₦airaland Forum

@lukfame yes oh, that's what we're seeing, Nebud is now a swan

@tunjilomo That's exactly what Nebud was thinking before, because of all the access it has to Manus. Maybe the order will change and it will become Manus instead...

@Madosky112 Thank you!!!

@cassbeat Don't worry, it's coming tomorrow

@Fazemood Unexpected? I am happy about that. It's getting harder and harder to surprise, so I have to keep doing my best to keep everyone guessing. Hopefully, there are even bigger surprises coming soon

@ayshow6102 It's really degradation oh, lol

@phoenixchap haha it's really it's not supposed to be. You want to examine my brain? LOL!!! Feel free. I am so happy that I have managed to get you glued to the story. Thank you so much, your words really mean a lot to me!

@chris99 thank you!

@Ultimategeneral Very big twist? Yes! I like the way you're thinking, bringing spectra in...

“What is your quarrel with the imperial one?” I asked, buying myself time to contemplate my options.

“No concern of yours.” The uspec replied. “Take what you’re being given uspecipyte, keep your life. You don’t even deserve that, but we’ll let you have it anyway. Just give us the imperial.”

Marcinus continued to stare off into space. It did not seem aware of the uspecs trying to take its life. There were fifteen of them, fifteen against one. I had never faced such odds in the pits. I reached out with my emotions searching to see what the others felt. There was no pain, but that was expected, it was the lack of anger that was unexpected. These uspecs were not religious zealots then, if they were there would be indignation, anger driving them to do what they did. I could tell from their indifference that they were hired hands. There might not be anger yet, but once we started fighting their anger would come alive. The question was, would I live long enough to exploit that anger.

My focus had not been on Marcinus, and so when I felt some foul emotions coming from the uspec, I was startled. I turned my focus to Marcinus and found that it had polluted anger and pain. Marcinus was not in the state that other uspecs tended to be when they had only these two emotions in them. That had to mean that it had more of its emotions polluted, others mixing with the anger and pain in unexpected ways. If I took away its anger and pain, what would that do to the uspec? I did not have to contemplate, Marcinus’ polluted emotions were the only advantage we had. I grabbed onto its pain and transferred it to the uspec that had spoken. That one began to wail. It fell to its knees on the floor and placed its hands in its head. I yanked Marcinus anger and transferred it to another uspec. Once that uspec received it, it began attacking the uspecs around it. It had caught one of them by surprise and so it was able to take down one uspec before two others turned on it and placed a sword through its heart. I took the polluted anger, adding it to the anger which the uspecs were now starting to feel, and transferred it to another. That uspec seemed to be a much better fighter than the previous one. It took down two uspecs before three had the chance to subdue it. There were ten uspecs left alive.

I yanked the polluted anger before it could get exhausted with the dying uspec, and focused on my lifeforce. I took a risk, pulling my focus from the room for long enough to interact with the lifeforce. I halved the intensity of my anger lifeforce so that I could seep the polluted anger from the dying uspec and transfer it, through the halves, equally to two different uspecs. I had just done that when I felt a hand clamp onto my leg and shake. That broke my focus from manipulating emotions.

I turned to stare down at Marcinus. It lifted its hand up, seeking help. I grabbed onto its hand and pulled it to its feet. It seemed that my taking away its polluted anger and pain had helped it return to consciousness. The uspec swayed. It placed its hand on the wall for support. It stubbornly chose to lean on the wall rather than lean on me.

With a sigh, I grabbed onto the uspec’s arm and placed it around my shoulder. Marcinus tried to resist, but in that moment, it did not seem to have the strength to oppose me. I found that odd. It was all odd. Why had Marcinus had polluted emotions?

“Why are they fighting amongst themselves?” Marcinus asked. Its voice was shaky, but I could still hear every word, I could hear the suspicion in its voice. Did it know that I had used emotions?

It wasn’t till Marcinus mentioned it, that I returned my attention to the group. By that point it was too late. The uspecs I had given polluted anger to were already dead, the emotion gone with them. I counted four uspecs left standing now, and one uspec on its knees, the one with the polluted pain. The uspecs did not seem to be willing to wait anymore. They ran onto the stage, converging on us.

“I can fight.” Marcinus insisted stubbornly.

“You can’t even stand.” I replied.

“Unless you know of a way to make them fight amongst themselves again…” it trailed off, its eyes eyeing me suspiciously. I had to suppress my desire to look away, and instead maintained its gaze.

The uspecs did not give us time to formulate a fighting strategy. They just attacked. They all tried to converge on Marcinus, but I pulled the uspec behind me. I supported it with my left arm and so I only had one hand free for fighting. I knocked away the sword of one uspec, while I exhausted the anger of the other. Exhausting that ones anger made it explode with one solid move fueled by the outburst of the emotion. I was expecting it and so I withstood the force of its blow. As soon as its sudden burst of anger was over, it became stunned. I took advantage of that, and stabbed my cutlass into the uspec’s neck. It fell to the floor as I turned to face the other. The uspec’s sword came at me from the right. It was a blow I blocked easily. Its tentacles rose in the air, lashing out towards me. I swiped my cutlass cutting off two of the tentacles. Then I simmered the uspec’s pain, making it abate slower than it usually would. Under the influence of the overwhelming pain, the uspec staggered. Its hand rose slowly towards me. I cut that hand off at the wrist, and then cut off the uspec’s head.

I turned to find that Marcinus had killed the two uspecs that had approached it. I stared shocked between the bodies of the uspec, and the blood-stained sword Marcinus held uneasily in its hand. The uspec still needed me for support, but I sensed more weakness than drunkenness. My confusion grew as I continued to stare at the swaying uspec. It was obvious that it had been lucid enough to fight and kill the two uspecs in less time than it had taken me to kill my opponents, even using emotions.

Marcinus smiled at me. “You’re impressed.” Its words were slurred. It took its arm off my shoulder and tried to move. Then it proceeded to trip over one of the uspec’s it had killed, and fell flat on its face.

I couldn’t help laughing at that. The sound of my laughter made me aware of another sound, the sound of an uspec in unbearable pain. It was the one I had given polluted pain to. I jumped off the stage and walked over to the howling uspec. With a slice of my blade, I silenced it.

I looked around the inn and suddenly became aware of what had transpired here. The entire place was littered with green bodies. There was no one left, no one had been spared. Even the attendants were dead. Marcinus and I were the only uspecs left alive in the inn. I was suddenly filled with an overwhelming urge to get as far away from here as I could.

I climbed back onto the stage, surprised to find Marcinus standing bent over the table. It was leaning heavily on that table. Marcinus frowned at me. I stretched out my arm offering the uspec support, but it did not take it. “Why?” Marcinus asked.

I shook my head. “Why what?”

“Why did you fight for me? Why did you save my life?”

I shrugged. I could not think of what to say. Why had I done it? Why was Marcinus still alive now? I would probably not find a better opportunity to take the uspec’s eye. Now, it was weak, I could easily overpower it. Why wasn’t I taking the eye? I told myself I refrained because I did not know which eye to take, and that was partly the reason. But in my mind, I replayed the image of seeing the two dead uspecs Marcinus had killed in its current state. I admired the uspec. It was a strange feeling, one that I did not know what to do with. But I could not take Marcinus’ eye without knowing why. Was I a lackey, some slave to do the bidding of a voice whose owner I did not know? I knew that I could not leave Katsoaru without Marcinus eye, but I could not take that eye without knowing why. I could not do that to Marcinus.

To Marcinus I replied, “Your sibling asked me to protect you.” It was not entirely a lie. Manus had asked me to take care of Marcinus, just not in the way I hinted.

Marcinus smiled. It took the arm I was offering and allowed me to pull its arm around my shoulder. It leaned heavily and unrestrainedly on me. “Jubar and Danim are gone.” It said, its words still slurred as if it was drunk. “There is no one else for me to trust Nebud, no one but you and mater.”

“And Manus.”

“And Manus.” It took an unsteady step forward. “Take me to Mara.” It said.

I found that strange, that Marcinus wanted to go back to the swan, not its ‘mater’ or sibling, but the swan. Perhaps I had misjudged their relationship. Perhaps there was something truly noble in Marcinus which merited the swan’s fealty. It was obvious that the bond went both ways.

We made our way out of the inn, weaving through the corpses which littered the floor. I took all of Marcinus weight, trying my best to provide what little comfort I could. The pain it felt now was pure. It was grief for the friends that it had lost. This noble was nothing like any other that I had ever met. Its feelings were pure, when it called an uspec friend, it meant it. That much was clear in the abundance of pain which I felt emanating from it.

“Why do you drink so much?” I asked the question not expecting a reply. When the reply came, I found it more perplexing than anything else that had occurred that evening.

“I don’t.” Marcinus slurred. “But when I do, I can handle the liquor. I drank tonight to show you. I wanted you to see that I am no drunk. I wanted you to see what mater can’t.”

Marcinus’ words made absolutely no sense to me. What did it mean by it could handle the liquor? Its current state was an indication that it could not. We walked in silence back to the Chateau. When we walked past the guards, our bodies stained with the blood of the uspecs we’d slain, Marcinus only stopped long enough for me to explain it to them. Alarms blared waking the Chateau up as guards were sent running to the Kaiser to deliver the news. They offered to take Marcinus from me, but the uspec would not let them. I realized that it had been honest, it truly did not trust any of the guards in the Chateau. But why? I took Marcinus back to its suite, and then all the way to its sleeping room. I lay the uspec on its large bed right as the swan came to fuss over its owner.

“Gratitude Nebud, my friend.” It said the last words with a teasing smile on its face and then it drifted off as the swan stood on its chest. The swan was too preoccupied with its owner to care about me.

Still, I rubbed the back of the swan’s neck. “Care for your master.” I told it, right before leaving. The swan did not turn towards me, but it bent its head towards Marcinus’ chest, as if obeying the instruction I had given it.

I walked out of the room.

Manus stood in front of the curtains which led into Marcinus’ suite. The uspec did not look happy. “What happened?” it demanded. “Did you not use the pellets I gave you?”

I frowned at Manus. I wanted to go home. I wanted to go back to my bed in my little rented suite in the merchants block, and have a good cleaning. I wanted to lie in an okun for the next day or two, to wash away the filth of the day. I did not want to mix words with Manus. “I used the pellets imperial one.” I replied tired. “Please, if you would permit me, I would like to go home. It has been a long day.”

My guard was down. I had let my guard down once we stepped into the Chateau as I believed that the worst was finally behind us. My guard was down and so I did not reach out for Manus’ anger until it was too late. By the time the lifeforce in my anger told me that Manus was angrier than I had ever seen it before, a pool of okun had already appeared underneath me. That pool sucked away my strength, just as it had done one other time, at Fajahromo’s behest. Weak, and unable to move, Manus ordered two guards to carry me. They took me from Marcinus’ suite to the room with cages which Manus had shown me.

I watched as the guards took off my belt and placed it on the ground in front of a cage that they stuffed me into. I was left alone with Manus.

“You have disrupted my plans one too many times Nebud.” Manus said.

Then a cloud formed around me. I was too weak to shout out, too weak to vocalize the pain that I felt. My body was twisted, my bones broken, my identity changed as I pondered on Manus’ last words. I was a kute irira who’d survived the pits, I knew pain. Yet this pain, the one associated with changing a thing’s identity was altogether new to me. To me it felt like pain, but the lifeforce in my pain did not identify with it, the lifeforce in my pain did not register my feelings as pain, it was as if this transformation brought alien feelings.

When at long last it ended, and the blinding red of the clouds light lifted, returning the view of the room, I looked down on myself and found the body of a swan. I had been turned into a green swan.

“Perhaps after the naming ceremony I will restore you.” Manus’ words echoed in my head as it walked away.

Marcinus’ behavior in the inn finally made sense to me. The drunkenness that looked more like weakness. It was Manus; it was a result of the pellet that Manus had asked me to put in Marcinus’ drink.

Part 11
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The celebration was in full swing by the time we arrived. I recognized this inn, it was the same one that the swan had led me to the day that I returned it to its owner. Jubar placed its hand against the wall and the hard fog disappeared, granting us entrance. We were led by the attendants to an area separated from the rest of room by a large set of curtains. The area sat on a higher level than the rest of the room. There were five chairs around a circular table. The attendant pulled out Marcinus’ chair and then waited till the uspec was seated. The bannerets sat on either side of Marcinus.

They all made a point of ignoring me, just as they’d done during our walk from the portal to the inn. Every so often the bannerets would glare at me, the restrained anger in their looks making it clear that they did not appreciate my company. Marcinus nodded at the uspec attendant. “Open the curtains.” It ordered.

The attendant walked over to the head of the space and pulled the curtains open, exposing the rest of the room to our view, and making them aware of us. I could tell from the raised voices, and the general rowdiness in the lower half of the room that the uspecs were doing their best to get drunk. Drinks flowed freely and meals were placed on the round tables. I remembered the stage at the front of the room, it was the same one that imps had been on the first time I’d seen this inn. Now the stage was empty. A number of imps swarmed the place, pushing carts laden with jugs and platters, from the opaque fog at the head of the room, to the different tables.

“Shall I bring anything for you imperial one?” The attendant asked with a bow.

“Hard fermented wine.” Marcinus replied.

I frowned at the uspec, but I kept my thoughts to myself. Still, I could not help the twinge of irritation that I felt. After the fool it had made of itself in the bout today, it was still asking for more alcohol. What was wrong with it? Did it not know how much Manus and its progenitor were relying on it to represent their family properly? Or did it just not care.

“Any food imperial one?”

Marcinus shook its head. “Just the wine.”

“As you wish imperial one.” The attendant bowed and then it moved towards the short staircase connecting from our raised portioned-off area to the rest of the room. I watched the attendant call on an imp, whisper something to the imp and then wait by the foot of the stairs.

Marcinus sighed. “Sit Nebud.” It ordered.

The uspec did not even look at me as it spoke. It kept its bored gaze on the room filled with rowdy uspecs. As the uspec was not looking at me, I decided that it did not expect an answer and so I did not give it one. I grabbed onto a handle of the backless chair and pulled it away from the table. The uspecs had made it clear that they did not want me to be part of their group, so I would indulge their desires.

The attendant returned with two imps. They carried trays fancier than the ones they used to serve below, and had goblets and a decanter on the tray. The imps placed a goblet in front of each of us, and then they poured the yellow wine into each goblet.

I stared curiously at my goblet, but I did not touch it. Marcinus emptied the contents of its glass in a single gulp, and then it picked up the decanter and refilled the goblet.

“Marcinus.” Jubar’s voice held a note of warning. “This is not necessary?”

“Is it not?” Marcinus asked, its gaze pointedly fixed on me. It drowned the second goblet and reached for the decanter again. It emptied the contents of the decanter in its goblet before calling out for more wine.

Cautiously, I picked up my goblet and took a sip of the wine. It was more alcoholic than anything I had tried on the inter-port trail. I could feel the effect of the one sip I had taken, yet Marcinus had chugged down two glasses full. For some reason I’d had difficulty believing it, but now I knew, I knew for a fact that Marcinus was a drunk.

I turned my gaze back to the lower portion of the room. At that moment it seemed like an uspec had noticed us, because it stood and pointed at the dais. “To the line of the Kaisers of Katsoaru!” It called out.

Suddenly, all the uspecs were standing. They turned to stare at the stage and I just knew from the looks on their faces that they were waiting for Marcinus to speak. I heard the sound of Marcinus’ chair drawing back and sighed to myself, waiting for the uspec to sway, displaying its inebriation to the masses.

Marcinus’ voice was surprisingly steady when it called out, “hair of horns and a chest of iron.”

The cry of “Irira!” was picked up by the entire room.

The bannerets stood too and I knew that I had to stand as well. At this point, all the uspecs in the inn stood, their cups lifted in the air, their bodies turned to face the imperial one. I could not help but turn, so that I could stare discreetly at Marcinus. For one who’d consumed the large amounts of alcohol that it had, it seemed surprisingly alert and steady on its feet. It did not sway, it did not show any signs of inebriation.

Lifting our goblets, we sang the Uspecipyte song as one. I had cause to be grateful to the passing trader who’d taught me the song when the words came flawlessly from my lips.

“Skirt of tails and a neck of scales. Irira!
Not one but all. Not weak but strong.
Say you, ‘Tiyoseriwosin?’
Say I, ‘Uspecipyte’.
I am iron strong, unbreakable, I see you shake.
Standing my ground, while I hear you quake.
Against me you set your best?
Apologies, but to death they are next.
Say you, ‘Tiyoseriwosin?’
Say I, ‘Uspecipyte’!
I am iron strong, unbreakable, I see you shake.
Standing my ground, while I hear you quake.
Against me you set your best?
Apologies, but to death they are next.
Say you, ‘Tiyoseriwosin?’
Say I, ‘USPECIPYTE’!”

The uspecs cheered the end of the song by lifting their cups and drowning its contents. I watched Marcinus do the same and then I saw it place its hand on the table, as if for support. I knew now that the drunk would appear. It sat back down, just as the other uspecs did. Marcinus filled its goblet yet again with the strong wine and I knew that the time had finally come to intervene as Manus had requested. Even if I’d wanted to speak with Marcinus, if I knew what words to say to sober an alcoholic, Marcinus had made it clear that it did not want to listen to me. For some reason the uspec no longer saw the need to be kind or gracious to me.

I took a step back, wondering how I was going to get the pellets into the uspec’s drink without it noticing. I thought of the amount of trouble I was going to, to keep the uspec sober and I wondered why I cared. Why did I care if Marcinus got drunk and disgraced its entire line? In fact, wouldn’t it be easier for me to steal the eyes of a drunk Marcinus? Still, for some reason I could not name, I found myself moved to help this uspec. Was it the worry of its progenitor, the Kaiser who had spoken so candidly to me? Perhaps it was the feeling that underneath its drunkenness Marcinus truly was a good uspec, or maybe it was just guilt. Perhaps I wanted to at least do one positive thing for the uspec in exchange for the eye which I would take from it. Whatever my motivation, I searched for an opening.

“What is it doing here?” Danim stretched its hand out, pointing at an uspec on the lower level.

I recognized the uspec. It was the one that I had beaten, the one who’d tried to kill Marcinus. Frowning, I stared at the uspec. Hadn’t the Kaiser said that this uspec had left the port in shame? What was it doing in the inn, celebrating as if it had no cause for shame, as if it had won the bout? Looking around the table, I noticed that all three uspecs were distracted by the fighter. Taking advantage of their inattention, I slipped behind Marcinus, pulled the glass vial out of my belt and uncorked it. I’d just slipped one pellet into Marcinus’ goblet when the uspec’s fingers grabbed onto the stem of the glass.

Quickly I placed the cork back on the vial and dropped it into my belt.

With a frown, Marcinus turned around to stare questioningly at me. “Is something wrong it asked?” its speech clear for one who had drank so much.

I shook my head. “No imperial one, I only wanted a clearer view of the uspec.”

I could not tell if Marcinus believed me as the frown on its face did not waver. Then it lifted its goblet in the air, as if in a silent toast to me, before downing the contents of the goblet.

Marcinus was just about to refill its glass when all hell broke loose.

The decanter fell from Marcinus hand. The contents of the jug spilled allover the table as the jug rolled on the table and then fell off the side to land on the floor. Jubar and Danim rose together. We all seemed to have the same thought on our minds because we pulled out our cutlasses almost in unison. The bannerets approached.

The previously celebratory mood in the lower part of the inn was gone, now replaced with the cries of dying uspecs in pain. I watched in disbelief as an uspec’s head was cut off its neck while another was stabbed in the chest. There were about thirty uspecs in the bottom half of the room, all of them fighting with weapons which they’d obviously kept concealed. I noticed the fighter from the bout amongst them, with its spiked club. It would be unfair to call it a fight because it wasn’t, it was a massacre. The other uspecs were obviously unarmed and so they had no weapons to prevent the blows from the ones who’d hidden their weapons. How had those uspecs gotten weapons in here? The inn was expecting Marcinus’ arrival, so they wouldn’t have let so many uspecs in armed.

Marcinus tried to stand, but it swayed heavily, knocking its chair back. Obviously, the effects of the copious amounts of alcohol it had imbibed were starting to show. Marcinus had to keep its hand on the table to keep from falling over. It took a step back, pulling its sword out of its sheath, while swaying so that it leaned on Jubar. Jubar wrapped its arm around Marcinus, keeping the uspec steady.

Only moments after Marcinus was standing, six armed uspecs jumped to the stage, the fighter from the bout amongst them. “Say you Uspecipyte?” it was the fighter from the bout who spoke in a teasing tone. “You can beat our best?” it prodded. “Well say we Kuworyte. Let’s see how well you do against us.” After saying that the uspecs charged.

I found myself fighting on instinct. My cutlass rose of its own accord to deflect a blow I felt coming from a sword. I parried for a while with that uspec, dodging blows and being mindful of the uspecs around me. I heard a loud bang coming from behind me, but I could not turn. Instead, I took advantage of the uspec’s distraction and stabbed it in the chest. That uspec fell as another ran over to take its place. I only had a second between the change in attackers to take not of the state of things behind me. Jubar seemed to be trying to fight while also supporting the drunk Marcinus. I was surprised to see Marcinus pulling its sword out of the neck of the fighter from the bout. Even in its drunken state, Marcinus was skilled enough to take the fighter on. I congratulated myself for that, it was probably because I had put the pellet into Marcinus drink, preventing it from getting even drunker.

