Part 3
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“We should have more slaves sirga.”

Cantonia was one of those nobles who thought it was a cruel and unusual punishment to have to fend for themselves. I’d made it clear from the start that I did not plan to buy or hire helpers for our little escapade. My identity was such a precious secret that I could only allow the most trustworthy people to be around me. Musa was the only imp I fully trusted…well, at least the only one I fully trusted with the secret of my identity. Uspecs like Cantonia, who hated to tend to themselves, had wisely elected to remain in Lahooni with their wealth and their slaves. It baffled me that the spoilt two-band noble had insisted on coming along. According to Fabiana, I owed the pleasure of its company to its ambitions. Cantonia was a wellborn noble, vaguely tied to the line of the sovereigns of a poor burg. If Fabiana was right, then Cantonia intended to make itself invaluable to me. It had done a rather uninspiring job of it so far.

“I’m bored. If we had more slaves, they could entertain us.” The uspec was one of many nobles sprawled out on a lounging bed in the large entertaining room in our dwelling.

I, unfortunately, lay on a lounging bed only two beds away from the uspec. I tried to keep my focus on the tome I flipped through. With any luck I would find more information of the ties between an infant’s brain and polluted lust. Five days had passed since I’d found my offspring in a lust den, and in those five days, it had continued to spasm. The spasms came at intervals, in jerking heads, or flapping limbs, and only lasted for a few minutes, but it was worrisome. I did not like it one bit.

“Ah, Musa! Come here imp!”

I lifted my gaze from my tome, turning it first to Cantonia who was sprawled out leisurely, its arms and legs hanging off the sides of its bed, to Musa who appeared to be rushing through the entertaining room with large tomes in its hands. It was no doubt on its way to Arexon.

“Leave it be,” I ordered.

Cantonia turned to stare at me, its lazy mouth flapping open like a jeja. “Of course, sirga, apologies.”

I turned my gaze back to the tome. It did not say anything about polluted lust! Why was it that tomes that spoke on infant brain ailments said nothing of lust and those on lust said nothing on infant brains? I sighed. The two were not supposed to be mixed. If not for Marcinus, I would not have had to learn how dreadfully they go together. I felt a sudden urge to have Marcinus’ head underneath my feet. I would stomp on it till its brain came leaking out of its nostrils.

“Sirga,” Binna called out. It lay on a bed beside mine. As soon as it called my name, I gave it my full attention. “Do you subscribe to the annihilates or the adjudicates theory of sparring?”

My gaze flickered to the large tome that it flipped through. My lips tipped upwards. This was another strange thing about my nobles. They read to learn about fighting. Reading could teach a lot, but I was not convinced that it could make a warrior out of an uspec. When it came to swordfight, I believed fully in learning by doing. Which was why we sparred three times a day, every day. Luckily, not all of my nobles were soft like Cantonia. There were at least sixty of them that were quite good, good enough to go up against Arexon’s soldiers. About thirty-five of them were average, like Binna. And the last five were soft ones like Cantonia, and young ones like Juke. Juke, at least, had found purpose. Cantonia did nothing more than whine. The foolish uspec had Fabiana and Binna’s lessons in politics to thank for the fact that it was not already dead. According to them, Cantonia was well liked amongst the higher echelons of Lahooni nobles and murdering the uspec could hinder my efforts to take back control of my port. I groaned. I already despised politics. When I was back at the helm of Lahooni, foolish uspecs like Cantonia would lose their tongues if they wagged it close enough for me to hear.

“Sirga?” Binna’s prompting pulled my attention back to it.

“What is the difference?”

Juke sat on the ground a few paces in front of me. It was playing with wooden figurines with my offspring. At least Nebula was calm now, it had been hours since its last spasm. As soon as Juke heard my question its head snapped up.

“Annihilates believe in fighting to kill while adjudicates believe in fighting to win.” Juke provided the answer. The young uspec had kept its oath and had remained by my offspring’s side since I returned it from the lust den. It only lefts its side when Nebula was asleep.

I smiled at the young one. “Which theory do you think is superior?”

Juke became pensive. It was always jarring how quickly it went from joviality to severity.

“Surely, it must be the adjudicates.” Cantonia cut in unsought. “One must always fight to win, but not necessarily fight to die.”

“I disagree.” The voice that broke into our little discourse was weathered. This was one of the oldest and most respected nobles in my honoraria. Darlin, it was a dignified one, the second offspring of an old sovereign. It bowed to me and I nodded back at it. Darlin was easily the best fighter in my honoraria. It was the one I sparred most with. Its bulk was large enough to rival mine, and we were of a height. The uspec picked up a blue fruit from a bowl and filled a cup with green wine.

“Only a fool fights to win,” Darlin said, “I fight to kill. Give me the annihilates way and I’ll beat you with it any day, any time.”

“You could hop on one foot and you would still beat Cantonia any day, any time,” Binna teased.

I roared with laughter.

“You jest, majestic, I am not quite that deplorable. Shall I prove it to you?” Cantonia had a smile on its face as it spoke, but there was something sly about the uspec. It reminded me of Manus, and any uspec who reminded me of Manus was one I instantly distrusted.

I could not let them spar. Cantonia had pansophy, perhaps that was one of the reasons why I disliked it. Its blade was made of the same metal as most of the blades of the uspecs in my honoraria. It was pansophy conduit, metal that allowed lifeforces to be transferred though it. Losing Cantonia would be no great loss, but I could not countenance losing Binna. It was Fabiana’s sibling. I would have to kill Cantonia if it caused Binna pain.

“I say we should all subscribe to the Fabricates theory!” Juke spoke up before either Cantonia or Binna could dwell on the challenge issued. “Let us fight as if in creation of an epic. Fight like legends I say!”

The uspecs laughed, diffusing whatever tension had been created when Cantonia challenged Binna.

Darlin had made its way to the inner hub of the arrangement of our lounging beds. “You would say that, wouldn’t you, young majestic,” it teased, patting Juke on the head before it collapsed onto an empty bed.

“Do you have dreams of being the subject of epic tales, young majestic?” Cantonia’s sweet voice was prickly, slightly mocking. I glared at it.

“I will take whatever glory I can find,” Juke stated, sharply.

I relaxed into my bed and rolled my eyes. Ranks and ranks and ranks. The hierarchy of my nobility was confusing. As the last offspring of a duke with several older offspring, Juke was most likely to remain a majestic for the rest of its life, never to inherit from its progenitor. Darlin, on the other hand, was the second offspring of a sovereign and so it was more likely to inherit. If it did inherit, it would become a sovereign, and sovereigns outranked majestics. But Cantonia was the offspring of a noble without lands, it would never be more than a two-band noble, which meant that Juke would always outrank it. I wished that ruling did not require me to know so much about each noble line, inheritance status of the offspring, and the politics in each line. I was still learning, still reading tomes to familiarize myself with the large port I was determined to claim.

“As you must. As we all must. And seeing as we have the honor of forming the imperial Nebud’s honoraria, I say there is much glory in store for us all.” Darlin ended its little speech by lifting its wooden cup in the air. The nobles cheered and silence returned to the room.

I turned my focus back to the tome I read and did my best to ignore Cantonia’s mutterings about boredom. Of course, it was too much to hope that Cantonia would stay quiet for long.

“Moat!” It called out. “Come, join us Moat, and entertain us with your epics. Perhaps our young majestic Juke could learn a thing or two to aid in its desire for glory. Come! Commoners normally make such tedious company, but you are always a valued exception.”

I had to resist the urge to hurl my dagger at Cantonia’s throat.

“Sirga?” Moat saluted and then requested permission to join.

I nodded at it, giving it the required permission. I found my gaze turning to my offspring. It sat on the ground in front of Juke, playing with a wooden carving of a bear. I thought the bear bore an uncanny resemblance to Marc. It held the wooden carving of a snow jackal in its other hand and then clashed the bear against the jackal. The bear won and the jackal was sent back to the ground.

I smiled.

My offspring’s gaze rose to meet mine. As soon as it saw my eyes locked on it, its single eye widened, and it squealed with joy. It let out an unintelligible string of words. Nebula still could not talk, but it no longer looked on me with fear. Its fear of me had only lasted that single afternoon, yet I was still wary every time our eyes met. Nebula sprang to its feet and hurled the wooden bear in the air.

At first, I thought it was having another attack of spasms, then I saw that its hand dropped as soon as it was done throwing the artifact.

To my utter astonishment, the wooden bear landed in my open palm, without me making any moves to catch it. I stared with wide eyes at my offspring.

“The mighty Nebula!” Darlin cheered. “Barely a month old and already throwing truer than Cantonia.”

Everyone laughed.

@dragonstar14 thank you for reading and I'm glad you enjoyed it

@cassbeat thaNk yOu as always...

@ayshow6102 thanks for reading, I don't know if I would say that Marcinus is acting childish, it's just having a really hard time...hopefully it gets better soon. But yeah, he shouldn't have taken Nebula there or let it follow...chai small child...anyway we will see. But wait, you've learnt pansophy now? Please how? I'm asking for a friend (Nebud)

@HotB I don't know oh, I think in this case Nebud's reaction is natural. It's worried about its offspring

@doctorexcel na real agbero, lol. Was it irrational though, its offspring was in danger. But I agree though, it does need to learn how to act like an imperial

@Fazemood Lol, as in, I felt the same way oh! First with Marcinus and Nebud. Mschew, Marcinus went extra tooo far. Hopefully it doesn't cause any more damage As for little Juke, that's my new friend, lol.

@Smooth278 I agree oh, why must the innocent always suffer ehn? So unfair!

“Enough!” I yelled. I’d had enough of Marcinus’ foolishness. Enough. I handed my offspring to an uspec in my honoraria and reached for my cutlass. I parried with Marcinus.

The uspec was good. Even under the influence of lust, even with its mind crazy, it fought with enough skill to exert me. The curtain to the lust den flapped open, and Marcinus shivered. It was that shiver, that distraction, which gave me the opening to disarm the uspec. I knocked the sword out of its hand. Marcinus threw itself blindly at my blade, in its mad desire to go back into the lust den. I pulled my cutlass back in the nick of time, if not, Marcinus would have been dead like the soldier it had killed. I sheathed my cutlass, grabbed a hold of the uspec and sent it sprawling with a hard blow to the head. With Marcinus subdued, the uspecs could get a hold of it and carry it with them in the air. Two more carried the corpse. I took hold of my still thrashing offspring, and darted into the sky, ignoring the eyes that turned to stare up at us.

I looked at the soldier’s corpse and knew that I should have killed Marcinus. I should have let it run into my blade. Even as enraged as I was, I had still sought to save it from itself. Would the guilt I felt over the uspec ever wane? It had sunk to this because it could not deal with the loss of its progenitor. It blamed me for that loss, as it blamed itself. Lust helped it forget. I knew that, but it had taken my offspring, the offspring that still thrashed in my arms in its desire to return to the lust den. What was I to do with it? If Arexon gave me the chance. Arexon did not take kindly to people killing its soldiers. And it was such a meaningless death.

I was tired.

We made our descent into the compound. As soon as we landed, the soldiers gathered around the corpse.

“Take Marcinus back to its suite and keep it from leaving.” I ordered the uspecs in my honoraria who’d carried Marcinus back. They bowed and then made to follow my orders. I would deal with Marcinus, but I had to see to my offspring first.

The little one fought me each step of the way. Its neck bent at several odd angles as it thrashed, pushing out with its limbs against my hold. It jerked in my arms. It was still drooling. It looked insane. I had only ever seen one insane uspec before. Raban. It came as a shock to me that I could still remember its name. It had been Fajahromo’s friend, an offspring of the Kaiser of Hakute. That insane uspec was dead but I could see flashes of it in my own offspring staring up at me. Its tongue darted out of its mouth and it flicked it across its lips. Then it laughed hysterically.

“Sirga!”

“Master!”

Juke and Musa both waited in my offspring’s room.

“Welcome sirga,” Binna was righting furniture that I had thrown about.

I could not speak to them, not when there were sobs in my throat. My offspring was still laughing. It thrashed against me, its tongue darted out of its mouth, and it laughed. I placed it down on its bed and it immediately jumped up and tried to shove me out of its way. Its laughter turned into whimpers. That tongue still darted out of its mouth. It fought so forcefully I would have been proud if it was not lust it was fighting for.

I panicked and struck it.

The room suddenly grew silent.

My offspring was too small to take the slap I’d dealt it without falling. It was still conscious, but it appeared dazed. It did not laugh, but it still stuck its tongue out of its mouth. I reached for another bottle of the blue vial and pulled it out of my belt. I held my offspring’s head in my left hand as I forced the blue liquid down its throat with my right.

It heaved, but it drank the liquid and moments later, it went on its knees and retched onto the hard sludge ground. The vomit was a brownish-blue. It was panting when at long last it stopped heaving.

The room was still silent.

My offspring sat and gazed up at me. Unshed tears filled its single center eye. It had never before had cause to fear me. Now it did not look at me with love, but with fear. I’d struck it.

“Why?!” I growled at the little uspec.

It inched back away from me, but it did not say anything. It still did not speak. If it could even speak. I remembered Moat’s words then. The guard had said that my offspring leaving with Marcinus was a common enough occurrence. What did that mean? How many times had my offspring been to the lust den without my knowing? How many times had it inhaled the polluted lust? Was that why it still did not speak? Images of its tongue darting out of its mouth filled my head. My mind replayed the sound of its hysterical laughter. Then I thought of Raban again. I was going to kill Marcinus.

“Never again!” I yelled. “You will never, ever, accompany Marcinus anywhere, ever again. Do you understand me?” I roared.

The tears fell from my little Nebula’s eye. It whimpered.

“Answer me!” I snapped.

It nodded. Even that was odd. Once it started nodding, it did not stop. Its head jerked up and down as if it was having spasms. I took a step towards it, to do what exactly, I was not sure, but the little uspec pulled away from me. It hugged its legs to its body all the while its nodding continued.

Juke knelt beside it. “I did not know sirga, we did not know that it was going out with the imperial Marcinus, we would never have, I mean, I would never have, I mean, I am sorry sirga. I will never let it out of my sight again. I swear.”

Nebula just continued to nod. My offspring, driven insane by polluted lust. I was pushed well beyond the point of rage. Unfortunately, there was no one in the room that I could take my anger out on.

I stormed out of Nebula’s room. I heard footsteps behind me. Binna, I guessed. It silently trailed me. I marched down one walkway, veered into another, and just kept going, until I was staring into the crestfallen faces of two uspecs wearing single golden armbands. My honoraria. They knew better than to get in my way. As soon as I approached them, they bowed and stepped away.

I stalked into Marcinus’ room. It was seated on its bed with its head in its hands. As soon as I stepped in, it rose its head and stared blankly at me. It was over the worst of the lust, but I could tell from the blankness in its stare that there was still some of it in its system.

I punched the uspec. It felt good to hear the sound of my fist slamming into its face.

“How could you?” I screamed. “How could you allow my offspring to accompany you on your depraved trips?”

Marcinus laughed. It lay half sprawled on its bed and it laughed. “It all comes full circle. You destroyed me is it not fitting that I destroy you?” It laughed. Its shoulders shook as if it was telling some great joke.

I looked at its empty eye socket. I had made it shun, I had made it into the thing it now despised. I knew Marcinus enough to know that it was the lust responsible for the words it had spoken, but that did not quell my rage.

Marcinus kept laughing.

I knew I had to kill it then. I forced the contents of the blue vial down its throat and waited for it to heave the last of the lust out of its system. This was were polluted lust differed from pure lust. Pure lust would be gone, it would burn itself out, but polluted lust affected the brain, it remained there. I thought of my offspring, of its tongue darting out of its mouth, of its spastic head nods.

I pulled my cutlass out of my belt.

Marcinus looked sane enough when it turned to face me. The immediate effects of the lust were gone, but the longing would remain.

“I will not fight you,” its voice was steady. The lust was gone. No more hysterical laughter. Not like my offspring though. My offspring’s brain was too fragile to shake off the effects of lust the way Marcinus did.

“Then you will die!” I yelled at it.

The rest passed in a blind fury. After Marcinus realized that I had every intention of killing it, it reached for its sword.

It was good, which only made it worse. Marcinus was still the most gifted fencer that I had ever seen. How could one with so much skill and discipline allow itself to descend to this?

We parried for a long time. I don’t know how long it lasted. It could have been mere seconds, or it could have been hours. Our blades clashed. I struck to kill and Marcinus struck to deflect my blows. It was still better with a blade than I was, but I fought with pure rage. I don’t know if that made me better or worse.

“Separate them.”

As soon as the cool order was given, hands clamped onto my arms, pulling me back. Marcinus did not fight against its restraints, I did.

“Unhand me!” I snapped.

The soldiers released me. I made to attack Marcinus but Arexon intercepted. It blocked my path.

“Sheath your cutlass,” Arexon ordered.

“The days of you ordering me about are long past.” I snapped back at it. I was enraged. Marcinus had turned my offspring insane. It had allowed its lust dependency to mar my offspring. I thought of Nebula rising in the hatch, the way it had slid its hand into mine, the way it had clung trustingly to me. That child was gone, and it was Marcinus’ fault. “Step out of my way Arexon, or I will run you through.”

Sound of swords being drawn echoed through the room. I looked around. There were several of my honoraria with their swords drawn ready to defend me, and several of Arexon’s soldiers with their swords drawn to defend their general. My honoraria would fight to the death in my name, and Arexon’s soldiers would do the same.

Arexon stared calmly at me. “This is not the way Nebud. You told me we need Marcinus for this crazy plan of yours to work, now you want to kill it. It took the life of one of my soldiers, yet you don’t see me fighting it, do you? This is not the way.”

What did I care about plans when my offspring was suffering? Marcinus was a blight. There had to be another way. I took a step towards Arexon and drew the rounded edge of my cutlass closer to its neck. “Step out of my way.”

Arexon did not flinch but its soldiers drew nearer.

If Arexon would not move, I would move it. Marcinus had to pay for what it had done to my offspring. Someone had to pay!

“Sirga!”

My gaze turned to the door.

“Ula is asking for you sirga,” Juke called out, “will you come to it?”

My offspring was asking for me? That meant that it was speaking. I was buoyed by hope.

All thoughts of Marcinus and vengeance fled my mind.

Perhaps my offspring was not as damaged as I’d once feared. I nodded at Juke, then I placed my cutlass back into its sheath and rushed after the young uspec. I heard Arexon give orders that Marcinus was not to be allowed to leave its suite. No more lust dens. I heard Marcinus’ screech, but I did not care. The corners of my lips pulled up in a smile. My offspring had asked for me. I realized that walking wasn’t getting me there fast enough. I stopped walking and began running, overtaking Juke at some point. I was so happy, I even patted the young uspec’s scalp as I ran past it. Nebula was finally speaking! And it had asked for me.

I ran into its room.

My offspring was asleep. I had missed its bout of speech. No worry, I would speak to it when it woke up.

“Master?”

I found Musa in a corner, sweeping up shattered fragments. “Nebula spoke,” I whispered with excitement, forcing my voice to stay low. I was so happy I wanted to leap with joy.

Musa appeared shocked. It shook its head. “It didn’t say a word Master, it just fell asleep after it stopped crying, not too long after you left the room.”

What? “But…” A little squeaking sound drew my attention to the curtain leading into Nebula’s room. Juke was standing there, its guilt plainly written on its face.

It ran out of the room before I could get my hands on it.

I thought Juke was smart enough to keep running. Maybe I would only have chased it for a little bit. But the little fool was standing in my office when I walked into it.

“You lied to me.” I wasn’t exactly sure what I was feeling.

“You, you, you looked like you were going to challenge the high Arexon, sirga, I was trying to save your life!” It shrieked and dodged my blow. “I’m sorry.” It dodged another half-serious blow. “Forgive me imperial one!” It yelped when I finally managed to grab hold of its scrawny arm.

“You lied to me.” I couldn’t believe it. The uspec was so small I could snap it like a twig. It had dared lie to me.

“For your own good sirga.” It tipped its chin up and stared square into my eyes. I heard the fear in its quivering voice as it said, “if you must beat me, then I will take my punishment like a soldier.” Then it closed its eyes and waited.

I rapped my knuckles on its head until it opened its eyes. “For my own good, eh?”

It gulped nervously and then nodded. “Yes sirga.”

“And you know my own good better than I do?” I asked in a calm tone.

Its eyes widened, then narrowed as if in serious thought. “Not often sirga, but sometimes.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. The effrontery! From such a small thing. I released my hold on its arm. I hadn’t realized how tightly I’d held it. There were imprints of my fingers on its green skin. It took a step back and smiled at me. Its outer eye was close to the bottom of its face so when it smiled so widely, the corner of its lip came close to touching its outer eye.

The uspec had big ears that it was still yet to grow into. I grabbed one of those ears and twisted till tears filled its eyes. “Never do that again,” I warned, then I released my hold and sent it to get my supper with a slap to the back of its head.

Once Juke was gone, I sunk into the highchair behind my desk and pondered what to do about Marcinus. I groaned when I thought of how I’d challenged Arexon. And Nebula, my innocent offspring who was caught up in all of this? Killing Marcinus would not undo what had already been done to it. As much as I hated to admit it, Arexon was right. We needed Marcinus to get Chuspecip.

Part 2
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“Ula!” Juke screamed. “Ula!” It ran into the room and crawled under the bed in search of the little one.

My heart raced. Did the plenum get my offspring? Did they find Nebula? Was there a traitor in our camp? Had the traitor delivered my offspring over to the plenum? There was no more effective way to force my surrender. I would give my life and more if it meant that my offspring could be free.

I stomped into the room and upended the tiny sludge desk off to the side. “Nebula!” I roared. It was nowhere. I ran blindly through my suite. I searched my room. I could hear the sound of objects shattering as I cast them against a wall. It was not in my room. I raced out of my room and tore through the rest of the dwelling shoving aside uspecs who were in my way. Several loud cries followed me. I smelled the blood of an uspec I’d shoved too hard against a wall. I could not stop. I could not.

I ran out of the dwelling.

There were uspecs behind me, several calling out to me. I could not hear them, not in my state of panic. Where could it be? I’d warned my offspring never to leave the compound without an escort. Musa was usually with it, when it was not ensconced with Arexon planning battle strategies. My offspring was smart, too smart to go wandering by itself.

I flew from one outhouse to another. None of them had the uspec I searched for. I could not think. Where would it go? Nowhere. Unless it was stolen. The plenum. I would crush them. I would kill them all. I would spill their blood until the entire existence was coated with it. If they’d caused me this pain, if they’d taken my offspring from me, I would destroy them.

“Nebud!” A hard hand clamped onto my upper arms and shook.

I shoved at the uspec but it would not budge. Its shaking just got more vigorous. It shook me till it felt as if my brain was rattling against the confines of my skull. It wasn’t till that moment that I allowed its jarring to break into my frazzled thoughts. I blinked, awareness slowly returning as I stared into Arexon’s scowling face.

“Nebud, calm yourself. Listen.” It ordered.

Listen to what? “Nebula is gone. I can’t find it Arexon,” I did not think I’d ever called the uspec by its name before, but in that moment, I was too distraught to care. How could this happen? I swore to myself that I would cause pain to the ones responsible for this.

Arexon’s scowl eased away. “Listen to Moat.” It jerked its head to the side, and with its hands clamped on my arms, I had no choice but to focus on the direction it was gesturing me towards.

I turned to stare at the soldier.

It stood at attention. It looked uncertainly at Arexon. Arexon nodded and the soldier turned its focus to me. “Sirga,” it began nervously, “one of the soldiers said it saw your offspring leave with the imperial Marcinus. It said it was a common enough occurrence that it did not think to stop the little one.”

Common enough occurrence? My offspring chasing Marcinus on its perverted trips to the dregs. Was the guard insane? “What guard?” I demanded, my hand flying to my cutlass. I would cut off that guard’s head. I would cut off its head and when I found Marcinus… “what guard!” I snapped at the soldier.

It stood at attention, but its gaze did not meet mine. If it would not tell me the name of the guard, then I would meet out the guard’s punishment on its own head. I pulled out my cutlass and swung it on a straight arc towards the uspec’s neck.

The soldier didn’t flinch.

“Stop this!” Arexon snapped. It deflected the swing of my cutlass with its dagger. If I was in a better frame of mind, I would have appreciated the speed with which Arexon pulled out its dagger and put it in position. Then again, if I was in a better frame of mind, I wouldn’t have tried to take off Moat’s head. Luckily, I was sane enough to realize that fighting with Arexon was not in my best interest. Besides, I had an offspring to fetch. I brought my cutlass down and stuck it back into its sheath. Then, I forced myself to breathe and calm. My heart was pumping hard.

“The lust den?” I spat the words out through clenched teeth. I already knew it to be true, that was Marcinus’ addiction after all. It lived in the dregs, and sometimes it gambled, but mostly it gorged itself on lust. How it all came full circle. It was Manus, Marcinus’ sibling who’d first introduced me to the drugging bliss of lust. At least Manus had been smart enough to get the lust pure, from the writhing of the imps. Marcinus got its lust from vapors. It was polluted lust and it left fools like Marcinus longing for more. And Marcinus had dragged my offspring into that filth. Polluted lust! I would kill it.

“Yes sirga,” the soldier, Moat, confirmed my thoughts.

I made to turn when Arexon restrained me. My mood was so foul that I came close to cutting Arexon’s hand off.

“Think!” It snapped. “Send your honoraria to fetch the young uspec, instead of going yourself.” Its words were whispered low, low enough that only the uspecs standing closest to us could hear.

I wrenched my arm free of Arexon’s hold. “I respect you sirga, but if you try to stop me again I will cut off your hand.”

Arexon scoffed. It shook its head, its fingers rising to massage its temple. “Then at least have the good sense to cover yourself and take several bottles of the emetic with you.” Arexon’s eyes roved over me in a way that made me feel small and somehow lacking. Then it turned its back on me and said to Moat, “on my orders, bar the imperial Nebud from leaving if it is not properly garbed.” Then it marched away before I could yell at it to rescind its orders. It shook its head and muttered as it left. I heard several ramblings of ‘idiot’ in all the spectral tongues and a few umani ones.

Arexon’s soldiers outnumbered my honoraria two to one, and they fought better than the average noble in my honoraria. The soldiers respected me, but they would never disobey an order from Arexon.

I sighed.

“Fetch my coat Juke.” I ordered. I could not see the uspec, but it was very rarely ever far from me. “Bring a case of the emetic with you.”

“Right away sirga!” Juke called out.

“I will prepare the bears sirga. Will an escort of four be sufficient?” Binna asked.

I glared at the uspec. Four, was it insane? One bear riding on the inter-port trail was already a stirring sight. Four would cause a commotion. “No bears.” I snapped. “We will fly.”

Binna frowned. “But my ailerons are not yet covered enough for flight sirga.”

“Then you will not be accompanying me.” I growled. I did not need an escort. I was Nebud! I had never required an escort before. I was quite capable of killing on my own. In fact, in the mood I was in, I welcomed the chance to kill quite a large number of uspecs on my own. Perhaps I could slaughter all the uspecs in the lust den Marcinus had taken my offspring too. After I slaughtered Marcinus. What would drive Marcinus to take my one month old to a lust den? I knew that it had lost its mind, but I did not think that Marcinus had become quite so unstable. To take my own offspring…I would wring its neck.

