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Kalon
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Chapter Eighteen: Adul Ak Napa
Galactic Quadrant: Darna Quadrant
Ruling Government: Talum Merchant Federation
Solar System: D-447
Planet: Ora
Location: Beneath the planet's surface, Naro City, Yul Clan Assembly Hall
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My eyes watch closely as Arrum channels Maka from the Clan’s last shard of Etherium. Though it may not look it, this shard is special, because it has been passed down for generations. Each chief and Clan member close to their end gives the last of their Maka to it. The color is duller than I remember as a boy. The last few seasons have not been kind to us. Many near the end of late sell their Maka in the market, instead of giving back to the Clan. There is still enough Maka left in it to do what must be done though. Barnak and Keno’s last act, there is beauty in that it will save these two brothers. Two more lives among the countless that were lost that may yet still blossom.
“What did he say?” Dekarn asks Yuri as he comes back from speaking with Nekam.
“He said he will speak with them soon,” Yuri says.
“That is all he said?” Dekarn asks him, crossing his arms with a strained expression.
Yuri nods to him, then looks down at the brothers, inspecting Arrum’s work.
“Would a healer not be better?” Yuri asks, looking at Arrum, though he speaks to Dekarn.
“Risking a healer for Ulima is not wise,” Dekarn says, his jaw rolling at Arrum.
Arrum’s eyes glance up towards him for a moment, a flicker of anger. My bonded brother has despised Dekarn for many seasons now. He has always forsaken his attempts at his niece’s hand because he is Ulima. Guilt slithers through my veins, Arrum has given up his chance at his lover’s hand to help these brothers. Were he not Ulima, he would be allowed to try and wed her. She will be angry with him too. If I had not offered myself, I do not think Arrum would have. Leaving the blame with me, even if it was his choice.
“Arrum,” I begin after Dekarn and Yuri leave us to speak with Nekam who moves with a swift stride past us, but the look in Arrum’s eye as he glances at me tells me to leave him alone.
He is angry with me, it is my fault that he felt obligated to give his spot in the tribe. He knew that Nekam would have asked something of me to spare the second brother. Something that I very well may not have survived. The guilt rises again, frothing in my throat. It swallows the happiness of seeing the shorter brother’s runic lines almost fully blue now. The taller one, still may not survive, the darkness infects him still. Rolling on his skin, thrashing against the Maka.
Were Arrum not extremely skilled with Maka, even the shorter brother may have been consumed. His control is nearly flawless, almost no waste brushes the air.
His control over it reminds me of my fight with Barnak… more guilt rises. It is strange to think that I took his life. My hand shakes still, as it always does after taking a life. He makes another soul that I have helped pass the veil this week. Another set of eyes for my nightmares. I have doubled my blade’s notches now, though I have not decided if I will add Barnak to it. The thought of it stabs in my chest, like the blade I put in his.
I think of the words I spoke to him, Adul Ak Napa, You fought with honor, meet your end with pride. His eyes did not fill with pride before they glassed over. They were filled with the darkness of regret. Something else bothers me, joining the guilt. If I had lost either time that Nekam had bet on me, I wonder if Barnak and the others would still be alive. My stomach groans as it curls with the thoughts, I fear that Barnak’s demise was my fault. All the dead, my fault.
“Haki, be strong.” The shorter red-haired brother says weakly. He grips the taller one.
A name, with a meaning in the old tongue. Big demon.
“Help Daki first, please.” The taller one called Haki says to Arrum.
Another name with a meaning. Little demon.
“Be still, he is already helped,” Arrum says, not hiding his annoyance.
Haki looks to Daki, a weak smile as he squeezes his brother Daki’s arm. Tears threaten to fall, but he holds them back.
“Why have you helped us?” Daki asks, lowering his head to Arrum.
“Because we are fools,” Arrum says, giving me a look.
“We have little to give, but all that we have is yours,” Haki says, his voice is hoarse, though he is looking more like he will recover. I am glad for it.
Arrum says nothing, so they look to me for a response. Their eyes are sincere, something I am not used to.
“Repay us first by surviving.” I say, then looking to Daki who no longer bears the signs “Meditate and restore your rhythm. There will be little time to rest in the days to come.”
