They were waiting as promised. The remaining inkokeli answered their inkosi’s summons. Tamers camped before the Merud. Eight hundred strong, with more dark Tamers than he expected. A quarter at least, though he hadn’t asked Master Anele for the specifics.
There was light rain on the early morning of their journey, which became a storm.
They arrived at the camp the evening before. Shrouded in darkness, yet barren. At Sanctuary’s Tail, but he expected a taste of the natural beauty at the very least. His nose enjoyed the familiar freshness that often emanated from Sanctuary’s gardens in the capital, but that was all.
Captains arrived to speak on behalf of their inkokeli to Master Anele. The cloudy night sky rumbled its threats. He made out the narrow path through the mountain. A great climb at first upon a steep pebbled road, the rumbling above heightened the ever-present danger.
Jazmin took him away from their camp to train. She didn’t trust her ability to remain secret with the number of Tamers around. It wasn’t worthy of being called training. She learned he managed the basics well, summoning the inner fire at will, if a little aggressively. Her words, yet she observed and advised on maintaining the fire without draining himself into unconsciousness. In no time, he controlled the fire from his fingertips to his shoulders.
There wasn't time to do more. A rested mind was required for what lay ahead. He was grateful for the caution now, drenched beneath his cloak, his arms immolating and wrapped around his chest to stay warm. Enough to keep his temperature from dropping.
It was slow going. The journey was on its second night. When it usually took a day. The rain made it seem like the end was an age away. Despite their snail's pace, they were still days ahead of the road that wound south and hugged the southernmost point of Ko’Eri.
He’d never seen the ocean, only learning of it by perusing the books in the archives below the palace. Grand salty bodies of water, with hidden beasts larger than islands, claimed some archivists, and lands of unimaginable secrets.
Beyond the continent of Ko’Eri, and the lands north of the Mahn’Parvat, untouched by Feline influence. There were islands to the east, an archipelago of sorts perhaps. A mass of land to the west. Not any less interesting, he supposed.
Beast, I’m thinking like Mazin.
The cracking above snatched him away from his borrowed wanderlust. Melina’s shield pinged with the renewed rainfall. Unprotected by his cloak on his back, though, it kept a large portion of him dry.
Dawn’s paws squelched upon the narrow road, slipping occasionally. He felt her fatigue, though there was no swift pace, but to ride nonstop with an armoured Tamer weighed on her.
“I am not so weak for you to pity me, boy!”
“You are tired girl, there is no need to play tough with me.”
“Careful, I may throw us off and leave you to fall while I climb back.”
“You could never survive severing the bond in such a manner.”
“I will find another,” Dawn’s words came with expected humour, yet they still perturbed him.
There were many things unknown about the bond between beast and Tamer. The wisest and elderly Tamers did not share knowledge. Whatever details occurred between the Po’Vaj and the beasts many millennia ago remained forgotten. They ushered in the Age of Enlightenment, after the pact. That was all anyone knew.
“Most Tamers have little care for such history,” Dawn mused over his thoughts.
“Most Tamers are not princes.”
There was a collective surge of joy filling his nose from the single file line of Tamers. Ahead and behind, a collective scent of relief overpowered the fresh rain and soil-soaked earth below. The rain softened to a mist.
Whispered conversations became hopeful. Lights flickered ahead, beyond the glow of the Tamers nearby. Red eyes, and the excitement quickened their pace. A few slips and slides, their crumbling narrow road reminded them of the treachery remaining.
Spirits rising and the drumming above fading, so did the narrow mountain road descend. Zaki dug his fingers into Dawn’s fur and she shared in his stifled joy.
The torturous eternity of their journey turned into a blink in his mind as the endless flickering torches filled his vision ahead. They left behind the clouds that hovered above the Merud for clear skies.
Led by the enormous cloud of darkness that made up the dark Tamers of the Cheetah Clan, they rode onwards along a wide road of hardened maroon clay stone.
