₦airaland Forum

Part 3
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I was plagued by an incessant throbbing at the back of my head. I blinked, my vision blurry, as I struggled to reorient myself. Where was I? A quick glance around the room told me that it was somewhere extravagant. It was a small nook with ivory colored flooring and a long plum lounging bed occupying half of the room. Two thick embroidered golden curtains pointed at two entrances into the room. There were two soldiers standing by both entries.

I’d been set on the bed, half seated and half sprawled. Drowsily, I pulled my upper body off the lounging bed. I tried to stand and found that my feet were wobbly underneath me.

With an irritated sigh, I collapsed back into the lounging bed, glaring at the soldiers in the room. The soldiers had black belts on, and swords attached to those belts. Their hands on the hilts of their swords reminded me of mine. I bent my head downwards, and found my sheath empty. The brush of a hard material against my thighs told me that they had not thought to look for my dagger.

The soldiers had three crosses attached to their earrings. Just like the soldier from the hangar, and the ones who’d been accompanying Arexon. Was Arexon behind this? Again, I glanced at the soldiers and found their gazes focused on the air in front of them. As I studied their unyielding bearing, I recalled my meeting with Manus. Perhaps, the imperial one was behind this abduction. Did it not believe that I would do as I’d promised?

I was just about to demand that the soldiers explain themselves to me, when I saw a young uspec, with studs in its ears, draw open one set of curtains. A soldier dressed as those in the room marched in. It walked a few steps in, turned to the side and announced, “Assiduity!”

Immediately, the soldiers all turned at once so that they were facing each other. They took their hands off their swords and saluted.

The young uspec ran to the other set of curtains and pulled them open.

Four soldiers with two silver bands on their arms marched into the room. They went straight from the first curtain, and through the second. An uspec with five golden bands around both arms marched behind them. The uspec was gone through the curtains before I realized who it was.

The Kaiser, Sophila!

I’d been brought to the Castle.

“In clover!” The soldier barked out the command.

The other soldiers returned to their previous positions with their backs to the walls beside the curtains, and their hands on the hilts of their swords. The one who’d walked into the room, marched through the second set of curtains, and the young uspec closed the first set of curtains, walked through the second, and then closed those behind it.

Tranquility returned to our little nook. After the silence was restored, I realized that my feet were a lot steadier than they’d been before. Steady enough for me to get to my feet, beat these soldiers up, and then fight my way out of the Castle. But even if I could, why would I want to do that?

I stayed where I was, my curiosity getting the better of me.

“In clover!” I heard a voice yell from the other side of the curtains. This was not the same voice which had made the announcement in here. “What is this I hear about Maraci’s offspring?”

“It is in Chiboga mighty one.” A familiar voice replied.

“I know that.” The other voice seemed impatient. “What I want to know Arexon, is why it is here.”

Arexon, that was why the voice sounded familiar. “It is here for Isthum mighty one.”

“Isthum? Sophian?”

“Arexon just informed me of this sirga.” A new voice stated.

“Well Arexon, why is Manus looking for Isthum?”

My ears pricked up at that. This yielder Isthum had to be important if the Kaiser was so concerned about it.

“Mighty one, I cannot say with full confidence, but, according to Manus, Isthum stole a halcyon’s epic’s worth of growth from it.”

“How much?” the voice snapped.

“Five hundred pieces of worth mighty one.”

“Where did this theft occur?”

“On the inter-port trail mighty one.”

“How is this possible Sophian?”

“It is not sirga. Isthum is closely watched. It does not leave Chiboga without my permission. Isthum has not left this port in years. Manus is lying.”

‘Manus is lying.’ The words reverberated in my head, echoing against my eardrums. Why would Manus lie? Or had it simply been misinformed? Perhaps the magistrate lied.

“Why?” I’d heard enough of the conversation to identify this as the Kaiser’s voice.

“I don’t know mighty one.” This was Arexon.

There was silence, and then the Kaiser bellowed, “that is not acceptable!”

A pensive voice spoke next. I recognized the voice as belonging to the third unknown speaker in the conversation. The one that the Kaiser called ‘Sophian’. “Who was this growth stolen from Arexon?”

“A one-band noble called Reynard.” Arexon replied.

“Hmmm. And where did this noble purchase the growth?”

“Lahooni.”

“Lahooni?” the Kaiser asked. “Arexon, do you think that it is just a coincidence that this Reynard goes to Lahooni and Manus comes here seeking Isthum?”

“No mighty one.”

“What happened to this Reynard? Did it provide Manus with the yielder’s name?”

“No. Reynard was killed on the inter-port trail. From what I pieced together off Manus’ conversation with the banneret, a Katsoaru magistrate was present on the inter-port trail during the death. It was the magistrate that gave Manus the name.”

“I do not like this!” the Kaiser yelled.

“Forgive me mighty one.” Arexon said.

“Manus knows.” Sophian declared.

Manus knows what? I pondered, completely engrossed by the conversation between the three uspecs.

“It is impossible.” The Kaiser stated emphatically.

“Not if that was the real reason behind Reynard’s trip to Lahooni.”

Another round of silence followed Sophian’s words.

“Explain yourself.” The Kaiser ordered.

“Yes sirga.” Sophian replied. “I believe that the purchase of growth was a deception.”

“Why would Manus need a deception to send an uspec to Lahooni?”

“According to Isthum, Calam sent the last brio to Maraci. It was in Katsoaru that Takabat intercepted it, and brought it here instead. Perhaps Calam sent something else to Kastoaru, something that would make Manus send an uspec back to Lahooni to investigate.” Sophian said. “Lahooni is openly considered an Uspecipyte port, but Salin knows better. The only way that it would allow a Katsoaru uspec into its port is if it was sent by Manus, with a purpose. What better purpose than to purchase a cache of growth?”

“Maybe it really was purchasing a cache of growth.” Arexon stated.

“Rubbish.” Sophian replied. “Isthum says that Calam sent a large cache of pansophic lifeforces to Katsoaru before it was killed.”

“Almost as if Calam knew that something was going to happen to it, and it was trying to strengthen another Uspecipte port before its downfall.”

“Exactly. That is why the plenum wants Katsoaru so desperately. They want everything that Calam sent to that port. With Manus as heir, they are close to getting what they want.” Sophian paused. “If Katsoaru already has a large cache of pansophic lifeforces, why would Manus need to purchase more?”

“If you are right sirga, then that means that Manus has five hundred pieces of worth to waste.”

“Katsoaru is a wealthy port, made even wealthier by Calam’s last gifts.”

“Still, five hundred pieces of worth is a lot of money.”

“Not if Manus was searching for something worth so much more.”

“The fabled wealth of Lahooni?” Arexon’s voice was filled with doubt.

“Rumored to be in the millions of worth. What is five hundred pieces in the face of that?”

“Surely, if Lahooni had that much wealth the plenum would have found it by now.”

“You are forgetting that Calam was a genius. There are few uspecs who could break into a lock that Calam designed. If Calam chose to hide the wealth, only the key could reveal it.”

“I still find it hard to believe that Lahooni could have been that wealthy.”

“Of course it was. Calam’s still unfound innovations alone are priced at hundreds of thousands of worth. Add that to the wealth that the line had saved over generations. And if Salin had found that wealth, it would not be living like a pauper. Why do you think Salin is so dependent on the plenum? Whatever fortune the uspec has comes from them. And that is probably why it was so eager to receive Reynard, and the five hundred pieces of worth the uspec brought with it.”

“That still does not explain why Manus is searching for Isthum.” The Kaiser stated flatly. “Unless…”

“Unless Manus knows.” Sophian completed. “Unless it found out that Calam’s final act was to send the last brio to Katsoaru.”

“It thinks the last brio is the key to the fortune of Lahooni.” Arexon stated with awe.

“And it knows that the trail ends with Isthum.”

“But how would Manus have found that out? Not even the plenum knows that.”

“Someone in Lahooni knows. Reynard must have found the person.” Sophian replied.

“But Reynard died on the inter-port trail.”

“If I sent you on such a mission Arexon, and you found the name ‘Isthum’, would you keep such sensitive information in only one place?”

“Yes sirga, in my head.”

Sophian chuckled. “Perhaps Reynard was as cautious as you. The magistrate could have met with Reynard before it died, and gotten the information from the uspec’s head through pansophy. Or perhaps not. Maybe Reynard committed the details of its mission to paper, and the magistrate found the documentation. Either ways, the magistrate found out, and it told Manus.”

“Now, what do we do?” Arexon asked.

“We kill the imperial one.” The Kaiser said.

@dragonstar14 Thank you. So, the flying is really dependent on the uspec. Nebud's ailerons will start flapping when they are ready to. The magic is another story, but eventually we'll get to see what's happening with the spectra.

@Ultimategeneral lol, I agree oh

@cassbeat haha, please do, more twists and turns coming up

@tunjilomo thank you! I'm so happy you said that. Hopefully it keeps getting even more and more intriguing

@spixytinxy welcome back, we've missed you! Thank you, hope you had fun catching up

@ayshow6102 I like the way you're thinking. Was it aided with pansophy? We don't really know, adn we may or may not ever know that. Yeah, pansophy is not an easy magic to get, so, we'll see how Nebud manages with jus spectra. Will it ever get pansophy? We'll see. HAHA! it's really guns and bullets oh! But it can actually be more painful to kill someone with cutlass oh, if you know how to use it well. But I will relay your offer to Nebud

@Fazemood LOL! I like that, short and simple prediction. I hope so too...

@Omittesb thank you for feeling sorry for Nebud. Chai, its all alone in this strange burg. Anyway, let's see what will happen next oh.

“Salutations banneret.” The uspec greeted with a nod.

“Salutations Commander.” I replied.

“Sit!” The imperial said, gesturing to the empty chairs.

Arexon and I both waited for the imperial to sit first. Arexon. The name floated at the back of my mind. It was so achingly familiar. It was just there, at the tip of my tongue. I knew this name, I knew it very well.

“Arexon!” I said, just before I sat.

The uspec stared at me with an eyebrow raised. It had four outer eyes on its face, two of which were imp eyes. “Yes banneret.” It said.

“Forgive me commander, I just remembered why your name was so familiar.”

“You read my progenitor’s final tome.” It said with an expressionless face.

I smiled. “Yes commander.” I could not believe it. This was Arexon, the offspring of Arigad, former Kaiser of the Uspecipyte port of Aboga. It was recalling this uspec that had helped me uncover the language I had in common with the okun, back in Katsoaru, when Manus had turned me into a swan. That thought reminded me of others. Aboga had fallen, I recalled, and Arigad had been killed. Sophila conquered Aboga and annexed the port. What was Arexon doing serving in Sophila’s army? I knew from the tome that I’d read, that this uspec was far older than I was. It should have been an imperial, the heir to Aboga. I found myself suddenly thirsty for the uspec’s tale.

The imperial cleared its throat, reminding me that I was standing. I sat then, and Arexon sat as well. Arexon, I stared at the uspec with awe. I felt as if I knew this uspec. It was a foolish feeling, when I’d only read about the first year of its life, but Arigad had written of it in so much detail.

I looked away when it became obvious that Arexon was not enjoying my staring.

That only left me with one place to turn to. I sighed staring at the imperial one. Manus. I shook my head. What was it doing in Chiboga?

“You left Katsoaru so quickly Nebud. Your departure surprised my sibling and me.” Manus stated.

I swallowed. Just the mention of Marcinus returned that pang of guilt. “How is the imperial Marcinus?” I asked, hoping to pull off a casual inquiry.

“Come now Nebud, there’s no need to pretend. I know that you and Marcinus were on a first name basis by the time you left our port.” Manus turned to Arexon then and explained, “Nebud is a close friend of my sibling’s.”

Arexon nodded, but it said nothing.

Manus turned back to me. “Marcinus is as well as can be expected. After it became shun and pater named me heir, it pulled into itself. It hasn’t left its suite since you left Katsoaru.”

Manus picked up a slice of cake and broke off a piece. It watched me as it chewed on the piece. I pushed down the ache elicited by Manus’ words. I transferred my gaze to the soldiers that were standing behind Arexon. They stood at attention with their hands on the hilts of their swords.

“Why did you leave Katsoaru in such a hurry?” Manus asked.

“I had to go.” I replied vaguely. I felt the brush of something against my feet. I looked down immediately, but saw nothing. My mind was playing tricks with me. My eyes moved to Arexon and I saw that the uspec was studying me intently. It took a sip from a goblet which a server had filled with wine. I looked away.

“And you came to Chiboga? What a coincidence.”

I frowned. “A coincidence?” I was suddenly made aware of a number of truths which Manus knew about me. The first and most perilous of which, was that I’d declared myself as Uspecipyte in Katsoaru. One word from the uspec and I would be killed in this Kuworyte port.

“Why are you in Chiboga, of all places?”

“I have always wanted to visit a boga port imperial one. I just chose Chiboga at random.”

“Did you really?” Manus asked sarcastically. It turned to Arexon and, speaking conversationally, it said, “Nebud has a knack of being in places at interesting times.”

Again, Arexon nodded, but it remained silent. I was starting to feel very uncomfortable with the way the uspec was staring at me.

I thought of leaving, but with Manus’ spectra, I wouldn’t get very far. What would the uspec demand for its silence?

“Don’t you want to know why I’m here Nebud? Perhaps you already know.” Manus said.

I turned my attention to Manus. “I do not know imperial one.” I swore.

Manus shook its head. “You had me fooled Nebud. Really, you did.”

“That was not my intention imperial one.”

Manus scoffed. “Of course it was.” Manus turned to Arexon. “Nebud is a great fighter, the best pugilist I have ever seen. You should challenge it sometime, you’ll be impressed.”

Arexon’s smile was unsettling. “I think I just might imperial one.” It remarked. The uspec had the body of a great fighter. It was about an inch taller than I was, and about evenly matched in bulk. It would be exciting to match my skill against one such as this.

“I look forward to it commander.” I stated.

Manus laughed. “Ever eager for a fight! Shall I tell you why I’m here Nebud?”

“If it please you, imperial one.”

“Oh, it pleases me, and your presence here pleases me a great deal more. I’ve just realized that you are exactly who I’ve been searching for.” Why did Manus’ words sound like a threat? “In fact, I’m starting to think that we are both here for the same reason. Are we not?” It stared with narrowed eyes at me.

“I am here visiting.” I stated.

Manus chuckled. “Of course you are. Very well then, I will tell you why I am here. Do you remember Nitan, Nebud?”

I shook my head.

Manus smiled. “Let me jog your memory. Nitan is the magistrate you identified as being present during Reynard’s death. Do you remember it now?”

“Yes, imperial one.”

“Good. I always thought it was convenient that you showed up right after Reynard died. How lucky that you came just in time to shed light on the events of that day? Now I know better. You are a mercenary Nebud.”

“I am not imperial one.”

“There’s no use lying to me, not when you’ve been caught. You were after Reynard on the inter-port trail, you wanted to steal its growth. When the growth was stolen before you could take it, you found out where Reynard was going, and decided to go there yourself. You came to Katsoaru for Nitan didn’t you? Marcinus helped you interrogate the magistrate. That is why you felt so indebted to my sibling, that is why you saved its life so many times is it not?”

“I swear imperial one, I never saw the magistrate after the night you showed it to me.”

“Your lies will not save you now.”

“I am not lying imperial one.”

Manus waved off my words. “Honestly, I do not even care. So, let us play your game. Let us pretend that you do not know why I am here, and I will tell you. Two days ago, Nitan confessed to me. It confessed that the yielders who’d been in that inn when Reynard was murdered were led by one called Isthum. Isthum is here in Chiboga. It has my growth cache and I am here to take it back. You are going to help me Nebud.”

Arexon seemed to be observing the entire scene with mild curiosity. It turned its focus from Manus to me as we spoke. Now it stared at me.

“I do not know of this yielder. Honestly, imperial one, you have misjudged me. Marcinus and I did not conspire to interrogate the magistrate behind your back. I swear.” I found myself saying these words more desperate to clear Marcinus’ name than mine. I did not want Manus thinking that Marcinus was a threat to it in anyway.

“I said I do not care about your lies Nebud. You will help me.” It broke off another chunk of cake and fed itself, before turning back to regard me. “You know, pater is searching everywhere for the uspec who stole Marcinus’ eye. It is offering fifty pieces of worth to whoever uncovers the identity of this renegade uspec and brings its head to the Chateau. And, Arexon was just telling me of the tale of the Kaiser’s bout which has spread to Chiboga. The mighty Sophila is eager to receive me and hear firsthand about the Uspecipyte warrior who won.”

Manus did not come out and say it, but its threats were obvious to me. My jaw clenched. I breathed in and then out slowly. “Of course, I will do anything I can to help you imperial one.”

Manus smiled.

I found it hard to eat after that. Manus asked for my address and I saw no other recourse than to tell the uspec where I was staying. By the time I left the inn, I felt as if I was suffocating. I rushed through the thick fogs, blind to the speeding canoes. In my haste to leave the inn, I’d forgotten to get the nama for Musa. I could not go back in, not with Manus there. I could not leave either. I resigned myself to once again, doing Manus’ bidding. What kind of luck sent me to the same state that Manus was going to? And the same inn? I should have eaten somewhere else. I should have stayed in my base. The stream of should-haves continued in my head as I turned around a bend. I was just about to walk out of the fourth base when I felt a hard object hit me in the back of the head. The blow was so precise that it knocked me to oblivion.

I fell to the hard ground unconscious.

Part 2
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The Mine of Aurelion.

We’d spent a week in Chiboga now. A week with Musa stuck indoors. The imp’s previous excitement about coming to this port had quickly evaporated in the face of all the unknowns. It realized, upon arrival, once the haze of the excitement washed away, that it had no leads to follow on its search for the lost heir. According to Musa, the only clue that Sensu’s slave had given was that its master had last been kept by a yielder staying in the Chiboga pious camp.

Apparently, much had changed since Sophila became Kaiser of this port. In the past, Musa remembered Chiboga being a lot easier to transverse, even for imps. Now though, neither Musa nor I had been allowed to leave the civilian’s camp. There was only one gate leading into or out of the camp, and that gate was heavily secured. The only civilians that left were those with special permission to leave, or those headed for the hangar. There was no room for a casual exploration of the burg. So how was I to take the Kaiser’s eye?

I made a detour around the corner of a fancy dwelling. There were no hovels here, no low quality commoners’ homes. Everything in this camp was expensive. Of course, with an entry price of a piece of worth, I was not surprised by the lack of commoners here.

The fog was thick. Fog was common in the spectral existence, and so I did not find it nearly as disconcerting as the clouds in Katsoaru. But I had never seen fog this thick. The fog was translucent enough to see through, but the field of view was severely limited by the thickness of the fogs.

A cluster of green arrows pierced through the sky.

On closer inspection I could see that these arrows were actually uspecs. In the week that we’d been here, I’d taken several walks around the camp. In that time, I had seen more flying uspecs than anywhere else I’d been to. It made sense that flying here would be more prevalent, given the lack of portals. I still found that very strange, and extremely inconveniencing.

