movmentish:
What is the imp Musa's end game...

I wonder man, I really do....
Wow wow wow so I started a new page.... Lol

I wish Musa was under Arexon. That gatekeeper head go don fly.

Umani! Human!! Musa!! 9ja!!! We are something else.

HotB:
Umani! Human!! Musa!! 9ja!!! We are something else.

Had to find a way to drag us

Part 20
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I held onto the invisible hand Gamble extended backwards as we weaved our way between the mob of frenzied imps. They seemed to be rushing in from the direction we tried to leave through, down dimly lit hallways. An imp brushed by me. I still had form so I knew it had felt me, but its gaze remained pinned on the area in front of it, madly dashing towards the tabernacle and the effigy I’d shattered. Gamble and I proceeded quietly. The further away we got from the tabernacle the faster my heart thumped. Was it really going to be this easy? We kept going. A set of curtains were pulled aside in front of us, two curtains made of a thick black material. Imps dashed in, running so fast that they did not even notice when they slammed into me. If they were not so distracted they might have stopped to wonder about their flailing arms slamming into seemingly thin air that happened to be obstructed by a substantive form. But they didn’t, and I was not going to point out their oversight.

The curtains was held open and the invisible arm leading me pulled through. I walked out into falling hail and shrunk inwards at the loud blare of horns. It was a raucous. We stood on some form of hail mountain top. Our height gave us a good view of a portion of Permafrost. Imps ran from all around their little abode towards the prayer cove. They yelled in harsh umani tongues I could not understand and ran en masse towards a dark alcove with a shattered effigy.

We moved out of the way of the curtains.

“I can use quicksand now,” Gamble whispered in Chang’s voice. I could not see it, but its hold on my hand was strong.

“Do it.” I whispered back.

Even I could feel the change in the place. It was as if the curse of Nefastu had been completely blown away. My pain came easily to me. Easily enough that I could create enough lit okun to drown every cursed imp in this place. After I had Nebula, I felt my worry plainly, worry that would give me the magic of the mejo eyes and allow me to burn this entire place in a crimson inferno. And there was sorrow. Floods and floods of sorrow coursing through my body. The fact that I remained standing was solely due to the fact that my offspring needed me. It needed me to be stronger than the grief of a friend lost. It needed me to be strong enough to endure the pain of Marcinus’ head cut off and left to rot on the ground beside a hail tree.

A flash of quicksand appeared underneath me and moments later I was being pulled in, sucked into the hail top of the mountain and teleported somewhere else, an enclosed space.

We appeared in a large circular room with a table and my offspring tied to a chair, its hands bound in front of it, with iron manacles. Matiu was bound in another chair beside it. There was no sign of Fabiana with Musa’s appearance or Matina with Li’s. Just Matiu and Nebula standing with three imps in the room. I heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of Nebula. Then I began walking towards my offspring.

A set of curtains just slightly in front of me, opened. Musa walked in with the high elder behind it, and…I staggered at the sight of my quarry. Fajahromo. Its eyes were opened wide.

“It is Nebud.” Fajahromo cursed. “It is. I told you imps to kill it! We only need its offspring. Curse you! I told you to kill it!”

Even from this room I could here the sound of the alarm bells blaring and the horns of warning that something had happened.

The high elder turned to look at Fajahromo.

I had never seen Fajahromo like this. It looked haggard. It wore none of its fancy coats, nothing to hide the fact that it was irira. It just had the four golden bands on its arms declaring it as a duke. The uspec’s harried gaze glanced around the room. I reached for my cutlass as I saw its gaze lock on me and then continue ahead unseeing. I pulled my cutlass out of its sheath. Just one swipe of the cutlass and the entire invasion would be over. They would not even see my attack coming. Robbing the blind. I pulled the cutlass out. Right as I did this, a chair creaked.

Fajahromo jumped.

“Flare appearance identifiers!” It screamed. “There is something in this room, I can feel it!”

I clenched my teeth together and reached for all the pain I had in me. I formed a lit okun underneath Fajahromo.

The uspec yelled and jumped backwards. Its gaze jerked around the room and then it ran out through the curtains. The lit okun hadn’t killed it. I cursed underneath my breath. The uspec carried Chuspecip’s lifeform and it was of the kute spectrum. It had too much luck.

Pink aerosols rose in the room and began to stick around my body, revealing my form and the cutlass I held in my head. The high elder opened its mouth. I reached for my lit okun again. The high elder was gone, teleported with quicksand before I could drain it. It was an imp, it would not have died from the lit okun, but it would have been knocked out. As the other imps in the room where when I placed my lit okun underneath them.

“Get Nebula to safety!” I yelled after Fabiana, in Musa’s appearance. There was another pink form revealed in the room, Gamble. “I am going after Fajahromo.”

Fabiana bowed and rushed over to my offspring. I spared a brief smile for my offspring and then watched to make sure that the manacles could be removed with pansophy. Once it was free and safe under Fabiana’s gaze, I dashed out of the room, through the same curtains that Fajahromo had run through.

The curtain led to a straight hallway. I ran down it, wielding my cutlass in front of me, and holding a heavy reserve of pain. Grief, could be sorrow, but it could also easily be pain. And I had grief, I had grief in barrels. I pushed a set of curtains aside.

Fajahromo was standing by a table, scribbling furiously onto it. As soon as it saw me, it stopped writing. Its eyes widened and the pen dropped from its fingers.

“It is you, isn’t it?” Fajahromo’s eyes glazed over. Its gaze fixed on me and it seemed to be speaking to me, but also not to me at the same time.

Spots of fog appeared, dotting the air around me but not with enough power to actually do harm. I had spectra but without Chuspecip’s aid, my spectra would not be as strong as Fajahromo who’d trained for so long. Still I fought with the magic. I reached into my fear and destroyed those fogs. I blinked at how surprisingly easy it was to get rid of the spots of fog Fajahromo had created.. Quicksand pulled underneath Fajahromo’s feet. Quicksand was hooni, it belonged to anger, and I was anger, I had a sacrifice of anger to feed it. I hoped that this time, like the fogs my spectra would be strong enough. I reached into my anger and the loud bang that filled the room was sweet music to my ears. The quicksand disappeared. I had defeated Fajahromo’s spectra!

I reached for my fear. The uspec may not be able to die with the lit okun, but it could with fogs. Spots of red fog rose, but the uspec was already running out of the room before I could drown it in fogs.

“Stop and face me!” I yelled after it. “Coward!”

It ran through a different set of curtains and I ran after it. This time the room it ran into had a dome of green fog in one side of it. An equipoise, I couldn’t believe it.

Fajahromo was standing in that equipoise before I could reach for my pain. I followed it in without hesitating. The uspec stood with its back to me.

“You destroyed the effigy,” it said in a small, shaky, voice. “You destroyed it. Now Chuspecip can come here and finish me the way it did to the plenum Kaisers on the inter-port trail.”

I did not bother correcting its misconception about Chuspecip’s access to this place.

“You have the founder’s magic in you. But under an equipoise, all uspecs are made equal.” It said the words as if in a trance, repeating them by rote, a pupil reciting its teachers lessons. It turned then and I saw two swords in its hands. It darted towards me and I jumped back.

There was something off about the uspec. I couldn’t place it. I thought back on its spectra and realized that there had been a weakness to the magic it used. I thought of the fear it had shown when it entered the room with my offspring. I had seen Fajahromo as a lot of things, but I had never seen it truly afraid. I had tested Fajahromo’s magic before, it was not weak. So why was the magic so weak this time?

I ducked a blow and then I turned and faced the uspec. Its sword swings were too wide. It fought callously. I knew Fajahromo, was this some sort of joke, a trick of the eyes? Fajahromo was not this weak. It was not this stupid or unskilled in a fight. Fajahromo was too smart to let me corner it in an equipoise. Perhaps Fajarhomo had traded places with another uspec. My eyes widened as the thought hit me and then reverberated through my head. That had to be it. Fajahromo had used my own game to trick me. This was not the uspec I knew, this was a crazy fool with Fajahromo’s appearance trapping me here to distract me while Fajahromo escaped.

The uspec dashed towards me again with its double swords flailing. It fought without skill. I cut off its right hand and the uspec jumped back. I would have gone after it, if not for the hand that fell to the ground. That hand that had a ring on it, a ring that was a dazzling blend of cyan, red and gold. The ring that sucked me in and urged me to pick it up, to wear it. It showed me visions of quicksand of an old uspec bent over a table, laughing. Strange sounds filled the room, sounds of wailing, sounds of a maniac crying. I bent down towards the severed hand and picked up the ring. I pulled it reverently off the finger it was on, and held it up. It was beautiful, dazzling, and as soon as I touched it, I knew it was mine.

