obehiD:
Publishing updates for those who've read and follow the human part of the Marked Series:
=============================================================

This week, I received the biggest disappointment of my writing life. My publishers, who I’ve been working with for the last year and a half, decided to terminate my contract. It’s been a very hard week for me, trying to get past the disappointment and keep writing and figure out what to do next with my Marked series.

I’m not sure yet when/how I’m going to publish White Sight: The Awakening, but I’ve decided that it’s not fair to my Crimson Night readers who’ve been waiting to read Awakening to drag this process out for another year or two (which is what will inevitably happen if I try to go down the rabbit hole of traditional publishing again, with this book).

So, while I decide on how to officially publish this book, I want to give some of my Crimson Night readers, who’ve been so supportive and patient with me and this story, the chance to be alpha readers for the next book in the Marked series. What that means is that you’ll be agreeing to read a rough draft of the Awakening story in exchange for feedback that can help me improve on the work as is. If you are interested, please leave a comment on here with this post quoted and I will send you an email through Nairaland.

If there's anyone on here who read Awakening back when I posted it on NL and would be interested in helping me out as an alpha reader please let me know. This is a second version of the book with most of the same plot themes, but the story has been redone. I made one big change to the marks, so I got rid of werewolves and made them werejackals instead. Anyway, it would be nice to have some comparisons between the previous version I had on Nairaland with what I have now if anyone who has already read it before is willing to read it again. Let me know and I will reach out to you.

Thanks in advance!

Sorry about the disappointment..... Am sure a better opportunity lies out there.... Stay strong, you can ����������

obehiD:
Publishing updates for those who've read and follow the human part of the Marked Series:
=============================================================

This week, I received the biggest disappointment of my writing life. My publishers, who I’ve been working with for the last year and a half, decided to terminate my contract. It’s been a very hard week for me, trying to get past the disappointment and keep writing and figure out what to do next with my Marked series.

I’m not sure yet when/how I’m going to publish White Sight: The Awakening, but I’ve decided that it’s not fair to my Crimson Night readers who’ve been waiting to read Awakening to drag this process out for another year or two (which is what will inevitably happen if I try to go down the rabbit hole of traditional publishing again, with this book).

So, while I decide on how to officially publish this book, I want to give some of my Crimson Night readers, who’ve been so supportive and patient with me and this story, the chance to be alpha readers for the next book in the Marked series. What that means is that you’ll be agreeing to read a rough draft of the Awakening story in exchange for feedback that can help me improve on the work as is. If you are interested, please leave a comment on here with this post quoted and I will send you an email through Nairaland.

If there's anyone on here who read Awakening back when I posted it on NL and would be interested in helping me out as an alpha reader please let me know. This is a second version of the book with most of the same plot themes, but the story has been redone. I made one big change to the marks, so I got rid of werewolves and made them werejackals instead. Anyway, it would be nice to have some comparisons between the previous version I had on Nairaland with what I have now if anyone who has already read it before is willing to read it again. Let me know and I will reach out to you.

Thanks in advance!

I'm interested

The mighty imperial undead obehid

the publishers rejected a potential bestseller...
I have a feeling obehid 's story is another j.k Rowling in the making ..
To the matter on ground..
You know I can die for you works ba.. and I've read every marked series book ..permit me to jump on your offer to read the werejackals remake

Stay safe .
Yours in markery
Mighty popeshemoo
.

Thank you so much Tuhndhay and presh654.

Mighty popeshemoo I'm not yet an imperial undead, lol, but after I enter the spectral existence I hope our ports will be bordered lol. Thank you, so much for the kind words, I really appreciate them!

Part 10
----------

We ate our dinner quickly that night. No one spoke about the bribes that we’d paid to Chechin or the sick smile of triumph that had colored its features after it bade us farewell. It felt wrong that the uspec should benefit as much as it would when it thought so little of Chuspecip and iriras in general. But the more I dealt with nobles, and the more I learnt about the foul game they termed ‘politics’, the less I liked it. Still, we’d won, and Chechin had agreed to withdraw. And so we spent the evening meal in silence. We could all feel it now.

We’d drawn close to the endgame.

Our peaceful time spent hiding away in our compound had now come to an end. It was now time for war. It was time to find Chuspecip and return it to its rightful position.

After the meal we all seemed to make the same mental decision to adjoin to Arexon’s office.

I stood beside the sketch of Hakute on Arexon’s war map and stared at the uspec. It seemed lighter than it had since we began the journey, as if a weight had been lifted off its shoulders. Arexon had despised every moment of the break. It wanted to fight, and now the time had come for it to do as it sought. I could not help but feel a pang of loss at our impending separation. It had been bliss to be in this place with Arexon for a whole month, to know that I could rely on its strength.

“At the day’s dawn?” Arexon asked unnecessarily. It had only needed to take a look at our faces once we returned to know that our mission had been successful.

“Yes high one,” Animaon confirmed. “Chechin will wait that long.”

Arexon smiled. It was a smile that I had not had cause to see in a long time. The uspec may not be certain of the outcome of the war, but it was eager to do battle. The thrill of the fight was one of the many things that Arexon and I had in common.

“It is better than I could have expected.” Arexon stated.

“Is Marcinus ready?” I asked, spitting the name out as I uttered it. The wrongs that Marcinus had done to me would not soon be forgotten. I thought of the wrongs I’d done to it and found myself sobering a little.

Arexon turned to face me. “It will march. I have assigned a hundred of my soldiers to march with it. Enough that when news of Marcinus’ approach reaches Manus the uspec will demand troops from the plenum.”

“You trust it with a hundred of your troops?”

Arexon scoffed. “Moat will be leading the soldiers. All that we require of Marcinus is for the uspec to walk straight and show its face.”

I turned to stare at Moat. I liked it. It was sturdy, and an excellent fighter. “Even that may be asking too much of Marcinus.”

Arexon smiled but it said nothing in response.

“And you, high one?” Fabiana asked.

“While Marcinus and the bulk of my forces make for Katsoaru, I will take the rest of my troops to Chiboga by way of Aboga. We will meet up with the contingent of Aboga troops stationed outside Chiboga and usher them into the port if my patron has not done so already. Chechin’s troops make up over 90% of those around Chiboga. So, in either case, the withdrawal of Chechin’s troops will provide us with a wide enough window to sneak into the port undetected. We may even be able to request additional troops from the other annexed ports, while the plenum scrambles to redeploy their troops after Chechin leaves. We will see.” Arexon’s gaze rose from the maps to rest on me. “And you, Nebud?” It asked.

“Hakute.” I tipped my chin toward the area on the war map that was directly in front of me.

“Is that wise?” Arexon asked.

I shrugged. “The plenum is losing thirty percent of their forces and they will have war in Lahooni and Chiboga, as well as a vested interest in guarding Katsoaru so that Marcinus does not march on it. They will be far too thinly drawn to waste ten percent of their troops guarding Hakute.”

Arexon frowned. “That may be, but they will not leave it unguarded.”

“I hope not.” I was definitely expecting to face some resistance. It would be nice to wet my blade with the blood of plenum soldiers.

“You have about a hundred swords, eighty-five of which can actually fight.”

I grinned at Arexon. “Sounds like I am in for an exciting day, doesn’t it?”

Most of the uspecs laughed. These were all fighters. Not all could fight at the same level, but they were all still fighters at heart.

Arexon shook its head, but its smile widened. When it came to matters like this, we understood each other perfectly.