“Please sirga, I am ready, let me go with you.”

It was so stifling, to be surrounded by uspecs all eager to please, to prove themselves to me. When had I become the uspec that was worshipped? The moment Fabiana convinced them all that I was Calami’s offspring. I knew it. I had lived it for weeks, still it felt strange.

Leadership was not quite what I had expected it to be. “My desire to fly is no reflection on your skill Binna. I need to see my offspring safe and flying is the safest way to get there.”

The uspec looked ready to argue. It took one look at my face, and whatever it saw there made it reconsider. It bowed its head formally to me. “As you please imperial one.”

Juke returned at that moment. It ran up to me and extended its arm with my jacket draped over it. I took the jacket from the young uspec’s arm and forced myself into it. Then I snapped the case open and stared at the rows of blue vials. Before Marcinus and its disgusting habit, I’d had no need to keep these vials in stock. Now we wasted money on the purgatives because the fool could not keep itself from crawling to lust dens. I had forgiven its habit, even taken some of the blame for it. But then it got my offspring involved. It was still so young and so fragile. The last thing it needed was to imbibe polluted lust.

I pulled out three of the vials and tossed them into my belt.

“If it please you sirga, I will accompany you.” Moat.

I wanted to refuse. I did not need an escort, I never had. But things were different now. Everyone on the inter-port trail was aware of the bounty on my head. It was too large of an amount not to have tongues wagging. I nodded sharply at the uspec, right as I gave my ailerons leave to flap.

Moat was not the only one who followed me. Six of them did. I could tell from the golden bands on their arms that four of them were nobles in my honoraria, the other two were Arexon’s soldiers. We darted through the sky with singular purpose. The dregs was not so far from our compound on the inter-port trail. We’d tried moving further away, hoping that the distance would cool Marcinus’ longing, but the further we went the more the uspec seemed to crave it. It was my fault that it had descended into lust, but my guilt would not stop me from killing it for taking my offspring with it.

We dropped down from the sky. I landed first, with enough time to turn around and stare at the other uspecs’ landing. Something in the enlarging of the greens dots reminded me of the day in my slum, years ago, when I was staring at the rare sight of uspecs descending and wondering if I would ever meet great uspecs. I wished I’d known then who I was. Now the greatest uspec that had ever existed relied on me to save it. Chuspecip’s life was in my hand. The thought terrified me.

I turned around and walked towards the lust den.

“Down the emetic,” I ordered, as I reached for one of the blue vials in my belt. I uncorked the vial and imbibed its contents. The blue drops made their way through my throat. I hated the taste, and I hated the feeling of the lust when we walked into the white fumes that filled the room.

Thanks to Marcinus, I’d been to much more of these dens than I’d ever wanted to. They all looked the same. A flat room with cheap lounging beads cramped together. Metal bowls hung from posts in the wall, the sources of the white fumes that filled the room. Anyone who’d had pure lust could immediately tell the difference. There was just something wrong with the polluted version. The bliss was perverse, the ecstasy somehow stunted. The climax always left the uspecs slavering for more. It was disgusting to hear their moans. Each bed was packed full. The uspecs were stuck together like jejas in a can. They all groaned together, their eyes pulled apart in ecstasy. I could hear some of them climax while others appeared to just be getting started.

“Fifty pieces of value per head, noble one.” Two bulky guards stopped me before I could go further into the room. Fifty pieces of value to enter. Uspecs threw away fifty pieces of value on this filth. I had to admit that I had never despised lust, not until Marcinus fell slave to it.

Normally I would pay the guards their money, but I was in too foul of a mood. “Out of my way.” I snapped.

One of the guards made the fatal mistake of laying a hand on me. I pulled out my dagger and slit the uspec’s throat. It fell to the floor with blood gushing out of the wound on its neck. I looked from my blood-stained dagger to the second guard. It gulped and then stepped out of the way. A wise decision.

Unfortunately, the emetic was not a blocker. It would take away the effects of lust if imbibed after breathing in the fumes, but it did not keep an uspec from feeling the effects of the lust if imbibed before, it just slowed it down. I found that I was too enraged to give much thought to the twisted pleasure of the polluted lust.

I marched through the rows of beds, kicking away mangy legs and sturdy stools. My escort moved apart. We’d been through this so many times with Marcinus that they knew to divide. The sooner we were out, the better. The uspecs I kicked fixed me with bent grins. One of them plopped its head back, on the bed it shared with two other uspecs, and smiled a crooked smile. It moaned and its eyelids fluttered. Fajahromo’s features flashed in the uspec’s face. If I had not heard Moat’s voice at that instant, I would have stabbed my dagger into the uspec’s center eye.

“Sirga!”

My head reared up. The ecstasy was starting to get to me. I loathed Marcinus for bringing me to this.

I walked doggedly towards Moat. It took some time for me to make my way around the cluttered room. When I finally reached it, I was relieved to find my offspring in one piece. My relief quickly went away when I found it clamped between two strange uspecs. Its head was bent at an odd angle and its tiny green lips were pulled back revealing white teeth. It drooled. A line of spittle came out from the corner of its mouth. It had a grin of pure ecstasy on its face.

Marcinus was not even with it. Moat found Marcinus on the other side of the room. It had left my offspring alone, between two strange uspecs. I could not have been more enraged. The sight of my offspring broke my heart. I picked the little one up, cradling it in my arms as I walked out of the room.

The moment my offspring was out of the fume-filled room, it let out a gruesome shriek. The little one flapped around in my arms. Its arms flew and its hands lashed out at my face. It scraped at the skin underneath my head guard. It took me a long time to realize that it was fighting because it wished to return to the lust.

Marcinus’ growl pulled my attention back. It took two of my uspecs to restrain it. It was fighting even worse than my offspring. It threw itself back against one, knocked itself free and grabbed a sword from the other. The uspec, the second of Arexon’s soldiers who’d accompanied us, tried to reassure Marcinus, but Marcinus was so lust-crazed that it drove a sword through the soldier’s neck.

cassbeat:
Ha obehid pls dont let anything bad happen to Nebula.... Thanks for the update

Thank you for reading and let's see what happened to Nebula...

Arexon took the cup from the young uspec’s eager hand. “Gratitude young majestic,” Arexon said.

“Gra-gratitude high one.” Juke’s voice shook.

It rushed back to stand behind me as I gulped down my wine. “Do you mind if I make a roll? Three days of grain and hard-dried meat has left me quite famished.” I asked Arexon as soon as my cup was empty.

Arexon jutted its chin towards the table in assent.

“Sweet buns and nama meat?” Juke asked, rushing forward before I could even attempt to make my own sandwich.

I smiled at the young uspec and nodded. “Gratitude.” Then I walked over to Arexon and sat on the sludge chair on the opposite side of its desk. Musa’s head was in a tome, it pored through the pages, its eyelids fluctuating over its empty eye sockets as it read.

“We finally received a response from Manus.” Arexon stated without preamble. It jerked its head towards a scroll on the far side of its desk.

I looked at the scroll still in its lavender tube. “What does it say?”

“Manus is too smart to leave a summons such as this unprotected. It is addressed to Marcinus and it will require Marcinus’ identity to open it.”

“Oh.” Katsoaru, another part of Chuspecip’s plan. We needed them all, we needed all of the ports if we were going to stand a chance against the plenum. I knew that Chechin had seen Marcinus with us. It would no doubt have reported to the plenum that Arexon, Marcinus and I had acted as one to free Lahooni from the plenum’s hold.

If only Chechin had acted as we’d expected. Its hatred for iriras had appeared so strong, much too strong to go on serving them.

Over thirty percent of the plenum’s forces were Monachooni uspecs. If Chechin broke away from them, those troops would leave to. That was what I had expected when I sent Chechin running from Lahooni. But instead of running home, the uspec had run back to the plenum, which meant the plenum was still much too strong in soldiers.

Juke placed a wooden plate on the desk and another filled cup of wine. I nodded absentmindedly at it, before tearing into the roll it had made. The ratio of nama meat to sweet bun was perfect. I thought with the succulent food in my mouth. My gaze moved over to Arexon’s war map.

We’d planned our exit perfectly. And with the help of the uspecs loyal to us in Lahooni, the plenum had to be roughly eighty percent sure that I was still in Lahooni. But then, Fabianna had donned my appearance and gone on its walkabout to keep the plenum from being a hundred percent sure. I’d also gone on a tour myself, with Marcinus, back when Marcinus was still sane. With me on one side of the inter-port trail, Fabianna, appearing as me, on another, and strong rumors of my presence in Lahooni, the plenum could not be sure where I was. They’d sent sixty percent of their forces to retake Lahooni. Ten percent of those forces had died when they tried to march on the commune road.

I’d been right the first time I walked on that commune road. There was smog sand buried underneath it. I gave Fabin, Fabiana’s younger, the token to dissolve the hard quicksand and drop the uspecs into the smog sand below. It was like the lit okun, but for hoonis. Everyone not of the hooni spectrum who the smog sand touched would die instantly. Those of the hooni spectrum that lived and made it through to the other side were immediately cut down by the Lahooni army headed by Jukien. The reports we received from Lahooni showed that the plenum was using pious makers to build a bridge. They were building a bridge out of non-pansophic metals. Once the bridge was complete, Lahooni would be overrun. The plenum was losing a lot of soldiers to that bridge, but once it was done…Lahooni would fall. We had to divide the plenum soldiers before that could happen.

“Where is Marcinus?” I knew the answer, but I had to ask. We needed Marcinus to put pressure on Manus, to make its sibling paranoid. Manus had to believe that Marcinus would return to Katsoaru with an army. The more paranoid Manus became, the more of the plenum’s forces that would be taken from Lahooni and Chiboga to Katsoaru. There was still no war in Chiboga. The plenum had sent a missive to Arexon, ordering its return to face them. Arexon had handed Animaton over to Chechin, so it still remained to be seen if the plenum knew Animaton was not the pious one they wanted. Their last missive to Arexon had simply stated that it was to return to Chiboga. They knew Arexon was on the inter-port trail, they just didn’t know where.

“Where do you think?” Arexon replied, in answer to my earlier question about Marcinus’ whereabouts.

I sighed. I’d hoped Marcinus’ bad habit would have stopped before I returned. Now, I realized that was just wishful thinking on my part. No matter how out of control Marcinus became I could not bring myself to judge it. It was my fault after all that Marcinus had sunk to the dregs. “Where did it get the money?” I snapped.

Arexon’s cool gaze cut through me.

I looked away. I felt old, much older than my actual age. Every time I looked at Marcinus it felt as if my heart was breaking. What happened to the young imperial from Katsoaru, the one that had forced me to see it as a friend despite myself? I had ruined that imperial and Marcinus had become an uspec I could not recognize.

I took a swig of my wine.

“So, how did you find my patron?” Arexon asked.

I turned my focus back to the uspec. “The great Auxa sends its greetings. It was very receptive to your offer.”

Arexon grinned. “I thought it might be. And the troop mobilization from Aboga to Chiboga?”

“Progressing.”

Arexon sighed. It stood up and marched over to its war map. I found myself following it.

“The problem,” Arexon said, “is that even with all the Chiboga annexed troops in Aboga, we still don’t have enough to bear the brunt of the plenum’s war.”

“With all due respect, high one, you are not bearing the brunt, Lahooni is.” Binna spoke up. I’d forgotten that the uspec was with us.

Arexon stared blankly at it. Its brows furrowed and then it shook its head. “Of course majestic, but how long will that last?”

It was a sore topic. All of the uspecs in my honoraria had family in Lahooni. Binna and Fabiana had come with me, but their siblings Fabin and Fib remained with their progenitor Fabian. If Lahooni fell, I did not think the plenum would show mercy to the nobles who helped me escape.

“The bridge will be built. The plenum will build the bridge into Lahooni if they have to do it on the corpses of their dead soldiers. Once that bridge is built, Chiboga will bear the brunt of the war, and I just don’t have the soldiers to win.”

“You don’t need to win, high one, you just need to hold the plenum off till the imperial Nebud is able to return Chuspecip to its rightful place.”

“Yes,” Arexon’s eyes caught and held mine, “I always forget that part.”

My honoraria believed fully in my mission as the last brio, but Arexon did not share their faith. It did not think that Chuspecip was still alive, and it did not think that Chuspecip had the power to save our existence. I had to look away from Arexon’s piercing stare. Chuspecip was weak. It was too weak.

I turned my gaze back to the war map. The bulk of the plenum’s soldiers was around Lahooni. Twenty-five percent, which was still a large number, surrounded Chiboga. Ten percent was in Hakute and the last five percent wandered the inter-port trail for signs of us.

“Why does the plenum have so many troops around Hakute?” Juke asked.

“The Isle of Brio.” I replied distractedly. The plenum had too many troops. The only way that we stood even the slightest chance of victory was if Chechin broke off from the plenum. Over thirty percent of the plenum’s troops would return to Monachooni with it. But it had been a whole month since Chechin found out about Checha being an irira. If it had not broken from the plenum yet, it was not likely to.

“Go and see your offspring Nebud,” Arexon advised, “staring at the map will only drive you crazy.”

“We need to find Fabiana.” I ignored Arexon’s advice. “Fabiana’s contingent is the only distraction that will give the Aboga troops enough time to reach the great Auxa. Without the reinforcements from Aboga, Chiboga will fall, and it’ll fall quickly. If Chiboga falls quickly, Lahooni will fall quickly, and vice versa. The plenum must be divided.”

Arexon shook its head. “Once the plenum’s bridge into Lahooni is complete, it’ll take at most twenty percent of their troops to defeat Lahooni.”

“You underestimate our forces high one,” Binna said.

“Stop being so prickly,” Arexon snapped, “this is war and war is about facts not hope.”

“It is not hope that makes me defend my port’s troops, it is skill. If you doubt the skill of Lahooni blade, I will be more than happy to show you our mettle.” As it spoke Binna wrapped its hand around the hilt of its sword and made to pull the weapon out.

Arexon’s eyes narrowed at the sound of the weapon being drawn. “If you pull your sword on me, you’d better be ready to use it.”

It was all getting out of hand. Binna pulled its sword out of its scabbard before I could stop the foolish uspec. I reached out to hold it back, but it evaded my grasp and advanced on Arexon.

Arexon looked more irritated than anything else. It pulled its sword out of its sheath and parried with Binna. It was ridiculous to watch. Binna was young, it was still an uspec growing. It had no bulk. I knew from parrying with it that it was adequate with a blade, but adequate was not nearly enough to go up against Arexon. Arexon struck its blade against Binna’s with so much force that the sword dropped from the uspec’s hand. Binna’s eyes widened as Arexon brought the sharp end of its blade down towards the uspec’s neck. A few inches away, Arexon tilted its sword so that the flat side struck Binna’s side.

Binna fell from the blow.

I raced to the other side of the table. “Was that really necessary?” I asked Arexon, after I made sure Binna was alright. The uspec was foolish to think it could go up against Arexon and win, but it was bleeding. Arexon had cut into its side with the sharp end of its sword when it struck it.

I looked at Binna’s face. The uspec was in pain, but it did not show it. It did not flinch when I prodded at its wounds. And when I stretched out a hand to help it up it grasped my hand and pulled itself to its feet. It had the makings of a great fighter. Tough and foolhardy. I patted it on the shoulder.

“Go and see your offspring Nebud.” Arexon ordered.

This time I was annoyed by the curt way it dismissed me. I turned to glare at it, but its focus was back on its maps. I shook my head and walked out of its office.

“Master!” Musa called after us.

I stopped and turned to face the imp.

“Don’t take it to heart, domina Arexon is under a lot of pressure.”

I smiled sadly at the imp. How the times had changed what we had. Now it was explaining away Arexon’s behavior. As if I could ever hold anything against Arexon. “How are you?” I asked.

“Very well, master, very well.”

I nodded. “Good. You take good care of Arexon,” I did not add any comments about how it had once taken care of me. The imp seemed about to say something, but I sent it back to Arexon before it could speak. I didn’t wait to see if it would obey, I turned around and headed back to my suite.

I longed to clap eyes on my offspring.

Maybe it will be so overjoyed to see me that it will speak the way it hadn’t in the month since its birth. Its lack of speech troubled me. I hated to think of my first offspring, but at times all I could do was compare them. The first had been bigger, this one was smaller. The first one had spoken in a week; this one hadn’t spoken in a month. I shook my head, chastising myself. It would take as much time as it took for the young uspec to speak, and when it did speak, I would be proud, whatever its first words were.

I passed by a number of Arexon’s soldiers and my honoraria on my way to my suite.

“The high Arexon is a great fighter.” Binna grudgingly praised.

I wished Binna hadn’t said that. Right on cue Juke began chattering, “did you see the way it disarmed you? A single blow Binna, and your blade was out. Swipe, cling, ding, blade gone. Amazing! Pater did not know that noble uspecs could fight like that. ‘Stand tall, a swordfight is a dance not an attack’. Pater should see the high one fight and it will know that a swordfight is an attack. I must train under the high one. Will you speak with the high Arexon on my behalf sirga?”

I wondered if I had ever been so young. I knew that I had certainly never been so chatty.

“You should be asking to train with our imperial, not the high Arexon. Our imperial beat the mighty Checha, our imperial can defeat anyone.”

“Of course I want to train with our imperial, but I would also like to train with the high Arexon. One can never acquire too much information. You know Binna, it was your sibling, the majestic Fabiana, that postulated the dichotomy between the standard tutorials in a noble’s sparring education and…”

Juke went on with its rambling. I realized, as I listened to the young uspec speak that I had become quite fond of it. I had become fond of all of them. They were my responsibility, the honoraria. Still, it came as a relief when I reached my offspring’s room and the young uspec finally stopped talking. I had a huge grin on my face as I pulled the curtains aside. My offspring always ran to greet me whenever I returned from a trip.

I walked into its room and braced myself for the impact.

None came.

The room was empty.

“Nebula!” I screamed my offspring’s name out at the top of my lungs. I was frozen with terror as my frantic eyes took in the state of the empty room.

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VOLUME NINE
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Part 1
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On the Inter-port Trail
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I jumped off Marc’s back and turned to examine the scene which greeted my return.

It was really always the same whenever I was gone for more than a few days, away from the well-meaning, yet awfully stifling, eyes of my honoraria. I’d been gone for three days this time. Who knew that three days could feel so long? On one hand, it had felt good to be on my own, on the other hand, I sighed, I had missed my offspring. It was a month old now and it was still yet to speak. I feared that each day I was away could be the day the little one decided to release its first string of intelligible sound.

Things had not gone exactly as I’d expected. I’d thought to be out of the inter-port trail long before now, but then I could not have predicted Chechin’s decisions. On the bright side, there were advantages to the forced delay.

I combed my hand through Marc’s thick fur, watching out of the corner of my eyes as the guards in my honoraria, upon sighting me, burst into action. There were only forty-eight of them in the large compound Arexon and I owned, but it felt strange to know that those forty-eight lives were sworn to me.

A month with them, and it still felt odd. The uspecs in my honoraria were all offspring of Lahooni nobles. They’d all willingly chosen to leave their homes and accompany me on my mission to return the founder to its rightful place. I had not asked for them, and I had been unable to refuse their aid. I was still coming to terms with what it meant to be an acknowledged imperial. Of course Jukien and its ilk refused to acknowledge me until I proved myself with Calam’s ring, but their offspring listened to Fabiana. Once Fabiana acknowledged me, the uspecs of our generation did as well. A hundred of them left their lines and swore themselves to my service. Two of them had died keeping their oaths. They’d died to save my life. I tried not to ponder too deeply on the uspec who’d put itself between my chest and a sword. I could still remember the smile that had filled its face when it died in my arms. This was what it meant to be imperial.

I forced myself out of the dire thoughts as the first of my honoraria raced towards me. Juke was its name, last offspring of the duke Jukien who’d refused to acknowledge me as heir to Lahooni. The uspec was thirteen years old, the youngest amongst my honoraria, really the youngest uspec in the entire compound. It was so young it had just one single cyan scale on its neck, one outer eye socket formed and filled, and bare ailerons. My eyes caught on the three golden armbands it wore on each arm. The presence of that gold reminded me that I was not just served by uspecs but by nobles. How strange my world had become.

“Welcome sirga,” Juke bowed in greeting when it reached me.

Marc trumpeted and wrapped its trunk around Juke. My bear liked the young uspec, and from the way the uspec chuckled and stroked Marc’s fur, it was obvious it returned the bear’s feelings.

‘Sirga.’ When we’d begun our little expedition, the line between my noble honoraria and Arexon’s soldiers had been perfectly clear. It had been more than just the difference in the hooni and boga features. My honoraria had spoken different, looked different. They’d all called me ‘imperial one’ then. Now the line between them was blurred and the honoraria called me ‘sirga’ as Arexon’s guards did. A month living together would do that to uspecs.

Juke extricated itself from Marc’s embrace right as more uspecs poured in. It was an uspec with silver earrings who took Marc away, after saluting me.

“Welcome sirga,” Binna greeted.

I turned to the uspec and nodded. It was funny how little of a similarity I had seen between Fabiana and its sibling the first time we’d met. Now that Fabiana was gone and its two-time younger was all I had to remind me of it, I started seeing Fabiana in Fabinna.

I took off my coat, glad to be free of the constriction. The coat covered the entire length of my body and had a heard guard attached to the collar. It was necessary to hide my identity from all the wandering eyes scouring for even the slightest news of my whereabouts. We’d done a good job keeping the plenum distracted, but they’d still gotten duplicates of my appearance to as many people as they could. There was a large bounty on my head, three hundred pieces of worth to be exact, a halcyon’s epic. I had lost two of my honoraria in a fight that broke out when a rowdy group of uspecs sought to take me to the plenum.

I’d barely taken the coat off before Juke artfully plucked it from my hands and draped it over its arm. It looked up at me as one would stare at a hero. I had done nothing to merit such worship, but the uspec was in awe of me. It had been from the moment it snuck out of its progenitor’s dwelling to join my honoraria. I had tried to send the uspec back but Fabiana had pleaded on its behalf.

“How was your journey sirga? Eventful?” Juke asked.

I smiled at the uspec and nodded. “Very.”

It grinned. “I bet it is a tale of gore and glory sirga. I can’t wait to hear it! Musa has told me of all your exploits, from your battles in Katsoaru, to your escapades with the high Arexon, to the travails of Nefastu…” the young uspec chattered away.

I took my attention from Juke’s excited recounts of my life to the compound where we housed a hundred of Arexon’s soldiers, forty-eight of my honoraria, myself, Arexon, Marcinus, and Musa.

It was a large compound. It had cost a fortune to purchase the required form cards to build a place such as this on the inter-port trail. But it’d had to be done. The ground was uninspiring hard sludge, as all of the resting places were. Every building, every structure, in the compound was made of sludge with varying degrees of form. It was almost exactly like the place I’d stayed in during my first trip on the inter-port trail. Back then it had just been Musa and I travelling together, neither one of us having any idea where our path was leading. The voice in my head, which had started out as an enemy, was now turned into our salvation. Chuspecip, I still felt it, but we were now of such singular purpose that it barely made itself known.

We walked through the empty patches between rows of outhouses. The soldiers and the bulk of my honoraria slept in those outhouses. The hard-sludge outhouses formed a perimeter around the much larger dwelling in the middle. Arexon, Marcinus, and I shared that dwelling with Musa, my offspring and a few of my honoraria as well as the highest ranking of Arexon’s soldiers. Musa was the only imp we had with us. It was odd to think of Musa and not immediately feel the rage of its betrayal as I once had before. Things were not the same between us, I feared they would never be, but we had reached a new equilibrium. As Marcinus and I had reached a new equilibrium. And Fabiana…I was so tired of all the losses.

I eyed the small pond longingly as I made my way towards the entrance to our dwelling. It had cost so much more to be able to purchase form cards that came with the design and thought to keep a pond filled. We still had to revert to the faucet for clean okun for drinking and cooking. My stomach grumbled.

“Any news from Fabiana?” I asked, cutting Juke off in the middle of what I assumed was an imitation of my fight against Checha. This was the honoraria’s favorite story. I could not for the life of me imagine what Fabiana had told them about that fight because whenever they spoke of it, there was reverence in their tone. They did not know how close I had come to dying. How much blood I had gifted to the hatch. They did not know the pains I had taken. If they knew, they would not look up to me as much as they did.

Binna shook its head. It was the only one who shared my sorrow about Fabiana’s disappearance. “Still no word, sirga.”

Ah! I barely refused the urge to scream. Fabiana! What a fool. What a righteous fool! What would I do if the uspec never returned? Fabiana was part of our deception. It had taken my appearance, and now it led a hundred soldiers, fifty of my honoraria and fifty of Arexon’s soldiers, on a march towards Chiboga. The plan was for Fabiana to distract the plenum guards around Chiboga in time for the mission I’d completed to bear fruit. That mission, the one I had just returned from, had involved delivering a missive to ensure that if troops from Aboga could make it through to the plenum guard around Chiboga, then they would be snuck into Chiboga. Arexon needed those extra troops if it was to stand even the slightest chance of beating the plenum. Fabiana was supposed to send word every day. Two weeks had passed since we’d last heard from it. I hated to think of what its silence meant.

“Where is my offspring?”

“In its room sirga,” Binna replied.

I nodded. I was barely through the curtains into the dwelling when Moat, one of Arexon’s inner circle stopped me. It saluted, its right-hand crossing over its chest. I saluted back. “In clover,” I ordered. “What is it?”

“General Arexon requests your presence in its office.”

I scoffed to myself. Arexon did not request anything. I ached for my offspring. It had been three whole days since I’d last seen it. When an uspec was as young as mine, three days was a long time to be away from it. I turned my head slightly and stared at the sludge walkway which led to the suite I shared with my offspring. Arexon’s suite were on the opposite end. I could keep Arexon waiting, at least for a little while, just long enough to embrace my offspring. No, it would be rude, and after everything Arexon had done for me, I owed it more than that. I swiveled my head and turned back to face the soldier. I nodded in gratitude and turned to follow the walkway that led to Arexon’s suite.

“Do you think we will ever see the majestic Fabiana again, sirga?” It was Juke who asked the question.

I put my hand on Binna’s shoulder and squeezed. It was hard to believe that it had only been a month ago that Fabiana had introduced me to its family and I had been wary of touching them. Now I placed my hand on Binna’s shoulder and squeezed without giving it much thought. I comforted the uspec as I would have comforted its elder sibling.

Binna turned to stare at me. “Is there nothing that you can tell us to aid? Fabiana mentioned that with the last brio you can…” it trailed off, “forgive my impertinence, imperial one.” It looked down and bowed its head.

I was imperial one now, and noble uspecs looked to gain my favor. Again, I was left to ponder on how strange my world had become. I released my hold on the uspec. “It is harder to feel Chuspecip’s lifeforms on the inter-port trail,” I said. It was partly true. The other part was a secret I was set on keeping from everyone, even Fabiana’s well meaning sibling. I was not yet willing to let anyone know that Chuspecip was getting weaker. I could feel its hold on me slipping. With each day we wasted on the inter-port trail, the Founder’s strength waned. No one wanted to hear this truth and so I refrained from saying it.

Binna nodded, but my words had done nothing to console it. I wished that there was more I could do. But I could not feel the lifeforms. I just could not feel them. We were running out of time to save Chuspecip, but there was still so much that needed to be put in place before we could even attempt the journey.