If this crazy uspec was wearing my ring, then it had to be Fajahromo, but that made no sense.

I put the ring into my belt and walked towards the uspec. It was kneeling down. it had dropped its sword and was kneeling down, cradling the bleeding stump of the hand I’d severed. It wept and screamed. I had never seen a more horrendous sight. It blabbered as it wept, spittle and tears combining in an odd mix of pink and white.

I shoved Fajahromo with my knee and its gaze rose. It looked at me. There was something in its eyes.

“Who are you?” It asked.

I frowned and then its gaze cleared. It wept. Its entire frame was racked over.

“It is you!” It screamed. “The founder sent you.” Fajahromo’s voice changed as if it was mimicking someone. “The founder has returned!” Then its voice returned to its own. “We were so close.” The voice changed again. “Just one more day with the fusion, just one more day, drogher, just one more day and it will be complete.” Its eyes fixed on me. “Who are you?”

I stumbled back. My grip on the cutlass tightened as I stared into the uspec’s deranged eyes. Was this some sort of trick? It wept like a baby and cradled the severed hand to its chest.

“Who are you? It is you! Nebud is here! The founder is back! It destroyed the effigy before the fusion was complete!” It bent its head to the side, “who are you?”

I blinked.

“You gave yourself to the effigy, didn’t you? It was never just a statue, that was why it appeared so lifelike.” I said the words to a blubbering fool that couldn’t respond. It just wept and screamed in pain. Killing it now would be a mercy.

I stared into the uspec’s face. Fajahromo. This was where its thirst for power had led it.

You must destroy the effigy first. Once the effigy is dead, the rest will come easily.

The founder’s words returned to me. ‘Once the effigy is dead, the rest will come easily.’ It had known this would happen. I felt cheated. Cheated of a good bout with my lifelong enemy. Cheated of the fight we should have had. I did not want to end Fajahromo’s pain, I did not want to end its life when it was nothing more than a blubbering husk. I stared into that face, frozen to the spot, my mind clouded with indecision. Fajarhomo had caused too much pain for the ending of its life to be a blessing. I remembered all the times I had tried, and failed, to kill Fajahromo. The ways that it had laughed at my attempts. Always making me feel lesser, foolish. I wanted it to be lucid when I ended its life. I wanted it to look into my face and know that I was the one killing it. I wanted to see the laughter fade from its smiling lips because it knew that I was the one responsible for its death. I wanted it to know that it had been beaten by me, Nebud, the uspec it had underestimated and thought so little off. This mad uspec kneeling on the ground, weeping, its mind broken, it knew nothing. I couldn’t even be sure that it knew who I was. It had sounded like it did before, like it knew exactly who I was. The madness set in only after I cut off its hand. Maybe the madness was a trick, a ploy? Maybe it was just weak and not mad, maybe it was acting to make me hesitate.

It was too weak to fight me, too weak to defend itself with spectra and so it had run into an equipoise. Then it had run towards me without skill, or without energy? What exactly had destroying the effigy done to it?

The curtains to the room we stood in were drawn open. Fajahromo’s cries stopped immediately. It looked into my eyes and I knew in that moment that its madness had all been a lie, put on for my benefit, to buy it time. It was weak, but not crazy. It smiled its twisted smirk and I rose my cutlass up. Then its eyes darted away from me, towards the cutlass. I refused to look.

“M-my ma-mater will k-kill all of y-you!”

My heart froze in my chest.

Fajahromo’s madness had been a ploy.

I turned my gaze from the uspec to the curtains. Five imps walked in, one was the high elder, two latched onto my offspring’s arms two sidled slowly towards Fajahromo.

That was when the laughter came. Fajahromo’s laughter of triumph. What was a hand? With pansophy and growth the hand would grow back. It had been too weak to fight me itself and so it had played me to delay me. I was the fool. I lowered my cutlass and brought my hand to my side.

“Please don’t hurt it.” I begged.

Fajahromo nodded. It was a slight gesture, a simple downwards jerk of its head and a dagger was poking out of my offspring’s chest, blood was trailing down the front of its body. The dagger was pulled out and my offspring fell.

“No!” I screamed. I took a step towards my offspring right when the imps reached the equipoise. Fajahromo laughed and tsk-ed at me at the same time. My offspring was not moving. The imps entered the equipoise.

I swung my cutlass and Fajahromo’s laughing head fell on the floor of the equipoise beside its body.

I ran to my offspring, but I’d known, from the moment I saw that dagger, I’d known. Nebula’s life was nothing to them, they’d kill it to distract me. I knew how Fajahromo’s mind worked. They’d probably thought I would be too distraught to kill Fajahromo when my offspring was bleeding. I knelt by Nebula and turned the uspec around. It was still blinking. It was still alive. They hadn’t meant to kill it then, they’d only been trying to distract me. That gave me hope.

“Give it growth!” I begged. The imps had pansophy. “Give it growth!”

“We were going to, before you killed the drogher, we had no intention of killing a child.” The high elder shook its head.

No. The pounding in my head got louder.

“Now, it is over, and you and your offspring will die for what you’ve done.” The high elder said. It pronounced the words with complete finality.

I placed my hand over my offspring’s wound and tried to remember all the forms of pansophy that Fabiana had said it mastered. “Take my growth,” I begged it. It was still breathing, its breath was weak, but it still breathed. “Take my growth,” I yelled at it. “Take my growth.” But Nebula just continued blinking wearily.

“Fabiana!” I yelled. “Fabiana!”

“Kill them both!” I heard the high elder order.

“Give it growth!” I begged. “I will do whatever you want, just save it.” I tried to take away their anger to soften them, but they were either emotionless or they’d imbibed emotion blockers. “Whatever you want.” I stated emphatically. “Just give it growth, please.”

It was still alive. I reached for my anger. I could teleport it out of this place and then call for Chuspecip. Chuspecip was watching! I pooled quicksand on the ground around us and just as I felt it tugging at me, I heard a bang. Tears spilled from my eyes. Someone had counteracted my magic, someone was fighting against me.

“You ended the invasion. There is nothing you have to give that we want.” The high elder spat at me.

The imp’s siphoned spectra was strong, it was skilled. How many centuries had it had to train in spectra that I was barely proficient in? But I had lit okun. How much time would it take to kill these imps and then teleport my offspring out? Did Nebula have that much time left? I had pansophy, I had not learnt it, but I had it. There had to be a way that I could transfer my own growth to Nebula. My offspring’s chest was barely moving underneath me. I did not know how pansophy worked, but I tried to reach for my growth. I imagined myself healing, I tried to imagine the sensation and then channel it to Nebula. I had the magic of pansophy, I had gotten it from Fabiana, I had it. I tried to channel my healing into Nebula.

A sword pierced through me. Someone pushed it into my chest. I felt it plunge into my heart.

I reached for my lit okun, while still trying to channel healing into my offspring, it was not getting stronger and the blood that filled my chest knocked out whatever strength I had. I fought desperately for the magic of pansophy I’d never learnt and for the magic of spectra to knock these imps out so that I could teleport my offspring away. None came. I was wounded. I coughed and blood spewed from my mouth and trailed down my face. I was dying on Nefastu in a place the founder couldn’t reach. Nebula was dying with me. I willed everything I had into magic. The drowsiness set in. I could not concentrate. I reached for my magic, but it kept slipping. I could not hold onto it. I fought, but my body was going down. My hand slipped off Nebula’s chest. It was still breathing.

“Give it growth!” I tried to beg. The words did not come of out my mouth, only blood did. I fell backwards and continued coughing blood. The last thing I heard before I died was the high elder give the order, “cut off its head!”

Part 21
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My head felt full, my tongue swollen and there was a dull pain in my chest. I opened my eyes and saw a palette of colors hanging above me. My ailerons were dug deep into something soft and comfortable. My gaze followed the lines of colors. I realized that they were fronds. Fronds of a canopy tree. And the ground I lay on was clouds. There was something very familiar about this place. My eyelids sluggishly pulled together.

I was in the Isle of Brio.

My eyelids slammed open and I jumped up.

“Sirga!”

The ache in my chest was not imagined. There was an ugly gash on my chest, right where I’d been stabbed. That gash hurt and I felt as if my heart was heavy. It pushed pain through my chest with each beat. But I was alive. Which meant that my offspring had to have lived too.

