Alzra P.O.V.
CLASH!
“You are keeping your arm too high, at the level of your crown. Again!”
CLASH!
“Use your pivot foot correctly. Transfer the weight of the attack with your stance. At the point of contact twist your wrist like I showed you. Again!”
CLASH!
“The stances change depending on the opponent’s attack. We are doing only a downward slash parry. Come on!”
CLASH!
The kid was holding on for dear life. I knew I was pushing him.
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
An hour later, after copious amounts of continuous badgering, it finally happens.
CLASH!
The sword attack is parried perfectly, the trajectory of my sword moves a couple of inches away from his right elbow. The tip of my sword is directed towards the ground by the deflection. The counter comes, a core infused palm strike. It hits me and it does nothing but the form is there. I am pleased.
“Good job Teng. We are done for the day.”
The boy is panting and lets himself go with heavy sighs on the floor.
“I thought you were a dagger user?” He said while still heaving.
“Dodekors are masters of many weapons, my young Ishun!”
“Sundown is coming. The holy day is upon us.” He noted.
“Let’s get cleaned up my boy. There are duties to perform.”
“Rakahmim gahol, sister Alzra.” He told me.
“Rakahmim gahol to you too, brother Teng.”
“You think I’ll get my appointment at the meeting?” He asked.
“Oh, so you want to get rid of me that badly?”
“No…no sister that’s not what I mean.” He is a shy one.
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“These things take time, you are awakened, a chosen faithful of God. That will make it faster but it will take no less than fourteen days.” I gave him a truthful answer.
He was eager, we were all eager fanatics in the beginning. Even some of my own memories came flooding in. We went inside my home, leaving the training courtyard behind.
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“I got the baskets ready sister!” Teng joyfully talked.
“I see the provision requisition is going well in the capital if you managed this much.” I accented approvingly.
Teng was organizing his clothes, pamphlets and booklets on his new premium haversack.
“Is this alright sister? This is the holy day.” The new faithful questions are always like this.
“What are you going to do, Teng?”
“Take the food to the poor and the immigrants. Partake and share the word with the people.” He had practiced that answer, it was verbatim. My exact words thrown back at me.
“Our lives must be a reflection of God, every day. But on a holy day specially so. God loves the world and the people that call upon him with zeal. Do all things for His glory!” I pressed my finger on his forehead.
“For His glory? This is a Pharazur?!” He asked coming into an understanding.
“Yes, a deed for the glory of Zur. Keep studying our mother tongue.” I waved him to the door.
“Pharazur, sister!” He stood straight as a pillar in salute.
“Pharazur brother, now go!” I gave the order.
He took a haversack filled to the brim and eight large baskets of bread, fish and fruits with him. A bit clunky but an extraordinary feat of balance for any normal human. He was an awakened, good training nevertheless.
“Do not trip because its dark boy!”
Teng left through my garden entrance with a basket on top of his head. It looked funny, very funny.
“He is growing on me.” I turned to enter my chambers.
“That is a very delightful thing to hear.”
An elderly white clothed man, dark skinned, long white hair. A simple spotless robe with no hood stood behind me. If I didn’t know better, he could be a long lost relative. I wasn’t even aware that he was there. Dangerous, my senses were tingling.
“Rakahmim gahol, sister Simi.” The elderly man gave our holy day salutation.
“What did you just say?” I spoke with extreme wariness.
I turned to face him.
Within the space of two breaths, all the pressure I could gather with my cores flowed through me targeting the man.
“Are you still drinking Thruskan brew secretly? We have pretty good liquor of our own you know. A Dodekor indulging in a kotarian product is not a good look, be careful.”
I kept pouring more power and energy but nothing happened, not even the leaves in my flower garden moved. He was completely unflappable. A voice resounded inside my mind, within my very core.
“IS THIS HOW YOU TREAT AN ELDER?”
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‘My core was breached? What? An elder? I have never seen the man before me. I know the entire Clethora, the King, the Asarin, the Dodekors and the Clethar himself.’
I was confused.