Two soldiers stood at attention in front of Arexon’s office. As soon as they saw me, they saluted. I pulled the curtain aside and walked into the office.

Arexon was seated on a highchair behind a large sludge desk. The desk was littered with parchment. Off to the side of the office there was a sludge table with a rough map sketched onto it. It was Arexon’s war map. The uspec had arranged little figurines around the area to show the deployment of the plenum’s troops. I glanced at that map and flinched at the thousands of plenum soldiers camped around Lahooni. It was all part of the plan, but I could not help my shiver of apprehension.

“Master!” Musa’s cheerful voice pulled Arexon’s focus from the furious scribbling it was doing on a parchment scroll.

These days Musa spent more time with Arexon than it did with me. It was part of the new equilibrium our relationship had settled into. I nodded in greeting at the imp before turning my gaze to Arexon. For all the worrying and strategizing it did, it was not much changed. It was still all bulk and raw power.

“Salutations sirga.” I greeted with a neck bow.

Arexon nodded at me. “Salutations. You have returned.” It stated.

I chuckled. “Yes sirga, and I mean to see my offspring, clean in the pond, and eat a freshly cooked meal, in that order.”

“Is that your way of telling me that I am intruding on your homecoming plans?” Arexon drawled.

Only Arexon could make a question sound like a threat and a teasing all at the same time. There was a time when Arexon’s imperious tone would have abraded me, but I was long past that now. Arexon had sacrificed more than its life for me, on more than one occasion. It had earned the respect it demanded.

“Of course not, sirga.” I turned my back on the uspec and walked towards its snack table. The long table held several fruits, pastries, dried meats, and wine decanters with wooden cups. Every uspec in our compound knew that Arexon’s office was always open to them.

Juke ran past me and picked up a decanter filled with my favorite type of wine. It poured the wine into a wooden cup and rushed to present the filled cup of wine to me. The young uspec was so eager to please. I took the cup from it and nodded my thanks. It bowed and prepared a cup of Arexon’s favorite wine for the uspec.

@Rynne I'm sorry, I wish I had enough written/had the time to write enough to post that frequently. I really appreciate that you want to read more of my works I just wish I had the time to write more frequently. When/if that changes I will definitely post more frequently!

@Skywalker909 welcome from the shadows former ghost reader! It really depends on what you call a god. But the Kuwor is very certainly a god, whether or not Chuspecip is one too, well that is a matter of opinion (thus the Kuworytes vs the Uspecipytes). But the Kuwor is the overall creator of this marked world, and the creator of the Chus so it is certainly a god. But the Kuwor is very different from Chuspecip, it doesn't operate the same. I shouldn't say this not to spoil anything, but I will say that the Kuwor does not deign to lower itself to the squabbles of lower beings (though there are exceptions...but that's all I'll say for now). Thank you for reading!

@eROCK247 Yes, I'm half Esan. And you're right, if the plenum does succeed then the invasion will be easier, but just to be clear, destroying chuspecip is in the interest of the imps not really of the umanis. The umanis are just living their care free lives in the standard existence.

@RealLordZeus Thank you, thank you, much appreciated

@IntellectLord I'm glad you're excited, much more exciting things coming soon

@tunjilomo Thank you! It's so awesome that you already want it to end Okay oh. We're about to start the last volume. I'm planning to be done with writing and posting around June (hopefully, if I don't get too busy with other stuff)

@Fazemood LOL! Yay, it's taken some time but you're finally feeling with Nebud. I'm happy There is indeed still a war to win. Thanks for reading and enjoying it!

I smiled to myself. My consciousness must have left the room for some time, because the moment I looked down, Fabiana was suddenly kneeling in front of me.

“Let me act as your champion, sirga, let me fight my senior cognate Salin for you.” It pleaded.

I almost laughed. “Get up Fabiana, neither of us are going to have the satisfaction of killing Salin.”

It seemed shocked. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Foild’s quiet departure. It was trying to escape. The only reason it still drew breath was because of Fabiana. I created a circle of lit okun around it. It stopped moving, instantly, as if it was frozen to the spot. With that taken care of, I turned to face Marcinus. I pulled my cutlass out of my belt and gave it to the uspec. I knew that I could never make up for the loss of its progenitor, but I could give it this, a fair fight against Salin. As long as Salin did not touch Marcinus, it could not use pansophy on it, and I could ensure that no spectra was used to tip the scales.

Marcinus took the cutlass from me and approached Salin.

Salin unsheathed its sword. I had expected it to try other things, maybe even try to use spectra. It did not. It was already dead, perhaps it knew that. Marcinus advanced and Salin countered its blow. Salin took time to prepare for the next blow, but Marcinus was already attacking again. I’d forgotten how good of a fighter Marcinus was. Its skill with a sword was uncanny. None, not even Arexon, had the grace with a sword that Marcinus did. What Arexon lacked in grace it made up for with brute strength. Unfortunately, Marcinus was not in the mood for playing. The battle should have lasted longer, it should have been drawn out. I would have drawn it out, but Marcinus did not. It got close to Salin, sliced at the hand holding its sword, which forced Salin to release the weapon, then it swiveled. Marcinus swiveled, holding its cutlass out. As it turned back to face Salin, it struck the cutlass out, and lanced Salin in the chest. Marcinus pulled the cutlass out, giving Salin the space to fall to its knees. Then it brough the cutlass down again, hard. This time, it cut through the top of Salin’s head, lodging the cutlass in the uspec’s brain. When it pulled the cutlass out, there was blood and brain matter on the blade.

Marcinus fell to its knees by Salin’s corpse.

The room was silent. It was silent as Marcinus sobbed.

The silence was broken when Moat walked in. Two familiar uspecs came running in behind it. They were Fabiana’s siblings. Both of them held bloodstained swords, both had blood and gore allover their bodies. Their presence reminded me of the other war.

“Mater!” the older one yelled, as it ran towards its progenitor.

I stopped the younger one when it made to follow. “Where is the fighting?”

It stared at me. Its eyes moved from me, to Fabiana and then to Salin’s corpse, and Marcinus kneeling beside it. Then it saw Foild, standing within a circle of lit okun, and it smiled. This was the uspec who’d greeted Fabiana with a hug. It had even hugged me. Fabinna, I believe.

It bowed to me. It was a neck bow, the expected greeting of a majestic to an imperial. This uspec was acknowledging my status. “In the court, imperial one.” It said in reply.

Imperial one. It was what I was, but it was the first time anyone had ever referred to me as such. I was the Lahooni imperial. I had to shake the daze off, to force myself to walk out of the Kaiser’s receiving room, back through the walkway which I knew had a detour to the library, all the way to the other end. As soon as I pushed the curtains aside, I heard the battle sounds.

I turned to Fabiana. “Who commands our soldiers?”

“Fabin,” it replied, “my younger.”

I searched for the uspec. It did not take too long to find it. The uspec was standing beside its progenitor. I still hadn’t decided what to do about Fabian. It was the duke of the first metropolis of my port. I could not have an uspec I did not trust in that position. But I could not kill it, not when its offspring were so loyal. I shook myself, now was not the time to dwell on politics.

Fabin left its progenitor’s side and came to me. It bowed, the same way its younger offspring had bowed to me. “If it please you, I command the soldiers, imperial one.”

“Wait for my cue, then tell them to stand down.”

“Stand down?” It appeared shocked.

“Yes.” I turned to Musa. “Keep my offspring back. Do not let it come into that room until the battle has subsided.” This time, thankfully, Musa did not try to argue with me. The little one had clung to my side through it all, now it had to leave. Again, it stubbornly tried to cling to me, but this time, force was necessary. I plucked the stubborn little sprite of the floor and placed it in Musa’s waiting arms. As soon as I turned around, the uspec began to wail. The curtains were drawn and so the uspecs wailing could be heard. It drew attention to us. I pulled out my dagger and stabbed the first uspec that tried to bring the battle to us.

“Silence.” I snapped at my offspring. I had not meant to snap, and as soon as I did, I regretted it. But the uspec was silenced. I stroked its smooth cheek with the back of my hand, before nodding to the uspecs. I walked out of the curtains, they followed behind me.

The battle was in full rage when we walked in. The Monachooni guards wore black cloths which made it easy to tell them apart from ours, in cyan. I could have created enough lit okun to kill them all, but something held me back. That was not the way Chuspecip wanted me to approach this. I turned instead to look for Chechin. As soon as I found it, I teleported myself to it. It was surrounded by a personal guard of plenum warriors. These ones I killed. I used my dagger on two, and lit okun on the other four. That lit okun got Chechin’s attention.

“Irira.” It spat at me.

I smiled back at it. It tried to use fogs to kill me, but I destroyed the fogs like the little nuisances they were. “Tell your soldiers to stand down.” I just barely said the word before I saw a neck scale flying at me. I could clearly see who’d thrown it. It was Fabinna. And there I was thinking the uspec could be trusted. But the scale missed me, by a little bit. I was just deciding to deal with it later, when I heard a loud thump behind me. I turned and found that the uspec, Fabinna, had thrown the scale to save me. A plenum guard had been aiming for my back. I nodded at the uspec, it bowed to me.

“Tell your soldiers to stand down, or I will kill them all.”

Chechin scuffed.

I turned around. There were about twenty plenum soldiers fighting close to me. I let the pain out then. Small pools of lit okun formed underneath them. They died. All twenty of them, at once. The Lahooni soldiers they’d been fighting gaped in shock at each other.

“No one can create lit okun to counter mine. Tell your soldiers to stop, or they will die.”

Chechin swallowed.

I waited.

Then, it whistled. “Monachooni, halt!” it ordered. That order confused the plenum guards enough that Lahooni soldiers could take advantage of them. Several plenum guards were slaughtered in the ensuing case. I turned to find Fabin staring at me. I gave it the order, and it delivered a similar message. It took some time, but the soldiers were finally made to lower their weapons.

“Great one,” I began, speaking formerly to Chechin, “it is time for you to leave.”

It glared at me.

“Is this a war you really want to be fighting? Are you willing to die under the orders of iriras you so hate? You’ve seen the truth, you saw your senior cognate, you understand now, why the plenum Kaisers garb themselves as they do. What will you do with this information? Swallow your pride and continue to serve them.”

“I do not bow to iriras.” It spat out.

“But you do. You’ve been bowing to them all your life.” Chechin said nothing, it just fumed, but I knew the seed had already been planted. That was all that was required of me for now. I just had to plant the seed. “Leave,” I ordered, “while I am still patient enough to let you do so. The plenum is no longer welcome in my port.”

I could teleport them, but that would be a waste of spectral energy. They had legs and spectra of their own, they could take care of it.

Chechin was outnumbered, it knew this, it was no fool.

“I will leave.” It stated. “But you are the last brio, the plenum will be back for you.”

I grinned. “I expect nothing less.”

It glared at me one last time before giving the order to retreat. It summoned its soldiers to it, and then it began to march out of the room. I nodded at Fabin and tilted my head in the direction of the plenum soldiers.

“Any plenum affiliate that remains in this port will be slaughtered tonight. I can promise you that.”

It was a final warning, just incase Chechin decided to do anything stupid. But I knew it would not. I knew that it would leave, and I knew that it would want to take as many of its guards as it could, especially since it had already lost so many. Chechin had just found out that the plenum was founded on a lie, I had no doubt that it was going to do part of my job for me. That was the only reason it was leaving this port alive, and with such a large contingent of troops. Fabin followed with a contingent of its own.

Fabiana stopped by me. “What if they try to attack Fabin once they are out of sight?”

I could not be in two places at once. “They will not.” I replied.

My answer did not seem to calm Fabiana much. Especially not when the Lahooni soldiers, understanding their victory, began to taunt the plenum guards with the Uspecipyte fight song. They sang loudly, jeering the plenum guards as they walked. This was their victory, and they meant to take it. They’d spent too long under the yoke of the plenum. Fabiana was right, there was no point in wasting valuable Lahooni life just so that I could conserve spectral magic, especially not when the magic was so easy to drain with the okun. I reached into myself and let Chuspecip wield my anger. I was not nearly skilled enough to teleport such a large group of people. Even with Chuspecip, it took almost all the spectral magic I had in me. But it did it. It teleported the soldiers to the middle of the commune road.

I walked over to Fabin and handed it another token that had been in the pouch. This one was made of the same color as my ring. I handed the token over to Fabin, giving it instructions as to when to use it. I was certain to tell the uspec to stay out of sight on the commune road, to hide in the opaque fogs to the edge of the road. It was only to drop the token into the fogs if it appeared that Chechin and its guards weren’t leaving. I didn’t tell it what it would do, on the off chance that Fabin was thirsty for revenge. I needed Chechin to leave my port alive. Fabin took the token with a bow. Then I sent it after the plenum, to the commune road.

“Gratitude.” Fabiana said. I nodded.

Then, I raised a hand to silence the soldiers. “The war has only just started,” I said, in a loud carrying voice, “there is much that we must do to prepare for what is to come.”

“Who are you to think that you can command us?” this was an older uspec. It was in its prime. It wasn’t till I observed this uspec, that I noted that some of the soldiers were noble. The uniforms they wore had sleeves to shield their arms. And so it had been hard to make out the bulge of armbands beneath it. Now, staring at this uspec, I could clearly make out the bulges. I counted four, on each arm. A duke then. Its thoughts seemed to be shared because many concurred. Interesting, I’d thought they’d come fighting for me.

Fabiana made to speak, I shook my head, stopping it.

“I am Cala, offspring of Calami, claimed heir of Calam. I am the rightful leader of Lahooni.”

There were murmurs, several murmurs, much more murmurs than I’d expected. Why had I thought that they would just believe me, that they would take me at my word? I’d spent too much time around Fabiana and its line.

“Jukien,” the voice that spoke was unexpected. Fabian addressed the duke that questioned me. “It is as it says. I have seen it with my own eyes, Jukien, this is Calam’s heir. This is the last brio.”

“Perhaps I am not so easily convinced.” Jukien stated. I turned my gaze from Fabian, whose support of me came as a shock, back to the duke.

“I have proof. Calam left me a ring, incontrovertible evidence that I am its heir.” I did not actually know what the ring was, or really where it was, but I’d thought I wouldn’t need it. I could use quicksand to teleport within palace, something that no one else could do. I decided to point that fact out to the doubting duke.

“Perhaps that is a gift of the last brio.” Jukien countered.

I stared amazed at this uspec. It was willing to believe that I was the last brio, but not that I was the heir to Lahooni. As if the two were mutually exclusive. Perhaps I could just kill it.

That is no way to win a people, or to lead them.

It was right of course, I could not just kill all dissenters. If I did, I would be following in the steps of Sophila and the plenum. I had to aspire to better uspecs, like Arexon. I had to be a leader that they would want to follow.

“Fine.” I nodded to Jukien. “I will bring the proof. I will find the ring.”

Jukien nodded back. “Then you will have the right to command us.”

I scoffed at it. “I will not command you then, but I will ask for your help. This is not a favor for me, but for Chuspecip, for the founder you swore to serve. Will you hear it?”

Jukien hesitated, but then it nodded. “You are the last brio, we will hear you.”

Was this politics? Jukien’s refusal to accept that I was Calam’s heir. Did it perhaps think to usurp my port as Salin had?

Be patient.

I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “I know where the founder is, and I know how to save it, but to do this, I need your bravery. I need Lahooni to fight, one more time.”

Part 12
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We walked through the red curtains, into the suite’s entertaining room, together. I led the way and Marcinus followed behind me. A heavy silence greeted our arrival. Sets of eyes turned to face us, to stare speculatively at our approach. Arexon’s face showed no emotions, but I could see the surprise on Musa’s. Fabiana just appeared puzzled. It did not know of the history I shared with Marcinus, it did not understand why seeing the both of us moving in sync was of such significance. I did not feel any particular need to inform it. So, I let it stare, and transferred my attention to the other occupants. There were two soldiers reclining on lounging beds. One of them looked familiar from my visit to the Cormeum in Damejo, the other, the other was more than just familiar. As soon as I saw it, I knew exactly who it was. It was Moat, the soldier whose identity Animaon had taken on to get to me.

I scanned the room, but the uspec I most wanted to see was missing. Where was my offspring? Had they left it alone? Surely no one would leave an uspec so young by itself. Hadn’t Arexon mentioned that Musa was usually with it? Then why was Musa here and my offspring not? I realized I was panicking, but I felt unable to stop it. This was what being a progenitor was. I would forever worry about this young uspec who was bound to me.

At first, the nudge I felt appeared so tiny that it was easy to ignore. Then I felt the nudge grow more forceful. I was suddenly filled with the odd sensation of having a warm blunt object prodding at my legs.

I turned around.

The young uspec stopped poking me when it got my attention. Its hand went down to its side, and it gazed up at me with an eye filled with adulation. I felt myself relax then. I didn’t realize till that moment, how much I had worried about what this young one thought of me. I had been afraid as soon as Arexon mentioned that my offspring was spending so much of its time with Musa. I should have known better; Musa would never tell my offspring bad things about me.

I bent, and it seemed like the most natural thing to pick it up, and carry it in my arms, as Calam had done so many times to me. The little one smiled. It was precious, that smile, a gift that somehow seemed more valuable than any other I’d received. Its little arms wrapped around my face blocking my view. I could not help it, I laughed. My laughter seemed to set off others, because the previously silent room suddenly erupted with mirth.

“Congratulations sirga!” Fabiana stated, raising its goblet towards me. I nodded in thanks, once I was able to manipulate my offspring’s arms away from my face. I put those arms around my neck instead, which made it much easier for me to see.

Musa was beaming. Its smile was so wide that I could not help but smile back. Musa would be a problem. I knew this. There were two things that had to happen before Lahooni could truly be safe again. The first, everyone in this room would agree on. But Musa would fight the second, tooth and nail. It would fight for the imps it so cherished. The imps I had to destroy. I could not permit the wrath to continue, I could not allow their plans of the invasion to grow. What if Musa got in the way?

Musa has always been loyal.

Chuspecip liked Musa. I found that intriguing, until I remembered that Chuspecip liked imps. It was the voice of caution in my head which had kept me from strangling the imp in Lastmain. It had been disgusted with me for performing the act. I nodded at Musa and then I turned to bow slightly to Arexon. I took a deep breath, and walked further into the room, closer to the center table.

This lounging room was one I remembered in detail. When I was younger, playing with Chike in this suite, I’d run around the beds, pretending that they were obstructions in a battlefield. The center table was high, it was so high that shorter imps and uspecs needed to stand on stools to be able to reach it. It was a table which had been made to Calami’s specifications. I stopped in front of it.

There were several parchment scrolls scattered about. Some of them had drawings of soldier formations, others had logistics.

“Yours?” I asked, turning to Arexon.

It nodded. “I have to return to Chiboga. Hopefully, giving the plenum Animaton will buy me enough time to train my troops further, maybe even try to sneak in more soldiers from Chiboga’s annexed ports. I’m guessing it will take them weeks before they realize that Animaton is not who they really want. By that time, we will be ready.”

“You have chosen to fight then?” I asked.

It nodded. It had to. I knew this, I also knew that it was not going to have as much time to prepare, and no time to sneak in more soldiers. But I did not say it, that would come later.

To Fabiana I said, “and here?”

“We are at a standoff.” It stated. “Chechin controls the Palace. It will not leave without you. I brought the nobles around. The Lahooni soldiers have surrounded the palace, but we are at a disadvantage. Quicksand cannot be used to teleport in without a key, and Salin controls those keys.”

I nodded, assimilating all the information. I knew Lahooni, I knew Lahooni better than I should. This was not knowledge I’d gained as an infant, it was knowledge from Chuspecip. Chuspecip’s familiarity with this port was surprising. It knew everything, every little detail. I could tell that the soldiers surrounding the Acropolis would have to be on the foot of the bridges which led in.

“How do you come and go?” I asked Fabiana.

It shook its head. “I don’t. I’ve been in this suite since the birth. Our information comes from the high one’s guards. They are the only ones that Salin and Chechin do not suspect, they can come and go at will. That is also why we’ve been able to hide you in this suite.”

My legs were walking before I even knew where they meant to go. This was Chuspecip, controlling me.

Guiding you.

I walked over to the wall, by the red curtains that led in. I placed my hand against that wall, and felt anger, pure and true, ride through me. I did not know what had caused the anger, but I felt it. I used that anger to create quicksand, against the wall. The quicksand I’d created seemed to take some of the form away from the part of the wall I was touching, turning that into liquid quicksand too. I put my hand into that quicksand, and I somehow managed to teleport only my hand. I did not even know where I’d sent my hand, but it came back holding a cyan and gold pouch.

I released the wall and it hardened, returning to its previous state. Then, I turned my back on the wall, and walked back to the group. They appeared dazed, but I did not dwell too long on that. I was dazed to. I knew what was in the pouch, now, and even where I’d gone to get it. I was starting to see the advantages to having Chuspecip in my head.

“I know that this is a lot to ask, especially when you have already given so much, sirga.” I began.

Arexon grinned. “Ask.”

“Can you send a few of your soldiers to guide the Lahooni soldiers in?” I opened the pouch and pulled out a golden token.

Fabiana gaped at it. “How did you…”

“I am the last brio.” I said in response.

Arexon chuckled. “Moat.” It called, and the soldier whose appearance was so familiar, rose from the lounging bed and approached it. It stopped in front of Arexon and saluted. “In clover. See to it.” Arexon ordered.

Moat took the golden token from my hand and left the room.

“So, what do we do now? Wait for the soldiers?” Arexon’s words were delivered with a touch of humor. It had grown used to being the one in charge, the one giving the orders.

Somehow, it wasn’t till that moment that I realized I was now the one in charge. I was the one giving orders. It was now up to me to ensure that we survived. Not just the people in the room, not just my port, but the entire existence. I had been putting the pieces in place ever since I stepped into Katsoaru and took Marcinus’ eye, but now, now I knew. I was consciously aware of what was required of me, and I was afraid.

You have no need to fear, you are mine.

How is it that words that had so vexed me before, suddenly brought me comfort? I took my attention back to the uspecs, all of which were staring at me. Even the little one in my arms, stared down expectantly at me. I smiled at it. I pulled the uspec closer, hugging it tight as I’d dreamed of being held all those years ago in the slum. Then I released it. I took it down, placing it on its feet.

“Musa.” I called to the imp.

It came quickly.

“Take it,” I said, “where we are going, it should not follow.”

Musa frowned. “I should go with you. I should be there to protect you.”

I had to hold back the urge to snap. “This is what I need.” I said instead, forcing the words to be as calm as I could make them.

It took some time, time we did not have, but the imp finally acquiesced. It nodded and took hold of my offspring’s hand. It began to pull it away, and my offspring reacted. It wrenched its hand free of Musa, and came back to my side.

“Go with Musa.” I ordered the little one.

It did not respond, it just stood there, stubbornly rooted to my side. I thought about forcing it to go, but I found that I did not have the heart to do it. What I needed to do was not particularly dangerous. It could be, if Salin was heavily guarded, but I did not think it would be. And even if it was, Chuspecip knew spectra better than anyone that lived. I could kill them all without harming my offspring. But I did not want it to see violence to that degree, when it was still so young.

It is a violent world.

I sighed. Chuspecip was right of course, it was a violent world, and it was better that the infant knew that from the start.

“Alright. But don’t say you weren’t warned.” I did not reach for its hand, but I did not push it away. “Does anyone know where Salin is?”

“Entertaining my mater in the receiving room. My apologies sirga.” Fabiana spoke.

I nodded. There was an urge to kill Fabian. I would not, not when Fabiana had been so loyal, but I could not help the urge. It had betrayed me, many times. It had betrayed the line it swore to serve.

I reached into my anger and let it out. I gave it free reign. This was me, not Chuspecip. Although, it was due to Chuspecip that I knew that I could do this. While others could not use quicksand to teleport within the Palace, the uspecs of my line could. The key was in our blood, tied to our identity. So, I let the anger I felt at Fabian’s betrayal, at Salin’s theft of my birthright, at the plenum’s occupation of my port. I let that anger out, and I watched as I made quicksand. The quicksand came easily. It did not require the flood of emotions that the okun did, it used the anger as a channel to communicate, to sense my desires, and then it acted. How could anyone have ever doubted the bond I would share with my hooni heritage?

Quicksand covered the grounds. And then it pulled us in. For the first time in my life, I was navigating the quicksand and so I knew exactly where it was taking us.

I like to think we rose from the grounds like phoenixes from ashes. Our arrival was unexpected, to say the least.

Salin was in a state of panic. It marched around the receiving room, mumbling about how something wasn’t possible. I could tell from catching stray bits of the conversation that Moat had been successful, it was already leading soldiers into the Palace. According to Salin, Chechin and its plenum guards had gone to confront them, to fight them. I could not waste time with Salin then, not when my soldiers were being attacked.

“Founder’s mercy!” Fabian gasped.

Fabian’s outburst caused Salin to stop mid-tirade. It turned around, its eyes widening as it marked our presence in the room. “But how?” it did not fully ask the question, but I knew what it meant. How could I have teleported within the palace?

“The key to using quicksand in this place is in my blood, because Lahooni belongs to me Salin.”

Salin appeared shocked. Fabian took several steps back. Foild was also there, but no one else from Fabiana’s family was present. These were the only traitors then. Foild was expected, but not Fabian. I had expected so much more from the uspec who raised Fabiana. There were also guards. The plenum guards, ten of them. They outnumbered us two to one, if you didn’t count Musa and my offspring.

We could fight them. We could fight them and beat them. But there was no time to waste.

“Guards!” Salin yelled.

They took a step forward and I reached into my pain, or rather, I gave Chuspecip leave to. It was the one who knew how to command the difficult lit okun. If I tried, I would kill everyone in the room. Not Chuspecip though. Chuspecip knew how to release the lit okun underneath the guards, so that only they convulsed, so that only they died. And as they died, they gifted me with spectral energy, more fuel for spectra.

Now the three renegade uspecs of Fabiana’s line gaped at me. I always found it so flattering, the way uspecs looked at me whenever I created lit okun. It was not a thing that many could do. In fact, I did not know any uspec to have ever been able to do it. Frosted beasts could, and some chosen uspecs could withstand it. Now, I knew that the chosen uspecs who could withstand the poisonous souls of their spectrums were the ones carrying Chuspecip’s lifeform. But not even they could create what I could.

This too I gift to you and those of your line, because you are mine.

@Madosky112 thank you for reading

@Fazemood It's not fully inside Nebud's mind, there are parts of it somewhere else...that's all I'll say for now. I will, as long as you keep reading

@cassbeat thank you, thank you!

@Jackossky thank you, glad to have you

@Smooth278 Well, I like the way you're thinking!!!

@eROCK247 Yeah, Nebud is finally starting to find itself. WoW! I love your question about procreation! So the answer is that Chuspecip can create more uspecs than in the hatch

“Did you really think that I would leave you alone when I knew that you planned to challenge Checha?” Arexon asked the question and then continued speaking without giving me the chance to respond. “I negotiated to drop Animaton off here. It took some time for the plenum to agree, but they accepted since they knew Checha would be here. I arrived the day of your fight with Checha.”

“Gratitude.” I said. I could not think of anything else to say. Again, I thought of how lucky I was to have a friend like Arexon. But then, I became aware of the fact that luck had very little to do with it. Chuspecip had brought us together. Arexon was descended of one of the lines that Chuspecip gifted with its lifeforms. Arexon carried a lifeform of Chuspecip within it. Just as Marcinus did.