“Take me to Nebula,” I commanded before I even caught sight of the uspec who’d called out to me. It was Fabiana.

The uspec’s gaze dropped. It looked grim.

I frowned. What was wrong with it? Whatever it was, I would see to it later. I had to see my offspring first. “Come on Majestic, take me to my offspring.” I tried to inject humor into my words, but my throat was dry and the words sounded more like shrieks that had been scratched out than a sensible sentence. But it had been loud enough to hear.

Fabiana shook its head. “Sirga,” it began, its gaze still not meeting mine, “I am sorry, I did everything I could. As soon as we found the room I tried to heal it, but it was already too late, Nebula is…”

“No!” I bellowed. It could not be. I shook my head. It could not be. I thought of my offspring’s face, its young face smiling at me. No, I shook my head. I could not have survived when it died. It wasn’t possible. If Nebula was dead, I would feel it. I would know. “Take me to Nebula!” I ordered.

Fabiana’s eyes rose to mine and its eyes were wet with unshed tears. “Ula is dead, sirga. I am so sorry.”

“No!” I pushed myself to my feet. It wasn’t possible. Why was I so weak? I stumbled when I tried to stand. Fabiana had to help me. It reached down and grasped me around the arm. Then it pulled me up.

“The blade you were stabbed with was poisoned. The founder was able to heal you, but you will need to eat to regain your strength.”

Once I was standing, I shoved Fabiana away. I took a step forward and buckled under my own weight. Fabiana caught me before I fell. It supported me.

“Take me to my offspring.” I ordered.

“Sirga…”

“Take me to Nebula!” I snapped.

Fabiana nodded and then it led me out of the canopy tree. Cool hail chilled fogs drifted by me. Low clouds stroked against my scalp and my feet trudged through patches of quicksand and sludge. The sweet scent of the paradise surrounded me and I knew that Nebula lived. It had to. How could the air smell so sweet if it did not? A turtle rolled along my scalp when the top of my head intruded on another low cloud. Right as the mejo frosted beast lurched on my scalp a draco, the hooni frosted beast, crawled allover my feet. I knew it was a sign, a sign that Fabiana was wrong and Nebula was still alive. It was too beautiful a day and I was being graced by too many frosted beasts for a tragedy to have occurred. It just wasn’t possible.

I kept going, leaning heavily on Fabiana and ignoring my weakness and my pain.

Fabiana led me to a canopy room that I had never seen before. It was close to the smoke bears’ den. A loud trumpet broke my focus. “Marc,” I called out in a low voice.

“We did not have time to search for the bear, sirga.”

I felt another sharp tug in my chest. First, Marcinus, then Marc the bear I’d named after it, both lost to the wrath of Sada. But not Nebula, at least I had that to be grateful for. Fabiana pulled a frond aside.

The canopy room we entered was full. Every person in the paradise seemed to be standing there. Fabiana called to be excused. Imps made up the outer circle. Once we got to the inner circle, close enough that I could see the stem of the tree, I realized how truly unique this room was. It must have been where Nebula had done its lessons. There was a long extrusion from the stem of the tree. It was a rather large stem, with a two foot wide table that wrapped around it. Parchment was scattered around parts of the table.

I saw Matiu first. The uspec knelt beside its younger who’d been playing a very sad tune on its mbira. Matiu’s gaze dropped when it met mine. It nudged its younger sibling. Matina’s head snapped up, its gaze met mine and it stopped playing the achingly sad tune. Musa stood to the left with Chike kneeling on one side of it and its female imp Halima, kneeling on the other. Why were so many kneeling? Gamble knelt as well, in front of me. Matiu cleared its throat. Gamble turned around, saw me, and crawled away, opening a space for me.

I stopped moving.

No.

I closed my eyes.

The mbira had covered the other sounds. Sounds I’d been unwilling to hear before. The sounds of people crying. The sniffles, the whimpers. Gamble’s face. There had been tears on Gamble’s face.

No.

I didn’t want to open my eyes, but keeping my eyes closed didn’t help. I had caught a snapshot of it, and that snap was tearing at me. I opened my eyes and whatever strength had been in my legs went away. I fell. My knees sunk into the soft ground of clouds.

It looked like it was asleep. Its hands were folded on its chest and its eye was shut. It had a peaceful smile on its face. It wasn’t a wide smile, just a slight one, its lips just barely curved up.

“No,” the words came out of my lips but they sounded alien.

I reached for my offspring’s face. It was not moving. It did not flinch when I touched its cold skin. It was not breathing.

Something broke inside of me. Outside an animal raged. It howled loudly. I heard it and I felt a strange sensation in my throat. It took me a while to realize that the strange animal sounds were coming from me. Even then I couldn’t stop it. Nebula, my Nebula. I had failed it. The one good thing that had ever happened to me, the light in my dark and desolate world. The source of my joy. I had failed it. I had failed it. Five years, five short years. How could I have failed my Nebula so thoroughly? How could I have failed it? I didn’t deserve to live. How could I be alive when Nebula was dead? Was there no justice in this world? No fairness. I wailed but no tears came from my eyes just guttural sounds of ghoulish pain. The animal raged on until there was no more breath in my body. Then there was silence. An empty silence in an empty world that no longer had any meaning for me.

Part 22
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Gamble spoke into the silence.

“It was my fault,” it said. “We went looking for you in Permafrost. We were in a hallway when about fifty imps attacked us. I turned my back on Ula for a second, just a second, and when I turned back it was gone.”

Silence. Gamble spoke through tears. It wept brokenly and openly. It begged me to take its life. It told me that it did not deserve to live. All I could do was stare into the face of the offspring I’d so thoroughly failed. Was I cursed? How could this have happened? How?

“It was my fault master,” Chike spoke up, “I should have watched Nebula. When I didn’t see it I thought it had gone to one of its hideouts here. I didn’t know that it had gone chasing after you. I should have followed you. I should have known that it would follow you. I should have known.”

Silence. The silence was painful, I hated it. But I hated the words more. The imp and uspec taking blame for things they could not control. It was my fault. Maybe I should have been tougher, harder with Nebula, maybe then it would not have gone chasing me into danger. Or more accurately, I should have sent it away that night, I should not have let it stay till morning. But what if the imps had taken it during the night? What if they’d taken them all? No, my mistake was in killing Fajahromo. I should not have killed it. I should have let it live. They would have let my offspring live if I hadn’t been baited by Fajahromo’s laughter. They would have healed Nebula. They would have given it growth. Or better yet, I should never have left Nebula alone to go chasing after Fajahromo. I should have seen my offspring out of there safely before I tried to complete the founder’s mission. What did I care about an invasion? I cared so much more for my offspring. I was willing to give the imps whatever they wanted in exchange for a little growth. I would have given them this existence if they’d let Nebula live. Everything inside of me hurt. My chest was filled to bursting with pain. My hands roved over the cold, lifeless, corpse.

My Nebula was dead.

“We should march on Permafrost.” The cool voice came from the last person I expected. My gaze snapped to Matina. Tears streaked from its eyes as it spoke. “We should march on them with an army of mejo soldiers and with enough samu to destroy every single imp there. Then we should burn their hail homes to the ground. They must die for what they’ve done.”

I nodded. Those were the first words to make sense. Yes, I agreed. Those imps had to die. They had to be wiped from the spectral existence permanently.

“If that is your wish, I will see it done.” This time, the voice that spoke was one I knew all too well. Gasps filled the room, proceeded by whispers of ‘Chuspecip’ and ‘the founder’.

I felt its presence behind me and in me. It shared my grief. It had loved my offspring. It wanted vengeance just as badly as I did. I parted my lips to respond in the affirmative.

An imp voice spoke up before I could.

“You told me a few days ago that you owed me for the millennia of faithful service that I have provided to you and your descendants.” The voice was Musa’s. “You told me that I had only name my desire and it would be granted.”

I turned to stare at the imp. Chuspecip in its Chacip form stood a few paces in front of me.

It nodded.

“I am ready.” Musa stated.

Alarm bells went off in my head. “Musa,” I warned.

The imp ignored me. Its gaze was fixed on Chuspecip’s face. “I want clemency for the imps in the wrath…”

“NO!” I bellowed.

“and I want freedom. Freedom for all imps in your existence. Those are my desires.” It continued as if it had not heard me interrupt.

“Do not do this Musa!” I yelled. “Do not even think on it!”