I was walking between a row of ‘lower-quality’ dwellings now. I noted the uspec soldiers standing at attention with their hands gripping their hoe-spear. There were several soldiers placed in sporadic locations around the base. On the days when I’d wandered out of the base, I noted a very heavy military presence on the common roads outside the several bases in the civilians’ camp. That was nothing compared to the soldiers at the gate.

My mind darted back to the imp in the suite we’d rented. Musa was not happy about the imp restrictions in this port. I found it startling. I’d been to several inns and walked along the streets on many occasions. In all this time, I’d still never seen another imp.

Again, my mind returned to pondering the mine of Aurelion, or Aurelion as it was more commonly called.

According to Musa, imps worked in the mines. The imp did not say if it had ever been to a mine, but it contented that working in a mine was worse than being sapped. I found it difficult to imagine that anything could be worse than being sapped. But, Musa said that when an imp was sapped, it lost its consciousness, and so it wasn’t fully aware of what was happening to it. There was no such loss of consciousness in the mines. And apparently, Aurelion was special because, unlike the other mines which were sources of several types of pansophic metals, Aurelion had only one type of the metal. Aurelion was a large source of pansophy conduit, the one pansophic metal which could transmit all pansophic lifeforces. It made the mine particularly useful to pious ones.

I walked out of the base, emerging onto the common roads. The fogs are much thicker here. I’d gone to the market the day after we arrived, searching for tomes on the port, maps, any type of information I could find. Not only had I returned empty handed, I’d found the market empty of necessities like aqua-sight. Luckily, I’d stockpiled a large amount of it before leaving Katsoaru. I had a few extra drops in each of my eyes now. It was enough to clearly see through the fogs, to the squadron of soldiers marching by.

The soldier leading the march had one cross attached to each of its earrings, and one imp eye on its face. It had its hand on the hilt of its sword. Nine soldiers in lines of three marched behind it. Each of these soldiers had empty outer eye-sockets and the simple silver link on their ears.

I still hadn’t uncovered the meaning of the earrings that the uspecs wore. In fact, the only time I saw uspecs without earrings was when I went to the common areas.

I walked into the fourth base. It was the largest base in the civilians’ camp. I liked it because it had the best inns. I could also tell that the uspecs who lived here were much wealthier than the ones that lived in the other bases. They rode in canoes with covers. And even the design of their canoes was much different from the other canoes in the burg. I inched to the side, just in time to avoid collision from a slight canoe racing down the road. The little I saw of the canoes showed that it was completely covered with an opaque top. The body of the canoe seemed to be made of a metal much finer than the common wood of the regular canoes.

I watched to make sure that there were no more crazy steerers, before crossing to the other side of the hard fog road. My favorite inn beckoned to me.

I found the inn’s design spectacular. It was made solely of fog, without a doubt, a waste of valuable amounts of form, but its beauty could not be denied. I placed my hand on the entrance and watched the fog soften. I walked in.

For inns in this base, this one was surprisingly simple. It had a single flat level with several round tables and varying numbers of chairs around those tables. Simple light sources lined the corners of the room. I walked over to a table with only two chairs, and sat on one of them.

The service in this inn was strange. I’d made a fool of myself the first time I came here, demanding a bill of fare. It wasn’t till much later, that I finally understood that the guests were expected to serve themselves. A large feast was laid out in the room behind the curtains, and the guests were expected to go into that room and choose whatever they wished to eat. For a standard fee, an uspec could eat as much as it desired. I liked this.

“Salutations sirga.” An uspec stopped by my table. This uspec, like most others in this port who weren’t soldiers, had silver studs on its ears.

I nodded in greeting.

“Will you be eating alone sirga?”

“Yes.”

“It will be half a piece of merit sirga.” The uspec said.

I pulled out a token from my belt. I’d spent a piece of merit the last time I was here, and in lieu of change, I took the token for another meal. The uspec took the token from me and bowed. I watched as it gestured to other servers to place the appetizers on my table. As they filled my goblet with chilled wine, and placed several pans of pastries on the table, I mulled over the extortionate price. Five hundred pieces of value for a single meal. But then, my suite was costing me fifty pieces of merit per night, so I couldn’t complain.

The serving done, I took a sip of the chilled fruit wine. It was good. It reminded me of another chilled wine, one that I had poisoned a little over a week ago. That thought had me rising from my chair, and moving towards the curtains. I grabbed a platter from a stack on a white counter and made my way across several counters, filling my platter with delicacies.

I especially like the soft rooster meat and certain sea serpents. I reminded myself to get some nama for Musa before I left. The imp was stuck in the suite, the least I could do was bring back its favorites. I heaped a generous serving of grain pudding onto my platter, before returning to my table. My first bite was a mix of tender nama flesh and sweet buns.

I liked the ambiance of the place. There was no music, just uspecs speaking amongst themselves. Some of the uspecs seated around the room wore no earrings. Others wore earrings. But, I noted that amongst the uspecs wearing earrings, none of them wore studs. They all had silver links with either crosses or rectangles attached to them. In fact, now that I thought about it, the only uspecs I’d seen wearing studs were the ones serving.

I turned back to my meal as I let the traces of conservations drift around me. I wondered if I would hear anything about the Kaiser. From what little I’d gleamed, the only uspecs who went to the Kaiser’s castle were soldiers and invited nobles. Would I be able to get myself an invitation? I doubted it. There had to be a way out of the civilians’ camp. An entire week here, and I was no closer to my mission than I’d been when I walked in.

“Nebud?”

I jumped when I heard the familiar voice. It took me a long time to place it. My mind raced through all the possibilities. Who could it be? Who would know me well enough to call my name so casually? I thought of the soldier that I’d met in the hangar, and ruled it out. The soldier would not call me by my name. Who then? How many uspecs knew me that well? It had to be a noble. Even as the thought crossed my mind, I cringed. I did not have a good record with nobles.

“Nebud.” The voice called again.

I could no longer avoid it. I turned to my right, in the direction of the voice. The first thing I saw was the arm. There were four golden armbands on that arm. The uspec wore a maroon coat which covered up the rest of its body, but I knew without seeing its features that it was soaru.

I stood and curtsied to the imperial one, my heart racing.

The imperial stopped in front of me. “Rise Nebud.” It almost sounded happy to see me.

I rose. An unfamiliar uspec stood beside the imperial. This uspec was a boga, it had nothing but a silver belt on. The hilt of a cutlass stuck out of the sheath on that belt. I also noted that this uspec had four bands around its arms as well.

Four silver bands.

I frowned at that. I had never seen silver bands before. Gold was noble, what was silver? The uspec had an earring dangling from each ear. This earring had four silver rectangles on each link. The uspec stared uncaringly at me. I noted two more uspecs behind them. Those two had black belts on their waists, and earrings with three silver crosses.

“Salutations imperial one.” I greeted.

It smiled. “Salutations Nebud.” It replied. “May we share your table?”

“Of course.”

Servers appeared. They brought another chair to my table. Just one, I wondered, staring curiously at the imperial. Why was it in Chiboga? Had it gone searching for me? That thought made me shudder.

The imperial was just about to sit when it shook its head. “Where are my manners?” it chided itself. “Banneret Nebud, this is Commander Arexon.”

Arexon? Why was that name so familiar? The uspec made no move to shake my hand. Grateful, I kept my hand to myself.

@dragonstar14 thanks for the understanding!

@tunjilomo I hope I don't disappoint

Jackossky:
Ahh!!! You took my whole day

YAY!!! That's my goal, hahaha

@dragonstar14 I'm sorry that they can't all be very long. This is about the length of a single part sha. I wish I could post more parts at once, but I'm pretty busy now, so I can't write as often as I'd like to. I'm happy you're still enjoying it though

@phoenixchap I'm sorry to hear that you've been having a rough time. I hope it gets better soon, and I'm deeply touched that you made time to read this in such a hard period. Thank you LOL, you have vexed for Nebud oh! Hahaha. Well, I think in Nebud's defense, it did not want to tell Marcinus about Manus' poisoning, because it knew that it had to leave and that Marcinus and Manus would have to live together. Nebud probably thought it was better for Marcinus not to hate Manus. Aww, I think from the start Nebud has never really been the most likable protagonist. Well, we'll see what's going to happen to it in Chiboga...Thank you for the observations. As always, I really appreciate them.

@tunjilomo As in, you haven't even seen yet

@cassbeat hahaha, chai, in fact, I'm going to start writing in 6D

@ayshow6102 Thanks for reading! LOL! Musa should not be scared for that oh, thankfully, the spectral existence is seperate from the standard, and humans have to die to enter (...well, with exceptions, but this is set before the creation of the marked, so it's still true...). I purposely pushed it to the North because I feel like my regular human series is too south-centered, so I'm trying to make up for that haha

@Fazemood Musa is your favorite? This is news. Wow, I can't believe you noticed that uspec's brains. The way it started asking Nebud questions about one thing, took its mind off it and then just turned back around and hit it with that previous thing. Khai...anyway, about adding a loyal uspec to Nebud's squad...who knows where the story will lead us

@decoderdgenius Nebud has enemies? Hmmm...

@Jackossky Thank you! And welcome! You read all of it yesterday and today "WOW" I'm so flattered

“You said you detoured to Katsoaru because you saw a noble slaughtered on the inter-port trail. What was the noble’s name sirga?”

“Reynard.”

“And you are sure of this.”

“I detoured because of this noble, of course I am sure.”

“Where did you gain your soaru eye?”

“Katsoaru.”

“So, you went to Katsoaru to gain an eye?”

“I went to Katsoaru to deliver news of Reynard’s death. I gained an eye in the process. It was not planned.”

“How fortunate.”

My jaw clenched. “Are you calling me a liar?”

“Certainly not sirga, I am only remarking on your seemingly good fortune.” It stated with a straight face. I would have laughed if the inquest was not starting to get on my nerves.

“What is the name of the uspec you went to Katsoaru to see?”

“None of your business.”

“And the uspec whose eye you took?”

“None of your business.”

The uspec stared at me. I wondered if it would bring up the idea of an inquest by a pious one again. “Why the Acropolis?” it asked. “There are many, less expensive places, where a banneret could visit in Chiboga.”

I shrugged. “I have wealth.”

“Enough to spend a piece of worth solely to gain entry?” the question was asked in a mocking tone. “There are places where a piece of merit is all you need pay.”

“Like I said, I have wealth.”

“And how does a banneret gain wealth like that?”

“By being a great fighter.”

The uspec stopped to study me. “How great a fighter?” it asked, staring me in the eye.

I smiled. “Better than your best.”

The uspec scoffed. It reached for a cabinet underneath it, and then pulled out a sheet of paper. The uspec placed the paper and a pen on the counter. “This is a written log of all your answers sirga. Affix your signature to the bottom, if you swear that all of your answers are candid. I will take the log to my superiors and they will decide whether or not you can be granted access.”

I was shocked to see my answers to the uspec’s verbal sparring on different points in the questionnaire. This was some sort of pansophy I thought, but for the life of me, I could not understand how it had been done. My answer to ‘how great a fighter’ was also there. I grabbed the pen and signed my name, Nebud, at the bottom.

The uspec nodded. It took the paper from me and marched with it, over to a set of curtains to the right of where I stood. This was my first time noticing the lack of imps in the hangar. Two soldiers stood in front of the curtains. They saluted the one with my form, placing the side of their arm diagonally slanted, in front of the left side of their upper chest. The soldier with my form saluted and then dropped its hand, the others dropped their hands. One of them pulled the curtain open.

The soldier marched into the room and the curtain was allowed to fall back into place.

I turned to stare at Musa.

This was my first time regarding the imp since we walked into the hangar. It only took one look at the imp’s face to see that there was something seriously wrong. Musa had been so excited at the prospect of this journey. It was the thought of finding the heir to Lahooni that had invigorated it. Then we got into the canoe and raced through the trail, and even I could sense the excitement that the steering brought to Musa. But this imp, looked nothing like the one that had so joyfully steered the canoe. Maybe Musa was starting to feel the concern that I felt about being in such a strange port. We’d both been in so much of a hurry to leave Katsoaru, that neither of us had stopped to discuss the port we were going to.

I just barely caught the uspec marching back towards us, in time to take my gaze away from Musa. I turned to face the uspec. I noticed that it no longer had the sheet of paper with it.

“You have been granted admission sirga. You may proceed to the Acropolis if you still wish to. Do you sirga?”

I found the number of times the uspec asked me if I wanted to go to the Acropolis somewhat disconcerting. I nodded.

“A piece of worth sirga.”

I reached into my belt and pulled out a piece from the pouch I’d won in the Kaiser’s bout. I placed the piece on the counter.

“A piece of advice, from one great fighter to another.” The uspec spoke as it placed a visitor’s tag on the counter. “Keep your imp out of sight, if you want it to stay out of the mines that is.”

I took the tag and placed it against my skin, all the while pondering the uspec’s words. After transferring the appearance of the tag onto my skin, I asked, “what of the imp’s tag?”

“Chiboga does not recognize any imp as visitor to this port.”

There was something ominous about the uspec’s words. I nodded. “Gratitude for the advice.”

The uspec nodded. “Please follow me.” It waited until we walked around the counter before leading us to the curtains on the other side, away from the one that it had walked through. I stared at the wall of fog, wandering why we weren’t going in there.

“Why not the fog?” I asked.

The uspec smiled. “The fog leads to portals, for the uspecs smart enough to pick another destination, other than the Acropolis. The hangar is in the Acropolis sirga, no portals needed.”

I couldn’t help smiling. I liked this uspec.

Two soldiers stood in front of these curtains as well. They saluted. The uspec saluted and kept walking, trusting that the curtains will be drawn open before it reached them.

They were.

We emerged into a dock of some kind. The dock was filled with a neat arrangement of landlocked canoes, just like the one that we’d ridden on the inter-port trail. “Are there no portals?” I asked the uspec.

It shook its head. “Quicksand in Chiboga is only gotten by those with hooni eyes, that is, those with the magic of creating it. The ground here is hard fog sirga, the canoes are our mode of transportation.”

“Why?”

“Security sirga.” It replied vaguely.

I noted many uspecs sitting at the stern of the canoes, just behind the steering wheel. I saw one with irons on its chest and horns on its head. “Irira.” I stated, shocked.

The uspec nodded. “The mighty Sophila has no problem with iriras. Our port subscribes to the old Kuworyte religion, not the new strain created by the plenum. Do they offend you?”

I shook my head, baffled. This was a Kuworyte port?

“Good. There are many iriras in Chiboga.”

That was the first comforting thing I’d heard since stepping into this port, but even that made no sense. Why would a Kuworyte port allow iriras? The old Kuworyte religion? There was something off about this port.

The uspec stopped in front of a canoe. From the horns on the head of the uspec seated at the stern, I could tell that it was mejo. It had silver studs in its ears. Did all uspecs here wear earrings? I looked back at the uspecs and found that they all had silver studs on their ears. Intriguing.

“Take them to the civilians’ camp, base three.” The uspec ordered.

The uspec in the canoe bowed. “Yes sirga. By means of the serf camp?” it asked.

“No.” The soldier shook its head. “By means of the unallotted land.”

“Yes sirga.” The uspec nodded.

My suspicions rose as the soldier turned to face me. “I am guru Yakubo, a serf officer in the Kaiser’s army. I look forward to testing my fighting skill against yours sirga.” It gestured towards the canoe. Musa went to the back of the vehicle and pulled down the storage bay. It took the tag off its neck and moved it towards the bay. The coffer followed. Then Musa pulled the latch back up, closing the bay. It stepped onto a hard island on the sludge bottom of the canoe and then took a seat at the back of the canoe.

“Why the unallotted land?” I asked.

The uspec studied me. “It’s safer for the imp.” It replied. “Your imp looks very strong sirga. If you go by the other route, you’ll be steering past Aurelion and the pious’ camp. They may decide to take the imp. It’s better to stay away altogether. Remember, keep your imp indoors sirga.”

“Why are you telling me all this?”

“Anything I can do for a great fighter.” The uspec nodded to me, before marching back towards the curtains to the hangar.

I walked into the canoe.

The uspec at the stern reached for the brake and pulled the handle down, activating the motion in the sludge. The canoe started moving at a slow pace then.

“In my excitement master, I forgot what Chiboga is most known for.” It whispered.

I heard the fear in the imp’s voice.

“What is that?” I replied as we steered out of the docks.

“The Mine of Aurelion master. It is an imp’s worst nightmare.”

