the palace for the next few days.”

  I gaze snapped to his. “You want me to hide?”

  “I wouldn’t consider it hiding,” he answered as we walked farther into the throne room. “The people are clearly worked up from the Tehji’s execution, so I think it would be in both theirs and your best interest for both sides to not see each other for a bit. I don’t want you to be put at risk and get stabbed in the back by an angry villager. And it would probably be best for the executions to stop for a bit, otherwise there might not be a village left.”

  I was about to retort when I saw a slight flicker of amusement in his eyes.

  “So… Why did you seem so angry when your mother mentioned who Ayzen’s father was?”

  I sighed, then explained what happened between me and Kasiya back before I became an Adeptus and before I faked the pregnancy. “I’m just… disgusted. I really liked Kasiya, to the point where I could imagine us shunning the Tehji’s laws together. And then finding out he screwed my mother? Ugh!”

  I started pacing, barely able to contain my rage. “I don’t blame him, and I don’t blame my mother for it either— even though I’d like to— because they were just following the stupid rules. I blame the Tehji for their sick laws.”

  “Like what if you’re related to me? My god, what if you’re my father?” The idea made my belly swirl with sharp nausea. “It’s disgusting! Letting people develop feelings for someone when they could be related.”

  “Kena, calm down for a moment and think. You’re being irrational.”

  I rounded on him. “How am I being irrational?!”

  He put a hand on my arm. “Remember when I told you I hadn’t fathered any children? Not to mention, I’m not that much older that you. I would have been like five years old if that was true, which is not even biologically possible, not to mention morally reprehensible.”

  Realizing that I was in fact being irrational made me deflate. Forgetting in my rage that he hadn’t been chosen by the Tehji, and his age, made me feel incredibly stupid.

  “Not to mention, the Tehji didn’t “let” people develop feelings for someone,” he added. “That was actually strictly against their rules, if you remember.” Once again, amusement sparkled in his eyes.

  I grumbled. “Well you could still be a close cousin or something.”

  “If you’re worried, let’s find the family records and look through them.”

  “They have family records?” I questioned, perking up.

  “I would have to assume so,” Oren answered. “I highly doubt they would be able to remember all the bloodlines. Come on, let’s go check the library.”

  I silently followed him. The idea of him or Kasiya being related to me when I had kissed the former and had feelings for the latter was horrifying. And the fact that it hadn’t ever crossed my mind until this very day was even more so.

  In the library, we got started scouring the shelves for anything that resembled a tome of family trees. Every one I looked at was not even close, and my hopes were getting smaller and smaller as the minutes ticked by.

  Oren called out from the other side of the room. “I think this might be it.”

  I looked over to see him tugging a huge volume from the shelf.

  “This looks to be the newest one,” he said, nodding in the direction of the other books in the same section, which were all quite large in comparison to the other ones.

  We went to a table and he set the book down before prying open the cover and flipping through it a bit. “Yeah, this is it alright.”

  We settled in chairs and pored over the texts.

  “Try to find Kasiya. See if my mother was telling the truth.”

  He nodded and thumbed through the pages. Because new names kept having to be added, it couldn’t be alphabetized, so it took a while.

  Oren stopped at a page and I
leaned forward to get a better look. I spotted Kasiya’s name and followed Oren’s finger as he went down the page.

  “Yep, right here,” he said, his finger stopping right underneath my mother’s name.

  “Ugh,” I grumbled, then said, “Check you next.”

  When he found his own page, it was blank except for listing two names. Beside his father’s name was one word: deceased. Oren didn’t speak for a moment, and I put my hand on his.

  “I’m sorry, Oren.”

  He took a breath, then said, “Well, I didn’t know him anyway.”

  My second in command flipped through the book until he found his father’s page. Listed on it were four names. One was Oren’s and the others were all female, one of which was his mother. The second and third ones I didn’t recognize, and they were both linked together and lightly crossed out with a note that read: died during birthing.

  Oren leaned back, the second blow a little too much for him to retain composure. I had no idea what to say.

  “I could have had a sister,” he finally got out. “A half-sister…”

  “You did have a sister, Oren. You will be able to see her in the afterlife.”

  He simply gave a nod, then silently went back to flipping through the pages. Eventually he stopped, and I looked over to see he had stopped at someone named Balor - E. I was confused, until I saw his finger was pointing at my name near the top.

  “That’s… that’s my dad…? But I don’t understand. We don’t have anyone named Balor in Shekri.”

  Oren pointed to the ‘E’. “I thought this was the first letter of his last name, but I’m thinking now it means ‘executed’.”

  My stomach dropped. “Oh. Well, then… This has turned out to be a lot worse than I expected. We only have our mothers.”

  “You have Ayzen, though.”

  I snorted. “I will never consider him my brother.”

  Oren didn’t reply, and looking over at him, I realized I had inadvertently hurt him. I knew he was thinking of his sister, and once again, I didn’t know what to say.

  “Well,” I eventually said, “maybe this will help get the people on my side. Give them access to these books so they can find their families.”

  He agreed and closed the book. After putting it back on the shelf, we left the library together.

  The next day, I desperately wanted to go outside, but Oren’s suggestion to stay inside for a while nagged at me; I knew he was right, but it felt like if I did that, it would be a sign of weakness and letting the villagers win.

  Eventually, I went to go find him and found him in his room. He looked a bit down, and I silently wondered if he was still thinking of his father and sister.

  “I think we should let the villagers look at the books today. If they are going to start acting on the freedoms I have given them, they will need to know who their relatives are.”

  “Do you want to be there?” he questioned.

