Chapter 10

“Now returning back to the three different kinds of tappers. We will start with the more common of the three, body tappers. Body tappers are tappers that utilize their nimora by mostly enhancing their bodies. Whether it would be making them stronger, faster, or in more rare cases utilize their affinities to engulf themselves in flames for example. Unlike the other two forms of tapping, body tappers are restricted to utilizing their nimora only inside of their bodies. They are unable to say, project a beam of energy from their palm in an attack. However, they are able to radiate energies from their bodies that can affect nearby people. Such as decreasing their internal temperature so drastically that it begins freezing things around them. They are also capable of using long-range attacks by stretching their limbs for attacks, which is especially devastating when altering what their fist is made of, such as steel.

-Triforge lecture part three - Body tapping

What can I do? Where should I go? Koden thought to himself pacing back and forth within a small opening of the forest miles from the Atomo Clan. Koden knew he had to get back to the battle, he just couldn’t go alone. He thought of the neighboring allies to the Atomo Clan in the lands of the Beeajii Clan. Koden could find his grandfather Namba and join his army to fight off the Tokanoba assailants. As reassurance consumed him, he set his mind in stone.

Walking over to Rem he situated his weapons to be more comfortable while riding him. He mounted his companion, and they started carefully moving south towards the Beeajii Clan. Rem more cautious than usual, put more finesse into his movements. Koden’s eyes shifted back and forth in search of any soldiers, but there wasn't any sign of them. Koden wondered where his brother was during the attack and pondered whether he survived or not. He also thought of how livid his father must be for someone to have the gall to attack his lands, which for some reason put a brief smile on his face.

Koden was tempted to have Rem jump their way to the Beeajii Clan, but he was weary of coming across a powerful tapper. Even though Rem was fully capable of quickly navigating across lands Koden had to be conservative during this fickle time. As Koden looked about, he recognized the different trees and partially worn trails he and his brother have utilized during their trial just weeks prior.

Ahead of them, Koden saw an opening. However the opening was occupied by more than just shrubbery and forest sheddings. Koden now concerned, tapped Rem’s side indicating for him to stop. Rem hunkered down to prevent their cover to be blown. Koden instinctively squinted his piercing eyes with the intention to see clearer. They were corpses, several of them sprawled across the forest opening. Koden tapped Rem with two light pats, giving him permission to move forward. As they approached the opening Koden realized that they were fallen Jasmine Empire soldiers, some slaves and some normal troops.

Koden jumped off of Rem and walked up to one of the bodies. He kneeled down to see better, the specific corpse he was examining had multiple arrows stabbed into his chest. The arrows were quite different than the ones he was familiar with. They were primitive and handmade with what seemed to be inaccurate cave dwelling eyes. He looked further to see the tips of the arrows were made of bone, jagged and extremely barbed. The Nabi people killed these men, Koden thought to himself with surprise. Perhaps they learned a thing or two from Nivra and me, his thoughts continued as a grin bent onto his face.

As his thoughts continued, he couldn't help but think about taking the soldiers clothes. He didn't particularly have a reason or a plan for the outfits, but with him being raised to be prepared for anything he couldn't resist. He reached down to his belt buckle and tapped it once, it began glowing with light blue nimora, and the corpse disappeared as it became sealed within the buckle. Koden then walked over to the rest of the corpses and sealed them all within his artifact belt buckle.

Koden knew that staying in one place was not an intelligent tactic for the situation at hand, so he remounted Rem and they continued forward. Koden pondered as to why the Nabi people were so far out from their village, and why were they so aggressive? Perhaps the Jasmine soldiers were bothering their lands, and they did what they did as a protective measure. All Koden knew was that the courage that he imagined they had during the fight was not like the Nabi.

Without warning Rem dove to the ground. As a response, Koden rolled off of Rem’s back and landed on all fours. He couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary, but Rem has far superior hearing than him, making Rem hear things quicker than he ever could. Seconds go by before Koden could finally hear the chatter of soldiers in the distance.

The soldiers grew near as Koden and Rem laid still in the thick brush. As Koden gained visual of the troops, he recognized the Tokanoba insignias on their chest plates and shoulder paddings. He and his companion waited patiently as the marching soldiers passed by, headed straight for the Atomo Clan.

