I watch the sunrise upon the horizon. I didn’t want to go inside the embassy house last night, as all I wanted to do was gaze upon a world without walls: the only small reward for my efforts in saving Uzuri. I clutch myself as I sit upon a stone amidst the peaks of the mountain I scaled just the day before. Staring down into the valley of Unadeam, the smallness of that hole makes me physically shudder. That pit was once my entire world, and I’ve escaped it. The word escape doesn’t feel right, but there is some truth in the word that claws at me.
“The morning air is always a treat” says Upendo as he joins me in gazing out at the scenery, “did you enjoy your evening drink with Mlinzi?”
I take a deep breath pushing aside the lamentations of my tortured mind and say, “he’s a light weight, couldn’t even hold his liquor long enough to give a satisfying conclusion to his story.”
“What story was that?” asks Upendo picking up a stone and tossing it down the mountain to watch it tumble and jump its way to a place where it will sit probably for a millennium undisturbed.
“Just how he met Mahana. Honestly, he was so drunk that I couldn’t ask him exactly as to why you’d give a young lovesick idiot like him a chance,” I say stretching my back and arms while feigning a yawn… why’d he even give me a chance.
“Was I angry that he was stealing food during a famine. I was furious! But I couldn’t bring myself to punish a promising young man for kindness or love even if the actions of his kindness were misguided. I especially couldn’t punish a young man who inspired loyalty and devotion from the glirdon who had suffered from the clawed ambitions of my forefathers,” says Upendo tossing another rock to entertain himself, “In kindness he created opportunity, and it was in opportunity that I found justification to spare the imbecilic lover, and in turn the idiot transformed into a loyal and hardworking ally that would do anything for me. In mercy, I gained a son I never thought I’d have. Sometimes one must look beyond their emotions and the dogma of the world in order to see the greater picture to carve a more beautiful message into the crystal.”
“So, you took a risk, and it paid off,” I say picking up a rock to toss it like Upendo, but with not focusing I used a bit too much of my celandilic strength and the rock rocketed off into the distance giving Upendo and I no satisfaction of watching it bounce and skid into the rocks and foliage below us.
Upendo smiles and nods his head, “If repaying misguided kindness with mercy is a risk, then it is a risk I’d be willing to take again and again for how it has served me.”
The front door of the embassy house bursts open, and I see Mlinzi exit the embassy with blood shot eyes groaning at the sound he just made.
“Buddy, have a nice night’s rest?” I ask as I take another rock in my hand that I carefully aim. I release the rock, and it smacks against another rock with such force it explodes creating a satisfyingly loud sound that echoes around us to Mlinzi’s dismay.
Mlinzi clutches his head in pain muttering, “oh god… you rat bastard.”
“Hey, it’s humans that are bastards. I’m a celandil,” I jape to Upendo’s delight that he has a new accomplice in plucking the lute of Mlinzi’s last strings of patience.
“Half bastard then,” groans Mlinzi with a half-smile crossing his snout and I accept that insult without any qualms as he’s technically right.
Upendo tosses Mlinzi a water skin which he gratefully accepts and drains immediately. A servant shortly after Mlinzi emptied the water skin walks out of the embassy house to deliver a chalice that Mlinzi downs in a single gulp, “I wish to bathe first in the hot spring. I can barely stand my own scent.”
Mlinzi disappears back into the embassy house, and Upendo follows. The rest of the morning is spent getting ready for the day, as we take turns taking baths and eating breakfast served by the various servants. There was no spirit of rush to our activities, as I guess Upendo was right in calling this journey a vacation as everything we’ve done from the hike to the activities in the embassy house have been approached with the goal of relaxation and escapism.
I spent some of my morning catching up with Cran and Ashe, as I spent my evening and night away from both of them. After the death march of yesterday, Ashe apparently had been hard-pressed to leave the hot springs last night when she learned of their existence. She nearly drowned herself as she spent so long in the hot waters of the spring she passed out and had to be rescued by Cran.
After spending a brisk night under the stars, to now be sitting in front of a fire joking around with friends, bathing in warm water, and getting in a good meal refreshes my tired body, mind and soul. Though, Teratolion cuisine isn’t for the faint of heart which did create some stress in an otherwise tranquil morning. Ashe wasn’t keen on trying teratolion cuisine, but I have to say that after working up the courage to try teratolion cooking, the bugs added a pleasant crunchy texture to the otherwise dominant chewiness of the mushrooms that filled my breakfast entrée plate. The side dish of honey drizzled moss salad that was served in a separate bowl alongside my plate of sauteed mushrooms and bugs also added a fresh sweetness that helped cleanse the palate of the primarily savory flavors of the meal.
