The next day Ibaeran was called to meet the king, once there she saw him seated upon his mighty throne looking down on her like an insect that he was about to crush underneath his boot.
“You…you wanted to see me your majesty” said Ibaeran as she bowed down her head while trying her best to hide any signs of the overwhelming fear she felt while being the presence of the king.
King just smiled; amused by the fact the Ibaeran still feared him and the fact that was still trying to hide her fear from him.
“Yes, I just wanted to remind you that you only have a mouths time before I paint the streets of all four nations red with your people’s blood” said the king.
Ibaeran upon hearing what the king said felt heart skip a beat, knowing that he was serious about ending the lives of her people and with all the terrifying rumors she has heard about him and the level of cruelty she had witness him display to his very own people, she had no doubt in her mind that he would be more than capable enough to end the lives of every single soul in the four nations with hesitation or even an ounce of remorse, a fact that filled Ibaeran with a strange mix of fear, hatred and disgust for the king.
“This is the first day out of the thirty days you have to get me the Dumo Stone. I just want you to know I’ll be count every single day that passes and the thirtieth day if you haven’t brought me the Dumo Stone, I will fire rain down upon the four nations, wiping out every single one of your kind from earth and leave only behind their ashes be scattered about by the wind” said the king before getting up from his throne and then going down one knew so he could look Ibaeran in the eye.
Ibaeran looked at the king’s one good eye which shone with green like glowing emeralds as he looked at her with a look that sent chills down her spine.
“Do you understand Su Baera” asked the king.
Ibaeran felt heart begin to race, pounding harder than a beating drum as she heard the king speak before taking in a deep breath, comporting herself as she tried to hide the ever growing fear she had for the king.
“I…I understand” Ibaeran voice cracked as she spoke, feeling the immense weight on her should, the fate of her people was in her hands and if she were to fail they would all pay for her failure with their lives.
“Good, you may leave now” said the king as returned to his throne.
Ibaeran then left the kings chambers.
The smile formed on the king’s face as he watched Ibaeran leave, knowing that all he had to do was wait for thirty days to claim his prize, the Dumo Stone, and once he acquires it he would have power over life itself, the ultimate power.
Datubo’s thoughts of acquire the ultimate power were soon interrupted by a voice saying, “I bet you think you’re really clever Datubo”.
The king, upon hearing the voice, just sigh in annoyance as he already knew who it was.
“Niyanlafu, show you spineless coward” said the king, with annoyance and irritation.
A cloud of darkness then appeared before the king.
“Look who is calling a coward and spineless, a king who is so terrified of the power of a girl so much so that he has to blackmail her with the threat of ending the lives of her people if she refuses to do what you ask of her” said Niyanlafu as he emerged out of the cloud of darkness.
“I fear no one, much less a little twig even if she possesses the power of the Su Baera” said the king.
“If that is the case why threaten her with the lives of her people?” asked Niyanlafu.
“I only did that because I was tired of waiting, the ultimate power is at my grasp and I refuse to let it slip away from my fingers” said the king.
“Denial of fear is one of the greatest signs of foolishness Datubo” said Niyanlafu.
“I fear nothing” said the king, wanting to make it abundantly clear to Niyanlafu that he feared nothing.
“Yes and that’s the reason you will fall in the end” said Niyanlafu with a wicked smile before disappearing in to the cloud of darkness he emerged from.
Once Niyanlafu was gone the king was once again left alone with Niyanlafu’s final words echoing in his mind causing him grind and grunt out of annoyance and rage.
He refused to believe the words Niyanlafu spoke about him fearing Ibaeran and the power she possessed as the Su Baera after all he had no reason to fear, he was the king of the Uha Tamunarans, feared across the land for being the most powerful Uha Tamunaran to walk the earth and believed to be the only being powerful enough to not only match the Su Baera in strength and power but also the only one to end the life of a Su Baera.