“We will break up into ten groups of approximately ten uspecs each. A large group of nobles travelling together would raise suspicion, but just ten of us at a time, that wouldn’t be too bad. Fabiana will lead one group and remain close to my left flank, Darlin will lead another and be close to my right. We will stop at a resting place close to Hakute but not so close that the plenum guards will spot us. We’ll have to wait there to receive word from you, sirga, of the troop redeployments so we wait to charge on Hakute only when it is feasible to do so.”

Arexon nodded. “How do you suppose the plenum will redistribute their forces?”

“By percentage. Thirty in Lahooni, twenty in Chiboga, five in Katsoaru and five in Hakute.” Darlin stated confidently. I nodded in agreement. It seemed like a logical distribution. And, I smiled a little, it would give Lahooni a break. With ten percent of the plenum’s forces dead on arrival in Lahooni, and thirty leaving with Chechin, they would only have sixty percent left for two major wars, and two protection duties.

“Hmmm.” Arexon mused. “We estimate that the plenum has a hundred thousand soldiers…”

“I would put that number closer to eighty thousand, high one,” Animaon interjected.

Arexon glanced at it and then nodded distractedly before returning its gaze to its map and then finally to me. “Five percent of eighty thousand is…”

“Four thousand, high one.” Juke cut in.

“Yes,” Arexon said, “Still too much for you to take with a hundred swords. That will be forty to one odds. It’s impossible.”

“I think the plenum will want to keep at least forty percent of its forces in Lahooni. They are still more certain of the imperial one’s presence there than they are of it being on the inter-port trail. So, if it’s not on the inter-port trail, then why waste valuable resources guarding Hakute? I say they will have fifteen percent around Chiboga, four percent in Katsoauru and one percent around Hakute. Eight hundred soldiers.” Fabiana concluded. “Eight-to-one odds.”

Arexon looked at Fabiana and laughed. “You think that you can survive eight-to-one odds?”

Fabiana nodded. “Why not?”

“Maybe if you had a hundred fighters like Darlin and Nebud. As it is, I think that you will struggle to survive five-to-one odds and that is the best you can hope for.” Arexon replied offhandedly.

I knew my honoraria would take offence at that. I could already see Binna positioning itself to respond when Animaon cut in. “There will be more soldiers stationed around Chiboga.” It said.

I frowned. How did it know that? Arexon asked the question that I had been thinking.

“Because I will be there with you, high one. We will let word get to the plenum that I, not Animaton, am the pious one they desire to break into Katsoaru. And that I am currently travelling and fighting by your side. I think that will get their attention, don’t you?”

I gaped at it. I remembered how strenuously I had objected to Arexon taking Animaon to the plenum simply because I was worried about Marcinus’ safety. Now I could not care less if Marcinus was dead.

“Why would you do that?” Arexon asked.

“It is what the founder wills. I will accompany you, high one, and I will bring the free imps with me. The slaves have chosen to remain with you, Cala.”

‘Cala’. Animaon had not called me that since its return. Its words reminded me of the background we shared. I was the heir, but it was Animaon who had been as family to my progenitor and sire while they lived.

I looked away. “And if I do not want the slaves?”

There was a sharp inhale. I could not tell who it had come from. There were many of the imps in the room. Musa stood on one edge, hovering close to Arexon, with its imp companion by its side. It was never far away from that female imp.

Animaon came closer to me. It placed its hand on its shoulder and whispered into my ear, “they are sworn to your line, just as much as the uspecs in your port. These imps have served more generations of your line than any uspec living. Their adamant desire to serve you is an honor.”

An honor? I wanted to scream at Animaon. What was so honorable about a slave serving? It was what they were meant to do was it not? I did not understand the desire that had driven the uspecs of my line to be so soft towards these imps. The same imps that were now planning to take our existence from us. The only imp I wanted to keep with me was Musa. Animaon would keep the rest. I was just about to say this when Fabiana spoke.

“Some have pansophy, sirga, and some are good fighters. Chike told me that it trained Calami and Calami was a great warrior. I think we can use the extra swords if they are willing to fight for us.”

Fabiana had acted as slave to the imps in Permafrost. It came as no surprise to me that it was all too eager to join forces with their kind.

I looked at the way that Musa leaned towards the female imp and I knew that if it came down to a choice, Musa would not choose service to me over its relationship with this imp. Why did I care? “They can cook and clean and sharpen our blades. I suppose they could be of some use to us.” I acceded.

Musa’s female imp turned to stare at me. There was so much sadness etched into that face that I found it impossible to keep looking at it. I looked away. Then I realized what I’d done and snapped my gaze back to glare accusingly at the imp. It was no longer looking at me, but that did not wash away my rage at it for forcing me to look away. I was suddenly filled with an irrational urge to purge the spectral existence of all of their kind.

Not Musa though. Never Musa.

“How many exactly?” I asked Animaon.

“Twenty-four.”

I gritted my teeth and simply jerked my head in a nod.

After that there was not much more to do. The plan had been laid out. Now we all had to move into position. The compound was chaotic. Arexon’s soldiers needed to start the march at once, if they were to stand a chance of reaching Chiboga and being in a position to sneak more soldiers in after Chechin and its troops withdrew.

I put my things together. There was not much. I still just had my single coffer and all of my belongings fit in there. I checked on Nebula twice while the chaos of breaking camp ensued. The uspec slept through most of it.

Time passed quickly. It wasn’t too long later that I found myself standing outside the compound with my offspring in my arms and Marc’s warm fur beside me. I caught a glimpse of Marcinus and was reminded, much to my chagrin, that I had named my most beloved pet after it.

The form was taken from our dwelling and the outhouses and they crumbled and became part of the hard sludge ground. I suddenly found myself feeling oddly nostalgic for the times we’d spent here. I had to remind myself of all the tragedies that had ensued. Of Marcinus’ lust addiction and the permanent affliction that my offspring faced as a result. There was also the Wrath’s attack. Imps, I thought with a curse.

Marcinus and the soldiers Arexon had assigned to it left first. There was a strange moment when I thought that I saw something of awareness in Marcinus’ lust-filled gaze. It stared at me and there was sadness in its eyes. It seemed poised to approach me, but then it laughed hysterically and its craziness returned. It had taken Moat and three other soldiers to carry Marcinus into the air. Then they flew away, and they were gone.

I found myself watching the departing dots. It wasn’t till that moment, as I stared after Marcinus’ flying form, that I realized how much I longed for what we’d had. I was much different now from the uspec who’d gone into Katsoaru looking to steal an eye. I had made several other friends since, but Marcinus would always be the first uspec who’d truly been a friend to me. Before Marcinus I’d had Fajahromo and Gerangi and the games those two played in the pits of Hakute. But then Mara, the swan, had entered into my life and I’d found an uspec worthy of respect in its owner. Then I’d taken its eye and it had lost its offspring and its progenitor. It had descended into lust, and it had taken my offspring with it. I thought I hated it. I was sure of it. It had marred my offspring. But it was still Marcinus and before I entered its life, it had been a truly noble soul. I hoped that one day it found a way to overcome its longings for lust. I really hoped for that. I prayed for it. Whatever it had done to me, I had done much worse to it.

“Moat will look after it.”

My gaze snapped down to Arexon’s knowing stare.

“Gratitude sirga.”

Arexon nodded. “I suppose this is where we say farewell.”