Minutes later the soldiers became out of sight and they were finally safe again. Koden rose to his feet and looked at Rem, “You are far too big for this, go hide somewhere safe and wait there for my call.”

Rem got up from his crouch and gracefully darted into the forest, leaving Koden by himself. Now Koden can look for a good opening to the Beeajii Clan without worrying about Rem’s massive size. He continued making his way through Cold Crown. As he scanned the area, he blindly dug through his bag and fetched his whistle that he uses to communicate with Rem. Using cord attached to it, he strung it around his neck as a necklace. He began going a different angle as he and Rem did previously in hopes of finding a better opening.

As he made his trek his thoughts consumed him. He couldn't help but think of the absolute worst scenario that could come from the attack on the Atomo Clan. What if they actually fell? What if people in his family died? What if the Atomo lands get taken by Tokanoba? With the exception of the latter, he lacked feeling for the others. Koden felt nothing towards the idea of a loss in his family, barring his brother. He had always portrayed such apathy to the people he encountered in his life but wasn't aware of its accuracy until now.

The trees he passed got larger as he grew deeper into the woods. This was bad news for Koden because he knew that he was going the opposite direction of the Beeajii Clan. In the far distance, a sound foreign to the forest called out. Koden stopped in his tracks and listened closely to what he thought he just heard. He kneeled down and sought refuge behind a thicket of berry bushes entangled with a mess of thorny vines. All Koden could hear was the natural stir of the land until more sounds rang off in the distance. Koden was now sure that it was marching, with the occasional bouts of chatter.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Soon after that Koden finally gained a visual on what seemed to be a multitude of soldiers from Tokanoba and the Natoya Clan. The corner of Koden’s upper lip curled into a silent snarl as a wave of agitation flushed inside of him. The soldiers steadily passed Koden, they were also headed straight for the Atomo Clan. Why are they sending so much relief? Are they really trying to conquer us?

As Koden saw the last of the soldiers leave his sight, he began walking again. The amount of soldiers he has seen today made him rethink their motives as to why they are doing this. His father Kagu has not always been so respective to other nations so it could very well be a personal vendetta in Koden’s mind.

Koden quickly popped his head up over the brush and looked about in every direction. To his knowledge and by what he saw he couldn't see any soldiers that were close to him, so he decided to start running through the forest to gain distance from the last group of soldiers. Then he would feel safe to call Rem and finally get out of this forest. He caressed the whistle in his right hand, preparing to use it once he finds a good opening. He can finally get to the Beeajii Clan to aid in the battle. But for some reason, he felt the need to think of a backup plan just in case. His want to be constantly over prepared makes him frequently have to take a step back to rethink his actions.

Koden took a knee behind another untamed body of shrubs and raised his whistle to his lips. Before he could press the mouth piece to his mouth, he heard the unwanted chatter again. He knew that this wasn't the group he had just passed but a new group. As Koden’s eyes dawned upon the soldiers, he saw that they consisted of the same nations as the previous. A silent sigh escaped Koden’s mouth as he grew fed up with the interruptions.

This time instead of simply passing by the group of soldiers halted near Koden. However, they were just enough of a distance away to where Koden had a difficult time picking out what was being said. Tokanoba. Atomo. Battle. Claim. Grow. These were the only words that Koden could effectively pick out of what seemed to be a motivational pre-battle speech.

Over by the group of soldiers the man that finished his speech paused and looked off into the forest. After the celebratory roars quieted down, a soldier approached the commander. “What is it, Sir?”

“Someone's here,” the group leader said shifting his eyes back and forth.

Koden heard the man's claim and knew that this was going to be a problem. He looked to each of his sides to see an escape route. His only impediment would be the noise he would make leaving the area, which very well could alert the soldiers. Koden could tell that the majority of them were tappers, but he couldn't verify how strong each of them were. This made him concerned about his escape if a tapper that is far stronger than him was in this group he would surely not survive.