=============
VOLUME SIX
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~~~
BOGA
(A Spectral existence word which represents one of the five spectrums in the spectral existence. This word refers to the people of this spectrum, that is the uspecs of the Boga spectrum who have iron spikes as their distinctive feature. The uspecs in the Boga spectrum are sometimes called fog people as they are so tightly bound to the fogs in the spectral existence. As such, boga eyes give an uspec the magic of the fogs, which allows them to use fog to take a person’s life. The uspecs in the Boga spectrum are bound to the fear emotion.)
~~~

Part 1
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The First Metropolis of Chiboga (the spectral port which coincides with Borno State, Nigeria)
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The vehicle we’d ridden on was still in my mind as we walked into the hangar. There was something about gliding down a hard road in a landlocked canoe. Pictures of the vehicle floated in my mind. I thought of the soft seats, the control panel board at the stern, the steering wheel which Musa had navigated flawlessly, the display screen, and the most astonishing feature, which was the sludge bottom infused with motion, which allowed the canoe to glide along the trail. The canoe had had a cache of motion in it, so that the speed of the canoe could be boosted, sending us surging ahead on the trail. In all, the trip from Katsoaru to Chiboga had taken a little over an hour.

Now that was my idea of travel.

Of course, while we rode in the canoe, I saw uspecs flying overhead. It was interesting that the compartment reserved for vehicles, was also occupied by uspecs whose ailerons were filled with enough feathers to give flight. I’d seen enough of my ailerons now to know that they were about as full as any of the uspecs which I’d seen flying. So why wasn’t I darting through the skies as those uspecs did?

Tentacles came into view. It was a soaru commoner walking past me to one of the lines. Seeing those tentacles reminded me of Marcinus, the uspec whose eye I had taken. I wondered what my friend was doing. Had it lived? I shook that annoying question out of my mind. Marcinus had lived, of course it had, it must have. If it hadn’t, then what was my taking its eye for? No, I knew Manus well enough to know that the uspec would not kill Marcinus if it did not have to. Marcinus was shun now, no Kaiser would name a shun as heir. Marcinus lived. But what would it think of me? Would it understand why I had taken its eye? I wanted to believe that in time Marcinus would come to understand that I’d done it to save its life. But Marcinus did not know that its life was in danger, and now, there was no one in Katsoaru who would tell the uspec. All the friends it’d had were dead. I worried for Marcinus, I worried for what would happen to it with Manus as heir. But Marcinus was a great fighter, it could protect itself.

A part of me wished that I could have stayed. Would Marcinus have come in time to forgive me? Would Manus decide Marcinus is better off dead anyway? Did my leaving mean that there would be no one there to save Marcinus’ life? I had so many questions, but there were none that I could answer. Now that I was gone, it was useless to ponder on all the questions.

I tried to force my mind away from Marcinus and the hurt that had been on the uspec’s face, choosing instead to focus on my new mission.

Chiboga.

I was walking into the port blind. What little I knew of Chiboga, I had gained from Arigad’s last tome. Information on Chiboga was scarce. There were no tomes on the port, none to describe the way of life in this place. I did not like my ignorance, but it was unavoidable.

My mind clear, I looked around the room.

The ground was hard. It was not made of foam. Armed uspecs surrounded the hangar. Glancing at these uspecs, I remembered a phrasing which I’d read in a tome, whose name I couldn’t quite remember. The tome had pointed out that there were differences between warriors and soldiers. I had found it strange at the time, but looking at the uspecs, I understood.

These were soldiers. They stood at attention, their arms by their sides, their gazes fixed on spots in the air. There was no slack in their stances, no calm relaxation in the wandering glance of their eyes. These uspecs were disciplined. I did not know what to think about this, or about the large number of them in the room. These soldiers had strange weapons. They held onto one end of a hoe-spear hybrid, made completely out of grey metal. The sharp point on the spear looked sharp enough to pierce through an uspec’s neck. I was curious to see how that instrument was wielded.

I continued my casual study of the soldiers, noting that they wore nothing, not even belts. Then I caught the glint of silver on their ears. They had long silver links dangling from holes on both of their ears. I found this intriguing. I had never seen an uspec wearing earrings. The iron spikes on their chests showed them off proudly as boga uspecs.

My perusal now finished, I approached the checkpoints at the front of the room. I noticed, that unlike any other hangar I’d been in, this hangar had a separate, clearly marked section for nobles. That section was currently empty. I walked towards it.

The uspecs standing behind the counters also appeared to be soldiers. Unlike the ones standing around the perimeter of the room, these had black belts on, and some type of sword sheathed in their belts. They also all appeared to be boga. I noticed something different about the earrings on these uspecs’ ears. They had a silver cross at the bottom of the links dangling from their ears. I couldn’t help wondering what this meant.

Only one of those uspecs was not attending to anyone. That uspec was behind the counter in the empty line reserved for nobles.

“Salutations sirga.” The uspec greeted, fumbling on the words in the kute tongue.

I found the greeting odd. ‘Sirga’ was a term of respect, but it was a far cry from the expected ‘noble one’ greeting. “Sirga? Not noble one?” I asked, in the boga tongue.

Unlike the others behind the counter who only had one outer eye filled, this one had both imp eyes. It had spectra. I noted that the soldiers standing around the room had none of their outer eyes filled. Also, unlike the others, this uspec had three crosses attached to its earrings.

The uspec stood straight. It was not as tall as I was, but I noted that it made no attempts to look me in the eye. Its gaze appeared to be on something behind me. It had both of its hands crossed behind its back. “No sirga.” It replied, speaking more smoothly in its native boga tongue. “This is a military port sirga, noble is a rank in our army.”

I was beginning to wish that there had been at least one tome which I could read about this strange military port. I did not like going in without knowing what to expect. To the uspec I simply nodded.

“Where is your final destination in Chiboga sirga?”

“The Acropolis.” I replied.

The uspec’s gaze darted to my face then. It only looked at me for a second before looking away. “Why are you going to the Acropolis sirga?”

I frowned. “Because I wish to.” I replied curtly.

This time, the uspec’s gaze rested on me. It took its time studying me, its eyes scanning over my outer eyes, trailing to rest for a few moments on the cutlass in my belt, before finally moving to my tail. Then its eyes darted to my side, briefly studying Musa, before returning to me. It carried out its study with an emotionless face. “The Acropolis is not a tourist site sirga.”

I was silent.

“Do you insist on going to the Acropolis sirga?”

I nodded.

“There are certain uspecs not allowed in this port sirga, I must ask you a few questions to see if you are one of them.”

I nodded.

“Tiyoseriwosin?” It asked the question so calmly, that I was almost caught by surprise. Luckily, I’d read Arigad’s final tome, and so I knew what type of port this was.

“Kuworyte.” I replied.

“From where do you hale?” it inquired.

“Mugakute.” I replied. I had one version of my epic ready for Uspecipyte ports, and another ready for Kuworytes.

“What port did you last depart from?”

“Katsoaru.”

The uspec frowned. “That is an Uspecipyte port, is it not?”

“It is.”

“Yet you say you are Kuworyte?”

“I do.”

“What were you doing in an Uspecipyte port?”

“I cannot tell you that.”

The uspec frowned. “Will you subject to an inquest by a pious one, instead?” it asked.

I sighed. “That will not be necessary. I was on my way from Hakute to Chiboga, when I witnessed the slaughter of a noble on the inter-port trail. The noble was an Uspecipyte converted to Kuworyte. A pious one requested that I take news of its death to another converted Kuworyte in Katsoaru.”

“How did you survive an Uspecipyte port?”

“Katsoaru is more Kuworyte than you would think.”

The uspec seemed slightly shocked. “Is it really?”

“Ask your superiors.”

“I will do just that.” It paused. “Please state your name and position sirga.”

“Nebud. Banneret.”

“What is your imp’s name?”

“Musa.”

“Where did you acquire the imp?”

“Hakute.”

“How long did you spend in Katsoaru?”

“About ten days.”

“A long time, just to deliver a message.”

“A short time for anything else.”

“Perhaps. What other ports have you been to?”

“Only those three.”

“Which are?”

“Mugakute, Hakute, and Katsoaru.”

“And you were made a banneret where?”

“Mugakute.”

“What was the name of the noble that was slaughtered?”

“What?”

@Omittesb Thank you for your understanding

@Fazemood Thank you!!! And I most definitely will

Omittesb:
Dear ObehiD, thought this spectral Existence is the forth novel in the series?. I have read Crimson night, so where can I find, buy or download the other two?.

I'm sorry, I don't think I answered your previous question well. So, yes, this is the fourth book in the series and Crimson Night is the first. But, what's actually happening is that I'm trying to get the two books that come between (White Sight: The Awakening, and White Sight: The In between) published. I previously had both of these stories here on Nairaland, but I had to take them down as part of the publication process. As of this point, I'm working with my publishers on editing White Sight: The Awakening, so the book won't be released until the editing is done, and the publishers publish it. All the books in the White Sight trilogy are under consideration for publishing, so I cannot make any of them available until it's officially published by the publishers. Since this spectral existence story is in the spectral existence and not really part of the human part, it's not part of White Sight, and that's why I can post it here, but I can't release any of the White Sight books until they are published, and the expected publication date for White Sight: The Awakening is late next year.

@gbenga4sure Calami is the offspring of Calam the late beloved master to Musa, previous Kaiser of Lahooni (it is also Nebud's progenitor) and Maraci is the Kaiser of Katsoaru (AKA Manus and Marcinus progenitor)

@Omittesb We are all curious about the voice in Nebud's head Thank you! I'm glad you found Crimson Night fascinating, I look forward to reading your review . So, White Sight: The Awakening is currently in the preparation for publication phase. The expected publication date is late next year, and unfortunately, it is not available till then. I will let you know when it comes out though

@tunjilomo So Calami talking to the quicksand with its anger is like the way Nebud talks to the swan with its pain. It just uses the emotion as a conduit, because the different souls of the spectrums are linked to the emotions of the spectrum they are bound to and quicksand goes with anger the same way that okun goes with pain. Basically, what Calami was doing there, was using spectra, specifically the magic of the hooni eyes which allows manipulation of quicksand. I hope that answers your question

@cassbeat thank you! how did you know that Chiboga was named from Chibok? You're seriously in my head right now, it's scary! My reserved comment on your reserved comment is just that, Nebud is leaving Katsoaru without becoming Kaiser ( )

@ayshow6102 Thanks for reading! So, that's an interesting question. I don't know how to fully answer it without dropping a spoiler on what the voice in Nebud's head is...so I'm just going to say yes, Nebud can ask Musa to do anything, and leave it at that. I'm sorry it's not a better answer. Maybe when the story is over, if we remember, we can discuss this again.

@Datyhpebruv that's great, I love lengthy comments . So, as of this point we don't really know what Nebud needs to become the mighty undead, but it definitely needs to have the full range of spectra before it can really compete against noble uspecs who have the full spectra. Which means that it needs to fill its outer eye sockets. And you are extremely right about the significance of the voice in the narrative of this story.

Part 17
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They fought within the red fog. The fog was just translucent enough to make out the fighters, some of which were on horseback, others ran on the mud ground. They fought with different weapons, with spears and hammers, clubs and swords, cutlasses and nets. It was chaos. And those were just the ones fighting on the lower levels. There were others on the hills around, adding magic to the fight. Quicksand formed underneath a contingent of soldiers, swallowing them up. Fogs closed in on others, robbing them of their life. Hail floated and infernos followed shortly in their wake.

Then I heard a strange sound. That sound was followed closely by the appearance of elements. Fire swept through the area, burning indiscriminately through the people in its path. Harsh winds blew over the battle area, scattering the lines. The earth shook, and the people fell.

Blood flowed freely. If there was a winning side, I could not tell.

I pulled out of Maraci’s head, freeing my memories from its. Then, I returned my consciousness to the present, the here and now. Maraci and I stood on a flat sludge plane, our gazes fixed on the whipping taking place in front of us. The imp’s cries were stirring. I had gone digging in Maraci’s head to drown out the sorrow of the beating, but I found myself racing back to the present to escape the foulness of the battle Maraci had fought in the standard existence.

I clenched my jaw when another lash had blood flowing freely from the imp’s back.

“What will your recommendation be?” I asked.

Maraci’s impassive gaze stared at the imp. I knew Maraci well, the uspec would feel no sympathy for the imp. It turned to stare at me and then it shrugged. “I gave you permission to use your pansophy on me so that you could give me your opinion.”

I sighed. “Umanis are dying, young and old alike.”

Maraci scoffed. “You baffle me Calami. I know you are a warrior, you have killed many. What do you care if umanis die?”

The imp’s crying tore at me. Was this much pain truly necessary? “They have no magic, no means of protecting themselves. When I kill, I kill in battle. What I saw was slaughter.”

“So, you would recommend that we let the last portal go?”

I sighed. We had lost all but one of our portals into the standard existence. Somehow, the supreme and fourth had found all of our portals and over time, had systematically gotten rid of them. If we lost all of our portals, then we would not be able to pull our souls into the standard existence, which meant that we would not be able to use the spectral magic bound to those souls in the standard sphere. If we lost our last portal, we would not be able to send as many uspecs into the standard existence and all uspecs who went would have no pansophy or spectra there. It would not have been so bad, if the other existences didn’t still have their portals.

“It is only temporary.” I replied. “Let us let it go. It is not worth the slaughter of so many innocents.”

Maraci scoffed. “That will not be my recommendation.”

I nodded, I did not think it would be. “Don’t you think there are more important matters at hand?”

“Such as?”

“Identifying how they found out about the portals in the first place? Only uspecs know the location of those portals.”

Another lash fell. “Stop!” I commanded.

“Calami.” Maraci warned.

I shook my head at the uspec, before walking over to the post. The whipper was a boga banneret, one of Arigad’s finest. It curtsied to me and then rose and said, “The mighty one gave orders that this imp be whipped until it confesses the source of the information leak.”

“It will not confess.” I stated simply.

“With all due respect imperial one, this is Aboga, and I take my orders from the Kaiser.”

A blow to the side of the banneret’s head shut it up. Added pansophy with that blow took away the uspec’s consciousness. I smiled thinking of how much Musa would appreciate that trick. The banneret fell to the ground, lost to the world.

“Arigad will not be pleased.” Maraci stated, walking closer.

“Arigad never comes this close to the mines, it will never know.”

“I’m starting to think you care more for the imps than you do your own kind.”

I ignored the uspec. Whoever it was that was leaking the information was smart. It was smart enough to use pious slaves, ones with pansophy. I could try getting the information out of this imp with pansophy, but the imp’s far superior knowledge of the magic would make that futile.

I placed my hand on the imp’s skin, and immediately felt it try to push into my head. This imp might be good at pansophy, but it was nowhere near as good as Musa. I left my hand on it just long enough to give it growth. The imp would heal itself with the extra lifeforce.

“What is your name?” I asked, once the sobs ended.

The imp was silent.

“I gave you growth. Give me your name.”

“Monica.” It said, hesitantly.

The chains used to bind the imp were purposely made out of metal that was not pansophic. Form could not be stolen from the manacles, and so the imp could not free itself.

“Whatever you intend to do, you’d better do it quickly.” Maraci stated.

“I like you my friend, but you are …”

“Arigad is coming.” Maraci’s voice was dry.

I turned to the side and found that the sludge ground was being turned to foam. The blare of trumpets showed that the arrival of a Kaiser was indeed imminent. But, although the sounds and floor change pointed at this fact, I could not see the Kaiser. Knowing Maraci though, the uspec probably had copious amounts of aqua-sight. Soaru uspecs were so used to their cloudy ports that they always gave extra sight to their eyes. I tended to store extra lifeforces, but I was careful not to expend them unless I needed to. I had so much growth, that I decided to grow my sight, rather than increase its intensity. By doing so, I could see further, though not clearer. As the fogs were not too dense, the growth in my sight was enough.

I saw two Kaisers approaching, and a swarm of uspecs behind them.

Arigad had a Kaiser guest then, that would explain why it was wandering so close to the mines. Arigad was the perfect hybrid between a warrior, a politician, and a snob. It would not choose to come so low as the mines if it did not have to.

Taking a deep breath, I walked over to the other side of the post and pulled on my anxiety over Arigad’s arrival and let that worry speak to the hail. Through the magic of the mejo eye, I made hail appear in the air and surround the manacles. Then I burnt them down, releasing the imp.

If the imp could not be made to talk from a beating, I hoped that it could be cajoled with the promise of a reward. From my vast experience with imps, they did not care enough for uspecs to keep our secrets when it could be safer or more profitable to share it. The imps that served my line where the exception to this of course, but then Musa had more to do with that, than either me or my progenitor. I waited a few seconds to see if the imp would teleport by itself. The imp only took a step back, but it made no other movements.

Good, it did not have siphoned spectra, which meant that it could not manipulate quicksand. I reached into my anger and through it, made quicksand appear underneath the imp. I told the quicksand to send the imp back to Lahooni. It was a good thing I’d completely filled my outer eye sockets before Maraci invited me on this mission of its. If I hadn’t, I would not know of the special relationship Musa had with an imp Xavier. I was sure Musa would be able to convince the imp I’d sent to it, to tell it the truth. Finally, we’d be a step closer to finding out who in the spectral existence, was telling the secrets of our portals to the other existences.

It was just in time too, because right at that moment, the Kaisers and their retinue reached us.

Maraci suddenly appeared beside me. Knowing the uspec, it was probably expecting us to have to fight our way out. Maraci was loyal to a fault. Even if it wanted to leave, it would stay there and fight to the death with me if I chose to stay. I smiled at the uspec and nodded. It did not smile back, but it nodded.

I frowned when I saw the uspec that accompanied Arigad. It was Sophila, the new Kaiser of Chiboga. Its progenitor had just passed away, a week ago, and in the week that followed, Sophila killed half of its siblings, and made the other half dukes, leaders in the new army it planned to grow. What was Sophila doing in Aboga?

The mines, I thought with a grimace.

Aboga was a small port, but it was a port filled with mines. It was the largest quarry in this sector, and one of the largest in the entire existence. What Arigad did not have in manpower, it made up for in wealth. Really, the uspec’s line was blessed to have Chuspecip look so favorably on it. Chiboga on the other hand was a military powerhouse. I suppose as boga ports, it would make sense for Sophila and Arigad to form an alliance.

We both bowed when the Kaisers stopped in front of us. Sophila was young, only a few years older than I was, but it was already undead, it already had offspring. Of course, my progenitor was insisting that I start to consider procreating myself. I did not know why, Calam was still in its prime. Arigad was much older and it hadn’t procreated yet.

“What is the meaning of this?” Arigad demanded, staring at the unconscious banneret.

“Your banneret disobeyed me mighty one.” I lied.

“And you took it upon yourself to discipline it?”

“Forgive me mighty one.”

“It looks very unconscious.” Sophila stated. “Like you used pansophy on it.”

“Calami is a noble, it would not dare use pansophy on another noble without its permission.” Arigad said.

“Would it not?” Sophila asked.

I could feel Arigad’s glare on the back of my bent head. I sighed. Arigad would find out the truth and I would have to make sure that the Kaiser’s anger was assuaged. My progenitor was able to enforce peace between Kaisers by making each one feel as though their port was equal to Lahooni. It would be very displeased if I annoyed Arigad. I could not help wondering what it would take to calm Arigad. It was no friend of my progenitor’s.