“Not a true farewell,” I countered.

The corners of Arexon’s lips lifted slightly. “You have never been through war. There are no certainties in war.”

I did not like the tone of Arexon’s voice. “Surely, you must prevail.”

Arexon laughed. It placed both of its hands on my shoulders and squeezed lightly. “I plan to do my very best.” It cleared its throat. “Farewell, my friend. Take care of yourself, and the little one.” After saying that it placed its hand on Nebula’s head.

There was suddenly an absurdly large lump in my throat. If Arexon did not believe that it could win, then…I tried not to think of it. This could really be the last time that I ever saw Arexon. Its soldiers had lined up into neat rows behind it. They were all officers, all in belts with swords sheathed by their sides. Animaon stood off to the side. It was saying something to Musa, but then it broke off, turned to stare at me and then it bowed. It was a deep bow. A farewell.

Arexon withdrew.

I placed my offspring down.

“Assiduity!” I heard myself yell. As soon as I gave the command, every single one of Arexon’s remaining troops snapped out a salute. Their coordination was perfect. The arms all went flying at the same time. My training in Chiboga had been so strict that I found myself saluting in time with them.

I prayed to Chuspecip, to the Kuwor, to whatever deity answered prayers, I prayed that this would not be the last time that I saw Arexon.

Arexon turned to face me. Then it made a salute of its own. It brought its hand down and barked out the command, “In clover.” In sync, we all dropped our hands. “Depart!” And they were gone. Arexon led the charge. As long as it was general, I feared it would always lead the charge, even if it meant running into sure death. It shot into the sky and its soldiers followed in its wake. Some of them carried imps in their arms. Animaon was the last to leave.

Once they were gone, the compound suddenly appeared so empty. The form had been removed from the dwelling and the outhouses and the pond, so there were just the walls blocking our compound off, and empty ground.

“Should we fly?” Darlin asked.

It was our turn to leave. Why did I suddenly find it so hard? I felt my offspring’s arm brush against my leg several times and with enough speed to tell me that it was having one of its spasms. I sighed. Then shook my head.

“We have to wait for the plenum to redistribute their soldiers, so we’re in no rush to reach our destination. Let’s walk.” I found my gaze darting to Musa as I thought about the first time we’d walked the inter-port trail. It was so deep in conversation with Chike and the female imp it wouldn’t be parted from, that it did notice my gaze. Before that imp appeared, Musa had always been watching me, even when we were not speaking. It had always been tracking me. We were still yet to talk about the wrath’s attack and why it had hidden their conversation from me. It remained deep in conversation with that imp.

I looked away.

“Spread the imps across the groups.” I said to Darlin. There was no way I was going to travel with an entourage of twenty-four imps, if I didn’t have to. I thought about ordering that Musa and its precious female imp be sent to different groups, but then I thought better of it. What did I care who Musa spoke to? It was better this way. I had become much too attached to the imp anyway.

“Let’s go.”

Wow, Wow, and Wow. Just had to write those. simply sensational. Was reading with my heart in my hands. Thought I was going to witness WWIII today. Guess I will have to hang on till Saturday. ObehiD, nice one. Been enjoying the write-up right from the onset. Nice job. I doff! [b][/b]

The identity of the female imp with musa still remain a mystery. Could it be musa's partner in humani past life? And again can imp change their appearance? If yes musa could still be cohort with the wrath of sada waiting for the fabled wealth of lahooni. Weldone obehiD

@kelsmic Lol, it's really WWIII haha. Fighting is coming up soooon. Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

@doctorexcel actually, the female imp isn't meant to be a mystery...bu I'll wait until after this next update and see if it's still a mystery and if it is, I'll clarify and refresh everyone's memories. And yes, imps can change their appearance...I like the way you're thinking, let's see if you're right

Part 11
-----------

After a week of walking along the inter-port trail, my personal team of twelve and I, had formed something of a routine. We’d drawn a few hours walking distance from Hakute when the plenum had still been in the process of repositioning their troops. Then we’d just broken up camp every day and walked around. We changed our location daily and sparred whenever we settled into a new camp. We used our form cards to build little compounds with a dwelling large enough to take everyone and a bit of extra room for our sparring sessions.

I was quite impressed with the progress that Juke was making.

Fabiana and Darlin both had their teams far enough away that it would not be suspected that we traveled together, but not so far that it took over an hour on foot for an imp to deliver messages.

The atmosphere on the inter-port trail was tense. I’d been able to pick up the exact moment that the war in Chiboga began. Arexon had been right, I’d never witnessed war. It didn’t just affect the uspecs in the ports fighting, it seemed to affect every uspec in a close enough vicinity. Food on our side of the inter-port trail had suddenly become scarce and expensive. We were in a close enough proximity to Lahooni and Chiboga that we heard news of the battles rather quickly. Chechin’s departure had hit the plenum hard. Now it just remained to see how the plenum would deal with the redistribution. Once things settled down we would know and then we could form an attack strategy.

My bed shook.

It took me a while to realize that it was a result of my offspring’s convulsing and not some other form of magic. We slept in the same room. The house was so small that several people had to share. I rather liked having my offspring close to me at all times. Though, I could admit that I was less worried now that Marcinus was far away from it. Sleeping with Nebula had taught me that the uspec tended to convulse in its sleep. While it was awake, it only had spasms, but in the night, the spasms took over its entire body. They did not last long, but they always lasted long enough to scare me. I held my breath and waited for the worst of the shaking to stop. A few nights ago, it had gotten so bad that the little one’s teeth had chattered violently. I’d had to force a bit into its mouth to keep it from biting off its own tongue.

At long last, the convulsions stopped. There was a fine film of sweat on its body, but it had not woken.

I rose up from the bed. I couldn’t sleep. Both Fabiana and Darlin had sent the locations of their teams. Fabiana was closer. I could fly to their camp and visit with Fabiana for a bit. I felt as if its sudden return with Animaon and the bustle of the days that followed hadn’t left me with enough time to talk with it. I didn’t want to leave my offspring alone, not after I’d witnessed its violent convulsions and been terrified by them.

I walked over to Musa’s room to see if the imp was still awake.

“I just don’t understand why you serve it so diligently.” I heard the soft voice right before I made to pull the curtain apart. There was the faint glow of white light seeping through the slit between the end of the curtains and the border of the entrance.

Something about the softly spoken words stopped me.

“It is Calami’s offspring Halima,” I recognized Musa’s voice. They were speaking in the common umani tongue which I understood. “You remember Calami don’t you? The same uspec that you confessed more than once to being in love with.” There was something odd in the light teasing tone of Musa’s voice. “A lesser man would have been jealous.”

I heard a giggle and accorded the sound to the other imp, Halima. Musa shared its room with the imp. “Well, Calami was certainly not a lesser man.”

Musa chuckled. “Calami wasn’t any type of man, and you know I was talking about myself not Calami.”

The other imp giggled again. “Calami was easy to love.” It sighed. I shook my head, realized I had stooped to eavesdropping on imps, and reached for the curtains. I froze when I heard the imp Halima say in a sad voice, “this Nebud is nothing like its progenitor. It is neither noble nor kind. It treats us worse than slaves.”

Musa chuckled. I heard the imp laughing and I clenched my fist, a torrent of rage roiling within me.

“You, my dear, are spoilt. Nebud has never even spoken to. How does it treat you worse than a slave?”