It did not so much as glance in my direction. Its steady gaze remained fixed on Chuspecip. “I have made my desires known.”

Chuspecip shook its head. “I can grant the second, but not the first.” It said.

The knot that had formed in my chest, around my heart, loosened.

Musa’s empty sockets remained fixed on Chuspecip. “You will go back on your oath to me then.”

Chuspecip’s jaw clenched. “I said I would grant one desire. I have granted it.”

“Can I not choose the desire that you grant?” Musa asked.

My hold on my offspring’s shoulder tightened. The cold from that shoulder seeped into me. I looked at Musa and wondered if I had ever known this imp at all. It had been the one to lead the imps in Permafrost to kidnap my offspring. Had it convinced Nebula to follow after me? Perhaps it had not planned specifically for the wrath to kidnap Nebula, but it had told them things that they had no right to know. Now it was trying to bargain for their freedom. It wouldn’t dare! I would kill it first.

Chuspecip’s words were spoken slowly and evenly. The entire room was tense. Everyone stared, watched, waited. “Musa, we share a special bond, you and I. Think very carefully before you make your request. Abolishing the enslavement of imps is fair. I can make it a crime against me to own an imp, a crime punishable by an immediate death, death that I will ensure. I will do this for you and our bond will not suffer for it.”

Musa looked down. I sensed its acquiescence and I relaxed. I would never trust Musa again, I could not, but it was free. I had freed it already before this and now Chuspecip was freeing all imps. It would live. Far away from me if I had any say in the matter, but it would live. As long as it did not try to take away my revenge on those that killed my offspring.

Musa’s gaze rose. “I am personally responsible for the imps in Permafrost. I…” its voice cracked. “My desire is for their clemency.”

“Musa,” Fabiana called, “reconsider.”

Musa’s gaze remained on Chuspecip. “Will you grant it, or will you go back on your word to me?”

Fabiana gasped at its tone. This Musa, the one that would side with my offspring’s murderers. It was one I did not know. I reached for my dagger, ready to throw it at the imp’s neck, but Chuspecip stopped me. It placed a hand on my arm and shook its head. It was in my head, it knew my thoughts. I cursed it. It removed its touch and stood straight.

“I gave my word,” it said. “I will keep it.”

“What about me!” I yelled. “What about my sacrifices? What about my service? Is that for nothing! You cannot let my offspring’s murderers go free. I will not allow it!”

Chuspecip stared at me, but it shook its head. “I made an oath to Musa.”

I was about to speak, but I suddenly found my lips incapable of motion. I tried moving my hands but even these would not budge. Without touching me, the founder had removed my motion. It was route. I couldn’t move anything. There was nothing I could do but watch while I was robbed of my vengeance.

Musa bowed. “I am grateful.”

“You are a fool.” The founder’s chastisement came without emotion. “You have sided with imps who killed the youngest uspec of my line. Whatever bond we shared is now severed. Those imps will live, but life is the only thing I promise them.” It turned to me and I saw a flicker of anguish in its eyes before its look turned hard. “Any uspec who tries to harm any of the imps in Permafrost will die by my will.”

Once the judgement was pronounced, I knew it was over. I’d had nothing left to cling to, nothing but a chance at getting justice for my dead offspring. But even that the founder had taken from me. What more would it take? What more did I have to give except my own life?

This is not easy for me.

The founder’s voice echoed in my mind, like a memory, a shared thought. ‘But you do it anyway!’ I yelled back at the founder in my head.

Musa has served me faithfully for millennia. It has served your line.

‘It only served them because they gave wealth to the wrath and kept Permafrost running! Now you’ve seen it always cared more for those imps than it ever did for my line!’ I yelled back at it in my head.

Perhaps. But it did serve faithfully, and I gave it my oath. I will never go back on an oath given. No matter how much it pains me. This pains me Nebud, it pains me more than you can know. It pains me to lose Nebula. It pains me to feel your torment and it pains me to be severed from one such as Musa. I am pained, but I cannot go back on my oath.

“Thank you.” Musa said.

Halima drew in a shaky breath. It was speaking moments later. “Is that all that Musa deserves for thousands of years of service?”

Chuspecip’s cold gaze fixed on the imp that had been a bane ever since Animaon brought it to me. “What more should I give?” Chuspecip asked.

“You should grant both of its desires.” The impudent imp had the gall to say. “Imps should be free.”

Chuspecip shrugged. “Perhaps. But my love for a young, innocent, uspec of my line outweighs the grief I bear over the suffering of imps. Musa has asked more from me today than any person should ever be asked to give. Let the slavery of imps be its punishment for the reward it claimed.”

Musa dropped to its knees as if felled by Chuspecip’s words. I saw it in the founder’s face. It looked at Musa’s bent head and it relented. I knew it the moment it happened. I wanted nothing more in that moment than to be free of the founder’s presence. It lied. It loved imps, it could not help it. It was its mercy for imps that had led it to give Musa the money to fund Permafrost in the first place. Why did it not just abolish slavery instead?

Perhaps I should have. I made this existence with only one rule, that the Kaiser of each port would be the final authority there, not me. I did not want what the plenum tried to accomplish, a single existence ruled by one or a few. I intercede when I must, but I do not like to make sweeping decisions for all. It is my desire that you all decide how you live. It is part of the weakness you see in me, Nebud.

It cleared its throat. “For your years of service to me, Musa, I give you this. I give you clemency for the wrath and I give you a port.”

I groaned, or at least I would have if I could speak.

“I give you Qatamejo, the plenum port that once belonged to Katan.” Chuspecip’s words were followed by muted gasps of shock and horror from the occupants of the canopy room. Qatamejo was currently the wealthiest port in the entire existence. It was not ravaged by war. It was brimming with natural resources. Lahooni had grown wealthy because of the cunning of my line and their creations, not due to any resources.

Musa looked up. It gaped at Chuspecip. Chuspecip stretched out its hand and pulled Musa up to its feet.

“You are, as of this moment, the Kaiser of Qatamejo. If you desire for imps to be free in your port, it is within your power to make it so. And I make this declaration, any imp, in any part of this existence, that requests to go to Qatamejo must not be hindered. Anyone who tries to stop the imp from leaving, or reaching its destination, will die by my will.” Green fog swirled around Musa. I did not know what I expected, but when the green fogs went away, Musa looked just as it had before.

Musa’s gaze dropped. “You grew it back,” it appeared shocked.

Chuspecip nodded. “I know you wish to be intimate with your lover. I have given you spectra Musa, the magic of all five eyes. Pansophy you already have. Your spectra is solely yours, you can permit whomever you wish to siphon the magic from you. I have also removed all uspecs from your port and sent them to the other plenum ports that remain. The imps from Permafrost await you in Qatamejo.”

Musa blinked. “Why?”

I wanted to know the same thing. Why was Chuspecip always quick to reward those that cost me dearly? Marina who was in part responsible for Juke’s death now lounged as Kaiser of Katsoaru. Now Musa, this traitorous imp, would be Kaiser of its own port of imps, and any imp that as much as mentioned a desire to join those in Qatamejo must be allowed to leave. It had basically granted both of Musa’s requests. Chuspecip was so altruistic with everyone but me.

Chuspecip sighed. “I have cut you off from me Musa, I will no longer feel you as I once did, and I have no desire to anymore. But you served me well, and so I will not cut you off with nothing.”

It was displeased. Its tone made it clear that it was displeased with Musa, but still it gave it so much. I did not understand the founder.

Musa bowed, but I had known the imp long enough to know when it was sad. “I am so sorry master,” it said. It was not talking to me. “I am so sorry.”

Chuspecip nodded. “I know. Your port is now in your power to secure. The hangar is sealed, you may use pansophy to unseal it once you are ready to start allowing more people in.” It cleared its throat. Green fog surrounded the canopy room. I was helpless to do anything but watch. “Let all imps who wish to follow Musa to Qatamejo speak it now.” I imagined colored swirls came from the mouths of imps behind me. I saw the bright cyan of words that came from Halima and several others. There was red to. Chike was red. I didn’t know what the red meant. But when the green fog cleared, Musa and Halima were gone, along with several other imps. Chike remained.

My motion returned.

I looked around. Six imps remained. That was already six too much. I glanced at Chike and revised my statement. Five too much. I hoped these imps did not wish to accompany me back to Lahooni. Chike I would take, the rest I did not want.

“You granted mercy to Monachooni, Checha’s port.”