“Remain here.” The Kaiser commanded, “I will deal with you two later. Come Sophila.”

I rose my head in time to watch them walk away. I recognized an uspec in their retinue. It was the youngest one there. How old was Takabat now? It waved excitedly at me, only stopping when its progenitor, the great Fajahr, rapped it on its head.

I was just beginning to contemplate my chances at a quick escape when a cobra appeared in front of us. The boga frosted beast flapped its neck ribs, flying in the air around us, as it created a flow fog. The flow fog enclosed us completely, making any form of escape impossible.

“I’m starting to think that Arigad does not trust us.” I stated drily.

Maraci chuckled. “What do you think it’ll do?”

I shrugged. “What can it do? I am the only heir to Lahooni and you are the only heir to Katsoaru. Arigad is a lot of things, but it is not stupid. It’ll give us a tongue lashing and let us go.”

“Was that your friend Takabat in the Kaisers’ retinue?”

I smiled thinking about the young. I did not like many kute uspecs, especially not the ones from Hakute, not when the second imperial of that port was so insufferable. But I liked Takabat. “Yes, it was.”

“How can you stand it? Fajahr is such a snake.”

“Takabat is different.”

Maraci scoffed. “The offspring is very rarely ever different from its progenitor.” I smiled at that. “Though, considering that the mighty Calam is such a genius and you are so dumb, I could be wrong.”

I punched the uspec in the side and we both laughed.

The cobra flew in front of us, and the flow fog disappeared.

Arigad was walking by, Sophila no longer accompanied it. We bowed.

“Come.” It did not stop to look at us.

I could not help but notice that the retinue had been divided too. Takabat and Fajahr must have remained with Sophila. I found that strange. What did a Hakute duke want with the Kaiser of Chiboga?

We were just about to join the retinue, when a hand emerged from quicksand which had formed on the ground beside my feet. Once the hand touched me, I knew it was Musa. The imp had a single word message, “the plenum.”

“The plenum.” I whispered so only Maraci could hear me.

Maraci frowned. “What is that?”

“I don’t know. But, according to that imp Monica, it is what’s responsible for leaking the location of our portals to the supreme and fourth existences.”


My head throbbed. It was as if someone had taken a hammer to my brain. With my eyes closed all I saw was darkness. Again, I felt as I had after I’d claimed the imp eyes, as though I’d been in a dream. And just like that time, I remembered nothing from it, but a name. I remembered an uspec, a newly made Kaiser, Sophila. The name seemed familiar, as if I’d heard it before, or seen it somewhere.

“Nebud!” A voice yelled. It was the voice in my head, it had returned. “You are mine Nebud! You are mine! You belong to me!!”

“What do you want this time?”

“Another eye. Go to Chiboga and take Sophila’s eye. You cannot fail me Nebud. You are mine!”

I shook my head, as the voice became silent.

“Master?” I heard Musa’s voice, though I could not see the imp. “Master are you alright?”

The voice wanted me to go to Chiboga this time. It wanted me to take Sophila’s eye. I had the faint memory of Sophila from the dream I could not quite remember. Chiboga, Sophila. Of course! Finally, I remembered where I knew the name from. It had been in Arigad’s final tome. Sophila had been the villain of its story. Sophila was the Kaiser of Chiboga, the Kuworyte port that annexed Aboga, turning the Uspecipyte port into a forgotten kingdom.

“Master?” I opened my eye and saw that Musa was kneeling in front of me. “You were successful then?” it said. It had seen my new eye.

I nodded unnecessarily. “Marcinus will live.” I remembered that I had not been the only one on a mission that night. “And you?”

Musa smiled then. It was a smile that I had never seen before. It had good news. “The young master lives, master.” It said.

I already knew that. “How do you know?”

“Sensu’s slave saw master Calam put the young master into the coffer, before sealing it with fog. I saw it in the imp’s memory master, the heir to Lahooni is alive!”

“So, your mission is over.”

“Over?” Musa’s eyebrows pulled all the way up, then it shook its head. “My mission has just started master. I have to find the young master. I have to tell it that it is the heir to Lahooni and then help it get back to its rightful position. According to Sensu’s slave, Takabat and the other pious took them to Chiboga with the coffer. The last time the imp saw Sensu and the coffer, was in Chiboga.”

“Then we must go to Chiboga.” I said.

Musa gaped. “Do you mean it master? Really?”

“Of course.” I replied.

Musa smiled.

hahaha @cassbeat coming soon

@Omittesb I'm so happy to hear that, thank you! I can't wait to see what you think about Crimson Night

@gbenga4sure As in, we all could do with a voice like that oh, as long as it's guiding us to avoid mistakes... Thank you, and I'm glad to have you onboard. Hope you keep enjoying it

@Madosky112 It's really rebooting, lol. Although, you may be right...we'll see after the next update

@lukfame Thank you. I'm sorry, I wish that I could make them all that long.

@Botaflica You felt the betrayal too? I was reading it again, and I felt for Nebud. Chai, what a life, smh. If only I knew who was responsible for Nebud's fate...hahaha. I agree with you about Nebud telling Marcinus about Manus, anyway, we'll just have to see how it goes.

@tunjilomo thank you

@cassbeat I know oh, Wednesday should do and come. I can't wait to see what happens next PS. I didn't forget about my reserved comment. I've decided to reserve my reserved comment on your reserved comment till after the next update. That one will better address your reserved comment, so that I can unreserve my twice reserved comments

@barag I'm soo happy to read that. It's good to know that I am not alone, because I really felt Marcinus' pain, the betrayal, to have someone that you trusted just take advantage of your trust like that ehn...if I was Marcinus, I don't know what I would do to Nebud...after I recovered my strength that is

@Fazemood Thank you, thank you, very heart touching indeed. As in, I don't know oh. Maybe it is not a good idea for Marcinus and Nebud to ever share space again, because...anyway, I'm still feeling Marcinus' pain. So, Nebud has six outer eye sockets, three of them are filled now, but three are still empty, which means Nebud has only two out of five types of spectra. Fajahromo has all of its outer eye sockets filled, so it has all five types of spectra. So, Nebud would be more powerful than it was before, but just in terms of spectra, it is nowhere near as powerful as Fajahromo.

@decoderdgenius I know, Nebud is really growing. I'm sorry oh, this suspense sef, it's doing the same thing to me too I'm writing as I'm posting, so the book isn't finished yet, if not I would be posting more regularly until it was all out.

@chris99 Thank you

@cherriex I like these predictions...that's all I'll say for now

@Omittesb Welcome! Nice to have you on board. And I am also happy that you stumbled upon this. Thank you for your flattering words, I really appreciate them! Confused, that's not a good sign. Which parts exactly where you confused about (if you remember, if you don't that's fine.) I'm asking because I'm trying to make sure that this story reads like a standalone, so I want anyone who hasn't read the other books to still be able to understand this one. WOW! I'm unbelievably flattered that you think that any of those companies would be interested in my work, thank you . I have every intention of eventually combining all of this into a novel and publishing it, but, since it's the 4th book in the series, I have to wait for the ones before it to be officially published. Again, thanks for your words, they really mean a lot to me!

@ayshow6102 Thank you. These your comments are just making me laugh anyhow! I can't wait to see what you will say for the next one. Anyway, I'm just like you here in my okun. Hopefully Nebud remembers to release us before Wednesday so that the next update will appear on time

I nodded. “Yes, imperial one, for you. You have a problem, imperial one, and I have a solution which will satisfy both of our ambitions.”

Manus’ head pulled back in shock. The fog disappeared. “Go on.”

“You do not want to kill your sibling.”

“Of course not.”

“You do not have to.”

Manus sighed. “I have spoken to our pater. It seems that Marcinus’ heroic fight against the Kuworytes in the inn on the day of the bout, impressed a lot of the nobles. It is uncertain times for an Uspecipyte port and we need strong leaders. Pater is going to name Marcinus. I cannot let that happen.”

I finally understood the overwhelming show of force. So many fighters, nobles and pious, all for one uspec. “I know a way to make your progenitor change its mind.”

“I am listening.”

“Let me take away Marcinus’ center eye. Let me make it shun.”

As soon as I said the words, Manus looked around it. The uspecs were talking, musing, I heard ‘genius’ a few times. Manus turned back to regard me. “Go on.”

“You do not want Marcinus to die. You tried to poison it with loony first, to make it unsuitable for the position. This assassination is only a last-ditch effort. But, if I take Marcinus’ eye, it will not only fail to be a threat to you, it will keep its sanity, which means that it will become an asset. Marcinus is the greatest fighter you have in this port, and your progenitor is right, in these uncertain times, you need all the great fighters that you can get. Why waste the best? If Marcinus becomes shun, then by right, it should be sent to the Isle of Shuns. Your progenitor will not do it, and when you become Kaiser, you will determine whether or not Marcinus gets to remain here, in the comfort of its home. It will do as you command.”

Manus crossed its hands behind its back. It stared at me. “You have thought this through.”

“Yes, imperial one.”

“It’s brilliant.” Manus said. “I think I’ll do just that, I’ll take away Marcinus’ eye. I see no reason to let you have it.”

How had I not thought of this? My mind scrambled for some way to make Manus change its mind as I saw the fog return. “The swan!” I spat out.

Manus frowned at me, raising an eyebrow in question.

“You are all soarus. The swan produces lit okun, you will need to sacrifice countless of your nobles to the lit okun. You will need enough of them to die and completely cover the floor of lit okun, before anyone will be able to walk into that room.”

“Kutes are killed by lit okun too.” It stated.

“But we at least have a chance of surviving it.” I replied.

Manus scoffed. “I see what my progenitor likes about you. You are so much more than just a brute. Very well then Nebud.”

“And the imp?”

“It cannot survive and tell its tales.”

“Then take its memories of tonight but spare the imp. Marcinus is very fond of this imp, it will thank you for your mercy.”

Manus sighed. It nodded at a pious one. Seconds passed before the pious finally released the imp. The imp went back in the direction it had come in. I placed my bloodied dagger and cutlass into their sheaths on my belt and walked past Manus. I bowed to the uspec, somehow pushing down my strong abhorrence of it, Manus had the key to Marcinus room. It placed its hand against the hard fog, and the fog softened. It jerked its head in the direction of the room, and I walked in.

Marcinus was sitting on its bed, reading a tome. The walls must be soundproof then, because the uspec appeared startled when it saw me. The swan flew from the bed and perched itself on my shoulder, embracing me with its neck.

“Nebud!” Marcinus smiled. “My friend. Are you here to allow me to return the favor you granted me when you let me share your suite for the night?”

I walked over to the bed and placed the swan back on it. A quick glance around the room showed a pitcher of chilled wine, sitting on a table.

“I am afraid I am here to bid you farewell.”

The tome slipped from Marcinus’ hand. The uspec sat up straighter in its bed. “Farewell?” it frowned at me.

I nodded.

“Certainly not. Where are you going? And why the sudden haste? Surely you can wait a week or two, give me time to properly repay you for your friendship.”

Could a heart ache? I swallowed down sorrow and pain, a combination which I’d never felt quite like this before. I was about to betray a friend. It hurt. “No.” I tried to smile but I did not think I appeared convincing. “I just got word that there are survivors of the war in my port, and that my Kaiser is amongst them. It has demanded my presence immediately. I am sworn to it Marcinus, I must return.”

Marcinus closed its eyes and smiled. It was a smile filled with such unbridled joy that my pain increased when I saw it. “Marcinus.” It said, the word slowly. “You called me by my name.” It opened its eyes then and smiled at me. “Gratitude my friend.”

“It is I who should be grateful.” I turned my gaze away from the uspec when staring at it became too hard. “Shall we drink?” I offered. “To celebrate our last night together.”

Marcinus nodded. “Please.” It stretched its hand out towards the table.

I walked over to that table and picked up the pitcher of chilled wine. With my back to Marcinus, I pulled out the vial with the remaining pellets of loony and put them all into one of the goblets. I poured chilled wine into two goblets and took them over to Marcinus.

Marcinus trusted me so completely that it did not even question the drink that I gave to it. “I will go with you!” Marcinus declared.

“What?”

“To Mugakute. I will ask mater for troops to help another Uspecipyte Kaiser in need, and it will grant it. You are no longer alone Nebud. As long as I live, you will always have a friend in me.”

The ache I felt in my chest returned. “Gratitude Marcinus.”

The uspec smiled again, and then it tipped its glass in a toast to me. I almost stopped it from drinking the loony. Almost, but it had to be done. It was the only way to save Marcinus’ life.

Marcinus downed the liquid in the cup. That was the uspec’s way, I realized, whenever it chose to drink, it drank fully. As soon as the cup was empty, the goblet slipped from Marcinus’ hand and fell onto the floor. Marcinus tipped over. I dropped my filled goblet and reached out to grab the uspec.

I lay it down, resting its head on the pillow.

It could not move. I saw the pain in its eyes, the betrayal, but it could not speak, and so it said nothing. It simply stared at me. The hurt in the eyes that stared at me caused me more pain than any wound I’d ever received in a battle.

I turned my back on Marcinus. I reached underneath my neckcloth for one of my scales, and then I turned back around, the scale in my hand. Marcinus’ eyes fell on the scale, and then rose back to my face.

It seemed like the swan finally understood my intentions, because at that moment, I saw a lit okun form on the floor of the room, and inch towards me.

I did not know how to control the okun, but I knew the language of pain, and so I reached out to it. I felt that emptiness, the gulf of pain, the desire the okun had to speak, but with the lit okun it was so much more intense. If I let myself, I would be lost in this okun as I’d become in the other. I had to anchor myself to something.

I chose Marcinus.

I don’t know what the lit okun sensed when it communicated with my pain, but it stopped moving towards me and instead crept back to the swan. I had never seen anything like it before. The okun climbed up the bed post and crept over the surface of the bed. It formed a bubble around the swan, trapping it within. The swan could not move.

I sat on the bed by Marcinus.

My hand shook as I rose the scale to its center eye. I pulled my hand back then, questioning my own ability to do the simple task. Marcinus stared at me. It was too weak to do anything, too afflicted by the polluted emotions to defend itself. But its gaze proved to be more lethal than its sword.

Marcinus’s eye.

The voice in my head prompted. I took a deep breath and then I looked Marcinus in the eye, the very one I was about to steal. “Forgive me my friend.” I said, before putting the scale into the eye socket. I felt Marcinus’ pain once the scale went in, but the amount of loony it had imbibed kept it from being able to utter a cry of pain. I wished in that moment that it could know that I had never before regretted causing another pain. I had been called ‘my friend’, by so many, but I had never thought of another uspec as my friend. Not until Marcinus.

I scooped the eye out of the socket, and placed it into the bottle of okun I’d hidden in a pocket in my belt. Only the soul of a spectrum could keep the eye alive. I knew it was a bad idea to put it in my socket right then, not when the last time I’d gained new eyes, I’d found myself knocked unconscious.

I stood to my full height and then I did something foolish. I reached behind me and undid the neckcloth. I let it fall down, so that Marcinus could see what I truly was. I cannot say why I did this, why I was sudden filled with the urge to let Marcinus see that I was irira. But, I knew that I would never see this uspec again, and I thought it at least deserved honesty from me. Showing it that I was irira was the most honest thing that I could do.

I stabbed the scale back into my neck so that it would grow back, and then I returned the neckcloth and walked away.

The lit okun evaporated, releasing the swan, before I left Marcinus’ room.

The fog did not need a key to allow passage out of the room, it only needed to sense life. I put my hand on the fog and it turned translucent, granting me passage. It hardened behind me, and I was back in the hallway, back facing Manus.

“It is done.” I said to Manus.

“Where is the eye?” Manus asked in response.

“It is done.” I stated again. The eye was in a bottle of okun in my belt, but I thought it best not to mention that.

“You did not take it?” Manus shook its head. “I do not understand you.” It paused then. “I can kill you, right now.” It said. “You’ve taken the eye, and so Marcinus will live, but you can die.”

I nodded, exhausted and grief stricken from the hurt that I had caused my only uspec friend.

“But I do not believe in wasting valuable life.” Manus stated. “You will be rewarded. You will come back tomorrow, you will be here for the naming ceremony, and after it is done, I will give you ten pieces of worth. You will also have my assurance that when I am Kaiser, you will have position and influence in this port. You will be given land with the made nobles so that you can always remain here to protect Marcinus. You will come back tomorrow.”

“I will.” I lied.

“I know.” Manus stated. “Your affection for Manus is written plainly on your face. You will not be able to leave it, not now.”

“Yes, imperial one.”

It flicked its fingers in dismissal, and I walked away.

I did not see faces.

In my current state, I was surprised when I made it back to the entry bubble. I did not know that betrayal could sting this much, that hurting another could make me feel much more pain than the uspec did.

When I returned to my suite it was empty.

I was empty.

My mission was done, the voice in my head gone, replaced by a new impulse, an overwhelming urge to claim the eye.

I took the bottle out of my belt and opened it. I stared at the soaru eye. The compulsion to possess it became blinding. I welcomed that compulsion because it chased away the pain of seeing the hurt in Marcinus’ face. I pulled the eye out of the bottle and placed it into an empty eye socket on the right of my face, the one above the imp eye.

As soon as the eye went into my eye socket, white light blinded me, plain exploded in my head, and I lost consciousness.

Part 16
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I could tell that there was something wrong as soon as I walked into the Chateau. First, there were fewer guards in the entry bubble than there usually was at this time of the day. Once I entered into the Chateau, I found the walkways unusually quiet, and empty. I didn’t know what I expected on the great eve of the naming ceremony, but I’d at least thought that there’d be a celebration. If not, what was there to mark such a momentous occasion? I kept walking, making my way to the imperials’ suites. The siblings shared the same wing of the Chateau.

I found my progress unusually ease. Where were the guards who were supposed to raise an alarm on sighting me? Surely, Manus knew that I’d been freed. Although, now that I thought about it, Manus had no way of knowing that I’d been freed unless Marcinus told it. So, assuming that Marcinus had not told Manus what it had done for me, then no guards would be looking specifically for me, but there’d still be guards lining the walkways as there usually were.

My anxiety over the situation turned to fear when I walked to Manus’ suite and found it free of guards. I walked into the entertaining room with the lounging beds and found them all empty. Where were the uspecs?

I headed towards Marcinus suite then.

That was when I heard the first sounds of life. Two guards stood blocking further movement into the hallway. These were the same guards that were usually posted outside the curtains to Manus’ suite. What were they doing here? The guards had their hands on the hilt of their swords, their eyes darting uneasily around the hallway.

As soon as they saw me, they drew the swords out from their sheaths.

“This area is off limits noble one.” The one to the right said.

I sized them up. For the time being, I decided to keep my hand away from the cutlass to keep them at ease. They would be easier to kill if they did not see the danger coming. Their presence this close to Marcinus’ chamber raised my suspicions that whatever Manus planned for its sibling, it meant to do it right then.

“Why?” I asked.

The guards looked at each other. Had they truly expected me to just turn around without asking any questions?

It was the other one that spoke this time. It placed a smile on its face, as if hoping to dispel my doubts with it. “It is the eve of the naming ceremony, noble one, the imperial ones are to be guarded closely as is the custom.”

Lie! I nodded though, a slight smile forming on my lips as if I believed them. Then I frowned, as if I’d suddenly come upon a troubling thought. I could see the guards take deep breaths and then hold them as if worried about what I’d say. “If that is the case, then why is the imperial Manus’ suite unguarded?” I tried to make the question sound as innocent as I could manage.

The guard’s smile widened. “The siblings share a suite on the eve of the naming ceremony. It is customary.”

The guard was so quick with the response that I almost believed it. It was smart, that meant I had to kill it first.