As the commander of the group spoke the rest of the soldiers began looking towards the same direction he was. Some presented their weapons in preparation for a fight while others simply stood guard. The commander looked over to a man on his left and motioned him to come closer. As the soldier did what he was told the commander spoke, “Check for bodies.”

Koden was familiar with this phrase, and he heard the commander say it as clear as day. This meant a tapper would utilize their specific kind of tapping to sense the area for any beings around them. Damn! Koden thought to himself.

The man stepped forward and pressed his open palms out in front of him. He temporarily closed his eyes as his hands filled with yellow nimora. The man was a mind tapper, and because of that, he had the ability to sense larger concentrations of nimora which usually correlates to another tapper being present. As the soldier sensed Koden, he pointed in the direction of him and popped his eyes back open, “Over there!”

The remaining soldiers unsheathed their weapons and prepared for battle. A small group of troops nocked arrows back from their steel bows. The commander calmly raised one of his open hands up letting the group know that they needed to settle down. “We know you're over there. Come out now, and we will spare you!” the commander said to Koden who was still hidden behind the brush.

Koden had no idea what to do, he thought about his surroundings and where exactly he was located in the forest. He couldn't take all of the soldiers at once and get out of it alive. “You have to the count of five!” the commander informed, “One.”

The adrenaline began to course through Koden’s body as his inner thoughts continued. If he stayed and turned himself in, they would surely just kill him for being an Atomo.

“Two.”

If he were to stay and fight them, it would be nothing but suicide. There was only one option Koden had. This idea wasn't perfect, but it had the least likely chance of death.

“Three.”

The time was now, Koden abruptly jumped up from his crouching stance and dashed into the woods. “Catch him!” the commander ordered. Upon the request, all of the soldiers rushed into the woods to hunt down Koden.

Jumping over fallen limbs and running through stubborn brush, Koden ran with all of his might. He looked back behind him to see the group of soldiers closing the space between them. Without warning, he took a left after passing a tree and continued his sprint. The soldiers followed, Koden’s intention of gaining a lead in the chase was a failure.

Multiple soldiers that were apart of the group that was chasing Koden began firing energy blasts at him, some made of fire, some lightning, and some just raw energy. He efficiently managed to dodge the blasts. Koden’s eyes shifted back and forth as it seemed he was in search of something. Periodically he shifted ever so slightly to accommodate his destination.

The soldiers were almost near Koden, he could feel their breath run down his back. He was very close to where he wanted to go, he was just concerned that he himself might get affected by this as well.

He took another hard left after passing a colossal mass of brush. As soon as the soldiers rounded the corner, they stopped in their tracks and looked up in fear. Above them hung the massive nests of the Emperor Wasps, the same ones that Koden and Nivra have encountered during their trial. Koden looked up to the wasps and shot a small Shredder-star up at them. Immediately after doing so he grabbed his whistle and gave it a forceful blow. Although it was silent to a man's ear, it did the job of communicating to Rem. Before the Shredder-star made impact with a nest, it dispersed into a multitude of waves that knocked into dozens of nests. As the nests swung about from the hit they just took, the wasps within them came pouring out. They let out deep angry sounding buzzes and began swarming the area. The wasps gained a visual on Koden and the group of soldiers and dove down at them from the canopy.

Suddenly Rem landed next to Koden and knelt slightly. Koden frantically climbed atop Rem, “Go. Go. Go!” With a great initial leap Rem and Koden safety escaped the raging storm of the Emperor Wasps.

The same story couldn't be told for the soldiers. The wasps quickly surrounded them and began stinging them profusely. The man-sized insect injected its arm length stinger into a soldier's chest. Instantly his chest began to inflate as the wasp injected gallons of venom into him. As the man's skin became stretched too thin to contain the venom it burst open as the flesh began to immediately decay. A mess of dying screams let out as every single member of that group got stung to death by the angry wasps.

Koden grew tired of all the soldiers, his plans to go to the Beeajii Clan became unappealing. He was sure that trying to make his way there would be monumental problem after monumental problem. He decided that he will go with his backup plan that he constructed earlier, or at least he was going to find out if it would be easier than this plan. He leaned down to Rem's head and pointed in a direction. Rem began swiftly running the way Koden pointed. He was headed south, to the regal land of Verkarion.