The fight continued. We started off as thirty against four and one uspec at a time the numbers dwindled from thirty to twenty-five and then finally to fifteen. That was the first pause I got in the battle. The fifteen uspecs left alive stood at the lower level of the inn. They did not make any move to climb to the raised portion of the stage. All of the uspecs were ones that had stood and sang the Uspecipyte song as if celebrating the Kaiser. They had appeared drunk before, but now I knew that had been a façade.

I looked around the stage and was surprised to find Marcinus sitting by a corner, staring transfixed at a spot beside it. Where were the other bannerets? I saw Danim’s body first. It was sprawled over the table, the silver sheath on its tentacles declaring its identity. It took longer to find Jubar. I could not turn my back fully on the crowd and so it took me a while to identify the subject of Marcinus’ gaze. The uspec was staring at Jubar’s head which had been parted from its body. That head stared lifeless up back at the imperial one.

I walked back, careful to keep my gaze on the uspecs still left alive, their weapons held at the ready, as I inched closer towards Marcinus. Once my back was to the wall, I nudged it with my feet. “Imperial one?” when I got no answer, I rose my voice. “Imperial one?”

Marcinus’ head snapped up. It stared at me, but I could tell from the lack of comprehension in its gaze that it was not really seeing me. “Jubar.” Marcinus called the uspecs name. “Danim. Are they dead?”

Was Marcinus becoming delirious? Had it lost its mind? “Yes imperial one. Why don’t you use your spectra?”

“Can’t focus.” Marcinus’ head dropped back against the wall.

“We just want the imperial one.” One of the uspecs at the lower level called out. “Give us the imperial and you can leave. We have no quarrel with you.”

Marcinus stared blankly at the roof. My eyes were drawn to its. I thought of how simple it would be to take Marcinus’ eye. That was why I was here after all. I could take the uspec’s eye and hand it over to the ones who so desperately wanted to kill it. What business was it of mine why they wanted the uspec? Why should I risk my life for Marcinus?

@cassbeat Is it really really obvious ... Saturday is only one day away

@tunjilomo follow up coming soon, just one day away

@Fazemood Do you really think that Manus does not care...well, I guess we will see soon. About the imagery, I think that your imagination is actually so much cooler than what I was thinking, so I'm just going to let you keep thinking about them like that. Although, to me the uspecs are beautiful

@Ultimategeneral Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying the story

@ayshow6102 Because suspense is such a good form of torture, don't you agree?

@pheonixchap Thank you, I am glad that I can keep you wanting more. Ah, you won't pity Nebud, but why? Well, let's see what happens in the next part. Maybe you'll change your mind...

My mind drifted to the imp. What was it doing at this moment? I wondered. We had decided that the imp would go in search of Chike, the imp it had run into in the market. Musa was convinced that there was something mysterious about the imp’s disappearance from Lahooni right before my sire died. Had it been successful? I was suddenly standing in a room filled with nobles preparing for the feasts. Manus had no made nobles in its inner circle, I was the only uspec without gold on my arms, standing in its suite as it prepared for the feast.

It stood in front of a reflective surface, watching as the imps polished the golden bands on its arm. The robe it chose to wear was sleeveless. It was made of an intricate mix of silver and cyan. It wore a dazzling silver and cyan sole on the bottom of its feet, one which matched the robe it had on. I found the entire preparations unbelievably boring. But each uspec in the room thought it imperative to be dressed in the finest leathers and they all took advantage of Manus’ hospitality. When at long last, the uspecs were dressed, and the time came for us to leave for the feast, I moved with unbelievable speed.

The feast was in the great hall. As soon as I stepped into the room, I had reason to be grateful for the amount of aqua-sight which I’d used. This hall was made for soarus. The entire room was filled completely with thick clouds. I could tell from looking at the walls and the furniture that it was all clouds. Pink drops hung in the air, attaching themselves to my skin as I moved. There was no fog to dry the liquid, and so I found myself covered with it. Only moments after I stepped into the room, I was completely covered with the precipitation. The other uspecs wore clothes, so only their faces and exposed skins were covered, but they did not seem to mind at all. They spoke lively amongst each other, mingling with the nobles, and select few commoners who’d been invited. There was an assortment of spectrums in the room, I even spotted a few kute tails.

Shortly after we walked into the hall, loud horns blared, signaling the arrival of the Kaiser. The tables in the room were placed around both sides so that there was a path down the middle, to the raised dais on the stage of the hall. I could tell that the tables and the chairs around them were made of clouds as they were all luminescent. The appearance of the lights had been changed so that there was a mix of colorful light streaming from each table. The walls gave off a dark hue of red, and the tables had lighting which ranged from gold to cyan.

The space in the center of the hall was cleared so that the Kaiser could walk through. I had read that during all formal occasions, all uspecs invited bowed deeply to the Kaiser regardless of rank. I bowed as the Kaiser past by me and then was surprised when it stopped right in front of me.

“Nebud!” The Kaiser called out my name. “You are the guest of honor tonight, the winner of my bout. You seat by my side, on the stage.” After it made that announcement, it walked forward, leaving me to follow in its wake.

It wasn’t till I stood on the stage that I noticed Marcinus. There were eleven seats on the stage, five to either side of the Kaiser’s highchair. As the guest of honor, I sat at the Kaiser’s right. Manus sat at the Kaiser’s left with Marcinus beside it. I could not help but feel as if something was amiss. When Marcinus saw me, there was no smiling greeting on its face. It looked at me and then it looked past me, as if we had never met. There was no loud call of ‘Nebud’, no teasing, just cold indifference. As if I had somehow offended the uspec. I found its behavior odd, but I was starting to think that there was a lot odd about Marcinus. It was not my place to decipher its behavior. I only had to figure out a way to steal its eye.

The Kaiser sat and the feast begun. I could not help but notice the absence of imps. For a place that had been bursting with them only a few hours ago, it was surprisingly void of the creatures. Uspecs served. The uspecs were servants in the Chateau, they wore livery which matched the colors of that which the imps wore. They filled the tables with wine and food and then moved back to stand by the walls till they were summoned.

The food was of the highest quality. There were fruits baked into succulent pies. There were soups made of meat that I had never had the pleasure of tasting. There was grain mixed in with spices that I had never known existed, and stews with vegetables that I could only dream about. I had just finished my second serving and was about to fill my platter with a third helping of the delicious variety laid out in front of us, when I was pulled into the conversation.

“Congratulations Nebud, I hear you fought well.” I heard Marcinus say. I turned to stare at the uspec and noted the lack of animation on its face. It took me a while to realize that it was ashamed. There was shame, but I could also feel its anger. To my surprise, the anger increased when our eyes met. Then Marcinus’ look turned bored, as if it did not find me a stimulating enough topic to keep its interest.

“You should be offering the uspec gratitude. If not for Nebud, I would have been forced to go back on my word and deny an uspec its reward because it beat you. You would have brought shame not only on yourself, but on the entire line.”

I found myself flinching from the tone of the Kaiser’s words. Marcinus’ shame doubled as it hunched over, its head bending to stare at the empty platter in front of it. If I did not know from my conversation with it, that the Kaiser was very fond of its offspring, I would have thought it hated it from the tone it used.

“Forgive me mighty one.” Marcinus said. It rose its head to stare at me. “Gratitude Nebud.” It said, its voice lifeless.

I did not know what to say. This was not the Marcinus I knew. Luckily, Manus spoke before my silence grew long enough to be offensive.

“Let Marcinus go in my place tonight pater. The visiting uspecipytes will be at the inn, all celebrating the founder and the Kaiser of Katsoaru’s bout. I know that I usually go to celebrate with them, to represent our line, but I think Marcinus should go instead. Marcinus is the greatest fighter in our line, give my sibling a chance to redeem itself.”

“Representing your line in an Uspecipyte gathering is more than an honor. It is a very serious duty. The uspecs need to see you there Manus, they need to see a leader they can rely on.” The words came from the noble seated by me. It had four armbands on each arm, adornments that showed it was the duke of a metropolis.

“My sibling is a leader they can rely on.” Manus insisted. It frowned at the duke. “And anyone who says otherwise will have to answer to me. Marcinus made a mistake pater, please, I beg you, give it the chance to rectify it.”

I watched Marcinus while they spoke. It kept its head bowed and its mouth shut.

The Kaiser also appeared to be studying Marcinus. “Do you truly believe that Marcinus can handle this?” its question was directed at Manus, but its eyes were on Marcinus.

“Yes pater.”

“You understand that if Marcinus does anything to embarrass our line I will lay the blame on you.”

Manus did not flinch. “You know Marcinus better than that pater. It made a mistake.”

Still, Marcinus kept quiet.

The Kaiser sighed. “Very well. Marcinus, you will go in Manus’ place.”

Marcinus sat up. It smiled for the first time that night. “Gratitude,” it said to its sibling. Manus smiled back as it nodded at Marcinus. I noticed a bond between them, one that I had previously overlooked. “Gratitude mighty one, I will not let you down.”

“Again.” The Kaiser stated. “You meant to say you will not let me down again.” It put extra emphasis on the last word. Then it turned to regard the crowd. “Who will you take with you?”

“Jubar and Danim pater, my bannerets.”

“Your coconspirators.” The Kaiser scoffed. It looked around and then its eyes rested on me. With a smile on its face, it put a hand on my left shoulder and I had a strong feeling that I would not like what it would say next. “Nebud will accompany the three of you.”

Marcinus sprung back. “No pater.”

“No?!” The Kaiser yelled so loudly that the conversation in the rest of the hall stopped. “You dare say [i]‘no’[i] to me?”

Marcinus bowed its head. “Forgive me mighty one, I only meant that Nebud’s company is not needed. I am sure Manus needs its noble guard.”

The Kaiser turned to Manus. “Well?” it demanded.

A flicker of doubt appeared on Manus’ face as it stared between its progenitor and its sibling. It was stuck in the middle, and from the look on its face, it was not a position it enjoyed. Finally, it bowed to the Kaiser. “If it is your will pater.”

“It is.” The Kaiser’s words rung with finality.

I thought about mentioning that no one asked me if I wanted to go, but then I thought better of it. Besides, I could not help the odd feelings which Marcinus’ rejection of my company rose in me. This was why I disliked nobles, they were fake, all of them. I had thought that Marcinus was different, a ‘kind noble’. I scoffed at that. This was the real Marcinus. I was sure that it would make my evening a living hell because its progenitor had foisted me on it. I could not wait to figure out a way to steal the uspec’s eye and leave this port.

“If you would excuse me, mighty one, I will go and prepare myself for the celebration.” Marcinus spoke.

The Kaiser nodded without looking at the uspec.

Marcinus bowed and rose. It was just about to walk away when it stopped and turned to stare at me. It rose an eyebrow in question, and I realized that it was expecting me to follow it. I stood up then and walked behind the uspec.

Its bannerets followed.

I was shocked when, after we left the hall, I heard Manus call, “Nebud!”

All four of us turned. “Give me a moment with Nebud please.”

Marcinus smiled sardonically at me. “Of course, Manus.” It bowed and then walked away.

Manus led me to its suite. It did not say a word until we were both behind the curtains. Then it put its hand into its pocket and pulled out a small glass vial with a number of black pellets in them.

“Why have you and Marcinus fallen out?” it asked me.

“I do not know.” I replied staring at the vial.

“What did you do Nebud?” Manus demanded.

“I do not know.”

“I do not like to see Marcinus distressed. I do not like…” it broke off. “I do not like to see Marcinus waste its life. When it is sober, Marcinus is the best offspring and the best sibling that an uspec could have. But when it starts drinking, when Marcinus drinks it becomes something entirely different. You cannot imagine the pain it causes us to see Marcinus like this. Not when it was so much before the alcohol. I want more for Marcinus. That is why I suggested that pater let it go in my place. They have a special bond the two of them, Marcinus has to get back into our pater’s good graces to renew that bond.” Manus extended the bottle in its hand to me. “The pellets in this bottle reverse the effects of liquor. If you put it in a drink with alcohol, it turns the drink non-alcoholic.”

I took the bottle from Manus and examined its contents curiously.

“It takes all of the pellets to reverse the effects. Only use it if Marcinus looks like it’s going to drink alcohol. I want to believe in Marcinus, I want to believe that it can do this without my help. I want you to bring that bottle back to me just as I have given it to you, with all the pellets intact. That is what I want. But I doubt that is what will happen. Whatever the case, please do not let Marcinus embarrass our pater again. That will be a strain on their relationship which even I won’t be able to resolve.”

Part 10
--------

I stood on the balcony, staring down at the fight taking place beneath me. Marcinus looked to be in much better health. It had both bannerets, the ones that had escorted it out, fighting against it. There was something particularly vicious about the way Marcinus fought. It brought down its sword hard against the swords of the other uspecs. The sound of the metals colliding rung in the air, filling it with an ominous quality. There was nothing but that, the sounds of swords hammering against each other. I could tell from the way the bannerets fought that they were doing their best to keep up with the imperial one. The Marcinus I watched was nothing like the one that I had seen in any of our previous meetings. Its movements were still fluid, still graceful in a way that made its fighting somewhat mesmerizing, but the aggression in its swinging blade added a level of danger to the display. In this mood, the uspec could very easily take off the bannerets’ heads. On a hunch, I reached through the lifeforce in my anger, searching for the anger in the uspecs around me.

Anger burst forth from Marcinus like light from the daylight dots. It was stunning in its intensity. I could not help but wonder at the source of the uspec’s anger. Perhaps it was angry with itself for disappointing its progenitor. Then, I thought, perhaps it should have refrained from overindulging in strong liquor. I found it hard to respect any warrior who would walk into an arena so inebriated that it could hardly fight, but watching Marcinus like this, I felt nothing but admiration for its skill. There was a part of me that was hungry to fight this uspec as it was now, fighting without the restraint it had shown me the first time we sparred with swords. Though, knowing how skilled the uspec was, I probably wouldn’t last long, not with Marcinus in this much of a rage.

It was entertaining, I thought with a grin.

Marcinus hit one of the banneret’s swords with so much strength that the sword came out of the banneret’s hand. The other banneret brought down its sword, hoping to catch Marcinus by surprise, but Marcinus whirled clashing its sword with the others, then kicking the banneret in the stomach. Both bannerets lay on the floor.

“Again.” Marcinus ordered. There was no teasing in its voice, no kindness like that which it had shown to me when we had fought. This version of the uspec was ruthless, I could just imagine it as a commander, leading troops to battle.

“Perhaps we can take a break Marcinus.” One of the banneret’s pleaded.

I scoffed. Marcinus shook its head.

“Please Marcinus.” The other begged.

Marcinus sighed. It shook its head then, and I watched its shoulders drop slightly. It dropped its sword and ran its hand over its scalp. “Forgive me Danim.” Marcinus said, extending a hand to the banneret that had spoken last. The banneret took Marcinus hand and allowed the uspec to pull it up. The other banneret did not wait for Marcinus’ help. It stood on its own. “Forgive me Jubar.” Marcinus said to that one.

Jubar shook its head, then it smiled at Marcinus. “I only needed a slight break. I am ready to go again.”

Marcinus laughed. “No, I overtaxed you. It was very inconsiderate of me.”

“Are you conceding defeat?”

Marcinus burst out laughing. As the uspec laughed, I felt its anger drain away. What a pity. I could tell that the spar which would follow would be more restrained, a graceful fight. Marcinus shook its head. “If you insist on it…”

“I insist.”

Marcinus turned to the other. It shook its head. “I concede defeat. I need to catch my breath before the feast.”

The banneret walked to one of the chairs on the side of the room as the other two continued their sparring.

“There is no fighter like Marcinus, is there?”

The question startled me. I turned to find the Kaiser standing a few feet away from me. I could tell from the fog drifting back into place that the Kaiser had come into the gymnasium through the door which led directly to its suite of rooms. I had never been to that portion of the Chateau, but I’d been given a tour so I knew which doors led where. The Kaiser was unclothed for the first time. It wore nothing but the golden armbands around its arms.

I dropped to my knee in front of the Kaiser, bowing my head in greeting. “Salutations mighty one.”

“Rise Nebud, champion of my line.”

I stood, but I kept my head slightly bent. “Gratitude mighty one, you honor me.”

The Kaiser walked towards the rail. It had a hand on its waist and another hand on the railing of the balcony as it looked down, observing the battle between Marcinus and the uspec. It was obvious from watching the battle that Marcinus was by far the greater fighter.

“Jubar is a great fighter.” The mighty one said, “but you would not know it from the way Marcinus handles the uspec. Marcinus.” The Kaiser sighed. “Marcinus.” It said the name with so much hurt that I curiously poked at its pain. I wasn’t surprised to find that it truly was in pain. I was, however, surprised by the depths of it. I quickly drew my lifeforce back in, suddenly feeling angsty at being alone with the Kaiser.

“Marcinus,” the Kaiser said again, “the future that you could have.” Then it bent its head and closed its eyes, and there was something so fatigued about its bearing that I found myself feeling sorry for the uspec. Why, I could not say.

I made to leave then, sure that the uspec would prefer privacy.

The Kaiser turned to face me before I could go. It stared at me, its eyes rolling over me as if to unearth some buried secrets. I found something eerily familiar about the way the Kaiser studied me. It reminded me of the way Marcinus had looked over me the first time we met. “I hear I am doubly indebted to you.” The Kaiser said after a long pause.

“Mighty one?”

“First you returned Mara in time for the swan to save Marcinus life, and then you fought the uspec who tried to kill my offspring. You beat the uspec so soundly it packed up and went home in shame. I will not have to see its face again because of you. Do you believe in Chuspecip Nebud?”

A chill crept up my spine at the question. I had trained to say ‘Uspecipyte’ with conviction, but I had not trained to answer questions about the founder. “Yes, mighty one.” I said.

“I think you are a gift from the founder to my line. You appeared just when you were needed, that cannot be coincidence. With the plenum growing in strength, I had had many advisors council me to make my port Kuworyte, to bow to the plenum before we are besieged by them. I am not a great strategist, I am a warrior, which is why I have much more adherents than bannerets. I know how to fight, it is the politics of leadership that eludes me. They counseled that I bow to the plenum, and then you showed up, reminding me of the kindness of the god my ancestors swore to serve. And I met you in the equipoise, the dome that was granted to my ancestors by Chuspecip itself. You are a sign Nebud.”

“I am?”

“Yes, Nebud, you are the founder’s sign to me. Gratitude.”

If the Kaiser did not appear so serious, I would have burst out laughing. I wondered what this Kaiser would think about the sign it proclaimed me to be after I took Marcinus’ eye. Would I then become a sign that its port should bow to the plenum? I could not say any of this and so I said instead, “you honor me with your words mighty one, I am undeserving.”

The Kaiser smiled. It turned back to observe the fighting and I found my gaze drawing back to the gym as well. “Marcinus is the warrior, it is more like me than Manus. If I had a war to fight, I would send Marcinus as the head of my troops. I had thought once that my choice was clear, but now, I am not so sure. Marcinus cannot handle the responsibility. Did you know that Marcinus never drank?”

“No mighty one.” I replied, knowing that an answer was mandated, even though I was not sure why I was being included in the conversation.

“Not a drop. Then it filled its last empty eye-socket and I told it that I would set the naming ceremony for a year after that day, as was customary. Marcinus was shocked, it had never considered itself in the running for my heir, it had just assumed that I would make Manus my heir as it was older. Once I told Marcinus that it was in the running, Marcinus started drinking.” The Kaiser sighed. “Maybe it is my fault. I put too much pressure on Marcinus. Manus is like the adherents that I appoint, it is the one with the mind for politics and strategy. I fear that Marcinus is too like me, it only has skill for war.” The Kaiser turned to me then. “You are Kaiser of Katsoaru,” it declared with a smile on its face.

“I am?”

The Kaiser nodded, its smile widening as if it was thinking of a joke. “You know Manus and Marcinus, which would you pick as your heir?”

I smiled back at the Kaiser. “I am not Kaiser mighty one.”

It laughed. “No, you are not. Tell me anyway, which would you choose?”

“I do not know mighty one, both of your offspring are very accomplished.”

The Kaiser chuckled. “I like you Nebud.” It said, before turning back to the gymnasium. “I like you. If only all the nobles in this Acropolis were like you, if only they kept their opinions on the matter to themselves. But they don’t. The nobles prefer Manus. Only the bannerets rally around Marcinus, but after its display during the bout this afternoon, even they are shifting to Manus. The commoners and the imps like Marcinus. Unfortunately, the commoners and the imps do not matter.”

Was this it then? I thought, was this the reason I had to take Marcinus’ eye? But even that made no sense to me. How would taking Marcinus eye affect the choosing of an heir? If the voice wanted me to kill Marcinus then I would know that this was why, but it hadn’t said kill, just take the eye.

“Master.” A royal imp emerged from the fog door which led to the Kaiser’s suite. “The feast will soon be upon us.”

The Kaiser turned to nod at the imp, then it looked at me. “I will spar with you.” It declared. “Some day soon Nebud, you will match your skill with the Kaiser of Katsoaru. Are you up to the challenge?”

Yes, I thought gleefully. To the Kaiser I replied, “if it please you mighty one.”

The Kaiser nodded. Its smile turned sad as it looked back at its offspring. “Marcinus.” It called out the name again, and then it walked away, shaking its head as it left.