“Of course.” I said. Then I made as if to turn around. I could see that the guards were preparing to return their swords to their sheaths, before I turned back around, pulling out my cutlass and my dagger at the same time. I stabbed the uspec to the left with the dagger, right as I sliced through the neck of the uspec to the right. They both fell.

I walked further then, stepping over their bodies as I moved. I was two bends away from Marcinus sleeping room, when I saw the first real contingent of warriors. There were six of them, in rows of three, standing at attention with their hands on their hilts and their faces turned avidly to stare at the corridor which I’d just walked into. They saw me as soon as I saw them, so there was no time for deliberation or ruses. They saw the blood on my dagger and cutlass and pulled out their swords.

I threw my dagger into the neck of one before I even reached there. That one fell backwards, knocking down the uspec behind it, and distracting the one behind that one. That left me with three anticipating my arrival. They converged on me.

I knocked away the sword of the one that came first and stabbed it before it could lift up its tentacles to attack. The two that came after I was forced to parry with. I swerved to the left, grabbing an uspec’s tentacles and pulling it in front of me. That one was too weak to withstand the strength of my grip and so it went unwilling into the sword of the other. Still using that uspec as a shield, I sliced through the side of the second uspec’s neck. I let go off the uspec’s tentacles and they both fell together.

Four down, two to go.

The uspecs’ gazes went from the ones that lay sprawled on the ground, to me and my bloodstained cutlass.

“We’ll let you pass if you pay us. Twenty pieces of merit each.” One of them said, after taking another look at the dead uspecs.

I grinned. “I’ll kill you for free.”

One of them lurched towards me. I bent to the ground, dodging the uspec’s sword and grabbing onto the dagger which I’d thrown into a dead uspec’s neck. The uspec was pulling back its sword preparing to attack again, when I rose with the dagger. I stabbed into the uspec’s groin, and pulled the blade all the way up to its neck. The uspec sprayed me with its blood before falling back into the uspec behind it.

That one pushed the uspec away.

“Do you still want me to pay you to pass?” I teased.

The uspec stared at the bodies. It was the one that had brought up the idea of payment. It swallowed and then brought its gaze back to me. “P-p-please.” It stammered out a plea.

“What’s happening?” I asked.

The uspec shook its head. I lashed out with my cutlass and cut off the hand that was holding the hilt of its sword.

“My hand!” the uspec cried, staring as if it no longer recognized the arm without the hand.

I placed the edge of my cutlass against the uspec’s neck. “What’s happening?” I repeated my question.

“The imperial Manus…” the uspec’s voice was too low.

“I can’t hear you.” I warned.

“The imperial Manus hired fifty warriors. They are going to kill the imperial Marcinus.”

“When?”

“Now.”

“Where is Manus?”

The uspec stared down at its bleeding arm again. I slashed at its neck. It was a slight wound, really just a scratch, but that got the uspec’s attention.

“It’s leading the warriors.”

I nodded. Manus leading the warriors? More like it was accompanying them to make sure that this time the job actually got done. And fifty warriors? Even with my emotions I could not kill them all. And if Manus was there with spectra, I was as good as dead…unless I could convince Manus to let me complete the mission I came to Katsaoru for.

I pulled the cutlass down. I found myself doing something so uncharacteristic, I gaped at my hand as if it was an alien appendage. As I put my finger into the pouch of worth, the fortune I’d been given by the Kaiser, I wondered if this was Marcinus’ influence on me. I pulled out a piece of worth and gave it to the uspec.

Its eye widened. It approached the white piece warily, with its one remaining hand. When it took it from me, its hand was shaking. “For your hand.” I said to the uspec.

“Gra-gratitude noble one.”

I could tell from the look on the uspec’s face that it did not mind losing a hand if it meant that it gained a piece of worth in return. It would probably willingly lose its other hand as well. I nodded, before walking away.

I was more careful as I approached the hall in front of Marcinus’ room. I kept my back to the wall, and each of my weapons firmly gripped in my hands.

The hall got wider the closer I got to Marcinus’ room.

I found the warriors positioned right in front of the room. With my back to the wall, and still hidden by the last bend in the walkway, I was able to count twenty uspecs. Definitely not the fifty that the uspec had claimed Manus had. Then I caught movement from the corridor on the other side of the room, and found more warriors there, hiding as I was, out of the way. Manus really was not taking any chances.

I kept searching, my eyes scanning over each uspec to find the one I wanted. If Manus was there, its spectra would kill me before I killed any of its warriors. I had to make sure Manus was not amongst them, before I took my chances with the uspecs. Twenty against one. Wasn’t too bad with emotions. Definitely doable.

None of the uspecs wore golden bands. It was easy to rule out the ones facing me as they all lacked the imp eyes required to fill their outer eye sockets and gain spectra. I had not seen Manus unclad enough times to know what it would look like without any garments on. I took a step closer and concentrated my search on the center of the group. I was just thinking of how lovely it would be to have a distraction, when Marcinus’ imp, Tammy came running by me.

It saw me standing by the wall with my weapons drawn and it gasped. The gasp was loud enough to draw the attention of the warriors. They all turned.

All including Manus, easily distinguishable now as it stood taller than all the other uspecs, and solely in possession of a completely filled face.

I pushed the imp forward, exposing it to the scrutiny of all the warriors there.

I was glad I did that, when Manus ordered, “Sap it.”

And a previously undistinguishable uspec turned to grab onto the imp. The uspec wore no fraise, but I knew from Manus’ words that it was pious. Which meant that these ‘warriors’ were not merely hired hands. If there were pious amongst them, there were nobles too.

I walked forward, making myself known.

“Imperial one!” I called out, curtsying to the uspec. “Please reconsider.” Another thing I blamed on Marcinus, this, me pleading for an imp. I would not do it for any other though, just this imp who’d found Musa before it had stumbled into Manus’ suite. This imp that Marcinus was so close too.

“Nebud?” Manus frowned, as it stared at me. I rose, without waiting for it to tell me to do so.

“Yes, imperial one.”

An uspec lashed its hand out towards me and I immediately struck out with my sword. Bearing the fact that they could be nobles or pious in mind, I stopped short of cutting the hand off.

Manus smiled. It shook its head. “I will never understand how Marcinus inspires this amount of loyalty in uspecs, never. How are you here Nebud?”

“Does it matter?” I asked.

Manus shook its head. “No. You should have stayed away.”

I saw the fog begin to form in the air around me, and I knew that Manus had every intention of killing me.

“I am not here for the reason you think I am.” I stated, trying to keep my voice calm, as I shifted my focus between the imp in the pious one’s grasp and the imperial one before me.

My words seemed to fascinate Manus. It kept the fog in the air. It did not create more, but it did not remove that which it had already created. “Intriguing. Please, tell me why you are here.”

“I am here for you.” I replied.

“For me?” Manus looked at the uspecs around it, smiling as it did. Immediately, I recognized the uspecs standing closest to it, as nobles which usually surrounded the uspec, part of its noble guard. These were certainly not hired assassins.

@cassbeat This update will be only one part long, it won't be two parts, unfortunately. But the one part is pretty long

@Ultimategeneral HAHAHA! I love this! lol

@ayshow6102 Did you actually dream about this or did you make it up?

@Datyhpebruv

@cherriex Thank you! Next update has come oh!

@tunjilomo Yay! I am so happy that I managed to amaze you. LOL, that your last comment is too funny.

@cassbeat Thank you for reading. I will in turn reserve my comment on your reserved comment until after the next update

@rentalghost No, the story is not officially published yet, but I am working on getting the earlier books in the human part of the series, published. As long as you keep sharing your enjoyment of the story with me, it's all good

@ayshow6102 Interesting thoughts. Wow, you're in South Africa right now? Please, stay safe.

@cherriex I know, this has been a very sad week. I am happy that I was able to take your mind off it even if it's only for a little bit

@Fazemood Hmmm. I am just going to sit back and write so that you can continue to observe, and really enjoy your observations hahaha

@Botaflica indeed, that is what I was hoping for!

“Yes master, do you know it?”

I nodded, my teeth clenched as I thought of the pious one who had saved my life, all those years ago in the pits. I had never met it, never seen it, I’d only heard its voice forbidding Maxad from using pansophy to make me easier to kill in the arena. Of course, my good memories of Takabat were clouded by the fact that the uspec was Fajahromo’s sibling. “Yes, it served in the pits.”

Musa nodded. “Of course, I forgot about your history there. Well, Takabat was also an admirer of master Calami’s. It had looked up to the master, and so when Takabat saw Chike there, a slave that it recognized as master Calami’s, it prevented the yielders from sapping it. Instead, Chike was given to a novice based here, in Katsoaru. Chike never saw Sensu, its slave, or the coffer again. But Chike has never forgotten how it failed master Calam. Two days ago, only moments before I found it, Chike found the key to redeeming itself.”

“It did?”

“Yes master. That was the day of the Kaiser’s bout. The market was filled with visiting uspecs. Chike is still owned by the novices of the Order of Procreation, it sells in a stall in the market for them. That stall is frequented by travelling pious ones. For the first time in over twenty years, Chike saw the imp, Sensu’s slave, walking behind a yielder who’d come to the port for the celebrations.”

“What did the slave have to say?”

Musa shook its head. “The imp recognized Chike, but it could not talk, not with its master there. They both decided to meet tonight master, on the eve of the naming ceremony, when all pious ones invited will be spending the night at the Chateau, in preparation for the naming of the heir to Katsoaru, tomorrow. I told Chike that I wanted to be there when it met with the imp.”

I nodded. “I will accompany you.” I said. “And Chike is certain that it was the heir to Lahooni in that coffer?”

“Only Sensu had the key master, and it never used it in Chike’s presence, so it never saw inside the coffer. But Chike believes that it was the young master in that coffer.”

“Interesting.” I said, rising to my feet.

“Master?”

I didn’t realize that I was walking to the door until I’d reached it. “I’m going for a walk.” I said. I did not wait for the imp’s reply before I stepped into the humid air. With the extra sight I consistently used, I had no difficulty seeing through the clouds. I did not even mind the liquid drops too much. It was the congestion of people that I found irritating. It was obvious from the conveyance of coffers, that the Acropolis was receiving an influx of uspecs. All here for the naming ceremony, I assumed. Even earlier in the day, when I had accompanied Marcinus to the portal, I had seen signs of the coming event all around the burg. Banners hung from inns with the sigil of the line of the Kaisers of Katsoaru, and declarations of the coming naming ceremony. Now, as I walked, I found even more startling banners and announcements. In one establishment, uspecs were being invited to come in and make bets on who the next Kaiser would be. Eavesdropping as I walked by the entrance to that establishment, I found that, though many believed that Manus would be chosen, they accepted that the Kaiser’s fondness for Marcinus made it difficult to predict. I even heard rumors of a source close to the Kaiser, who for the right price, could say conclusively which of its offspring the Kaiser would choose.

The brightness of the orange dots showed that the day was still young. I found myself returning to my suite much sooner than I had intended. The bustle of people preparing for the naming ceremony prevented any sort of thinking. I found all of it too distracting. It was too distracting to ponder on the tale that Musa had told me, too distracting to decide what I would do about Manus and Marcinus. So, I returned to the suite in a foul mood.

Musa was at the door when I stormed in. Sensing my mood, the imp remained quiet, choosing to stare pensively at me instead. I went into the room and paced. I was just about to complete my tenth round around the perimeter when I saw the large tome which I had purchased from the market the day before the bout. I walked over to it, pulled it out of the open cupboard and took it out to the entertaining room with me. Laying sprawled on a lounging bed, I ran my hand over the cover, tracing each bolded gold letter of the title, THE ISLE OF SHUNS.

Then, hoping that by distracting myself for an hour or two I would get the clarity to formulate a plan, I opened the tome and began reading. I had learnt from the first picture tome which I’d read, that I loved reading. I loved the action of getting lost in a good story. Before long, I was completely lost in this one.

“Master!” Musa’s yell broke my fascination with the tale. I could not believe how much of it I had read. From the count it seemed that I was already four hundred pages deep. How long had I been reading for? Must have been hours. But it had gone by so quickly. I was trapped in the tale of the isle where shunned uspecs were sent.

Stretching, I rose from the lounging bed and walked over to the room. Musa stood by my bed, my belt and the contents of it spread out on the surface. My eye caught on the pouch of worth first. I had forgotten about that little fortune. When once I would have been so excited by the wealth that I counted every single piece, now I found no need to rush quantifying it. I already had more wealth than I could spend in three lifetimes.

“What is it Musa?”

Musa turned to face me then. It held a bottle in its hand. I frowned, confused for moments, until I remembered what it was. It was the vial that Manus had given me, the one with the black pellets. I had only used one of those pellets in Marcinus’ drink and it had been so affected by just that one. What would have happened if I used more?

“This!” Musa’s sockets were wide. “Do you know what this is master?”

I shook my head. “Some kind of befuddling pill?”

“Oh no master,” Musa shook its head, “it is much worse than that.”

I walked closer to the imp. “What is it?”

“It’s loony.”

“Loony?”

“It’s a poison master, made from the extracts of a weed which grows in the okun. Each pellet of loony contains polluted emotions, all five of the emotions master. Anyone who ingests this, is basically ingesting polluted emotions. After a long period of taking this, the person would lose its sanity, it would lose any ability to form thoughts, or access memory. There is no cure once an uspec gets to that stage. For an imp, the only cure is to first remove the polluted emotions and then to sap it down to its last sustainable element.”

My eyes widened. “How long would you say an uspec has to imbibe it, to reach this point?”

“Two months, three at the most.”

That was impossible. Marcinus had been taking Manus’ pellets since its progenitor announced that it was under consideration for heir, which was a year ago from tomorrow, the day of the naming ceremony. How had Marcinus survived? “Is there any cure?” I asked. “Any way that the effects of the pellet could be counteracted?”

“Not once an uspec reaches the point of insanity.”

“But before?”

Musa frowned. “The only cure I know of, is to drain the polluted emotions before they can take root. But, that would mean that the uspec would have to be drained of the emotions every time it’s under the influence of the loony. I do not know if such a thing is possible.”

“Frosted beasts.”

“You are right master!” Musa’s eyes widened. “Frosted beasts can do it. Other than an irirakun of all five spectrums, the frosted beasts are the only other creatures that can manipulate all emotions. They are not like kun, they cannot transfer emotions between people, they can only give and take emotions from or onto themselves. If an uspec taking loony, also just happened to have a frosted beast, then the uspec would survive. But the chances master…” Musa’s words frizzled to a stop. Its sockets turned back to the bottle, then to me, and then its eyebrows pulled further apart. “Marcinus.” It said. “Someone is poisoning Marcinus.”

“Manus. That’s why Manus had the swan taken from Marcinus, it must have realized when the loony did not work as intended, that something was interfering.” Marcinus was right, Manus did care for it. Manus had first tried to render Marcinus comatose, before it decided to kill it. Wasn’t that just the epitome of sibling affection? But once it was clear that the pellets were not going to work in time for the naming ceremony, Manus decided to take more drastic steps. That was when the assassination attempts began. I returned the swan in time to thwart that first attempt, and I had stopped the second in the inn, but I knew that Manus would try again.

“Manus is trying to decapitate Marcinus? What will we do master?”

Marcinus’s eye.

The voice in my head roared. I shook my head, trying to dislodge the thought. I would save Marcinus’ life first. I owed the uspec that much at least.

Marcinus’s eye.

The voice in my head insisted. No! I yelled at it.

Marcinus’s eye! Marcinus’s eye!! Marcinus’s eye!!!

The voice became insistent, demanding in a way that it had never been before. It repeated the cry like a mantra, beating the words into my brain until I heard nothing but those words repeating on a loop in my head.

“What will we do master?” I saw Musa’s mouth move, even though I could not hear it speak.

“Take Marcinus’ eye.” I heard myself say.

“Master?” Musa frowned.

But my mind was forging ahead. Take Marcinus’ eye. I repeated it one more time and the insistent prodding in my head stopped. Once I’d made the decision, the voice went away.

Now, I knew exactly what I had to do. The answer had been there from the start. This was what I came to Katsoaru for. I could not smile, because it was not a happy assignment, but at least, it was a solution.

“Master?” Musa called out. “Why would you take Marcinus’ eye?”

“It’s the only way.” I replied.

Musa frowned, “I don’t understand.”

“The isle of shuns.” I said. The story in the tome was so fresh that once I allowed myself to consider the possibility, it became clear what I had to do. The one thing that all uspecs in the isle had in common was that they were all shuns. In all my time in the spectral existence, I had never seen an uspec without its center eye. Obviously, uspecs had to be losing their eyes, because other uspecs stole those eyes to get spectra. Yet, I had never seen an uspec without that center eye. Now, I finally knew why. It was because, as I’d learned in the tome, once an uspec lost its center eye, it became shun. All shuns were cast away from ports and sent to live in the isle.

“The isle of shuns?”

“What do you think the Kaiser of Katsoaru would do if its favored offspring lost its center eye? Would it still think that the offspring deserved to be Kaiser?”

Musa gaped. Then it shook its head slowly. “No Kaiser would name a shun as heir. But master, that would bring shame down on Marcinus. Marcinus is a warrior, a fighter, it would rather die than be shun.”

“I would rather it lived.”

“It will never forgive you master.” Musa stated. “If you manage it, and I don’t know how you will, but if you do, Marcinus will never forgive you.”

I took a deep breath and then exhaled. “I do not care if it hates me. I want Marcinus to live Musa, it must live. This is the only way. I know Maraci, it is too fond of Marcinus to send it to the isle. It will keep Marcinus here, all Marcinus would have to live with is its shame. But Marcinus is a skilled fighter, the loss of its center eye will not diminish that. In time, Marcinus will rise above the ridicule and earn the respect of those it fights. It will take time, but it will be time that Marcinus has.”

Musa nodded. “You are right master. It is despicable, but it is the only way. I will go with you.”

I shook my head. “No, you will go with Chike to meet Senu’s slave. I will go alone.”

“But master….”

“This is the eve of the naming ceremony. Manus is going to attack tonight. That’s the pattern to its assassinations, it has them done at night. I don’t know what form the attack will take, but I know it will most likely happen tonight. I will have to face Manus to let it know that Marcinus is no longer a threat to its ambitions. It will be easier without you there. Manus has already said that it does not want to see you in the Chateau. You go on your mission and I will go on mine. It is best that way.”

With that decision made, I began preparing to leave for the Chateau. As I filled a bottle with okun, I realized how strange the voice in my head was. From the start, I had thought that it meant Marcinus harm. I had never once thought that its demand was actually made to save Marcinus’ life.

Part 15
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I smirked at the contented smile on Musa’s face. It lay on one of the lounging beds, its head resting on the interlocked hands underneath it. I on the other hand lay on my side, my head held up by a single fist as I watched the imp. I could not fault the smile on Musa’s face though, the night we’d had, had been a truly unique one.

I had hosted the imperial one.

It still felt strange even to think it. How far I’d come from the de trop uspec in that slum in Hakute. I could still remember how awed I’d been at the sight of the uspecs flying into my slums, and the noble one which had accompanied them. Then, I had dreamt of seeing greater sights, and greater uspecs. I had never thought that I would have the distinction of hosting an imperial in my home. I’d never thought I would have a home. But, after the exertions of the day, it had been obvious that Marcinus was not ready to go back to its Chateau. It had not mentioned Danim and Jubar, the bannerets it had lost in the inn, but I could tell that their loss weighed heavily on it. I had never seen the uspec look so lonely. Marcinus chose a lounging bed in my rented suite, over its much grander bed in the Chateau. We cleaned together when we woke, Marcinus commenting on the unique design of the tunnel which led to the okun pond, and then had breakfast.