He shivered when the wind sliced through his soggy cloak, where the rain seeped through his scaled armour. By the time they stopped to make camp, close to a grand lake sparkling with the few stars from above, he was more or less dry, but ice lingered on his bones.
Prince Zaki paced after placing Melina’s shield down, tossing aside his cloak. His empty stomach rumbled at the idea of immolating. He watched as they erected their tent upon a hillock of hardened red clay.
Master Sinalo was the first to join him, fatigue plastered over his usual hardened handsomeness. They waited for their shelter to rise like the other smaller tents around.
Campfires sparked to life. Tamed congregated around the banks of the grand lake to the south while their Tamers huddled before fires. Others jumped into their beds with weary eyes.
“A full day’s rest, don’t you think?” Sinalo asked.
“Do we need so long?”
“A nonstop ride would follow, eating up more than half of the road towards Ci’Ped.”
“Great time. A straight road through the Chhaa Province? I expected towns on our path, stoppages perhaps.”
“Only arid redness and dead trees this far south. This lake is a reward for brave travellers. Everyone avoids this road, even Tamers.”
The air was moist, however; he listened to the chirping insects and critters beneath the hardened red clay. He was having trouble accepting the master’s claims.
“I will relay this to…”
Anele stomped towards them before he finished.
Master Anele was equally fatigued, with the addition of frustration in those hazel-green eyes.
“Nobody can explain why three didn't make it. Three too many before a damn fight!”
Zaki said nothing. Anele’s words sounded more like an outburst for herself, a release after the gruelling road through the Merud.
“Don’t expect a swift resumption, Prince.”
“A day’s rest. Master Sinalo has already decided,” Zaki said.
“Good, we need it.”
He loosened every piece of the usually weightless script strengthened, golden ochre, scaled armour in his corner. Beside Melina’s glowing shield and his khopesh. His shoulders cracked when he reminded them of their mobility.
The dried spiced meat remained chewy. The bread was soggy, but the dried fruit kept its taste. They all went down awfully, overpowered by the growing stink of rain on his underclothes. Mingled with his own sweat, and although dry, it was a constant irritant for his nose.
He stepped out of the tent. Red eyes flickered amongst the patrolling Tamed on the borders of their camp, with orange markings along their slender faces, blinking at him before turning away. Enormous figures of blackness with blotches of maroon dust caking their fur. Zaki shivered again.
He thought of Jazmin, who was absent since they arrived.
“She is here, boy,” Dawn said.
He gasped when a bucket of icy water splashed his head. A blink later and his vantage lowered, but his vision expanded.
Ants scurried through dry foliage around the muddy banks of the clear lake. Panicked by the furry intruders in their vicinity.
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Dawn’s eyes lifted towards the night sky, spotting more stars than he thought existed. Clumped together yet distinct in the darkness. Silver orbs sparked across the night before disappearing. Streaks of colours swirled, varying shades at will.
The Sinha turned away before the otherworldly beauty imprisoned him. She searched the banks for another Sinha amongst the endless Cali Cituva.
Jazmin knelt in the red clay beside a bucket. Her Tamed Sinha lounged beside her. A blade in her hand. She shaved, scraping the remaining stubble with careful strokes. The knife splashed in the bucket, then returned.
She paused with the sharp edge still touching her head. Jazmin’s eyes shot up and searched the Tamed until they narrowed at Dawn. Her slow smirk was the last of her he saw before Dawn thrust him out of her head.
Zaki gasped again when his head lost its icy water sensation. He blinked the red clay, dead trees, and patrolling Tamed back into his vision.
It wasn’t too long a wait for Jazmin to arrive. A chill grew as the camp quietened. His entire body tingled with his immolation, from head to toe, a fraction of his energy just to keep the cold at bay.
Her smile was a welcome sight, a surprising lift when her dark eyes glittered like pearls as she passed. She returned after placing the bucket beside a tent and motioned for him to follow her. A quiet section of their camp back towards the Merud, unguarded as well.
“Your hands, Prince,” she muttered, smiling, and smelling of soap. Her head was smooth, and her silk hood sat gently upon it.