“So,” Arexon walked around the desk and came to stand in front of me, “is it true?”

I frowned at it. “Is what true?”

“Are you the last brio?” Leave it to Arexon to ask a question like that so plainly.

I could not help smiling a little. I nodded. “It seems so.”

Arexon grunted. It studied me, subjecting me to one of its intense looks. I’d hated those looks when I’d served as a soldier reporting to it, and I disliked them now. Its eyes scanned my face, scrutinizing each part of me, as if it could read some secrets off my face. It was annoying, it made me feel small, and it filled me with an indescribable urge to fidget. I managed to overcome the fidgeting. I was relieved when Arexon’s gaze became a lot less intense.

Whatever information it gained from studying my face, Arexon chose to keep to itself. It tilted its head in the direction of a leather bench. “Your belt.” It said.

I nodded, turned my back on the uspec, and walked towards the bench. As I fastened the belt onto my waist, I asked, “where is my offspring?”

“Playing with your imp.” It replied. “You have been out for a few days, Nebud.”

Days. I shook my head, of course it had been days. The wounds I’d taken in the hatch had been severe. It made sense that I would need days to recover from them. I suddenly had a nagging feeling that I was forgetting something. As soon as the nagging feeling came, the answer was provided. Marcinus. It had been set to die the day of my fight with Checha. Had it been executed?

No. I felt it. It carried one of Chuspecip’s lifeforms and so I could feel it. I could feel the life in it. I knew it was not dead.

“Can you take me to them?” I turned to face Arexon. “Musa and my offspring, I mean.”

Arexon’s keen eyes studied me again. This time, its perusal was short. “There is someone you should see first.” it said, then it walked around me, and moved towards the thick curtains that led out of the room. I knew that questioning would be futile, and so I simply followed behind the uspec, letting it lead me to whomever it was it thought I ought to see.

We walked out through curtains that led to a short corridor. That corridor connected several rooms in the suite. It was shocking how vivid my infant memory of this place had suddenly become. I could look at each curtain and remember what it was that I had found there the last time I’d been here. Chike and I had gone on a number of explorations of this suite. It had been so eager to share memories of my progenitor with me, and I had been eager to let it. I knew that the black curtains, embroidered with silver and gold satin, had been Calami’s weapons room. I’d been amazed by the collection of weapons the first time that I’d seen it. I remember wondering if I would ever know how to wield those weapons.

It was not to that room that Arexon led me. It led me past those curtains, to a set of dark blue curtains beside it. I knew that those curtains led to another room. It was the room that Chike had slept in.

“I think that this part is best left to the both of you. I will be waiting in the entertaining room when you are done.” Arexon nodded at me, and then it turned around and walked away, past the curtains to the room I’d woken in, through a set of red curtains. As soon as those curtains parted, I heard a rumble of sound come from the room Arexon walked into. Was that Fabiana’s voice I heard? Musa’s laughter? The curtain closed behind Arexon, and the sounds went away.

I turned my focus back to the blue curtains. Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself for the coming confrontation, and then I walked into the room.

The room was just as my memory told me it had been. It was about the same size as mine, the room I’d woken in. There was a large bed, but this one had no holes for ailerons. There were several shelves. Those shelves were empty now, but when Chike had lived here, they’d been filled with tomes. So many different tomes telling so many different stories, and I used to love to run my fingers over them. I could not read them, but I imagined that one day I would be able to. Now the shelves were empty. There was a large desk, and a stool behind it. The stool used to be a highbacked chair.

The sound of a large tome hitting the ground, filled the room. I turned to my left and found another new addition to the room. It was a lounging bed. An uspec was draped over the lounging bed, or at least it had been before I entered. Now it was sitting up, staring daggers at me. It rose slowly.

As it approached me, I could not help but stare at the empty eye socket which had once been filled. Now the eye that had been on that socket was in one of mine.

“My friend.” Marcinus said, sardonically. Then it reached out and struck me with its fist.

I had not expected that blow. Perhaps I should have, giving the way we had left things the last time we’d seen each other, but I had not. I was dazed. Partly by the occurrence of the blow, and partly by the strength behind it. Marcinus had added some bulk.

I started to smile, and another punch landed on my face. That had the effect of wiping the smile away.

“I trusted you.” Marcinus said, as it struck out yet again. I could have stopped it. While it had added some bulk, it still had nowhere near as much bulk as I did. I could have stopped it, but I didn’t. “I befriended you.” The punches continued to come, and I continued to take them.

“Fight back!” Marcinus yelled. It almost looked deranged. I reached for its emotions then. I’d expected anger, but all I felt was pain. It was in pain, an avalanche of pain.

Marcinus struck out again, but this time I caught its fist with my hand. ‘No pansophy,’ my ring declared.

“What happened?”

Marcinus’ glare deepened. “You happened!” It yelled at me. “You!” It struggled to free its hand, but I held it fast. “You destroyed me.” It sounded defeated then, exhausted.

I released its hand, then prepared myself for another blow. None came.

“Apologies.” I said. “I didn’t want to. Marcinus, you were the first friend I ever had, the last thing I wanted to do was cause you harm. But Manus was determined to kill you, and Chuspecip wanted your eye, it just seemed like the right thing to do. It was the only way I could think of to save your life.”

Marcinus shook its head. “Why didn’t you just tell me about Manus’s plans. Why didn’t you just tell me? If you’d told me, things could have gone so differently.”

“What things?”

“Mater is dead, Nebud, and I was too weak to save it. You took my eye, I was shamed, I was sulking. I sulked while Manus did all the plenum asked to appease them. I sulked while Manus handed over our progenitor to Salin for an interrogation. By the time I stopped sulking, it was already too late. I came here as fast as I could, as fast as I could, but my mater was already dead. My mater died because I was sulking, because you took my eye. We killed it, you and I, we killed it.”

“Interrogation?” I reached out to Marcinus. I wanted to touch it, to somehow physically comfort it with my own arms, but I could not. I did not know how. Not that Marcinus was willing to let me. As soon as it felt my touch, it shrugged it off, glaring at me. It was in pain, it hated me, but I could see that it hated itself more.

“For the fabled wealth of Lahooni. Somehow Salin decided that my mater knew where it was. It couldn’t come into our port, not with the thought bubble there, but Manus was so eager, so desperate to impress the plenum, that it just gave our progenitor to Salin.”

“It handed Maraci over to die? Its own progenitor?”

“It didn’t know what Salin would do, how far it would go. Salin didn’t stop. Mater gave it everything it knew, it gave it everything. It even gave it the one thing it swore never to divulge. It gave it the name of the one uspec living, who could remove the thought bubble from Katsoaru. Mater did not want to, but the pain was too much. It gave Salin the pious one’s name, but Salin still didn’t stop. It wanted the wealth of Lahooni. It just wouldn’t believe that mater didn’t have it. There was only so much pain that mater could take, only so much suffering. It died. It died because I wasn’t there to save it. And I wasn’t there because of you. As long as there is life in me, I will hate you. I will hate you with every breath I take. You destroyed me.”

Maraci was dead. I hadn’t expected that. Shouldn’t I have known? I could feel Marcinus pain, but I didn’t know how to help it. It hated me, just as I hated Fajahromo for taking away my offspring’s life. It had not wielded the dagger, but it was responsible. And while I may not have done the interrogation, I was in part responsible. Not just because of the eye I had taken from Marcinus, but because of the wealth Maraci had died for. Somehow Salin had found out that my progenitor had sent me to Maraci, it must have known of the link our lines shared. And when it found that link, Salin must have decided that Maraci would know other secrets of my line, secrets like the location of our wealth. Maraci had not known, and so it was dead.

“Apologies.” It was all I could say. “Apologies Marcinus, I did not mean for this…”

Marcinus whirled around. It came towards me, and it all happened so quickly, I was in shock. I’d forgotten how skilled Marcinus was with blades. It managed to pull my dagger out from my belt without me noticing. Then it was standing in front of me, so close that our noses almost touched. It held the sharp point of the dagger, right underneath my head. It was a pose I had taken with Checha when we’d fought. I’d driven its own horn into its head. Did Marcinus mean to do the same thing? Would I let it?

No.

How had I ever thought Chuspecip was a coward god? I learnt now just how ruthless it was. It needed me, it needed me to free it, and it would kill anyone who hindered that. Now that it had control of my body, it would use it. It knew spectra, it created spectra. It did not have the hindrance with emotions that I did. It could create lit okun much faster than I could. I could already feel the pain gathering like a storm cloud within me. Chuspecip was already preparing to kill Marcinus.

No. I tried to reason with it, but there was no reasoning.

I turned my focus to Marcinus instead. It held the tip of the blade to the bottom of my head, but something kept it from pushing the blade in. As much as it hated me, it did not want to harm me. Perhaps I was not its Fajahromo then. I knew that if I ever got this close to killing Fajahromo, I would not hesitate.

“I can see that you are in pain, and your pain grieves me. If I thought that taking it away would give you solace, I would do that. I did not mean for this to happen to you Marcinus. You were…you are my friend. It pains me to see you like this, to know that I have a part to play. Let me make it up to you.”

Marcinus pushed the blade in, and I felt the pain begin to communicate with the okun. This was like nothing that I had ever done. When I used spectra, I reasoned with the okun, I pleaded with it. Now, I commanded it. I could clearly see the difference between lit okun and regular okun, and I knew that Chuspecip meant to use the lit okun.

“Please.” The word was geared at Chuspecip. I was begging for my friend’s life. For mercy. But it was Marcinus who was affected by it. It took a step back.

“You cannot make up for my progenitor’s death.” It stated sadly. “You cannot.”

Of course not. I should never have said that. “I can help you to get vengeance.” I pressed on.

Marcinus eyes caught and held mine. “How?”

“By killing Salin.” I replied.

Part 11
--------

You belong to me.

I could sense the owner of the voice. Chuspecip, I reminded myself, Chuspecip, the coward god.

The coward god responsible for saving your life.

Get out of my head! I yelled the words within me, loudly, hoping that the force of it would be enough to knock Chuspecip away. It was weak. Wherever it was, it was weak.

A voice, but I could not hear it. This was not an internal voice, one determined to drive me insane, but an external one, a real one. But I could not hear it, and I knew who was responsible for that.

You belong to me.

I sighed. How long had I been unconscious? I was healed now. Magic, certainly magic. A smile formed on my lips as I thought of the uspec I’d collapsed in front of. I could trust that the uspec would have made certain I was seen to by the best. It would have added its own magic, giving me growth to further boost the healing. How had I ever become lucky enough to gain the friendship of an uspec so great?

It was I. Every friendship was my gift to you. Every loyal uspec, your birthright.

Was it possible to lobotomize oneself? Chuspecip. It would not allow me to forget it, it would not permit me to ignore it.

You belong to me. You are mine.

At least it wasn’t yelling this time, perhaps that was something that I could be grateful for. I heard the voices again, and again I tried to listen, to understand the words they said. I wanted to open my eyes and reveal my recovery to them. But Chuspecip would not let me. I knew that it was blurring the words, forcing my eyes to stay close.

Just tell me what you want, it’s what you’ve always done. Coward. You hide away somewhere and use me to fight your battles.

You are mine, Nebud, acknowledge it, know it, and I will let you be. Know it. You belong to me.

My mind drifted to the vision of Calam I’d had when Checha’s strangling had knocked me out. It was that vision responsible for saving my life.

It was I responsible for saving your life.

I tried to ignore Chuspecip’s voice in my head, choosing instead to think of more pleasant things. The first pleasant thought I could summon was the sight of my offspring. It was perfect. Small and precious. There was so much I wished to do with it, like carry it the way that Calam had carried me.

That thought gave me pause. Since when did I remember how Calam had carried me? But the memories were back. All of them. I remembered each day I’d spent with my sire. I remembered Animaon in vivid detail. I had not spent so many days with them, but the time I’d had with them had been filled with joy. Animaon had made toys so spectacular I’d sworn to learn how to make toys of that kind myself. They were words I’d thought in the moment, but had been too young to say. My speech did not develop as quickly as other young ones did. If only I had learned to talk a few days earlier, I would have been able to tell Calam how much I cherished it. But I hadn’t. I’d learnt late, while I was being transported in a coffer.

My first words had been spoken to Chike, not my sire. It was a thing that had brought me pain then, and it brought me pain now, to remember it. But even that painful memory was tinged with joy. Because it was a memory of Calam’s love, of Chike’s care. Chike had promised to teach me how to fight. I smiled a little to myself now, thinking of how far I’d come, and all that I had missed out on. This me, the uspec with memories of another life, of other loyalties, hated fiercely. I had been loved, I had been loved and the plenum had taken that love away from me. They had sought to end my line. And for what?

To steal my existence.

For a few moments, I’d almost forgotten that the voice in my head existed. Chuspecip, I reminded myself. This eventuality had never even occurred to me; that the voice in my head could be Chuspecip. I had expected an uspec, an uspec with pansophy. I’d expected that even before I’d known that messages could be planted the way Gerangi had planted the implicating revelation of myself as the last brio. I should have known though. The voice had always been more than just a voice. It had been able to control me, to force me to stay in places I had not wanted to. There had also been more subtle manipulations. I was suddenly remembering an imp I’d strangled in Lastmain, and the guilt I’d felt after doing that. That had been Chuspecip’s doing, not mine. It was the one that treasured imps so much. The same imps that were now planning to take its existence from it.

All I wanted to do, was to take my offspring away, to a place where it could be safe. I would take a few uspecs with me of course, and Musa, I added reluctantly. We could spend the rest of our lives there, away from the craziness of the wars. The plenum, the invasion, both possible usurpers. Either of them could win. As far as I was concerned, they could kill themselves fighting over what was left of this existence.

But I could not leave. I could not run away from this war. As much as I wanted to, as much as I wished I could, I could not. Why not? The answer was simple.

I am Lahooni.

It was in my blood. It was me. I had known this from the moment my feet touched the quicksand floor of the commune road. I had known it as the Lahooni fogs embraced as me. This was my home, it was the port I was born to lead. I had known it before, but now, with my memories back, I had a whole new level of appreciation for my heritage. Calam’s words from the hatch filled my head.

“They killed me Cala. They killed me and they killed your progenitor. They slaughtered us like lambs because we chose to serve our god, because we chose to serve the founder. They butchered us Cala, and they meant to do the same thing to you. They would have killed you if I had not sent you away. Everything in your life, every pain, every suffering, every wound, it has all been for this moment. Now you are to be complete Cala, to grow into what you were born to be. Fight Cala, fight for me. Fight for the progenitor you never got to know, fight for the port that is in your blood, the people that you were born to lead. Fight so that their lines may never know the suffering of ours. Fight Cala. Fight!”

Fight. I had to. I did not have a choice. I had to protect Lahooni. It was my birthright, my duty, my curse. I had to protect this port. Whatever else happened in the spectral existence, I had to ensure that my port survived. I could not abandon it. I could not run away and hide in some place where no one would ever find me. I could not take my offspring away, and give it a life of peace and happiness. My offspring mattered, but Lahooni mattered too.

Again, I could not help but feel the irony. Fabiana had told me that the Lahooni nobles worried my loyalties would be divided because I was irira. They had thought that Hakute would have a claim on me. They had been wrong. I’d spent most of my life in Hakute, but I had never felt, not for one second, the bond I felt to this port, the duty I felt bound to. It was my job to protect Lahooni. The only problem was that I had no idea how to do that.

You know what to do.

The familiar urge to lobotomize myself returned. Chuspecip. Of course, I knew that it was right. I could not align with the plenum. I could not bow to them. Not when they were responsible for my progenitor and my sire’s deaths. Not when I knew of their hypocrisy. All irirakuns of five. Just as my offspring was. It would grow up in a better world than I did. It would grow up in a world free of the chasm, where it could walk around without coverings on its body to hide the fact that it was irira. None of that could happen unless the plenum was destroyed, and the chasm ended. There was only one person that could do that, only one person that could end all the wars.

Yes, Nebud, yes.

Yes. Coward god. I retorted.

Am I a coward? See.

Suddenly, I saw. I saw things, understood things. Most importantly, I saw how Chuspecip was caught. I saw how it was trapped, and where it was trapped. I saw how much pain it carried, how much strength it had lost. And all for what? The first sacrifice it made, the one that had ultimately led to its capture, it had made it for my line.

Am I a coward?

No.

My ears cleared and my eyes opened. I woke in a large room. One look at the grounds showed that it was in the Palace. I was still in the Lahooni Palace. I looked at the quicksand on the grounds, and I just knew where to unleash my newly gained hooni magic. I could see how the magic of the hooni eyes were built into the Castle. And I knew that only one of my line could traverse through it. My lineage was strong. Calam may have been the most renowned genius, but I knew that there were many who came before it.

“You’re awake.”

I smiled even before I sat upright, and turned around in the bed, so that I was staring in the direction of the uspec who’d spoken. I would recognize that voice anywhere. This room was special. It had been mine.

I found my footing, and rose from the bed. Arexon was seated on a stool behind a desk made out of a mixture of hardened fog and quicksand. The desk had belonged to Calami, as had the suite this room was located in. As soon as I was standing, I bowed to Arexon.

“Gratitude sirga.” I said.

Arexon chuckled. “You know,” it began conversationally, its voice a little dry, “this is starting to become a bad habit of yours.”

“What is?” I replied.

“Falling unconscious at my feet.” Arexon stated.

I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. I laughed loudly, and it felt good to laugh.

“Why are you here sirga?” I asked.

“In this room?” Arexon asked with an eyebrow quirked.

“No,” I shook my head, “in this port.”

Arexon’s head tilted backwards. It rose to its full height. As it stood, its earrings dangled, drawing my attention to them. I stared at those earrings and remembered Yakubo. Grief washed through me.

@Madosky112 lol, you were right. Next update coming soon!

@lukfame wow, a gem, thank you so much! I appreciate it and I'm glad you've enjoyed reading

@OluwabuqqyYOLO lol, I'm glad and I hope to keep blowing you up until the end

@Tuhndhay American Honey ehn? Lol, as long as it made your mouth sweet, haha

@barag Thank you, thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

@Fazemood I'm glad that you followed to this point too...and enjoyed the sweetener at the end

@cassbeat I'm glad the update got you grinning

@ayshow6102 thank you for reading. Sorry but Nebud has to name the child after itself now That's how these noble uspecs do

@olite93 Predictions, predictions, predictions...I guess we'll have to wait to see what's going to happen

Then I was in a room surrounded by pious uspecs. I knew that Takabat was one of them. Also Gerangi, but Gerangi was younger. Fajahromo pinched me. I was suddenly filled with a loathing for Fajahromo. But the uspec was so young. How could I have known Fajahromo when it was so young?

“Nebud.”

I heard the voice in my head. I heard it clearly, as if it was in the hatch with me, standing in front of me. But it wasn’t, it was in my head. Somehow, its communication with me was clearer, stronger.

“What is the last brio?” I heard an imp voice ask. Suddenly, I was back in the room with the young Fajahromo. Except Fajahromo was no longer there. It was just Takabat, an imp, and another pious one. Somehow, I knew that the pious one was Isthum. But how could I know that when I had never met the uspec?

“The last brio is not a what.” Takabat stated. “It’s a who.” They turned to stare at me.

“Nebud.” The voice in my head called again, pulling me back to the hatch.

My eyes opened. The room was no longer brightly lit with orange and red light. It was dark. So dark I saw nothing.

“Nebud. You are mine.” The voice in my head said.

It was strange, I could no longer just hear it, I could feel it. I felt its emotions. I felt its anger at being trapped. I did not know who it was, but whoever it was, it was trapped in a place where it could not free itself. It was one that was used to power, vast amounts of power, power so great I could not even begin to fathom it. Now it had none of that power, it had none of that power and it was angry, and pained.

“You are mine.” It repeated.

“I belong to no one!” I yelled out. “I belong to no one but myself.”

As soon as I was done speaking, I prepared myself for the headache. I knew the migraine would come as it always did.

The voice laughed. “You belong to no one but yourself and me.”

I gritted my teeth. There was no pain, only a certainty. The voice was sure that it was right. I felt that. I felt the link it shared with me, and I knew that somehow, that link was complete. That was why I could hear it clearly.

“Yes Nebud, we are one.”

My hand rose of its own accord. No, I shook my head, not of its own accord, but of the will of the owner of the voice. It was showing me that it could now control my body too.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“You know who I am.” The voice replied. “You know what you must do.”

And then my head was filled with thoughts. The dreams that I had seen and forgotten came back clearly to me. I could tell that it was Calami who’d been with Maraci in Aboga. Calami who’d freed Monica. I knew it was Calam who’d taken me to that green room. I saw Calam return from the Isle of Brio and lance its scale into Animaon’s neck. I saw it happen and I knew the importance of that, just as I knew the importance of each eye that I had taken.

“You are not nothing. You are what my progenitor would call darai, alive. I come from a long line of Uspecipytes. I broke off from them of course, the kuwor is our true god, but my line is old. Not as old as the line of Lahooni, but second only to them. After Chuspecip started the line of the Kaisers of Lahooni, it chose other Kaiser lines. Like Vatikute, Aboga, Noarusoaru, Katsoaru, and my port, Monachooni. Our lines are old, and those with knowledge of the old Uspecipyte religion can sense things. Now that I stand close to you, now that I let myself look, I see. There is an aura around you Nebud, there is life in you that surpasses that of any regular uspec. You are what Gerangi said you are. You are the last brio.”

Checha’s words from our first meeting came back to me, and in that moment I could clearly map each eye to each line that Checha had mentioned. The first eye I’d been tasked with taking had belonged to Marcinus, an uspec of the line of the Kaisers of Katsoaru. Then there was Sophila’s eye. Sophila’s eye which Arexon told me had belonged to Arigad, of the line of the Kaisers of Aboga. Then there was Animaon’s eye. Animaon’s eye was the puzzle, but now I understood. I understood that Animaon’s eye had been required as a result of the scale that Calam had stabbed into its neck. Checha was the last, and Checha was of the line of the Kaisers of Monachooni. I understood now, that each line Checha had mentioned had been created special. They were all gifted with Chuspecip’s lifeforms.

The irony was not lost on me. Checha had been so desperate to destroy Chuspecip’s lifeforms, not knowing that it was itself, carrying the lifeform within it. It was a lifeform that Calam had transferred to Animaon when it stabbed its scale into Animaon’s neck, and a lifeform that I had taken from Animaon when I claimed its eye. Animaon must have known this, that was why it had removed the eye, keeping it for me.

Suddenly, all the pieces fit. Each eye collected was a lifeform of Chuspecip. Each eye I took was to strengthen me, to strengthen the brio within me, so that the link I shared with Chuspecip would be complete, and strong enough that the founder could speak directly to me, so that it could use me.

I was what Gerangi had said I was. I was the last brio, and from the moment that I inhaled the green fumes in the Isle of brio, I had activated the link I shared with Chuspecip. The headaches I felt, suddenly made sense. The link had not been complete and so Chuspecip could not control me, could not force me to its will. But it had managed to make certain things slip. Like when it had revealed Arexon’s pansophy to Sophi. And when it had confirmed that pansophy to Sophian. And the fight against Fajahromo in Damejo, the fight that had led to Musa’s samu bite, and my journey into Nefastu. Chuspecip had had a hand in that too. It had wanted me there.

Now I could see far, to the repercussions of each eye I’d taken.

“Watch Nebud,” the voice said, “watch your offspring being born.”

I rose my head.

The hatch was no longer dark, it was now lit with green light. The bottom had turned into a pool of green, just as it had my last time in the hatch. For some reason, I had not thought through to this, it had not occurred to me that this would be the eventual conclusion of the fight. An offspring. Mine.

I rose to my feet.

All the wounds I’d taken throbbed. The burst of energy that I had felt was gone now. I was exhausted and in pain. The majority of my outer eyes were swollen shut, and my mouth was filled with blood. Blood trickled down from my nose, and from the wounds on my body, but none of that mattered to me.

Nothing mattered, not in the face of the red form that was rising out of the green liquid.

I watched mesmerized, as my second offspring came into the world. As it rose, its green form hidden by the red goo, I knew that I would always love it. In that moment, I felt the love that Calam had born for me. I remembered the bond that I had shared with my sire.

Then the uspec emerged fully. It made to move, but it was too clumsy, it stumbled and fell. I walked over to the young uspec, and guided it to its feet. It was young, smaller than any other uspec I’d ever seen, smaller even than my first offspring had been when it was born. I could hear my thoughts reminding me that this uspec was made from Checha, which meant that it would be an irirakun of all five spectrums, just as Checha had been. I did not dwell much on that thought.

I was lightheaded, but I kept my sanity long enough to see to the uspec. The first thing I did was wipe away the red goo on its face. That revealed a smooth green face, with nothing on it, save a nose, a mouth beneath that, and a little eye above the nose.

That eye opened then. The eye stared at me, and in that gaze, I saw the progenitor’s bond form. This was what I’d been denied with my first offspring. This bond of mutual adoration. It was a struggle, but I managed to pull my gaze away from the uspec.

I turned instead to cleaning off the red goo from the rest of it. I wiped the goo off with my hands. I could feel my offspring’s eye on me, tracking my every movement, and I tried to be strong and gentle. My body ached and I could feel the effects of the loss of blood, but I did not allow any of that to take away from this moment.

I was so engrossed in the little one’s care, that I did not even notice when the light from the hatch turned from the green of the incandescent liquid, back to the regular orange and red of the celestial bodies. It wasn’t till I was done cleaning it off, that I noticed this.

I pushed myself to my feet then, unsure of what to do with the uspec now that the task of cleaning off the red was done. The little one stared up at me, and then it put its little hand into mine. I felt as if someone had placed a hand on my heart and was squeezing it. I held on tightly to the little hand as I took my first step out of the hatch.

One foot after the other, we made our way out of the red fog surrounding the hatch, and then out of the surrounding green.

Fabiana was waiting on the other side.

I could read the lines of worry that had been on its face as it watched me fight. I tried to be strong for it, and for the little uspec who was now leaning heavily on me. It took me sometime to note that it was shy, afraid of Fabiana, and so it leaned on me, because it trusted me, it knew that I would protect it.

“It seems you greatly exaggerated the situation Musa.” A familiar dry voice drawled. “Nebud is not quite as close to death as you would’ve had me believe.”

There was something about hearing that voice, and then gazing on the smirking face of the uspec who uttered the words. For Fabiana and my offspring I had to be strong, but not for this uspec. In fact, this was the one uspec whose strength I could rely on.

It was as if its presence there flipped a switch in my brain. As soon as I saw it, I felt my hold on my offspring loosen.

I collapsed onto the floor, succumbing, finally, to the injuries I’d taken in the hatch.

Part 10
---------

“Oh Cala, how life comes full circle. I did not want this for you, I did not want this battle to be yours. But it could not have been mine.”

The uspec speaking to me was much taller than I was, much taller, and much bigger. It was one that I was bonded with. It was the first face that I had seen. The first hands that had held me, the first heart that had loved me. It was my first everything.

“Sire.” I reached for Calam, but I could not reach it. It was floating away.