I was left alone on the balcony with nothing left to occupy me save watching Marcinus fight and pondering on the Kaiser’s words. It wasn’t long before Marcinus and its bannerets left and I was standing alone in the gymnasium without the sounds of swords to take my focus from the emptiness of the room. I left then, making my way back through the hallways to Manus’ suite. The Chateau was teeming with life. Imps ran around the walkways carrying food and clothes to and from different areas of the palace. I knew that this was all being done in preparation for the grand feast which the Kaiser had ordered me to attend. There was no preparation for me to do. I had taken advantage of the guards’ cleaning facilities when it had been offered after my fight. The okun in those facilities was too small for a swim. So, I’d simply used the liquid to wash away the sludge. I knew that there was a feast after and so I allowed an imp to polish my feather, but the imp did not do the task justice, not as Musa would have.

@Fazemood Lol, you and Nebud will get more fights soon

@tunjilomo Thank you. So, ahh, I wasn't sure that anyone will catch this, weldone! Your memory is very good. It is the same thing that the boy created in the last marked series book. The answer to your other questions is actually a HUGE marked series spoiler, so you'll have to wait till the reckoning to find out

@ayshow6102 thank you for thanking me and yes I am really female. Why? Are you doubting me?

@barag I love your attention to detail. Great catch about the edge of Manus's robe touching the cup! But that's all I'll say. I don't want to spoil anything

“No.” Manus spoke under its breath.

Loud cheers erupted, greeting Marcinus’ advent. I noticed then the full extent of the arena. There were other areas like the one we stood in, filled with uspecs. Those areas did not seem to have any fog covering them as the uspecs leaned over the railing to wave at the imperial one. Loud cries of the uspec’s name were chanted like a song. The greeting reminded me of my days in the pits and the screams of ‘irira’ which would greet me. I remembered the song that the Uspecipytes would sing as they hailed me. At least now I knew why the other set of uspecs had been so angry. They had been Kuworytes. It must have killed them to see an irira rule victorious in the pits. The cheers continued, as Marcinus slumbered in, its sword hanging loosely from its hand.

I found myself repeating Manus’ words of fear at the sight of the drunken fool swaying in the dome as if it did not know that it could be killed. The Kaiser had stopped talking. It leaned forward in its seat as Manus stretched its head forward, closer to the line of bannerets keeping us away from the Kaiser.

Marcinus’ opponent had the bulk of a warrior. It was shorter than Marcinus was, but it had the iron spikes of a boga on its chest. The uspec had three outer eyes around its face, but those eyes would be useless in the equipoise. The uspec fought with a club. The ball end of the club had blades running across it. Any of those blades could easily cut through Marcinus in the uspec’s current state. What was it thinking? Could it fight while drunk?

Marcinus attacked first. As soon as its sword lifted in the air, I had the answer to my question. It was as if Marcinus could not manage the weight of its own weapon. It tried to lift the weapon up, and instead, it fell to the sludge ground. Marcinus tried crawling away on its elbows, using its knees for support, but the uspec pounced on it. It kicked Marcinus in its stomach, sending the uspec to its back in the sludge. Then the opponent rose its feet and brought it down hard on Marcinus’ unprotected stomach.

The crowd was silent.

The uspec repeated its beating, and then it rose its club in the air. Everything froze as the uspec’s club lowered, drawing closer to Marcinus. Was this the end? I thought as the glint of the blades approached Marcinus. What would become of me if Marcinus died before I could steal its eye? I could not leave Katsoaru without that eye. I found myself moving forward, past Manus towards the line of bannerets.

“Stop!” one of the bannerets yelled, its hand going to the hilt of its cutlass. My hand went to my cutlass too. As I was now a guard of an imperial one, I was allowed to keep my weapons around them. I was so determined to reach Marcinus that I would have torn down the bannerets in my way, if Marcinus’ progenitor did not stop the uspec before I could pull my cutlass out.

The Kaiser rose from its highchair. It bent, extending its hand backwards, underneath the chair. When it rose, it had a metal net in its hand. It lashed out with that net, tearing through the fog, and the dome, and knocking the club away from the uspec’s hand before it could reach Marcinus.

I exhaled in relief.

Suddenly, I became aware of my surroundings, particularly the angry bannerets glaring at me. They did nothing but glare as I took my hand off the hilt of my cutlass and moved back, away from them.

“Jubar! Danim!” The Kaiser’s roar filled the area, reverberating through the cloudy air.

The bannerets that I had seen with Marcinus in its hovel appeared. They fell to their knee in front of the Kaiser. “Get it!” The Kaiser barked out the order, pointing its finger angrily towards the dome. A pious one appeared. It placed its hand on the wall of fog and the fog drifted away, creating an open space through which the uspecs could walk into the dome. They ran over to Marcinus and helped the drunken uspec to its feet. Marcinus still swayed as they supported it, maneuvering it back towards the Kaiser.

Marcinus dropped to its knees on the foam ground by the Kaiser’s feet. Sounds came from Marcinus’ mouth, but whatever it was saying was slurred.

The sound only seemed to make the Kaiser angrier. “You fool! How dare you disgrace our line in this manner?” The Kaiser yelled. Then it turned around to regard the uspecs avidly devouring the scene. Its jaw clenched. It turned to stare at the bannerets. “Get it out of my sight before I have the two of you scourged.”

Quickly, the bannerets pulled Marcinus to its feet and rushed it out of the area. Marcinus kept making sounds, but it was too drunk for anyone to hear whatever it was that it tried to say. Manus watched Marcinus leave with a deep frown on its face. It shook its head at its sibling, its expression pained as it turned to stare at their progenitor.

“Mighty one.” One of the two dukes who’d been sitting by the Kaiser spoke up. “You must give the winner its reward.”

The Kaiser turned around to glare at the duke who’d spoken. “Reward? That uspec tried to kill my offspring, before my eyes! You think I should reward it?”

“The rules of the bout are clear. The fight must continue until the loser concedes defeat.”

I could tell from the clenched fists that the Kaiser was enraged. I did not even need to reach into my anger to ascertain the cause of the Kaiser’s anger. I could tell from its bearing that the Kaiser would rather go back on its word than give a reward to the uspec who’d almost killed Marcinus. The Kaiser cared deeply for its offspring. It was obvious.

“Mighty one,” Manus called out, “if I may?”

The Kaiser’s gaze turned to Manus. It sighed, then it gestured for Manus to come forward. The bannerets parted making way for Manus.

Manus bowed in greeting.

“None of that.” The Kaiser cut it off briskly.

Manus rose. “It is true that the rules of the bout say that a reward must be given to the winner, and that a fight continues until one fighter concedes. But pater, I cannot allow that uspec to receive the wealth. It would have killed Marcinus.”

“What do we do?” The Kaiser asked.

“The rules also state that during the last bout, the winner must defend its status if any choose to challenge it. It only wins the fortune after it beats all others.” Manus stretched out its hand towards me. I was suddenly the subject of a large number of uspec eyes. “Nebud is a skilled pugilist pater, better even than Marcinus. Let Nebud challenge the winner. On my word pater, Nebud will win and get vengeance for Marcinus. Nebud is a friend to Marcinus, it was willing to tear through your bannerets to save Marcinus’ life.”

The Kaiser frowned. “Is this true?” it asked.

Two bannerets nodded. “Yes, mighty one.”

“Come..” it turned to Manus. “what did you say it was called?”

“Nebud, pater.”

“Come Nebud.”

Suddenly the center of attention, I found myself standing a little taller as the bannerets parted. I walked in and then dropped to my knee in front of the Kaiser.

“It is kute!” the Kaiser exclaimed.

“Nebud is loyal to Marcinus and me. It is my noble guard, it serves me.” There was silence and then I heard Manus speak. “Mighty one, with your permission?”

“Rise Nebud.” The Kaiser commanded. It waited till I was on my feet before it turned to nod at Manus.

Manus smiled. “Nebud, this is the mighty undead, Maraci, the Kaiser of Katsoaru.”

I bowed. “Salutations mighty one.”

The Kaiser nodded. “Is what Manus says true? Will you fight for the honor of my line?”

“Yes, mighty one.” I said, giving the only acceptable response.

The Kaiser nodded. It stretched out its hand towards the dome and I felt my heartrate pick up as I walked towards it. The closer I got to the equipoise the more excited I became. As soon as I walked into the dome, my feet sunk into the sludge and it was as if I was back in the pits. This was a skilled fighter, one that had won enough battles to ascend to the final. I reached for its emotions, trying to sense if it was angry that it had been sent another opponent, but I felt nothing. There was no lifeforce in my anger for me to pull on, no pain for me to reach. The dome truly did take away all my magic.

It was a good thing that I did not need it.

I pulled my cutlass out of the sheath as the uspec approached me with its club. Musa and I had never practiced with clubs, still, all I felt was the rush. The uspec took a swing at me, I dodged, lashing out with my cutlass instead. The uspec pulled its club back in time to hit my sword away. I felt the strength in that club. It thrust the club out and I deflected the blow with my sword. I caught the glint of a blade through my leftmost eye as the club came at me from the right. I turned sharply to the left, moving around the uspec’s dagger. I did not leave a wide enough arch as the dagger grazed me on my arm. I hit the uspec in between its ailerons with my elbow.

The uspec turned around swinging. It brought the club and the dagger towards me at the same time. I swung at the club hard enough to liberate the weapon from its wielder’s hand. At the same time I grabbed onto the uspec’s wrist with my other hand. With a tight grip on the wrist, I twisted the hand until the uspec was forced to drop its weapon.

I threw my cutlass down into the sludge. We were both weaponless now, this was my type of fight.

The uspec ran towards me with a smile on its face. The uspec’s chest spikes were grown. They were grown far and sharp enough that it could pierce into me easily if I moved too close. I had fought with bogas before, I knew how to avoid their spikes. It became evident as the uspec edged closer towards me, that it was trying to force me into range of its spikes. It was so focused on getting me into the right position that its calculating gaze stayed on my face and hands.

With the heel of my foot, I kicked the uspec in its right knee. The sound of the bone moving was pleasing. Unprepared for the attack or the pain, the uspec fell to the floor. As soon as its body hit the floor, I kicked it in the face, then I rose my leg up and brought it down hard on its neck. I stumped the neck a second time before the uspec stopped moving. I thought of the pits. I had killed a boga just like this before. Repeated blows to its neck with the weight of my bulk behind it.

The uspec rose its hand in the air and waved it franticly. I stumped on its neck just one more time, before I accepted its gesture of defeat. This uspec had not even lasted as long as the one I had fought in the pits. Of course, the pits had been a fight to the death, so even if that uspec had wanted mercy, it wouldn’t have gotten it.

It took a while for my mind to clear of the rush of the fight and return to the present. I heard the cheers then, the applause. It was nothing as spectacular as the ones that Marcinus had received when it walked in, but then Marcinus was their imperial one, and I was a stranger.

I turned to the Kaiser and walked over when it summoned me. I genuflected in front of the Kaiser, but it ordered me to rise. It had a wide smile on its face as it held out a pouch.

I shook my head. “I did not do it for the money mighty one.” I said.

This seemed to please the Kaiser because it smiled even wider. “Take it Nebud. It is my will that you do.” It insisted.

I took the pouch, noting the golden trim to it. It was a pouch of worth then, but how much, I couldn’t tell. “Gratitude mighty one.” I bowed.

It smiled and then it turned to Manus and nodded in approval at the uspec. “Well done.” It said to Manus before turning back to me. “There is a celebratory feast in the Chateau this evening. You will be there.”

Part 9
--------

“When shall I return?” the noble asked.

Manus shook its head. “Don’t.”

The noble’s eyes widened. “Surely you will need my protection when you represent your line this evening in…”

A curt headshake cut the noble off.

“As you wish.” The noble stated, huffing as it walked away.

Manus ignored the noble. It was one of the ones which had come to escort me to the Chateau the first time I met Manus. Manus and I continued walking. I did not know what I had expected guarding an imperial one to be like, but it was certainly nothing like this. All we’d done all day was sit in Manus’ room surrounded by nobles telling stories they could not possibly think was funny. Though Manus rewarded each storytelling effort with a chuckle. It stared unblinkingly at the uspec telling the story, its face a picture of rapt attention. That attention buoyed the uspecs making them even louder and sillier in the tales they told. I did not know how Manus endured it.

Luckily, we were outside now, walking between tents constructed for the warriors participating in the Kaiser’s bout. Manus had shown no interest in participating, and had only decided to grace the place with its presence for the last bout. I did not know who the opponent was, but I knew that Marcinus would be fighting.

We walked in silence past several temporary hovels obviously erected quickly from baked sludge. We were in the part of the Acropolis reserved for the made nobles and so the clouds were not nearly as thick here as they were in the Chateau. Still, I had put in thirty drops of aqua-sight in each eye. With the added sight, I could see clearly through the clouds, to the different hovels, and the uspecs we came across.

Manus stopped in front of the largest hovel in the lot. Two uspecs guarded the hovel. As soon as they saw Manus, they pulled the curtains to the hovel open.

Marcinus sat on a wooden table, laughing with the imp who poured wine into its cup. I recognized the imp and the two bannerets standing in the room, sharing in the joke. I picked up enough words to understand that they were retelling the story of Marcinus last victory. From what I assumed were greatly exaggerated details, the fight had been one to watch. Another reason I was annoyed that I had missed it. But I had agreed to act as Manus’ noble guard, which meant that I had to be where the uspec was, and the uspec had chosen to stay away from the bout. I could not help wondering why the two siblings were so different. Why wasn’t Manus a fighter as well? Surely fighting was a necessary skill for an imperial.

The bannerets stopped laughing when they saw us. The change in their countenance was quite obvious. The smiles fell away, and were replaced by straight lips and indifferent faces. They curtsied deeply to Manus, then they rose. I could not help feeling their hostility when their gazes turned on me.

Marcinus stopped laughing. With a frown on its face, it turned to face the door. When it saw its sibling, the frown morphed into a look of confusion and then a tentative smile. Then its gaze darted to me and the smile on Marcinus face grew so wide, its teeth showed. “Salutations Manus.” Marcinus greeted its older sibling with a slight neck bow. “I see you brought Nebud, my friend.”

I frowned at Marcinus’ words.

Marcinus chuckled. “Forgive me Nebud, I forgot that I was no friend of yours.”

I curtsied to the uspec. “Salutations imperial one.” I greeted.

It was with the smile still on its face that Marcinus stood from its position perched on the table, and walked towards us. It held its cup of wine in one hand as it sauntered towards us. My eyes caught on the extra glint of the golden armbands. They appeared to have been polished, just for the occasion. Marcinus wore nothing else.

“To what do I owe the honor of your visit, sibling?” Marcinus asked.

Manus’ smile was not as unreserved as Marcinus’, it did not reveal a single tooth. “I’m here to congratulate you and to wish you luck on the last bout. You do our line proud.”

“Gratitude.” Marcinus turned to face me then. “Is it too much to hope that you are here for the same reason Nebud? I cannot lie, I was puzzled when I did not see you on the roster of fighters for pater’s bout. I know the Kaiser would have enjoyed watching you fight.”

Manus’ hand rose in the air. It wore a maroon robe. The sleeve of that robe grazed Marcinus’ cup as Manus moved to tap Marcinus on the shoulder. Then Manus turned to stare at me. “Nebud is my new noble guard.” Manus announced, “it is taking Reynard’s place.”

I may have imagined it, but as soon as Manus said the words, the smile on Marcinus’ face wavered. Where once the smile had appeared genuine, it now seemed strained. It was a strange thing to notice. “Goodluck imperial one.” I said to Marcinus when the silence in the room had reached the point when a statement from me seemed necessary.

Marcinus’ tight lips pulled to the side. “Gratitude.” It said in a strange voice. Then it rose the cup to its lips, and downed the drink. As soon as the cup was empty, it fell from Marcinus hand.

Marcinus swayed and would have fallen if Manus didn’t immediately tighten its grip on Marcinus’ arm.

“What is wrong with you?” Manus scolded. “Why would you bring this disgusting habit into a game that you know means so much to pater?” Then Manus sighed.

The bannerets rushed forward. They both held onto each of Marcinus’ arms, supporting it as it rocked on its feet. The image of the three uspecs standing this way took my mind back to the night of the white fumes. I had seen Marcinus drunk then too, and being supported by these same uspecs.

“Look at yourself.” Manus spat the words out, taking a step back away from Marcinus. Then it shook its head and walked back to its sibling. It placed both hands on the uspec’s neck, a gesture that had the bannerets flinching. “Don’t fight Marcinus. If you go into the last bout drunk as you are, pater will not forgive you.”

Marcinus mumbled together a string of unintelligible words.

Manus sighed. It turned its focus to the bannerets. “If you are truly its friends, you will keep it away from the Kaiser until it is sober.”

Both bannerets appeared to be clenching their teeth, as if they were angry. I reached out through the lifeforce in my anger and found anger in all of them. The bannerets were furious. I picked up traces of mild anger from Marcinus, and even the imp was angry. A quick glance at the imp showed that it was glaring in our direction. I found all of this odd. It was strange enough that I decided to pull my consciousness from the room to focus in on the anger. I knew that if I did this, I could speak to the emotion and see through to its cause. Before I could begin, Manus turned around and walked out of the hovel, shaking its head all the way. I was forced to follow after the uspec, resigning myself to the fact that the anger would forever remain a mystery.

“Marcinus is a fool.” Manus said as soon as we walked out of the hovel. “You would think that on a day as important as this one it would stay away from liquor, but it doesn’t.” Manus stopped walking. It took a deep breath, exhaled, and then looked up at me. It had a mocking smile on its face as it spoke, “I bet you are sorry to see what kind of uspec owns the swan. My sibling is a drunk.” It shook its head. “It was not always this bad, it’s the pressure you see. Marcinus cannot handle the pressure of being considered as our pater’s heir. It is a shame really, Marcinus is such a great fighter.” Then Manus’ smile turned kind, almost pitying, as if it was sorry for the offense it imagined its words had caused me. “You need not concern yourself with that Nebud. Come, let us go to the arena. With any luck my sibling will be smart enough to stay away in its current state.”

As we walked, I allowed my mind to accumulate all that I had learnt. Marcinus was a drunk. It made sense as this was not the first, but the second time that I had seen Marcinus inebriated. But it was such a great fighter. How did Marcinus have the control to stay sober enough to perfect its craft? For some reason, even though the evidence was staring me in the face, I could not believe that Marcinus had so little control over what it imbibed. The way the uspec had fought me, that was an uspec with grace, with strength, not a drunk. Yet, it was a drunk, I had seen it. I shook my head as I tried once again to make sense of the mystery of Marcinus. Was this why I was here to take its eye then? Because it was a drunk? That made absolutely no sense. Who would care that Marcinus was a drunk, who would care enough to want it to lose an eye? An eye. No matter how hard I tried, I could not come up with a good enough reason for anyone wanting Marcinus to lose one eye. Which eye was I to take? Why? Did it matter? If I could not find the reason behind the demand for Marcinus’ eye, then what was I to do? I could not leave this port without that eye.

My contemplation ended when I noted that we had reached the end of the lot with the warriors’ hovels. We stood in front of a portal room barricaded with hard fog. There was a cyan basin resting on a stand. ‘Address’ was etched into the front of the basin, describing the multicolored pebbles which I knew from my reading rested inside the fog-sealed container. I often wondered if there had been basins like this in front of the pits of Hakute. Had uspecs come with their payments to buy addresses to watch me fight? The concept was simple. Each pebble contained the address for a seat in the arena which an uspec could purchase. There was a pricelist stapled to the sides of the stand, showing the type of seats that could be bought. An uspec could place money into the fog and a pebble, the address, would be returned. The uspec could then put that address into the quicksand in the portal and it would be taken to its seat in the arena.

Manus slipped its hand into an interior pocket in its coat. It pulled out a cyan piece, one formed into the shape of money, with markings all around it. It dropped the piece into the cyan fog which covered the top of the basin. A second later, a golden pebble came out and was brought to rest on the now hard fog. Manus picked the pebble up, off the fog, and walked into the portal. It waited till I was standing beside it, and then it dropped the golden pebble into the hard sand. Once the pebble touched the ground, the quicksand softened and pulled us in.

We were led to an area filled with noble uspecs. The uspecs cleared, creating a space for Manus once they saw it. Through the gap they created, we walked to the front of the area, to a large empty space with three seated uspecs. One sat on a golden highchair, five golden armbands on each arm and dressed in a purple coat. The other two sat on low chairs to either side of the Kaiser. They both had four golden armbands on their arms. I ascertained from those armbands that they were dukes. A row of bannerets separated the half of the room filled with uspecs from the half which had only the Kaiser and the dukes.

Manus rose its hand up in the air. Whatever it meant to do with its hand was completely forgotten as its gaze turned ahead. I followed the direction of its gaze and was shocked at the sight of the green dome. There was a wall of transparent fog cordoning off the area, separating the Kaiser from the dome. With my extra sight, I could see through the dome, to the uspec standing within it.

“What is that?” I asked.

Manus turned to stare at me. It frowned at my question and then it chuckled. “I suppose not every port is lucky enough to be bound so closely to Chuspecip.” The words were said in a teasing tone. I found that strange for an Uspecipyte.

“I don’t understand.”

Manus nodded. “According to the tales of our ancestors, Chuspecip itself created this equipoise, the great dome. The equipoise is the only thing that exists in the spectral existence with the power to render all those within without magic. Pansophy, spectra, emotions, none of it works in the equipoise. The only skill a person has underneath the dome, is the school of its fighting. Route creates that dome, it is magic only Chuspecip has. The Kaiser is very proud of the glorious history of our ancestors, who were so closely linked to Chuspecip, that the founder constructed this dome at their behest. All bouts are done here. Uspecipyte warriors and nobles are invited and the Kaiser has the opportunity to show off our close familial link to Chuspecip.”