As I scarfed down the foreign food, I watch as Ashe gags, but her growling stomach wins in the end, and she begrudgingly eats her serving of food being sure to push the bugs to the side of her plate and only eat the mushrooms. A teratolion servant seeing Ashe’s refusal to eat her whole plate of food judges her from afar. I don’t think Ashe has ever gone hungry, unlike the teratolion who had recently gone through a famine so her turning her nose up at the food must be insulting to the teratolion servant, probably more insulting than I think because she is a human eating the food and drink of their king. This subtle interaction between a human and teratolion gives me pause as I realize that the king may want to create trade with humans, but will his people want this as well?
Upendo’s people were at war only a short while ago and have gone from a king that pillages to one that seeks trade. There are vast differences in leadership and philosophy that have occurred only within Mlinzi’s lifetime. There are still some teratolion that circumnavigate the laws of their current king to continue in the traditions of their previous leader which in turn may make creating trade even more difficult. Humans are currently being attacked by teratolion black market marauders, so in a way the war never ended between humans and teratolion when the crusaders retreated, it only shifted in scope. The people of the underground market flocked to Muuzaduk; will they also flock to merchants that are not teratolion but sell the same wares?
“Everyone ready?” asks Upendo as he stands at the door of the embassy house, and I respond by getting up to join him at the door. Cran floats into my hand and Mlinzi, who looks like he has finally cured most of his hangover opens the door letting Upendo and I outside, but when it comes to Ashe, he sticks out his leg to prevent her exit.
“I believe that this one should be left here,” says Mlinzi staring Ashe up and down, “Having a human with us may jeopardize obtaining the blessing from the high court of the village of Claw Wing Peak that Skath needs to act in their stead.”
Upendo acknowledges Mlinzi’s comment and weighs things in his mind only for Ashe to speak, “I promise I’ll honor decorum and act like your, Mlinzi’s, or Skath’s servant if that helps.”
“You just broke with decorum with speaking without permission to the king,” growls Mlinzi to try to emphasize the risk we may take upon ourselves if Ashe is to come with us.
Upendo chuckles to himself and says, “a human servant, that’s probably a good image to portray given the village who’s favor we seek. Then again, I feel that she’ll have a use beyond that. Ashe you may come but mind your tongue and stay close to Skath and whatever you do don’t speak unless you are spoken to.”
Ashe looks at Mlinzi then me, then Upendo and Upendo laughs again, “in this case I directly spoke to you so please speak.”
“Thank you,” says Ashe stepping over Mlinzi’s leg that blocked her path, and she takes her place next to me. Mlinzi stares at me and then Upendo, and I almost expect him to complain, but his eyes speak for him in his tired state as if he is trying to warn Upendo without words, knowing fully well that Upendo will do as he desires.
Mlinzi rubs his head clearly still nursing his hangover to care to voice a rebuttal, so he closes the door behind us, and we once again ascend the mountain. The hike is steeper and more rigorous, but this time we have a clear destination which helps inspire Ashe to actually keep up with the group this time round. The peak of the mountain houses the glirdon village and with our eyes upon our goal we climb.
With each step we take we hear a sound grow louder and louder as we walk. The sound becomes more coherent, and I recognize that it is glirdon singing. Music fills our journey with new vigor as we move our feet toward an inspiring end. Fatigue doesn’t plague us as we focus upon the songs calling us. Then, all at once the singing stops. Upendo and Mlinzi both look at each other and nod to one another in knowing acknowledgement, but of what I do not know.
The peak arrives and to Ashe’s delight the glirdon village reveals itself. A small glirdon man that I recognize from yesterday’s welcoming celebration stands with two glirdon women amidst a village that is completely empty and void of activity. The centerpiece of the village is a tall tower constructed of stone and wood in a haphazard manner making it seem like the glirdon made it as a dare to the elements to see if they would knock it over. Several smaller towers emulate this monolith circle the perimeter of the village, and I assume must be watch towers, as circular rock walls serving as the base for tall conical roofs made of animal hides make better sense to be the actual homes of this village than the several towers. The second most prominent building beside the central tower is a longhouse looking structure that is constructed with stone walls and a wooden roof. Each of these buildings are decorated with bones, skulls, pelts, and feathers with designs painted upon them.
“Pramuk long time no see my friend,” says Upendo extending his arms out and the small glirdon man reciprocates the gesture by approaching Upendo and embracing the king. Compared to Upendo, Pramuk looks like a small boy embracing his father.