“They killed me Cala. They killed me and they killed your progenitor. They slaughtered us like lambs because we chose to serve our god, because we chose to serve the founder. They butchered us Cala, and they meant to do the same thing to you. They would have killed you if I had not sent you away. Everything in your life, every pain, every suffering, every wound, it has all been for this moment. Now you are to be complete Cala, to grow into what you were born to be. Fight Cala, fight for me. Fight for the progenitor you never got to know, fight for the port that is in your blood, the people that you were born to lead. Fight so that their lines may never know the suffering of ours. Fight Cala. Fight!”

“I am not strong enough!” I yelled back at the floating form. I heard the suppressed tears in my voice, tears of pain, of sorrow for a loss I was only just discovering. “Please don’t leave me, I don’t want to be alone.”

“You are not alone Cala. You are Lahooni. As long as there is quicksand in this port, you will never be alone.”

I woke with a gasp.

For a second, before consciousness fully returned to me, I was free of the pain of my battle wounds. Just for a second. Then my eyes opened, and my body rose from the ground.

Checha’s back had been turned to me. As soon as it heard my gasp, it spun. Startled eyes bore into my face.

I felt as if someone had infused me with strength. The feeling reminded me of that which I felt right after consuming one of the okun fruits. I jumped to my feet. I could feel each wound. I felt the wounds from the spikes which had lanced the soles of my feet. I felt the injuries from the pounding to my belly and face, and I even felt the horns still buried deep within me. I felt it all, but I also felt the strength to withstand them, to fight despite them.

Checha was still in shock when I reached it. I bent to a squat and grabbed onto its tail. It tried to pull the tail free, but I had already cut it off before it could force it out from my grasp. The tentacles rose next. I cut them off, all of them. I swiped my scale through each tentacle, shearing it off before it could latch onto me. To me, the time felt as if it passed slowly, but I knew, I knew that it was done quickly. It was done too quickly for Checha to react until it was too late. It stood in front of me now with two less features than it’d had at the start of the fight.

Once I stood at my full height, the uspec had shaken off its shock. It prepared to face me then, and as it prepared, I pulled one of the horns it had stabbed me with, out of my belly, and stabbed it into an eye on the outer perimeter of the uspec’s face. I knew from experience just how painful that could be.

Checha screamed. I was impressed by how quickly it shook of its pain though. The uspec managed to summon the strength to pull the horn out of its face. The outer eye came out with it.

Checha swiped for me. This time, its blow was clumsy. It swung a little too far to the left. I took the opportunity to dodge just underneath the blow, and then cut a deep gash underneath its arm. Checha’s cry of pain was like a balm to my wounds. I felt my strength continue to grow, giving me the fortitude to withstand my injuries. Checha tried to attack me again, this time with a different arm. I pierced my scale into the knuckle of that fist, but Checha managed to pull it back, and hit me with a dizzying blow regardless.

The blow stung, but in my heightened state, I was able to shake it off. I could have attacked, but I didn’t. I waited for Checha to come to me. I waited for it to make its move. It ripped out two more horns and approached me with the both of them held securely in its hands. Then it began to attack, swiping as one would when fighting with a weapon. It made careless moves. I dodged the pointed edge of the swinging horns. It became clear, as I watched Checha fight, that it had never actually fought with horns as weapons before. I had, and so I knew the best techniques to use. You don’t fight with horns as if you’re fighting with daggers, because daggers are sharp on all sides, horns are only sharp on one end.

Checha attacked, moving the side of the horn on its right side towards me face. If it was a dagger, the attack could have done serious damage, as it was a horn, it wouldn’t. I let Checha’s horn sting a mild blow to my already smarting face, and then I retaliated. I grabbed onto the wrist of the hand holding the horn and twisted it, forcing it into an unnatural angle. The horn dropped from its hand. It tried to pull its hand free from my grasp, and I used that momentum to twist its shoulder, pulling the bone there out of its socket, before releasing the arm. That arm now hung uselessly at the uspec’s side.

I saw the pain in its face, pain mixed with anger and pride. I wondered if it could already tell that it was over.

Checha tried to hit me with its one remaining hand, but it was not effective. It should have reached for the scales on its neck then. My chest was unprotected, it should have reached for its scales and tried to throw them at me with its free hand. But it didn’t. Checha was used to hiding its features, it did not know the best way to use them all in a fight. That was the only advantage I had at that moment, and so I used it. I did what I expected Checha to do. But, instead of aiming for its chest, which, as it was covered with spikes would have been useless, I aimed for the legs I’d exposed by cutting off its tentacles.

My scale lanced Checha’s thigh, and the uspec stumbled back. It bent, reaching for the scale which had dug into its flesh. This was the time to make my move.

I flew. I let my ailerons flap, lifting me higher in the air, and then I rushed over to Checha. It was still bent over when I was hovering in the air above it. I moved, so that I was standing by its dislocated arm right at the moment it noticed my presence there. It made to turn, but I struck out with my tail before it could. I lanced the tip of my tail into its arm and released my venom into the uspec’s bloodstream.

Checha’s eyes widened. In the moment before my poison took effect, I saw the uspec’s eyes fill with fear. I knew the exact moment that Checha realized it was going to die, that it had been defeated, by me. Its mouth parted, as if it was preparing to speak, but before it could talk, the paralysis set in. Checha dropped onto a patch of quicksand and okun. I went on my knees beside the uspec.

The first thing I did was pull out the other horn that it had stuck into me. I felt the pain as the horn left my body, but I ignored it. I could not tell now if it was the surge of strength I’d woken with, still driving me, or if it was my impending victory.

I tipped the uspec’s head backwards and drove the horn underneath its chin, thrusting it into its head. “This is for my progenitor, Calami.” I said, as blood began to run out of the uspec’s nose and ears.

I pulled the horn out, and then I moved it over to the spacing between the spikes on its chest, around its heart. I was careful to avoid the spikes as I drove the horn into the uspec for the second time. This time, I drove the horn into its heart. “This,” I said, as I watched the life drain out of it, “is for my sire, Calam.”

By the time I released my hold on the horn, the uspec was dead.

Checha’s eye.

The voice in my head prompted, reminding me of my true purpose here. For a second I thought to deny the voice, to claim a double victory, but then I remembered the migraine. I sighed. My fingers found the scale I’d thrown at Checha’s leg and managed to pry it free. I used that scale to remove the center eye from Checha’s dead face. Then, I took that eye and put it into my last remaining outer eye socket.

I waited.

Like all the other times that I’d put an eye into my eye sockets, I expected to be knocked out of consciousness. I expected to dream a dream I would have no memory of, save for a vague feeling that I’d had the dream, and then awaken to the prompting of the voice in my head telling me what next it expected of me.

This time, none of that happened. There was no loss of consciousness, no dream, and no voice.

I waited a few more moments on my knees, before giving up. Once I decided that nothing was going to happen, I placed my scale back into my neck.

That was when it happened.

I saw myself. It was as if I was having a dream, but I knew I wasn’t. I saw myself on a horse, in a strange land, surrounded by umanis. I was on a higher plane, looking down on the umanis, and it appeared as though the umanis were fighting a war. I saw an umani, a little boy I felt an instant kinship with. It was Musa. I shook my head. None of this made any sense. How could I have seen Musa before it was in the spectral existence?

Then I saw other things. I saw myself talking to an uspec I called Maraci. But Maraci was younger, much younger than it had been the last time I’d seen it. Then there was Monica, being whipped. I freed it, and then I teleported it to Musa because I knew that Musa had power over the wrath, I knew that Musa could convince Monica to tell me the truth. And it worked. I found out that the plenum was responsible for leaking the location of the spectral portals to the other existences. Then there was Sophila, only Sophila was much younger, and there was another uspec, an uspec I referred to as Arigad. But Arigad was dead, so how could I have seen it?

Suddenly, I was in a green room. I recognized this room, it was the room that Gerangi had taken me to, it was a place in the Isle of Brio. I was talking to my offspring, a young uspec I called Cala. I told Cala to come back here, that the place would kindle its link to its ancestors. And then I took Cala back to the lab where Animaon was waiting. Animaon called me sirga. Chike was there. I tried to make sense of it, but the more I tried, the more my head hurt.

@Fazemood Thank you, thank you! I'm glad that you enjoyed the punches

@doctorexcel it's coming now

@barag THANK YOU!!! I'm so happy you're enjoying it

@olite93 hmmmmm, let me not come and say anything now....I like your guesses sha

@ayshow6102 no no the suspense won't kill

@eROCK247 Yeah, always close to death, well let's see what happens this time. I'm very happy that you enjoy my writing, means a lot Truly very flattering words (I wish there was a blushing emoji )

I apologize in advance because this update runs on the shorter side. I've been a bit busy, but hopefully the next one will be longer.


Part 9
-------

The blows rained down. I realized, as I lay half sprawl in the position that Checha had knocked me into, that it had every intention of literally following each word it had said. By unending, it really did mean unending. The blows did not stop. It felt as if I was in a mejo port suffering the pelting of particularly large pieces of uncouth hail. I had not enjoyed the pelting on Nefastu, and I enjoyed this even less.

I took one last punch, before I swept my right leg out, catching Checha by surprise. The uspec stumbled back. It caught itself quickly, but the stumble gave me enough time to jump to my feet. I came up swinging. My first blow landed right on Checha’s chin. It was a blow so hard that Checha was forced back a few more steps. Then I went after it and followed the first blow with another. And another. It was my turn to strike back, and I wasn’t taking any chances.

Checha’s fists came up. It managed to dodge a punch from my right hand. It took the left hand blow and returned a blow of its own. That blow landed on my exposed belly. It took some effort, but I managed not to let the punch slow my attack. I kept lashing out, kept aiming blows at the uspec. Checha responded by attacking my stomach. Blow after blow, until the pain became too much to endure. I took a step back, doubling over a little.

Checha came after me. It flew after me, and descended with its fist extended. I managed to maneuver myself out of the trap between Checha’s awaiting fist and the boundary of the fog walls, but just barely. In my attempt to move away quickly enough, I had to bend over, and I found that once I was that close to the floor, I almost lost my footing. The pain in my stomach was much more than I’d first thought. I caught myself before I could fall, and, using the ground as a support, I pushed myself back to my feet.

My opponent was standing in front of me when I finally managed to rise. It dealt me a blow much more intense than the first one it had given. Somehow, I managed to stay on my feet, and to raise my hands up to shield my face when it tried to hit me again. A punch to my stomach revealed the extent of exposure of my lower half. I dropped my arms and Checha countered with a blow to my face. I absorbed the punch, shaking it off as I thrust my fists out. My left blow was deflected by Checha’s arm, but the right struck true. It was the heaviest blow that I had struck so far. Checha was forced a few steps back.

There was a slight pause then. A little break in the fight. It did not last long, but it was long enough for me to take stock of my injuries. My stomach hurt. I did not know the state of things within it, but I could tell that there were organs that had to be damaged. And my face, it was a wonder that I was still able to see out of my eyes.

Checha began prowling towards me. It took its time, like a predator stalking its prey. I used that time to prepare myself for the next round. When Checha’s first blow came, I deflected it easily, swinging to the side. I had my arms stretched out as I returned to the upright standing position, expecting to land a blow on Checha’s face. My blow landed, but Checha’s did as well. And Checha’s blow proved far more ruthless than mine. The blow was aimed at my side, and it hit its target. I felt as if someone had hit me with a large ball of metal. I coughed, letting out a mouthful of blood. I was still coughing when Checha aimed another blow at my other side. I sprang up immediately, striking out with a punch of my own, but I was too late. Checha’s fist slammed into my face.

I fell down hard.

This time, there was no pause, no break in the fight. Checha followed me down. it bent. As soon as I saw its hand reaching for my neck, I turned around. My turn forced my face abruptly into a pool of okun. I had not expected that, and so I ended up breathing the liquid in through my nose. I’d avoided Checha’s hold on my neck though, so that was a positive. I did not even have time to contemplate how truly positive that was, because I felt a hand tighten on my arm. That hand turned me over. I barely had enough time to register that my eyes had gone from staring into okun, to staring into an orange-red sky, when Checha’s second round of blows started. This time it pinned me down with a leg on my chest, and its hand on my arm. I felt its punch from its right fist. It smashed my nose and I heard bones break. My teeth were the next to go.

I tried to push it off me, but it was heavy, and I was already weakened by the injuries that I’d taken during our short time fighting. With each blow that the uspec rained down on me, I felt my head get heavier. The pain was not one I was unused to. Granted it had been a long time since I had taken a beating of this magnitude, but I had survived the pits, I was not unused to the crunch of skin against mine. But this was different. This time, I was in an equipoise, there was no magic that I could call on, and even if I could, Checha had me beat in that department.

It wasn’t till I started to feel my grasp on reality fading, that I fully came to terms with the fact that I was going to die. There would be no magic to save me this time, no uspec to run to my rescue. I was going to die. Right here, in this hatch, in Lahooni, the port of my ancestors, by the hands of Checha, a Kaiser from the plenum. The same people that had caused the death of my line. The reality of death had never hit me quite so hard.

Perhaps there is a final burst of energy that one feels at the brink of death, one last desperate attempt to save one’s life. Or perhaps I was stronger, and had more fight in me than I had ever known. But as I felt my consciousness slipping, and as death drew near, I summoned the strength for one last act. Checha’s blows continued, my body was in excruciating pain, but I found the strength to wrench my body from Checha’s grip, and roll, over. This time, I did so with a plan in mind. As soon as I was free of Checha, my face immersed in the familiar okun, I took a gulp of the okun, for additional strength perhaps, and reached for the scales on my neck. I pulled one out.

This time, when Checha’s hand came to force me back around, I was prepared. My hand rose, the scale pinched between my fingers, and I aimed right for Checha’s face. I knew its neck was covered, and so I could not cause much damage there, but there was no shield on its face, over its eyes. I was aiming for its eyes, but I got its mouth instead.

Checha let out a loud howl of pain as my scale slashed diagonally through its lips. It stumbled more than a few steps backwards, giving me enough space to push myself to my feet. The first time I tried, I failed, and landed back on the quicksand. Then I went to my knees first. I struggled to set myself on my knees, and from my knees, I placed my hands on the ground first, and then struggled to get myself in an upright position.

It took some time, but I managed to stand. I was panting when I finally stood. My head felt as if an anvil had been taken to it. My stomach and sides were in unbearable pain, and with each thump of my heart, it was as if pain was being pushed through me along with my blood. My gaze no longer appeared clear. Two of my eyes were shut, and I could only see slits through another two. The one at a corner of my face had somehow managed to survive most of the assault intact and my center eye was still open. I saw double through my center eye vision, but it was still open.

I blinked, trying to reorient myself.

By the time I could finally see clearly enough to even contemplate attacking, Checha was recovered. Whatever anger I’d thought had been in it before, was now gone. What I saw now, was the real anger, if rage this broiling could even be called that. Before we had fought with fists, now, the tide of the battle had turned. I knew this, and I knew that by attacking with my neck scales I had caused this change, but it was quite discomfiting to watch anyway.

Checha’s hands rose to its scalp. Those hands wrapped around the base of two horns, and yanked. They yanked, and in one tug, the horns came free of the uspec’s head. This time, when Checha came charging at me, it was with horns in each of its hands, and with its tentacles raised and ready for attack.

I could not help it, I took a step back. I took one step back, and then another, and I would have continued to retreat if the hard fog around the hatch did not immediately cut off my retreat. I sidled to the side as Checha’s approach continued. Then it was looming over me, and retreat was no longer an option.

I felt pain. Every part of my body felt as if it was in pain. My legs were sturdy, thankfully, but above my legs I felt a rainbow of agony. Still, I forced myself to fight. I had no other choice. And so when Checha attacked, aiming its horns at me, at the same time as it lashed out with its tentacles, I bent low, missing the swipe of its horns, and struck out with the scales in my hands. My neck scales were sharp and thick enough to take off two of its tentacles. I aimed for a third, but the tentacles got a hold of me before I could complete my mission.

Three tentacles wrapped around each of my arms. The tentacles held me fast. There was no shaking these tentacles off, not when the uspec they belonged to had so much bulk. Still I tried. I was desperate and so I tried. When I found that I could not break myself free of the hold. I leapt off my feet, like an imp dancer, I thought. I allowed myself to balance on the hold of the tentacles on my arm, tilting backwards into it, as if I was lying securely on a bed. Then I pushed back with my feet. The uspec’s chest was filled with spikes, it was a fact I’d been aware of the moment I decided to make the desperate gambit, and so I was prepared for the pain of the spikes drilling into my flesh. I forced my mind to ignore them, focusing instead on putting all my weight into repelling both parts of my body. I pushed forward with my feet and backwards with the rest of my body, that way, I forced Checha’s tentacles to stretch farther than they were used to. Checha released me a little too late. Two of its tentacles ripped right off its waist. I dropped to the ground with those tentacles still loosely attached to my arms.

My fall this time was even harder than it had been before. But I could not dawdle. I had done my best to anger the uspec even more than it had been before. So, as soon as my back fell on quicksand and okun, I let my wings flap, using them to raise myself up. It took strength to fly, and it was strength I was quickly losing, but I still had enough. I had enough to hover in the air.

Checha rose as well. This time, it flew towards me, and I flew away. I tried to fly higher, hoping for a break in the fight, a little break no matter how short. As my ailerons continued to lift me up, I felt the temperature drop. The fine falling hail turned uncouth and the gentle fogs began to form into a vortex. That vortex spun me around and then spat me out, right into Checha’s waiting arms.

The uspec was hovering just a few levels beneath me as I dropped. I saw an appendage lash out, and I thought that it was reaching out with one of its tentacles. It wasn’t till the tip of the tail punctured my flesh that I realized I’d been wrong. It had reached out with its kute tail, releasing its venom into me.

I dropped, paralyzed, onto the hatch floor.

Whatever chance I’d had of winning, quickly went away in the face of my paralysis. I could not move. In all my readings, I’d come across several tomes with tales of the kute venom used in fights, but the memory of seeing it all those years ago in my slum, still lived on in vivid detail in my head. I remembered the noble one who’d come into the slum, and the guards it had brought with it. I remembered those guards using their tails to poison my friends. I also remembered the paralysis that followed. I remembered how those guards had positioned my friends on their knees, and then cut off their heads.

Checha landed, right as this thought filled my head.

Whatever sense of honor or camaraderie there’d been at the start of our battle was gone now. Checha wanted me dead, and as it moved determinedly towards me, I could see that it had every intention of accomplishing its task.

As soon as it reached me, it knelt on the ground beside me. It lifted the horns in its hands up and brought them down, stabbing them into my stomach. One passed all the way through. I felt it poking out my back, the other I felt buried deep within me. If I was not paralyzed by Checha’s kute venom, if I had the strength to speak, I would have cried out.

Now, this, was the pain of death. I knew it. For the first time in my life, I was truly at death’s door. My eyes closed and I could feel the air coming slower. My breaths were short, and strained. I could not move, but I could feel Checha’s hands wrapping around my neck. I could feel it tightening around me, strangling me. The uspec meant to squeeze the life right out of me, and even if I could move, I did not have the strength to stop it.

I felt my breaths coming slower and slower.

Then what little was left of my consciousness began to leave me. I was dying. Perhaps I was already dead.

I did not.

“You don’t know, do you?” It didn’t wait for me to respond before it continued speaking. “I’m talking about the voice in your head.”

I gaped at it. How did it know? Pansophy? The uspec had never touched me. I’d at least had enough sense to make certain of that. Then I remembered Arexon and the creative way it had siphoned my thoughts the first time we met. Checha must have done the same thing. It must have taken appearance from a pansophy conduit so that I would not have known as it siphoned my thoughts.

“Pansophy.” I said, in response.

Checha chuckled. It shook its head. “No, actually, not pansophy. Fabiana’s cognate, Foild. It has spies in Fabian’s house. Those spies overhead you talking to your imp about a voice in your head which sets your course.”

Foild, I’d known I hated that uspec the moment I saw its ambitious face. What did it matter now? “Do you know who the voice is?” I asked. I did not expect an answer. It was my voice, how could Checha know anything about it?

Checha nodded.

“Who?” I asked.

Checha laughed. “You are the last brio, and you know nothing about what it is you carry within you.”

“I am not the last brio.” I spat out. “The last brio is a coffer, an object. And by the time you get that through your thick skull, Fajahromo will already have it.”

Checha’s laugh deepened. “The only thing Fajahromo has is frostbite. It knows that the plenum is hunting it. Before we could get our hands on its traitorous neck, it ran to Damejo. I’ll find it though. As soon as I’m done with you, I will find it.”

Fajahromo was on the run? Why did this not feel me with more joy? I would have been happier if Checha had said it was dead. Fajahromo was sneaky, too sneaky. Where would it hide in Damejo? The answer came instantly. There was no place safer than the mausoleum. Fajahromo already owned the attendants and its siblings room-vaults. No one could come in without the key and Fajahromo alone would have that.

“I am not the last brio.” I said, although I could tell from the look on Checha’s face that it did not believe me.

“You are. Why do you fight it, when you do not even know what it is?”

“I know it’s a weapon. I know that destroying the last brio would lead to Chuspecip’s death.”

Checha shook its head. “You misunderstand. If destroying the last brio would lead to Chuspecip’s death, then the voice in your head would not have sent you on all the missions it did. Haven’t these missions struck you as a little suicidal? Surely a voice that leads you to me wants you to die.”

I thought about that for a minute and chose to refrain from answering.

“Your death, the destruction of the last brio, protects Chuspecip, it doesn’t kill it. There are only two things that can lead to Chuspecip’s lifeforms, Chuspecip itself, and you, the last brio. If I kill you, this information, this map, dies with you. Which is why I refused to let you get consumed by fog. I need the last brio to find Chuspecip’s lifeforms, and destroying Chuspecip’s lifeforms is the key to destroying Chuspecip. I need you, but as you will never cooperate with me, I will use the offspring created from your corpse instead. How do you think the brio transferred to you? You inherited it from your progenitor, Calami. And my offspring, the one I create from you, will inherit the brio from you. It will be bound to me, and it will lead me to the lifeforms.”

I was speechless. Checha truly believed what it was saying. It believed that I was the last brio and that killing me would create another last brio, one that would be loyal to it. It was insane. How could Checha believe this? What happened to make it so sure that I was the last brio, and that if I was, the brio could be transferred? None of it made sense to me. None of it.

“I am not the last brio.” Was all I could say in response to Checha’s words.

Checha smiled. “It matters not what you think you are.” It said, and then it walked into the hatch.

I took a step back. I did not have to go into that hatch. My wings began to flap, and I had another desperate thought of fleeing. Checha did not want me dead. It had just confessed that to me. Its previous show with the fogs had been that, nothing more than a show. It believed that killing me would destroy the last brio and it needed the last brio. I did not have to believe it, to use it. I could run. I could run, Checha would not kill me. I turned around and put more thought into flying.

CHECHA’S EYE! YOU BELONG TO ME!

I tried to fight the voice, but I found that my ailerons no longer flapped. But I could still control my legs, and so I made to walk away, but my head exploded with pain. The pain dropped me to my knees. Still, I tried to fight it, to crawl on hands and knees away from the hatch.

YOU ARE MINE NEBUD! YOU ARE MINE. YOU BELONG TO ME! YOU BELONG TO ME!! BRING ME CHECHA’S EYE! I WANT IT! I NEED IT! YOU WILL GIVE IT TO ME! YOU ARE MINE!

No! I tried to scream but I could force no words out through my lips. The pain was too much. I did not know that this level of paralyzing pain existed. But I could not willingly walk into my own execution, and that was what fighting Checha in the hatch would be. It believed that killing me would give it everything it wanted, everything it needed. I could not do it, not now, not like this. I needed time. I needed time. But the pain wouldn’t let me. I could not move. It was as if my body no longer belonged to me. I tried to fight the voice. I tried to crawl, but I could not.

CHECHA’S EYE!

The voice repeated those words like a mantra. Like it was a spell and that repeating it could work magic on me, could make do that which I knew would lead to my own destruction. Was Checha right? Not about the last brio, but about the voice wanting me to die.

CHECHA’S EYE!

The pain was too much. I couldn’t take it anymore.

‘Later.’ I tried to reason with the voice. ‘Later. I will take the eye, but not now, not like this. I need time.’

NOW!

Was the response.

NOW! NOW!! NOW!!! I WANT CHECHA’S EYE. YOU BELONG TO ME. YOU WILL OBEY ME. NOW!

No. I tried to fight it.

NOW!

It felt like a dagger was being used to separate the sides of my brain. The voice was tearing into me, pushing me, forcing me, it would not go, it would not wane. I lay on the floor, shivering with pain.

“Fine.” I yelled, giving in. “Fine.”

Suddenly I was myself again. The pain was gone. There was nothing left to even remind me of how bad it had been. It was almost as if the pain had been a memory, a dream I’d made up myself.

I pushed myself off the ground and onto my feet. Then I steeled myself for the fight, and walked into the hatch.

There was a knowing smirk on Checha’s face, as if the agony I had endured was confirmation of its words. Perhaps the voice did want me to die, perhaps that was why it had sent me on all of these missions. But I had survived each one. Against all odds, I had survived. I had every intention of surviving this one too. I would survive this and I would find the voice in my head. I would find it and I would shut it up, for good.

As I walked through the fogs, I felt the thrill of battle fill me. I was suddenly thirsty for Checha’s blood. It was bloodlust, pure and simple. I wanted Checha to die. And from the way Checha looked at me, it was feeling the same thing. I remembered this from the last time I’d fought in the hatch, the way that the fogs altered my senses.

Then there was a gasp.

Checha turned. I found myself turning too, despite the bloodlust.
I turned, and through the translucent red fogs surrounding the hatch, on the other side of the green equipoise, standing by the dead body of the pious one I’d killed, was Fabiana, and Chechin. The uspec had done what I’d asked it to.

It wasn’t till that moment, as Chechin stared with horror at Checha, that I understood why I’d made the request. I’d wanted to make sure that Chechin saw its senior cognate this way. I’d wanted to ensure that Chechin saw Checha was an irira. But how could I have known to ensure it before I even knew that Checha would be revealing itself during this fight?

I did not have the time to contemplate this. The bloodlust began to rise, like a wave of carnage roiling within me.

A blow knocked me off my feet. “I had meant to make this bearable for you, but now I’ve changed my mind. For revealing me to Chechin this way, I will make sure your final moments are filled with unrelenting pain.” And then Checha proceeded to make good on its promise.

Part 8
-------

“Two as it was in the days of the firsts,
two duel for life, thus two duel for births.
Of you both the founder has chosen,
to make one progenitor, and the other reposing.
And that which survives shall become undead,
to lead a young as it too was led.
And that which is gone forever the offer,
forever exists in what is left to the other.”

The pious one concluded its chant and the silence that followed needed no explanation. It was time for the fight. A round wall of green stood in front of us. That wall showed that Checha had kept its promise, that we were indeed to fight in a hatch made within an equipoise. The eyes on the outer perimeter of my face chose that moment to stray to the side, catching glances of Checha’s body as it moved. I saw each boga spike on its chest and remembered the boga giant I’d fought the last time I’d been in hatch. The challenge with fighting bogas was to stay away from their spikes. I knew that. Normally, I would evade the chest spikes by aiming for the legs. My eyes glanced downwards and were faced with the reality of soaru tentacles, covering its legs. Those tentacles could lash out and latch onto an uspec. The hold of those tentacles were strong, much too strong to be removed by anything less than severing them. My first battle in the pits of Hakute had taught me that. A hard cyan tail rose from behind the skirt of tentacles, and the pointed tip of that tail turned upwards, reminding me of the poisoning powers it had. Of course I had a tail of my own to counter that, but still, if I was stung by the uspec’s poison, I would be paralyzed. I had never used my tail before, never used it as a weapon, never used it to weaken an opponent. I’d never had to, but I knew how. My eyes moved upward then, going back over the completely shielded legs, and the completely covered chests, to the completely covered neck. Its neck was filled with hooni scales. Hard scales that I knew from personal experience would be impossible to cut through, no dagger could break them. That was why daggers were made from them. My eyes continued to rise, past the face with completely filled eye sockets, to the head covered with mejo horns. Each of those horns were natural daggers which could be removed and used for fighting.