Zaki doused his inner fire and obeyed, clasping her warm, soft palms. The familiar tingle jolted him. There was no getting used to the strange privacy she created. His ears twitched, and he fought the urge to lick his lips.
“I didn’t expect the road through the Merud to be so treacherous.”
“Hadn’t you come across any hints towards it in your books?” Zaki asked, following her down to the floor with his legs crossed as well. “I suppose reading of it is far different from experiencing it.”
“Mmh.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Nothing that needs to trouble a prince,” her eyes matched the smile stretching her full lips, but there was a distance within them that suggested otherwise. “Do you still require my guidance with immolating?”
“I was hoping to move on from it, and explore others.”
“Before that, I should say something. Don’t restrict yourself on the potential of an ability. There is more beyond it, with an equal amount of risk. There is excitement in acquiring knowledge beyond the ink on paper, and I won’t rob you of it.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Zaki was as excitable as she promised, almost squeezing her hands, which he still held. “Are you ready to answer my first question, then?”
“First question, did I miss something, Prince?”
“When you first worried about my intentions about learning more, I asked about memory walking.”
Jazmin snatched away her hands from him, and her eyes widened. She clasped her hands together and watched his own.
“That isn’t something I can guide you through.”
A lie.
“I don't want to guide you through that. Nor would you want to show me your deepest memories that not even you would walk through. The risk of walking this path.”
“Fine,” Zaki sighed after a moment’s pause. Fear danced all around their unseen cone of privacy, which surprised him, considering her usual self-control. “What do you know that may serve me in my future endeavours?”
“All I can offer are claims from dusty tomes.”
“You’ve never done it?”
“Prince, it’s not an ability most Tamers wish for. I do not speak for dark Tamers, but amongst us, it’s rare. I’ve heard many boasts of possessing the gift, yet they hide behind everyone’s fear of reliving memories with another, to avoid having to prove they have it. I…”
Jazmin trailed off and her eyes became distant again, a habit of thought Zaki told himself.
Her eyes widened again, returning to their usual attentiveness. Though her scent smelled of worry.
“Oh, that would explain the new tension between you two. I hope this isn't the first you hear of this…”
“It isn’t the first, and I know what you speak. I learned my lesson, and wouldn’t dare to insult anyone again.”
His mind cast itself back to the Cheetah harlot in the infirmary. Khadim hovering over him while he failed to discover his healing hands. The question never left his chest. Jazmin’s claims of memory walking’s rarity only made his corpse experiment even more frightening.
“I've read many sources. Its effectiveness from skin-to-skin contact, consent given from one party to the other. A supposed difficulty between blood relations. I have read of the vulnerability of the unconscious and slumbering. The difficulty varies across species, yet the revelation is similar.”
Jazmin paused for a moment and a ripple passed through their silent space. Unseen fingers tested its borders as the sounds of the camp pierced through for a fraction before returning to a muffle. Jazmin grimaced, then took a breath to recover.
“That is all I know. I could detail each point, but they are summations.”
Zaki’s fear exploded.
“Forgive me, Prince, but I cannot maintain this privacy for much longer. The journey has exacted a toll on me.”
The tingling vanished, and the night wind surged at them. Jazmin sighed, trembling, before stumbling to her feet. She mumbled her departure and scurried towards the tent, leaving Zaki with his fear.
It was Dawn who forced him to bed. He felt the approaching sun a few hours before the sky brightened. Still seated where Jazmin left him. She nuzzled her monstrous head against his neck. His hand reached for her ears as she nudged him into action. Away from the cold, patrolling dark Tamers and their red eyed Cali Cituva.
The tent was a haven of warmth beyond the chilly night. So far, the Chhaa Province wasn’t as cold as the Tej. This campsite seemed too barren to stay true to whatever winter demanded of it, however.
Prince Zaki kicked off his boots, listening to the peaceful slumber of the two generals and Jazmin within. The moment his head rested upon the hard bedroll; sleep snatched him away.