I nodded without looking at the founder’s face. It had given the imps freedom and wealth, a reward after they’d killed my offspring. Freedom and wealth. Our existence would never be the same again. Any imp that desired freedom now need only say Qatamejo and they would be free. I did not care. If I could remove every imp from Lahooni I would do it. I did not care where they stayed, as long as it was not close to me. I did not think I could ever look at another imp without remembering Musa’s betrayal and the wrath. The wrath that now owned Qatamejo. I despised Chuspecip.

Chuspecip sighed. It was in my head. I did not care, I did not care about anything anymore.

“Monachooni is free then, and Qatamejo now belongs to Musa. The last three plenum ports I give to you, Nebud, they will be annexed ports of Lahooni, from this point on, they are forgotten kingdoms and you are their Kaiser.”

Did it expect gratitude?

No, I do not.

‘Well, you can keep your ports, I don’t want them! If you want to give me something, then give me back the lives of the ones I’ve lost fighting your battles.’

I cannot revive the dead, Nebud. And the ports are yours. There are responsibilities that come with being of my line. I cannot entrust those ports to anyone else and I cannot promote any nobles in those ports to Kaiser after their rebellion. You must mind them. They are all rich ports. Combined their wealth surpasses Qatamejo.

What didn’t Chuspecip understand? All I wanted was my offspring back. I just wanted to play with it again, to hear its stammering speech. To spar with it. I had not even gotten to spend more than a month of its life with it. That was what I wanted, what I cared for.

Green fog enveloped me.

When the green fog cleared, I was kneeling in a very familiar room with green sludge. Nebula lay on the ground in front of me and Chuspecip sat beside me.

“The uspecs of our line are buried in quicksand in this room. They live on, Nebud, through the ones that come after, and through me. You are all a special part of me. Let us inter Nebula together.”

I pulled my offspring into my arms and rocked its corpse.

“Share this with me Nebud, please.”

“I spit on you!” I yelled. “Leave me to grieve in peace.”

Chuspecip sighed. “You wound me, Nebud. You wound me deeply.” Then it was gone, and there was a patch of quicksand left in its place.

I held Nebula in my arms, and I allowed myself to break down the way I couldn’t before. I wept. Hot tears rushed down my face. Pink tears splashed onto my offspring’s body. I cursed myself. Chuspecip didn’t care about me or uspecs. If I had let Fajahromo live the imps would have given me growth for Nebula. They would have bargained with me, used me to finish the invasion. The existence would have belonged to imps, but then Nebula would still be alive. What did I care who owned what as long as Nebula was alive? What did I care?

Pain and guilt threatened to overwhelm me.

I pulled out my dagger and stared at it.

Then I placed the sharp point on the wound on my chest. Tears streamed down my face as I pushed the dagger in. I did not want to live in a world where my offspring did not. I pushed and it went half of an inch into my skin. Far enough to bleed but not far enough to kill. What stopped me? I stared at my offspring’s face and I just couldn’t do it. There was no joy left in life for me, but the weakness of killing myself seemed like an insult to its memory. It had died thinking of me as strong. It had died thinking of me as powerful.

I pulled the dagger out and stared at the blood on the blade, then I placed the dagger back in its sheath on my belt.

“Thank you for not ending my line.”

I rose my head and found Chuspecip standing in front of me. I turned my gaze back to my offspring. My little Nebula. I carried it to the quicksand and placed its body on top of it. The quicksand pulled Nebula in and took it away.

I felt empty. I had no more tears to weep. The rest of my life seemed to drag on in front of me, like a weight I was forced to carry. It left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“I am returning to Lahooni.” I said.

Chuspecip nodded. “I have cleared the plenum soldiers out of your port. It is yours to claim.”

I knew I should have offered gratitude or at least a farewell, but I felt incapable of either. I just formed quicksand underneath myself and teleported myself back to paradise. I called everyone together and told them we were leaving. Much to my dismay, the imps chose to come with me. I was too tired to fight. I just led them out of the Isle of Brio. They were happy to be going ‘home’.

I felt nothing.

Do your people know how many innocents you have killed? Was it hundreds?
.
Vlad: Thousands.
Master Vampire: And when you put them to the stake, what did you feel? Shame? Horror? Power? ANSWER ME!
Vlad: Nothing! I felt nothing. A greater crime than the act itself.



Dracula untold

I just had to come out from ghost mode to comment...dear obehid, you have succeed in making me cry. Your last update strikes at the very core of my heart

Chuspecip is weak god....

And obehid has brought me to tears ..
Nebud had the shortest end of the stick .
Chuspecip just used him and dumped him..
He has lost way too much to just let chuspecip and musa go.
If I was in its shoes.. I would go after the founder ..banish him again them destroy musa

Mehn!!!,,, (Sighs) ��
What a world,,, from this events I deduce that the offspring Nebud was initially writing to at the beginning wasn't nebula,, and also,, those he was running from,, (where they imps or...) Well Sha,, let's watch and see the consequences of a severed bond that Musa now shares with the founder,,,

I perceive a big battle ahead,,
Let's see how chuspecip will take that too,,,

Nebulaaaaaaa! Why? Please, why? That gentle soul, gone. Why?

This is to show that the ways of men are different from the ways of gods. This is sad though and I understand how difficult it must have been for the writer herself.

This doesn't make sense.
1. Musa betrayed Chuspecip's line and got Nebula kidnapped.
2. Musa supported the invasion in a bid to steal the entire existence.
3. The invasion was ended but Marcinus, Nebud's longest serving friend was brutally murdered.
4. Nebula too was killed, thereby breaking Nebud.
5. The imps who caused all these were granted freedom and wealth...

Where's the sense of justice in all these? Does the founder love imps more than its own line and kind? If it could kill countless Uspecs why can't it kill the usurping imps?

Hope this is the end. It has lasted, everyone has died. Case closed.

eROCK247:
This doesn't make sense.
1. Musa betrayed Chuspecip's line and got Nebula kidnapped.
2. Musa supported the invasion in a bid to steal the entire existence.
3. The invasion was ended but Marcinus, Nebud's longest serving friend was brutally murdered.
4. Nebula too was killed, thereby breaking Nebud.
5. The imps who caused all these were granted freedom and wealth...

Where's the sense of justice in all these? Does the founder love imps more than its own line and kind? If it could kill countless Uspecs why can't it kill the usurping imps?

Chill bro, the story has ended. Let's celebrate its conclusion.

chuspecip really does love imps more than its line.. what if musa asked for the total subjection of uspecs?? it'll grant it anyways right? ? I must say, if I was in nebud's shoes..I'll renounce chuspecip. .

Wow. What a sad and dramatic finish! Just absolutely breathtaking, though I am speechless. More Vim ObehiD!. I must solely commend your doggedness and steadfastness in keeping to your words and updating as frequently as stated. I know writing is a herculean task, and writing exceptionally is daunting, but typing them is out of this World!. Once again I doff. Thank you for giving me reasons and occasions to douse myself in fantastic moments!

In all this Nebud suffered the most... I feel for it

Feeling so sad for Nebud . I do not like Chuspecip, Nebud was right to rebuke him. oh my Nebula...you little life cut short.

Well done Obehid. This was an awesome story. You succeeded in making us invested in Nebud's happiness.

Who is the green eyed person that was part of the invaders in the beginning? I thought they were coming to kill Nebud. How did the uspecs lose the ability to procreate? So many questions. Will they be answered in another book?

Thanks for sharing your talent with us.

ObehiD has not said this the last chapter in this story yet everyone is jumping to conclusions.
Fazemood I blame you

Nigerians Sef. #OverSpeed.

DaLaw22:
ObehiD has not said this the last chapter in this story yet everyone is jumping to conclusions.
Fazemood I blame you

Nigerians Sef. #OverSpeed.

Honestly bro I am expecting a miracle. This wan tear my heart to pieces. I just dey hol'am jejely.

Fazemood:
Hope this is the end. It has lasted, everyone has died. Case closed.

hope not, the real war is coming

Obehid thanks for this bitter update, am going on an hunger strike until u bring back our fallen comrades and my dear ula. You guys are free to join me

This last update brought me out. Ula's death was the last straw.

....wow what an update, I just love it all. Who is Musa? I don't think musa is jst an ordinary Imp,he his more than that, I feel he shares a secret with the founder.
Recall this musa imp was able to come back to the standard existence with Nebud to bring back the founder.
I share the same sentiment with Nebud....the founder is weak and I feel he is not actually a god in the sense of gods but the most powerful Unspec in the spectral existence. I think that every oath ought to be broken when betrayal sets in and I feel the founder should not have caved in to such a cheap blackmail from an Imp....reason I feel there is more to musa and the founder's tale.