I did not realize how pleasing Marcinus’ company could be once I accepted that it was what it appeared to be. Our escape from the real world ended when Marcinus’ imp came with a message that the Kaiser was demanding its offspring’s presence in the Chateau. I escorted Marcinus all the way to the portal which led to the bubble lift. Although, giving Marcinus’ skill with spectra, it could have easily created quicksand underneath it, and used that quicksand to teleport to the portal. But, it didn’t. I think it refrained partly because it wanted my company, and partly because it truly did not like to use spectra. Which was all the more confusing for one so skilled in the magic. Perhaps I could ask Marcinus for pointers with the kute eyes manipulation of okun. Though I’d somehow managed to use the magic in the kennel, I could not recall how. The only thing I remembered was the channel, the pain through which we’d communicated.

The thought of asking Marcinus for help rose another thought in my mind. It reminded me that I had come to Katsoaru for a purpose. I had come to take Marcinus’ eye. It also reminded me that Manus wanted Marcinus dead. I remembered standing in front of the portal with Marcinus and contemplating over what to do about this fact. One thing had become clear to me after the night I spent hosting Marcinus, the uspec truly cherished its sibling. Would it believe that Manus was capable of killing it? I did not think it would believe me and so I had not told it at the portal. Even though I knew that I could not truly be friends with Marcinus, not when my mission was to cause it harm, I found that I was not willing to spoil that moment by bringing up the subject. I would always have last night, I would always have those few moments when I had befriended an imperial who treated me as an equal.

I heard Musa chuckle. That sound broke off my musings. I stared at the imp. “What is it?” I asked.

Musa was sitting up in the lounging bed now. “Oh nothing master.” It said, “I’ve just never quite seen that expression on your face before.”

“What expression?”

“Joy.”

I frowned as I pondered that. Was it true? Had I truly never been happy before? No, I had been happy, once, long ago, while I was a de trop in some nameless slum no one cared about. But since I left, I sighed, I hadn’t had much reason for joy since then. Not with the chaos that my life became. But now, in this moment, with a friend who preferred my company to its family’s. Perhaps. Could I stay? Perhaps find a way to stop Manus’ evil plan. If I could kill the uspec before it killed Marcinus, then Marcinus would become heir. I liked the sound of that, Marcinus would make a much better Kaiser than Manus.

Marcinus’s eye.

The voice in my head immediately pulled me back, returning me to reality. Even if I wanted to kill Manus, how would I do it? Manus had spectra, and unlike Marcinus, it enjoyed using it. It had already changed my identity, which, considering the magic of the fogs which allowed an uspec to take a life, was not the worst thing it could have done to me. I could not leave this port without Marcinus’ eye, but did I care? If I could save the uspec’s life, then I could stay here forever. I could find a home in Katsoaru, I could find joy. But how could I save Marcinus’ life. Manus would not let me get close to it without using its spectra. Could I go to Maraci, their progenitor? No, Maraci would not believe me. I could let them see the honesty in my memories using a pious one’s pansophy, but that would not only reveal my identity as irira, it would also reveal Musa’s as a pious slave. No, I could not do that. So, what could I do?

Marcinus’s eye.

Why? I wanted to scream the question out. I could not do it, not to Marcinus. The uspec had been kind to me, it had saved me, returning my identity without being asked. Marcinus was the uspec I dreamt that my progenitor had been; a great fighter and a noble person. How could I harm it? I’d already had two chances to take its eye, two moments when I was alone with the uspec and could have taken it by surprise, but I just could not do it. Not without knowing why. What was this voice in my head? Where did it come from? Why did it want me to harm an uspec like Marcinus? Suddenly, I wanted the answers, I wanted to know, why.

“Master?”

I sat on the lounging bed and stared unseeingly at the imp.

“Master?”

It was Musa’s nudge on my knee which pulled me out of my reverie. “What is it?”

“I was going to ask you that.” The imp was kneeling in front of me, staring up into my face. It bore a worried expression. “Are you alright master?”

I nodded. “You never told me what happened with the imp you went searching for.”

“Oh!” Musa jumped to its feet then and sat on the lounging bed beside me. It sat in a way that only an imp or a young uspec would. Its legs were pulled up so that its arms wrapped around them, as if pulling the bent legs closer to the imp’s neck. “It was very unusual master.” Musa said.

“Tell me.”

The imp nodded. “Of course, master.” It crossed its legs underneath it and rested its hands on the surface of the bed behind its body, as if preparing for a long tale. “I found Chike in the market, master, and it confessed that it had recognized me as soon as it saw me. Of course, I knew that, I do have pansophy, and I was touching it for a while.”

I rose an eyebrow up in question.

The imp smiled mischievously. “I would never use pansophy like that on you master, but everyone else is fair game.”

I laughed at that.

“Well, Chike was very nervous about talking to me. It took a long time before the imp confessed to recognizing me, and even longer before it was willing to speak about our former masters. But when it accepted that I could be trusted, Chike took me on a walk around the Acropolis. We kept walking until Chike was satisfied that we were not followed, then it took me to an inn on the border of the commoners’ area, which caters exclusively to imps. That was when the real story began.

It turns out that I was right master, Chike had not abandoned master Calam in those final days. Master Calam had sent Chike away. Apparently, master Calam had a startling hard fog coffer, just like yours master. It entrusted the bearing of that coffer to a two-band noble, Sensu, master Calami’s closest friend. Master Calam ordered Chike to accompany Sensu with the coffer. At first, Chike refused.”

“The imp refused an order from a Kaiser?”

Musa smiled. “There were imps who were close to the family. Chike and I for example were unconventionally close to the masters. Besides, master Calam was not one to get too offended by hearing the word ‘no’. It was truly a scholar at heart, and so it believed in the power of a good argument. It believed that the peak of innovation could not be accomplished in a vacuum. It would not have minded Chike’s refusal. According to Chike, master Calam appeared different in those last days before it left. Chike could not put its finger on what exactly it was, but when master Calam told the imp that it would be offering a higher service to master Calami by accompanying the coffer and protecting it, Chike believed.”

“Why?”

“This, master, is where it gets truly baffling. Chike believed, and still believes, that the young master, master Calami’s offspring, was in that coffer. I know, I told Chike that it wasn’t possible, that I saw the young master’s corpse when I returned from Hakute, but Chike is convinced that the young master was in that coffer. It says that the coffer was unlike any it had ever seen, that the coffer had tiny holes in it. Too small to see into the coffer, but large enough to allow air through. Why would a coffer for storing items have such holes, unless it had something alive in it? Chike says that before it left the palace, it searched everywhere for the young master. The young master had been less than a week old then, too young to go wandering around. Chike did not find the young master, and so it believed that it was in that coffer, being led away from the palace. Master Calam refused to tell Chike any details, but Chike still believes strongly in this.”

“What do you believe?”

“I don’t know master. I was so sure that it was the young master that was killed, I did see the body. But master Calam was an expert at pansophy, for an uspec. It could very easily have given some of the young master’s appearance to some other young uspec.”

I sat straighter. Was I about to hear how I came to be termed de trop and placed in a slum? “What happened to the coffer?”

“The three of them left Lahooni with it.”

“Three?”

Musa nodded. “The noble Sensu, Chike, and Sensu’s most trusted imp. It wasn’t until they arrived, that Chike learnt of their destination.”

“Where?”

“Here master, Katsoaru.”

I leaned closer towards the imp. “You don’t say.”

“Now that I think about it, it makes sense. If Chike is right, and it was the young master in that coffer, master Calam would have had a plan. It would have sent the uspec off to be raised by a line of Kaisers that it respected. Master Calam was great friends with the former Kaiser of this port, and even master Calami was close with its offspring, Maraci, the current Kaiser. If master Calam was going to send its heir to be raised by any Kaiser, it would have been the Kaiser of this port, one it shared such a rich history with.”

“What happened?” I asked, as my mind reeled with the implications. I thought of being raised here, in the Acropolis that I had come in such a short time to enjoy. Of course the clouds were intolerable, but the uspecs were not all bad. I could have been friends with Marcinus from childhood, could have trained with the uspec.

“They were intercepted before they could deliver the coffer, and master Calam’s message, to the Kaiser of Katsoaru. A troop of pious ones descended on them. Chike froze at the sight of the yielders. It was an unequal fight master, at least thirty pious ones against one uspec and two imps. I could sense Chike’s shame when it confessed its failing. I do not blame it. It takes courage to fight against yielders, especially when you know what they will do to you when you lose. And in Chike’s case, a loss was inevitable. And so Chike froze, it did not fight, it allowed the leader, to go through its thoughts and memories. Takabat was a true noble…”

“Takabat?” I snapped the familiar name out.

@Botaflica Next update is here. I'm glad that you can see the reformed Nebud

@Fazemood I'm so happy you had a great birthday party!

@Ultimategeneral I agree oh, Fajahromo would not recognize this Nebud

@cherriex thank you! Can't believe you dreamt about them. What did the green creatures look like? I agree, it is very intriguing the way our minds work. I have had some dreams where it's just like I should go back and continue the action because, I wake up when the suspense has reached its peak lol

@tunjilomo Yes ohhh, Marcinus really is one of a kind. Anyway, let me not come and start saying how much I like Marcinus

@phoenixchap thank you!

@Fazemood As in, I don't know if you remember when you said this, but you posted one comment like that, I think it was close to when Nebud just entered Katsaoru and was beating up the uspec that helped to steal its bag. Anyway, you posted a comment saying that you didn't just like the uspecs. And when I read that comment, in my mind I was just thinking, I can't wait for you to meet Marcinus. I just knew that you would like Marcinus Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY I knew there was a reason why my mind was telling me to post double this weekend Hope you had a great day!

@cassbeat thanks for reading the lengthy update

@OluwabuqqyYOLO Thank you! Chai, I love how you're enjoying this story like this

@HotB Actually, I can't speak for Marcinus (because I'm not in its mind ) but, I think it really cherishes the Kaiser. But, when Marcinus said that, I believe it was referring to Manus. It was saying that it cherished Manus and so it would do anything for it.

@Ultimategeneral Thank you for reading and enjoying and especially for wanting more

@decoderdgenius I like how you used 'gratitude' it's like you're mind is really in this spectral existence world oh lol. Thank you for reading and being enthralled.

The sound of the blast was so loud that I wasn’t surprised when uspecs were drawn to the sight. Commoners stood far away, watching with wide fear-filled eyes as the inferno consumed the kennel. I had never seen anything like it. While it happened, Marcinus stood with its eyes closed. Finally, the kennel was reduced to ash on the foam floor. The flames flickered away then. Quicksand formed underneath the ashes. That quicksand pulled the ashes away, transporting them to a location which only Marcinus would know.

When Marcinus opened its eyes, the kennel was gone, and all that was left in front of us was empty foam ground. Marcinus turned to nod at me. It continued walking then, seemingly oblivious to the commoners who dropped to their knees, bowing in reverence to it.

“You are quite skilled with spectra.” I said, as we drew close to a portal.

Marcinus nodded. Its voice was low when it spoke. “I do not like it, but my mater made sure that I learnt. Mater was right, skill should always be honed, regardless of how its owner feels about it. I could be the greatest fighter in the world, but if I go up against an uspec with a better grasp on spectra than I have? Well, my skill with the sword will not matter.”

“The mighty one is very shrewd.” I said.

The imp standing in front of the portal pulled the curtains aside and knelt with its head touching the floor. It did not demand the required fee as it would for any other uspec. Marcinus walked into the portal and I walked in after it. As soon as we stood on the hardened quicksand, the form went away, and we were pulled in. The quicksand took us to the wall of slots which separated the commoners’ portions from the merchants’ block. Marcinus walked into the fog, and the fog went away. I walked in through the slot, wondering how Marcinus had removed the fog without a key or paying the required price. Perhaps the line of Kaisers had the key in their blood? That was an intriguing thought.

I tried to ignore the silence, and Marcinus’ obvious grief as we walked. The further into the block that we got, the harder that task became. I reached through my emotions instead. I thought, if Marcinus’ countenance was a result of the knowledge of Manus’ treachery, then it would feel anger. I found that Marcinus was feeling neither anger nor pain. It would probably have sorrow, but as sorrow was not an emotion that I could control, I would not be able to feel for it.

Marcinus broke the silence once we were within eyeshot of the lodging. “I am being terrible company, am I not?” Its voice held a certain self-deprecating note.

I shook my head. “Your company is just fine.”

Marcinus sighed. “I should have known.” It said. “Perhaps I did, I think I did. Manus never liked Mara. The first time Manus saw the swan it asked me to get rid of the creature. When it saw how close I was to it, it relented and said that I could keep it in my suite. I tried to, but Mara just follows me. I should have known that when the swan scratched Manus, Manus would try to get rid of it. I just thought that my sibling would talk to me before it did that. Manus knows how much I value Mara, why would it be so unforgiving over a little scratch?”

We were in front of the door to my suite. I realized from the way that Marcinus looked at me, that it was waiting for an answer. It expected me to have insights on Manus’ behavior? “Manus is not a warrior.” I said, sure that I could not say what I actually thought. Perhaps Manus had known that the swan would attack the assassin that it sent for Marcinus. That was probably why it had sent the swan away.

Marcinus laughed. I saw the tension ease from it. It bent so that it was leaning casually against the wall by the entrance to my suite. As it laughed, I watched the sorrow which had marred its features lift. “You are right.” Marcinus said, wholeheartedly accepting my explanation. “I did not even think of that. I think as a fighter, and so injuries to me are minor inconveniences. To someone who is not injured as often as I, well then the swan’s scratch would probably have been more offensive. Thank you Nebud.”

I nodded, wondering all the while if Marcinus had truly accepted my explanation. From the smile which lit its face, I could tell that its previous grief was gone. Was Marcinus truly that blind? Or was it just that eager to excuse Manus?

I reached into my belt for my copy of the key to the suite, then I placed it into the hard fog door. The fog softened as the key went in. Had it really only been a day ago that I left? It felt like weeks had passed since I last saw Musa. The fog went away, granting access to the room.

“May I come in?” Marcinus asked.

The request surprised me. “Of course.” I stretched my hand out, in the direction of the exposed room and Marcinus walked in, smiling.

I’d just taken a step away from the door when I heard Musa’s scream, “Master!” It ran out of the room and came rushing in towards the door. Its face lit with a smile of relief when it saw me. “Where have you been master? What happened to you? I thought you said you could survive without my …”

I cleared my throat, cutting the imp off, before it said something foolish in front of the imperial one. Marcinus stood to the side, its hands crossed in front of it. It observed Musa and me with a grin on its face.

Musa’s gaze turned from me, to Marcinus. “Thank you domina.” Musa said.

Marcinus laughed. “I wish my mater could see this. Perhaps seeing that the great Nebud is as fond of its imp as I am will soften its attitude towards my behavior.”

“The great Nebud?” Musa asked.

Marcinus winked at the imp. “Mater is very fond of your master. Nebud distinguished itself yesterday.”

Musa turned to face me. “Then where have you been?”

“I’ll explain later.” I said to the imp. “Please, come in.” I stretched my hand out towards the entertaining room, and Marcinus proceeded me. It reclined onto a lounging bed.

“Are you hungry?” I asked. “I know I am.”

Marcinus laughed. “I will share a meal with you if you are offering.”

I nodded, then I turned to Musa. The imp nodded excitedly. “I’ll prepare something, all of your favorites master! I’ll bring some wine first.” Musa was still chattering as it walked into the cooking room.

It wasn’t until Musa returned with the wine that I recalled all that happened the night of the slaughter in the inn, and the role I had played in Marcinus’ lethargy. That memory rose another in my head. I remembered how cold Marcinus had been towards me, after I went to the tent with Manus. Had it known? I wondered, staring into my drink. And there was one point that I still could not make sense of. My mind went back to that first day in the gymnasium. Marcinus had willingly taken the drink that Manus sent. Why?

“You can ask.” Marcinus said, taking a sip of the wine in the goblet before placing it on a stool.

“Did you know all along?”

“That Manus was poisoning my drinks?” It nodded. “Yes, I knew.”

I frowned. That made no sense. “Why would you let it?”

Marcinus sighed. “I hate politics, I hate the games, I hate the scheming, I hate all of it. I am the younger sibling, I was never meant to be Kaiser and I have never wanted it. I fight because it pleases me to do so. I do it because mater takes pride in my skill. I do it because Manus can use me when it becomes Kaiser. We are one of the few powerful Uspecipyte ports left. We need a strong army and it is my duty to serve my Kaiser with my gift, and so I train. When mater announced that it was going to have a naming ceremony, I knew that Manus would feel threatened, I knew that it would do something. So, when it started putting drugs in my drinks to make me appear drunk, I just took the drinks. I didn’t care if the nobles saw me as a drunk. If it helped Manus, I didn’t care. Besides, Mara removes the effect of the drug. I don’t know how it does it, but a few moments alone with the swan and I am back to normal.”

I put my cup down. “You let Manus make a fool of you.”

Marcinus shrugged. “I am not meant to be Kaiser, but mater does not see it. This way Manus and I both get what we want. It gets to be Kaiser, and deal with the nobles, and I get to fight. More important, we both get to remain siblings, free of the jealousy and plotting that power struggles bring.” It stopped speaking and looked down. “Yesterday was the exception though. Yesterday I was determined to fight well for our mater’s pride. Manus distracted me by bringing you into the tent, then it slipped the pellet into my drink when I was looking at you. I apologize for being so cold towards you. I thought that you’d known, that you were somehow part of Manus’ plan to steal the glory of the Kaiser’s bout from me. Now I know better.”

“Manus asked me to put the pellet into your drink at the inn. It told me that the pellets would help counteract the effects of the strong liquor. I had believed it.”

“I do not hold it against you my friend.”

“You could have died in that inn. Manus’ pellets could have left you too befuddled to defend yourself.”

Marcinus laughed. “Pure coincidence. Manus could not have known that the plenum would have Kuworytes in our port during the Kaiser’s bout. Manus was just playing its game, trying to get me to make a fool of myself in front of the only people who still respect me, the commoners.”

I had to fight to keep my reactions buried. Marcinus did not know that Manus wanted it dead then. Was I supposed to tell it? And why was Marcinus so content to appear the fool. “I could not do it.” I said. “I could not allow anyone make a fool of me like that.”

Marcinus just kept smiling. “I am a second imperial. I love my sibling, and it is the first imperial. It deserves to be Kaiser. You’d be surprised what you could do when asked to by one that you cherish.”

Part 14
---------

Time passed slowly as I waited for the arrival of the uspec. I realized as I waited that I had no way of knowing if Manus would think to send an uspec. As the moments ticked away with no way to quantify them, I stared at the room. From the bodies on the floor, to the kares in their cages and then finally the lit okun underneath them. The okun gave off a continuous glow of soft pink light. I stared at that light wondering how it had come to be there. Though I could not fathom how, I knew that I had created it. That was after all the magic of the kute eyes, to create an okun and use that to siphon power from another creature. I’d, however, never heard of a lit okun being created using the magic of the kute eyes.

I heard a thud. I turned then, my front eyes zooming over to the hard fog entrance to the room. The fog which had sealed the entrance was no longer there. An uspec stood in its place. This was an uspec I had seen before.