Checha turned to face me then. I gulped. An irirakun of all five spectrums. This was what Gerangi had told me Fajahromo had tried to create with my offspring, all those days past, in the pits of Hakute. Now I had to face one. As if its excess of features was not enough, it had bulk. It had bulk which could rival mine. This bulk had been hidden by the baggy clothes it wore. Now it was revealed, and I could see that Checha’s fame as a pugilist was not exaggerated.

“Shall we begin Cala?” Checha asked.

It was a struggle to keep my gaze from shifting to the exit. I should have escaped while I had the chance. I should have created the lit okun and killed the guards. I could have escaped with Fabiana and Musa. Checha would have scoured the entire existence for me, but at least I would have had a chance. I should have…

Checha’s eye.

The voice in my head prompted. The sound of that voice, right at this moment when I was facing my own mortality. The sound of the voice right when I knew I was doomed, it proved to be more of an agitation than it ever had before. I almost reached for the dagger in my belt just to stab myself in the head, and finally shut the voice up. Checha’s eye. Why Checha? Of all the hooni uspecs, why Checha? I could have lived long, I could have reclaimed my port, instead I was here, about to challenge an uspec with all five features.

“Your belt.” The pious one was in front of me, pointing at the belt. It expected me to take the belt off and relinquish it to its care. I knew that I had to. I had insisted on the fighting in the hatch being fair, and it wouldn’t be fair if I had weapons and Checha did not. Although, it was not really fair for Checha to have so many more features than I had. Fair. I scoffed at the word. Why had I ever thought that fighting Checha could be fair?

A part of me thought that I should have known. I should have known that Checha was a kun of all five spectrums, I should have known that it had to have had some advantage on me, to be willing to challenge me without magic or poison. I should have known. But the reality was that I couldn’t have. The features were covered. Before this moment, I had not even known that kuns of all five spectrums existed.

It took a lot of work to create a kun of five from scratch. It took several battles in the hatch, several deaths, before an uspec crossbreed of all five spectrums could be made. How was I to know that the Kaisers, the very ones who swore disgust at all iriras, the ones who couldn’t bear to live in the same existence as iriras, were themselves iriras? The hypocrisy of it…I just couldn’t have known. And I was not alone in this. No one else in the entire existence knew. My gaze locked on the pious one waiting for my belt, and I amended my thoughts. Others knew, others had to know, but those who knew where loyal to the plenum. And that was why word of the hypocrisy had not spread. If people found out, there would be chaos, an uprising. There had to be. The Kuworytes where meant to follow the Kuwor, but everyone knew that they really followed the plenum. The one thing they despised the most, was crossbreeding. If they found out that the plenum Kaisers were iriras? The chasm would escalate. It wouldn’t just be Uspecipytes against Kuworytes, it would be Kuworytes against themselves. The bloodshed…

The pious one cleared its throat and I was forced out of my thoughts on the plenum’s hypocrisy and the chaos which would unfold if it was revealed. Not that I would have a chance to see it, I thought, as I reached for my belt. It was with slightly shaking hands that I reached to undo the belt. I took it off, handing it over to the pious one. It made no remarks as it took the belt from me.

“Let it be done.” The pious one announced, bowing as it extended its free hand towards the green fog.

Checha nodded at the uspec before it began to walk. Checha was a few steps ahead, of me, just about to walk into the equipoise, when I had a panicked thought and ran a fear-inspired final gambit. I summoned all the pain that I could find. I thought of my offspring’s death, of Musa’s betrayal, of the look of hatred which had been on Marcinus face when it saw me. All of it, every painful moment I had ever endured, I relived, and ever scrap of pain I had felt, I scavenged. Until I felt the life in it. I felt the gulf of pain from the okun calling out to me, and I knew that I had created a lit okun.

Checha whirled around.

One moment, I had a beautiful lit okun at the soles of my feet, growing out of me. The pious one was standing too close. The lit okun spread to just underneath its toe. As soon as it touched it, the pious one convulsed and fell dead to the ground. The pain in me only grew as I harvested the spectral magic from the dead uspec.

And then the pain was gone, snuffed out.

Checha frowned at me.

It took a step forward, and I prayed as I turned my gaze down, that the lit okun still remained. It did not. It was gone, just like my pain.

Fogs gathered, filling the room. The previous empty surrounding was now filled with red fogs, making their way towards me. I reached for my fear, and since I had so much of it, I had no doubt that I could create fogs to counter Checha’s. Before the fear could form in me, it was taken away, removed, no doubt, by the irirakun stalking towards me.

The fogs continued their convergence and I was powerless against them. I could not hold onto my emotions for long enough to use spectra to fight back. Checha had meant to fight me fairly in the hatch, but by trying to kill it with the lit okun, I had changed its mind. It meant to kill me now, with fogs.

The fogs encircled me. I felt them inching towards me, closer and closer, so close I could feel the death they brought with them. Then they stopped.

“You are a child Cala.” Checha’s flat voice came through the fogs. “Against me, you are a child. I surpass you in power and skill. Your use of emotions is like a party trick compared to what I can do.” It stopped speaking and the fogs inched closer.

Then the fogs were gone. “Don’t forget that.” Checha said, as the last of the fogs drifted away.

Without the fogs obstructing my view of the uspec, I could see its face. I could stare into its determined eyes. What I saw in those eyes made me nod in acquiescence. I could not beat this uspec with magic. I’d known that from the moment it had stolen my pain during the interview with Salin.

This time, when Checha turned around and began walking towards the equipoise, I followed silently in its wake.

As soon as I stepped into the equipoise, I felt my magic leave me. The life I usually felt in my emotions was gone. I was left feeling flat, somehow different, but also, somehow better. Magic could be a distraction. I knew this already. There was nothing purer than fighting with a clear head. Besides, my lack of magic meant that Checha also had no magic. One look at the uspec reminded me that a lack of magic was not a disadvantage for it. It had more features than I did, and those features were both weapons, and shields.

The air around the hatch was as chilly as I remembered it from the last time I’d been so close. A wall of opaque red fog stood in front of me, blocking my view of what was to be the last place I would ever fight. I tried to laugh off the silly thought, but even I knew that I had no chance of beating Checha. That had been why I’d made that last gambit. And I had failed.

Checha stopped right before the wall of opaque red fogs. It put its hand into it, and the opacity of the fogs went away. I could clearly see to the hatch within. I could see the mixture of orange and red light. I could see the white hail flakes falling within it, to the ground. The ground was a mixture of quicksand and okun. Through it all, light red fog drifted about. I had not realized this the first time I’d seen the hatch, but now I knew more. I could now tell that the hatch was so mesmerizing because it had all of the souls of the different spectrums present within it. Was that what gave it the power to make new life? I wondered, and then immediately turned my mind from that. This was not the time for existential thoughts or questions.

“You know,” Checha began, its voice low as it continued to stare at the hatch, “I’m surprised you didn’t kill yourself last night. I expected that. How did it let you reach this point?” Then Checha turned around, and I realized, as it stared keenly into my face, that it was not crazy. It actually expected me to know what it was talking about.

@HotB Yes oh, this is going to be a fight to remember

@dominique lol, yeah, this is a LONG one. I had to remove the white sight story after I signed my publishing contract. But, we're working on that, I actually just finished working on the third draft for that this last Sunday, and the story has changed and it's been revamped, and we're not even fully done with the editing process yet, so when it's complete, I'm hoping it will be even better and worth the long wait. Thanks for the patience

@eROCK247 lol! I like the way you're thinking!!! But what if the real twist is that the Nebud we're reading about now is actually not the Nebud that wrote it, but that those Nebud's memories were switched/changed with pansophy, so the Nebud that started writing could be a different character that we're just overlooking...

@maynation HAHAHA!!! Well I'm glad that you're learning new words, me too I'm learning new words to right this sha lol

@cassbeat 4.3.2......................

@ayshow6102 I'm happy you saw Marcinus! I thought more people we're going to notice Marcinus peeping in then, but...oh well. As to its execution, only time will tell

@olite93 This is about the regular length of the updates oh, some are longer, some are shorter, but this is about average

I saw the black begin to lighten, signs that my time with Fabiana was about to come to an end, and I heard myself speak. Suddenly, it became all so clear why I had asked for Fabiana.

“Make sure Chechin is there.” I said.

“What?” Fabiana’s mouth hung open, its brows furrowed with confusion.

“I am going to fight Checha in an equipoise, I need you to make sure that Chechin is there. Chechin, Checha’s junior cognate, has to be there, it has to see the fight. Can you do that?”

Fabiana appeared shocked, too shocked to form words.

Three soldiers stood in front of the entrance to my cell. I could tell that the fog had been removed. “The mighty one sent us to get you.” One of the soldiers announced.

It was time for the fight. I’d thought I’d have hours, but I was wrong. Only minutes, but I was ready. The peace I had fallen asleep in had not shaken. I was at peace with myself, and at peace with the fight that was coming. I was so at peace that I shot down the thought of escaping. Checha was the only one who could take away my pain before I could summon a lit okun. Without Checha, I could gather enough pain to create a lit okun and kill these soldiers while they escorted me to Checha, then I would be free. I could escape.

Checha’s eye!

The voice in my head chose that moment to return, bringing a migraine with it. The pain went away quickly, as did the voice, but they only confirmed what I already knew. It was now. This would be the best chance I would have of getting Checha’s eye. Outside an equipoise the uspec had spectra, and emotions, and probably even pansophy. Its skill with magic surpassed mine, it had already proven that by taking my pain away. I still did not know what it had done with that pain. An equipoise was the only place I stood a chance.

I nodded.

“No.” Fabiana cut in front of me. “Only a few days sirga.” It panicked. “Just a few days.”

I smiled at Fabiana. “Can you do what I asked?”

It could not reply.

“Yes.” Musa’s voice was soft, a whisper that came to me from a person without appearance. It had removed its appearance once the guards arrived. Now it whispered. “Yes, we will find a way to get Chechin there, but you must survive master. Hate me all you want, but you must survive.”

I chuckled at that. “I do not hate you Musa, I am not sure I could. Take care of yourself.”

And then I walked out of the cell.

The guards formed around me. One stood in front of me, positioned to lead the way, I assumed, and the other two behind me. I could easily have killed them if I chose to, but I did not. We walked. The opaque fogs cordoning off my cell drifted away. The guard in front led us through and we followed.

As I walked past the quicksand hallway, I turned to catch a glimpse of the soaru uspec who I’d seen from my cell. The uspec lay on its bed, its hands underneath its head and its eyes trained on the ceiling above it. For some reason, it turned its focus from the ceiling to me, at the exact moment that I had turned to gaze at it.

We both froze.

There were certain things I had come to accept about my life. From the first time I had heard the voice in my head and knew that I was bound to it, that I had to obey it, I had known that I was different. Or perhaps I had realized that earlier. Certainly not in the slum, but after. After I became aware of my irira status. After the noble took me from my slum and delivered me to Fajahromo. My life from that point had become nothing more than twists of fates. One twist after the other. From de trop to irira, from irira to banneret. From the pits to the Isle of Brio. From having nothing to having more money than I could spend. From having no purpose to following the voice in my head. Twist after twist, but no twist appeared greater than the one staring me in the face.

This twist rose. It shook off the shock and stood, while I remained the gaping fool rooted to the spot. It stood from its bed and it walked towards me. There was hard fog separating us so it could not walk out of its cell, but I could tell from the look on its face, that if it could, its first act would be to take my life.

I had never been the target of hatred so pure and unflinching that I wished for cover. And if it had been anyone else, anyone else, the hatred wouldn’t have mattered. I would have shrugged it off, but I could not shrug this uspec off. Not when it was the first one that I had ever called friend. Katsoaru came back into my mind. Not the early days, when we had been strangers, but the latter days. After I’d saved its life and it had spent hours scouring its Acropolis so that it could do the same. We should have been lifelong friends. But I had stolen its eye, and that betrayal severed whatever chance of friendship we’d ever had. Now it was standing in a cell in front of me, staring at me as if it would give anything to see me die. Had I become to Marcinus what Fajahromo was to me? That thought brought me nothing but sorrow.

What peace I’d felt before was gone.

“Marcinus.” I didn’t hear sound, and so I knew that the words didn’t come out, but I said them, or at least my lips moved to say them. Its center eye was missing, that eye was one of five that I had on the outer perimeter of my face. I had taken its eye. I had made it shun. Now it hated me, and I could not blame it. I remembered enough about Marcinus to know that the uspec staring at me with such vitriol appeared so different from the happy, carefree uspec I’d last known in Katsoaru. What had happened to it? How had it come to be in a cell in Lahooni? So many questions, but no time to ask them.

“Keep moving. It is bad luck to stare at one so close to death.” The guard behind me said.

I turned to that guard and glared at it. “I am not as close to death as you might think.” I spat the words out through clenched teeth.

“I was not talking about you.” The guard tipped its head towards Marcinus in the cell. “I was talking about it. By the high one Salin’s decree, and with the plenum’s blessing, that uspec is set to be executed in an hour.”

What? Set to be executed in an hour? How? Why? Maybe I was wrong, maybe that wasn’t Marcinus. But it was, it was it. Marcinus. How had the uspec come to this end? Set to die in an hour. The guard behind me pushed me and I found myself walking. I could not look away, but Marcinus did not appear to have that problem. It turned its back on me before I was even out of eyeshot. The Marcinus I had known in Katsoaru was gone, but who could blame it when I had forced it to live the life of shun, subject to the whims of its sibling, Manus. Katsoaru seemed like another life now, but it was a life that had left me with scars. One of those scars was about to die.

I was so distracted by my thoughts of Marcinus that I did not notice when we reached the quicksand and were pulled into it. I followed behind the guards while my mind contemplated Marcinus. It wasn’t till I felt the chill, that I allowed my mind to return to the present. I wished for the inner peace I had found before. I wished for that calm acceptance in the face of death. But I could not find it, all I saw was Marcinus, staring daggers at me from its cell, an hour before it was set to be executed.

The hatch was as beautiful as I remembered it being from Hakute. This was a different hatch of course, one surrounded by equipoise, but somehow the orange hue seemed to mix well with the green. The guards left and I was alone with a single pious one. My mind was still reeling with the discovery of Marcinus that it took me much longer than it should have to note Checha’s arrival.

When I did note it though, it was too late for me to go back in time and try to escape when I had the chance.

I almost laughed at myself. I should have known. I should have known that it would not be as easy as fighting an uspec like me in an equipoise. I should have known that it was a Kaiser in the plenum for a reason. It should have occurred to me when I linked its bulky clothes with the fact that it was trying to hide its irira crossbreeding. I had been right on that count, but so wrong on everything else.

I had thought that Checha was like me, a hooni-kute crossbreed. Now, seeing Checha unclothed, I knew that I was wrong. No wonder its control of emotions had been so strong. Suddenly, the insane fear I’d felt when I first met it made sense. It had put that fear in me.

Now, seeing it in its full splendor, I felt an all-natural fear of my own.

Checha was not just a kun of two, it was a kun of five. It was a crossbreed of all the spectrums. Not only did it have the scales of a hooni, it had the tail of a kute, the horns of a mejo, the spikes of a boga, and the tentacles of a soaru. This was why the plenum dressed so bulkily, this was what they tried to hide. They were irirakuns of all five spectrums. They were the very thing they persecuted Chuspecip for being. And I was about to fight one of them. There would be no magic, but the features of the spectrums were weapons, and Checha had far more weapons than I did.

The pious one began reciting its prayer, and I felt the certainty of death envelope me. No wonder Checha was not afraid of fighting in an equipoise.

I was a fool.

I took a deep breath and tried to prepare for battle. I tried to shake off the fear of Checha’s hidden features, but I found that to be a formidable task.

Part 7
-------

That night I slept well. With the unchanging red patch as the only light source, it was, of course, impossible to tell when day gave way to night, but whenever I slept, and however long that sleep lasted, it was good. A strange peace fell on me. I knew that the new day would bring a fight, a fight to the death, against a Kaiser in the plenum. Checha was no fool. If it chose to fight me without magic or poisons, as it had promised, then it must have skill. It was irirakun like me, that I knew, and so I knew that it would have a tail and neck scales, just as I did, and those would be weapons it could use, but they were weapons we both shared. It would be dangerous, I thought, but that thought was quickly chased away by the eager pumping of my heart. It would be thrilling, I decided. And so I had fallen asleep as I had so many times in the pits, thinking of nothing more than the fight that would come the next day.

I had problems. There was Fajahromo, my enemy, who’d appeared before my cell with an imp from Permafrost, and spoken in strange tongues with that imp. That, I knew, was important. And Fajahromo’s sudden desire to come to my aid simply because I was the last brio? That had bearing. But I did not dwell on that. Neither did my mind dwell on Musa and how it was surviving, traversing the familiar Lahooni Acropolis without me. Every time I thought of the imp I felt its betrayal as if I was rediscovering it for the first time. And so I took my mind away from the imp and found it on Fabiana. Fabiana and its Kuworyte family, its coward progenitor and its scheming cognate. In my state of enhanced-battle-induced-exhilaration, not even worry for the uspec could break through. When I closed my eyes, it was with a mind free from worry, and when I opened my eyes the next day, it was in the same state.

It wasn’t till I rose, stretching my limbs as I made the short walk from the bed to the bucket of okun, that I started to let fear in. Why would Checha choose to fight me in a battle of equals? It was no fool. To do this, it must believe greatly in its own skill. Where once I would have thought it impossible for any uspec to best me in a fight of strength and skill, now I knew better. I could be beaten, I could be killed. And for what? For the voice in my head? The alien voice that barked out commands and expected obedience. The voice that I could not shake, that I bowed to, that I danced for like a puppet on a string. There was always Fajahromo. Perhaps it was not too late for me to send a message to Fajahromo, to join forces with it. All Fajahromo wanted was a world where iriras could be free. It wanted a better place for our kind. Surely, I could not fault it for that. And maybe I would not have. In a different life, I may even have joined it. I could have befriended it even, I already had when I was younger. But that was before my offspring, before I watched the little uspec die. There is no pain like it, no sorrow, no grief. And that was all thanks to Fajahromo. Because of that, I would never be able to think logically around the uspec. I would never be able to see reason if reasoning meant joining with it. I wanted it dead. That was as far as I could reason when it came to Fajahromo. Dead.

Which left me with the battle against Checha.

I placed my cupped palm into the bucket and pulled out a handful of warm okun. I gulped the okun down and then repeated the process until the level of the liquid in the bucket had been reduced by half. Then I took out some more liquid and splashed it on my face.

The anticipation of battle was one that I did not realize till this moment how much I’d missed. Perhaps I was a fool to believe that Checha would keep its word and keep the fight fair, but I believed it, I could not help myself. And so I anticipated this fight as I had all others in the pits. I was filled with bloodlust, pure and simple. There would be no magic, just the beautiful contact of flesh on flesh. A pugilists bout. What could be better?

“Sirga.”

Fabiana’s voice came to me as if carried on a tide of pain. I felt its pain, like a blow against my head. This pain was not one caused by pain, it was one linked to another emotion, sorrow, I guessed, although I could not say for certain since I did not have the magic of that emotion.

It took me a while to brace myself for the sight of Fabiana in pain. But no matter how hard I tried, I could not make myself turn. And so, I did the only thing I could, I exhausted its pain. It let out a loud cry, a gruesome sound of ache, and then it was silent, and the room was free of its pain. It was easier to breathe. That was when I turned around.

Fabiana was standing in my cell. It must have been let in when my back was turned, my focus on the pail of okun. It did not matter when, or how, but it had been. It held a brown disk in its hand. I found that curious, but my attention quickly lifted to its face. It appeared drawn, tired. I hoped its current state was not a result of my presence in the cell.

“Sirga…” Fabiana began again. Then, it shook its head, cut itself off, and it fell to its knees in front of me. It knelt on both knees and bowed its head low.

I was stunned.

I cleared my throat a number of times. Each time after, I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. This was the first time that anyone had ever knelt to me. Fabiana was a majestic, the offspring of a duke, and it was kneeling to me. Something about its posture sent a bolt of awareness through me. I was Cala, Calami’s offspring, Calam’s heir. I was the rightful heir to Lahooni. And by kneeling, Fabiana was acknowledging this.

“It is customary to give your subjects leave to rise.” A teasing voice said.

Another shock rocked my system. That voice could only belong to one person. I set my gaze roving around the cell, and as I made my sweep back, I saw brown begin to appear by Fabiana’s side. Musa stood there. In the sudden jolt of seeing it, I forgot my anger at its betrayal, all I felt in that moment was joy.

I smiled, Musa smiled back at me. And for the second before my pride reminded me what this imp had done to me, life was perfect. Then I remembered and the smile went away. I cleared my throat, and turned my gaze away from the imp, ignoring the look of pain that had colored its features once my smile went away.

I walked over to Fabiana and grasped it around the shoulders. “Don’t be silly majestic, stand up before someone sees you and thinks you’ve lost your mind.” The fogs guarding my cell had been returned to their blackness so no one would see, but it felt like the right thing to say, and I was proud of myself for the teasing notes which had accompanied the words.

Fabiana’s head rose. It stared me in the eye. “If they think I’ve lost my mind I will tell them I have not. I am in the presence of the Kaiser of Lahooni, what else can I do but kneel?”

The Kaiser of Lahooni. I tried not to let the words get to me, not to let them infect me with hope and pride and joy. The Kaiser of Lahooni, a title, an identity, a life. I sighed. It was my birthright, but I was a long way from claiming it. “Stand up Fabiana, please, we need to talk.”

Fabiana bowed, and then it rose. It stared silently at me, waiting for me to speak. I was the one who asked to speak with it, yet I couldn’t figure out exactly what it was that I had wished to say. I hadn’t known what it was at the time I made the request, and I still did not know now. “How is your progenitor?” I blurted out the question. “Well, I hope. And is Salin keeping to its word? Has it made any move to subject you to the inquisition again?”

Fabiana swallowed, it shook its head. “I have been treated well, thanks to you, but it is not me I am worried about. How are you sirga? I’ve told people.”

“What?”

“I’ve told people.” It was whispering now. “I do not care about the deal my mater made, or even about keeping my life. All I care about is your security. I’ve told some of the nobles, the ones I feel I can trust. I’ve told them that Calami’s offspring lives. All I need is time sirga, a few more days, and I’ll have amassed enough support to force Salin into releasing you. The plenum may not like it, but they don’t have enough troops here to stop us. By the time they send for more troops we will have freed you. I can promise you that. You just need to wait a few more days and you will be out of here.”

A few more days. I smiled sadly at Fabiana. Its loyalty warmed my heart. The fact that it was willing to risk so much for me was a gift that I would never forget. “We do not have days.” I said. “We have hours, maybe, but not days.”

Fabiana appeared shocked. “What do you mean?”

Musa had moved closer to me. It was standing so close now that I would be able to touch it if I reached out to do so. I did not.

“I made a deal with Checha.”

“You did what?” Musa’s shocked voice rang in the cell.

I almost smiled at it. “I made a deal with Checha.” My gaze was on Fabiana as I spoke. “We will fight a progenitor’s bout in a hatch built within an equipoise. It will be fair.”

Fabiana shook its head. “Have you lost your mind?” It screamed. “You cannot do that. We cannot lose you, not when we just got you back.”

I tried not to be offended by Fabiana’s lack of faith in my fighting abilities. “It will be fair, that is more than I could have asked for with the way things unfolded. It will be fair, I will have a chance.”

“A chance against Checha?” Fabiana’s fears were now plainly written on its face. “Checha is a renowned fighter. No one has gone up against it and won. No one. They say that there is no better fighter in this existence, than Checha.”

“Whoever they are, they have not seen my fight.” I responded with a touch of levity. It did not come as a surprise to me that Checha’s fighting skill was well known. The uspec had agreed to fight me in an equipoise. It was plain to see from my bulk that I was a brawler. It would not have agreed to a fair fight unless it thought it could win. I knew that, and I was prepared for that. It would be a good fight, one that would live on forever in my memories.

If I survived.

I realized, as I stood there, in this room filled with people I valued, that I was not afraid to die. For me death might even be a mercy. No more voice in my head driving me to do things I did not understand or want. No more Musa with its sad face, telling me that it had been happy with my ancestors but not with me. No more Fabiana and concern for the uspec’s safety, especially with its stupid faith. I would be free. It would be them, the ones who lived on, who would be most affected by my death. I would feel nothing. And if I was to die, what better way to go than in a fair fight against the rumored best fighter in the existence. All the worries of an invasion, of uspecs serving imps, of losing Lahooni, all of it gone. No, I was at peace with death. But I would not go down easily. I would fight Checha with everything I had.

Thank you @popeshemoo glad to see you're still reading and enjoying

Fazemood:

Tomorrow meaning Saturday we will be in the hatch where we take checha's eye but that will be after we almost died after being beaten to stupor

This made me laugh sooooooo hard! Well Saturday is here, maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong. I just want to say, for all of you that think Nebud cannot die because it is the narrator, well all that means is that when the narrator dies the story ends ...lol

@olite93 Can they really teach it to suppress the voice? Who knows, but I like the way you're connecting it back to Nefastu

@phoenixchap You are right, this has been a LONG one and I am sure that there are many inconsistencies and things that I dropped. Although some of them are done purposely. Like not everyone in the spectral existence drinks from a goblet. The rich ones do, but the poorer ones will manage cup like the rest of us. But you are right though. If I end up deciding to publish this, then I'll have to go through and fix all those inconsistencies. Thank you for being so observant and pointing this out to me! I truly appreciate it!!!

@eROCK247 thank you thank you thank you, I'm happy you're enjoying getting twisted! Haha

“Think on it.” Fajahromo said to me in hushed tones. “When I return, it will be with the means to free you. Then we can work together as friends, or you can be my hostage. I would prefer to call you friend again.”

After saying that Fajahromo moved away. The imp just barely cleaned up the last of the blood in time to follow behind Fajahromo. The area outside of my cell appeared to be sealed off by opaque fogs, but as soon as Fajahromo drew near, the fogs drifted away, and in their absence, I caught a glimpse of the prison I was locked in. There was no cell directly in front of mine, but several paces away, there was a cell with a transparent wall. I could see into that cell, and what I saw, was an uspec with the tentacles of a soaru.

The opaque fogs reappeared, and my vision of that cell was cut off. Blackness returned to the wall in front of me, returning me to the solitude I had endured before Fajahromo’s visit.

I found myself plagued with troubling thoughts, all of which centered around Fajahromo’s visit. Fajahromo had sounded desperate. That was unlike the uspec. Why was it so desperate to have me? Surely, if it meant to destroy Chuspecip then its purpose was aligned with the plenum. If Fajahromo believed as Checha did, that I was the last brio, then wouldn’t it want my death? Why would it want to save me?