ObehiD, in your narration you use the word meat,but if I cud recall it is not the word you normally use instead,you use the word nama...(hope m right about that)
Thanks for such a lovely story...

Well it's not done yet, but I guess there's enough info to hint at how it's going to end. There are five more chapters, I'm posting two today and the last three tomorrow. The last chapter is the epilogue that ties back into the marked series.

I should point out one thing though, while I am not Musa's biggest fan at this point in time, Musa is not responsible for the imps in the wrath kidnapping Nebula. I've learnt from this story how truly important POV is. Musa is an imp that is torn between two loyalties. It is tied to Nebud's line through Chuspecip and so it battled against its kind when it had to for Nebud's sake, to make sure that Chuspecip was returned. But it also founded the wrath. It founded a safe haven for slaves who'd been brutalized by uspecs. Musa has to play both sides it has chosen Nebud over the wrath in the past, this time it chose the wrath over Nebud. I believe it made the wrong decision, but I can understand why Musa felt it had to intercede for the imps. Though I cannot forgive the fact that it denied Nebud vengeance for its offspring. From Musa's POV though, consider that what it told the imps that attacked them on the inter-port trail about Nebud's bond to Nebula, was done, not so that they would attack Nebula, but so that the imps would see how fiercely Nebud would protect its offspring, and choose not to attack. It was trying to get the imps to leave without anyone getting hurt. Also, these imps in the wrath, the ones that Musa fought to save, are imps that it has known for centuries, imps that are like family to it. I can understand why it bargained for their lives, even though I feel like its bargain was not as smart as it could have been.

Now, regardless of how Nebud feels, Musa has served Chuspecip's line since its inception. It has been a slave to them, teaching each new uspec pansophy, tutoring them, making sure they grew into the line of Kaisers that made the port so wealthy. Did it do this solely for the benefit to the wrath? I don't think so, Musa has always genuinely cared about Nebud's line.

As for Chuspecip giving Musa what it asked for, well, I don't know, the way of the Chu is beyond me. But Musa has given a lot to serve the uspecs of its line for thousands of years, I think it deserved Qatamejo, I just don't think it deserved to have the wrath saved and there with it.

Just my two cents before the next (second to last) update

Part 23
----------

As soon as I stepped into the Lahooni hangar I saw the ravages of war on the port. The desk at the front of the room had been hacked into pieces which were then shoved aside, probably to grant easier access to the plenum soldiers pushing into the port. Now the hangar was empty, almost deserted. Dust had accumulated on the flat pieces of the hard quicksand desk, scattered around on the ground. The soft foam ground was stained with the imprints of many sludge feet repeatedly trampling on it. The sludge was caked, hardened over the time that it had been left there, exposed.

“Why is there no one guarding the hangar?” Fabiana asked, irritated.

I glanced at the uspec without emotion and then took my focus back to the room. I walked further and my coffer slid on the ground behind me. The tag it was chained to rested securely in my belt, with its key, and my ring, the one I’d taken from Fajahromo’s finger. Not even thoughts of the uspec where enough to elicit an emotional response. I felt drained. Each step I took forward felt like an impossible task. I thought dispassionately about the food the others had tried to force me to eat while we journeyed back to Lahooni. I had refused it.

I walked between shattered pieces of the desk, towards the curtains and the pools of quicksand on the other side. I stood in the quicksand and was teleported into the commune road, or at least what was left of it.

I’d given Jukien the key to removing the form from the quicksand that made up the commune road, leaving only smog sand beneath. That had saved Lahooni from the plenum’s attacks for a while. But then the plenum had built a hard fog bridge over the pool of smog sand. It was the hard fog bridge that we stood on now. A part of my mind noted that I would have to repair all of this damage. I would have to see to the hangar and to this road. I would have to restore it to what it once was. I was back in Lahooni, back to claim it. But I was not excited or even eager to do it. I did it because Lahooni was all I had, it was the only place left for me to go. And my honoraria, or at least what was left of it, they deserved this, their return home. So, I’d brought them back, and myself with them. Lahooni was the only place that truly felt like home. It felt more like home than the slum I’d spent the majority of my life in. I really had no other home. Lahooni was it. I thought about the quicksand castle that awaited me and I found my feet drawing on the hard fog bridge. I’d dreamt of running around that castle with my offspring. I’d dreamt of sitting on my throne with Nebula on my lap. I would have sparred with it, made it into the greatest fighter that existed. But all of those dreams were gone, crumbled into dust, remnants of a happy life that had once been.

No other uspecs graced the plenum’s bridge. I stared down at the fog bridge. It was red, a deep red, like the fogs that drifted by us. The fogs in Lahooni were my favorite. They were warm, but not swelteringly so, and they just drifted, lightly brushing themselves against me and then departing. They moved slowly.

It was the early parts of night. Not so late that uspecs would be in bed, but late enough that the clouds shone their red beams without interruption from the daylight dots.

There were no sounds as we walked across, none save for the scraping of my coffer against the fog ground. Our feet met the hard ground in a silent caress, we wore no shoes. This was Lahooni, there was no need for footwear. I wore nothing on my body save for my belt. For the first time since I’d grown old enough to be easily spotted as irira, both of my features were exposed. My hooni neck scales shone a clear contrast to the green of my skin and my kute tail flopped against the ground.

There was something about the silence. It felt sad, as if the fogs themselves grieved for the destruction that the war had wrought. I echoed their grief, I echoed it deep down in my soul. In my bleeding heart. I thought again about the dagger I’d pushed into my skin and cursed the instinct that had forced me to pull it out. Nebula would not have wanted that. It thought of me as strong, and so I was trying to be. I was trying so hard to be the strong uspec that my offspring had died believing me to be. But I was so tired. I was exhausted from all the losses. The dead were metal chains around my shoulders bearing me down. I could have saved them. If I had only refused Juke’s company. If I had told Marcinus to return to Katsoaru with its junior cognate. Nebula. I thought of my precious little one and a howl of desperate anguish tore out from my throat.

I stumbled.

Pairs of green hands shot out to catch me.

“Sirga?” I heard the worry in Fabiana’s voice.

Our homecoming should have been a celebration, it should have been a triumphant march, but it was a gloomy procession. I swallowed and forced my legs to remain steady underneath me. Then I pulled myself from the supporting hands and continued my silent march. I would not walk into my port like a sick weakling. I would walk in with the strength Nebula had imagined I bore. Another strangled whimper escaped my lips. Fabiana was the only one walking close enough to hear it. It kept its gaze ahead, pretending as if the sound had escaped its ears.

I did not know how to survive this sorrow.

I tried, but my efforts fell short. I was just so tired.

“Sirga, where are we going first?” Gamble walked up to my other side. It looked as grim as I felt.

“My palace.” I said.

Its hands tightened around the sword in its belt. “Is that safe, sirga?”

“Of course, it’s safe.” Fabiana said. “The Kaiser has returned victorious. Why would it not be safe?”

Victorious? This was no victory. It was not defeat, but it certainly was not victory. I looked at my honoraria. Four uspecs out of a hundred that had departed with me. Six imps trailed behind us. All but Chike wore smiles on their faces. They had left Lahooni after my sire’s death. Chike was the only who’d left before. This was their first time back to a port they’d called home for centuries. I turned back around.

“I’m going to the palace. If there is any danger, I’d rather face it head on. The rest of you may return to your homes. I will call on you after I’ve dealt with whatever reception awaits.”

We were close to the end of the commune road now. Really, with the quicksand road destroyed there was no need to walk the road. We could have teleported, but the tradition remained.

“We are your honoraria.” Matiu stated.

Four uspecs left from one hundred. None smiled. We walked out of the commune road and I formed quicksand underneath us. My identity held the key to teleporting within the palace. There were other keys, keys that Jukien no doubt controlled. Would the uspec be living in my palace as Kaiser? It had to die. Jukien and all the nobles it had colluded with, they all had to die. There would be no peace in Lahooni until that was seen to.

The quicksand pulled us in and teleported us to a thriving court.

Uspecs lounged on beds placed in artful locations around the court. This was an entertaining room in the palace, an entertaining area for the Lahooni nobles. Some of them lay around tables playing games and throwing around money. Imps rushed about the room carrying heavy trays of food to lounging uspecs. They served the uspecs and continued about on their errands. Uspecs drank and talked loudly. They laughed. They were all nobles, there were no commoners here. All born nobles with golden armbands or made nobles with silver cloths. The aroma of fruit wines and savory meals invaded my nostrils.