“Gratitude imperial one.” I replied, staring at the marvel. Manus spoke of the dome with disgust, and I finally understood why it had stayed away from the bout. Manus was no warrior. All it had was its magic, a fight where it could not use its magic would hold no appeal to it. Not like it would to a warrior like me. I wished all fights were done in areas like this. Equipoise. I committed the word to memory, deciding that I would have to find tomes about it. Now that I had the means to acquire knowledge, I refused to return to my previous state of ignorance.

Marcinus stumbled into the dome.

@Dathypebruv Yes, more has come

@Fazemood Yes, I know what nama means in Hausa, that's why I used it, lol. So, Osezele went to the fourth existence, and at this point we have no idea what the creatures in that existence are called. Thank you, I'm trying to keep it interesting

@phoenixchap I say listen to your gut, it's definitely telling you something

@presh654 I am a female, and thank you for appreciating my twisted mind

@ayshow6102 Thank you for reading. I think you're onto something there about Chike...

@Afz9095 I concur with Fazemood, you're observation on Chike is quite thoughtful, but that's all I'll say for now. Soon, the truth will be revealed

@Tuhndhay It's good to see you back. I'm so sorry to hear about your phone, thankfully you were not hurt. I'm so happy you got the chance to check up on us today. Thank you

“Well if you insist, noble one. That tome is very rare, only a few copies exist in the entire existence. The normal price is a piece of merit, but I will give it to you for half that price, as an apology for the young uspec’s behavior.”

“A thousand pieces of value for one tome?” I asked astonished. I had bought hundreds of tomes on the inter-port trail, and combined they did not add up to the price the uspec was demanding for the one book.

“That tome is not like others. It is filled with firsthand accounts, with pictures of a place that very few have been to. It is a tale of sorrow and daring, one that an uspec risked its life to write. Each copy is handwritten, not made by imps in a factory, but written by the uspec’s own hand. It only had enough time to write a few before it died. This one is the original, the first copy it wrote.”

I did not know if I believed the uspec, but it did make a fairly compelling case for why it should cost so much. None of the other tomes I’d read had been handwritten. They’d all been factory-made. With narrowed eyes, I reached into a pocket in my belt and pulled out a piece of merit.

“I will go and get the change.” The uspec said.

“No. I pay full price.” I stated.

“Gratitude noble one.”

Musa picked the tome off the stand, stared at it for a few seconds and then placed it into its satchel bag. I could tell from the curious way it had examined the book that Musa had never come across it before. The imp would demand to read it after I was done then. It felt good to know that I would have some information before the imp. Knowing Musa, it would be done with the tome in hours while it would take me days to read.

We continued our walk then, leaving the shop with the tomes.

We had just walked by two more shops, when a horn blared through the air. The horn was blown a few more times. Uspecs and imps rushed forward. They pushed back counters, widening the space in the middle of the shop, the path which connected this one to the others. I found something strange about the feverish way in which the people worked. Finally, there was a large empty path in the shop. I saw that the other shops had done the same thing, rearranging their stores and pushing counters back so that there was a large gap in the connecting path.

Two royal imps strode forward. I recognized the uniform the imps wore from my previous visits to the Chateau.

“Who is it ma?” a store imp asked one of the royal ones.

“The Kaiser and its offspring.” The royal imp replied.

The gasps of shock were quickly followed by whispers. “Is it stopping?” the question was asked in an excited voice.

“No, it is passing by.” The imp replied. The royal imps continued on their way.

As soon as the Kaiser’s convoy grew close, silence descended on the shop. The whisperings stopped, as the onlookers, imps and uspecs alike, stretched their necks for a view. I stood as I was, simply watching the display. Excitement was plainly etched on all the faces I saw.

Soon the convoy reached us. At the front of it were about ten royal imps, two of which held giant horns in their hands. I counted at least thirty soaru bannerets following behind the imps. Then there was a mix of halcyons and adherents behind them. About fifty nobles appeared then, the number of armbands varying from one to four.

Behind the nobles, there was a thin line of noble guards, a line filled with two-band nobles and one silver sheathed banneret. I saw Marcinus first. It was dressed in a sleeveless robe, which matched the one Manus wore. Marcinus and Manus were separated by another uspec, one slightly shorter than they both were. It had more bulk than Marcinus. I could tell from the five golden bands it wore on each arm that it was the Kaiser. Marcinus stood to the right of the Kaiser and Manus stood to its left.

I dropped to my knee, genuflecting with my head bowed, as the Kaiser drew closer. Musa knelt as all the other imps did, with their foreheads touching the floor. The commoners knelt on both knees, with both of their hands touching the floor and their heads bowed.

After the Kaiser passed, I rose to my feet. There was another line of guards behind the Kaiser. That line was followed by about twenty bannerets. They all walked by then, leaving, in their wake, another bustle of commotion as the shop workers rushed to put their counters back in order.

It was in this commotion that an imp dressed in a poor-quality tunic ran into Musa.

Musa grabbed onto the imp to keep itself from falling backwards onto the edge of a counter. The imp turned around then.

Its empty eye sockets darted first to me, then to Musa and then back…the imp stopped to stare at Musa. It gaped at my imp for a long time before it shook its head and began struggling to pry its arm free of Musa’s hold.

“Chike.” Musa sounded shocked.

The imp froze. Then it tried pulling its arm away again. When it couldn’t free itself from Musa’s hold, it shook its head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Please release me.”

The imp was shorter than Musa was, but, I could tell that it had spent many more years as an umani before dying.

“I know it’s you Chike.” Musa stated. “I could pick you out of a crowded room filled with men who look just like you.” I could tell from the teasing tone that Musa used now, that it was somehow familiar with this imp. “What happened to you? Where did you go?”

The imp straightened. “Let go off me. I do not know you, you must have me mixed with someone else. My master awaits, so please release me.”

Musa released the imp and it ran away.

“What was that?” I asked. “Do you know the imp?”

Musa nodded with a frown on its face. “It used to serve with me in Lahooni. It also belonged to master Calam. It disappeared the day that master Calam and the young master were killed.”

Shrugging, I said, “perhaps it ran away.”

“No. Chike was close to master Calami. If it was not dictated that I would be the only osin kept by the Kaisers of Lahooni, master Calami would have made it osin as well. After master Calami died, it swore to serve the young master, master Calami’s offspring as faithfully as it would have served its progenitor. When master Calam ordered me to go to Hakute, even though I did not want to leave them in such an uncertain time, I left knowing that Chike was there. Chike is a great fighter master, it does not have pansophy itself, but it was permitted to siphon whatever it wanted from master Calam. When I returned and Chike was not there, I assumed that it had been captured and sapped for its defense of the young master. The only way Chike would have escaped being sapped was if it chose not to fight, if it abandoned the masters to their fate.”

“Not all imps are as loyal to their masters as you Musa. Most would rather run than fight and be sapped.”

“Not Chike.” Musa said with determination. “And if Chike was cowardly enough to do that, then I want to know. I want it to look me in my sockets and tell me.”

I could tell this was important to the imp. “Very well,” I said. “Tomorrow, when I go to the Chateau, you may go and find the imp.”

Musa gasped. “No master, I would rather be close to the Chateau, in case you need me.”

I frowned at the imp. “No, I told you already, Manus does not want you in the Chateau. Find your imp friend instead. Contrary to what you may believe, I can survive without your protection.”

Musa laughed.

Part 8
--------

Musa looked distinguished in its new jacket. The garment was made of fine leather and had interior pouches where important items could be stored. The imp admired the jacket, brushing its hand over the exterior. Its fingers traced the studded buttons at the wrist. I found the imp’s study of the jacket awing.

“You act as if you have never owned anything this fine.” I stated.

Musa’s fingers stilled. It turned to face me. Smiling wistfully, it said, “I had clothes this fine when I served as osin to the Kaisers. After master Calam died, all of my belongings were taken from me. This jacket sends me back to a past life master.”

I nodded with understanding. Turning, so the imp could ponder in solitude, I scanned the market we walked through. This market was so unlike the ones that we’d visited on the inter-port trail. There were no stalls, no hawkers crying out their wares at the top of their voices. None of that here. The shops in the market were partly dwellings. It had an open design so that buyers could walk through one store and into another, all while under the shade provided by a glass roof. Each item for sale was placed on fine counters, and the owners of each shop walked around their stalls with their aids, simply waiting to be called on for service. I much preferred the order here.

We walked along a path connecting a shop which sold smoked soft rooster flesh to another where the owner had several stunning glass decanters filled with varying colors of wine. A bottle of dark blue wine had my mind returning to the previous night. I’d had difficulty sleeping after returning from Manus’ room. I thought about the imperial one, about the magistrate it had turned to a soft rooster, and all the things that it had said to me. I thought of the inter-port trail and the murder I had witnessed, and I tried to make meaning of it all. Why was I in Katsoaru? I wanted to know whose voice echoed in my head, pushing me, driving me to do a thing which I could find no reason for. Why Marcinus’ eye? If the voice had asked me to kill Marcinus, then I would understand that it was an enemy, an uspec who wanted Marcinus out of the way. But taking the uspec’s eye? What effect would that have?

On and on the questions had barraged me, making sleep difficult. My eyes had only been shut for a few minutes when I heard knocking on my room door. Musa delivered the message from the royal imp; Manus had decided that I would start the next day. Tomorrow instead of today.

“I forgot to thank you master.” Musa’s words pulled me out of my musings.

I frowned at the imp. “For what?”

“The money master.”

I shook my head. “I should have thought of it sooner. You needed a change of clothes.”

“Here is the remainder.” It said, extending a large pouch towards me.

“You did not spend it all?” I asked with an eyebrow lifted.

“Master,” Musa laughed, “I could not spend a piece of worth in a single day, not even with the inflated prices in this market. The jacket was the finest thing I bought, and that was only worth half a piece of merit.” It stretched its hand out again.

“Keep it.”

Musa gasped. “Tha…”

I shook my head before it could finish. “What do you think of Manus?” I asked instead, the question bursting out of me before I fully considered it. Now that I had asked, I wondered why I hadn’t sooner. Musa was smart, it might notice things that I missed.

Musa took its time placing the large pouch into the new satchel bag it had bought to hold all of its new clothes. Then it shrugged. “It is not my place to comment on the imperial.”

My eyebrows pulled in towards the middle of my face as I studied the side of the imp’s head. “And Marcinus?” I asked, taking care to watch the imp.

As soon as I mentioned the uspec’s name, Musa lit up. It smiled. “Marcinus is very kind master. It reminds me so much of Master Calami. The way it fought against you, that was how master Calami would fight. When master Calami first started fighting, it made sure that all warriors knew that it would not hold an injury they inflicted against them. It had the best fighters trying to beat it, and it absorbed the pain, fell to its knees and rose up, always ready to fight again. It fought with me a number of times too, it said that I was its favorite sparring partner, that I kept it on its toes. It was lying of course, master Calami was a much better fighter than I am, but that was just the kind of uspec the master was. It was arrogant,” Musa stopped here to chuckle, shaking its head as if partaking of a joke only it could understand, before finishing with, “but it was kind.” And then Musa sighed.

My progenitor, I thought, the words locked in my throat, their weight all the more palpable as I knew I could never say them. Whenever I heard Musa speak of Calami and Calam, I felt a pain which I could not describe. I yearned to know them, to know the family that I had been denied. I thought for a moment how fulfilling it would have been to train under Calami, to spar with the uspec, to beat my progenitor, but in the way friends did. It would have taken joy in my victory, it would have been proud of me. Would I have called it mater as Marcinus called its progenitor? Would that foreign concept of ‘love’ have applied to me and my progenitor? I shook the thoughts away, pushing the grief down before I could dwell on it. Whatever may or may not have been was gone, forever lost to me.

When my attention returned to my surroundings, I noted that we had reached a new shop, this one held much more fascination to me than the previous ones which we had walked through.

It was a store filled with tomes.

Noting my interest, the shop owner approached me. It bowed in greeting when my attention lifted to meet it. “Salutations noble one.” It said. Its voice was frail. It stood with a hunch. The uspec had two outer eyes filled. It had only three tentacles emerging from its waist. I could tell from the stumps that the others had fallen off. The uspecs ailerons were mostly empty, and the feathers which remained were crinkled. My study of the uspec informed that it was long past its prime. This was an uspec that would die soon.

I nodded in greeting at the shop owner.

“Noble one?” I heard an excited voice call out from behind a stack of tomes. Riding a nama, a six-legged creature with curved horns sprouting from its head, the young uspec emerged on the scene. The nama was a fast creature, not as fast as some, but much faster than most. At the speed the creature was going, I expected them to crash into me. How old was this uspec? No tentacles, no outer eyes, very short. Probably only a year old. Too young to kill it if it ran into me then.

Sensing the coming collision, the young uspec began to pull on the nama’s horns in its attempt to slow the animal down. When none of its yanking worked, the uspec yelled, “pater!” as the nama raced onwards towards me.

The old uspec moved too slowly. Rustling sounds coming from somewhere behind me told me that there was yet another uspec in this store.

When the nama was a few paces ahead, I grabbed onto the creature by its horn, stopping it. I latched onto the young uspec’s upper arm before it was sent toppling onto the ground by the sudden halt.

“Apologies noble one.” A new uspec and the old one, both spoke together.

Letting go of the nama’s horn, I turned to face the new arrival. The first thing I noticed was the wooden tray it held. The tray was filled with some of the finest whips I had ever seen. The whips were made of gleaming black leather.

“Please take one noble one.” The uspec said, extending the tray towards me. “As an apology for my offspring.”

I turned to stare at Musa. Musa’s mock shiver made me laugh. I shook my head at the uspec. “No need. I suppose we must permit the young to be young.”

“Gratitude noble one.”

I nodded. My eyes caught on a large tome. I walked towards it. The tome stood on display on one of the store’s counters. It was bound in crimson hard paper. THE ISLE OF SHUNS was written boldly in gold ink on the cover of the book.

“How much is this?” I found myself asking.

“That large thing?” the old uspec’s voice rose in reply. Slowly, it approached me, and when it did, its puzzled gaze snapped from my face to the book. It shook its head. “No, you do not want that noble one.” It said. “A banneret like you will vastly prefer reading that,” it pointed to a much smaller tome. “That is a great guidebook to increase a warrior’s stamina. You could even finish it before the Kaiser’s bout tomorrow. I have heard many a tale of bannerets who’ve won similar competitions from reading that book.”

“The Kaiser’s bout?” I asked.

The old uspec’s brows furrowed. “Well, yes noble one. Once every year, the Kaiser hosts a tournament for all the noble fighters of Uspecipyte ports. Every year it offers up a golden pouch, thirty pieces of worth, they say, to the fighter who wins. The imperial Marcinus has won every year since it reached its prime. This year, with the naming ceremony only a few days away, it will be even more important that Marcinus shows its strength.”

The naming ceremony had not yet been done? For some reason I assumed that Manus had already been named heir. I remembered Marcinus’ clear deference to its sibling and just assumed it was because its older sibling had been proclaimed as future Kaiser. But it hadn’t?

“Who do the people prefer?” I asked.

“Master!” Musa gasped, its head turned, darting from side to side as if scared that I would be struck down for daring to ask the question.

The old uspec was studying me carefully. “The people have no preference of course, noble one.” It said. “Whoever the Kaiser chooses will be the future Kaiser and all will celebrate that choice.”

“Of course, as I thought.” I replied. I turned back to the tome which had begun the conversation. The isle of shuns, what an intriguing name. I wanted to read it. I had read a dozen books like the one the old uspec suggested. They were all the same, utter rubbish. “How much?” I asked, gesturing again to my preferred tome.

popeshemoo:
Wow... Wednesday is just few hours away..
Can't wait

This brings me joy. Thank you! And Wednesday has arrived!!!

@Fazemood lol, yeah, I enjoyed this one too . I had a feeling that Musa might grow on you. You're thinking of all the right things. I love this! I think, in some ways, this volume (starting when Nebud entered Katsoaru) is where the real story starts to form. We're are now finally seeing how Nebud rose to the position that it is in today. So, I hope you keep enjoying it. I know I'm going to try to keep it suspenseful

@cassbeat Upgraded or downgraded how? I didn't understand that part of your comment. But yes, the uspecs have found a way to use pansophy to share lust. It's amazing hahaha

@ayshow6102 as in, real congrats!

@phoenixchap Yes, Musa is indeed a blessing to Nebud. Is Marcinus vulnerable, how so? We'll sha see very soon if Marcinus is indeed vulnerable

“Good,” Manus said approvingly, “I had a feeling you would. You are too strong to be rendered comatose by the lust in the fumes. But not too strong for the truth, lust only leaves truth in its wake.” It smiled at me, then it turned back to the uspec in the cage. “I was Nitan’s patron, just as I was Reynard’s. I funded Nitan’s career, I am why Nitan is a magistrate. You would think that my patronage would buy me loyalty, but no. Nitan lied to me.” Manus sighed. I could see the disappointment it felt written plainly on its face.

“Pious ones always think that they are above the rules of society. They think that once they have pansophy they need not answer to anyone. That is a fallacy. The one weakness of pansophy is that it is a contact magic. You see spectra has no such limitations. I took Nitan’s strength and it crumbled, easy pickings. Now with the okun, the uspec will remain too weak to use its magic.” Manus exhaled. “It should never have come to this Nebud. All I ask is loyalty. Is that too much? It was not for Reynard. Reynard died loyal to me. But this magistrate, this common uspec who I made into something, could not remain loyal to me. It lied to me. It told me that imps killed Reynard, it convinced the other uspecs in the room to corroborate its story. I went back to question some of those uspecs and they confessed. They said it happened as you said Nebud, that no one actually saw the person that killed Reynard. Nitan, the magistrate that I made, my client, made them lie to me.”

Manus’ head fell. It placed its hand against its face, tracing the perimeter of an outer eye. Then it sighed. “I am not wicked, at least I do not like to be. Those uspecs lied to me. When given a choice between an imperial and a magistrate, they chose the magistrate. Some live right here in Katsoaru, they are not soaru uspecs, but they live here, in our port. I am their imperial, and yet they lie to me. They are not loyal to me Nebud, but when they confessed their treason, what did I do? Did I throw them in a cell? Did I have them scourged? Did I kill them? No, I forgave them. I understand that they are commoners, not wise enough to know better and so I forgave them. They told the truth and I released them.”

“I was willing to do the same with Nitan, I was willing to forgive it. But it lied to me. Continually, it denied that any pansophy had been used in killing Reynard. It denied that there were even pious ones in that inn. Do you believe it?” The last question was asked in a yell, and truly, I could not believe it. Why would the magistrate lie when there were so many witnesses? What was it trying to hide? “It said there were no pious ones, but there were, five yielders. Five! But Nitan lies to me. It chooses to protect other pious ones of a different Order. It chooses those pious over me, its patron, the one who made it. Tell me Nebud, where should ones loyalties lay? With old friends, generous friends who gave freely whenever you were in need? Or with new friends, friends who only claim you as such in affluence?”

Manus stopped speaking and I could tell it was waiting for a reply. “Old friends imperial one.” I stated, wondering as I spoke if I still sounded like one under the influence of the white fumes.

Manus nodded gravely. “It pains me to do this Nebud. It pains me to treat a friend as such. It pains me, but what am I to do? Five hundred pieces of worth gone. It is a fortune Nebud, and the sole responsibility for its loss rests on me. I must find the wealth. Nitan leaves me without a choice.”

After saying that, Manus took a step back.

Red clouds appeared in the cage.

The clouds were luminescent, producing bright red rays as all natural clouds do. With my extra sight it hurt to stare into the light, but I found myself unable to look away. I watched as the cloud encircled the magistrate. With dazed eyes, I watched the magistrate begin to change into something else within the constraint of the clouds. The extra sight allowed me to see clearly through the clouds, it let me watch as the uspec morphed into a soft rooster, covered with shiny green scales. Then the clouds went away, but the okun underneath the magistrate – now rooster – remained. This was spectra, I thought as a chill spread through me. This was the magic of the soaru eyes, the magic of changing a creature’s identity. I had never seen it done, but as I stared at the rooster, I wished to never see it again. Would Manus keep the magistrate trapped as a rooster for the rest of its life?

“Come Nebud.” Manus called. It took one last pain-filled look at the rooster, and then it shook its head and began walking back through the room, between the cages of animals.

Now, I stared at each animal with new eyes. Were these animals, or were they actually uspecs whose identity had been changed to that of an animal? A hound’s eyes followed me as I walked out, behind the imperial one, and I could not help wondering if it was an uspec who watched me.

I felt a sense of fear which I found alien. I did not like the fear, but I could not shake it. It was one thing to die, it was another entirely to be trapped as something else. I felt my heart pounding as Manus came to a stop in the center of the vacant space on the other side of the room of caged animals who could be uspecs.

I saw true misery in its eyes as it stared at me. I reached out with my pain and, contrary to my beliefs, I actually felt pain there. This was not some guise of affliction, the uspec was truly in pain. I felt the misery in its pain, I felt the despair. It squared its shoulders and tried to smile at me, but even that smile was weak.

“I am sorry you had to see that, but it was necessary.” Manus said. “I did not want you to live in fear of the magistrate. I could have told you that the magistrate would not be able to punish you for telling me the truth, but you would not have believed me, not fully. Now you have seen for yourself, you know that the magistrate can do you no harm. Without you Nebud, I would have had no trail to follow, no way to recover the growth which had been stolen from Reynard, from me. I am truly grateful. You have found a friend in me Nebud, and I take care of my friends.”