‘Lies, deceit, half-truths are the weapons of the adversary. Let’s probe the issue fully.’
I condensed my many sentiments quickly.
“Don’t play with me you devil! There is no elder that I don’t know in the entire kingdom!”
My cores expanded and ignited. The blessing of the Dodekors, unique to each one of us, my second most powerful technique.
One breath. My eyes flickered, their light intensifying. My index and middle finger together pointing at the man. A ray of pure golden light went forth from my right hand through the fingers.
“LUZUR!” A shout in bestial form.
ZIIIIIING!
The light entered the man, I felt it. The blessing strike is connected to my cores, if it hits the objective it causes a resonance within me. Light expanded covering the man like a cocoon.
“Uff!” I was frazzled.
“The light of Zur never harms its own.” The voice came from the energy enclosure.
The power dissipated slowly, he was still standing there, unperturbed.
“There are two people in the entire kingdom that you cannot meet, they have to come to you, industrious one.”
“There is only one and he is away, you are not him. The other one is dead.”
“Dead now? Things are worse than I was hoping for then.”
“This can’t be! The elders cannot hide this! If what you are implying is true, you have been gone for over three hundred years! Why come to someone like me? You need to tell the King!”
The exertion from the technique and the breach in my core left me with no filter. I was but a child throwing a tantrum. Before I could say another word, he was standing at a hairs breadth distance from me.
“Are you going to keep babbling like this? Show some propriety.” He reproved me.
“Rakahmim gahol, Prophet Hameyin.”
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“You have chosen quite a secluded location on the outskirts of the capital for your abode, Simi.” The Prophet told me while sipping some Zurian wine.
“Price was convenient and it has all the necessary facilities. I have never been a fan of the court, rather be on duty elsewhere. And no one has called me Simi in a very long time.”
“Alzra it is then. Tell me, what do you think of the current state of affairs in the Kingdom of Orlum?”
“This is the greatest period in our history, thousands join the kingdom every year, the faith is spreading, the life of the people is improving at an incredible rate, our blessed ones are creating wonders, our military power rivals anyone in the continent and a righteous King sits on the throne. There can be improvements and we must be wary of our neighbors but things are looking good. Now that you have returned, it will be even better.”
I took a sip from my tea. I wondered the purpose of this line of questioning.
“You have recently been blessed as a Dodekor, a decade, yes?” I agreed.
“It is curious that this peace with the Eternal Moon has lasted for three hundred years. The kingdom has been lulled, pacified into complacency. A peace treaty with our mortal enemies when the mouthpiece of God is not around?”
It was an astute observation but not something that wasn’t considered at the time. Hundreds of parchments guard the debate of the elders and the scriptures behind it.
“King Erel has the gift of prophecy, the four great elders and the Zuranin allowed the truce to occur. Even the Clethar performed the Rite of Illumination in the Temple.” I was fixated on the Prophet’s eyes.
“Where you there? In the Temple? Things are not always as they seem. The Zuranin is the only one older than me. Who is performing the Rite of Purification every year in the Temple?” He asked in rhetorical fashion.
“King Erel, since you have been gone as the kingly prophet. He has taken up the duties. The scripture allows for this proceeding.”
“And on the 70th year jubilees, who performs the Rite of Exaltation?” He asked again.
“The King as well, his continuous deeds grant him the right to do so. He has ushered in a golden era.” I answered almost reflexively. I didn’t like where this was going.
“Mincha, the Clethar of the Temple harbors the seed of rebellion. The kingdom is sick in the womb. The abundance, the opulence, the power, the praises of the people and many more things have blinded you all. There are Malgrunians within our borders, a thousand years ago that would have been met with a sword!”
Silence. I couldn’t say anything. Nevertheless, I couldn’t accept this viewpoint easily.
“Why are you here? Why haven’t you gone to the King? You need to prove what you are saying.” I staunchly questioned.
“Preparations my child. God makes good that which is intended for evil.” He placed an exquisitely laced orgon book of unknown material on my wooden table. I read the title, ‘Book of Hemayin’.