Zaki stood in a garden of endless lavender. Some were as pale white as ghost tree ribbons; others were shades of dark magenta. The tight-knit formation of trees barred his eyes from seeing beyond the ringing wall of wood. Yet gaps remained for the unending darkness to seep through.
The grass below was greener than green. His toes enjoyed the caress of each blade. He blinked ahead, and a tent of ivory and bronze appeared. A captain’s tent, and he took a step forward. Another blink and he noticed his nakedness, though the ever-present warmth spared him of any supposed chill.
Another blink later and Melina’s shield appeared beside the flapping opening of the tent, leaning against a wooden post. Its golden facade glowed, with the Atum Ra sun carved into it, blazing without hinderance.
No!
The serenity of his dream withered, and the illusion flickered. What little darkness he noticed between the gaps crept further in.
You will not do this to me now!
He blinked, and a hand pushed open a flap. Another followed and Melina stepped out as nude as himself. Her dark curls fell down to her ears, weighed down by the oils she favoured when Ma first pulled her from the streets. It seemed right, complimenting her face with its high cheekbones, despite her never allowing her hair to grow beyond stubble when she became captain.
Prince Zaki blinked when she beamed at him and saw a corpse walking towards him. Riddled with slices and gashes upon her nude flesh, ruining her darkened sandy umber complexion with globs of wine-red blood. From head to toe, with pulsing magenta sparking from each of her thousand cuts.
No!
Melina was nude and untouched again after another blink. Her strength rippled proudly with every stride closer. She stood half a head taller than him, and smelled of fresh dirt, sweat, and potpourri.
He hadn’t noticed the lavender trees engulfed by the encroaching darkness, nor the sparks of magenta within it like lightning from storm clouds. The tent Melina emerged from was not safe from the darkness itself.
Another blink and she was on her knees. The thousand cuts returned with agony on her once beaming face. Zaki caught her before she fell and enjoyed the tenderness of her hand on his cheek. The last of her love, while her life coloured his arms and the grass below.
Zaki paid little mind to the deepening darkness, to the boots of blackness forming all around them. He would take in Melina’s last moments while he still could, even if it was an illusion.
‘Do not weep,’ his eyes read from her lips. ‘You deserved more, but you were always my dream.’
In the silence, her voice danced through his mind. Dreamlike without losing her roughness, another piece of her to enjoy for the last time.
He blinked again to see her gone, but his arms remained bloody. The darkness deepened, and he rose to his feet, enraged. Zaki set himself ablaze, worthy of the Atum Ra sun, burning away the figures of blackness from him.
One remained strong before him, however, rippling with strength against his glow. With streaks of silver and eyes blood red, it spread its arms aloft and unleashed a hollow laugh. Mockery that chilled him to his bones.
Zaki felt his fire weaken, but this was his mind, his dream. He stepped forward and roared all his anger at the shadow. His fire exploded like lava from the maws of a volcano and seared through the surrounding darkness. It melted away the red eyes and silver before slicing through the blackness and turning his vision to pure white.
Prince Zaki gasped awake upon his bedroll, lying flat on his back. His underclothes glued to his flesh, thanks to the sudden humidity swirling around the tent. An ochre lavender sunset shone its colours through the gaps, but he was alone within.
He sat up to find Dawn lounging at his feet, snoring into her paws. Her presence tickled their bond, but his burning fire kept him silent. His chest was tight, with eyes caked by the dry remnants of tears. Which only worsened his anger.
Why, why now?
He almost punched his head. Melina was dead. There was no changing it now, and these emotions solved nothing. Yet she still appeared at the will of his mind.
The ironvine ring left an imprint on adjacent fingers when he unclenched his fists. It became a magnet for his idle fingers as the dream faded from his memory. Though his emotions proved stubborn, refusing him the opportunity to forget.
Zaki smirked at himself. That was more likely Melina’s last mark on him, her not allowing him to forget. He glanced at her shield leaning against a nearby post.
I won’t Melina, I won’t.