Before I could contemplate further on this, the black wall began to lose its opacity. As it turned from black to grey, I wondered who my new visitor would be. I had gone so long without seeing a single uspec, and now, in the span of minutes, I’d had two.

As soon as the wall turned transparent, I watched as the ground on the other side of that wall rippled. A leather stool rose from the pool of quicksand that had formed. Another stool emerged from the ground, that stool was filled with covered platters and sealed bottles with purple wine. Just the sight of the wine made my stomach stir.

The fog sealing my part of the prison drifted away, and again, I caught sight of the soaru uspec in the only cell I could see from mine. It stood with its back to me, but those tentacles rose painful memories. Would I ever be free of Marcinus and the guilt that followed the pain I’d caused it?

Two imps walked through the fog. They were dressed in a livery I hadn’t seen before. I did not have to wait long to see who they belonged to, as Checha walked in behind them. Then the fog returned.

Checha walked over to the leather stool and sat on it. Its gaze rested ponderingly on me.

“Shall we share a meal?” It asked, breaking the silence.

I shrugged.

A pool of quicksand appeared in my cell. A wooden stool rose out of that pool. It was laden with covered platters and sealed bottles of wine, similar to that on the stool in front of Checha. I could not help looking at the stool with longing. What type of food lay beneath the top covering of the platter? I wondered.

It took some effort, but I forced my gaze away. “What do you want?” I asked the plenum Kaiser.

Checha smiled kindly at me. “To share a meal.” It replied. “Share a meal with an old uspec, perhaps we can even share a few tales.” I turned my gaze away from the uspec. “I knew your progenitor and your sire.” Checha said, tempting me with its words. “I called Calam friend once. Is there nothing you wish to know?”

I swallowed. The wine looked so appealing. And the food in the platter? My stomach grumbled, reminding me loudly, of its empty state. What harm could it do to at least peek at the food? Maybe I would not find it appetizing. I reached for the lid and removed it.

I sighed. Nama. There was a huge slice of nama, slick with the juices used to marinate it. Another platter revealed a loaf of bread and several sweet buns. There was another platter with roasted tubers and grain balls.

It was a test, but I managed to turn my gaze from the inviting food, to the uspec who offered it to me. “Is it poisoned?” I asked, sardonically.

Checha laughed. Its laugh was full and hearty, the kind of laugh you expect from a person with a conscience. It broke off a chunk of bread from its own platter and put that in its mouth. It chewed slowly, and then swallowed. Then it said, “it seems not.”

It was making some sort of joke, I realized, but I could not find it in myself to share its humor.

Checha sobered. “I would never kill you with poison Cala. There is only one way for an uspec of your lineage to die, if it is to die by another’s hands. Only one way.”

I frowned at that. “Which is?”

“In the hatch.” Checha replied, “giving life to another.”

My stomach churned at the words. In the hatch. I knew what it meant of course, but I could not quite believe it. Instead of dwelling on it, I picked up the utensils on another platter, and tore into the nama flesh. I ate a quarter of it, before I unstopped a bottle of wine, and poured a good amount of it down my throat. It was good food, very good food.

“That is why you have kept me alive?” I asked, although I already knew the answer. “You mean to challenge me in the hatch, during a progenitor’s bout.”

Checha shook its head. “No, Cala, do not misunderstand me. I do not mean to challenge you, I mean to kill you.” It picked up its utensils then and tore of a slice of baked tuber. It dipped that slice into a green stew dressing and put it into its mouth. It watched me as it chewed.

“You mean to poison me.” I stated, “like you had Gerangi do to my progenitor.”

Checha nodded. “Calami was stronger than even I thought. The poison was meant to make it weaker, to make it easy for the Hakute imperial to kill it. The poison itself was never meant to be the agent of death. But after Calami killed the imperial, Gerangi panicked. It feared displeasing us, and so it upped the dosage of the poison in the hatch. Calami died. You were born. I did not want Calami to die like that. Like I said, uspecs of your line ought to die nobler deaths. But Calami died in the hatch, and that is a nobler death than Calam’s. Calam’s death saddens me. It was slaughtered, like a commoner. Salin was too impatient. It should have waited for us to come for Calam.”

Conversation of the death of my line did not quite mix well with food. The delicious meal suddenly felt too hard to swallow.

I turned to Checha. “So, you are a weakling.” I stated. “Too weak to fight an honest progenitor’s bout, one determined by strength and skill.”

“No. I am many things Cala, but weak is not one of them. I have two offspring, both gotten from honest bouts. The offspring I get from your corpse will fit in nicely with them. I do not yet have a hooni-kute kun.”

I looked at Checha and I saw in its eyes, that it knew. It knew I knew that it was an irira, and it did not care. What confidence power brought.

“Then fight an honest bout with me.” I countered. “If you are not afraid of losing.”

Checha chuckled. “Perhaps.”

“Perhaps?”

“You had a visitor before I came.” It said. Then it stopped, its gaze turning to its platter of nama as it cut off a piece of the meat. It took its time tearing the piece of meat off, and then raising the fork to its mouth. It chewed slowly, its eyes travelling from my face, to the abandoned food on my stool, and then back to my face. Then it lifted a bottle of wine to its lips, and took a small sip of the contents. It swallowed. “Tell me who the visitor was, and its purpose for coming, then I will consider giving you a fighting chance.”

“No.” I shook my head. “Not for a consideration.”

Checha’s center eyebrow lifted. “You are willing to give this visitor up?”
Eager. I thought. But to Checha I said, “give me your word that the fight will be fair, no poisons, no magic, just strength and skill. Give me your word on that, and I will give you the visitor’s name and its purpose.” I knew what I was risking, but I felt the rightness of it in my bones. Somehow I knew that if this uspec gave its word, it would stand by it. And if it didn’t? Well, at least this way I had a fighting chance.

Checha took another bite of its baked tuber. Its eyes stayed focused on me as it chewed. It ate silently, contemplating, I imagined. As Checha thought, I did the same. There was a part of me, a small part, that told me to consider Fajahromo’s offer. Fajahromo offered me freedom and all it wanted in exchange was for me to help it destroy Chuspecip. I did not care for the founder, so why not? My offspring flashed in my mind, and I knew that I could never side with Fajahromo. I would rather die poisoned in the hatch, than side with Fajahromo.

“Did you know that your line shared a special bond with Chuspecip?” Checha asked. I shrugged, wondering what that had to do with anything. “That, I guess, is why Chuspecip chose to make you the last brio.” I frowned, wishing I could do away with this nonsense of people thinking I was the last brio. The last brio was a coffer, not a person. But I remained silent. “When Chuspecip designed the progenitor’s bout, it was meant to be an equalizer. Noble and commoner alike were to stand an equal chance of winning. It is not, of course, not when magic and poisons can be applied so easily. But the Kaisers of your line sought to follow Chuspecip’s desires, and so whenever an uspec of your line sought to procreate, it did so in a special hatch. It is a hatch surrounded by equipoise. No magic can be used within it, no aerosol poison can cross it. Tell me who the visitor was, and we will fight there, as the uspecs of your line have. No poisons, no magic, just strength and skill.”

I should have suspected the uspec of lying. What uspec would chose to fight me on such an even playing field? Then I thought of Arexon, the one uspec who could easily beat me if strength and skill were the only deciders. What were the odds that this uspec could fight as well as the commander? I did not know. All I knew was that I had to do this. This was the only chance I would have to complete my mission, to take Checha’s eye.

I nodded. “Fajahromo.” I began, and then I revealed all, or as much of the visit as made sense to me. I was certain to stress Fajahromo’s desire to have me, to free me from this cell and somehow use me. I made sure to tell the uspec of Fajahromo’s boast that it was close to toppling the plenum. If I died in the hatch, I would die knowing that Fajahromo would soon follow. When I was done with my tale, Checha nodded solemnly.

“Gratitude.” It said. “Gratitude Cala, you have kept your word. I will keep mine. The bout will take place tomorrow, underneath an equipoise.”

I nodded. “Gratitude.” I said in reply. The civilized nature with which we discussed the coming bout seemed somewhat ludicrous to me. We would both fight tomorrow, and one of us would die.

“May I ask another favor?”

Checha nodded. “Of course.”

I swallowed. For the life of me, I could not say why I was asking for this, but I asked. “May I be granted a visit with the majestic Fabiana. The majestic and I grew close during our travels and I would like to bid it farewell before the bout.”

Checha stared at me. I wondered if it could tell I was lying, or if it could see that I wasn’t even sure why I had made the request.

“Yes Cala.” Checha acquiesced. “You will be granted a private audience with your friend before the bout.”

“Gratitude.” I said in reply.

With the negotiations done, we returned our focus to the meals laid out in front of us.

Part 6
-------

Many thoughts buzzed around my mind as I tried not to think too hard on my immediate future. The cell that Checha teleported me to was a bleak place. The fog walls were all hard fog, black, with the exception of the single spot of red. That red provided lighting to the room, but the color did not change with the passage of time. There was no way to tell what time of day it was outside. I thought perhaps that I could tell time by the arrival of food, but no meals came.

There was complete silence. I had no visitors, no voices to contemplate, no thoughts to hear and share, save my own. And my thoughts were not pleasing. Every time I tried to run away from the memory of me condemning myself with my own lips, my mind darted to Checha and the fact that it was a kute-hooni kun like me. An irira, I shook my head at the hypocrisy of it. Not that there was much I could do from inside this cell. Why was I in this cell? Checha had stolen my emotions. It was a thing that few had ever been able to do to me. The memory of it took me back to a time in my life I prepared to forget. Checha had stolen my emotions, but where had it transferred it? This was a curiosity. If Checha had exhausted my pain, I would have had a fount of it before it went away, certainly enough to create a lit okun. Checha must have known this, which is why it transferred it. But no uspec had appeared to be filled with polluted pain, so where had it gone.

I stood up from the bed and paced.

It was a tight confinement. I could barely walk five steps before I came to the opposite wall. It felt like I was in a box, a tightly sealed box with no opening. Surely there had to be a door to this cell, or was the only way in with spectra? Too many questions, too many things that I had no answers for. I walked back to the bed and collapsed onto it. My ailerons slammed against the soft padding.

I sighed.

Why the cell? Checha had the advantage. It had taken my emotions away, it stopped me from creating lit okun. If it had combined its forces with Salin, it could have used the fogs to kill me. From what I knew of spectra, it was a contest of strength and ability. Two strong skilled uspecs using the magic of fogs against me…I wouldn’t have stood a chance. So why not do that? Checha believed me to be the last brio, yet it was willing to let me live. I looked around the cell and was almost tempted to change that assessment. But no, life in a cell was still life. Was this it then, did it plan to make me rot in here? Starve me to death?

I found that thought about as palatable as all the others that came before it. A fleeting memory of me declaring myself as the rightful heir to Lahooni flashed across my mind. What had possessed me to do that? I thought about it, and perhaps it could have worked. If the guards had been Lahooni guards. If Fabian, Fabiana’s progenitor, had not proved so easily cowered. Not that it mattered now, no one would ever know my secret. Well, I amended, Fabiana would know. Would it tell others? Would they plan a rescue? Not likely.

The last brio. Rot Gerangi! The uspec’s death had been too simple. It had died knowing that the message it planted in my head would be revealed with the right prompting. And I had gone to the plenum and put Gerangi’s plan to action. That, I could not have helped. Gerangi had pansophy, it had used the magic on me long before I even understood how it worked. Then it had hidden the message in my mind. Perhaps if I had pansophy I would have been able to thoroughly examine my lifeforces and I would have found it. Or perhaps not. Once the voice in my head set me on the course of taking Checha’s eye, this end had become inevitable. Sooner or later I would have had to confront Checha, and in Checha’s presence Gerangi’s message would have been revealed.

At least this way I had saved Fabiana from the inquisition. It would never need to worry about it ever again, thanks to the deal that its progenitor had made. It was a deal that ensured my own destruction, but I tried not to dwell too long on that.

Time passed slowly and I had nothing to do but wait. My eyes closed several times, and when they opened, I knew that I had slept. I did not know how long I slept each time. It could have been minutes, or hours, there was no way to tell. No food came though. I imagined days must have passed, because I felt the emptiness in my stomach. I felt hunger pangs, the kind that one only felt after missing at least a day’s worth of meals. It did not matter how much my stomach sang for food, I got none.

I became grateful for the bucket of okun. I did not waste it on cleaning. I drank it. I used my palm as a cup and imbibed a few gulps at a time. I did not know how long Checha planned to keep me here, and I had no intention of dying sooner than could be helped. If it meant to starve me, it would find me far more resilient than it expected.

It was not until I started to face the reality that I would die alone and unseen in this cell, that something happened.

I was lying on my back, my arms folded underneath my head, when the wall in front of me began to change color. It went from a dark shade of black, to grey and then slowly, the opacity began to reduce. I sat up, watching bemusedly as the fog turned transparent.

Of all the uspecs I expected to see, the one standing in front of me took me by surprise. I’d thought Fabiana would come to visit me. Perhaps I had even longed to see Musa. I would not let myself think it, of course, not after Musa had betrayed me, keeping the invasion and its ties to the wrath a secret, but still, it was a longing I might have felt.

Unfortunately, it was green skin, not brown, filling the space in front of me. And the neck of the uspec was plain, not the scale-filled neck of a hooni. Not Fabiana.

Fajahromo.

I clenched my jaw.

The uspec appeared civil. It wore some sort of clothing over its chest, to hide its boga spikes, of course. Its eyes scanned over me, but it did nothing. It made no move towards me. It simply stood there. Did it expect me to speak first?

I stood up from the bed, and found myself running towards the uspec. I still had my belt on, that had not been taken from me, and so I could reach for my dagger. I pulled that dagger out of my belt and threw it at Fajahromo’s neck. I was acting on instinct of course. All the anger that the uspec inspired rushed in on me, accompanied by the pain. Now Fajahromo did not only remind me of the offspring I’d lost, but also of Musa. Musa was not dead, it had healed itself from the samu bite, but our relationship, the relationship we’d shared before the bite, was gone. Things would never be as they had been, and it was all thanks to the uspec standing in front of me.

It did not so much as startle at the sight of the thrown dagger. It did not take me long to realize why. While the fog wall had turned transparent, the form still remained. It was still a hard wall, still impenetrable. The dagger collided with the wall and fell to the ground with a clang. I walked over and bent to pick it up. Then I stayed where I was, glaring at Fajahromo.

“It is done.” A voice said. “It took a piece of merit to bribe the guards, but they agreed. The sound trap has been activated, you may speak at will.”

Then the owner of the voice came into focus, and I was treated to my second shock. I had seen this imp before, recently. The imp had been at Permafrost. It was the one that had spat at me. I could never forget the imp’s face. My hands tightened into impotent fists by my sides. I was so angry I wished I could shatter the walls so that I could get to the pair standing on the other side.

But I could not, and my anger had to fade. Once the anger faded, I noticed something else about the imp. It was dressed peculiarly. I had only ever seen imps dressed like this once before, a long time ago. Perhaps if I had seen the imp alone dressed as it was, I would not have made the connection, but the imp, standing with Fajahromo, dressed as the imps had been that night, it stirred memories. I remembered that night from the pits of Hakute so long ago, the night when fighting imps had made their way into the pits and killed the wardens. Gerangi had been dragged into a cell that night. That had also been the night before my last fight. A farce of a fight really, but I was getting carried away. Had this imp been there that night? Had it been one of the fighters? This imp was from Permafrost, had all of those imps been too? I tried to remember what Xavier had told me about the imps, and how they’d come to belong to Fajahromo. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong, but I could not quite figure out what it was.

“You fool!” Fajahromo snapped.

I shook my focus off the imp and turned to face Fajahromo, my unwanted visitor. I stayed silent, thoroughly enjoying the sight of the uspec’s anger. It always appeared so composed, only allowing me to see the emotions it wanted me to see. Not now though, this was real.

“How could you let yourself be captured by the plenum?” Fajahromo scolded as if we were friends. Its fingers rose to its temples.

“We don’t have time for this.” The imp prodded.

“Shut up!” Fajahromo snapped. “Let me think.”

A look crossed the imp’s face. This was the same imp who’d spat at me in Permafrost, its hatred of uspecs so severe it could not restrain itself. Now it glared at Fajahromo, but it remained silent.

Fajahromo’s gaze turned to me. “I will find a way to get you out.” It said. “The guards can be bribed, and I have pious who could work on breaking down the fog wall. You have much to learn Nebud, but I will help you.” Its gaze on me intensified. “Why did you not tell me that you were the last brio? Why did you not say it? I would have protected you. Why do you always have to be so difficult? I am your friend Nebud, can’t you see it. Can’t you see it!” It shook its head, and I was starting to fear that it might be crazed. “No, the plenum will not have you, they will not best me like this. No!”

The imp turned to Fajahromo and then it spoke to the uspec in a different tongue. I stared amazed at the pair as Fajahromo responded. They spoke a tongue I had only heard in one other place, it was the umani tongue which the imps had spoken in Permafrost. I tried to catch bits of their conversation, hoping that I could get Fabiana to interpret it later.

Later. I had to fight the urge to laugh at myself. Did I really think that there would be a later? That I would somehow survive this cell? And if I did? Fajahromo knew that I was the last brio. How had it found out? Salin, probably. I remembered their friendship. It was a friendship that had almost gotten me killed in the pits of Hakute. How did an uspec like Fajahromo grow to be so well connected?

Then, “be quiet!” Fajahromo snapped, reverting to the kute tongue. “Your tongue is harsh, and it gives me a headache just trying to keep up with it. If you must speak do so in the civilized uspec tongue. If not be silent. I do not care what your mother wills. I am the uspec.”

I could not help but notice the strain that Fajahromo put on the words ‘mother’ and ‘the’. Mother, I guessed referred to another imp this one referred to as its mater, I knew the imps did that often. And ‘the’? Was Fajahromo stressing its superiority? I did not understand the significance of this visit, even though I knew there was a significance to it.

“With all due respect, drogher,” the imp began, speaking the kute tongue, “our mother…”

Fajahromo’s hand lashed out. It wasn’t until the damage had been done, and the imp fell to the floor, blood gushing from its neck, that I realized what Fajahromo had done. My lips quirked in a smile of approval. For a moment, I forgot who Fajahromo was. Then I remembered, and the smile went away.

“I can free you from here.” Fajahromo swore. It moved closer, close enough that its hand touched the transparent wall. “Befriend me Nebud, let it be as it was before. We can work together, you and I. With your help, we can destroy Chuspecip. I am already close to toppling the plenum. This existence can belong to us.”

I said nothing.

“Why will you not consider it? Once you were happy to call me friend.”
I could not help it. Fajahromo’s words forced me to react. “That was before you sought to turn my own offspring against me!” I yelled. “You used it! You used it and because of you it died. I watched as the life left it. We can never be friends.” I snapped in response, reliving the memories as the words flooded out of me. There was no uspec in this world that I could hate more than Fajahromo. None.

The imp twitched. A moment later, it returned to consciousness. It stood, the wound in its neck healing as it rose.

A bang sounded. “Great one!” A panicked voice called out. I could not tell who the voice belonged to, but I heard it clearly, and I heard the tremor of fear in it. “The mighty Checha is approaching, you must leave before it sees you, great one.”

Fajahromo sighed. Its gaze turned to the imp. “Clean up the blood!” It snapped. “No one can know we were here.”

The imp glared at Fajahromo. I felt the loathing in the gaze it directed at the uspec, but it stripped of its shirt, and dropped to its knees to clean its own blood off the ground.

@Smooth278 thanks and thank you for reading!

@Fazemood welcome back! I'm happy to see that you're starting to understand the depths of Nebud's sufferings and all the challenges that it faces

@HotB I agree! Let's wait to see

“Surely this last brio must be an object, an artifact, not a person.” I let the words out, in the chance that they could take root.

“At one time we thought so.” Checha said. “But, for a while now, I’ve had my suspicions. A brio is too powerful to be kept in an artifact. Perhaps Chuspecip kept its lifeforms in artifacts, but not the brio. I see now that my suspicions were right. But why you?”

I shook my head. “It couldn’t be me.” I swore, trying my best to keep my fears at bay. “I am nothing.”

Checha shook its head. “You are not nothing. You are what my progenitor would call darai, alive.” It took a step closer towards me, and I felt myself inching backwards. “I come from a long line of Uspecipytes. I broke off from them of course, the kuwor is our true god, but my line is old. Not as old as the line of Lahooni, but second only to them. After Chuspecip started the line of the Kaisers of Lahooni, it chose other Kaiser lines. Like Vatikute, Aboga, Noarusoaru, Katsoaru, and my port, Monachooni. Our lines are old, and those with knowledge of the old Uspecipyte religion can sense things. Now that I stand close to you, now that I let myself look, I see. There is an aura around you Nebud, there is life in you that surpasses that of any regular uspec. You are what Gerangi said you are. You are the last brio.”

Silence greeted Checha’s words.

Salin spoke and I was startled to see that it had moved down from its stage. It was now standing behind Checha. “Then we must kill it and finally put an end to Chuspecip.”

“No!” Fabiana yelled.

I shook my head, even as I saw fog begin to grow in the air. Someone was using boga magic. Someone was trying to kill me. I was afraid. I’d felt true fear once I’d come face to face with Checha, and so it was not too hard for me to reach through my fear to the boga eye which I’d stolen from Sophila. I created fogs of my own. I was not sure what to do, but it seemed that the fog did not need much prompting. It felt my fear, it was a fear of death, and so it grew around the fog which another member of the room created. The fog appeared the same shade of red, but somehow, I could tell mine from the others. Then a loud bang sounded, and both patches of fog were gone.

My fog destroyed the other. It was empowering to feel this, to know that I had used spectra to save myself. This was not the first time that I’d used spectra, but this time I had planned to use spectra and I had done it. This felt more joyous than when I hadn’t known what I was doing, but somehow managed to do it anyway. It felt like control.

“Kill it!” Salin ordered.

Guards who’d been standing around the room pulled closer to me. They pulled out their swords. How many where there? At least ten. I could take them, I knew it, but not if the uspecs with spectra joined in. I could not focus on spectra and fighting at the same time. The lit okun. If I could summon the pain to create it…I had no control over where it appeared, I could kill everyone in the room, Fabiana included. There had to be another way.

My eyes caught on Fabiana and its pater, uspecs of the line of the dukes of Lahooni. These guards were also of the line of Lahooni. An idea began to form in my head. It was stupid, and risky, but if it worked, I could turn the guards against Salin. The last time we’d met, Fajahromo had taught me a lesson in politics. These guards belonged to Salin. But where they loyal to it? They were hooni, they wore the uniform of guards of Lahooni. Sigils which no doubt belonged to my line, unless Salin had already had its own sigil made. But if they were Lahooni guards, they had to be sworn to Lahooni, to the rightful line. I could try to create a lit okun, but if I did Fabiana and its pater would be casualties, and Checha could use its quicksand to escape. I was not safe in a world where Checha existed believing that I was the last brio. I had to kill Checha, but how? Certainly not in this room, not here. The only chance I would have against one like Checha was under an equipoise. But I didn’t even have the time to find one in Lahooni. I needed time.

I wasn’t even sure I knew what I was doing, but I found myself doing it anyway. I rose my hands to the neckcloth hiding my scales, and I took it off. I let the neckcloth drop, revealing what I was to the room.

“Irira!” An uspec guard spat at me.

Fabiana looked shocked. I was heartened to see that it did not bear the same level of disgust as the guards or as Chechin, the four-band noble. Checha seemed shocked, but not disgusted. I found this off for one who was a member of the plenum, the same plenum that had ordered Arexon to slaughter all iriras in Chiboga. A guard took a step towards me, and I halted it with my words.

“You are right,” I said to Checha. “I am not nothing. Nebud is the name I was given when I was taken to a slum in Hakute, and left there as de trop. But it is not the name my line gave me.”

Fabiana’s eyes widened, and I knew, I knew that it knew my true identity even before I said it. Checha must have been right. Perhaps there was something in the Uspecipyte religion that allowed some true believers to see what others could not. Fabiana nodded at me, but the nod seemed more like a bow.

“I am Cala.” I announced. Salin gasped. Fabiana’s progenitor paled, and Fabiana smiled. The guards did not flinch. I found this odd and very unsettling. I could tell from looking at these guards faces, that they had no idea who Cala was. They had never heard the name before. But I had already started, I could not stop now. “My progenitor was the imperial undead Calami, and my sire was the mighty Calam, Kaiser of Lahooni. My sire claimed me, that makes me the rightful heir to Lahooni. Salin is a usurper. Lower your weapons,” I ordered the guards, “it is me you serve.”

My gambit failed. None of the guards as much as made a move to lower their weapons. They held their swords determinedly towards me.

“A valiant effort.” Checha said. “It would have worked too, if these guards were Lahooni. They are not, they are Monachooni, plenum soldiers Cala, they have no loyalty to your line.”

Salin panicked. “You have to kill it now mighty one, you cannot let it live.”

“No.” It was the duke who spoke. “We must investigate this claim.” Its eyes settled on the scales on my neck. “We must…”

“Shut up you righteous old fool.” Salin snapped. “Take your offspring and be gone from here. Tell no one of what you heard here, or you will die, just as surely as this imposter will.”

The duke’s shoulders straightened. It frowned at Salin, and I could feel the storm of anger coming. Just as quickly as I felt it, it was taken away. The duke had not spent its emotion, someone else snatched it. There was another kun in the room, one with power to manipulate emotions like me.

I looked around, but I saw no other irira.

“Think Fabian,” Checha spoke cajolingly, “you cannot win this. The plenum will send its soldiers to march on Lahooni if you tried. We will not allow Lahooni to rise up again, certainly not under the power of the last brio. Never. Cala will die and your entire port will die with it. Think of your offspring. Of Fabin, of cunning Fabinna, of little Fib, and of your eldest, your heir, Fabiana. Swear us your silence and leave now. If you do this, the courageous, faithful, Fabiana will never be subjected to the inquisition. What say you Fabian? Will you be friend or foe to the plenum?”

The duke stared at me.

“No mater, you cannot.” Fabiana pleaded.

“It is an imposter!” Salin snapped. “Cala died with Calam, we saw its dead body.”

“Checha believes that this is Cala.” Fabiana said in reply. “Mater…”

“Will you risk you family for an uspec who just confessed to being de trop, from a slum? Think sibling. If you do this for us, we will never forget it.” Salin interceded.

“Mater…”

Fabian cut Fabiana off. It rose its clenched fist in the air, and brought it down hard on the back of Fabiana’s skull. Fabiana fell to the ground, unconscious. Fabian turned to Salin then. “Cala died with Calam. This is an imposter.” It said. “I am loyal, as always, to you, sibling.”

Salin smiled. “Now we can kill it.”

“No.” Checha shook its head. “For Cala, a descendant of Calam’s illustrious line, I have something better planned.”

“But…” Salin began.

Checha cut it off. “Have no fear Salin, it will die, just not quite yet.”
I reached into myself then remembering my pain. I thought of my offspring’s death, of how it had felt to have it taken from me. I felt the pain begin to rise like a storm cloud and then, just before I could use it, it was taken, stolen from me. I gaped. Someone had used emotions to snatch my pain away from me. But who? There was no other irira in the room.

“None of that now.” Checha scolded me.

