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KALON
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Chapter Sixty-Four: Fedalla
Galactic Quadrant: Darna Quadrant
Ruling Government: Talum Merchant Federation
Solar System: D-447
Planet: Ora
Location: Daska City
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Luna stares at me, yet her jaw does not move for a time. Leaving me in silence to ponder the red runic lines that appeared on my body earlier.
“You really don’t know what Edicts are?” she asks, taking a step closer to lean on one of the metal pillars, after shaking my head no, she continues with “Where would I even begin?”
She trails off, musing it for a few moments, before she looks up at me.
“Long ago…” she begins, holding her arms tightly as she crosses them “When the Gods walked among the mortals in our Realm.”
Irritation flares in me, bidding my tongue to speak.
“I do not care for children’s tales.” I say, rolling my eyes “I asked you to tell me what Edicts are, I got enough tales and riddles for a lifetime when I lived with the Sage.”
“It is not a tale, nor a riddle.” She says, then turning her head a little “You lived with him?”
“He raised Arrum and me,” I say. The name of my bonded brother on my tongue strikes a tune of melancholy in my heart, reminding me of what has happened.
“Arrum, he is important to you?” she asks me softly, though I know her true curiosity lies in my having lived with the Sage. Perhaps I should have saved that knowledge to exchange with her.
“You have not finished,” I say, not wishing to speak of Arrum or the Sage.
“Well, take a seat then, it will be a long talk.” She says, motioning to one of the bunks near a steam pipe, the warm air coming from it looks inviting.
Sitting down on one of the bunks, I realize that even the ordinary sleeping pads for the Inner Clans are much better quality. Three times the thickness of the ones that full members of our Clan used, and four times what Arrum and I used. If this is the same in my old city, then it is no wonder that the Inner Clans become soft and force the outer Clans to fight for them.
“Tell me what you do know of the Gods of the Theocratic Imperium, we can work from there.” She says, sitting across from me, wrapping herself in a blanket.
“They tell us to worship their gods, specifically the highest among them, Thane," I say, recalling the teachings of the masters, “It is said that our gods rebelled and were punished for it, it is why we are made to labor, why we toil endlessly.”
“It was not just your gods that rebelled.” She explains, pulling the blanket tighter, “The Kuwathi themselves began the rebellion, attempting to overthrow the Imperium.”
My eyes search her, finding only truth. My people were the ones to rebel?
“From what my grandfather told me…” she begins, her eyes looking away from me for a moment as she adjusts her blanket “What I was told is that they very nearly did succeed.”
“I don’t understand,” I say, thinking on it further, the Sage told me that the Imperium stretched beyond the stars throughout the entire Galaxy. Even the ones in the floating cities above us bend the knee to them. How could my people have challenged something so grand? Looking up at her I finish with “What does this even have to do with Edicts?”
“I’m getting there. Be patient.” She sighs, giving me a look “The Cursed Edict that you stole…”
“I did not steal it,” I growl, interrupting her, thoroughly tired of her accusations.
“I thought we’d moved passed this.” She says rolling her eyes “I thought you weren’t going to lie anymore.”
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“You insult me yet again,” I say, narrowing my eyes at her.
“Should I be happy that you won’t stop lying to me?” she asks, her brow furrowed “How can we build trust without truth.”
“You speak of truth.” I say, turning from her “A strange word coming from your lips.”
“I… I have reasons that I cannot say, you wouldn’t understand.”
Irritation rises, and I feel a strange sensation crawling on my skin again, looking down, a dull flicker of crimson rolls across my skin. So, it reacts to my emotions, whatever it is. I will need to figure it out, there is so much I do not understand. If I upset her further, she will not reveal the truths I need to puzzle all of this. Drawing a deep breath, I close my eyes and release the irritation. The calm fills me as I breathe in.
“It was not I that stole from you, it was Korra, the green-haired woman you met in the market. She tricked me as well. She is… fedalla.”
Luna gives me a look, the same one she always gives when I don’t translate it for her.
“It means… devious.”
“You would call your own lover devious?” she asks, a strange glance follows.
My lover? Is that what she thinks Korra is to me? A chuckle falls from my lips.
“She is not my lover,” I say, shaking my head.
“The way she acted around you,” Luna says, pulling her hair behind her ear, her gaze seems to soften as she finishes with “I just assumed. Continue, please.”
