“Hey.” Pazia whispered to a sleeping Azar.

“Hey!”

“No… get away.” Azar groaned while uselessly flailing his arms.

Pazia clicked his tongue before reaching out to Azar but just as he did, Azar suddenly wrapped his arms around the warrior.

“Good morning!” Azar yawned while Pazia positioned his hands in between him and Azar.

“Will this become a regular thing?” The Fire Breaker sighed while trying push Azar away.

“Sorry, I was just having a bad dream.”

“Then let go!”

“No!” Azar yelled while clinging to Pazia who, at this point, was standing upright.

“Ugh.” Pazia groaned while carrying Azar out of his room.

The two came across Chozek who was dressed in lose fitting woolen clothes.

Pazia grunted before pushing Azar off and walking into the living room where a bowl of fruits awaited him in a bowl on a table in the center of the room.

He grabbed an apple while Azar crawled into his room and it wasn’t long before Azar and Chozek were ready.

Pazia led them out of the house with a nod and the three made their way lower into the cavern.

As they walked, they came across a large group of people who were protesting Emunah’s rule.

“Kiynah should be the one to lead us into the future! A man should be the one to take the throne because we all know what happened when a woman last held that much power!”

A man yelled while standing atop a crate.

His words made those around him cheer but all Pazia did was scoff before continuing his walk but he stopped again after hearing the man’s next words.

“We lost far too much when our beloved prince was killed by those who shan’t be named and this has left us with a problem! The Chief only has one remaining child and, unfortunately, she too will grow to be a woman. She will be Kiynah’s only obstacle, should she contend his desire to rule! We must convince- no, we must beg her to sit by and allow Kiynah to rule lest we experience another oh so dark age!”

Pazia’s brows furrowed a little but he let out a sigh before leading Azar and Chozek into the cavern deep where he instructed that they take off most of their clothes.

“Why do we have to be naked again?” A bashful Chozek asked but Pazia dismissively waved his hand while sitting against a wall of the cave they found themselves in.

“This is how I trained as a young warrior and so this is how you will train. Also… isn’t it a bit more liberating to move unshackled by tedious clothing?” The Fire Breaker asked while sheepishly tapping his chin.

Chozek and Azar exchanged puzzled glances but they chose not to question Pazia’s methods.

“Ahem! Alright, flex every muscle you can. You’ll need to develop a conscious understanding of how your muscles move when contracted so that you can predict the contractions you’ll get when you start doing Uyil Torsion. If you are unable to move your body in a safe way, you’ll break your own joints when the pain kicks in. So flex away!”

.

..

A few hours had passed and Chozek was on the floor, gasping for air after Pazia made him do various exercises, including anaerobic flexing.

Azar was tired as well but since, on top of being a magician, he was a warrior, he was used to strenuous exercise.

“Alright. We do this for a few more days and you should be ready for the real thing. We need to be extra careful since you two aren’t augmented-“ Pazia stopped as a sweat covered Azar chuckled while sitting next to him.

“What?” The warrior asked.

“It’s nice to see you openly worrying about us instead of bottling everything up inside.” Azar smiled making Pazia frown.

“I- I’m not worried.”

“Did the legendary warrior, Pazia, just stutter?” Azar smiled making Pazia’s eyes widen.

“Mmm…” Pazia droned while slowly turned his head away from a giggling Azar.

My curiosity led to me glancing at Kiynah’s home.

I wanted to see how he was reacting to the people’s cries.

He sat in his house, one which once belonged to Mashouah and ate his breakfast all while his wife, Mashouah’s daughter, tidied up.

I had watched over him for some time and although he cared for the Chofumah, he was also very watchful and never actively tried to stand out.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

Becoming chief would put everything on his shoulders and I wondered how he, a man who had primarily served an advisory role, would fair as a chief, if he ended up becoming one.

Speaking of chiefs, I turned to Kukiyah and my eyes narrowed as I saw one of his daughters, Shemesh, crying in her room.

She had done this every now in then, much to the irritation of L'vanah who knew that the general populous suspected her and her sister of murder.

This day was different, however.

Instead of L’vanah, her father entered her room to ask why she wept.

It was here that she revealed to him that L’vanah was the one who killed Amiytz but this came as no surprise to even an aged Kukiyah who chose to comfort his daughter who he held in his arms.

He asked her why her sister did it and she confessed that even she hated Emunah and how she treated Kukiyah.

The two wanted revenge and so they killed the young prince.

Kukiyah nodded and then swore he would not tell another soul what she had told him because if it became fact that her sister had murdered the heir to the throne, the sisters would most likely be executed by the mob who would arise from such a revelation.

As for Kukiyah’s role in all this, he, like the other chiefs who ruled back in Hatua, served as an advisor and he maintained that role even under his ex wife.

I turned to the south just in time to see a visibly trembling Ua as she walked towards her old home, which had long since been converted into a temple.

She stepped into the now empty building and, after glancing at the statue of me, she sat down as Heziyn, Musa, Mpole and Modo watched.

Ua turned her quivering eyes to the others prompting that they enter and sit next to her.

They did so and watched as Ua tried calming herself down by taking deep breaths.

