Chapter 7 Khyree gets introduced to the Sect

Three weeks later, Khyree came back to consciousness when he was dumped unceremoniously onto the rough ground. The sleepy expression quickly went away as he came to full consciousness. The moment he did, he immediately resumed his struggles to get free of the mystical bindings that they had applied to him while back in the beginning of the voyage. The bindings were a thick rope like material that had golden inscriptions all down the length of it. They had been forced to use these mystical bindings because ordinary rope would just not last with Khyree’s exertions. The man was determined to be free.

There was a thought that at some point he would just accept the fact that he had no choice in the matter and that he would cooperate. As for Daquan Mourntree, he had warned the servants and the senior members of the Sect that Khyree could be quite hard headed about things. No one had believed him. Instead they had all waved off his concerns and after the first day released him from his ropes.

Upon doing so Khyree had immediately attacked the closest person nearest to him and then made as if he was going to jump from the vessel. It did not matter to him that the vessel was currently speeding along at several kilometers per hour, or that it was flying hundreds of meters in the air. He would rather fall and possibly die than to be forced to be an Immortal.

Over the course of the journey there had been multiple escape attempts on Khyree’s behalf. Eventually, the inner student Andre Swiftheart had decided that they would use the mystical bindings on the unwilling mortal. It seemed to work, for not only did the bindings restrain movement, but they also came with a noise dampening effect. The mystical bindings were actually meant to restrain early stage Immortals, but they seemed to be the only thing that was effective on Khyree Mourntree. Andre was very surprised to say the least. “Just what is it about this mortal that makes him so different?” he wondered.

Khyree continued to struggle against the bindings as the servants and new recruits were offloaded from the vessel. Khyree paused as he noticed that all of the servants upon disembarkation separated and then went their own ways. He was at a bad angle and never got to see where Daquan and the other Immortals went.

Shortly he was approached by an older looking man dressed in simple linen pants and a tunic. His gray tunic had a collar that was striped in white. Khyree thought he had a surprisingly kind looking face. The older servant was accompanied by two other servants, he thought maybe they were in their early twenties. They stayed just to the rear of the old man, their posture reflected a clear deference to the old man. But their eyes were not kind as they looked down upon Khyree.

The old servant cleared his throat and addressed Khyree. "Ah hem. If you are done being difficult now, we can get you released and situated.” He had been informed about the troublesome young man, before the Sacred Barque had arrived. He made sure to bring his trusted assistants with him, when he came to welcome the distant villager to the Sect. The old servant wanted to be prepared just in case the boy caused more trouble.

“The temperature in this valley is fairly constant throughout the year. It gets really hot during the day, and very cold at night. Be ashamed if you had to spend the entire week bound and gagged while you dealt with the elements. I can’t imagine it being all that comfortable tied up like a stuffed pig. This village is really not such a bad place if you give it a chance. So what do you want to do, young man? The choice is yours."

Khyree considered the old man's words. Already he could feel the heat of the valley on his body. There was a pressure of heat that he could feel pressing down on him. It felt like a struggle just to breathe. It was as if he had been placed inside of an oven, it was so hot. The gag was not helping in the slightest. He could not imagine suffering through the heat while being both bound and gagged. He had been trying to break free from the mystical bindings for the better part of weeks now with no luck.

Unwilling to suffer any more than he had to, Khyree slowly nodded his head in agreement. After he was untied, he climbed to his feet on weakened knees. He rubbed his arms and legs to try and restore feelings to his limbs. “Thank you for my release, senior,” Khyree said. “You can’t imagine how good it feels to be free of those cursed ropes.” Just standing up and being unbound, Khyree already felt loads better. There was even a gentle breeze blowing softly through the air.

"Good now that we see you can be reasonable. Let's continue. Walk with me." Kemba said, turning around and leading the way deeper into the valley. He was actually surprised that the young man was cooperating so easily. He had seen cases where new servants brought against their will had to be locked up for months before they got with the program. Three weeks of being bound hand and foot must have done the trick, the old man thought to himself.

“Wait a second now who are you, and where are we going?” Khyree asked as he followed along behind the old man.

"My name is Kemba Badu, I am the chief servant for the Southern District of the first tier in the Hidden Valley Shadow Sect. These fine young men behind me are Shai Maymun," Kemba said, gesturing to the servant on his left. "And Dwayne Safwan. They are my trusted servants. You will be dealing with them whenever I am otherwise occupied."

Khyree followed after Kemba and the others. They walked along a stone path that wound around the valley floor. The valley appeared to be shaped into a series of tiered forested hills and plateaus. They were walking past rows of well kept but small houses constructed of hard packed adobe bricks. Many of the houses also had an enclosed yard attached to them. Interspersed between the houses were large bountiful exotic trees and bushes.