“We are to go with the surface crews?” Haki asks, he is about to say more, but Arrum speaks.
“I told you to be still, this is not as easy as it looks.”
Arrum lets out a frustrated sigh, sweat beads on his brow from the exertion. Guilt that I cannot help him joins the rest. Making a sea of twisted emotions inside of me. A familiar face coming closer to us brings me back to the present.
“I heard your fight with Barnak was remarkable,” Nevari says, coyly coming into my shadow, almost playfully so, like she did not wish to see me beaten instead of her brother less than a day ago. My mood turns not just from remembering that, but from thinking about killing Barnak. So I give her a weak nod, refocusing on Arrum working on Haki.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“My father told me you were to be made a full member of the tribe for what you have done.” Nevari says, her hand grabbing my face and turning it to hers, she is so close it causes my heart to beat faster, her hand grips mine openly now “How does it feel to not be Ulima?”
She does not know yet. My jaw tenses. There is a knot in me for her still. One that I cannot unravel. There has been no time to process. Her eyes look at me strangely, as though they are disappointed I do not return her affection.
Her head tilts as she sees it is Haki who is being helped, her eyes narrowing at the shard, its unmistakable carvings of the Shakal beast, our Clan symbol making her turn to Arrum now “My father gave permission for the Clan shard to be used?”
“He did.” Arrum says, then turning to look at me now “Ask him the price.”
Nevari turns back to me now, her smile fading fast as she searches me for answers. My jaw flexes, not wanting to say. I had not thought of what she would say when she found out. In truth, I had not thought of her at all, it was the words of the Sage that guided my tongue to trade my freedom.
“What was the price, cousin?” Nevari asks Arrum, but her eyes are locked to mine.
“A life for a life,” Arrum says, there is bitterness in his tone, so much so that Daki and Haki look away in shame.
“I do not understand.” Nevari says, taking a step back, releasing my hand, her expression twisting for a moment “You… you became Ulima again?”
She points to the two brothers, her eyes hum with bioluminescence as her Kuwathi eyes glow in anger.
“You remained Ulima for them?” she asks loudly.
“I… did,” I admit, unable to meet her eyes now.
“Did you not think of me?” she asks, pressing her finger into my chest, then louder “Did you not at least consider how it would hurt me?”
She is so loud that it has drawn Nekam’s attention too, but he does not move over to us yet. His eyes find mine for a moment before I plant my gaze on the floor. Did I not think of her? My tongue wants to ask if she was thinking of me when she asked me to become the receiver of her brother's pain.
“Do I mean so little to you?” she asks me, her voice strained as it blossoms with sadness.
Despite the frustration, the guilt soars to greater heights now, drowning me in it. Still I avert my gaze, there is a pain in her eyes that I cannot take.
“Look at me!” she yells, her hand shaking in a balled fist, but she does not strike me, I look up into her eyes and she speaks again “It was not bad enough that you threw our future away, but you have also thrown Arrum’s away.”
Arrum looks at me for a moment, there is a mixing of emotions on his face too. Nekam moves towards us now. His eyes look to Nevari, whose eyes glow still.
“Control your emotions, daughter.” He says sternly.
She grits her teeth, giving me one last look before she turns her back to me.
“Go and meditate,” Nekam instructs.
She bows to him and departs, leaving me with my heart twisting more than before she arrived. Nekam looks at me, in his eyes I see the warning. The words do not need to be spoken to be heard. His eyes tell me to stay away from her. It is a warning I do not think I will have trouble heeding for once.
***
It has been hours since she left, yet her words play on my mind. Arrum has finally finished helping the taller red-haired brother Haki. Both brothers bow deeply to him, but his mood is bitter so he waves them off.
“Rest.” Arrum says to them, then turning to me “Come with me.”
Not wishing to anger him more, I follow close behind in his shadow. He takes me to the far side of the Clan Assembly Hall, where others cannot hear the words he wishes to speak. There is dread in me as he rolls his jaw, mulling his thoughts.
“You are mad. I do not blame you.” I say.
He comes closer to me, looking me in the eyes. They do not glow as Nevari’s did though. He controls his emotions even now.
“Can I not be mad and proud?” Arrum asks, pushing me backward “Am I so simple that I cannot feel both?”
“That is not what I meant.” I say, though I am confused, so I ask “You are proud?”