The uspec wore no leather clothes, no gold on its arms to declare it as a noble. It had four of its outer eyes filled, all of them filled with eyes belonging to uspecs. The lack of imp eyes showed that the uspec did not have spectra. It had tentacles, a soaru uspec then. The uspec had a simple black belt around its waist. A sheathed sword appeared to be the only varnishing on that belt.

As soon as the uspec’s face turned to stare at me, I took a step back in my cage. This uspec bore an unbelievable resemblance to Marcinus. It was there in the uspec’s gait, in its face, even in the widened disbelieving eye which now scanned over the room. If I did not know that Marcinus had all of its outer eyes filled, I would have said the uspec was it.

The uspec whistled. Its face turned back to study mine, and this time it smiled. There was familiarity in that smile, a smile of kinship. It was as if this uspec considered me a friend. How could an uspec I had never met look so fondly at me?

“I thought I was coming to save you.” the uspec said.

I heard the voice and knew that it was Marcinus. Had it lost its eyes then? The uspec walked over to the cage. It bent to a squat in front of me, and stuck its finger in through the space between the bars. It stroked my skin with that finger, petting me.

I jabbed my beak into Marcinus’ finger.

It jerked its hand back, staring incredulously at the blob of blood on its finger. Then it rose its head so that its gaze was back on mine. With its uninjured hand, Marcinus reached up to the empty eye sockets on its face and peeled off a layer of skin. As Marcinus revealed its last eye, I scolded myself for not thinking of it. Of course it had used faux skin. I had only read about this thing which could take on the appearance of whatever part of the body an uspec desired. It was a marvel to see how truly realistic it looked.

“Let’s get this over with then.” It said. “Move towards the back of the cage Nebud.”

Filled with curiosity, I inched backwards. Marcinus stared at the lock on the cage, and then hail appeared, suspended in the air above the lock. That hail migrated to the lock. I watched as Marcinus used the hail to set fire to the lock, burning it to a crisp. Then it grabbed onto the door and pulled it open.

I walked out of the cage.

Even though I still walked on clawed legs, it felt good to walk on a hard surface which wasn’t filled with okun. I never thought the day would come when I would prefer dry ground to pink liquid, but it had. I flapped my wings then, testing out my new freedom.

I was suspended in the air when luminescent red clouds formed around me. The clouds enveloped me, their radiance blinding me. Then suddenly I felt the pains of my body morphing. I felt each break of my fragile swan bones. Yet, I found the pain much easier to endure this time, as I knew what would come after. It was not the great unknown which had predated my transformation to this form. In the blindness induced by the bright lights, I was unable to see through the haze of clouds, but I was able to feel the solid ground underneath me. I felt it when my flapping wings lost their mobility. I felt the solidness of the ground against soft skin, not the claws of a swan’s leg. When the clouds went away, I was standing. I was Nebud, back in my body, my identity as uspec returned.

I turned my focus to Marcinus, the uspec who had freely rendered its magic to my aid. When had a noble ever selflessly given anything to me? “Gratitude imperial one,” I said, shocked at the timber of my voice. Had it really been so long since I had felt truly grateful to another uspec?

Marcinus smiled at me. It nodded. “I owe you my life my friend, this was the least I could do.”

I swallowed nervously, suddenly at a loss for words. I cleared my throat, irritated by my own extreme reactions to the uspec’s show of gratitude. Of course, I did not expect an imperial such as it to feel the need to repay kindness. I had thought that it would feel entitled to my protection as a banneret serving its sibling. The thought of that sibling reminded me of the danger that Marcinus was in. “How did you find me?”

“Your imp. It is rather bold, and it cares for you a great deal. Musa snuck into the Chateau this morning. It was going to go into Manus’ suite to find you, but luckily Tammy found it before it made that fatal mistake. Tammy brought Musa to me. It told me that you had not returned the night before. Once I realized you were missing, it wasn’t too hard to bribe an imp or two into telling me what Manus had done to you. I checked Manus’ cage room, saw that you were not there, and decided to check every other kennel in the burg. This was the tenth one I tried.”

I was shocked that the uspec had expended so much of an effort to find me. “Gratitude imperial one.” I said again, not really sure what else to say.

Marcinus frowned at me. Its expression turned solemn then. “You have nothing to be grateful for. You saved my life Nebud, I owe you much more than this.”

I nodded, and then I looked away, finding it difficult to meet the uspec’s eyes. My mind chose that moment to remind me that I had to steal one of those eyes. Marcinus found me and freed me and in exchange I would steal its eye. That was if Manus did not kill it first. “Why did you use faux skin?” I spat the question out, hoping to distract myself with its response.

“Haven’t you noticed that most uspecs in this port don’t have spectra? You’ve seen firsthand how dangerous the magic of the clouds can be, that is why imp eyes are only given to a few handpicked by the Kaiser. If I had walked around with all my eyes filled, I would have stood out like a sore thumb. That would not have helped my search for you.” Marcinus turned to the bodies. “And these?”

I knew that I had to lie to the uspec, but I was surprised by the slight discomfort the thought of lying wrought in me. “They fought amongst themselves.” I said, “it was as if they went crazy.”

Marcinus’ eyes were filled with suspicion as it studied me. It looked at me in the way that it had the first time we met. Its eyes travelled over my body and then they returned to my face and stopped to stare right into my eyes. It was a look which reminded me of the uspec’s progenitor. The similarity between both uspecs rose an unexpected pang of grief in me. Would I have had so many similarities with my progenitor?

“We should go.” Marcinus stated. “It took a great deal of convincing, but I managed to keep your imp from following me. I find that I fight much better when I do not have to worry about the safety of others in my care. In exchange though, I had to promise Musa that I would bring you back to it as soon as I found you.” Marcinus looked down at the ground, shaking its head. Then it chuckled. “I know, my progenitor and sibling tell me that I am too fond of imps.”

So many thoughts crossed my mind after Marcinus spoke. First, I thought of telling it that Musa did not need anyone watching out for it, but then I thought better of that. I found it startling that Marcinus would put so much stock in the promise it made to an imp. I admitted that I was unusually fond of my imp, but that was because of its connection to my line. I knew that I would not feel the same way about an imp I did not know. I nodded at Marcinus.

The uspec waited until I walked up to it before it made any move towards the door. Its eyes scanned the room one last time and then it asked, “was this the kennel that you found Mara in?”

How had it known? I nodded.

The sadness which came over Marcinus’ face was unbelievably stirring. I found myself averting my gaze. But when I heard Marcinus mutter, “Manus” underneath its breath, my gaze darted to the uspec. Did it know then? Did it know that its sibling was trying to have it killed?

Marcinus walked out the door first. As soon as I stepped into the familiar room, my eyes fixed on a belt resting on the table. It was my belt! With my cutlass and dagger, and everything. I picked the belt off the table. “How?” I gaped at Marcinus.

Marcinus smiled, but the smile lacked warmth. “An imp found it in Manus’ suit and brought it to me. I knew that you would want it back.”

“Gratitude.” I strapped the belt onto my waist. The cutlass was a reassuring weight on me. I did not know how much I had missed the confidence which brandishing the weapon brought, until it was returned.

Again, Marcinus smiled, and again the smile did nothing to chase the sadness which had come over it when I confirmed that the swan had been held here. We walked out of the kennel in silence. The humidity hit me once we got out of the covering. Who would have thought that I would find that humidity comforting? The droplets of pink on my skin were a sign of my identity as uspec. They were a mark of my freedom.

Marcinus only walked about ten steps away from the curtains before turning back around to stare at the kennel. Marcinus closed its eyes. It stood still, with its eyes closed and its hands hanging from its side, as if in deep contemplation.

Hail appeared in the air. The last time I had seen this much hail had been in the hatch in the pits of Hakute. But that hail had not been nearly as large as the drops which now hung, suspended in the air. The hail moved towards the kennel. I watched as the hail clung to the sides, filling the exterior of the walls until the dwelling was completely covered with white. Then the kennel went up in flames.

For some inexplicable reason, I felt like I was responsible for the kare’s death, for all their deaths.

It was a chilling thought, one that I was happy to see dispelled when the uspecs returned to the room. Mijad led the excursion. “It’s time to load the cages.” The uspec said, its gaze turned back to the uspecs behind it.

One of those uspecs whistled as it walked over to the nearest kare cage. “We’re going to be rich!” that one said, casting a glance my way before stopping at the cage. “Mijad.” Its voice shook as it called out to its leader. The uspec extended its hand into the cage, prodding the kare in it. When the kare still did not wake, the uspec moved over to another cage. “Mijad!” it screamed the name out, just as it carelessly stuck its hand into a cage stacked above another. It did not look before placing its hand into the glowing pink liquid. As soon as the uspec’s hand touched the lit okun, the uspec fell onto the floor convulsing.

I felt its dying pains and yanked them before they were exhausted with the uspec. I transferred that pain in its entirety to the uspec standing closest to the fog door. There’d been six of them in the group. One was dead now, from the lit okun in the kare’s cage. The other wailed with the polluted pain I had given it.

“Shut up!” Mijad yelled, rushing over with the other three uspecs to the cages. “Stop!” Mijad struck out with its hand, catching an uspec’s wrist before it could place its hand into the cage as its dead friend had done. “Step back. Step back!” At Mijad’s prompting, the uspecs carefully backed away from the cages with the lit okun.

“What is it?” one of the uspec’s asked, its gaze darting between the dead uspec and the wailing one behind it.

“Lit okun.” Mijad replied with a shudder. “I don’t know how it got here, but it kills. Leave the kares, bring the swan. Let’s get out of here.”

“What’s wrong with it?” they gestured to the screaming uspec.

“Shut up!” Mijad yelled at the uspec. “Bring the swan!” it yelled at another.

The uspecs were rooted to the spot. “Bring the swan!” Mijad yelled again. “I said shut up!” it screamed at the wailing uspec. When the uspec with the polluted pain still did not stop its screaming, Mijad stalked over to it. “Shut up!” Mijad yelled. “I’m trying to think. Shut up or I’ll shut you up!”

I felt Mijad’s anger then, it was primed for picking. I reached into the lifeforce in my anger and split it into two equal halves. With these halves, I was able to seep half of Mijad’s anger away, enough to lessen some of the uspec’s rage, but not enough to leave it stunned. I put this anger into the wailing uspec, adding polluted anger to its polluted pain. The combination of both of these emotions appeared too much for the uspec to bear.

It became crazed. The uspec pulled out the sword in its sheath and ran towards Mijad in a maddened haze. Immediately, Mijad pulled out its sword. The crazed uspec swung its sword with force but no skill. It attacked with ferocity which Mijad did not have. I could tell from the blows and the way that Mijad screamed at the uspec, that it was trying to calm it down with its words. It was trying to reach its friend, it did not want to have to kill it. But the mad uspec was too far gone, it could not understand anything Mijad said. It found a weakness in Mijad’s attack, and ran its sword into Mijad’s neck. It did all of this while thrashing its head around and wailing with pain.

Before Mijad’s anger and pain could expire with it, I yanked the uspec’s anger and transferred it to the already crazed one, intensifying that uspec’s anger, then I put Mijad’s dying pains into another uspec. That uspec cried out. It reached for its leather clothes and began tearing through them.

Right at that moment, the crazed uspec reached to attack one of the two sane uspecs left. Those two immediately pulled out their swords. Having seen what the crazed uspec had done to Mijad, they did not fight it with any restraint or sympathy. They fought for their lives, swinging with skill and coordination. It did not take long for them to strike a death blow to the crazed uspec. I yanked that uspec’s polluted emotions and transferred it to one of the sane ones. That one lashed out at the last remaining uspec without polluted emotions.

As they fought, the uspec with the polluted pain wandered mindlessly into their fight. The uspec lumbered between two swords and found itself speared from the front and the back. I yanked that one’s pain and put into the one that was already suffering under the influence of polluted emotions. The addition of the pain, seemed to make its fighting more whimsical. The sane uspec could not keep up. Its sword was knocked out of its hand. The sane uspec made one last attempt to save itself. It pulled out a dagger and managed to stab the crazed uspec in its stomach. That wound only added to the pain which the uspec already felt. It also left the last uspec weaponless. The crazed uspec sliced its sword through the sane one’s neck.

I took the anger from the crazed uspec and gave it to the dying one. There was only one way for polluted anger to be exhausted by an uspec, and it was through death. That uspec died and the anger went with it. Only one uspec remained, and that one suffered from the effects of a large amount of polluted pain. I watched as the uspec fell to its knees, brought down by the weight of the pain it felt. The dagger the uspec had put into it still stuck out of its stomach.

The uspec put its head in its hands and wailed so loudly I wished for the lit okun to appear and kill it, just to shut the uspec up. The incessant loud cries continued, until finally, the uspec crawled over to a wall and began slamming its head against that wall. The uspec banged its head against the hard wall over and over again. It killed itself by slamming its head against that wall.

I could not imagine a worst death.

Now, all I had to do was wait until the person Mijad said Manus would send came.

Part 13
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After hours passed in which I did nothing but stare at the pink liquid around me, I became painfully aware of the fact that utilizing spectra was not as easy as owning it. The uspecs had come a long way in their packing. All the sacks and coffers were filled and pushed to one side of the room. The cages, with the exception of mine, had been stacked against the wall to the other side of the coffers. The uspecs sat around now, partaking of the last meal that they would have before setting off for the journey to Lahooni.

I was running out of time.

Why did I not put more effort into searching for tomes about spectra? I had focused my readings on pansophy, a magic which I knew that I would never possess, instead of focusing on spectra, the magic that I already have. Now, I needed the magic of the kute eyes but I could not summon it. Mijad ordered the uspecs to finish up their meals, and as I heard the spoons scraping against the bottom of the wooden bowls, I felt my weak heart pound with as much vigor as it could sustain.

Spectra. I scoured my brain. Surely, I must have come across it in one of the many tomes I’d read. I just needed one instance, one mention of the magic, something that could help me unlock it, before it was too late and I was forever separated from Katsoaru and the one uspec who could return my identity. I thought about the tomes, the many stories that I had read of the tales of the made nobles. Perhaps, if I had the brains of an adherent I would be able to free myself from this mess.

The fog door to the room softened as an uspec walked in. Three imps walked behind it, pushing in a large cart. The cart had a large empty bowl in the center of it and four wheels underneath. I could tell from the effort the imps exerted that the cart had a significant weight to it, even when it was empty.

“Load the bags and coffers on first.” Mijad ordered.

The imps immediately went to work, picking up coffers and sacks and loading them into the large cart. I couldn’t help wondering how many journeys it would take before the cart was filled. I remembered Arigad’s last tome then. The Kaiser had ordered its wealthiest belongings to be loaded into a cart and tossed into a flow fog where no uspec would be able to get it.

It had been a taxing day for Arigad. It was the moment the Uspecipyte Kaiser realized that its port was about to be defeated and annexed. It had spent the remainder of its days locked in its castle, writing its last tome, the one I had read, with the designs for a gymnasium affixed to it.

That was when it hit me, Arigad’s last tome!

Arigad had spent the remainder of its life doing two things. The first was writing, but the second, the second was teaching. It had devoted its final years to its only offspring, Arexon. I remembered then, a story which had caught my interest. I had been drawn to it because of the young, Arexon. It had only spent a year with its progenitor before their port of Aboga collapsed. I remembered this detail because Arexon had only been a year old when its first eye sockets formed. It was remarkable. I remember reading that and thinking it was impossible, no child formed its eye socket that early, but according to Arigad, Arexon had.

Arigad had tried to teach its offspring the understanding of the boga eyes then, the magic of the fogs. I recalled one thing in particular which Arigad had written. It had said this, “the magic of a spectrum lies in its soul, and there is only one key to the soul.” It had been its way of teaching its offspring the magic of the boga eyes.

I contemplated the words as they would apply to me. “The magic of a spectrum lies in its soul.” The soul of a spectrum, there was something so unbelievably familiar about that phrasing. I had heard it before. It was as if a voice from the past poked at my brain, teasing me with the promise of a memory which I could not fully recover. I knew what the soul of a spectrum was, and of course the magic lay there. I already knew that the magic for the kute eyes was in the okun, the soul of the kute spectrum, but it was the key I could not recall. The memory teased again, so close, yet so far away, and then it was there, I recalled it. I remembered the day that I had spent with Gerangi in its cell. It had given me my first introduction to the magic of this existence.

“Each soul has the ability to manipulate a specific lifeforce if triggered by one with a key. The key to a spectrum’s soul is the eye of an uspec who belongs to that spectrum.”

The key was the eye, of course! With this newfound information, I turned to peer into the okun. Did I need to immerse my eye into the liquid? Looking around the room, I noticed that most of the sacks and coffers were no longer there. One more trip with the cart and all of the bags would be out of the room. Would the cages follow next?

It was hard to summon enough energy to force my eye into the okun, but I did it. My face had already been so close to the okun, and so it only took the slightest jerk of my head to put my eye into the pink liquid. I stared into the liquid, waiting to feel the magic of the okun.

Nothing happened.

Was I to say something? Surely not, I had seen a handful of uspecs use spectra, but they’d never uttered incantations. Then what was it? Was there some secret language which I had to invoke, a hidden means of communication with the okun? If there was, then surely as a kute I would know it.

I searched my mind, trying to go back to that tome. At the time, I’d chosen to read Arigad’s final tome over and over again, because for some reason, I found comfort in it. I read the tale of the annexation and wondered if that was how it would have been in Lahooni if I’d had the chance to grow up with my progenitor Calami. When I read that tome I would put myself in Arexon’s place and for a moment, I would know what it would have felt like to be told stories by a Kaiser who cherished me.

“There is only one key to the soul,” Calami would say to me as Arigad had said to its offspring Arexon, “and only one link between them.”

And I would say to Calami in response, as Arexon had said to its progenitor, “the channel.”

Then Calami would nod and smile at me in that way which was both maternal and regal, and I would know that I had pleased my pater. The channel. The word echoed in my head as I pulled myself out of the dream which the memories had induced in me. The channel. Of course!

Suddenly, I remembered the essence of Arexon’s education. It had all been about ‘the channel’. If Arigad’s last tome had been a mystery, then the climax would have been working with Arexon as it uncovered the identity of the channel. It was the thing through which all creatures are bound. It was emotions. And it made perfect sense. Emotions was how I communicated with the swan, a frosted beast born from the soul of my spectrum. It was mute, it spoke only as the okun would, through pain.

As soon as I made this realization, I reached out with the lifeforce in my pain to the okun. The okun was an inanimate thing beneath me. It was the soul of my spectrum and so I knew that it had life, but it was life which I had never felt. Once I reached through my pain to the okun, I found a wealth of pain reaching back to me. The intensity of the pain was almost overwhelming. I could only describe it as bleak. It was as if I was suddenly staring into the source of all pain, as though there was only void on the other side of it.