The small glirdon man unlike the two female glirdon with him has a monotone feather color of the deepest of black feathers. His compatriots on the other hand sport tricolor feathers like Mahana: one of the women having yellow feathers of three shades, and the other white feathers with grey and brown interspersed. Pramuk noticing my studying gaze turns his attention to me and says, “you must be the godling.”
I feel Mlinzi put pressure upon my back, and I bow deeply to not Pramuk but the two women as Mlinzi pushes my body to form almost a right angle. I’m doubled over for an awkward amount of time in silence, and Mlinzi taps my back with two fingers to try and tell me to speak up and so I say, “my name is Skath son of Turas, son of Angtos.”
“I already know who you are” says Pramuk taking a fan from his feathered poncho that he uses to raise my head and relieve me from my bow. The fan is composed of feathers of black, yellow, and white, that match the feathers upon Pramuk’s and his companions’ heads and fins, “Thanks to Lekhaka the book binder, there isn’t a glirdon upon this mountain that doesn’t know the name of the teratolion princess’s savior, but few know of how you apparently returned from the dead.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
The white feathered glirdon, who is much more elderly than her compatriots, approaches me and grabs my face with her shriveled hand, “so this is the son of Turas, he has his eyes, a beautiful violet hue, but corrupted with green streaks.”
My eyes are supposed to be green the same color as my mothers, but then my grandfather changed them to his golden amber color, and then Argentum changed them to violet. I changed my own face from Aeramen back to Skath after Argentum transformed me, but it looks like I might have not adjusted my appearance fully back to the way it was as now my eyes are a mixture of my father’s and mother’s eyes. No wonder I didn’t see myself in the waters of the waterfall, I had messed up changing myself back into Skath… I messed up… I really do not know my own face anymore.
“Hawa, you should really ask before you touch,” says the yellow feathered glirdon woman who is about the same age as Pramuk. She playfully smacks Hawa’s hand with her fan and for a brief second I see the muscular arm of this woman that was hidden by her feathered poncho. Both of these women stand nearly twice as tall as Pramuk and have a musculature that rivals the strongest of human men. Was my mother a glirdon mix blood? Because I’m starting to think maybe that was a possibility.
“Shwala, allow me to look upon the last remnants of the lost god that served our fathers. You may not have known him, but I met him as a hatchling and still remember those violet eyes,” says Hawa flaring her facial fins as she stares at me with nostalgic intensity.
Upendo seeing me in distress as my face is being handled by Hawa sounds off asking, “did you enjoy the mushroom wine that I sent you Pramuk.”
Pramuk laughs heartily at a joke that only he, Upendo, Mlinzi, Hawa, and Shwala were privy to, “I wish. Hawa and Shwala helped themselves to your gift leaving none for me.”
“Guilty,” says Hawa letting go of my face to use her hand in a coquettish and girly gesture which contrasted with her age.
“Good thing that I have a second barrel of wine on the way as another gift begging forgiveness for our sudden imposition, so maybe you’ll actually be able to enjoy a single horn full this time round,” says Upendo with a large toothy grin.
“You’ve always been generous with us. Without the resources you plentifully give us, we’d not be able to have this permanent settlement on this peak housing the winged and wingless that Mahana brings back from the bonds of slavery,” says Shwala flaring her facial fins in a way that it looks like she is tapping her fingers on her arm but it’s the fin like appendages on her face doing the motion upon her head, “though, an excess of generosity often hides alternative motivations. We understand bringing the godling for the sake of introductions and establishing his political ascension amidst your retinue, but why bring a human here?”
The way Shwala emphasized and hissed out the word human told me all I needed to know about her feelings toward them. Upendo knowing that the pleasantries are over drops his friendly demeanor and says, “the girl is my servant, and a demonstration of the future.”
Hawa walks around Ashe roughly pushing her fan into Ashe’s sides in contempt, “a future where humans are enslaved to us? That future is one that will only draw unneeded conflict. What gain do we have to bring humans closer to us when their potential is merely greed, lust, death, and destruction. Even now my tongue burns having to speak the tongue of Othenel, as it taints me with humanities corruption.”
“My servants aren’t my slaves,” says Upendo flicking his large, pointed ears back in irritation, “they serve me because they wish it, and I honor their labor with wages that more than take care of them and their families.”
“Ladies why the hostilities with our greatest patron?” asks Pramuk trying to maintain the now long dead jovial nature of our greeting.