“There is not much else to tell. She had Arrum steal it, then gave me a bag with a rock, I thought it strange when I peered inside.” I say, recalling it “But, you also leapt an entire floor, and shaped Maka in an extraordinary way, saving us from certain death. So, it was not the strangest thing I saw that day.”
She laughs, the mood between us becoming less bitter.
“Yes, it was a strange day.” She says, a warm smile on her face, “I am sorry for questioning your honor, it was unfair of me, especially considering that you saved my life, risking your own to do so. Besides, you could have left me and taken the Cursed Edict. So, your explanation makes sense.”
It is strange, this feeling of being heard out by someone above me. I am used to doing the listening, even when I am right, I am made to be wrong. Nevari would have never taken an explanation from me. She would have expected me to heel to her. This woman, Luna, she is different.
“Shall I continue my tale for children?” she asks, playfully.
Giving her a nod, I lean against the wall, breaking into a ration bar to quiet my belly’s protests. The bitterness of its taste is familiar, and in its own way, comforting.
“The reason I told you about the fall of the Kuwathi is because the Cursed Edict played a central role in its demise. Or so I was told.” She says, twirling her finger in the ends of her blue hair, “The last Kuwathi Emperor, Amon, he was the last true wielder of it.”
Amon, I have never heard his name before. Not even from the Sage.
“What happened to him?”
“He was consumed by it, body and soul.” She says, a solemn expression on her face “After their champion fell, so too did the Kuwathi.”
“They did not fight?” I ask, it is not like my people to lay down and die, “We are warriors, even oppressed we still have our pride.”
“They tried,” she says, looking at me, pity in her eyes again “They burned every world under their dominion, destroying every temple to your gods. Revoking all rights in all systems. It took nearly five hundred years for the Republic of Hekate and others to get special dispensation just to let those of Kuwathi blood become citizens. Even then, they had to achieve more than others, just to get basic rights.” her eyes barely meeting mine, “The ones who did fight… were massacred.”
Looking past the pity in her eyes, I see no lies.
“Some say the Cursed Edict drove Amon mad. Causing him to rebel in the first place. In truth, it is meant to be locked away in the Reliquary of Edicts, within Thane’s temple.” She says.
“There are more Edicts?” I ask her, mind filling with questions.
“There are many more, though in truth, none like this one.”
“What are Edicts, you never explained,” I say, hoping she will tell it straight.
“It is hard to explain, they are like commandments left by the gods. Imbued with their will, each is unique in its abilities. They are more than just weapons. They are like conduits to feel the will of the God or Goddess that made it. Some even carry spirits of past wielders, left to guide the next chosen.”
“Is that what the demon in the black box is?” I ask her, correcting myself “The Cursed Edict I mean.”
“I do not know what lurks within it, but if you have seen something, you should tell me. It is not a good sign.” She says, clutching it closer to her side warily “Is that what happened to you, you saw something from the Cursed Edict?”
My eyes glance at her, not sure if I should say anything. Afraid she may think me mad.
“If it is meant to be locked away, then how did you get it?” I ask.
“I…” she begins, her face faltering.
“You cannot say.” There is no anger in me this time, somehow having her listen to my explanation before has made her own feel more valid, “I will not pry needlessly.”
She looks at me, measuring my words before she says “Thank you.”
“So, this cursed thing you carry, can you at least tell me why you have it?”
“I am supposed to bring it to the man you call the Sage.” She says with a sigh “Though, I have begun to wonder if…”
Her face grimaces, and my hand almost wants to reach out and comfort her, in the same way that she comforted me. I hold back the urge, our futures are uncertain, she is a master, and I should not get too comfortable with her. She may not mind, but the others like her may, there is no doubt, they might slay me for it.
“I will make you a deal,” I say, pondering on it a moment.
“A deal?” she asks me, her eyes tracing up into mine.
“If you let me travel with you to Tarvashal, I will help you in your search for the Sage,” I say, though, I am certain it will just be to help her get closure. Regardless, my purpose to find the brothers Haki and Daki, as well as get revenge for the girl and the Arasha woman comes calling into my mind.
“You want to go there?” she asks me, confused “You don’t want to go back to your city?”
My eyes fall from hers as I press my head back against the wall, looking at the peeling paint on the ceiling.
“There is nothing left for me there.”