I was stunned speechless. If the situation wasn’t so serious, perhaps I would have laughed. Why did the magistrate lie? Why not tell Manus that Reynard had been killed by an invisible person? What was the magistrate trying to hide? I thought about Manus’ words and knew that there was some truth to it. It had made me watch the power it wielded, the one that could so easily change an uspec into something else. I believed that it had made me watch it partly because it wanted me to know I was safe from the magistrate. But my experiences with Fajahromo made me doubt that was the sole reason. I had a strong feeling that I had also been made to watch so that I could see the extent of Manus’ power.

Still, I nodded. “I am honored imperial one.” I lied.

Manus smiled. “Are you truly?”

“Yes, imperial one.”

Manus exhaled. “I knew that I could trust you. But I could not risk it. Tell me Nebud, can I trust you?”

“Yes, imperial one.”

Manus smiled. “I know that you say the truth. With lust in you, you are forced to tell the truth. Why did you come to Katsoaru?”

“I wanted to visit a soaru port imperial one. I just felt called to this one.”

Manus nodded. It walked closer to me and placed its hand on my shoulder. “I have lost a loyal friend Nebud. Reynard was a great fighter, it was part of my inner circle, a noble guard to accompany me to events. Now, I find myself down one guard. The other noble guards I have are good, but none nearly as good a fighter as you are. I watched you fight Marcinus. I want you to take Reynard’s place as my noble guard. Will you do it?”

Every cell in my body told me to say no. I wanted to have nothing more to do with this uspec who had turned a magistrate into a soft rooster. The green scales covering the rooster’s body flashed in my mind. Would that be me next? I wondered. Yet, somehow, I found myself saying, “It will be my honor, imperial one.” I bowed.

Manus slapped me on the shoulder. “Excellent! You start tomorrow Nebud. I am truly pleased. Come.”

It took its hand off me and it walked over to the door. I followed it. We walked back down the hallway. We returned to the familiar curtains of the room which had had the white fumes. A guard held the curtains open and we walked in.

“Nebud will join us!” Manus announced to the room. I could tell that the haze of the white fumes had passed, leaving the uspecs looking cognizant. They cheered the announcement. “Another round of lust!” Manus ordered.

I watched as the naked imps returned to the center of the room. They drew close together. They touched, stroking each other’s features as they began to dance to the music.

“May I leave imperial one?” I asked, not willing to endure another round of the intoxicants. While the pleasure was euphoric, I did not want to be left vulnerable. “I would like to prepare for my first day serving you.” I hoped my words seemed honest enough. Though, as the uspec thought that I was still under the influence of the fumes, I doubted that it would question me.

“Of course, Nebud.” Manus replied. It snapped its fingers and an imp appeared, with a small bottle filled with a dark blue liquid. Manus handed the bottle over to me. “To purge the effects of the lust.” It said.

“Gratitude imperial one.”

Manus nodded. “Nebud.” It called out before I could leave. I stopped and turned around to face the uspec. “Never bring your imp with you to the Chateau again.” After saying that, it turned its back on me and walked back to join the other uspecs lounging in their beds, preparing for another round of the white fumes.

I could not walk out of that room fast enough. I had to stifle my irritation at the uspec’s orders. How dare it tell me what I could or could not do with my own slave? Why hadn’t it been Manus’ eye the voice in my head wanted. Why Marcinus? As part of Manus’ inner-circle, I would have access to the uspec. It would not be too hard to get the eye.

As we walked away from the room, I noticed three uspecs walking towards us. Marcinus walked in between both uspecs. It had its arms draped over the uspecs’ shoulders as it moved. The closer I got to it, the more aware I became of its drunken state. It swayed heavily as it walked, so much so that the uspecs by its sides appeared to be carrying, more than supporting it. They passed by me without glancing my way.

I found something troubling about Marcinus’ state. It wasn’t like I had never seen a drunk uspec before, it just seemed so strange to see Marcinus that way. I shook my head, chastising myself. What did I really know about Marcinus?

Part 7
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The curtains had been given form. On sighting us, one of the uspec guards placed the tip of a baton-like instrument against the hard curtains, and they softened. I noted the white fumes drifting out through the open gaps between the curtains and the walls. Musa walked forward first. It pushed open one set of curtains and held it open for me to walk through.

The effect of the fumes hit me as soon as I walked into the room. I had used a liberal amount of the aqua-sight before leaving our suite, so I could see through the congested room. The arrangement of seats had been changed so that the lounging beds were packed closer together. Stools were scattered around the room, filled with food and drinks. I noticed several more imps, dressed in the royal tunic, lining the walls of the room. Two, holding baton-like keys similar to the one the guard had used to remove the form, stood by the door. Once we walked through, they placed the keys by the curtains, returning the form to it.

I took a breath, cautiously inhaling the fumes filling the room. I had no words in my vocabulary to describe the pleasure I felt. It was happiness, but somehow more than the normalcy of joy. It made my heart pound with exhilaration, as if in the throes of a great fight. The energy in the fumes I inhaled was primal, it was ecstasy of a form which felt extremely blissful, and wholly unnatural.

Soft musical notes drifted through the room. I saw pious ones standing at the corner of a mat in the center of the room, and on that mat, were two naked imps engaged in a dance the likes of which I had never seen before. The imps had streak-less skins and possessed both eyes. I could tell from their chests that they were both of different umani genders.

My pleasure increased as I continued to inhale the fumes.

There was something so different about the dancing. One of the imps, the one with breasts, was being carried by the other imp. It had its pelvis joined with the others, its legs wrapped around the other’s waist. That imp was bent backwards, its back was arched so far back that its palms lay flat on the floor, and its head was only a few inches above the ground. Its waist undulated against the other imp. The imp, the one standing, had one of its hands on the other imp’s waist while the other caressed its breasts. That imp made thrusting motions, pushing its pelvis against the others.

“This is distasteful master.” Musa said.

I turned to stare at the imp. It appeared unaffected by the fumes drifting around the room. I found myself smiling at the imp even though I did not feel particularly happy. My mind seemed to be losing grip with reality. I was suddenly having difficulty remembering why I was there or what the imp had said. All I could do was listen to the frenzied cries of the dancing imps, and take pleasure in it all. My vision began to blur as I scanned the room. I could just barely make out the other uspecs lying on their beds, eyes closed as they panted, their ecstasy plain on their faces. Even the royal imps standing around the room seemed to be partaking of the pleasure.

“Lovemaking should be between imps, a thing done in private, not for the pious to steal the lifeforce of lust for uspecs.”

I heard the disapproval in Musa’s voice, but the sound quickly faded. There was no part of me that wanted the imp’s negativity. All I wanted was to enjoy the ecstasy, the pleasure in the white fumes. I was happier and more relaxed than I had ever been in my life. It was as if I had just won the greatest battle I’d ever fought. I could see it now, I could see myself back in the pits, slicing through uspecs, cutting them down as they stood.

Fajahromo appeared in front of me. It smiled at me, confidence oozing out of it. We were both given swords, a fight between nobles. Fajahromo stood naked, its irira status on full display. My heart raced as I fought the uspec. It came at me with everything it had, but I made quick work of it. I cut Fajahromo down where it stood and luxuriated in the blood the uspec spilled. I swam in that blood, the blood of a foe. It coated me with its gore, running down my skin like okun. The pleasure I felt began to build as I stared at Fajhromo’s head separated from its body. My heart raced, as the pleasure continued to rise, I was going to a peak. Blood flowed from Fajahromo in an unending stream. I would be swimming in its blood soon, and I gloried in it. I could still hear the sound of Fajahromo’s cries, I could hear the uspec begging for its life. The pleasure continued to build, my heart pounded against my chest, my eyes closed as I gloried in it. And then the pleasure reached a climax and, for a fleeting moment, my euphoria was boundless.

I heard a strange cry, a guttural sound which I could not place was torn out of my lips. The sound was mirrored through the room, the same sound only from so many different voices. Then there was silence.

“Nebud!” A familiar voice called.

Blinking drowsily, I opened my eyes. An uspec walked towards me. It had four golden armbands around each arm and tentacles covering its legs. The uspec smiled as it approached. It had a familiar face, one that I had seen before, but couldn’t place. Was it Marcinus? Marcinus, the one whose eye I was to take. My foggy mind could make no sense of the scene.

Musa fell to its knees when the uspec stopped in front of me. Its head dropped to the ground and I wondered if I had seen the imp do this before. My mind wandered back to the pleasure. There were no more white fumes, but I ached for them. I wanted the fumes, I wanted the euphoria that I had felt in that one moment. The imps in the middle of the room were no longer joined. Musa had said something when we walked in, but I had no recollection. Why was the uspec staring at me? It smiled in a way that had me smiling back. It looked like a friend. Could I trust it? No, I wanted the euphoria. My mind recreated the pleasure, reminding me of what it had felt like.

The uspec’s hand clamped onto my shoulder. Marcinus, I thought, I will take your eye. I don’t know why, but I will. I don’t know if I want to, but I have no choice. The voice in my mind won’t let me. What was that voice in my mind? Who did it belong to? Who wants your eye Marcinus? Who wants me to have your eye?

The uspec’s smile widened. “Come Nebud, we have much to discuss. This is your first time feeling lust is it not?”

I did not know what to say. Was the uspec talking to me? Lust, what was lust? Lust, did the word seem familiar? My lips parted but no words came out. What was expected of me? I did not want to think, I simply wanted to feel the pleasure. Where were the fumes? I wondered with a frown on my face.

The uspec laughed. “Very good. Very, very, good. It is better this way Nebud, there is only honesty after the climax.” Its smile never wavered. “Come.” It ordered, its arm steering me towards the entrance.

Musa made to rise.

“Stay!” The uspec snapped at my slave.

Musa stayed on its knees.

We began walking. I felt a brush against my feet. It was slight, only a light touch, but as soon as I felt that brush, my mind instantly cleared. I became aware of my surroundings. I saw that it was Manus who led me out of the room. As we walked down a dimly lit walkway, I noticed the haze which had taken over Manus’ face. It smiled in a way that I found troubling. It looked relaxed, unnaturally so. With a clear head, I knew that the change in Manus’ bearing was a result of whatever it was that had been in the white fumes in that room.

Manus stopped in front of a wall of hardened fog. It placed its hand against the wall and the form left it. We walked through translucent fog. The room we walked into was empty. It had nothing but two imps standing by the entrance. They knelt as soon as we walked in, bowed, and then crawled out. The room was really just a tiny space, separating the wall of fog from a set of curtains on the other side. Two new imps walked into the room after us. One carried a shallow basin, the other held a glass goblet with a little amount of dark blue liquid in it. Manus took the goblet from the imp, drowned its contents and then proceeded to throw up into the basin held by the other imp. While it puked, quicksand formed underneath the second imp, pulling the imp in. The imp returned with a goblet filled with okun. Manus took that goblet and rinsed its mouth with the okun. Then it returned the half-filled goblet to the imp, and dismissed them with the flick of its fingers. The imps bowed and left the room.

When Manus turned to face me, the smile was gone from its face. Its previous state of calm was gone now. It stood with its back straight, observing me. I could tell that whatever Manus had drunk had reversed the effect of the fumes in the other room. In that moment, it also became clear to me what the brush of fingers I had felt before leaving that room was. It was Musa, the imp had used pansophy on me to take away the effects of the fumes.

“This is my den Nebud.” It said. “It is where I keep my pets. Come.” It ordered. Then it walked ahead, pushing through the curtains ahead of us.

The new room we walked into was filled with cages. Most of those cages lay unoccupied, but a few had animals. I noticed a number of hounds, two sky fowls, and one ugwere, the creatures which the noble one had brought with it to my slum all those years ago. We walked in between the rows of cages, till we came to a stop in front of one unique cage. This cage, unlike the others I had seen, hung from the ceiling. It was a large cage, one that dangled slightly as the uspec within it moved. The floor of the cage was filled with okun, and the uspec rested in that okun. I could tell from its tentacles that it was a soaru uspec.

“Come.” Manus ordered, moving around the cage. I followed it and was instantly shocked when I saw the uspec it had imprisoned.

It was the magistrate. The one from the inter-port trail. The one that I had picked out in Manus’ tome. I swallowed, suddenly at a loss. What was going on? How did a magistrate end up locked in a cage like this? Why did it not set itself free? The magistrate did not look like it could do much. Its eyes were open, but it just lay there, staring lifelessly at us. I found something achingly familiar about the weakened state the magistrate appeared to be in.

I glanced at the okun and it suddenly made sense. The power of the kute eyes was that they could be used to sap strength from creatures. They were used to harvest the power needed for the other forms of spectra, power which came from strength. It was magic which Fajahromo had used to weaken me in the pits.

“This is Nitan Nebud, the magistrate from the inter-port trail. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

I was just about to nod, when it dawned on me that Manus expected me to still be under the influence of the white fumes. I nodded anyway.

@OluwabuqqyYOLO Thank you!!! That really means a lot to me

@Ultimategeneral Lol, sometimes, the gist is so sweet that you just get pulled into it. I think that's what happened to Nebud

@cassbeat LOL, thank you for being insatiable! As to Marcinus, nothing that we know of yet

@Fazemood Yes, I will definitely post the details once it's all done and finalized. I miss Osezele too. But this story has entered my system so I have to do it well. I can see you're starting to see the whole picture. There are definitely many little things that just pop up at different moments, which you might be tempted to disregard, but they're actually part of some bigger scheme that Nebud cannot see yet. But anyway, I won't talk too much, I'll just let it unfold

The uspec lying on the middle bed rose. It turned to stare at me. Immediately I recognized it as Manus, the uspec who had stared down at me from the balcony in the gym. It wore nothing but its golden armbands.

It stood for seconds before I remembered myself. “Salutations imperial one.” I greeted, curtsying deeply.

The uspec walked over. I saw the top of its green legs before I heard it say “Rise banneret.”

I stood.

“It is Nebud, is it not?” It asked, its eyes taking their time to peruse me.

I took the opportunity to study the uspec too. It was thin. It stood tall, at about the same height as its sibling, which made it about the same height as I, but I could tell from its lack of bulk that it was not a great fighter. That was as much as I could say, there was nothing particularly descriptive on its face to let me know how it felt about me. It did not smile with wide teeth as Marcinus had, but neither did it scowl.

“Yes, imperial one.” I replied.

The uspec nodded. “Tiyoseriwosin Nebud?”

This was the question that I had been waiting for since I walked into this port. I had thought it would come in an inn, perhaps surrounded by commoners. Never in my wildest imagination had I thought that it would come in the Kaiser’s chateau, from the lips of the first imperial, the first offspring of the Kaiser. “Uspecipyte.” I replied, fully aware that this was an Uspecipyte port.

Manus smiled. It was not the full smile its sibling had. Rather, it was a slight smile, one only made visible by a small movement of the corners of its lips. It stretched out its hand then saying, “you are among friends Nebud.”

I shook the uspec’s hands. I almost jumped when my thoughts were filled with ‘no pansophy’. The ring really did work. “Gratitude imperial one.”

The uspec nodded. “Come.” It ordered, before letting go off my hand, and leading me through the circle of lounging beds. It pointed to an empty bed to the right of the one it occupied, and I sat. Manus sat on its. “Will you eat?”

I shook my head. “But I would appreciate a drink.”

Manus nodded. It snapped its fingers and moments later an imp was handing me a glass goblet filled with purple wine. I took a sip and waited.

“You probably do not know this, but you are considered a hero around here.” Manus spoke with a flat tone.

“I am?” I asked, my shock unfeigned.

“Yes Nebud. You see, an assassin came into the Chateau two nights ago and tried to kill my younger sibling. Mara, the swan you rescued, killed the assassin before it could strike Marcinus in its sleep. You know swans produce okun?”

I nodded.

“They also produce lit okun. Did you know that?”

“It is a thing I have heard of imperial one.”

“Marcinus was saved by Mara, and seeing as you are the one who found Mara and brought the swan back to us in time, you indirectly saved Marcinus. We all owe you a great debt banneret. Name what you want, and it will be yours.”

I shook my head. “There are few things I hold sacred imperial one, the frosted beasts are amongst them. I could not, in good conscience, allow the frosted beast to remain in a cage. It was luck that had me in the kennel at that time, and luck that had me return the sacred creature in time for it to come to the imperial Marcinus’ aid. It was not planned.”

I don’t know why I added the last part, but as soon as I did, I saw Manus regarding me differently. Its center eyebrow rose as its eyes studied me. Then it smiled wider this time. “Well said.”

I heard a bit of commotion by the entrance before the curtains were pulled open. One of the guards walked in. It bowed to the uspec. “There is an imp here for you imperial one, it says that it was sent from the high Salin.”

Manus gestured with its hands for the imp to be let in. ‘Salin?’ I thought as the imp walked into the room. It dropped to its knees in front of the imperial one, bowing till its forehead touched the floor.

“What is it?” Manus demanded.

The imp knelt upright. “A letter from my master, domina.” The imp offered an envelope to Manus.

Manus nodded, then it flicked its fingers in dismissal. The imp bowed again before leaving. I felt a sudden flare of anger at the imp. Had this been one of the imps who had led to Musa’s castration? A voice of sanity pointed out that the chances that it was the same imp was slight.

There was silence as Manus opened the envelope, pulled out the letter and then read the contents. Manus snorted. The sound seemed to take over the room as the uspecs, myself included, turned to face the imperial. Large spherical globs of hail appeared in the air. The hail stuck to the paper in the uspec’s hand, and instantly, the paper was consumed by a crimson inferno. Once the paper decomposed, the inferno went away.

It took every bit of control I had to keep myself from over-reacting to the uspec’s display of magic. I had seen spectra used by Fajahromo, but always in dire situations, for fighting. I had never seen spectra used so casually, not as this imperial just did. I knew the magic it had used, it was the magic gotten from the mejo eyes, the ones that change temperature using hail.

“Good news?” an uspec asked.

Manus’ jaw clenched. “No.” It spat out. “The growth was not found. Five hundred pieces of worth gone, a halcyon’s epic lost on the trail.” Unlike the banneret and the adherent whose epics were the tales of the service they had rendered to earn their nobility, a halcyon’s epic was the amount of money it had spent to buy its noble status.

“Does the high Salin know the cause of death?” another uspec asked.

“It says it was imps. A roomful of uspecs saw the imps collide on Reynard and kill it. Arbiters located the imps and had them sapped, but no one found the growth that Reynard was carrying.”

“Reynard.” I said, repeating the name. It was strange how memory worked. How at times I had to toil to recall an uspec’s name and at others it just came. For some reason, Reynard’s name just came to me. I remembered how it had died, bleeding out on the table I had shared with it and its friend Tantan.

As soon as I spoke, the eyes snapped to me. They all peered at me then. It became obvious that in its anger, Manus had forgotten my presence in the room. By saying Reynard’s name, I had made them aware of their oversight, and pulled their attentions back to me.

Manus frowned at me. “A friend.” It said by way of explanation. “You need not concern yourself. In fact,” it turned to nod at one of the nobles who had brought me here, “you may go.”

“Was the Reynard you speak of killed on the inter-port trail?” I asked, ignoring the imperial one’s command. I spoke on an instinct, I could not say why exactly I felt as though I had to be part of this conversation, but something pushed me forward, prompting me to speak.

Manus’ hand rose in the air, halting the approach of the noble it had summoned. “Yes, how did you know?”

“I was there when it died. It shared my table.”

“Then you saw the imps that killed it?” Manus asked.

I knew that it had indeed been killed by an imp, but not in the way Manus described. Not that I would ever reveal Xavier’s name, talking about Xavier would lead to the pits and I was not carelessness enough to mention that. “Imps?” I asked, hoping that my look of shock was at least passable. “You are mistaken imperial one, Reynard was not killed by imps.”

Gasps of shock filled the room, seemingly coming from every corner. “Who killed it then?”

“I do not know.” I lied. “No one saw what did it. Reynard was killed by a knife that floated in the air.”

“Spectra?” One of the nobles asked.

“Be silent you fool.” Manus snapped. “Spectra does not work on the inter-port trail. It had to be pansophy. Tell me Nebud, how well versed are you in pansophy.”

I shook my head. “My knowledge is limited imperial one. I only know some of the lifeforces. But I agree with you, it had to be pansophy. Whoever killed Reynard was invisible, the person was without appearance.”

“A pious.” Manus spat the honorific out as if it was an insult. “They killed Reynard.” It stopped speaking and turned to study me with a carefully neutral face. “Marcinus says you hale from the forgotten kingdom of Murekute. That you came here by way of Hakute. Is this true?”

“Yes, imperial one.”

“Tell me, how did you survive in Hakute? Hakute is, after all, a Kuworyte port.”

“I am an excellent fighter.” I replied, a lopsided grin forming on my face.

Manus smiled then. For the first time, it smiled with its teeth partially exposed. “You are certainly amongst friends.” It placed special emphasis on the word ‘certainly’ in a way that made me suspect that it heard something in my response I was not sure I had intended. Had I spoken too sarcastically? “Tell me everything about the day Reynard died. Leave nothing out.”

I spoke then. Starting with my arrival in the inn. I mentioned Tantan and how it had invited Reynard to our table. I talked about its slaughter. I was careful to omit the part about the finger writing the message on the table, that was too close to Xavier. I talked about the inquisition after, about how the arbiters, yielders, and the magistrate had questioned us, and then let us go. When I was done speaking, I noticed that a serious expression had formed on Manus’ face.