“Silence Pramuk! You do not speak for the high court!” order both of the glirdon women in unison, and Pramuk bows his head and his arm fins fold into themselves decreasing his already smaller height in comparison to his female companions even further. The bone structure within the arm fin has two joints that fold the fin down in such a way that its length is reduced to the distance of the glirdon’s elbow to a bit above their forehead while also extending the width of their already broad shoulder profile significantly. The arm fin in its maximum extension basically doubles their height if you use the fin instead of the head as the main measuring criterion.
Mlinzi joins the conversation, “your suspicion of us is notable and understable. You stopped the initiatory songs and hid your people underground and in the skies. I told Upendo that bringing the servant girl would upset you, and I apologize for not being more prudent in my warnings.”
“This village is a safe haven from humanity, and you bring a human here,” yells a voice from the sky and I look up to see a shadow looking like three crescent moons connected by a human body. The glirdon swoops down and lands next to us revealing a head of purple feathers. Mahana grabs Ashe and takes out a knife from her feathered poncho that she presses against Ashe’s throat, “you know as well as I that I and many of the people here have experienced the horrors humans bring.”
Dust from the ground rises up Cran’s shaft and forms a spear head upon his head. I grab Cran and point his blade at Mahana to the shock of everyone, “drop the knife or lose your life. My sister isn’t someone you can toy with lightly.”
Mahana attempts to deflect my spear away from her, but when her blade meets Cran’s blade Cran liquifies the spearhead to accept the knife’s metal into his blade and stops it within the spearhead itself by solidifying the spearhead around the knife. I yank upward freeing the knife from Mahana’s hand, and Cran makes his spearhead even bigger with the added material, “let her go! NOW!”
Mahana doesn’t let go of Ashe and pulls out another knife that she presses with such force into Ashe’s neck that she draws Ashe’s blood. Ashe true to her word holds her tongue in this situation but as the knife digs into her neck, she lets out restrained but pained whimpers. Seeing Ashe’s blood, the scars upon my arms open themselves and fill with essence filled blood. Bubbles of blood float into the air and burst into flame to continue adding to my threat display. Shwala, Hawa, and Pramuk shriek in fear and try to distance themselves from the fireballs, but Mahana stays her ground. Mahana thrusts Ashe in front of herself with a confident smile on her face. I glare at her and send my plasma orbs into a circle around both of us, to indicate that it doesn’t matter where Mahana uses Ashe to shield herself, that I’ll be able to hit Mahana without hitting Ashe.
Mahana lets go of Ashe and then turns to Hawa and Shwala, “he knows how to play the game. Though he reveals his hand easily, he compensates by cheating.”
“The godling is in fact who he says he is. His arms bleed giving rise to miracles,” says Hawa sneering at Ashe still wary of the plasma orbs floating around us, “which given how protective he is of the girl that poorly disguises herself as a boy, must mean that this girl has to be one of the Unadeamy who helped in the rescue of Uzuri. Her blond hair identifies that girl as Bathsheba.”
I let go of Cran for him to float at my side, and I don’t dispel the flaming orbs. I see that Shwala’s fins seem to deflate as she hyperventilates which appears to calm Shwala’s anxiety in the presence of my fireballs. Once fully making peace with her anxiety, Shwala speaks, “The living staff Cranbeatha serves as another confirmation of the boy’s identity. Shifting faces must be tested. honesty is rewarded with honesty. Information is as much a tangible resource as shrooms and wine.”
“I’m guessing that you already know why we are here then,” says Mlinzi grabbing Ashe and bringing her close to him. Mlinzi looks at me and then at Ashe and seeing her in his protective embrace I dispel the fire balls and Cran’s spear head becomes dust that drifts into the breeze.
“Yes, and the highest court of the glirdon has deigned it necessary to test the godling,” says Hawa pointing to me with her feathered fan, “much is to be risked, but with his strength Shoron Gaol may finally be destroyed.”
The sky darkens, and I look up to see hundreds of glirdon spiraling downward, and they all land to surround the village. The first army of glirdon that once dominated the sky are then replaced by even more glirdon that darken the sky and encircle the village surrounding the village on the land and in the sky. Wingless glirdon come out of hiding upon the small towers and covered holes that surround the glirdon village, and now that they are out of hiding start passing out spears to the glirdon that surround us. A large shadow dives straight toward the central tower, and lands on top of it. A glirdon woman taller than all others stands with authoritative control upon the tower. Several other shadows also dive down from the vortex of glirdon above to join the enormous glirdon woman who landed upon the central tower, but unlike their apparent leader each of these glirdon assume lower positions on the tower by clinging to the sides of the central tower.