I heard a hissing sound coming from the room. “Maybe it hasn’t spoken to me, but I’ve heard the way it speaks about us. And I’ve seen the look of disgust on its face when it’s reminded of our presence. It wants to be rid of us, Musa, all of us. It despises imps.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Stop it! You know I hate it when you condescend me. That uspec is no offspring of Calami’s. I swear it. Chike slaves away trying to please it and all it does is rebuff his attempts. I want to go to Permafrost Musa, I want to join our kind.”

There was a long drawn out sigh. “That isn’t possible.”

“Of course it is! You are the firstborn. They will welcome us with open arms.”

“And what of their plans to take over this existence?” Musa snapped back bitterly. “Do you wish to be a part of that too.”

“If Calami was still alive, I would not, I would never. But we were family to Calami. I look at Nebud and know that we will never be to the line it creates what we were to the ones that came before. I cannot spend the rest of its life being treated worse than dirt. I will not. And who’s to say that its offspring will be any better? If its feeble, quivering, offspring even lives long enough to rule, that is. We should be with our kind Musa. We should fight for our freedom.”

I wrenched the curtain so hard that it ripped.

Both imps gasped when they saw me.

The imp Halima crawled and hid behind Musa. Its eye sockets were pulled all the way up, its gaze widened, as it watched my approach.

“Master please!” I heard Musa scream.

I didn’t realize that I’d drawn my cutlass and was about to stick it into the neck of the imp cowering behind Musa, until the moment that Musa made its pleas. I was too angry to listen to the imp. Musa, I cared for, this imp it seemed infatuated with, I despised. I thought of the imp’s words and my rage was so potent I knew that if I knew how, I would have sapped the imp myself. The things it had said about my offspring. Then it had tried to convince Musa to abandon me. I reached for the imp, but Musa got in my way.

The pointed edge of the cutlass stabbed its neck instead.

I pulled the cutlass out. Musa had enough growth to heal itself, and it did. I wondered if Halima had pansophy. I had cared so very little about the imp before that I had never even been bothered to find out. Pansophy or not, after I was through cutting off its head, it would take it a long time to see again. I could not kill it without the samu, but beheading seemed like a good enough punishment in the short term.

I tried to reach around Musa to grab Halima, who was now screaming in a foreign umani tongue. Musa got in my way and then…I was so shocked that it took me a while to come to terms with what the imp had done. It pushed me, it actually shoved me away. It did not have so much bulk that its push sent me back far, but it was the shock of the thing that gave me pause. Musa knelt in front of this other imp and I saw in the determined set of its face that it would fight me for this imp if it had to.

“Sirga?” I turned to find Juke and four other members of my honoraria standing just by the entrance into the room. I saw a dark brown head that could only belong to an imp. Chike. Halima’s loud screams must have woken them up.

The last time I had felt such a strong dislike for an imp had been in Nefastu. This imp was unfortunately bound to Musa. Its stance made it clear that I would have to go through it to get to the one behind it. Something about that pose knocked the fight out of me. I was not yet quite so angry that I would harm Musa just to get my hands on another imp. But I was not so forgiving that I would allow the imp’s words that night to go.

“Get out!” I snapped at the imp.

Musa looked pained. “Master, please…” it began.

I shook my head. “Not you.” I said. “It. Get that imp out of my camp. You want your freedom,” I said to the imp, “now you have it. Get out of my sight. I never want to lay eyes on you again.”

“Master, please,” Musa begged. It spoke to me in the Kute tongue. It was funny how after all this time and all the different tongues I’d learnt. Whenever the two of us spoke to each other, it was always in the first tongue we’d conversed with, the kute tongue. “It is defenseless. It has no magic. It used to siphon spectra from master Calam, but since then…” Musa trailed off. “Please, I beg you, if you send it out someone else will enslave it.”

I did not care about the imp’s fate. “Get that imp out of my sight!”

Two nobles in my honoraria rushed forward to do my bidding. But Musa kept the imp behind it and poised to face off against my nobles. I clenched my jaw at the sight. Perhaps that Halima was right, in this one moment, I could think of very few things that I loathed more than imps. The lot of them. I wanted to give the command that they should go through Musa if they had to. I was eager to see if Musa would really attack my nobles to defend its imp.

“What if it joined the imperial Fabiana’s camp? Would that soothe you sirga?” Juke chimed in.

“I don’t care where it goes, along as I never have to lay eyes on it again.”

Juke nodded. “Then go to the majestic Fabiana’s camp, Halima, Chike can take you there.”

“Musa?” I heard the question in Halima’s voice. It wanted Musa to accompany it. And if Musa accompanied it, then it would not be to Fabiana’s camp that they would go, but to Permafrost. I knew that, and I would not relent. If Musa joined the invasion then…I could not think of the wrath at that moment. But on my list of things to destroy, they ranked right below Fajahromo and the plenum.

I sheathed my sword and turned my back on the tableau. “I don’t want to see that imp in my camp when I wake up tomorrow.” I said the words to Juke.

It bowed. “As you please sirga.”

I stormed out of the imps’ room and headed back to the one I shared with my offspring. As I climbed slowly into bed beside it, I tried not to think of Musa and how much I wanted it to choose service to me over the imp that it had clung to so many times since Animaon cursed me by delivering the imp to me.

I slept fitfully that night and rose early to find Musa’s room empty.

It had left with its imp Halima.

I stormed out of the dwelling. It was still early in the morning, much earlier than we normally packed up and made our walkabout. I thought about waking Juke to spar but I decided against it. I would have gone to Fabiana’s camp, if for no other reason than to have somewhere to go. But, on the off chance that Musa and that imp Halima had gone there, I didn’t want to risk crossing paths with them. There was always Darlin’s camp.

I was still suffering with my indecision when I heard a voice call out, “Musa.” I turned to find Musa walking into our compound. It was the other imp Chike that had called out to it. “I did not expect to see you back.” My thoughts mirrored Chike’s words.

Neither of them had noticed me. It was still so early that the daylight dots had not yet emerged. We were still purely surrounded by the red lighting from the clouds.

“I stayed long enough to get Halima settled, but I had to come back. It’s my curse, I can’t leave the master. I swore an oath, to see it returned to its rightful position in Lahooni, and I will not break it. No matter how much it pains me to do so.” The last sentence was delivered in a mumbled tone.

I clenched my jaw. “Perhaps you should join this imp you love so much.” I said. Both imps jumped. They appeared startled as their gazes turned to search me out. It didn’t take them too long to find me. It wasn’t as if I was hidden.

I’d never thought that the day would come when I saw hatred for me on the imp’s face. It looked away, but it had looked on me long enough for me to see the hatred. I found that I hated it too for that. I hated it for clinging to an imp who had disparaged me, mocked my offspring, and then urged it to join the invasion. It had said that serving me was a curse, and I found that I loathed it for that too. I made an oath to myself there and then that I would destroy the wrath and I would remake the samu that my sire had done. But the one I made would have no cure. For as long as I lived, imps would be subjugated. I swore to it.

“Leave,” I said to Musa, “if serving me is such a curse, then go! Take your beloved imp and go to Permafrost for all I care. But when I come to destroy that haven you imps hold so dear, don’t call on me for mercy. I have no more mercy where you’re concerned.”