“Reynard was born in Katsoaru, it was a close friend of mine Nebud. We grew up together, it was part of my inner circle. You must know that Custodian Salin, and its port of Lahooni are great friends to the Uspecipyte movement.” I was careful to keep my face neutral as I nodded, as if in acceptance of that lie. “I sent Reynard to Lahooni to purchase growth with five hundred pieces of worth. It bought the lifeforce from yielders through Salin, and it was carrying it on itself during its journey. Then Reynard was killed and the growth lost. Whoever killed the uspec must have sapped it of the growth before taking its life. The pious had led us to believe that it was the work of a renegade group of imps who had been punished for their crime, but I never believed that. Imps don’t have pansophy, only the pious do. They killed Reynard and stole from me. So, Nebud, I need you to think carefully. Do you remember what this magistrate looked like, the one who questioned you?”

I nodded. “Yes, imperial one.”

Manus snapped its finger and a tome was brought to it. “Look through this portfolio,” Manus said, inclining its head towards me. The imp brought me the tome. “Tell me which magistrate it was.”

As I flipped through the pages of the portfolio, I saw that the tome was filled with appearances of all the magistrates in the spectral existence. I looked at each picture carefully, all the while trying to control my mind’s reeling. One thing was clear, this uspec thought of Salin as a friend to the Uspecipytes. It said that Lahooni was known to be a friend to Uspecipytes, which meant that this was well known. But I knew better. I knew that Salin worked for the plenum. Salin had been handpicked by one Kaiser in the plenum specifically to come and ensure that I was able to kill Fajahromo. Salin had turned out to be a friend to Fajahromo as well, but even Fajahromo was in league with the plenum. If Salin worked for the plenum then it was no friend to Uspecipytes. I could think of how it would be advantageous for the plenum to keep people believing that Lahooni was actually Uspecipyte. It could use that as a stronghold to weaken actual Uspecipyte ports. Was that what had happened here?

But no, no uspec was responsible for Reynard’s death, or the theft of the growth it had carried. That was Xavier’s work. Did Manus really not know that pious slaves existed, ones with pansophy? Did it really believe that Salin was a friend to the Uspecipytes? How did Reynard’s death tie into all of this? And how had I ended up in the middle? What were the odds that I would just happen to see Reynard’s death right before coming to the port it had been heading to?

I found the magistrate. “This is it.” I said, pointing at the picture, as I lifted the tome so that Manus could see it.

Manus’ jaw ticked. Seconds rolled away as it stared at the picture. I could feel its anger, it grew with each second that passed. By the time Manus finally spoke, it was through clenched teeth. “Are you sure? This one?”

“Yes, imperial one.”

Manus grabbed the tome from me and threw it onto the floor. By that point it had more anger than I had ever felt from any single uspec who I’d fought in the pits.

Part 6
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“I rented out the cleaning room so that you can have a proper bath.” I stated, slightly amused by the imp’s fidgeting. Its fingers pulled at the bottom of its white shirt. After I spoke, the imp rose its head, bringing its attention back to me.

“I have proper baths in our suite.” It grumbled. “You know, to most people, a private bath like the one in our suite is seen as a luxury.”

Lounging in the large pool filled with cleaning salts, I could not disagree more. The public cleaning room in the lodging was similar to that in the Lastmain resort. It had the same three center ponds in the middle of the room, but it had no canal around the perimeter with running liquid. Instead, the center ponds were larger. “Take the clothes off.” I ordered. “And come inside the pond.” Sure, it had only cost a piece of merit to rent the entire room, but I’d only rented it so that Musa could enjoy the ponds. I had no problem sharing with other uspecs.

Musa exhaled as if I was putting unfair stress on it. Slowly, it pulled off the shirt it wore. I knew that the imp’s problem with unclothedness had nothing to do with its chest, as it slept most nights without its shirt on. It was the trousers that the imp never took off. We had been together for over a year now, and in that time, I had never seen the imp without clothes. Musa undid the buttons on its brown trousers and then it stopped, its fingers on the waist of its trousers, to stare at me.

“Do you have to watch master?” it asked, its voice strangled.

“I have seen naked imps before. I’ve even read about them.” I reminded the imp. I had spent good money and a significant amount of time on a tome about imps. The tome had made me understand some sights and word phrasings which I had previously found odd. For example, I learnt from the tome, that imps referred to their different spectrums as ‘genders’ and that they had two, males and females. Pictures of the different features of the different genders allowed me to place them. I even learnt about the terms ‘he’ and ‘she’ and others of the ilk, which had made no sense before, but became perfectly clear after reading the tome. But by far the most interesting thing in the tome was the description of the umanis procreation. Apparently, contrary to what I had previously thought on my first sighting, the imp features had no combat usefulness. Instead they existed for procreation, umanis were able to procreate without taking life. I found that odd, and the pictures I had seen of the act, even odder.

Finally, Musa stood naked.

The first thing I noted was that its feature had been cut off. Unlike the long, dangling parts which I had seen on other imps of Musa’s gender, Musa’s part was a stump. The imp walked uncharacteristically quickly towards the pond. Then it jumped into the okun. It was not as tall as I, so it had to drape its hands over the edge of the pond to keep from falling in.

“What happened to your penis?” I asked, remembering the correct term for that dangling part.

Suddenly, Musa brought its hand down from the edge of the pool and allowed itself to be fully submerged in the liquid. I frowned, wondering what the imp was doing. I counted thirty seconds before the imp came back up. It shook its hair, splashing drops of pink liquid on my face in the process. If it was any other imp, I probably would have sheared its hair off myself for that.

Eventually, it stopped. It leaned back against the wall of the pond, its arms going over the edge for support. Without looking at me it replied, “it was cut off.”

“In your umani life?”

Musa shook its head.

I frowned. “Here?”

It nodded. Still, it kept its gaze averted.

“Why has it not grown back?” I asked.

“Yielders.” It stated flatly. “They blocked life from going there. Where life cannot go, no other lifeforce can, not even growth.”

Life was a magic of the fogs, a magic controlled by spectra. It would not matter how good Musa was at pansophy, it would need spectra to be able to undo what the yielders had done. “Why?”

It was a simple question, but Musa’s voice was filled with so much pain I began to doubt the simplicity. “Can we not discuss it?” Before I had a chance to respond, it spoke again. “Can we move to the other ponds now master, the salts are burning.”

I nodded. We walked in silence to the long pond behind the rounded one. We swam so many laps in that pond that I eventually lost count. I knew that Musa was using the swimming as a deflection, and for now, I let it. By the time the imp pulled itself out of the pond, I could hear it panting. I dropped into the last round pond with a smile on my face. “Why did the yielders do that to you?” I repeated the question.

Musa sighed. “Please master.”

“Tell me.”

Its face turned again. It leaned on the side of the pond opposite me, but it turned its head so that its sockets didn’t meet my eyes. “Imps cannot procreate in the spectral existence, but some of us are still able to achieve the pleasure associated with intercourse. When an umani dies without ever having intercourse, its body retains the ability to have it in the spectral existence. I died a virgin master. So, when I came here, I could…make love. There were a few girls who also died the same way, three in the years that I served the Kaisers of Lahooni. The first two I met, left after some time. But the last one, the last one spent a millennium with me. I found her after she died. She died a few months after her fifteenth birthday. She was beautiful. We lived together for a thousand years and then my masters died and master Salin, the new custodian of Lahooni took over. I told you that its slaves did not like me. It was because they liked her. They did not die virgins and so they could not have the pleasure of intercourse, I think they hated me for that. It was why they fought me, they wanted the love that I had.”

“Love.” I repeated the word. I knew of love between progenitor and offspring, and even that was a rare thing. But love between two unrelated uspecs?

Musa smiled. “Yes master, love. One of the imps who hated me was master Salin’s osin. It whispered ills about me to the master and when the master’s anger reached a peak, it sent for me. My love, she loved me. She came running in, so defiant, pointing fingers at the master’s imps. She would not be stopped. Master Salin was not one to be spoken to in that manner. It sent for yielders and it had them take her away, to be sapped. It was going to do the same to me, but one of its slaves told it that sapping was too good for me. They chose castration instead.”

It was a sad tale. I could not imagine the love that Musa spoke of, but I heard the loss in its voice. “And that is why you hide your body? You are ashamed of your cut penis?”

Musa nodded, but it did not speak.

“The yielders took something from you, why are you giving them more? Your pride is your own. It is yours to keep, yours to wield, do not give that to them too. I see no reason for shame. You are the most accomplished imp I have ever met. Clothed or naked, you should walk with your head high.”

Musa’s head turned so that it was staring at me. It remained silent for a long time before saying, “thank you master.”

I nodded. “If I ever get the magic of manipulating life, I will let you siphon it from me. You can take back what they took from you.”

Musa smiled. Its lips parted, but no words came out. I noticed that its gaze had moved from me, to the entrance. Immediately, I swiveled. Two uspecs stormed into the cleaning room. They both had two golden bands around their arms. They were dressed in blue leather. As they got closer, I noticed their belts and the swords sheathed there. They both had four outer eyes, none of which were imp eyes. So far, the only people I had seen in this port with imp eyes were Marcinus and its sibling Manus.

“Salutations banneret.” One of them said, its eyes darting over to Musa before returning to stare at me. “The first imperial, Manus, requests your presence in the Chateau.”

Requests? I thought. What would these fine nobles say if I politely declined? Not that I would. I welcomed ever opportunity to go to the Chateau. The more I went there, the closer I would get to uncovering the mystery of Marcinus.

“Salutations noble ones.” I greeted in return, bowing my head to the appropriate level. Luckily, my neckcloth never came off my neck outside the suite, if not, I would have been in serious trouble. “Please give me a few minutes to go back to my suite and dress properly.”

They both nodded. I pulled myself out of the pond and waited for Musa to do the same. I could not help but notice how quickly it ran over to its clothes. The speed with which Musa donned the trousers was truly impressive. It kept the shirt off as we walked. I grabbed two towels before we left the room. Musa got one to dab itself down and I did the same with the other.

We walked with the noble escort to our suite. Each time I glanced at the nobles, I couldn’t help but notice the indifference on their faces. For some reason, the nobles chose to remain outside our door while we prepared ourselves. I had so little to put on that it did not take me long to get ready.

Musa stopped me before I walked out of the room. It held our newly purchased bottle of aqua-sight in its hand. I smiled in relief as the imp waited for me to sit, then it carefully placed five drops of the liquid in each of my filled eyes. “Five?” I asked.

“Five hours of extra sight. Just in case.” It replied.

“Do you think this will work?” I asked, playing around with the ring the imp had given to me. This ring was black. It had been made by my sire, Calam, and kept a secret so that only few knew of its existence. Musa said that Calam had locked the secret to making it away, but it had been on the uspec’s finger when it died. Musa had taken it. It was the last thing it had of Calam. But it gave it to me, because it said that I would need it more. The ring was a seeker, it searched for pansophy in any uspec it came in contact with and sent whatever it found back to the one wearing it. Musa said that only two of these rings existed. If the pious found that such a contraption was possible, they would stop at nothing to get their hands on it. I was just happy I had it. At least with the ring I would know if I was ever in contact with one who had pansophy.

“Of course, it will.” Musa’s voice almost sounded affronted. I chuckled.

Fully garbed, I walked back to the door, Musa at my heel.

“The imp stays.” One of the nobles ordered. “Manus only wants you.”

I saw the fear Musa tried to suppress. Did the imp think that I could not survive a meeting with another uspec without it? I nodded at the nobles. “Stay.” I ordered, slightly pushing the imp back into the suite.

The fog turned hard before the imp could utter its protests. I knew that it wanted to, and I knew that if we were alone, it would have. But Musa knew better than to disobey me in front of nobles.

The nobles led the way to the Chateau, and I followed.

We followed the same route as I had the day before, when the imps had come to fetch me at Marcinus’ behest. We walked in the humid clouds past the rich dwellings, to the portal room. The portal took us to the cloud bubble which took us to the Chateau’s entry bubble which was lined by armed guards. Then we walked into the entry room with the guards blocking the entrance to the Chateau. The nobles escorting me took my weapons, handing them over to the guards for safekeeping. Then we walked into the palace. This time though, instead of going down towards the gymnasium, we took the first right, in through a wall of fog which took up a large amount of space. I was led past strange, but obviously well-furnished, walkways, to a final suite.

Four guards stood on post in front of the suite. They bowed to the nobles and stepped aside, pulling the curtains to the room open.

The room I walked into was filled with lounging beds. They were narrow beds, made for entertaining. Uspecs lay on several of the beds around the room. The center of the room had a much larger lounging bed and an uspec with four golden bands on each arm laying on it. There was a long table by one wall in the room. The table was filled with food and drinks, and had two imps standing by it. The imps were dressed as the other royal imps had been. Unlike the ones in the gym, they did not sit and chat merrily. They stood with their hands folded behind their backs. I liked the temperature in this room. Is was cooler than it was outdoors, but not nearly as cold as it had been in the gymnasium. The walls of the room appeared similar to that in mine. Made of clouds then, I concluded. The walls emanated a mix of red and gold light. It was very different, giving the room a rather unique ambiance.

The nobles left me. One of them walked over to claim an empty bed in the room, the other went to help itself to some of the food on the table. It had filled its mouth twice, before it poured purple wine into a goblet and drank greedily. A few gulps away from draining the cup, the uspec seemed to recall my presence.

“Manus!” It called out then. “Your banneret.” It gestured with its almost empty cup towards me.

Immediately the scattering of conversation ceased as all the uspecs in the room turned to stare at me. The first thing I noticed was that they were all soarus. The next was that they were all nobles. The lowest rank of nobles in the room were the ones with two armbands. There were no made nobles or descendants of made nobles here.

@GeoSilYe I read your 'no wahala ma'am' in my mum's voice for some reason, especially, the 'ma'am' part, (except i read it as madam) lol. Anyway, thank you for understanding. I really appreciate how you followed the series from the start and how passionate you've always been about it. Thank you so much ma'am

@Dathypebruv I'm here oh! Sorry, you stayed up late. Next time sleep and wake up early, it will be ready when you wake up. As long as you wake up after 6 am sha

GeoSilYe:
ObehiD when will you take me back to Osezele's world naw?!!!

I'm missing Victor and Mimi!

Lol, I'm missing them too, but I don't think I'll be done with this one till closer to the end of the year.

Although, with the way things are going, it's looking like I might not be able to post the last white sight book (the Reckoning) on Nairaland. So, I don't want to make any announcements till I'm more sure about this, which is why I wasn't going to say anything until much later. But I'm in serious talks with a publishing house, to get the marked series published, and part of those discussions is that I can't have any of the white sight books available online, until they publish it. So, if I finalize that agreement with them, then I won't be posting any more marked related stories on Nairaland (for sometime at least). This would be the last one.

But again, none of this is final final. We're still talking. I think by the time I'm done with this book, I'll know for sure and then I'll let you know.

@Fazemood I described Marcinus as it just like the rest. They're all its Thanks for reading, I'm happy you enjoyed it

@ayshow6102 thank you for reading. As to your thoughts on this new part...well, I won't say anything yet

phoenixchap:
Wow didn't see this coming, Manus killing Mercinus that's how and why Nevus was present to take it eyes and also get vengeance for Mercinus and itself. Thanks ObehiD everything is starting to make sense.

Interesting analysis....that's all I'm going to say at this point

I found my eyes drifting back to the uspec. The swan’s beak scraped against my neck and I thought again of how unfair it was that a soaru would own a kute frosted beast. Spurred partly by resentment, I heard myself saying, “you look quite skilled imperial one. I wonder, how good are you when there is someone fighting back?”

Marcinus stopped its fighting and stood tall. It turned to stare at me. “Are you offering?” it asked.

I came so close to saying yes. What better way to learn how difficult it would be to take its eye than to fight it? Then I remembered myself. I was still just a ‘banneret’ and it the offspring of a Kaiser. “No, imperial one. Forgive me.”

The uspec chuckled. “Tammy, get a sword for Nebud.” It ordered.

“Yes master.” One of the imps stood from its chair and walked over to retrieve a sword from the rack.

I watched the imp’s approach with barely concealed joy. My heart pounded in my chest when the imp stopped in front of me and offered me the weapon. I took it from its hand. “Really, imperial one, I did not mean to imply…” I said, putting up a token reluctance.

Marcinus cut me off. “Are you afraid that I will win?”

With my free hand, I took the swan off my shoulder and put it in Musa’s eager arms. Then I walked into the fighting ground more than pleased with the coming fight.

“Sit Musa.” I heard Marcinus say before I reached it. “Eat if you want, there is no need to be so formal. Take your lead from my imps.”

I turned around then, in time to catch Musa staring at me. To the others, it probably looked like the imp was asking my permission, but I could tell from the slightly raised eyebrow that it was actually saying ‘I told you so’. Still, I nodded, and the imp sat on a highchair beside the two imps. I could not help noticing how quickly they included it in their conversation.

Pulling my attention away from the imp, I turned to face Marcinus. Its smug smile oozed with confidence. I could not wait to wipe the smile off its face.

Marcinus attacked first. It lunged, its sword striking out at me. I deflected the blow easily, and then Marcinus swiped at me from the right. The blow came so quickly that I found myself jerking my hand back faster than anticipated. It wasn’t fast enough. Marcinus hit my right arm with the flat surface of its sword. Shocked, I stared at the uspec and found that it was chuckling, laughing at me.

Anger sprouted in me, the emotion spurring on my pounding heart. I attacked Marcinus first and it deflected the blow easily, knocking my sword down. I attacked again, going for the other side, but its sword was there, waiting before mine was. The uspec’s movements were fluid, made effortlessly. It was infuriating.

Marcinus attacked me. I dodged its blow, and expected another unbelievably quick attack, probably this time lancing me in the side, as it had proven itself capable of doing. Instead, its new attack was slow. It wasn’t so slow that I could attack before it reached me, but slow enough that I could actually get my sword out in time to deflect the attack. The rest of our fight carried on that way. Our swords clashed as we parried. I moved to one side, attacked and Marcinus was there, hitting my sword away, and then putting in an attack of its own. We moved as the fighting continued. I found myself retreating, my feet shuffling backwards as Marcinus’ continuous attacks forced me to focus on its sword and not the area behind me. I felt my ailerons brush against a pillar just as Marcinus retreated a step. The uspec could have kept pushing forward, which would have forced me to run into the pillar. Instead it stopped, giving me a chance to advance on it.

The longer we fought, the more obvious it became that I was clearly outmatched. Marcinus was a great fighter, better with the sword than I was. It was a fact that frustrated me, angering me so much that I found myself lashing out with my sword. I had more bulk and so I threw my weight behind each blow I landed. I was so careless with the blows in fact that any of them could easily have done serious damage to the uspec if it was not such a skilled fighter. Ten careless blows in, Marcinus pushed my sword up in the air with its, and then it twirled its sword, somehow using its skill to force my sword out of my hand.

My sword fell on the floor. I stared dumbly at the sword, my brain too slow to understand how it had been freed from my hand. The feel of metal on my shoulder pulled my gaze back to Marcinus. It tapped me twice on the shoulder with its sword, before pulling the sword down.

“That was a good fight Nebud, you are quite skilled.” It said.

I heard condescension in its voice and so I could not help replying with, “I am much better at pugilism.”

“Are you really?” Marcinus asked, bending to pick my sword. “Tammy.” It called. I watched it hand over the swords to the imp, before returning to meet my gaze. “I am not as skilled a pugilist, but I am more than willing to go a round. There are not many skilled pugilists in our Acropolis.”

I smiled.

I lashed out with my right hand, my fist aimed at the uspec’s face. It dodged the blow, and swung its left hand, catching me in the side. I saw its tentacles rise then, fanning around the uspec’s waist and revealing the legs they had partially hidden. As it swung with its fists, its tentacles came towards me. I slapped the tentacles away, even as my fists struck gold, pounding twice into the uspec’s belly. Its pain did not register in its face as it continued its fight. It aimed at my head, a blow I easily deflected. When it wrapped its tentacles around my legs, I used those tentacles to pull the uspec closer. I punched it in the face twice before it had the good sense to release its hold on me and withdraw.

It was my turn to grin. Marcinus came at me. I saw its tentacles rise up again. This time they rose high in the air, to the level of my arms. My gaze shifted to the position of the uspec’s tentacles, distracting me for long enough for Marcinus to land a heavy blow to the side of my face. Before the uspec could withdraw, I grabbed onto its arm and pulled it closer.

Then I reigned down blows repeatedly on its face. I punched it five times in quick succession, before I heard the snap of a nose breaking. My fist was going in for the seventh successive blow when the blood registered on me and the haze of battle cleared from my eyes. I realized that I was not in the pits and this was not a fight to the death. I was in the Chateau of a Kaiser and I was fighting with its offspring.

Immediately, I dropped my hand, releasing my grip on the uspec’s arm. Marcinus fell to its knee on the floor. It spat out blood, as its hand rose to realign its nose.

I looked around the room then. The two uspecs who’d been exercising had stopped. They were now standing only a few feet away from me. I felt the anger coming off them. It would have been an easy thing to pull that anger away, but I thought better of it. These were nobles, they may know about emotions and if I used it on them, they would know I was irira. Both large uspecs glared at me. But I noticed that neither made any move towards me.

I extended my hand to the uspec I had beaten, fully expecting it to get knocked away. This was when it would reveal itself. Finally, I would see the real ‘kindness’ of this noble. I almost pulled my hand back when I felt Marcinus grab onto it. To my surprise, it let me pull it up. I could tell from the way it stayed on its feet and the strength I felt in it, that this uspec had not needed my help to get up. So why had it stayed down?

Marcinus patted me on the shoulder. Then it turned to the two uspecs standing to the side. Waving them away it said, “I’ve taken worse from you two and you both know it.”