“Why is Visala the Highest Matron here? Why is the entire highest court here?” asks Mlinzi kneeling down to give the enormous glirdon and her retinue the respect that they apparently deserve. Mlinzi forces Ashe to kneel with him, but Upendo and I continue to stand in the presence of the Highest Matron Visala and her retinue.
“Why wouldn’t they be here?” says Mahana flicking open her fan, “you sought to circumnavigate the highest court through exploiting our alliance and negotiating only with the high court of this village. It is appreciated that you wished to seek our approval of your plans to establish trade with our enemies, but one village’s voice isn’t sufficient to establish the will of all our people. Gifts and feasts, are hollow flattery for what is desired. Much more than party favors to a select few is sufficient for what you will ask of us all.”
Upendo smiles and says, “of course I knew that, and expected as much. My gifts were never meant for today, but for the feast that is soon to come. I acknowledge that you do not see teratolion tradition and laws the same way that we do. Skath may be my brother, but in no way does that make him immediately coopted into the same positions of influence that I and Mlinzi share with you under the Claw Wing Alliance.”
Visala whistles, and Hawa says, “you speak true. Teratolion are seen as friends, but the godling holds no place of influence here, regardless of his status in your court.”
“Which is why I brought the human girl,” says Upendo taking Ashe from Mlinzi’s protection, standing her back up to her feet. Upendo then tosses her to Shwala, and Hawa, “she is here as insurance that Skath will comply with and fulfill the requirements to obtain your trust and more.”
I can’t believe that Upendo would betray me like this. I’d have complied without Ashe being used as leverage. Visala whistles again and Shwala says, “didn’t the boy try to kill Mahana, for such an insult.”
“I don’t make this decision light heartedly. I have faith in Skath and know that we will soon feast to his triumph,” says Upendo looking at me with pleading eyes, “all I ask is for his forgiveness as this is the path to the peace we wish to achieve. In all fairness to him for my betrayal, I’ll relinquish myself and Mlinzi as hostages, giving the glirdon highest court extreme leverage over my kingdom until he completes whatever mission you assign him. However, in doing this I wish to evoke the sacred laws of reciprocity! I’ve relinquished a godlings family, myself the king of the teratolion and one of my heirs and in a sense I’ve placed my entire kingdom as insurance of Skath’s fulfillment of his trial of trust, and now that the balance is shifted so weightily towards our group, I’ll expect that we will receive bounteous compensation to alleviate the disbalance.”
Upendo and Mlinzi walk over to the central tower and bow before Visala, and Visala once again whistles to her people. I watch and see Mahana’s anger and ferocious face melt into concern for Mlinzi. Mahana and Mlinzi exchange a glance, only for Mahana to transform her facial features back into the expression of the woman that threatened to kill my friend when she returns her gaze to me.
After Upendo finishes bowing to Visala, he turns to me upon his knees and bows to me and says, “I believe in you Skath.”
A king just bowed to me, after betraying me. What’s going on? Was this planned? And if it was planned, why didn’t Upendo or Mlinzi tell me anything? Then again, how do the glirdon know so much about the purpose behind Upendo’s desire to introduce me to them? Upendo told the messenger that we were coming here to merely feast. Right?
I look around and above me and within myself I know that unlike when I faced Gehenna, I am both at my full strength, and the number of spells on my arms and back have only increased and have been significantly enhanced since the fateful day of where Gehenna’s and my futures went to war. If I needed to, I could bathe this summit in blood. However, despite the betrayal, I still believe in Upendo’s bastions of peace. Though my trust lays shattered on the ground, I grasp at the pieces. I do not have the full picture and in my confusion, I’ll be weak, like I was weak when Gehenna transformed a bloodless pigheaded plot into a bloodbath.
For the sake of a dream, I hold onto the dregs of hope. I make my decision and I kneel to the Glirdon highest matron, “how must I prove myself and free my friend and… brothers.”
Upendo hearing how I sneer out the word brothers hides his face from me, and Mlinzi returns my glares of betrayal acknowledging the emotion in my eyes with understanding. Ashe nervously looks back and forth, scared and confused about her future.
“You already know the task,” says Hawa pointing out into the distance, “destroy Shoron Gaol the god created citadel of the slave hunters. Fell the impenetrable walls of Shoron Goal, to rid these mountains of a bastion for men that pillage lives, that is your task. Perform what has been impossible for us, and you will win our trust.”