“I will stay.” Musa stated. “Not for you, but for the uspecs of your line who came before you. For master Chacip, the first uspec of your line who took me from the pious and showed me the beauty in this existence. It was that uspec who gave enough wealth for Permafrost to be founded and bequeathed enough for battered slaves to find solace. I will stay for it and for all the others, till master Calam and master Calami, who gave me everything. I will protect you for them. I swore an oath and you will not make me break it. I will protect you and aid you until you claim your rightful place as the Kaiser of Lahooni.” After saying that the imp stormed off. I reached for my cutlass, determined to send the imp out by force if I had to. In my rage, I would gladly behead it. Something stopped me before I could act.

No.

I was jarred by Chuspecip’s voice in my head. It had been so long since I heard the founder. Its voice was faint, very weak, but it was strong enough to bring me hope and remind me of what it demanded of me. I let the imp go and turned my seething stare on the imp that remained.

Chike smiled up at me. It was tall and bulky…for an imp.

“Shall we spar master?” It asked.

I’d never sparred with this imp. If Musa’s tales could be trusted, it was this imp that had trained my progenitor.

“You don’t want to spar with me in the mood I’m in.”

It grinned. “I’ve been waiting your whole life to spar with you, young master Cala.”

There was something odd about being called young by an imp who did not appear much older than me. I shrugged, pulled out my cutlass and then waited for the imp to find a sword of its own.

Chike was good. Its skill with a blade reminded me a little too much of Marcinus. Plus, it had the spry dancing grace that I had only seen imps fight with. I was enjoying the sparring so much that I was smiling and sweating by the time the first orange light appeared, colored by the red of the clouds.

“You really did train my progenitor, didn’t you?” I asked, panting when we finally stopped sparring.

The imp beamed at me. “I really did, master.”

“Are you any good with your hands?”

“Try me.” It urged.

I did. I sheathed my cutlass and it dropped its sword. An average uspec’s bulk surpassed that of even the most muscular imp. Chike was not the most muscular imp, and I was not an average uspec. But even with my excess of bulk, I found myself competing quite strenuously against the imp. When I landed a blow, the imp stumbled, when it landed a blow, it managed to hit areas that did not require too much force to make me stumble. This was how those with less bulk ought to fight.

I was laughing when we ended. “Why have we not sparred before now?” I asked, truly curious.

“You don’t like me very much.” It replied without any heat.

I sighed. Imps. “I do not dislike you, I just…” I shook my head and cut myself off. “You should train Juke and Binna. They could learn a lot from your style of brawling.”

“Thank you.” It bowed.

That was what I called a good sparring match. I’d feared that with Arexon gone, I’d lost my last true challenger. Now, I knew I had nothing to fear. I would start my days sparring with Chike from this point on.

And I did.

The days past by in a rush of monotony from that point on. The only thing that changed was that I did not see much of Musa. It travelled at the back when we walked the inter-port trail, and once we made camp, it stayed in its room until we were ready to travel again. Each time I found my gaze traveling to the imp, I remembered Halima mocking my offspring and Musa despising me for sending the imp away. How was I supposed to stay in the same camp with an imp who’d mocked my offspring and then said that it would die before it could rule? I’d let it leave. I’d even offered it its freedom and for that I was a monster. Damn those imps. Damn them all. I cursed Chumani, the umani chu, the one that had sent the imps to our existence in the first place. When uspecs died, they did the noble thing and left the sphere of being. Our death was final. Why couldn’t umanis be the same? We did not pollute their world so why did they have to come and fill ours. And then despise us for the role we gave them in it. When it was all said and done, the spectral existence belonged to uspecs.

The break in our monotony came one afternoon thirteen days after the incident with Musa and its imp Halima. It was carried on the wings of a one-band noble from Fabiana’s team, after we’d made camp for the night and had settled down for dinner in the small entertaining room.

Musa was not amongst us.

It had been a good day. I was not ashamed to admit that Chike made a far better instructor for Juke than I did. But it was not Juke’s advancement that had made the day great, but Nebula’s. My offspring had thrown five daggers in a row, never missing its target, before it spasmed on the sixth throw. But it had been so focused on its task that it had not dropped the dagger as it spasmed. And once the spasm stopped, it had thrown the dagger and hit its target. I could not have been prouder.

“Salutations imperial one.” The one-band noble from Fabiana’s camp called out. I’d just been about to put a piece of dried nama meat into my mouth.

“Salutations noble one.” I greeted in turn. “Is something wrong?”

The noble shook its head. It walked into the center of the arrangement of lounging beds and knelt in front of me. “A missive from the high Arexon, sirga, the majestic Fabiana said to bring it over right away.”

My hand was stained with the nama juices, so I nodded for Juke to take it instead. The young uspec took the scroll from the noble one and read through it. Its eyes darted across the page.

“Well,” I prompted.

“It is much better than we hoped sirga.” Juke sat at the foot of my lounging bed, beside my offspring. “The plenum has left thirty-three percent of its forces around Lahooni. They deployed twenty-five percent to Chiboga…”

“That only leaves two percent for Katsoaru and Hakute.” I stated bemused.

Juke nodded. “The rest they deployed to Katsoaru with the exception of a battalion of two-hundred and fifty soldiers left to guard Hakute.”

I could not believe it! Two hundred and fifty soldiers. Two hundred and fifty! I roared a cheer that was quickly picked up by every other person in that room. That was less than three-to-one odds. Three standard issue plenum soldiers against one Lahooni noble. I laughed. This was so much better than I could have hoped.

“Do you know what this means?” I asked, once the cheering subsided.

“It is time to complete the founder’s mission.” Juke stated somberly.

I smiled.

“Ju-ju-ju-ju-ju-ke.” I turned to stare at my offspring. “Ju-ju-ke. Juke. Ju-ju-ke.”

I beamed at it. It was the first sensible word that it had said. My offspring could speak! I stood, picked it up and threw it in the air, amidst another round of hearty cheers. Nebula’s first word coming right at that moment seemed like a good omen for our trip.

“Tomorrow!” I declared. “Tomorrow we march to Hakute. Spread the word.” The soldier from Fabiana’s camp withdrew.

“Yes sirga!” It screamed before leaving.

I'd been scared that chenchin may not keep to its words, I'm glad it did.

Nebud needs to learn how to control its emotions adequately. It can't be a Kaizer and be acting just on its whims. Besides, why exactly does it hate imps so much even to the extent of hating those it needs for survival?

I'm happy for Nebula. I'm hoping Marcinus will turn a corner as well.

Kudos obehiD. You never disappoint!

eROCK247:
I'd been scared that chenchin may not keep to its words, I'm glad it did.

Nebud needs to learn how to control its emotions adequately. It can't be a Kaizer and be acting just on its whims. Besides, why exactly does it hate imps so much even to the extent of hating those it needs for survival?

I'm happy for Nebula. I'm hoping Marcinus will turn a corner as well.

Kudos obehiD. You never disappoint!

Being what Nebud is and where he's come from and what he knows now about the wrath of sada,I find its hate justified.... Musa is the one that's changed IMO. Nebud has always been like it is now. And I don't think it's going to change in it's attitude towards the umani. Who halima is isn't still clear oh ObehiD....
The sheer audacity on that imp. Loving an uspec.

Next episode is war

Halima has got a big mouth. Something tells me we haven't seen the end of Cantonia.
Nebud's problem with imps is something else.

I am not surprised at Musa’s change. If you have been following the series, you will remember that Imps always have an agenda of their own even when they appear good.

Okay let me explain the identity of Halima.