“We mean you no harm Marcinus.”

Marcinus laughed. “Neither does Nebud. It was a friendly fight Jubar.” It tightened its grip on the arm I had offered to help it up, pulling their attention to it, before pulling its arm away. I could see the reluctance on the guards’ faces, but they nodded and then they backed away, returning to their exercise.

Marcinus smiled at me. “They are overprotective.” It explained. “You are a good pugilist Nebud, the best I have ever seen. I look forward to fighting with you again. Perhaps I could even learn a thing or two from you.” After saying that, it inclined its head to the side, to the table I had stood beside.

As I walked towards the table with Marcinus, I caught glimpses of green and gold on the balcony above us.

Marcinus filled two goblets with a dark green liquid. “Fruit wine,” it said, offering a goblet to me.

I took a sip of the wine. I could not place the fruit. Whatever it was, it wasn’t something I’d come across. That didn’t stop me from enjoying it. My gaze fixed on the wall in front of me as I contemplated apologizing. I should not have let the fight with the imperial one go as far as it had. Why did I? It was true that I wanted to force the uspec to reveal its true colors, but the extent of the beating I had given it... I thought of what Fajahromo would have done in Marcinus’ place. Fajahromo was my only real reference for how nobles should behave and so I found myself comparing Marcinus to it. I knew one thing. Fajahromo would never have allowed me to fight it the way Marcinus had, and it certainly wouldn’t have let me win, not in front of other uspecs. It would not allow itself to look weak in that way. It would have used spectra. Why hadn’t Marcinus? Was Musa right, could a noble, not just any noble but the offspring of a Kaiser, I reminded myself. Well then could an imperial one be kind? And if it was, then why would the voice in my head want me to attack it, to take its eye. What did the voice in my head want?

“The drawings are fabulous are they not?” Marcinus asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“Yes, imperial one,” I agreed, “they almost look hand-drawn.”

“Good eye.” Marcinus praised. “It took a renowned artist three years to finish this job. Most artists just do a sketch on paper and then have it transferred to the wall with pansophy, or they hire a crew to paint it with brushes. Neither look quite as good as this.”

“Three years.” I whistled. “The uspec must really admire you to do such a job.”

Marcinus shook its head. “Not me,” it stated, a tender smile on its face, “mater. The Kaiser of Katsoaru inspires the most awing loyalty in those it meets.”

Mater. It was a word I knew but had never heard in use. ‘Pater’ was how an offspring spoke of its progenitor when they had the natural bond induced by the birthing in the hatch. Mater was another thing entirely. It was a term used when the bond between progenitor and offspring went beyond that which was filial, it was a rich endearment, one built on love. Love. Did such a thing truly exist?

“Forgive me for interrupting master Marcinus. Your sibling, master Manus, asked me to bring you this drink.”

An imp dressed in the same way as the ones who had led us here, stood beside the table holding a tray in its hand. The tray had a single glass in it, a glass filled with a pure white liquid. Marcinus frowned at the imp and the imp inclined its head upwards. I tipped my head back, in time to catch a glimpse of an uspec, standing on the balcony. It had four golden armbands around each of its arms, and was dressed in a sleeveless golden and maroon robe.

“Gratitude Manus.” Marcinus called out.

Manus nodded. It stared at me for only a second before turning around and walking out of sight. Marcinus took the drink from the tray. When it turned to face me, I noticed that its previous levity was gone. It flashed a smile at me but even that smile seemed strained. “I’m afraid I must cut our visit short Nebud. Thank you for coming.” It said.

Hearing the dismissal in Marcinus’ voice, I bowed. “Farewell imperial one.”

Musa and I had just reached the entrance to the room, when I heard glass shattering. I turned to see Marcinus sway, and then catch itself with a hand on the table. It suddenly looked so unsteady, as if it needed its hold on the table for support.

I found that strange. What would suddenly make the uspec sway? Not even my beating had affected its composure. There was so much strange about my meeting with this uspec, but the strangest thing was the new feeling I couldn’t shake, the one that told me that Marcinus was that rare breed, a ‘kind noble’. So why was I here to take its eye?

Part 5
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In Arigad’s last tome, before the annexation of its port, the Kaiser drew sketches for a gymnasium, a sporting room it planned to build. Unfortunately, neither the Kaiser nor its port had lived long enough to see that plan reach fruition. Looking around the room, I recognized some of the implements from drawings in Arigad’s tome. Several pillars of varying heights lined the room. These pillars defined a running course, for an uspec to run around the room by jumping from the head of one post to the next. The tallest pillar stopped about ten feet below the base of an inner balcony which ran along the right side of the room. Punching bags and sword mannequins appeared sporadically. As a kute, I was quick to note, and appreciate, the pond of okun in the furthest corner of the room.

I shivered a little, my body reacting to the chill in the room before my mind did. My eyes, all working in parallel, noted several things at once. I caught glances of the three uspecs standing by the sides of the room. One periodically struck a swinging bag, another ran the course of the pillars, and the last sat on a highchair in the left of the room, picking at the contents of a bowl.

The imps who’d led me to this room now stood further ahead of me, separated by a gap wide enough for three uspecs to walk through.

Marcinus walked through this gap.

The uspec strode calmly towards me, the corners of its mouth tipped upwards in a smile. It wore nothing but the golden armbands around each of its arms. The four bands proclaimed the status that I had failed to acknowledge when we first met. The uspec stopped in front of me, and Musa fell on its knees, bending forward so that its forehead touched the ground. It was a pose that suddenly made me aware of my lack of decorum.

I curtsied immediately, my left leg extending far behind me as my head dropped in a bow.

“There’s no need for that banneret,” the uspec stated, its tone deceptively congenial, “please rise.”

I rose. Standing so close to the uspec, I was forced to re-examine my previous summations of its bulk. It appeared as a fighter would. My eyes caught the gold on its arm, and I remembered myself.

I bowed slightly. “Please forgive me for last night imperial one, I did not know that you were, imperial.”

Marcinus laughed. I found something truly troubling about the rich sound. When I rose my head, I noticed the remnants of the laughter in the smile on the uspec’s face. “There is nothing to forgive.” It lied.

With a sigh I resigned myself to the slippery slope. This was another noble like Fajahromo then, one who pretended to be one thing but was underneath something else entirely. Those were the only nobles who smiled and acted as though they were not offended by insults. I preferred the ones that let you know immediately how insufferable they really were.

“My name is Marcinus.” It said, the smile still on its face. “What is yours?”

“Nebud,” I replied.

It nodded. Then it stretched out its hand. It wanted me to shake it, I assumed. It probably had pansophy, why else would it want me to shake its hand? I studied that hand with a frown. Was this the punishment then? If I refused to shake its hand what would it do to me.

“I do not have pansophy.” Marcinus stated simply. “You need not worry.”

I wanted to refuse, but could I? A part of me wanted to push this uspec. If I refused to shake its hand, would its real colors come out? I exhaled and stretched out my hand. Our palms met, and our fingers curled around the backs of our hands. I waited for the magic, for Marcinus to pull my thoughts and then order my arrest.

Marcinus stretched out its other hand and patted me on the shoulder, before releasing my hand. “It is a pleasure to be properly introduced.”

I pulled my hand back, my eyes scouring the uspec’s face for signs of awareness. Had it not seen my truth? Did it truly not have pansophy?

“From where do you hale?” it asked casually.

“The forgotten kingdom of Murekute.” I replied.

Marcinus exhaled deeply, a look of sadness falling on its face. “Please accept my condolences. It is really a tragedy what happened there.”

I nodded, trying my best to put on a mask of grief, all the while wondering if this was a type of trick? Was I being quizzed, tested to see where I would fail? “Gratitude imperial one.” I said.

“Just Marcinus is fine.” The uspec stated, the sadness lifting from its face as it smiled. “What brings you to Katsoaru?” It asked.

I had to stifle the urge to question its inquisition. If it had sent for me to punish my rudeness, then why didn’t it just do that? “Curiosity, imperial one.” I replied, careful to put a strain on the title. We were not friends, and I would not call it by its name. I would never allow another noble to fool me the way Fajahromo had. “I wanted to visit a soaru port and Katsoaru seemed like the most interesting.”

“Marcinus.” It repeated, before asking, “how have you found our port so far?”

I was tempted to make a casual reference to the kennel I had gone to and the swan I had found imprisoned there, due to its owner’s carelessness. I refrained, saying instead, “the humidity is difficult, imperial one.”

Marcinus frowned at me. “You will not call me by my name then? Even though I ask it of you?”

“I would feel as if I were insulting you.” I lied. As soon as the words were out, I congratulated myself on how smooth they’d been.

Marcinus chuckled. “You are stubborn.” Then it grinned. “I like that. What is your imp’s name?” It asked the question so casually, I almost forgot to be cautious.

My lips parted, and then I pulled them back together. This was it. Somehow this uspec had found out about my bond with my imp and it was going to use this against me. It was going to punish me by punishing my slave. With gritted teeth, I swore that the uspec and its entire guard would have to go through me before they laid a hand on Musa.

“Nebud?” Marcinus prompted, a frown forming on its face.

“Musa.” I spat out.

Marcinus’ frown did not waver. Two of its eyebrows furrowed as it stared at me, then it pulled half of its eyes from me, focusing them on the kneeling slave instead. “Rise Musa.” It said. “You do not need to drop to your knees on my behalf. Save that kind of reverence for my progenitor and older sibling.” It said the words with a trace of humor, so I wasn’t surprised when I heard answering snickers.

My shock came from realizing that it wasn’t uspecs laughing, but imps, the imps standing in front of us. They turned back to stare at Marcinus as they laughed, and Marcinus turned around and winked at them. Thankfully I had enough self-control to keep from gaping like a fool.

“Thank you domina.” Musa said, bowing with its hands behind its back.

Marcinus nodded at the imp. Then its focus turned back to me. I was still trying to figure out what game it was playing when it started speaking. “You are probably wondering why I asked for the honor of your presence.” It smiled slightly after it spoke, then it forged on without pausing for a response. “Well, Mara wanted to see you.” It said. It whistled after it said those words and moments later, I heard wings flapping.

“I was not aware that frosted beasts could speak imperial one.”

Marcinus laughed. “You are right Nebud.” It said smiling, “I assumed that was how Mara felt. I know that if it was I who had been saved from sure death, I would want to see my rescuer again. I apologize, I was too overcome by my relief at seeing it, that I forgot my manners and did not allow the two of you time to say a proper farewell.” The swan landed on Marcinus’ shoulder after it was done speaking. Marcinus extended its hand towards me, and the swan flew off its shoulder and onto mine.

I could not hide my joy at the return of the familiar weight. The swan wound its neck around mine, and I lifted my hand, bringing it down against the swan’s skin. I stroked the creature as I savored the feel of its pain.

With a nod, Marcinus walked away from us and headed towards the open center of the room. The imps moved behind it. I watched them take seats on highchairs in the room. They talked amongst themselves, laughing so loudly that their voices floated towards me. Only the uspec seated on the other side of the room seemed to be affected by this. It frowned at the imps, but it said nothing. Marcinus picked up a sword and thrust the weapon into the air.

“The imperial one is very kind master.” Musa whispered to me. I heard the relief in its voice.

“There is no such thing as a kind noble.” I stated.

Musa’s frowning face turned to study me. “But you are a kind noble master.” It said.

If we were alone, I would have reminded it that I was not a noble. As we were not, I simply said, “I am not kind.”

Musa snorted its disbelief. “I know better.” It said.

I chose to ignore the imp’s words, clinging to my knowledge that the Marcinus I was being presented to was nothing but a show. The real Marcinus would come out and then I would see why I had to take its eye. Perhaps I would also see how I could take the eye. I took my time studying my surroundings for the second time. I had not noticed the paintings which lined the walls. The drawings seemed to tell a story. There was something so familiar about the shadings, the contours, the way that the edges of the traces seemed to be imperfect. It almost looked like a hand-drawing, as if someone had taken a pen to the wall, and traced each line, colored in each shape. It was impossible though, hand-drawing a wall like this would take years.

My gaze turned back to Marcinus. I found my feet moving forward, closer to the uspec. It was practicing sword-fighting. The thrusts of the sharp end of its sword appeared perfect. The uspec moved with a skill that I could not fault. It sliced through the air as if cutting down an imaginary opponent, and I could tell from its moves that it was familiar with its technique. This was not an uspec playing with swords, this was one that actually knew what it was doing.

I scoffed then, laughing at my own foolishness. Any uspec could vanquish air. It did not take much skill to look like a good fighter. I stopped beside a long cyan counter. It had fruits, meats and great-looking pastries on it. It also had several goblets and decanters with varying colored liquids in them.

@phoenixchap thank you, I'm happy to see that you're seeing the hoaxes!!! As to Nebud, it couldn't have learnt everything possible after reading a couple of books over a number of months na, but hopefully it learnt enough to survive . As to the matter of updates, I've been updating every Wednesday and Saturday morning. I think you got it mixed up, it's been Saturday not Friday. I saw your comment and I even went to check my calendar cause I was thinking that I'd mixed up the days, lol. So yeah, it's Wednesday and Saturday mornings . And thanks for your continuous support and interest, it really means a lot to me

@enamored1 I won't say anything, but you're about to read it in the update. I'll let you decide about Marcinus and the voice in Nebud's head after reading But I must say, I like the way you put things together with this story...you're keeping me on my toes...thank you

@ayshow6102 thank you for thanking me and thanks for reading, I appreciate it!

Part 4
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The pounding of a fist against the suite door pulled me out of slumber. Soft orange light streamed in through a hole in the ceiling of the room. The hole was covered with a material which only allowed daylight to come in. At night, the lighting from the clouds were blocked out, allowing complete darkness in the room. I snapped my fingers, and the red glow emerged from the walls, almost overpowering the orange. The daylight was persistent though, making itself known in the tinting of the wall’s light.

The pounding stopped. As I stepped out of my bed, I heard the light undertones of voices. Musa’s voice was familiar, the other was not. Soon silence filled the apartment. There was a wooden bucket in the corner of the room. I walked over to it, pleased to see that Musa had thoughtfully filled it with okun. A cloth was draped over the side of the bucket. I put that cloth into the bucket and then pulled it out and slapped the wet material over my face. By the time I returned the cloth to its previous position, I caught sight of Musa out of my side eye.

I turned to face the imp. I frowned when the look of concern it had on its face registered on me. What had the imp so worried? “What is it Musa?”

Musa sighed. Its shoulders drooped and its head hung. “It is time to pay the piper master.” It said.

The frown on my face deepened as I continued to stare at the imp. “What are you talking about?”

“There are royal imps waiting outside our door master, they are here to take you to the Kaiser’s Chateau. The imperial one, Marcinus, sent for you.”

I groaned. I suppose it had been too much to wish that the events of the night before had all been part of a bad dream. Marcinus. There was a part of me that was still annoyed at the uspec. I hated that it had been so reckless with a creature so pure. Yet, every time I replayed the events of our run-in at the inn, I scolded myself for my behavior. The uspec had been repentant. That was the real befuddlement, it had even appeared somewhat deferential. I had met few nobles, and the only thing they all had in common was that they never allowed an uspec of a lower rank to speak down to them. As I had done to a Kaiser’s offspring. Well, its behavior the night before must have been a charade, it obviously meant to make me pay now.

My mind darted to the eye. Marcinus’ eye, the thing that had brought me to Katsoaru. But Marcinus had all of its eye sockets filled, so which one was I supposed to take. I laughed at my own optimism. As if I would get the opportunity. The uspec had all of its eyes, which meant that it had spectra, the full range of it. It could kill me before I even had the chance to reach for its eye. So how was I supposed to take it? Couldn’t the voice in my head have sent me after an easier uspec? Perhaps one without spectra, one that was not an imperial.

“I suppose we cannot turn down the invitation?” I asked, only mildly joking.

Musa gasped. “Master!” It exclaimed, obviously missing the teasing undertones in my voice. “It is an imperial one. We cannot dare. We must hurry master, after the events of last night, it will not look kindly on us if we keep it waiting.”

I nodded, walking over to the wardrobe to retrieve my adornments. Different questions floated around in my mind as I thought of the uspec Marcinus. What kind of noble was it? I fastened the neckcloth over the scales on my neck. A slight tug on my tail, had me spinning around immediately. Apparently, I was not moving fast enough for Musa. The imp had grabbed the silver sleeve itself and was now pulling it over my tail. I snickered at the agitated way in which it dressed me.

Musa grabbed my belt, and fixed it around my waist. I felt the weight of the merit-pouch in the pocket, and the dagger in its sheath. As Musa handed the cyan cutlass to me, it began speaking. “You remember the nobles master? And the way you greet them?” it asked. Then it forged ahead without giving me the chance to reply. “The Kaiser is the most powerful noble in any port, they alone wear five golden armbands around their arms. As a noble, you are to genuflect and bow your head in deference. The imperials are of the same status as the dukes of a metropolis, both of which wear four golden armbands. In their presence you must curtsy deeply. You bow at the waist to the majestics and the burg sovereigns, both of which wear three golden bands. The wellborn nobles descended of the previously mentioned nobles, wear two golden bands, and are greeted with a neck bow. The one armband nobles are the wellborn ones descended of made nobles. As a made noble you are not required to greet them with any body gesture, but you must be respectful. As a banneret, you are one of the three made nobles, the lowest on the rung of nobles. Master!” Musa cried out when it looked up and found me staring down at it with twitching lips. I couldn’t help myself when I saw the flabbergasted look on its face. I burst out laughing.

“Master.” Musa scolded. “You deeply offended the imperial one the last time you saw it. It would have been within its rights to have you punished for your treatment, right then and there. It was probably too overcome by the return of its pet to deal with the formalities, but it obviously remembered your insult, because it chose to summon you first thing in the morning. Remember that you cannot let yourself slip master, you cannot give them cause to suspect you. Please take this seriously master, and please hold on to your temper.”

The imp’s words had its desired effect on me. I nodded at it. “I did not know that it was imperial. Honestly, I did not even know that it was noble. There were no signs of golden bands underneath its robe.”

Musa nodded, its flattened lips bending into an understanding smile. “Of course master, just make sure you point that out. Perhaps the imperial one will take pity on us. We should go master.”

Pity, I did not like the word, but I could not argue against the imp’s usage of it. I thought of how much I hated to be at another’s mercy, not after Fajahromo – just the thought of the name had anger coursing through me. If I left the port now, I would not have to deal with Marcinus and its world of nobles. I would be under no one.

“Take Marcinus’s eye. You are mine Nebud! You are mine.”

Even before the idea had fully formed in my head, the insistent voice returned. It prodded, it pushed, it screamed, it compelled. I could no more disobey it than I could force my heart to stop beating. I grabbed the cyan cutlass from the imp’s outstretched hand, and angrily stuck it into my sheath. Then I stormed out of the room, my mood blackened as I headed towards the suite door.

“Master please!” Musa implored as it ran after me. It did not have to complete its pleading, I knew what it was asking. It did not want me to offend the imperial one. I took a deep breath and forced the air out of me. Then, I placed my hand against the hard fog door of the entrance. This door, unlike the others in the suite, was made to grant entrance only to me and Musa.

There were two imps standing on the other side of the door. Both imps were eyeless and dressed in a fine-looking long-sleeved tunic. The ends of the grey material were fringed with gold. Both imps bowed deeply when they saw me. “Greetings domina.” They intoned, speaking together as if they were trained to. Their voices complemented each other, given off the air of a single person speaking, instead of the overlap expected from two. “Shall we lead you to the Chateau?” they asked.

I nodded curtly.

“Very well domina.” They replied.

Then the imps turned around and began walking through the light humid clouds. I wondered if I would ever get used to this place. In that moment though, I was grateful for the distraction of the percolation the clouds provided. It was due to that distraction that my mind did not dwell on the imperial one who had summoned me, or what awaited me. Was I expected to beg for the imperial one’s mercy? Would I do it? Never. Marcinus’s eye. I shook my head, my body physically trying to expel the aggravating voice.

It wasn’t long till we reached another building. For a dwelling in the wealthy part of the port, this one was rather low quality. It had painted sludge walls and a curtain entrance. Two guards stood in front of the entrance, but they stepped aside at the sight of us. We walked into a portal room.

In silence, we stepped into the hardened quicksand in the middle of the room and were transported to a bubble. It was a cloud bubble lift, one which I had seen pictures of in a tome, but this was my first time actually standing in it. The bubble hovered over the burg. I could see a good view of the different parts of the burg from the elevated position of the lift. I knew why the lift was necessary, I knew that the soaru Kaisers tended to build their Chateaus in the clouds. They were not built as high as the inter port trail – nothing was permitted to be that high – but they were built high enough that it would be a hardship to climb up to them.

Looking around, I counted ten uspecs standing around the bubble, none of them nobles. Suddenly, a darkness filled the bubble. It only lasted for an instant, and then we were standing in another red transparent cloud bubble. This one appeared different though, the walls seemed to be made up of firmer material. I could not see to the end of the bubble, but guards lined the walls of it. I saw more weapons than I had ever seen accumulated in a single place. It was a variety, from spears to hammers, from swords to hoes, axes and clubs, they were all there. The imps led us to the right of the bubble, past the unending lines of armed guards. Then, at long last, we reached the end of the bubble. The imps kept walking, into the fog, and so I followed after them.

I was essentially blind.

It was the thickest clouds that I had ever seen. I saw red light, but I could make out nothing through the red smog. I felt a hand clamp onto my right arm and immediately tried to pull myself free. What if the person touching me had pansophy, what if they were sifting through my thoughts? I panicked, tugging at my arm to free myself. Even if I got free where would I go. There was nothing but red around me, I could not even see my own body.