Quicksand appeared underneath me, just before I could fully contemplate Checha’s words right on the heel of my snatched pain emotions. The quicksand pulled me in as I thought of the lack of an irira in the room. I was teleported to an empty room made from fog. The walls were made of hard black fog. There was a patch of red on a side wall, that single patch appeared like a spot of clouds in a darkened alley. It illuminated the room with red light, as if under the illumination of night clouds.

I looked around. There was a single bed in the room, and a bucket halfway filled with pink liquid. Nothing else. This room reminded me of the pits of Hakute. I did not like it.

I sat on the bed, warring thoughts crossed my mind as I thought of the emotions that had been taken from me. The duke’s anger had been taken, and my pain. So an irirakun like me, one of anger and pain, kute and hooni. But there had been no iriras in the room. I had searched after the duke’s anger was taken away from it. All in the room had neck scales as their only features, and those scales had been prominently displayed.

All but one.

The thought flashed through my mind, but once it was there, it was too stirring to shake. The ingenuity of it. Suddenly, I remembered the plenum’s garb in more detail. The red cloak with the high collar and the puffy bottom, easy to hide a tail and neck scales underneath that.

The irira was Checha, it had to be. Checha, the Kaiser from the plenum, the one that ordered Arexon to slaughter iriras, the one that claimed to be driven to the Kuworyte religion out of a hatred for iriras. That Checha was itself an irira. I had always known that the plenum’s motivation had nothing to do with religion, but this was my confirmation.

Part 5
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Stunned silence greeted my words. It took some time for the occupants of the room to really hear me. I had always believed that there was some sort of dissociation between our minds and our ears, such that when we heard crucial information, it took time for the brain to fully understand it. This time proved to be useful as the occupants remained in their stools, frozen by the words I’d spoken. It was time that I used to think.

Rather, it was time that I should have been using to think. Even as my mind reeled with the words that I’d spoken, I found my lips parting, saliva wetting my throat as I prepared again to speak. I did not know where the words I’d spoken had come from, and I had no idea what it was that my lips seemed so eager to say. Before I could stop myself, I heard myself saying,

“Mighty one,” then I turned to the plenum Kaiser, Checha, and bowed, “the last time I crossed paths with an uspec from the plenum was in the pits of Hakute. While I was in the pits, I came across an uspec Gerangi. As you know, Gerangi is a faithful servant of the plenum. It was tasked with finding the last brio, and it did, it found me. On the off chance that I crossed paths with the plenum again, without Gerangi’s company, Gerangi planted this message in my head, and used pansophy to ensure that I revealed myself to you.”

Then it was done, the message had been relayed, and I was in full position of my lips and my wits. As the upsecs continued to stare bemused at me, my mind raced to piece together what had happened to me. It only took a little time for me to realize how this had been done, not just how, but when. I remembered clearly the first time that I had met the plenum. My meeting with the plenum in the pits had not been of import to me. My concerns had been geared more towards Fajahromo and trying to escape from the pits. But I did recall Gerangi. I remembered walking into its cell and telling it that I had met the plenum. I remember the odd way that it had taken the news. It had been upset by the fact that I’d met the plenum without it, and then it had touched me. I had not known of the contact nature of pansophy at that point, or really what pansophy could do, but now, in hindsight, I could clearly see that Gerangi had used pansophy on me. It had touched me and then collapsed onto the floor, as if in that simple touch it had overtaxed itself. This was what that touch had meant. This, me revealing myself as the last brio to the plenum, the ones so eager to find it.

If only Gerangi was not already dead, I would find it just for the satisfaction of killing it myself, slowly.

Now what was I to do?

Checha’s stun was starting to shake. I could see its eyes narrowing on me.

‘What have you done?’ the words filled my head. I could tell from their presence in my mind that they had been put there by pansophy.

Immediately, I swiveled, searching frantically for the guilty party. My eyes caught on the green hand touching me and the familiar face it led to. It was only Fabiana.

I sighed in relief.

‘Use this opportunity,’ I thought, ‘to remove yourself from this place. Salin will be too distracted to focus on questioning you now. Go majestic.’

‘And leave you? Now? I cannot.’

I thought of a million responses, but Salin’s towering rage cut our conversation short. It let out a growl so horrid, it startled me enough to break contact with Fabiana.

“What is the meaning of this nonsense?” Salin demanded. “You bring a crazy uspec to my presence Fabiana?”

Fabiana shook its head. It was about to respond when the plenum Kaiser, Checha, lifted its hand. As soon as Checha made that single gesture, Fabiana’s mouth snapped shut. Checha said nothing, it simply continued to stare at me. I could tell from its gaze that it had only one question on its mind. It was the same question on mine.

Was it true?

It was all well and good for Gerangi to plant rubbish in my head, but I knew Gerangi. The way the uspec had responded to the knowledge that I had met the plenum, had seemed odd. It was so odd that I recalled it as soon as the current events prompted me to look back. One thing was clear, Gerangi believed that I was the last brio. But why? Nothing I’d seen pointed to this. Perhaps there was some confusion to it. Gerangi had known of my true parentage, it had known that I was Calami’s offspring, the heir to Lahooni. Perhaps it had also known that my line had been tasked with protecting the last brio. Maybe it had meant to have me make some sort of stunning revelation, like the ludicrous announcement I’d made about being the last brio, so that the plenum would be forced to summon it. That seemed far more likely. Why would Gerangi just give the plenum the last brio without ensuring that it could get something for itself in return? But if the plenum was forced to summon Gerangi, then Gerangi could use its knowledge to somehow barter for advantages from them. It was too bad that Gerangi had not foreseen its death.

Too bad for me, I thought, as I watched Checha rise from its stool and walk slowly towards me. How was I supposed to get myself out of the mess Gerangi had put me in?

When Checha stopped only a few steps in front of me, I gulped. This uspec was a Kaiser in the plenum. I had thought their garment of choice off the first time that I’d seen it, but now, now I could see how a group such as them would choose outfits like this. Something in the shade of red of the cloak bore a rather chilling resemblance to blood spilt underneath the shimmering illumination of the daylight dots. Power radiated from this uspec. It was bad enough that it was a Kaiser, but a Kaiser in the plenum spoke of another level of power. It was power which I could not even begin to guess at. This was the uspec whose eye I had been tasked with taking.

It was quite obvious now, that the voice in my head wanted me dead. There was no way that I could steal this uspec’s eye. Perhaps I’d had a chance before, but now, after I’d delivered Gerangi’s message, I was doomed. I saw that clearly in the uspec’s eyes.

“Who are you?” It asked.

I felt a wave of terror pass through me. Fear like I’d never felt before. It only lasted for a brief moment, but it was enough to leave me shaken. I had to clench my hands into fists by my sides to keep them from shaking. When I opened my mouth, my throat felt too dry to form words. Just being in the uspec’s presence I felt struck dumb with fear.

Checha’s gaze did not falter. I assumed it knew of the reactions it wrought in me. I was certain uspecs quavered in its presence all the time. Though I had not thought myself one to quiver with fear, this was the plenum. I had to remind myself that this was the plenum, the ones responsible for the end of my line.

I swallowed, forcing moisture from my mouth down my throat.

“Nebud.” I stated, when at long last, I felt composed enough to speak.

Checha nodded. “And where is Gerangi?”

Again, I had to swallow before I could speak. “Dead.”

“That’s a shame. It will be missed. Did you kill it?”

I shook my head. Perhaps that was not wholly the truth. It had died after trying to follow me into that green room. The green room which had been called the Isle of brio. Or had it been situated on the Isle of Brio? That whole journey had been rather bizarre. But it was called the Isle of Brio. I knew that much. And Gerangi had been convinced that I was the key to opening it. The last brio, the isle of brio, surely there was some commonality. And the green sludge? As soon as I thought of the green sludge, I remembered the vision I’d seen in the ring, when Fajahromo flashed it at me. That ring, my ring which Fajahromo had stolen, had shown me in a room with green sludge, staring up at a green face which looked on me with love. Love. Calam. I could not tell how I knew for sure, but I was suddenly filled with an unwavering belief that I’d been to that place with Calam. If so, then why did I not remember it? Why was my earliest memory that of a de trop in Hakute? Even that suddenly felt odd. I was Calami’s offspring. Shouldn’t I remember being born in the hatch? I had spent time with my sire, with Chike, with Musa, even with Animaon. Why did I not recall any of them? A progenitor’s bond, that formed in the hatch, could not be so easily forgotten. I had read several tomes to that effect. According to Musa, I had bonded with Calam in the hatch, but I could not recall this.

My head spun.

“Tell me Nebud,” Checha’s softly spoken words pulled me out of my troubling thoughts, “what is your epic?”

My epic? Mugakute or Murekute? Neither of those would work. Not when I’d just confessed to knowledge of Gerangi. How could I then explain my presence in the pits of Hakute? I could say I had gone to watch a fight and had run into Gerangi. But why would Gerangi choose that moment to use pansophy to hide a secret message in my head? Gerangi was not the type to do such without formulating a better plan. Even if I could have gotten away with pretending that Gerangi had only been in an acquaintance, I couldn’t do that now, not when I’d just told the Kaiser that Gerangi was dead. What drove Gerangi to do this to me? I cursed pansophy.

“I am not the last brio.” I stated. I knew I was not the last brio. The last brio was not a person, it was a thing, an object, a coffer. Perhaps I should say that. I thought about revealing all I knew about the last brio. All I had to do was say Fajahromo, ring, Takabat, and the plenum would go after Fajahromo. I could tell them all of Fajahromo’s plans and they would help me to kill it. I could turn the plenum into my ally against Fajahromo. But how would I explain my expert knowledge of all of this? And even if the plenum was willing to make me an ally, why would I want to be allied with the people responsible for the death of my line? No, I would rather die than give them the satisfaction of finding the last brio. Not that I was doing this for Chuspecip, of course not, I did it for my line. And the invasion? What did I care about the invasion if I was dead?

Checha stared at me with the patience of a progenitor. I found that strange. I had expected Checha to be evil. Sophila’s wickedness had been etched onto its features. One only had to look at that uspec to tell that it was bad. It was not so for Checha. There was a gentleness about the uspec, one that I could not quite explain.

It shook its head. “Gerangi would not lie to us. If Gerangi said that you are the last brio, then you are the last brio, whether or not you believe it. Tell me your epic Nebud. I want to know what it is about you that makes you so special.”

As we walked through the room, whispers began to rise. The uspecs bowed in deference to the duke, but their eyes fastened on Fabiana who followed dutifully after its progenitor. None of them bothered with me, but why would they when I appeared to be one of three bannerets escorting wellborn nobles? I looked around the room and noticed for the first time that all the uspecs in this room were nobles. Most of them had golden armbands on. Those that did not, had silver on instead, showing them to be made nobles, the type of noble I pretended to be. There were the wealthy halcyons in their silver wristbands, loyal adherents in their silver headbands, and of course the bannerets in their silver neckcloths. I had never seen a larger assemblage of nobles in a single place. While the majority of the nobles appeared to be of the hooni spectrum, I caught sight of a few exceptions.

The two-band noble paused when we reached another set of thick golden curtains. It turned around then, its gaze landing on the bannerets that had accompanied it. With a nod, it dismissed them. The bannerets turned around and joined the nobles in their lounging.

With the bannerets dismissed, the noble pulled the curtains open and walked through. There was a short walkway between these set of curtains and another, directly opposite.

“Wait here.” The duke said to its offspring. “I will speak to my sibling first.”

Fabiana sighed. “There is no need mater, you and I both know that senior cognate Salin will not be reasoned with.”

The duke’s jaw clenched. “I mean to try.” It said stubbornly. “Wait.” The duke left us with that order.

Fabiana and I walked through the curtains. We let them fall behind us, and as soon as their bottoms swept the quicksand ground, the noise from the previous hall was removed. It was as if the curtains had been imbued with some sort of magic to prevent sound from passing through it.

Fabiana took a few steps forward and then it turned to its right. I noticed then that there was another walkway which broke off from the one we stood in.

“That leads to the library.” Fabiana inclined its head towards the path. “The greatest library in this existence. I spent a great deal of time in it before my ability for pansophy was found. If only life could be as simple as it was then.”

I realized that the time had come for me to talk Fabiana out of getting itself killed.

“Declare Kuworyte.” I said without preamble. “Chuspecip is not worth dying for.”

Fabiana looked on me with the same patient smile that it had whenever our discussions had turned to religion. “You are wrong.” It stated simply.

“I am not!” I had to struggle to keep my emotions in check.

“You are.”

I shook my head at its intransigence. “Do you think that I came here to watch you die?” I demanded. “If you do something foolish, like, let’s say, declare yourself Uspecipyte, and they try to kill you, I am honor bound to fight for you. You are not only risking your life, you are risking mine. Does your god deserve my life too?”

Fabiana chuckled. “Chuspecip is the founder. If not for it, neither of us would exist. It deserves all uspec life.” Fabiana approached me. “Do not die for me sirga. I asked you to come along because I see the aura of greatness around you, I always have. Your presence gave me the courage to make the walk here with my head held high. Now, you must go sirga. The rest of this I can do on my own.”

I grasped the uspec’s upper arms and shook it. “You are insane. How do you think your family will survive your loss? Your siblings, your mater? If not for me, then live for them.”

Fabiana shook its head. “I have betrayed Chuspecip once. I swore never to again. If I abandoned my god now, I would never be able to live with myself. I would rather die with my faith than live without it.”

What madness was this? Panic set in as Fabiana’s calm really began to sink in. I had heard of the chasm, and laughed at uspecs like this, uspecs who declared themselves servants of the wrong god, even though they knew doing so would mean their death. Never had I thought that the chasm would get close to me, that I would befriend an uspec who cared more for faith in a god, than it did for its own life. This was madness, but it was madness that I could not cure.

Unless…

“The last brio.” I stated.

Fabiana frowned. “What?”

“The last brio.” I was whispering now. “You said that your purpose was to find the last brio and defend it. If you die, who will do that? The last brio needs you. You are the only uspec faithful enough to protect it with your life. Don’t you see, you mean more to Chuspecip alive than dead. Live for your mission.”

Fabiana faltered. The calm acceptance that had descended on it went away. It looked at me with pained eyes and I could taste victory. Fabiana was not yet ready to give up on its quest for the last brio.

Fabiana’s voice shook as it spoke. “I cannot, sirga. I cannot declare myself as anything other than Uspecipyte. I cannot do it. My conscience won’t allow it.”

“Then escape. You have pansophy, remove your appearance and leave. Save yourself. You cannot be made to answer if no one can find you.”

Again, I saw Fabiana falter. It contemplated my words. I could tell from the looks that crossed its face that it was not quite as ready to die as it wanted me to believe. This uspec wanted to live.

It shook its head. “If I escape my senior cognate Salin will blame my family. I cannot leave them to bear the punishment for my cowardice.”

I released my hold on the uspec’s arm disgusted with it for its stupid faith, and with myself for caring for it. “The plenum will find the last brio and they will use it to destroy Chuspecip.” I did not know where the words came from. Perhaps it was my desperation, my last gambit to get Fabiana to change its mind. “Your death will do nothing for the god you claim to serve.”

“You find it.” Fabiana’s response cut me off guard.

“What?”

“Find the last brio. You have seen all that I have. You know of the invasion, you know that the plenum does not have the power to stop it. You may not like Chuspecip, but you would rather have it than have a spectral existence ruled by imps. Find the last brio and save this existence. Perhaps that is your calling. Maybe that is the reason we met.”

I almost laughed in the uspec’s face. If only it knew the truth, if only it knew that its precious last brio was in the wind, and that the closest uspec to finding it was Fajahromo, an ambitious irira eager to slaughter Chuspecip, and the plenum, for power.

“No.” I turned hard, unflinching, eyes on the uspec. “You may be willing to die for your coward god, Chuspecip, but I am not. I will never be.” My mind filled with thoughts of a coffer and a ring, of an uspec Fajahromo, of the plenum who were responsible for the death of my line, of an invasion planned by imps. I thought of all this, yet I could not accept Fabiana’s mission, not if it meant that the uspec would willingly hand itself over to death.

“It is funny how ‘never’, never quite seems to last forever. Just ask my cognate Foild. Only five years ago it pledged to never forsake my family, not for any riches or worldly possessions. Now, it has handed me over for the inquisition all to gain favor in our senior cognate Salin’s eyes.”

“You think Foild told Salin that you were here?” I asked.

“Foild is the only one who could have.” Fabiana shrugged. “Not that it matters now.”

The curtains on the other side were drawn.

“The majestic Fabiana.” A voice boomed. “You are summoned to appear before the mighty Checha and the high Salin.”

Fabiana smiled sadly. “That is my cue.” It said. Its hands settled on my upper arms. This time I knew what the touch meant. There was a part of me, a stubborn, resentful part, that wanted to deny Fabiana this parting embrace, but I found that I could not. My arms rose. I returned the uspec’s touch.

“Think on my words Nebud, find the last brio.” It released me, and then turned to face its execution.

I was so shaken by its use of my name, that it took me a while to realize that Fabiana had walked into the other room.

I ran after it, bursting into the room before the curtains were closed.

My arrival did not seem to cause the fuss I’d imagined. In fact, the proceedings continued as if I was not there.

There was a stage to the right of where I stood. I turned to face it, just as Fabiana had done. Immediately, I recognized the high Salin as the uspec from the pits of Hakute. It sat on a large throne. Another familiar uspec stood by its side.

Fabiana bowed deeply. “Salutations senior cognate Salin.” It greeted.

Salin’s face was set in grim lines. It nodded at Fabiana, then it inclined its head to the side. The uspec standing beside it, the one that I had thought familiar, took a step forward.

“Majestic.” It said with a jerk of its head. “I believe we met on the commune road, but we were not properly introduced.” Commune road? It hit me, this was the four band noble whose life Fabiana had saved.

“Salutations.” Fabiana bowed deeply to it.

“I am Chechin.” The uspec’s arrogant words filled the room. “Junior cognate of the mighty Checha.” The uspec pointed to the left, to the uspec seated beside Salin on the stage. “Before we make the formal introductions and welcome you back home, we must ensure that we are amongst friends.”

The uspecs words faded to the back of my mind as my gaze fastened on the uspec seated by Salin. This was Checha. It was garbed in a long red coat with a collar which covered its neck. It wore a tall hat over its head, and the tail of its coat was blown and reached all the way to the ground. The only parts of its body which I could see was its fully filled face, and its hand with the golden rings. On one finger in each hand it had an additional cyan ring. I had known that Checha was a member of the plenum, but looking at the uspec now, I knew that I was in the presence of the plenum.

“Tiyoseriwosin Fabiana?” The uspec Chechin asked.

Fabiana parted its lips to respond.

I found myself speaking before Fabiana could.

“My name is Nebud,” I announced in a loud clear voice, drawing the attention of every uspec in the room. “I am the last brio.”

Part 4
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Our departure was made in haste. The nobles who’d come to pick Fabiana up refused to wait for the uspec to be properly attired as befitted its rank. While they did not say it, it was obvious that the uspecs suspected that Fabiana, if given the chance, would escape. I could have told them that they were wrong. Fabiana had no desire to escape. I watched the uspec, studying the calm which had settled over it. Its progenitor appeared harried. The uspec paced across the grounds in front of us, moving between the two-band noble and its offspring. To the noble, it yelled profanities, to its offspring, it whispered assurances. Neither seemed to be moved by the duke’s efforts at persuasion.

Of course, I understood the cause of the duke’s alarm. It had only just reunited with its offspring. It was not yet willing to see it gone. From the determined set of Fabiana’s face, I knew that it had every intention of declaring itself as Uspecipyte when it was put to the inquest. The fool was willing to die for its faith, for its god. A god like Chuspecip did not deserve an adherent as staunch as Fabiana. If I thought that there was anything I could say, any words of wisdom I could impart to the uspec to make it declare itself as Kuworyte, I would have said it. I did not understand this faith. Surely it made sense for the uspec to save itself. What good would its religion do if it was dead?

My thoughts rested on Fabiana and the state of its progenitor, and so I did not notice as Musa drew closer to me. I was not aware of its proximity until I heard its voice whispering into my ear. The duke was yelling at the noble now, so its voice drowned out Musa’s.

“You should not go master,” it advised, “it is too risky. In fact, I think you should stay far away from the Palace and Salin, until we’ve retrieved your ring, and are able to return you to your rightful place.”

Musa’s words bore merit of course. Yet, as well meant as the advice was, I could not heed it. Perhaps if it had solely been a matter of the eye, I would have delayed. I was not eager to face Checha. Not when I knew that it was one of the Kaisers in the plenum. No. The only Kaiser I’d faced had been Sophila, and with Sophila I’d been lucky. The uspec had been dazed by lust at a moment when the Castle had been in upheaval. It would take a long time for me to put myself in such a beneficial position to be able to take Checha’s eye. I would have to gain the uspec’s trust, somehow find a way into its inner circle. Just the thought of all of that made me sick.

I was tired. I was tired of the voice and tired of the eyes it tasked me with taking. But this would be the last. I had no more empty eye sockets to fill. Why did that thought not bring me more comfort? Checha was a Kaiser in the plenum. If anyone was untouchable, it was it. I did not want its eye.

Checha’s eye.

The voice in my head prompted, right on cue, reminding me that my life did not belong to me. Perhaps I could have put off my scouting trip. But my reasons for wanting to go to the palace were not primarily for Checha. I was going for Fabiana. If the uspec was foolish enough to declare itself Uspecipyte in a room filled with Kuworytes, then it would need my help to escape with its life. Although what help I would be able to give I could not say.

“Enough!” The two-band noble barked. “We are to the Palace now. If you wish to resist, then do so at your own peril.”

The duke frowned. It opened its mouth to speak and I could just imagine the scathing retort it meant to deal to the younger uspec.

Fabiana spoke before its progenitor could. “I do not resist. I only ask that you permit my friend to accompany me.” Fabiana’s gaze turned to me then, and I could see the silent appeal in its eyes. For some reason, the uspec felt as though it needed my strength.

“I will come with you.” I stated, repeating my earlier remarks.

“Gratitude.” Fabiana bowed slightly to me.

The duke turned to face me then. It was the first time since its appearance in the room that it had singled me out. Now it frowned as it stared at me. There was something in its eyes, a mild look of confusion, as if it wasn’t sure what to make of my presence. Was there also a bit of recognition in that look? Did it perhaps see my line in me? I studied the uspec’s face much longer than was proper. I should have curtsied at that point, and then waited for Fabiana to perform the formal introductions. By the time I realized my mistake, and was about to correct it, a large pool of quicksand formed on the ground underneath us.

The two-band noble dropped a solid golden pellet into the quicksand and we were all pulled in. It wasn’t till we reached our destination that I realized Musa had been teleported with us.

Our destination was the foot of a solid bridge built out of hardened fog. A signpost by the bridge declared it as the COURT WALKWAY. I allowed myself to lag behind, confident that the uspecs would move on without me. Once they’d began the climb across the bridge, I grabbed onto Musa’s arm and pulled the imp towards me.

“Do not follow.” I ordered. “Return to the duke’s dwelling.”

Musa shook its head. Its lips set in uncompromising lines as it said in reply, “if you must go, then I will follow.”

“Don’t be a fool.” I snapped. “Salin will recognize you.”

Musa remained obstinate. “I will not let you go alone.”

I could tell the moment Fabiana noticed my absence. It stopped in its tracks and turned around to search for me. Fabiana’s turning would only spur the bannerets. My arm tightened painfully on the imp’s arm.

“Then at least find a way to remove your appearance without drawing suspicion.” I snapped in a whisper. There were uspecs around us, uspecs who would notice if an imp suddenly disappeared. But Musa was smart, it could find an opportunity to slip away and make itself invisible.

“Sirga?” Fabiana called out from the bridge. It had stopped moving. Its halt caused the two-band noble and the bannerets accompanying it to stop too. Those bannerets had their eyes trained on Fabiana, they would not let it slip out of their sight. But Fabiana had pansophy. Perhaps I could give it the same advice I’d just given my imp.

I nodded at it before moving quickly to cover the distance between us.

The bridge was a short one. It should have been an easy stroll across it, but our presence seemed to cause something of a stir amongst the other uspecs walking with us. Fabiana’s progenitor was the duke of the first metropolis which would make it one of the most powerful dukes in the port. I had no doubt that the passersby knew who it was. Perhaps some of them remembered enough about Fabiana’s appearance to guess at its identity. And the presence of the banneret escort was probably enough to make tongues wag. I didn’t realize, until that moment, how well I fit in with the other bannerets. We all appeared to be in uniform, wearing similar silver belts and silver neckcloths. Of course the sigil on my neckcloth was different from the sigils on these bannerets. In hindsight, I realized that I should have taken note of their sigils. For all I knew, they wore the sigil of my line.

When at long last we came to the end of the bridge, I saw Fabiana’s shoulders stiffen slightly. It was not as unaffected by the coming exchange as it would like its progenitor to believe.

We descended from the bridge and came across an entrance. This entrance was marked by thick golden curtains, tied to side posts with velvet ribbons. A contingent of four guards stood at this entrance, two by either post. These were the first guards I’d seen since stepping into Lahooni. The guards wore black belts with sheathed swords, and black shoulder pads which had a sigil sewn into the top of the left shoulder. Again, I wondered if perhaps this was the sigil of my line, of the Kaisers of Lahooni.

Unfortunately, I did not have the time to find out. The two-band noble walked in and the duke followed behind it. My gaze darted to the guards as I made my way in. I expected them to stop me, and demand my weapons, but they made no move towards us. Their eyes barely even seemed to register our presence there. I did not know what to think of this brand of security.

The grounds in the Palace appeared to be made of hardened quicksand. The quicksand was painted and styled, but I could still tell from the feel of it, what it was. We walked through a short empty corridor with walls of styled quicksand surrounding us. Something about the walls reminded me of a vision I’d had in Damejo. I had looked into the ring, in the moment that Fajahromo flashed it at me, and I’d seen this Palace, I’d seen this place built from hardened quicksand, and I’d known that there were tricks built into these walls.

I had to shake my head, to clear it from such thoughts.

The corridor ended in a strange wall. The perimeter of the wall was hard and styled as all the others were, but the interior was soft. It was quicksand, as it appeared in the natural form for teleportation, but vertical. The two-band noble walked through it and immediately disappeared. The duke followed behind it. Fabiana went next. When it was my turn to go, I couldn’t help but wonder if the wall was quicksand with a different amount of form, or if it was empty space given the appearance of quicksand. Whatever it was, I felt nothing when I walked through it. As soon as I emerged from it though, my ears filled with ordered noise.

“Welcome to the Lahooni court.” Fabiana stated. “I’d hoped to introduce you to it under better circumstances.”

I smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

The Lahooni court.

I saw several large sets of curtains, and solid fog walls breaking the room up into smaller sections. But the area we walked through appeared to be something of a large entertaining room. There were several lounging beds artistically arranged around center tables. On some of these tables I saw plates, large plates filled with morsels, small plates filled with fruits, trays with pastries. On other tables there were nothing but decanters and goblets for imbibing wine. Still others were filled with parchments and pens for writing on them. Some tables had cards, others were loitered with tomes. It seemed that each table could be put to whatever use the uspecs around it deemed fit. I looked around this room and wondered what purpose a room like this held in the Palace. The Palace was the Kaiser’s home, why would it build a large room and gift it to the nobles? Surely these nobles could entertain themselves in the luxury of their own homes.