With everything he had achieved, the empire he built through fear and spilling the blood of those who tried to oppose him, all the power he gain after defeating and ending the lives of his enemies, the king had little to no reason to fear a little seemly worthless and pathetic girl like Ibaeran whose presence he only tolerated because of the power of the Su Baera she now possessed but yet a part him understood that he had to be cautious with her, remembering the massive level of power he felt from her the first time she tapped in to the power of Su Baera, the power was overwhelming and just kept rising and rising, if he hadn’t acted quick it might even surpassed his.
The king was no fool and understood that Ibaeran might be a threat if she learnt how powerful she truly was and what she would be capable of if she ever learnt how to control the power she now possessed.
The king knew it was a dangerous game he was playing that was why he continually mounted pressure upon her by threaten the lives of her people while also reminding her about how insignificant and pathetic she was when compared to him.
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He knew he was playing with fire and if he didn’t tread carefully he would get burnt but the king was stubborn and too blinded by his determination and hunger to claim the ultimate power.
Ibaeran made her way back to her room, once there she went to the window and looked at the garden down below, her mind clouded with thoughts of the king and what he would do to her people with her if she could find away to travel to Kiri Dumo and get him the Dumo.
Ibaeran just sighed as she felt the overwhelming pressure resting on her shoulders; the countless lives of the people living as slave under the Uha Tamunarans were on the line and now that she was the Su Baera it was her responsibility to protect those lives but how could she when she lacked control and mastery over her powers as a Su Baera.
Ibaeran then thought about Ton’Onama and how he had offered to help her but also remembered how he requested for her to help put an end to Datubo’s reign, a feat she doubted she would ever be able to accomplish but his offer to help was unconditional and he said he would do so even if she refused to stop Datubo.
Ibaeran was considering going to him for help but she questioned his motive behind him helping her, there seemed to be nothing he would be getting out of it in return even his request for her to put an end to Datubo’s reign was optional, this made her doubt his intentions as Ibaeran found it hard for Uha Tamunaran to be able to help someone who was an Uha Tamunaran without having some kind of ulterior motive behind it, even if she was the Su Baera.
Ibaeran’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.
Ibaeran then went to answer it and upon opening the door she found none other than Finita and Minji standing outside her room holding a tray of food.
“Oh, it’s you two” said Ibaeran upon seeing Finita and Minji.
“The king told us to bring you something to eat and to tell you that if you need anything that will help you in mastering your power all you have to do is ask” said Minji.
“Thank you” Ibaeran said with a warm smile on her face before accepting tray of food from the two maids.
A thought about Ton’Onama then flashed in her mind, making her wonder if the two maids could tell him anything about who he was and what possible motivation he might have want to help her and why he hated the king so much.
“Would you two by any chance know anything about an Uha Tamunaran known as Ton’Onama?” asked Ibaeran.
The maid paused for a moment, thinking the name of the Uha Tamunaran Ibaeran mentioned before Minji said finally said, “Are you by any chance referring to Tonja’Ofurinama”.
Ibaeran simply nodded her, remembering that Tonja’Ofurinama was the name Ton’Onama called himself before telling her to call him Ton’Onama for simplification.
“Hmm, we don’t know much about him, he has been here longer than we have and he is a bit of a mystery. He lives in a small house in the garden so we just presumed him to be the gardener or one of the king’s servants assigned to tend to the garden but however there is a rumor that is believed by most of the servants and guards within the palace walls about him being king’s nephew” said Finita.
“Nephew, as in the son of a sibling of the king but that would mean…” Ibaeran stopped midsentence, realizing that if Ton’Onama was Datubo’s nephew then the royal blood of the Uha Tamunaran Empire flowed through is vein making him basically a prince.
“It’s only a Tamunaran rumor but nobody knows for sure, he’s a mystery who has never talked to anyone and has never been seen within the palaces walls” said Minji.
“Su Baera…if I maybe so bold to ask, how did you come to know about Tonja’Ofurinama and… why did you call him Ton’Onama instead of Tonja’Ofurinama” Minji ask with a shy and nervous voice, scared that she might upset Ibaeran with her question.