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Nestled among the many houses were quite a few farms as well. Khyree could see a few servants working on the fields. As Khyree looked around he noticed that for as big as the valley was, there weren't many people in sight. He wondered why that was. A variety of colorful birds could be seen flying overhead in the sky. Nestled among the higher hills and plateaus, Khyree could make out some palatial estates. There were also a number of impressive looking official buildings, and obelisks.

The valley was several times bigger than the village of Idlewild. It was also ringed by mountains hundreds of meters high. A waterfall could be seen pouring into a lake on the northern side of the valley that fed into a number of streams that snaked along the valley floor.

"Everything your eyes can see is the great village of Grimrest. This village has been here ever since it was founded by the Eternal Patriarch of our Sect more than five thousand years ago. What makes this valley such a special place for Immortals is the fact that it was formed on a caldera. Do you know what a caldera is, young Mourntree?" Kemba asked him.

"No senior, I do not," replied Khyree as he looked around curiously.

"A caldera is what happens when a volcano collapses inside of itself. A magma pocket that didn't quite reach full eruption failed prematurely and then collapsed in on itself, thus causing the volcano to fall inward. That is the reason why this valley has wildly disparate temperatures. It is also why this place is a gold mine for Immortals. The flow of essence is much stronger here than in many other places on this continent."

Khyree interrupted briefly to ask a burning question, that he felt had not been answered to his satisfaction in the past before. But he felt like since the chief servant had brought it up that maybe he would have a better answer for him. “Ah senior, what is this essence you speak of?”

The chief servant briefly paused in his steps as he heard the question from the new recruit. Out of the peripheral vision he also noted that his assistants were also surprised by the question. “Well Mourntree, that is an interesting question. One that I would have thought you would have already had an answer to. But perhaps it is due to you coming from such a distant and frontier village.

Perhaps some general knowledge is not as common in those parts. At any rate, the energy that we refer to as essence, is the natural energy of the earth and universe. It’s an energy that flows through and around all things. It is the energy that immortals cultivate in order to progress down their vaunted Path of Immortality. Perhaps if you have the talent, the desire and the right fortunate encounters you will gain the ability to ascend as well.”

Kemba Badu hated saying those last words. He had uttered those same words hundreds of thousands of times over the years. But the truth of the matter was that most Immortals were discovered in the early teen years. He could count on one hand how many adults had ascended to the ranks of Immortals over the years since he’s been a part of the Sect. But alas it was required of him in his duties to plant some seeds of hope among the newest members of the Sect. No matter that it felt like the words he mindlessly spoke by rote were more than ninety percent lies and half truths.

Kemba Badu soon stopped in front of one of the nondescript houses. "This house is to be your residence while you are here. Inside you will find a modest amount of food set aside for you, along with some cultivation aids, a manual for cultivation, a guide to the Sect, and your servant attire. Your servant attire consists of: one pair of double woven linen pants, a single linen tunic also in gray, one plain loincloth, a pair of sturdy work boots and five feet of rope that you can use for binding or for any other miscellaneous need.

Pay very close attention to the style, color and accents of the clothes you see others wearing around you at all times as they will denote the special ranks and or positions within the various classes. The other way to identify ranks are the ankhs, the different ranks have ankhs made of different materials. You are responsible for any wear and tear that occurs to the property you will reside in and the clothes. Repairs and replacements will be deducted from your merit points."

He handed Khyree a wooden Ankh. "Keep that on you at all times. Not only will it serve as your identification, but it will also record your merit points. Since you are not an Immortal, you have been registered as a servant of the Sect."

Kemba paused as he looked at Khyree's face. "Hmm, that's interesting. I would have thought that you would have been disheartened to learn you have been relegated to the role of a servant. But strangely you almost seem as if you're relieved."

"Ah I'm not sure senior, it is all just a lot to take in," replied Khyree. In truth Khyree was very much relieved. His main objection to joining the Sect was because he didn't want to be an Immortal. He hated Immortals. Well not Daquan, but only because he was like family. But Khyree sensed that sharing his actual thoughts and feelings with the old man would not be well received.

"I see. Well moving on, as a servant, you will be expected to contribute to the Sect. By working on the farms, harvesting wood and assisting the students you will earn merit points. There are other ways of course to earn points, but I'm sure you will find that out and more on your own. If not, there are people you can ask.

With that I will leave you to get familiar with your new home. Get some rest, the work days start at first light here. If you have any questions later, find me or either one of my assistants here."

"Thank you senior, but before you leave. I do have one question for you." replied Khyree. “Would you be able to tell me what happened to my cousin? His name is Daquan Mourntree. He was with me on the vessel coming here.”

Kemba consulted his ankh for a few moments before responding. “Ah so your cousin is an early stage Immortal. He would have been recruited as a first level student of the Sect: a neophyte. Neophytes are housed and trained on the second tier. If you ever get promoted, I’m sure that you will see him again. But I wouldn’t waste my time worrying about him if I were you. His life I assure you will be very different from yours.” With that, the chief servant and his lackeys turned and left.

Khyree watched as the servants left. Taking a deep breath, he turned and entered his new house.