So, back in Katsoaru, if you remember the scene when Nebud and Musa bathed together in the cleaning room in an expensive resort. That was when Nebud learned that Musa had been castrated and when Nebud asked about it this was Musa's explanation:

“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.”


So Halima is the girl that Musa spent a millennium with in Lahooni, the one he loved. He thought that Salin sapped her, until Animaon returned to the compound with the imps. This was the relevant snippet of the scene between Musa, Halima and Animaon.


“Halima!” Musa screamed. “My God, it cannot be! It cannot be!” Tears streamed from my imp’s eyes.

I watched completely befuddled as it made its way to an imp standing a few paces behind Animaon. The imp was dressed simply in a short brown tunic. I could see from the mounds on its chest that it was a female, the umani gender in contrast to Musa’s male. Once Musa reached the imp, it dropped to its knees in front of it. It wept as if it was in mourning.

The imp knelt in front of it. It pulled Musa into its arms, and then they…my eyes narrowed…I had seen this with the imps in the Mine of Aurelion. Musa and the other imp kissed. They held on tightly to each other’s face and they kissed with so much passion that I could not help but wonder at the identity of this new imp.

“How is this possible?” Musa asked, once it pulled back from the other imp. “You were sapped. I was there when Salin gave the order. I saw you taken away. I saw the yielders take you to their room and…”

“Domina Animaon saved me, Musa.”

Musa appeared stunned. “But then…why didn’t you come back for me?”

“It wasn’t safe Musa,” Animaon said, “it wasn’t safe for her to come back to you. When it was safe, I could not.”

Musa glared at the pious one. “What do you mean you could not? I thought she was gone!”

“It was not the founder’s will for you to be reunited just then. It was not its will.” Animaon’s gaze turned to me and I understood then that Chuspecip kept them apart so that I could find Musa in a position to come to my aid. I remembered its tale from so long ago. We’d been in Katsoaru when it told me of its love. I remembered thinking how strange a concept love appeared then. But now, now I understood the love of which it spoke. I loved many. It came as a surprise to me to know this, that I was one that now had love. I loved my offspring foremost, that one before all others. But there were others I would not see harm come to. Arexon for one, and Fabiana, and, my gaze turned to the imp, yes, even after its betrayal, I still cared deeply for it. Now it clung to the imp who’d won its love.

“You had no right!” Musa screamed.

So, in summary, Musa and Halima were together for a thousand years in Lahooni, serving the previous Kaisers of Lahooni. In love. And then when Salin killed Calam and took over as Kaiser it gave the order for Halima to be sapped and Musa to be castrated and then sold. Animaon saved Halima from being sapped and it took her with it without telling Musa and so Musa just went on believing that Halima had been sapped. Now it is back together with its millennium love!

Hopefully that clarifies things a bit

Thanks for the update obehid, am behind nehud, those stupid imps don't av any right to feel entitled to we uspecs existence, its just like a movie I watched "extinction" where humans created symbiotics and the symbiotics took over earth and chased us to Mars.

ayshow6102:
Thanks for the update obehid, am behind nehud, those stupid imps don't av any right to feel entitled to we uspecs existence, its just like a movie I watched "extinction" where humans created symbiotics and the symbiotics took over earth and chased us to Mars.

In the light of this story we're not Uspecs. We're Umanis and therefore should side with the imps if sentiments are at play here.

It's been a hard time this pass few weeks, and staying offline due to bad phone and no service Centre open to fix nor purchase another.

I am glad that I have finally over come this. I I see that I have missed too much, much going back now to start from where I stopped.

Obehid, I hope you have been well and safe?

Fazemood:
It's been a hard time this pass few weeks, and staying offline due to bad phone and no service Centre open to fix nor purchase another.

I am glad that I have finally over come this. I I see that I have missed too much, much going back now to start from where I stopped.

Obehid, I hope you have been well and safe?

Glad to have you back! I'm sorry about all the phone issues you had but I'm glad it's over! I am well and safe thanks for asking

Part 12
----------

Five teams assembled in front of the Hakute border. We arrived through different courses, and united a ten-minute march away from the plenum’s troops. Two hundred and fifty. I’d had a full day to come to terms with the number but I still could not believe that the plenum had left Hakute so defenseless. I knew that the ruse of my presence in Lahooni had a large role to play in the lack of plenum forces guarding Hakute, still I could not come to terms with how undefended it was.

My offspring was not in my arms. It, Juke, and a few other young uspecs in my honoraria, along with Marc and the other smoke bears, would remain with a group of five imps and five older fighters, while the rest of us fought. It decreased the odds in our favor, but I didn’t mind. I found that after spending close to two months on the inter-port trail, I was ready for a good fight.

“Shall we advance sirga?” I heard the quiver of excitement in Binna’s voice and I chuckled. Fabiana did not approve of Binna’s thirst for battle. Fabiana was different from us. Uspecs like Binna, Darlin, and I, we enjoyed the fight. Fabiana fought for survival, but it took no pleasure in it. Still, Fabiana’s lack of pleasure in fighting was something I could easily forgive the uspec for.

“Are you ready?” I turned my focus squarely on Binna.

It wrapped its hand around the hilt of its sword and nodded. “Yes, I was born ready, sirga.”

I roared with laughter. When I met Fabiana, I had not known how much of a blessing its friendship would be. Now I had not one but two uspecs in its line that I called friend and was truly fond of.

“If you are ready Binna, then we must proceed!” I gave the order and we advanced.

Ten minutes had never gone by so quickly. I led the charge of course. Fabiana stood to my left and Darlin to my right. When the battle started, we would be forced to break up. I knew this and I was not looking forward to the eventuality, but I trusted in the skill of my honoraria.

It may have been my mind, but I felt the ground shake underneath us as we made the march. We walked along the common road of the inter-port trail, on a path that was veered away from the main traveling roads. There was no one else on the path, just me and the uspecs in my honoraria. We were bathed in a red-dominated tincture of cloud and daylight dots lighting. Our feet were enveloped by the foam of the hardened clouds as we made our march forward.

It didn’t take us long to sight the contingent of plenum soldiers.

As soon as we sighted them, they sighted us.

They had nowhere to run.

Right as the five teams I approached with marched in from one end, the remaining five teams marched on them from the other. The plenum soldiers made this realization when they tried to withdraw.

As we drew closer, I had enough time to realize that they were not what I’d expected. The soldiers were of a mixture of spectrums. But I could clearly see several horn-filled chests on the front lines. They stood at attention. We had not found them sitting idly about whiling away the day. These were not lazy fighters then.

Good.

My heart pumped and an excited thrill washed over me. The soldiers reached for their swords and pulled them out right as we descended on them. I pulled out my cutlass and started fighting.

They were good soldiers. I could imagine why the plenum would only send two hundred and fifty of fighters such as this to guide an important port. They were good.

I fought with my dagger in one hand and my cutlass in the other.

Fighting like this was different. We fought in an enclosed space with swords swinging from all directions. I had trained my honoraria to spar, but I had not trained them for war. I had taught them to fight against each other, to look at a face and know who the opponent was. It was different when uspecs fought in a tight space. There were so many bodies that I only had enough time to look at features to discern if an uspec was against me or not. I’d almost been caught unawares by a hooni plenum uspec for that reason. But the uspec got lanced with a sword in its back before it could attack me. The uspec fell and I saw Musa standing behind it, bloodied and grim. It turned and continued fighting and I did the same.