  I sighed, weighed my options, then said, “No. I think I will heed your advice and stick around the palace for a few days. You go by yourself, but be very clear in letting them know that it was I who made the choice to let them view the tomes. Take a handful of guards with you and make them stay near the books to ensure the people don’t ruin or make off with them.”

  “Of course,” he said with a nod.

  I walked with him to the palace doors, where he retrieved a guard and told another one to sound the horn to gather the people. As he and the guard went back inside, I sat down at the top of the steps in a place that would be partially hidden from those down below.

  When the two men returned, they each carried two of the large books. As they walked down towards the stage, one of the guards who was still near me asked what was going on.

  I explained to him, and his interest looked piqued.

  “You will be able to take a look at them as well, once the crowds have dissipated.”

  He nodded, a faraway gaze on his face.

  Oren and the guard stood in the center of the stage, and when the people had gathered, my second in command started speaking, just barely loud enough that I could hear him from up here.

  “People of Shekri, I have gathered you here today because your leader has made a decision to let you uncover a huge part of your lives that the Tehji kept hidden from you.”

  “With the new freedoms you now have, it is imperative that you know your bloodline before deciding to pursue relationships. Therefore, I have here the family tree records that the Tehji kept, which you all may look through.”

  Even from here, I could hear the murmurings of shock. The crowd became visibly restless, like they wanted to get their hands on the books immediately.

  “Now, I expect you all to treat these tomes and each other with respect. Anyone who uses force will be dealt with. You may come up on the stage to read them.”

  Oren and the guard set the books down, then my second in command said something to the guard, too quiet for me to hear. The guard motioned to some others, and they spread out around the area to keep watch.

  The villagers climbed up to the stage, now almost looking uncertain. They all managed to settle down on the stage, while one person opened one of the books and started reading from page one.

  Oren came back up to the palace and sat down beside me. We were both silent, simply watching the villagers down below find their family.

  As the hours passed, we saw people cry with both joy and grief. We saw people show no emotion, and we even saw people get angry. There were lots of hugs to go around, lots of tears, and a few people stormed off. There were a few times when a fight broke out and the guards had to intervene.

  The latest time it happened, I glanced at Oren, feeling fed up. “I let the people know and find their families, and some are so ungrateful they start fights.”

  “I’m sure they have good reason to be angry,” he said.

  I shrugged and went back to watching the villagers.

  When a large chunk of the crowd got up and left, my brow furrowed in confusion. From way up here, it was hard to tell, but it felt like I recognized a few who disagreed with my leadership.

  Glancing at my second in command again, I said, “I guess ignorance really is bliss.”

  Chapter 14

  O n my throne with Kain beside me, I was enjoying the feeling of sitting in such a powerful place with my wolf nearby. These past few weeks, I had been working constantly with him, trying to teach him commands that would help protect both myself and him— not to mention get him used to a lead, just in case it was ever necessary.

  Glancing to the side, I looked at where one of the extra two thrones had been. Both were now gone, and the floor had been repaired so well it was like they had never even been here in the first place.

  A smile tugged at the corner of my lips. Only one throne being left standing in the palace was glorious, solidifying the fact that the Tehji’s reign in this village was over. Finally, after all these years, my village was free from the three men who made it such hell.

  The doors to the front of the palace opened, pulling me from my thoughts. When Oren came in followed by a man in familiar red robes, I sat up, anger already piercing me. “Why is there a Tehjin in my palace, Oren?” I demanded. “Where does he hail from?”

  “I’m sorry, Kena. I know how you feel about the Tehji, but I wasn’t really given a choice in bringing him up here.”

  He came up to stand beside me while the Tehjin stayed where he was. The fact that he didn’t bend the knee made me want to cut him down where he stood.

  The man spoke. “I come from Marnori.”

  An eyebrow raised. “A Tehjin from Marnori comes to visit me? I’m so flattered.”

  The man brushed off my venomous tone. “Someone from Shekri sent word to us in the capital that a woman usurped the Trial in your village and took over, and has since been destroying the traditions and culture of Karua.”

  The idea of one of the villagers betraying me to tell the Tehji of the ca
pital about my Ascension made me angry, but I set it aside for the time being.

  The rings on my fingers clinked against the throne as I shifted. “The Tehji of Shekri offered for me to take over. I simply accepted their offer.”

  “Yes, as I’ve so heard. At the fear of Helis, if I’m correct?”

  “I would say it was more respect of our god that made them offer. But yes, I’m under his protection.”

  “If you don’t mind me asking, can you prove so?”

  Oren stepped forward and snapped, “You dare question Shekri’s leader and Helis?”

  I pulled him back as the Tehjin raised a hand. “I don’t question Helis, but Kena? Yes. You say you are under his protection, but he has not been seen since your attempted execution. I simply request for Helis to show himself and confirm your words. Surely that’s not too much to ask, if you are telling the truth?”

  “I’m not humouring a misogynist,” I said, then glanced at my second in command. “Why is this man still here, disturbing my day?”

  Oren opened his mouth to speak, but the Tehjin did before he could. “Because Helis has not appeared, I must assume you have somehow managed to fake the entire thing.”

  He gave a shrill whistle, and the palace doors opened again. When a small army poured through the doors, I stood while Oren unsheathed his sword. My wolf bared his fangs and snarled.

  “For the crimes of usurping the Trial, destroying our traditions and culture, and murdering the Tehji of Shekri, you are under arrest.”

  Even though I was an Adeptus, there was no way I would be able to take on all these warriors.

  Helis, where the hell are you? I demanded as panic rose inside of me.

  The army swarmed me just as I commanded my wolf to stay, and Oren and I fought as many as we could. My second was captured first, and I followed shortly after. There were just too many. As they led me through the large palace doors, I noticed the guards who had been outside had been knocked unconscious.