Soldiers stood guarding the entrances to this room. They had not noticed my presence. It was hard to look at this revelry and imagine that there had been a war here only a few days ago. The palace was no worse for wear. I knew that the plenum soldiers had been unable to cease it.

A large group was gathered around my right. That group burst into a cacophonous round of laughter. Conversations continued. Nobles ate, lazily sprawled over lounging beds. An uspec tossed a dice onto a table and then laughed when it stopped spinning. Others grumbled and gave up their money. Some of the nobles were skinny like Matina, nobles that could not fight. There were a few that had Gamble and Fabiana’s lean musculature. I caught sight of three bannerets built like brawlers. A good number of the nobles were fat, round in ways that I had not seen uspec bodies. I realized then just how much of my life had been spent around fighters.

I had no idea how to breach this chaos or if I even wanted to.

Before I could make up my mind, a large horn sounded.

“The mighty undead,” a voice bellowed, and I prepared myself to become the center of attention. I poised myself for a speech or whatever else a situation like this demanded. Then the announcer finished, “Jukien, Kaiser of Lahooni.”

Something inside of me ground. I tasted bitterness in my mouth and flickers of fury came alive within me. It boiled in the pits of my belly. I’d thought myself beyond emotions, but I’d been wrong. My heart pounded weakly with rage. I should have listened to the others and eaten on the inter-port trail. Now, I had no strength for fighting.

Matina gasped.

Fabiana cursed.

Matiu’s eyes narrowed and its hands clenched into fists.

Gamble pulled out its sword and took a step towards the curtains that were being pulled open. I stopped it with a hand on its shoulder. I may be too weak for swordfight, but I was plenty strong for spectra. If I needed to, I could drown this entire room in lit okun and kill every one of these indolent nobles.

The nobles stirred. Those who’d been lounging rose to their feet and turned towards the curtains. They bowed.

Soldiers held open curtains I knew led to the Kaiser’s receiving room. Jukien marched out of those curtains with two uspecs walking behind it. It wore five golden armbands on its arms and the uspecs walking behind it wore four. Soldiers surrounded Jukien. The uspec was older than the last time I’d seen it, but it still had its bulk. It was in its prime, with the slightly muscular bulk of a sword fighter who dabbled in brawling. The uspecs who shadowed it had the lean musculature of sword fighters.

Jukien sauntered in, waving its hand lavishly around. Some uspecs straightened and rushed to fawn over it.

I clenched my jaw.

“Release me sirga, so that I can lop off that fool’s head.” Gamble swore. It said the words loudly enough to cause a stir and finally draw attention to our presence standing at the back of the court.

Uspecs saw us. They frowned at first and then their gazes stopped on me and their eyes widened. Some rose, others remained bowed. A space was cleared between us and Jukien, giving a clear line of sight.

“Precious one!” A loud voice rung out. The voice came from the direction of uspecs fawning over Jukien. It ran towards us. The uspec appeared vaguely familiar. It had all of its outer eyes formed and filled and a neck filled with shiny cyan scales. Three golden armbands graced its arms.

It ran to Fabiana and wrapped its arms around it.

Jukien’s gaze met mine. Its eyes narrowed. “Who are you? Guards!” it snapped. “Who allowed this person into my court?”

“This is not your court!” Gamble yelled. “This is the court of the Imperial Nebud. By what right do you claim to be Kaiser?”

Whispers of my name swirled around the room. Uspecs turned to face me. All stood now and their gazes bore into my flesh. Many looked on me with scorn. I imagined how I looked, fresh from the inter-port trail. My stomach was filled with scars from a whip. I heard whispers of my progenitor and sires names and whispers of ‘irira’ these were low, but they existed. I was tempted to drown them all in lit okun, but something stopped me.

Jukien’s gaze turned mocking. It eyed me slowly, its gaze racking over my body. “It is indeed the imposter. You had the gall to return.”

My jaw ticked.

“You know very well that the Imperial Nebud is no imposter. If it was an imposter, then why did you send agents to kidnap it for the fabled wealth of Lahooni!” Gamble yelled at Jukien.

The murmurs in the room rose to a fever pitch.

“Idiot,” Fabiana snapped at Gamble, “you do not just accuse a duke of such treason without proof. Where were you raised?”

Gamble eyed Fabiana hostilely.

I sighed, easing the tension in my jaw.

I cleared my throat.

I was surprised when that slight sound was enough to spread hush tones. These nobles apparently appeared eager to hear what I had to say.

“I have returned with the proof of my claim to the throne.” I stated simply.

Jukien’s jaw clenched. Its gaze narrowed on me.

One of the uspecs standing behind it walked forward. “I remember this uspec, it is the last brio.” There were nods across the room. “The last brio that tasked Lahooni to fight for the founder and then abandoned us for five years, only to return after my progenitor has successfully won the battle against the plenum.”

Murmurs of disapproval swept through the room. Uspecs looked at me and shook their heads.

Jukien smiled.

The other uspec who’d been standing behind it walked forward. “We’ve all heard of the last brio. The last brio who waged war with the mighty Arexon against the plenum. If, indeed, the last brio is Calam’s heir, then why did it not come to fight with us against the plenum, instead of abandoning us? My progenitor is the only reason that the last brio has a port to return to and claim ownership of. I’m sure the last brio expected the mighty Arexon to reward it with a port of its own for its service during the war. It must have come here after the mighty Arexon refused its request. It failed to swindle the mighty Arexon and now it wishes to swindle the nobles of this great and illustrious port.”

Bitter curses were spat at me from the nobles in the room. The curses became jeers and then shouts for my removal.

I formed quicksand underneath myself and then teleported a few feet ahead.

“I can teleport within the palace,” I said, “surely that alone is proof.”

Some of the curses faded. A few of the nobles seemed swayed by my argument.

“A trick of the last brio,” Jukien said dismissively.

“I have the ring,” I said reaching into my belt, “the proof of my claim.”

Jukien shook its head. The whispers in my favor began to rise. I heard the positive mutters, nobles talking about Calam and oaths sworn. Jukien stopped shaking its head. “We will hear your claim.” It stated magnanimously, a statement that was met with a buzz of approval. “But not tonight. It is late, we will discuss this matter in the morning. Till then, I will grant you leave to repose in the Kaiser’s lounge for the night.”

“You will grant it to me?” I glared at the uspec.

It stared at me as if I was beneath it. “Yes, I will grant it. Guards! See the imposter to the Kaiser’s lounge.”

About ten guards approached us, with their swords held out in front of them Gamble pulled out its sword, eager to parry.

Fabiana walked up to me. “You can take this palace by force if you wish, sirga, but I would counsel against it. Let us take the night to rest after our journey. It will impress the nobles if you show restraint this way. They will learn of your great might, let them see your calm temperament.”

Calm temperament? Me? I gazed at Fabiana. Every instinct in my body told me to attack now and either kill or remove these people from my home. Why would Jukien ask for the night if it did not have a plan? It had a plan, I was sure of it. But Fabiana was the noble who’d grown up in this court. It knew politics better than I did. I decided to differ to it in this. I shook my head at Gamble and the uspec sheathed its sword, reluctantly.

“Okay.”

Jukien looked away as if my acceptance meant nothing. “You, imps,” it pointed at Chike and the others. “Go to the kitchen and see what scraps you can scavenge for your master.” Then Jukien pulled out a golden token from its belt and held it to the guards.

I reached for my quicksand before the token could trade hands and then I teleported myself and my honoraria to the Kaiser’s lounge. I could have taken us anywhere else in the palace, but I’d decided to take Fabiana’s advice.

The Kaiser’s lounge was like the court room with lounging beds scattered about. It had a small okun in the corner of the room and a fog desk with a thronelike chair behind it. I glanced at that chair and was suddenly filled with memories of my sire sitting behind it with me on its lap. As I had hoped to do with Nebula.

“Jukien will die for this.” I said the words simply.

“I will cut off its head myself, sirga, I’d have done it tonight if you’d only let me.” Gamble retorted, the last part said with a taunting edge.

I glanced at the uspec. It paced the room, storming around lounging beds. Then it stopped and kicked one. The rest of the uspecs perched on lounging beds.

“I don’t trust Jukien.” Matiu stated. “It has something planned.”

I nodded. “I agree.”

“Where is the ring?” Matiu asked, “the one you mentioned earlier.”