The battle passed in a flash of blades and blood. I heard the clashing of swords so close to my ears that the sound echoed in my brain for long moments later. It was as if I was fighting deaf. Metal clanging and cries of pain were the only sounds loud enough to make it through.

This fight was different than any other I’d been in before. Hundreds of people fighting and dying and blood painting my face. I had to stop several times to wipe blood away from my eyes so that I could see through the crimson haze. I got blood on my lips so many times that by the end of it, I had become much too familiar with the taste of uspec blood.

I don’t know how many uspecs I killed. Thirty, at least. My honoraria was at a deficit, they were not ready for a battle like this, where the space was so tight and the enemy had to be ascertained in seconds. I saw one of my nobles stab another because it had gone into a frenzy when blood splatter covered its eyes. And I’d been so far away that the only thing I could do was look away and continue fighting.

But in the end, even with our deficit, we triumphed. They had experience, but we had skill on our side. And for my part, I fought as if I was possessed. I didn’t know what got into me. I felt neither fatigue nor pain. I charged on and dropped as many uspecs as I could. I didn’t stop fighting until the last soldier in the plenum had fallen. Perhaps I’d fought as I had because of Chuspecip in me, urging me to go on, giving me strength. Or perhaps it was the thought of my offspring, of little Nebula whose survival was tied inexorably to mine. Whatever drove me, I fought more brutally than I ever had before. I cut uspecs down without really seeing their faces. I knew when it was done, that I would never remember a single distinguishing feature on any of the uspecs I’d slaughtered.

What I would always remember was the look of the battle ground when it was done.

So many bodies.

I had never seen so many dead bodies in one place. Over three hundred corpses. Some of them headless, some without limbs, all stained with blood.

I looked around, taking count of the uspecs that survived, and I grieved for the number that I saw. We were all covered in blood. Some so much so that I could not even make out their features. But I saw the golden bands on their arms and it was enough.

I counted only nine of us left standing. There were nine others that remained with Nebula and Juke. But nine, only nine. A hundred nobles had left Lahooni with me, and now we were down to nineteen. Over seventy lost in a single fight. My eyes scoured over the corpses again and I saw several familiar faces amongst them. I saw the face of the uspec who’d delivered the news of the plenum’s troop deployments only two days ago. It had been alive then. Now it was dead.

They were all dead.

So many bodies.

Someone let out a loud cry.

“No!” I heard the scream and felt joy leap in my heart when I recognized the voice as Fabiana’s. Fabiana lived. Then I heard its cries in more detail and I knew, I just knew, who we’d lost.

I found myself beside it.

As soon as I saw the younger uspec cradled in its sibling’s arms, I dropped to my knees.

Binna.

No. I echoed Fabiana’s cries. No. Binna was my responsibility, I had only just started teaching it how to brawl. No. I stared into the uspec’s lifeless face and I felt a deep loss.

Fabiana wept openly. It drew its younger sibling into its arms, and it wept and screamed for it to return. I had never seen another person cry as loudly or for as long as Fabiana did. I did not think that I had ever seen someone lose an uspec that they cherished so much. I had lost a friend once, I remembered Yakubo and its death in Damejo. But now I knew what love was. I knew the bond of family. I thought of the depth of feelings that I had for my offspring and I knew that it was similar to what Fabiana had felt for its younger sibling, Binna. I could not imagine losing my Nebula.

Fabiana wept.

The survivors of our battle gathered around it. I saw Darlin and several of my best fighters. Only the very best had survived.

My gaze flashed on Binna and I felt guilty, so guilty. I should have taught it to fight better. I should have turned it into one of my best fighters. I grieved for it, and my guilt rose in equal parts to Fabiana’s agonized cries. I could not move.

“We should go master,” I heard a hushed voice whisper into my ear. I was so distraught I couldn’t tell if it was Musa or Chike. Imps. None of them were gone, but I’d lost seventy-nine nobles in my honoraria. Seventy-nine uspecs who’d sworn their lives to my mission.

“Sirga, I’ve been to the Hakute hangar. The room is empty. I don’t like it. They must have gotten word of the battle and sent news to the Acropolis. We should enter before the Kaiser sends troops of its own to bar our entry. We must leave now sirga.” Darlin said.

I rose. I didn’t know how it happened, because in my head I was still on my knees, still grieving with Fabiana over the loss of its younger sibling. I was in tears too, I was broken and weak. But I was also standing. Then I was giving orders for the rest of my honoraria to assemble. I heard the words come out of my mouth but I could not imagine how I possessed enough wits to say them or appear confident enough to ensure that the orders were obeyed. I saw myself placing a hand on Fabiana’s shoulder and speaking to it. I said words stirring enough to make the uspec contain its grief, but it brought its sibling with it. It carried Binna in its arms the whole way.

I gave orders for the younger uspecs who’d been left behind to be brought forward. We left the inter-port trail before any of those young minds, my offspring included, could be forever polluted by the sight of the bodies. I found myself walking through an empty hangar and directing Musa to use pansophy to steal tags for the uspecs I had left who were not of the kute spectrum. They would need those tags to survive in the foreign port.

It was easy to slip into Hakute with the hangar deserted. If we hadn’t had pansophy, it would not have been so easy, but we did, and it was. Through it all, my mind was focused on the bodies, the three hundred bodies that we’d left on the inter-port trail. And the one body, Binna’s corpse. How could the uspec be dead?

I was born ready, sirga.

Binna’s words floated through my mind. It had been alive only a few hours ago, smiling at me, asking me to advance, eager to stain its blade with the blood of our enemies. And now it was dead. It felt in some ways as if I had lost my own younger sibling.

But we forged ahead. Even when it was the last thing I wanted to do. I had not thought that this would be the end of the day’s battle. I think in some ways that Arexon’s adamant restating of our odds had been done to prepare me for a conclusion like this, but I had not been prepared. I had been so sure that we would survive with minimal casualties. I had believed that much in the skill of the nobles in my honoraria. Nobles that I had sparred for a month with. Now most of them were gone.

No one spoke as we made our way from the hangar, into the port.

It had been over a year since I’d last been in Hakute. This was the port of my early years. Something about being back in the port reminded me of the slum I’d grown up in. I thought of the simple life I’d lived then and how much I had longed to be a great uspec. Then I thought of the pits of Hakute and a heavy weight settled in my belly.

Strength.

I felt Chuspecip’s presence in me once more. It was not as strong as it had been when I left Lahooni, but I felt it better than I had on the inter-port trail. I felt it take control of me and I was more than happy to give over the control of my body. I was bloodstained and war cursed. No matter how hard I tried, I could not wash away the image of the bodies on the inter-port trail. Fabiana still held Binna’s corpse in its arms.

Quicksand spread underneath me. It was magic coming from me, that much I knew, and it was magic that required almost all of the spectral energy that I had left in my body. But Chuspecip was the expert. Even in its weakened condition, it maneuvered the quicksand easily.

We were all sucked in.

---------------------------
The Isle of Brio
----------------------------

The quicksand took us to the Isle of Brio. It was not immediately clear where we were, but I knew, from Chuspecip’s presence in my mind, I knew where it had led us. I looked around to ensure that we had all been teleported safely. Then I felt my legs moving towards Fabiana. Chuspecip still had control and I did not fight it.

“Let me give your sibling a hooni noble’s burial. I owe it at least that much,” I heard myself say.