“Scriptures?! Revelation from the Almighty! Why are you giving this to me? The King, the King will help you, you know this!” I shouted.
The weight of the situation pressed mightily on my heart.
“Erel is drunk with the wine of women. Too many wives to see what needs to be seen but he still is a light for you all. The steps of the Temple are filled with men who are just but few who are holy. They praise God while the shadow of Malgrun grows ever closer. Right now, I cannot trust them.” He sounded aggrieved.
“The Clethar is corrupted according to you, he has the power of God, I felt it. The light of miracles continues to shine.”
“Miracles are not the whole measure of worthiness; you know the scriptures Alzra. He is allowed to be because God wills it so. But I will humor you this once, for your task is exigent.”
Out of nowhere, a pure white bird, brilliant and strange descended. A special kind of magical hybrid beast landed on Hemayin’s right shoulder. Power, the blessing of Zur, I identified it easily.
One breath. He transfigured himself into a young man, the most beautiful man ever. He was floating midair, shining with pure white light.
“This is the seal of the Zuranin. When the time of God is fulfilled, request the Rapha from him. Use the scriptures and teach them to the child named Teng. You are to take him as your direct Ishun. He will be your successor, do not let him be separated from you. Use your oath if necessary.”
The words came like a flood with far more power than anything I knew. The seal floated into my hand.
“You want me to train the child and have him take the Rapha? The trial of the Zuranin? These can take years. And the scriptures? A scribe would be better.”
His hand touched my forehead and knowledge poured into me. The Book of Hameyin, I could feel the scriptures come alive. My body trembled. The words were embedded into my core.
“Ah!” Absolute joy, indescribable.
I struggled for breath, I fell.
He transformed back into his old appearance and released his touch. He floated down slowly, his feet touching the carpet again. The bird was gone.
“The book is for the child. Your heart wanted miracles, God has granted your desire. Pray and fast, prepare, the era of two prophets and the Zuranin will rise again in time. Steel your hearts, sharpen your blades.”
On the floor kneeling, my stertorous condition wasn’t helping.
“When will these things be?” I managed to ask gibbering.
“The year of the death of the King, when the blood moon rises.”
Heavy steps were heard through the house. Tap, tap, tap!
“Sister, sister!” Teng had arrived.
He quickly helped me to stand. He was looking furiously at the Prophet.
“ESHERANANEL!”
Power flowed from the Prophet and into the child, the whole room began to shiver.
Ten Breaths. The room stabilized and Teng was feeling elated. The look of someone right after awakening. His energy was vibrating outward continuously. We could feel it.
“You can call me Hem, child.”
“You are a hierarch of Zur! Are you an elder?” Teng asked innocently.
“I blessed your body, this will speed up your growth. Grow in wisdom child.”
Teng was just happily nodding. The blessing of God can change your mood rapidly.
“How was the gathering of the provisions? Were the people helpful?” The Prophet was beaming.
“It went well, but the richer the person the stingier they became elder Hem!”
“Is that so? Can you elaborate for me?”
“The ones who had little gave from what they had, the bread that they ate. The rich people gave from their scraps, the leftover in their kitchens. A loaf for one is not the same as a loaf for another. Humph!” Teng was complaining.
“The scripture says you shall find bread in the hand of the poor before you shall find gold at the door of the rich.” The Prophet quoted his own book.
“Really? I never heard of such a verse.” Teng was looking at me.
“Yes, it is true, it’s just not a popular one.” I said.
“It will be one day, I promise.” The Prophet played with Teng’s hair happily.
“Would you like sister Alzra to be your master child? The one to train you?”
Teng stared at the Prophet with an almost obsessive gaze. After a few grains of sand, he agreed with a smile.
“God bless you, sword of Zur! Keep the law in your heart and learn well.” He patted Teng on the shoulder.
Prophet Hameyin gave us his best regards and stepped through the garden.
“Will you come around often elder Hem?” Teng cried out.
“Follow God and we shall meet again. Rakahmim gahol!”
A gust of wind blew on the garden, my beautifully kept petals scattered everywhere, when they landed, Prophet Hameyin was no longer there.