“How could I not be?” he asks me, clenching his jaw “I was also raised by the Sage with you.”
He feels the Sage’s hand in our actions, in the compassion we showed. He did not just do it to save me. Knowing this, I am more proud of him now, it must have been hard for him as well. Knowing this takes some of the guilt from my shoulders, not all, but enough that I can breathe.
“I know that what we did was right.” Arrum says, now slumping against the wall “I am… frustrated.”
“Speak it,” I say, sitting next to him now, though I know already what truly bothers him.
“It was hard fought for us to earn such a prize. I simply wonder, when will we be able to claim it again.” Arrum sighs, looking to the ceiling “I wonder if I will ever be able to…”
He does not need to say it, I see what is on his mind. He worries about the girl he loves, Isola. Her chief Dekarn will never let her be with an Ulima, nor will her parents. He has given much to help the brothers, he has given much to live by the Sage’s example.
“There will be a chance, perhaps even on the surface,” I say, hoping to encourage him.
“I cannot make her wait forever, Kada.” He says, looking at me “We need to rise.”
Before I can speak on it further, Nekam’s voice carries across the room.
“Gather.” He booms.
We do as he asks, amongst our tribe who have taken lodgings in the Clan Chiefs Hall are the leaders of other tribes. With them they have enough warriors to travel quickly in the walkways. Some greet Nekam with an arm while others clench their jaws. So soon after Barnak’s death, this much is expected though.
“Tomorrow we will march with the other Clans to the surface.” Nekam says, walking between the crowd, paying special eye to those who are angry “The other Clans have already begun, we are behind.”
There is grumbling in the crowd as he speaks. His eyes trace to those who do until only silence follows.
“We had five hundred spots, now only three hundred,” Nekam explains.
The two hundred he paid as a bribe to the City Chief’s guard, I had nearly forgotten about it.
“Whose fault is that?” someone belts from the crowd. Other voices agree with it, shaking their heads. Though they do not challenge him directly and when he looks at them, their gaze falls to the floor.
I do not blame them for being angry, our Clan has had many losses because of his actions… because of mine too. We can only hope that he will lead us to prosperity. Lest the dead that we carry will linger and haunt our nightmares.
“Most of us have few spots.” One chief says “Even before you ascended, Barnak did not let us earn.”
“You did not earn because you are weak.” One of the new tribe leaders says. A cousin of Henek.
“Because your grandfather was a cheat.” Another says.
Voices raise as sides are formed.
“We should do another proving, this time fair!” a voice in the crowd yells.
Nekam raises his hand in the air, some listen and fall silent, others continue spitting insults. Our Clan is more divided now than we were before Barnak’s death. I am reminded of the Sage’s words now.
One can rally many for a common cause. The problem is when that cause is gone.
Replacing Barnak was enough to get the support of the many. He is gone now, the people seek something else to rally behind. If this continues, we will tear ourselves apart before the other Clans even get a chance to.
Nekam walks between the crowd still, looking at each person who speaks, unnerving them with his gaze. He does not need to fire energy weapons like Barnak. There is not a person here who does not fear his blade.
“Four hundred years we have survived. Yet, we still live beyond the outer gates of the city. We are made to scrape to survive. We are the bottom caste.” Nekam says once the room becomes silent.
He walks among us, his eyes piercing beyond our differences, seeing what we can be.
“For too long we have struggled to survive, while the other Clans thrive in the city center, rich from our labor.” Nekam says, there is an intensity to his speaking, something that brings rise to feelings deep within us all “Before the winter comes again, we will rise in station, we will take our rightful place among the inner Clans.”
I feel it in the air, my arms prickle as I feel him inspiring us. Giving us a common cause, something to rally behind.
“No longer will we cower in the shadows, no longer will our children’s bellies grumble in the cold nights,” Nekam says, his eyes now glowing with purpose as the bioluminescence swirls.
Others in the crowd begin to match it as they feel him call for them to dream of a future where we do not suffer under the boot of those above.
“We will not kneel any longer. Together we shall thrive,” he says, pounding his chest.
He moves toward the Clan Chief’s chair, tracing his hand along it, still looking at the crowd. When he finally sits upon it for the first time, he says confidently.
“I have a plan.”