Ibaeran upon hearing what Minji said looked at her a bit taken aback by the way she spoke to her so shyly and timid with hints of fear as she spoke, reminding her of the way slaves would often speak to the Uha Tamunaran masters.
Ibaeran now felt so comfortable talking with them that she seemly forgot they were Uha Tamunarans and she was merely a human being, the two Uha Tamunaran however had not forgotten that she was the Su Baera and so they were cautious about the way they spoke to her, only speaking when asked or spoken to and terrified to ask any questions, just like the slaves often behaved with their masters.
Ibaeran, even though she was a bit shocked by the Minji asked her question, sighed, knowing she had to provide an answer as to how she knew Ton’Onama and why she called him Ton’Onama instead of Tonja’Ofurinama as she didn’t want the king to hear about it, at least not until she knew more about Ton’Onama and the relationship he shared with the king.
“I just heard his name somewhere in the palace, probably being whispered by a few servants or maids and I became curious, and as for me calling him Ton’Onama, I must’ve misheard it” said Ibaeran, hoping that it was a convincing enough lie to fool the two Uha Tamunaran maids.
The first thing Ibaeran heard was a faint sigh of relief from Minji before Finita finally spoke up, saying, “My apologies if my sister spoke out line, she sometimes has trouble controlling what comes out of her mouth”.
“It’s quite alright, thank you again for the food” said Ibaeran before stepping back in to her room with the tray of and the shutting the door behind her.
After eating, she retreated back in to her thoughts, thinking about Ton’Onama and what the two maids told her about him, how he was a complete mystery and the rumor about him being the king’s nephew.
If the part about him being the king’s nephew was indeed true that would explain his hatred towards the, remembering how he spoke with bitterness and hatred whenever he spoke about the king, like a snake spitting out venom Ton’Onama had nothing good to say about the king, and if the rumors of how the king killed every single one of his sibling the ensure his seat on the throne and Ton’Onama was the son of the siblings the king murder in cold blood that would justify his hatred towards the king but that wouldn’t explain his attitude.
Ton’Onama was a strange Uha Tamunaran; he seemed more gentle and kinder than the other Uha Tamunarans she had encountered both as a slave working on the fields and the new Su Baera within the palace walls, in fact the only sign of enmity or hatred presented in him was aimed solely at the king himself and it wasn’t blind rage, fueled by the desire to seek vengeance, it was a rage that seemed to have direction and purpose, from what she saw last night Ton’Onama’s anger towards the king did not seem to come from a simple desire for revenge but because of the horrible state the people Of Kiripapaboa were in.
She could still picture it in her mind, the horrendous state of the people, they had nothing, living by on scraps and barely having the strength to draw a single breath with eyes void of hope and joy of any kind as they reflect the their broken souls.
Ibaeran then remembered the children she met in Kiripapaboa and how they were the only people there that seemed like they were actually happy which might have only been because of Ton’Onama.
Ibaeran could see the hurt in his eyes as he looked at the them and the rest of the people living their wretched and miserable lives as best they could, it broke his heart immensely, Ibaeran could tell from the sadness in his eyes as he watched them all.
Ton’Onama indeed was a mystery that seemed to go against everything she once believed the Uha Tamunaran were, he was kind, caring and understanding especially when it came to his people, qualities she would have never in her entire life believed she would ever associate with an Uha Tamunaran of all people.
Upon coming to the palace, meeting and interacting with the Uha Tamunarans that stayed within the castle walls Ibaeran had found her view on the Uha Tamunarans slowly begin to change but Ton’Onama was the only one that had managed to change her views on the Uha Tamunarans enough to actually make her empathize and feel sorry for them.
Ibaeran then sighed as she stopped thinking about Ton’Onama and the situation she was currently in, she had to find a way to gain control over her powers and retrieve the Dumo Stone for the king otherwise he would wipe out her entire people.
Ibaeran then remembered Ton’Onama’s offer to help train her and even though she didn’t still fully trust him she currently didn’t have much of a choice, she needed to master her powers and save her people and Ton’Onama was her best chance in doing so.