She had began to shake the moment she stepped out of the palace walls and it only got worse the further they got from its walls.

Mpole pleaded that they postpone their picnic since it was raining but Ua insisted they go either way.

Some maids also came along and they brought the food that would be eaten during the picnic but, after placing the foot in front of the group, they turned their attention to Ua who once again turned to the statue of me.

“D-d-divine.” She stuttered.

“That is the only word I can use to describe Our Lady. Her m-mere presence blessed the soil with fresh grass and made the air pleasantly warm, even at the summit o-of the mount.”

Ua then turned to Heziyn and Mpole as Musa sat next to her.

“What word would you use to describe me?”

“Cruel.” Heziyn said without wasting a moment.

“I-I suspected you would say that.” Ua smiled before letting out a shaking sigh.

“Anyway, let’s not r-ruin this moment with our... issues. So Musa, my beloved, are you happy with what you’ve seen?” She asked.

“Yes! Hatua is so much bigger when you have to actually walk in it. It looked so small from the palace! I wonder if everywhere else is this big!” Musa said excitedly.

“I kinda wanna see it all-“

“Y-yes but you also have your duties as King to prepare for. You must remember that your safety is of the highest importance so you might to be able to t-travel as much as you might imagine.” Ua said with a raised nose making the boy’s shoulders droop.

“Duty aside, what else have you been doing?” Heziyn asked as she picked a berry from a bowl full of fruits.

“Well… I’ve been training to get strong, studying and… training and studying.” Musa sighed while fiddling with his fingers.

“Is there anything that you’ve ever dreamed of doing?”

Musa’s eyes widened but before he could respond, Ua gently placed her hand on his leg.

“Be careful Heziyn. Children are… impressionable. We wouldn’t want my beloved Musa to stray from the path that was set for him, no?” She said with regained clarity and furrowed brows.

“Why does he have to walk down a path which was determined by everyone other than him, Ua? Shouldn’t Musa’s life be in his own hands?” Heziyn suddenly snapped making Mpole jolt.

Ua’s eyes narrowed.

“Be very careful with your next words, Heziyn “ She said but Heziyn took a deep and shaking breath before sitting upright even as her eyes trembled and sweat lined her forehead.

“Alright.” She breathed before turning to Musa who’s face was riddled with concern and confusion.

“Musa, our dear beloved boy, what do you want for yourself? For your life?”

Musa’s eyes widened further.

He turned to Ua who remained frighteningly silent.

“I… am fine with becoming king. I-it is my duty after all.” He said and Ua was about to nod in agreement but she silently gasped upon seeing tears welling in Musa’s eyes.

“Please… don’t cry, my dear boy. I just wanted to know what you wanted and if you want to become the king of Hatua then-“

“I don’t!” He cried.

“I don’t really want to be king!” The boy cried and just as Ua’s face twisted into a scowl, Heziyn uttered a single word, “Come”.

Ua’s eyes widened and just as she reached to grab Musa, Heziyn kicked her in the face, sending her tumbling to the side, before grabbing Musa and dashing out of the temple just as something or, more accurately, someone flew by to grab her and the boy.

Modo tried stabbing Heziyn’s Ilem before they could fly away but before he could, a third one rushed towards him from above and, before he could react, she sliced off his right arm before trying to slit his throat open but the Fire Breaker pushed her away and dashed backwards just as two more Ilem rushed into the Temple but, at this point, Ua had recovered from Heziyn’s kick.

She screamed onto her feet and rushed out of the palace, crushing the third Ilem to a bloody mush using Gravity Magic.

She then saw that Heziyn and Musa were being flown away by the first of the Ilem.

In her rage, she raised her arms, using Gravity Magic to launch several buildings at the fleeing trio.

“Your highness, the prince-“ Modo tried yelling but his cries were innately drowned out by a massive explosion which tore the buildings apart before they could reach the trio.

Ua’s glare turned to the south where she spotted a floating Akili who led two thousand men to this location all while creating what I could only call a storm of fire.

To make things even more intense, Ua, at this point was generating such a strong gravitational force, the clouds above spiraled inwards.

The fifth Ilem suddenly rushed into the Temple and grabbed Mpole but Ua ignored her and chose to instead return her focus to where she last saw Heziyn and Musa.

She spotted them getting further away in the north and wanted to fly up and chase them but Akili pulled Glass Energy from every nearby source to strengthen his firestorm which grew even hotter and stronger thanks to Ua’s magic which stroked the flames.

She gnashed her teeth as her face twisted to an extreme degree.

Her blazing purple and orange eyes then turned to Modo who desperately avoided losing another limb to the third Ilem who violently swung her blade at him.

Ua walked up to the woman in white and raised her hand before using Gravity Magic to pull off the woman’s skin, dragging it down while keeping the Ilem standing so that she come experience all of the pain while being upright.

Modo then watched as the Ilem limply fell at Ua’s foot but he suddenly fell to his knees as his gazed into her eyes which turned to the fiery sky.

She glared at Akili who’s forces were in a fierce battle with her own.

She gritted her teeth before finally allowing herself to float up all while healing Modo and giving him a new arm.

The sky then thundered as a magic storm engulfed Central Hatua.

One which threatened to set the capital ablaze.