“I have it on me.”

“Good,” it nodded. “You should hold onto it.”

Gamble cursed and kicked at another lounging bed. Its anger on my behalf was oddly amusing. I walked over to a lounging bed and sat. My gaze kept trailing back to the desk and the chair behind it. If Juke was here, the uspec would have been able to say something to diffuse the tension in the room. My little Nebula would have stammered out an outrageous boast. I missed them both so much my heart tightened just thinking of them. I had to force myself to breathe. I could not let Jukien win.

“We will sit watch. One of us will remain awake at all times throughout the night.” Fabiana said. “Whatever Jukien is planning, it will not succeed.”

Gamble glared at Fabiana.

“Why did you not create lit okun, sirga?” Matina asked. “You could have taken the palace by force.”

“Yes!” Gamble agreed. “We should have taken it by force.” It glared at Fabiana as it spoke.

Fabiana shook its head. “You are both so young and so quick to rage. We are no more in the middle of a battle, Gamble, we are in our port. How would it look if the Kaiser’s first act was to kill all the nobles that didn’t agree with it?”

“It would teach them to fear it. Kaisers should be feared.” Gamble replied.

Fabiana kept its voice calm. “Nebud is the Kaiser of this port, it is the only one with the right and claim to it. It should not have to kill to take its port. That is what invaders do. Nebud is not an invader, it is Calam’s heir reclaiming its port for its line. The nobles in this port are not irrational. They have the right to their questions and indecision. They must respect their Kaiser, not fear it. Did you rush into battle because you were afraid that if you didn’t, you would die?”

Gamble stopped pacing. The frown faded from its lips and its eyebrows pulled downwards in thought. It shook its head.

“Invaders are ousted. When people live in fear, they seek to remedy that situation. That is not what anyone wants.”

Gamble sighed. It slumped onto a lounging bed. “How can you be so calm and rational in the face of the insult we were dealt?” Gamble turned to me. “You saved this existence at a high personal cost. How dare they treat you like this? I hate it! I hate them all!”

Matiu chuckled.

Gamble’s gaze shot to it. “Do you disagree?”

“I am no politician, but Fabiana’s words make sense to me. The Kaisers of this port have always been respected. Salin was the only ruler that stole the throne and it was only able to keep its hold on it because it had the plenum’s protection. Jukien, I fear, will not fare well. Let us be patient.”

Gamble looked away.

The room fell into silence. I glanced at these uspecs, my honoraria. Whatever else happened, I had somehow won their loyalty. My gaze went back to the throne and my thoughts returned to Nebula.

“State your business imp.” The brusque words were spoken by uspecs on the other side of the curtains that led into the room. Jukien’s guards, no doubt.

“Let the imp through!” A different voice called out.

“Yes, majestic one.” The gruff guard’s voice said.

The curtains were pulled aside, and Chike came in, pushing in a cart. It was alone. The uspec that had run towards Fabiana in the court walked behind it. The guards bowed to it. This had to be Fabin, Fabiana’s younger. I remembered there was another, Fib, but Fib would be younger. And from what I remembered, it was pious.

Fabin swaggered in wearing a huge smile.

I glanced at it and then turned my gaze to Chike. “Where are the other imps?”

It shook its head at me. “Jukien’s stewards said we have to work in the kitchen to pay for our meals. It only let me out to bring this…food…if it can even be called that.”

I took a deep breath and forced myself to keep my anger under control.

“How dare it!” Fabin exploded. “I will go and talk to Jukien. This insult cannot be allowed to stand.”

I shook my head.

Fabin fumed, but it obeyed me and sat beside its older sibling. I was happy for their reunion. Fabiana had already lost two uspecs in its line, I was happy that it still had this one.

I stood and walked over to the cart. The food was terrible. Stale bread and a large bowl of gruel. I had not seen food this miserable since my stint in the mines of Aurelion. At least those mines had good buns. These buns were dry and pressed flat. Yellow lines were visible on their surface, signs of slight rot.

“Even beggars wouldn’t touch this food.” Gamble spat out.

I looked at the uspec and found myself smiling a little. It was wrong about that. I had certainly eaten worse in the pits of Hakute.

“No plates or utensils?” I asked.

Chike shook its head. “I tried to get some, but the stewards wouldn’t let me leave the kitchen with them. They acted as if I was trying to steal the utensils.”

I picked up one of the stale buns and used it to scoop up greyish-brown gruel. The gruel had a foul odor to it, like food that had been left sitting for days. I put it into my mouth and almost threw it back out. It was sour and had a moldy bitter aftertaste. The stale buns were manageable on their own.

“We have grain and dried meat. Travel food sirga, please, let’s eat that.”

I agreed with Fabiana.

I placed the half-eaten bun back on the cart.

“I’m sorry master,” Chike said.

I watched the imp as it began pushing the cart away. “Stay and eat with us. I cannot imagine they’ve fed you any better in the kitchen.”

It looked at the ground. “The food was edible. Besides, I can’t stay, they have piles and piles of chores for us.”

“You are free Chike, I freed you and the others. You are not slaves. Did you not tell them that?”

It shook its head. “It would only have made things worse. The imps in charge are imps that Salin brought. Spiteful things.”

I remembered Musa’s story of how Salin’s imps led to it being castrated.

“Things will be better in the morning.” I promised.

It smiled at me, bowed and then pushed the cart out.

The rage I felt at Jukien continued to grow. I sat and took grain and meat that Matiu offered. I did not taste the food’s flavor. I tasted nothing but my rage at Jukien. It colored my taste buds bland. I imagined turning Jukien’s head into a ball.

One night. That was all the time I would give Jukien and the nobles to wizen up. After I presented my evidence to them in the morning they would either accept me or they would die. I did not come to Lahooni to fight another war, and I did not care what the nobles thought of me. If Nebula was still alive, perhaps I would have tried to do things peaceably for its sake. Without Nebula, I had no one to fear for. I would kill every noble in this port who was against me if I needed to.

I washed the food down with okun, then sprawled myself out on my lounging bed.

Gamble took the first shift watching during the night.

I did not expect to sleep. My mind appeared far too restless for sleep. But I did fall asleep. Sometime, between blinks of staring into a painted quicksand ceiling, unconsciousness slipped in.

Something woke me. I heard a call in my head, like the founder’s thunderous voice echoing in my thoughts and memories. But there were no discernible words I could hear just a call for me to wake. And so I did, I woke with a start and felt the cold sharp edge of a metal digging into my neck.

I opened my eyes and found Fabin staring down at me, its eyebrows pulled together and its lips set in a firm, determined line. Its eyes widened when it saw that I had woken, and it jumped back.

I sat up.

It scurried backwards. The dagger fell from its hands in its fright.

Blood trailed down the side of my neck. I stared at the uspec.

Its eyes were still wide. It had my ring on its finger. The ring that my sire had left me as proof of my inheritance.

I stood slowly.

It yelped.

Fabiana and Gamble jumped up immediately. Matiu rose more slowly. Matina slept soundly.

“What is it?” Fabiana asked, reaching for its sword.

I stared at Fabin. “Your younger sibling just tried to kill me.”

Fabiana’s hand dropped to its side. Its mouth hung open.

I stretched out my hand for the ring it had stolen. The uspec had the good sense not to pretend that it did not know what my gesture meant. It took the ring off its finger and dropped it gingerly onto my hand. I closed my palm and turned my back on Fabin.

“How could you?” Fabiana demanded.

“Jukien said it was the only way to save you,” Fabin replied.

I heard the shrill sound of a sword being drawn in haste. “I will kill you!” The voice was Gamble’s.

Metal rung against metal. I assumed Fabiana was defending its younger. We’d trusted Fabin enough to give it a time to stand guard. Fabiana’s younger sibling. I placed the ring into my belt and walked over to the pond. I sat by it, letting my feet sink into the liquid. The clashing of metal continued. I splashed okun onto my face.

“Stop!” I gave the order and the sounds of fighting receded. “Get your sibling out of my sight before I kill it myself.”

I heard the shuffling of feet. I washed the blood away with the warm okun. A few seconds later and I would have been dead. It didn’t matter how many times I saw it, it always caught me by surprise when I was betrayed by the family of people I trusted. First Auxa, then Marina, now Fabin. Was there no one I could trust? Perhaps I should have learned my lesson already. I rose and walked away from the okun.

Fabiana and Fabin were gone.

Gamble, Matiu and I spent the rest of the night awake, with our hands on the hilts of our swords.