I found myself being drawn into the pain, seduced by the emptiness of it. Pain was one of my emotions, it was the language I spoke with the most ease, and I could tell from the pain in the okun, that the okun had been searching for a long time to find someone to speak to. The okun yelled. It spoke in a tongue which was foreign to me. It screamed and I could do nothing but listen. I did not know how to respond, to tell the okun that I could not hear it. It kept pulling at me, pulling at the lifeforce in my pain and I could feel myself get sucked into it.

Then I saw the frosted beast.

I was back in the swamp, watching the swan with awe. Its white skin dazzled me. I lay on the bulging root of a large tree and the swan chose to share the root with me. It found that I was weak and then it fed me the black okun fruit. It gave me strength.

I felt that strength now. I felt the strength course through me, filling my wings with new energy. I flapped around in my cage, oblivious to the hard feel of the restricting bars. I banged against the roof and then the bars. To and fro, I flew, every vein in my body pulsing with an overflow of energy which I found hard to contain. I had to expel the energy and so I kept flying, I kept crashing into the bars even when it hurt my fragile swan body. My long neck went twining around the bars, and I jerked the rest of my body with so much force that it would not have surprised me to see my neck snap.

The flying continued for a long time. I could not tell how long I was like that, or what caused it, but when I finally settled my aching swan body, I found that the room was quiet. There were no more bags or coffers in the room, no uspecs or imps. The stools that the uspecs had been seating on were empty. The only other living creatures in the room were the kares.

I walked around my cage on legs which felt broken, my eyes zooming over to the hounds and the cages they’d been locked in. There were ten cages in the room, the same number that had been there when I was brought in. All of the kares lay flat in their cages. On the bottom of the closest cage, I saw something which I hadn’t seen since Lastmain, a lit okun. The lit okun covered the floor of the kare’s cage. I took my time studying the creature. When minutes passed and it had not made even the slightest motion, no raising of its chest, no twitching of its paws, I knew that it was dead.

So, I've decided to put some jara in today's update so this one is going to be long! I hope you enjoy!

@cherriex you're welcome, and Saturday has come so it's time to unrest your mind

@dragonstar14 Thank you, I'm glad that you're still enjoying it!

@cassbeat I await to see the reserve of your comment which you will comment on Saturday. Don't forget to comment it oh, you have me in suspense now

@tunjilomo Yes oh, it has realized it, now we await the drama that will ensue Where is Musa indeed...

@Fazemood So, kute eyes give uspecs the power to create okun and use that okun to seep energy from other people. They need that energy for the other forms of spectra.

@ayshow6102 maybe it's because of the okun underneath you? I don't know oh, did I get it right? Have you been transported to the spectral existence? LOL

@cherriex thank you, I really appreciate that, and welcome to the comments section! So, I'm sorry you've spent so much time checking on updates. I post twice a week, on Wednesday and Saturday mornings (before 6 usually). Thank you so much! I'm so flattered that you're addicted

@Ultimategeneral That is a GREAT question. So, you may have missed this, but Manus discussed it, when it showed Nebud the magistrate in the cage. The magistrate has pansophy and the full range of spectra. But, and this is the important part, pansophy is a contact magic. Remember, pansophy is the transfer of lifeforces from one thing to another, and this transfer can only be done when the uspec with the magic is touching both things, or is touching a pansophy conduit (a metal that can host all pansophic lifeforces) to both things. Manus explained that it caught the magistrate unawares and used the okun to sap the magistrate of its strength, before it changed its form and did all the other things. So, that is why the magistrate could not use pansophy on it. When it comes to spectra, it's a skill, you're going to have people who are better at it than others, so you can have two people with the same number of eyes, but one's magic can be stronger than the others. Hope that answers your question?

@phoenixchap Thank you

@Botaflica Indeed, let us wait and see what Nebud will make of all this...

The uspec dropped to its knees in front of Manus, but it did not bend all the way as it would if greeting the Kaiser, it only bent its head in a neck bow. “Imperial one.” It greeted.

“Rise.” Manus ordered.

The uspec stood. Its eyes darted to the cage, and then it took its time studying me. I could tell from the widening of its eyes when it saw me, and then the smile which now formed on its face, that it was excited at the prospect of having another swan in its kennel.

“The last time I ensured a swan to your keeping, you let it go. You failed me Mijad.”

The uspec’s avaricious eyes turned away from me. It bowed deeply to Manus. “Forgive me imperial one, if you would only give me the opportunity to make it up to you, I will not fail you again.”

Manus nodded pensively.

Mijad’s eyes darted back to me.

Manus cleared its throat. “Very well,” it said, “you will get your second chance. But if you fail me again, I will turn you into a nama and have the kitchen bake you into a pie. Do you understand me?”

The uspec’s eyes widened. It swallowed nervously. “Yes, imperial one.”

“Good. Do you know when the naming ceremony is?”

“It is in three days, imperial one.”

Manus nodded. “I want you to take the swan and bring it back to me the day after the naming ceremony. I want to see you here first thing in the morning on that day. Do you understand me?”

The uspec bowed. “Yes, imperial one.”

“You will receive your payment when you return. Do not fail me again Mijad.”

“I will not, imperial one.”

Manus’ eyes fixed on the eye at the back of my head. It stared at me for a long time before nodding at the uspec. “Take it then.” It ordered.

The uspec smiled as it reached for the handle on my cage. It pulled out a black bag from a pocket in its leather clothing. It carefully placed me into the black bag. I was engulfed in darkness then. I felt myself being lifted in the air, carried.

“My guard will escort you out, to make sure you have no problems leaving the Chateau.” I recognized the voice as Manus’.

I was tossed around in the okun in the cage before I heard a voice say, “Gratitude imperial one.”

Then I began moving. From the swinging of the cage, I could tell that I was being moved. But the darkness from within the bag was too much to tell where I was going. From Manus’ words, we were probably on our way out of the Chateau. We would be going to the security check then. I imagined we had reached there when I stopped moving and I heard the voices. I recognized one of those voices as Manus’ guard’s. The other was not familiar. They spoke for a while and then the swaying continued. The swaying was just forceful enough that I was sent rocking between the ends of the bowl which contained the okun, but not so forceful that the okun spilled over.

I could not help thinking of the irony of the situation, as my swan’s body was weakened, and I was in the hands of an uspec I had come so close to killing. I wondered what this uspec would think if it knew that it was I, not a swan, but Nebud, the uspec who’d taken Marcinus’ swan from it. I wondered if perhaps I could have saved myself this journey by taking the uspec’s life when I’d had the chance to, that first day in the Acropolis. I could not help going back to that day and seeing the room filled with uspecs cheering on two kares fighting. I knew I would not be made to fight, not when Manus had made it so clear that it wanted me back. I did not know what to think of that. I was still angry, I was angry that it had done this to me, that it had turned me into a weak swan. As I thought of my anger, I realized another way that I could see, or at least get glimpses into the mind of the uspec carrying me.

I concentrated on the lifeforce in my anger then. I sensed anger around me. I could not tell where it came from, if it belonged to the uspec carrying me, or if we were in some place with other uspecs, but I sensed the anger and tried to reach for it. Each time I caught hold of an uspec’s anger, it slipped away. It was as if I could not reach for it. I could not take it from the uspec, or examine it. I was too weak.

Blasted okun!

I had never thought that I would have reason to hate the okun, it was after all the soul of my spectrum, the thing that I was so closely bound to. But then, I had not thought that the magic of my spectrum would be used so effectively against me.

Light poured into my cage, blinding me with its brightness. One glance around the room was enough to tell me where we were. I saw the cages and the kares in them. I saw the horns on the heads of the hounds and knew that we were back in the room where I’d found Mara, the frosted beast. Unlike that time, there were no patrons in the kennel, watching the fight and cheering their preferred kare. There were only the cages in the room now. Cages and a select few uspecs seated on stools around the room. The uspecs had sack bags and cheap coffers in different spots in the room.

It looked like they were packing up.

“Guess what I have with me?” Mijad called out, placing me on an empty stool in the middle of the room.

“What?” an uspec asked, leaning against the wall behind it. It had its eyes closed.

“A swan. Looks like Manus decided to give us a going away present.” Mijad teased.

A going away present?

Mijad’s words seemed to catch the uspecs’ attention because they gathered around me.

“That is not just a swan Mijad, it’s a green swan, a green swan with three eyes!” An uspec stated in awe.

“Is that what I think it is?” Another uspec asked.

“If you think it is an uspec whose identity has been changed, then yes, it’s exactly what you think it is.”

“Who is the uspec?”

“Do you see this?” Mijad poked at a point on my neck. Its fingers prodded so forcefully that I wished for the strength to lance it with my beak. “And this?” Its callous finger poked at my tail then.

“Is that silver?”

Mijad smiled widely. “What we have, is a banneret turned into a swan. Once we get to Lahooni, we can sell it for a fortune. At least two pieces of worth, which is a great deal more than the twenty pieces of merit Manus is going to pay for the swan’s return.”

“Two pieces of worth! We’ll be rich Mijad, we’ll be rich! We can open a real fancy kennel and have smoke bears and snow jackals fighting against each other. Even the nobles would pay to see that. We’ll be rich!”

“Yes, once we sell the swan, we’ll be rich. Let’s rush the packing. I have a feeling that Manus might send someone to check on the swan later today. We need to be gone before then.”

As soon as Mijad’s words hit me, I began to panic. They were going to Lahooni. The uspec had no intention of taking me back to Manus to have my identity returned. If I left this port as a swan, then I would remain one for the rest of my life. I would remain trapped in the body of a swan. If I could just get them to cancel their trip to Lahooni, then I would have more time. But how could I do that in my current state? If I could pollute their emotions, I would be able to turn them against each other as I’d done so many times before. I tried again to reach for the emotions I felt around me, but each time I tried, the okun weakened me, taking the strength I needed to converse with the emotions away.

I had to get rid of the okun which was sapping my strength.

Suddenly, I was starting to wish that the magic of the kute eyes didn’t exist. Then I remembered one salient detail; I had the magic of the kute eyes.

Part 12
---------

It had been so long since I’d felt like this. My mind worked surprisingly well given the overwhelming weakness of my body. The cage that Manus put me in was made of wood. It had a bowl at the bottom which was filled with the okun which continuously sapped my strength. I lay sprawled in the pink liquid, my wings spread uselessly by my sides and the claws on my legs poking the open air. The most I could do was move my head slightly, an action which prompted my beak to scrape lightly against a wooden bar.

I had never thought that I would be a swan. Now, in hindsight, I probably should have seen the possibility of this. Not even when I watched Manus turn a magistrate into a soft rooster, had I considered that I would follow in the uspec’s wake. How had I been so blind?

One sleepless night spent trapped in the weakened body of a swan had afforded me time to think. It had allowed me to see things clearly. Now, everything made sense. It had always been there, always right in front of me, but I had never noticed it. I thought back on the first time that I had seen Marcinus ‘drunk’. It had been right after it imbibed the drink from its sibling Manus, in the gymnasium, my first day in the Chateau. While I pored over my memories, I remembered a conversation which had made absolutely no sense to me at the time, but now, made complete sense.

I recalled one of Manus’ guards the day of the bout asking Manus if it would need its protection later in the day. Manus had told the guard that it would not, which meant that Manus had known before the fight that Marcinus would be taking its place at the celebration. I realized that Marcinus had not gotten ‘drunk’ in the inn, until after I gave it Manus’ pellets. Which meant that Manus had probably put those pellets into Marcinus drink before the uspec’s fight making it appear drunk. Manus had set Marcinus up perfectly so that Marcinus would have to take Manus place at the celebration.

The last piece of the puzzle was the fighter, the one that had beaten Marcinus during the bout, the one that I had beaten in the green dome. That uspec had tried to kill Marcinus. Why would it dare, unless it had guarantees that it would not be punished by the Kaiser? And when it had failed to complete its task, the uspec had come to the inn with more uspecs to kill Marcinus.

This all led to one daunting realization, Manus was trying to have Marcinus killed.

Once I realized that, everything else fell in place. But, Manus words from the night before, “You have disrupted my plans one too many times Nebud” still did not make sense. I knew that it was planning to kill its sibling, but I had only interfered in the inn. How had I disrupted those plans too many times?

The curtains to the room were held open by guards.

Manus walked in first. There were three uspecs with it. They all stopped at a side table to fill platters with food and cups with drinks. My cage had been set on a lounging bed in the side of the room. An imp had carried me here the night before and left me here, alone, throughout the night. I had fought uselessly against my lethargy then. I learnt that with the okun sapping my strength, there was no escape. I was too weak to rise onto my legs or flap my wings. All I could do was move my head, and even that I could not do forcefully enough to raise a racket and draw awareness to myself.

Resentment welled in me as I lay on the okun in the cage, watching the uspecs eat. They filled their stomachs with pleasant smelling pastries and succulent looking meats. When I’d been weak and with Gerangi, my mind had also been dulled, so I did not have the willingness to hate. Now, I found that it was all that I could do. There was also fear, the fear that Manus would never set me free, that it would keep me as a swan forever, but I chose not to dwell on that. If I could not dwell on fear, then I could focus on hate.

“Why don’t you just kill it?” an uspec asked, jerking its head towards me.

Even though the uspecs were lounging behind me, I could see them with the eye at the back of my head. When Manus changed my identity from uspec to swan, two of my eyes had taken the place of a normal swan’s and the other had positioned itself behind my head. With the three eyes, I was able to get a good view of the room. I could see each bed, and the uspecs lounging on them.

Manus was silent. Its eyes turned to study me. The uspec broke off a piece of bread and chewed on it. Then it picked up its goblet and took a huge gulp of its purple drink. It put the goblet down before turning one of its eyes to stare at the uspec who’d asked the question. “I don’t believe in wasting valuable life.”

Another uspec laughed. “You had over fifty uspecs slaughtered in the inn last night Manus, what is one more?”

“I said valuable life.” Manus stated, straining the word ‘valuable’. “Besides, Nebud saved my sibling’s life. I will always reward that kind of loyalty.”

Silence greeted Manus’ words. The uspecs stared dumbly at Manus as if at a loss for words. I could not blame them, I suddenly felt the same way. I had assumed that my crime had been saving Marcinus life. Had I been wrong? Was Manus not trying to have Marcinus killed then?

“You confuse me Manus.” An uspec said. “Didn’t you turn it into a swan because it saved Marcinus’ life?”

Manus sighed. It placed its goblet onto the stool by its bed, and left the platter sitting on the bed. Then it stood and paced the room. It walked with its hands steepled behind its back. “Nebud risked its life to save Marcinus. I asked it to watch over my sibling and it did. I did not think that the uspec would be foolish enough to risk its own life for my sibling, but it did. I am an imperial of the line of the Kaisers of Katsoaru, I will always reward fealty to my line.” Manus stopped its pacing in front of my cage and then it bent so that its hand held onto the top of the cage. “And, if it had only been last night, then I would not have done this. But first Nebud finds that stupid swan and brings it back in time to save Marcinus from the assassin I hired, then it saves Marcinus from a room filled with killers. That is just one too many coincidences. It is better if Nebud is out of the way until after the naming ceremony.” The tone of Manus voice dropped down as it peered down into the cage, staring at me. “Until after the naming ceremony Nebud. Forgive me for what I said last night, I spoke out of anger. You are truly the most loyal banneret I have ever seen. I will reward you properly when all of this is over. In four days, the naming ceremony will be over, and I will have you brought back. I will restore you to yourself. Then, I will give you position and wealth. I will reward you Nebud, but only after the naming ceremony, after I am heir.” After saying that, Manus stood to its full height and walked back to its lounging bed.

Have me brought back?

Just as the question floated around in my head, an uspec said, “if you plan to restore it, then why not just leave it here? Why send it away?”

“I cannot risk anyone finding it before the naming ceremony.”

“With the uspec out of the way, what will you do to Marcinus?” an uspec asked.

Manus glared at the uspec. “Marcinus was born a year after I was. I still remember the day that pater brought it home. It was really nothing spectacular. My birth was a result of a duel between pater and a two-band noble. Marcinus came from a duel between pater and a commoner. The adherents advised pater to do it this way so that I would be the obvious heir. They did not know that Marcinus would start playing with swords only a month after it was born. They did not know that Marcinus would form all of its outer eye-sockets before I did.”

“But you filled yours first Manus.”

“Only because Marcinus did not want to steal another uspec’s eye. It only did so because it was what pater commanded. They fought together, pater took Marcinus to places it would never take me. It even let it call it ‘mater’. I tried once, but pater stopped me. It said that it was not fitting. I was meant to hate Marcinus. But then Marcinus never called our pater, mater, when I was there, because it knew how it made me feel. I was meant to be jealous, but every time pater tried to get Marcinus to dazzle the nobles, Marcinus made sure it fell short so that the nobles looked to me. Marcinus was content to be my general, to lead my troops, but pater was not. Even now, pater still thinks that Marcinus would make a better Kaiser than I would. And even now I cannot hate my sibling for it. I do not want to harm Marcinus, I am its older sibling, I only want what is best for it. But while Marcinus formed a bond with our pater, you know who I bonded with?”

“Who?”

“My port. I care about this port more than Marcinus ever could. Marcinus learnt that Uspecipyte rubbish from our pater. They value their religion, the worship of a coward god, over their own port, over their own people! If Marcinus becomes Kaiser, it will keep this port Uspecipyte and the plenum will come for us. Chuspecip is fiction, the plenum is fact. And the fact is that the plenum is taking over this existence, and the only ports that will survive are the ones that bow to them. But Marcinus and pater don’t see it. They think like warriors, like all battles are fought with a sword. I do not want to harm Marcinus, but I must. If Marcinus lives, pater will make it its heir, and Katsoaru will be on its way to becoming just one more Uspecipyte forgotten kingdom.”

There was silence after Manus was done speaking. The uspecs seemed pensive, as though Manus’ words had so much significance that they needed time to properly decipher them. To me, Manus was just one more selfish noble. It was just like Fajahromo, willing to slaughter its own sibling for power. I did not care about its rosy speech, all Manus wanted was to be Kaiser, and it was willing to kill anyone who stood in its way. I couldn’t help wondering if I would ever find siblings in power who did not think first about the pursuit of power.

The sound of the curtain being pulled open, broke the silence which had fallen over the room. A guard walked in. “The kennel owner is here imperial one.” It announced.

Manus gestured with its hands for the uspec to be let in. The kennel owner? Finally, the last piece of the puzzle was filled. I had wondered how Mara, Marcinus swan, had gotten to the kennel. It was obvious that Marcinus cared deeply about the creature, but now I knew how. It was Manus, it was all Manus.

I recognized the uspec that walked in. It was the one that I had spoken to my first day in the Acropolis. This was the uspec who’d lied, saying that it had not known that the swan it had was a frosted beast. Now, I knew better, I knew that my instincts had been right.

Botaflica:
this is so weird oooo. What just happened? Nebud is now a swan!!!!! How on earth will he be able to get Marcinus eyes now. And i suspected at the very first that Manus had a hand in all that had been happening..... He wanted the support of all the people not just some people.... wow

Great work ObehiD

Thank you, It's good that you predicted Manus. Let's see if you predicted what happens next