“Master, it is me.” I heard Musa’s whisper. It must have been close to me then, I thought, close enough that I could hear though it spoke so softly. “The clouds are so thick master, it is impossible to see through without extra sight. I have the sight master, I can see, I will guide you.”

“What is this?” I asked, hating the weakness the blindness brought.

“Some sort of security check I think. There is a counter in front of us master, and there are armed guards behind the counter. There is also a line of uspecs in front of the counter, some of them noble.” Musa stopped talking and I focused all of my attention on staying in step with it. I concentrated on it and on my arm, letting it guide me through the haze. “The royal imps are leading us around the line master.”

I nodded. “How does anyone see through this?” I demanded, trying to suppress the bitterness in my voice. I was a fighter, I had to be aware of my surroundings, especially when danger lurked at all corners. What if someone attacked me? Was this the imperial one’s punishment?

“They must have aqua-sight, it is a liquid with sight given to it. A drop in the eyes lasts for an hour. Forgive me master, I did not think to buy it.”

“What are we doing now?” I asked, wondering why I had not come across this detail in my tomes. I had read that the Kaisers built their palaces in the clouds, but I had thought it would be like the inter-port trail, not this.

“We are walking around the table master.” Musa’s hand dropped from around my arm and I was made even more aware of my lack of sight. I stopped walking, desperate to find out why the imp had abandoned me.

Before I could call out the imp’s name, I heard voices in front of me. “Salutations noble one.” I heard one say. “Please take out your weapons.”

This was too much. The loss of sight coupled with the loss of Musa’s guidance was more than I could bear. I placed my hand on the hilt of my cutlass, ready to pull it out and attack.

I felt the slight brush of a hand scraping against my ailerons.

Suddenly, I could see. I saw the guard standing in front of me, all three of its eyes staring questioningly at my hand on my cutlass. I saw the other guards standing behind the counter and the line of uspecs standing behind me. Musa stood to my right, its head bowed, its hands crossed behind it. The imps who had been sent to get me stood in front of me. They too stood with their hands behind their backs. Unlike Musa, their empty eye sockets seemed to be fixed on my hand gripping the hilt of my cutlass so tightly.

“Noble one.” The guard repeated. “Only guards serving the line of the Kaisers of Katsoaru can walk into the Chateau with their weapons.”

Of course, I thought, that made sense. My sight and sanity returned, I pulled out my cutlass and dagger, and handed them both over to the guard. The guard nodded. It turned around and I watched it take the weapons to an opaque wall of fog behind it. It put the weapons in, and its hands emerged with a metal tag. It brought that tag over to me. “To retrieve your weapons when you leave noble one.” It said, handing the tag over to me.

I took the tag and nodded to the guard. Placing the tag in a pocket in my belt, I followed the imps through an opening, into a walkway.

“Forgive me master.” Musa whispered once we walked a good distance away from the check-in. “I promised never to use pansophy on you without your permission, but I had no time to ask for it.”

I frowned at the imp’s words. It took longer than it should have for its words to make sense to me. “You gave me sight.” I stated. The imp nodded. “Thank you.”

Musa smiled at me, and then it nodded again.

The royal imps led us past blocks of rooms cordoned off by high red walls. We’d past about three of those rooms when one of the imps turned to the left and placed its hand on a hard wall of red fog. The fog went away, revealing a rectangular hole through which we could walk in.

The lack of humidity in this new room, told me that we were finally out of the maze of thick fogs.

“Banneret!” I heard the voice from the night before call. The time had come for me to ‘pay the piper’ as Musa had put it.

HotB:
Eyes from an uspec must have some significance then...

By the way, am always wowed by ur choice of diction and construction. Weh done work!

Thank you!!!

And yes, uspec eyes give spectra, which is a kind of spectral existence magic.

@tunjilomo lol, yes oh, it's going to be a real showdown

@cassbeat thank you, but what don't you believe?

@ayshow6102 thanks for reading the update ! Hahahahaha! I love that, it's really 'suicide mission' lol!

@Botaflica Yes oh, how indeed? I agree with you, something crazy is indeed about to play out

We exited the suite and emerged in the cloudy night. Unlike the scattering of clouds which had filled the commoners’ area, the merchants’ block was covered with cloud. It raised the degree of humidity to an altogether different level. Luckily, the clouds were mostly translucent, so even though it was difficult to see through them, it was not impossible. As soon as the percolation of pink liquid formed on my skin, I was itching to find new cover. I could not imagine how the soaru uspecs could live like this. Why would they bring the clouds down and have them fill the entire burg? It was unimaginable.

The swan wrapped its neck around me again, and I found myself drifting into and out of cognizance with the world. Through its pain, the swan was able to guide me to the inn it had showed me in its mind. Somehow, Musa was able to see clearly through the clouds and so we made it to the blue lit walls of the inn in less than an hour. As soon as the walls of the inn appeared, the light emerging from them, heralding its presence, the swan flew off my shoulder. Flapping its wings, the swan flew in circles in the slightly thicker clouds a few feet above our heads. I found it so hard to see through these clouds that once the swan rose to a high enough distance, it was completely lost to me.

So, I reached the entrance to the inn and simply stood there, waiting to see if the swan would return, or if it was already gone. A minute or two passed before I heard the flapping of wings, and then the swan returned, perching comfortably on my shoulder. It inclined its head, jutting its beak out towards the entrance. Nodding, I acquiesced to the creature’s wishes, and put my palm against the blue fog entrance.

As soon as I did this, the entire front wall covering the inn became translucent. It was simply magnificent. With this unobstructed view, I could see the glass tables and the chairs surrounding them. These chairs like all others where backless, basically curved stools with hands. A group of imps sat on a raised stage at the front of the room, I could tell from the way their mouths moved that they were singing. They all had eyes, all had streak-less skin and all wore expensive looking robes. Some of the imps played instruments. The back of the room had dark opaque fog which I watched eyeless imps walk out through, rolling carts laden with food. Right in front of the entrance, I saw a cyan counter, and two dressed uspecs standing behind it. The uspecs wore long white leather gowns and stood with their backs to me, their gazes on a part of the room which I could not see from the outside.

Insistent flapping of wings pulled my attention back to the swan. I could tell from the way it shuffled around on my shoulder that it was impatient to go in. So, I walked in through the transparent fog and watched it turn hard and opaque behind me. As soon as I walked in, my ears filled with the sounds of light conversation, gentle laughter, and sonorous voices accompanied by melodious instruments. This was unlike any inn that I had ever been in, but I had read of inns like this, expensive ones which boasted only the best of uspecs as their clientele. I wondered how much a good meal would cost in a place like this.

“Salutations noble one.” One of the uspecs standing behind the counter greeted. The uspec had two outer eyes on its face, but none of those eyes were imp eyes, which meant that this uspec like all the others which I had seen since coming here, had no spectra. “May I…” it stopped speaking as its eyes zoomed over to stare in alarm at the swan on my shoulder. The uspec reached for the other. It pinched the other’s dress between its fingers to get its attention. Once the uspec turned around, it pointed at the swan on my shoulder and said, “is that…”

A loud booming voice cut the uspec’s words off. “Mara!” the voice yelled.

Immediately, the swan flew off my shoulder. I turned to watch as my swan, the noble creature of the kute spectrum, flew to its master, a soaru uspec. I had never been more affronted in my life. If I had known that its master, its home, was with a soaru uspec, I would never have brought the swan here! Even as the words floated in my head, a voice cautioned me to be reasonable. Frosted beasts chose noble masers. They rarely ever chose to live outside their homes, but when they did, it was because they had found one deserving of the honor. I had hoped that this swan would choose to stay with me, that it would find in me the nobility required of a master of a frosted beast. It would have been the highest honor to own such a noble creature. I certainly wouldn’t have allowed it to get captured.

The soaru uspec which the swan had flown to hugged it tight. “Oh Mara,” it said, stroking the swan’s skin as the swan’s neck curled around the uspec, “is that really you? I searched everywhere for you. I missed you tata.”

The uspec was strangely dressed. It had on a maroon robe which seemed to be made of a mixture of fur and leather. The fringes of the coat were decorated with silver, to match the silver buttons running down the middle. The coat was buttoned up completely so that I could see nothing, not even the tentacles underneath it. On the uspec’s feet, it wore a strange cyan sole. Three uspecs stood behind it. Two of those uspecs where bannerets like me. They had silver neckcloths around their necks, silver belts around their waists, and silver sleeves covering each of their tentacles. Unlike me, they wore clothes made out of silver leather, shirts which fully covered their arms and trousers which covered their legs. The last uspec was a noble. It had two golden bands around each of its arms and had a black belt around its waist. It wore a simple sleeveless black leather robe which covered the rest of it. I noted that each of three uspecs had four of their outer eyes filled. None of them had imp eyes, which also meant that none of them had spectra. I found this very puzzling.

“Salutations my friend!” The same loud voice called out. Its reunion with the swan complete, it transferred the creature to its left hand, while it stretched out its right hand to me.

I looked suspiciously at the hand. I told myself that I would not shake it because it was foolish to touch an obviously wealthy uspec when it could have pansophy. But the truth was that I brimmed with jealousy that a soaru uspec had claimed ownership of a kute frosted beast.

With a frown on my face, I turned my open glare from the outstretched hand, to the uspec who’d offered it, in a clear sign that I had no intention of shaking its hand. For some reason, my response was met by outraged gasps. All three of the uspecs standing behind the one with the swan, put their hands on the hilt of their swords and began pulling it out. The one in front, obviously the leader of the group, pulled its hand back and rose it in the air, halting the warriors behind it.

“That’s fair enough banneret.” The uspec said, its voice still friendly, though it did not call me ‘my friend’ again. It had a wide smile on its face, and I noticed for the first time, that this uspec had all of its eyes filled. “Where did you find my pet?” It asked.

“In a kennel,” I replied, my words dripping with disdain. I ignored the gasps and the frowns on the faces of the uspec warriors. “It was set to fight against kares.”

The smile faded from the uspec’s face. With a frown of concern, it tightened its hold on the swan. “Do you mean it?” it asked, its gaze rising to meet mine. “In a kennel?”

I nodded, not even slightly sympathetic to the worry I heard in the uspec’s voice. If it was truly concerned about the swan, it would not have let it get caged. What if I had been late? What if I had left without walking into the fight-room? Those fools would have set the swan against hounds and the noble creature would be lost.

The uspec’s shoulders squared. “I owe you a debt of gratitude my friend. Tell me what you want as payment. Name it, and it will be yours.”

“Take better care of your swan. It is an honor when a frosted beast chooses you as its owner. You have been chosen by a noble kute creature, do not insult the trust it has placed in you. And I am no friend of yours.” I added that last part purely out of spite. I would make a much better owner. The uspec appeared to be about the same height as I was, but I could tell from the arms hidden by its sleeves that I was bulkier. Though, I grudgingly accepted, the uspec had some bulk to it.

Again, the warriors reached for the hilt of their weapons and again the uspec stopped them. The uspec bowed slightly to me. “I am aware of this honor, and I will take better care of Mara. Thank you banneret, I am truly in your debt.” It stopped speaking and stared at me. It studied me carefully, scrutinizing every inch of my body with a level of detail which I found unnerving. Its eyes met mine and we simply stared at each other. The longer the stare lasted, the more aware I became of the eyes on its face and what those eyes meant in terms of the magic which it possessed.

Then, the seriousness in the uspec’s expression lightened. It smiled at me and nodded. “Have a good night banneret.” It said, before walking out of the inn, taking the swan with it. The swan’s beak scraped against my arm as it passed, a goodbye gesture which I felt in its pain.

It wasn’t till all four of the uspecs left, that I felt Musa’s elbow poke into my side. I turned to stare at the imp and watched as it inclined its head to the counter. It was then that I saw the uspecs rise from their knees. I had been so occupied by my anger at the soaru uspec’s ownership of a swan, that I had not noticed that the uspecs’ who’d been standing behind the counter had fallen on their knees.

An odd sensation filled me as I turned to the uspecs to ask, “who was that?”

“You don’t know?” one asked.

The other spoke over it. “That was the imperial, Marcinus, second imperial in the line of the Kaisers of Katsoaru.”

Marcinus, I thought with a frown on my face, that was the uspec I had come to Katsoaru for, the one whose eye I had been tasked with stealing.

Interpreting the frown on my face as a lack of understanding, the uspec clarified. “It is Marcinus, noble one, the second offspring of the Kaiser of Katsoaru.”

Part 3
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I was woken by an irritating screeching sound. I could not have been sleeping long, in fact it felt as if I had only just gone to bed. Maybe I had gotten an hour of sleep, probably less I mused as the screeching continued. Stifling a sigh, I lifted my ailerons out of the comfortable net, and rose to a sitting position on the bed.

The room was dark, so although I could still hear the sound, I could not see its source. A snap of my finger quickly solved that problem. The expensive suite, which I had rented from a lodging in the wealthy merchant’s section of the Katsoaru Acropolis, had walls made from clouds. The clouds had been given hearing so that when I snapped my fingers, the light in them switched states. Now red light poured from the walls, filling the room with an unusual glow.

With the lighting I could finally see the source of the screeching sound which had so abruptly cut off my rest.

“Musa.” I chided, jumping off my bed and walking to the imp kneeling on the floor in front of the hard fog door which led into the room. It held on fast to one of the swan’s legs with one hand, while its other arm was suspended in the air, attempting to shield its face from the scratching of another of the swan’s legs. The creature’s last two legs scraped against the hard fog door.

With a sigh, I took the precious creature from the imp, smiling when it flew in the air and chose to drape itself over my shoulder. It wound its long neck around mine, and scraped softly against the skin on my neck, above my scales, with its beak.

“Master.” Musa said, rising to its feet. It had a frown on its face as it stared down at its lacerated arm. Then I watched as the cut skin healed, with pansophy I surmised. Its injuries now seen to, Musa turned the full burn of its angry face on me, and then on the swan on my shoulder as it pointed at the creature. “That thing…” Musa began.

I tsked at it, cutting it off before it could insult such a noble beast. “I don’t think I like that tone.” I warned.

Musa gasped. “It was trying to escape!” Musa yelled in outrage.

I shook my head at the imp, turning my focus to the swan instead. With my fingers, I stroked the soft white skin of the swan’s head cooing to it as I asked, “Is that true?”

“Is that true?” Musa snorted. “After everything that we’ve been through, you would take an animal’s word over mine?” The shock was so evident in its voice and on the lines in its face that I found myself chuckling at its outrage. In all the time we had been together, I had never seen the imp so distraught.

“Of course not.” I replied, still stroking the swan. “Tell me your side of the story.” I said agreeably.

“My side?” It shook its head, its mouth hanging open, as if it was too stupefied to speak. “Honestly master, I am…I am…offended. That…”

I narrowed my eyes in warning when I suspected the imp was about to hurl another unflattering name at the swan.

Musa threw its hands up in the air. “Fine. You sleep with it!” It snapped. “I don’t like those creatures, still I slept by it. And when I heard it trying to leave, what did I do? Say good riddance and let it leave? No, I woke up and went to try my best to restrain it. I even used pansophy to try to take away its motion so that it wouldn’t…” It cut itself short as the words fizzled to a stop.

With an indulgent smile on my face, I asked. “And what did you do wrong?”

Musa shook its head at me and then it laughed. “I suppose I was a little groggy after I woke and found the swan by the door. I forgot that frosted beasts are immune to magic, that they can sense its use. That was probably why the swan became aggressive.”

“Well done.” I praised, laughing out when the imp just shook its head even more, the smile on its face now morphed into a grin. “Sit.” I said, pointing to the much higher bed which I had slept on.

Warily, the imp perched on the bed. It had a single eyebrow raised as it stared up at me. With a smile on my face, I reached for the swan now resting on my shoulder. Once Musa became aware of my intentions, it jumped off the bed and backed away.

“Master,” it said, taking a step back. “I do not like the swan.”

I stopped moving, transferred the swan to one hand, and pointed the other back at the bed. “Sit.” I repeated.

“Master…”

It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. With a heavy sigh and drooping shoulders, Musa slumped onto the bed. It drew back slightly as I gently placed the swan in its lap.

“Master!” Musa cried, when the swan immediately began to scratch its beak along Musa’s chest, tearing the skin. The swan’s clawed feet also moved rapidly, shredding Musa’s trousers.

“Relax.” I said. “Let out your pain.”

“What?” it asked, its voice raising when the swan showed no sign of abating in its assault.

“You tried to use pansophy on the swan Musa, it does not know why, it simply sees you as the enemy now. You have been hiding your pain, but you need to let it out. It is the only language that the swan speaks. Let out your pain and the swan will understand that you mean it no harm.”

Musa’s brows furrowed in disbelief. Still, after a few seconds passed, it let out the emotion it had been hiding. As soon as the pain was uncovered, I felt it. I felt the beauty of it, not nearly as overwhelming as the swan’s, but still awing. Slowly, the swan’s feet stopped moving, its beak stopped its scratching, as its head stroked against Musa’s slightly abraded skin.

I backed away then, leaving the both of them to get better acquainted. As soon as my back touched the fog door, the form left it. I walked out of the room, and the fog hardened behind me. The rest of the suite was as dark as my room had been when I first woke. A simple snap of my fingers fixed that problem.

The suite was broken into four compartments. There was the single sleeping room which I shared with Musa, an open space with smaller net-less lounging beds for entertaining, a cooking room to the left of the open space, and a cleaning room to the right. I walked over to the cleaning room. Compared to the one in the resort, this one was quite underwhelming, but there was a much larger public one in the lodging, so it was acceptable.

There was a tunnel leading into the cleaning area, that tunnel was filled with a combination of cloud and hail-seeds. Hail, like the other souls of the spectrums, had spectra in it. With the right eyes, hail could be used to drain any creature of its heat or cool. I had read a particular story in one of my tomes, of uspecs who used hail to create an inferno. It was a feat of magic I could not wait to try. The hail-seeds in the tunnel heated the moisture in the clouds. Those seeds had been coated with cleaning salts so that the salts soaked into my skin as I walked through the tunnel. Now that I had more experience with them, the salts were quite bearable.

I emerged from the tunnel to a small okun pond. Although it was quite unimpressive, not nearly large enough to swim in, it was the largest pond in any suite in the entire lodging. Soaru uspecs truly did not feel as we did about okuns. I stepped into the okun and let the dark salts push off the cleaning ones. I dunked in, bending at the knee so that all of my body was submerged in the liquid. Then I pulled myself out of the okun and walked back through the tunnel.

When I walked back into the room, I was greeted to a stirring scene. Musa had relaxed. It cradled the swan in its hands, stroking its skin as the swan’s neck curled around Musa’s arm. They were both so ensconced in each other that neither noticed me until I sat beside Musa on the bed. Its head snapped to the side then, its empty sockets staring at me. There was a smile of contentment on its face.

“It is beautiful master.” Musa’s soft voice sounded pleased.

The swan’s wings flapped then, it rose in the air, lifting itself off Musa’s lap and coming to rest on my shoulder. It wrapped its neck around my neck. I felt the depths of its pain then. There was something compelling about the pain, an enthralling piece that drew me in, urging me to examine it further. I reached for the swan’s pain through the lifeforce in mine, and I let it speak to me.

The swan showed me a dwelling. This dwelling reminded me of the ones I had seen while walking along the merchant’s block, coming to the place where we had found acceptable lodging. A sign hanging from the entrance to the dwelling showed that it was an inn, a high class one. From the swan’s pain, I could tell that the swan felt that the inn was home. It wanted to go there, that was why it had been scratching against the fog door.

“Tomorrow.” I said aloud.

The lighting in my mind was emphasized. I became more aware of the red glow of the clouds, as if the swan wanted me to note it. I realized then that it did not want to wait till the next day, it wanted to return that very night. As soon as I came to this realization, the swan pulled back, and I felt my vision clear, the glow of the room filling my eyes. There was a part of me that wanted to deny the swan’s request, a part of me that did not want to part with it. This was the second swan that I had encountered, the second one which had been drawn to me, surely that was a sign? But swans were frosted beasts, noble creatures, and I would be just as wrong as the criminals who’d caged it, if I refused to take it where it so desperately wanted to go.

“We are going out.” I stated, my voice sharper than intended. I should not be feeling the impending loss so keenly, but I could not help my reaction.

Musa rose. “Where to master?” it asked with a frown of puzzlement miring its face.

“To return the swan.” I replied.

“What?” it gasped. “Now? But it is still night master. Perhaps we can go in the morning.”

I shook my head. “The swan wants to return tonight.”

Musa’s shoulders drooped as it nodded. I could tell from its countenance that it would also be missing the swan. We dressed in relative silence. I walked over to the cupboard, turning my back on the imp as I garbed myself in the proper attire of my banneret rank. When I turned back around, Musa had changed its torn trousers and now had on a long-sleeved green shirt. It tucked the ends of its shirt into its trousers as I checked to make sure that my dagger, sword and bag of merit were in their right positions in my belt. Then we left the suite. Musa wore the key to our coffer and our room on the handy string around its neck.

@cassbeat lol, yeah, that song was a 'jam' back in my secondary school days, hahaha. The wait is over, tomorrow has come

@Fazemood Well, I agree that we definitely have not seen the last of the beef between Nebud and Fajahromo...

@Dranoid yes oh, I had those topics taken down because I've started the process of getting the Marked series published! It's very exciting, but it also means that I can no longer make those books available, until they are published

@Dathypebruv Thou art here lol!