Fabiana did not even argue. It just placed Binna’s corpse on the sludge ground and then knelt beside it. It dug a scale out of Binna’s neck before takings its hand away from its sibling’s body. Quicksand came out of me. Chuspecip interred Binna in quicksand.

Fabiana dug its hands into the bloody sludge that remained after Binna’s corpse was gone. Its shoulders shook but I heard no sounds. No one spoke.

I await you.

Chuspecip withdrew. It returned control of my body back to me at a time when I wasn’t sure I had the strength to carry it. But I had to. I had no choice. Now more than ever my uspecs needed me to guide them. This part of the Isle of Brio was exposed. It could be entered by anyone in Hakute who had hooni spectra, knew the location of the Isle, and was in a burg that neighbored it. There was another part that only me and the uspecs of my line could reach. We had to go there. We would not be safe until we were there. And once we got there, then I could go to Chuspecip. I could finally find it and return it to its existence.

I pulled Fabiana up and supported the uspec’s weight when it became obvious that it was too grieved to walk on its own. I lead them all. No one spoke. Not even my little Nebula. We all sensed that there was no victory in this. There was no glory in the battle that we’d fought. Only hard truths, only blood and bodies. I felt so filthy that I had not even made to touch my offspring once. It was with Juke. Nebula loved Juke. It was Juke’s name that my offspring has said first. I knew I could trust Juke with it. I did not want to be around my pure, innocent, offspring, when I was so stained, inside and out, with the battle I’d fought.

So, I stayed away.

It had still been day when we arrived on the Isle of Brio. The battle we’d fought had been mentally and physically exhausting, but it had only lasted a few hours. Only a few hours for me to lose over seventy-five percent of my honoraria. Only a few hours for Fabiana’s world to come crumbling down. I wondered if I would ever be able to get the image of Binna’s corpse out of my mind. Binna had been my responsibility. It had been mine.

As the last brio, I was the only one who could use spectra to teleport within the Isle. But I did not have the spectral energy to make enough quicksand and so we walked. We walked for hours in sludge and under the illumination of the daylight dots. The fog should have been a greeting. It was light and it drifted around us, but none of us were in the mood for celebration. It had been over a month since we’d been in a port, under the pure illumination of daylight dots, without the interference of the clouds. We should have enjoyed it. But we didn’t. We walked exhaustedly for two hours. There were sights in the Isle that should have awed us. Like the hail tree. I saw several pure white hail trees which had no business growing and thriving in a place without hail. A few sky fowls, usually contained in the clouds, flew low enough to graze by us. But none of us commented on any of it. We just kept going.

Until finally we reached a sight that I remembered twice over now. The first time I’d seen it had been when my sire brought me here, and the second time had been with Gerangi. But I still remembered. The room Gerangi had tried to enter was the room that my sire had shown me, the room that held the fabled wealth of Lahooni. Only those of my line could enter. Anyone else that tried would die. Now, with Chuspecip in me, I knew this. My line was the only one gifted with the last brio, we were the only key to that room. For more than one reason.

I knew now that there were several other hidden places in this Isle. The green fog around the green room was visible to all, but the place I would keep the rest of my honoraria was not.

I turned away from the green room and headed for two hail trees.

“Salve.” I said. Once I spoke the words, my breath, carrying proof of my life, my willingness, and my identity, floated towards the seemingly empty space between the two white tree stems. As soon as my breath met the empty space. The appearance was returned to it and cyan fogs filled the once empty space.

Someone gasped.

Fabiana stood straight. It took its arms off my shoulders and stood, unsupported, on its own two feet. I walked through the cyan fogs first.

My eyes widened when I stepped in.

It was as if I had walked into the hatch, except without any of the bloodlust.

“My God!” I heard Fabiana exclaim behind me. It dropped to its knees, put its head into its hands, and wept.

Red and orange light mixed together in a wondrous hue. Hail fell but the hail was fine and made bearable by the warm drifting fogs. There were clouds in the sky, but some were low enough that I could touch them. I stretched my hands into a cloud and was pleasantly surprised when two white frogs, the soaru frosted beast, leapt onto my arm.

I heard my offspring giggling and I saw that it was rolling around in a pool of quicksand with several white dracos crawling all over its body. There were more animals here than I had ever seen before. Frosted beasts living in the souls of their spectrums, and regular animals running around. Marc trumpeted when a group of smoke bears appeared and walked towards it.

I cradled a frog lightly in my hand as I walked further. I walked through sludge and quicksand and found my way to a large okun with several swans swimming across the surface. They sunk back in once they saw us, but the jejas remained.

“I see a soft rooster!” I heard an uspec say. “I have never seen a soft rooster before!”

“This is paradise, sirga, paradise.” Juke stood beside me. I placed a hand on its shoulder and squeezed. Something about this place washed the gore of our battle from my mind. I did not feel as polluted as I had before. “Is this where Chuspecip lives, sirga? Are we in the founder’s burg?”

The young uspec beamed up at me. I patted it on the head. “Yes and no, Juke, yes and no.” I said. Then I took my belt off, ripped my neckcloth off, and took of my tail sleeve. Then I stepped into the okun and I swam.

Juke picked up the things I’d discarded and it just stood at the bank, watching me. It was hooni, it did not enjoy the okun as my kute heritage had taught me to. I swam for hours. Just laps and laps and laps over and over in that pond. Sometimes I sunk deep into the water, so deep that I saw a few swans, and was lucky enough to feel their screen scrape against mine. They reminded me of Mara and Mara of Marcinus, how it had been when I’d first met it, and how it was now. But even those memories didn’t seem as bad as I swam in this pond.

The peace I felt when I stepped out of the pond could only have come from Chuspecip. I laughed at myself. I had gone and become a believer.

There were splashing sounds coming from other ponds when I stepped out of mine. I walked around. There were canopy trees. I hadn’t seen them through the fog, but the closer I got the more I saw. The canopy trees were full length, grown to maturity with their fronds scraping the ground. I kept going and found several fronds of one of those trees pulled up.

My offspring was in it.

Under the canopy tree was as refined as the outside was natural. This one had a pond with bathing salts in it, and yellow light sources hanging from the stem of the tree. Juke had been right, this place was a paradise.

Then I saw Musa’s imp, Halima, in a pond with my offspring and I lurched forward.

“Master,” Musa’s voice stopped me before I could wring the imp’s neck. I took a deep breath and saw that the imp appeared to be cleaning quicksand off my squirming infant. Juke was there too. Juke stood close to the edge of the pond, but it was watching my offspring. That was good.

I turned to Musa and simply waited for it to speak.

“She…” it cleared its throat and shook its head. It looked down. “Halima is not a bad person. It did not mean for you to hear what it said that night. It did not mean to insult your offspring, really, it did not. It is just hard for it, after the way master Calami treated it. Masters Calam and Calami had spoilt it because of me. Halima misses them. It came to serve you expecting them and that was wrong, but it is not bad.”

I heard Musa’s words but they did nothing to make me think better of its imp. Nothing at all. It had called my offspring feeble. It had said that it would die. Was I supposed to trust that it would not do something to bring about that fate?

“Nebula.” I called the name harsher than I had meant to.

The imp’s gaze snapped to me.

Nebula looked to me too. “Ma-ma-mater, mat-t-ter.” It said and I smiled. It rose from the pond and came running into my open arms. I picked it up and forced myself to ignore the way that its hand slapped repeatedly against my shoulder. Juke was beside me as we walked away. I left Musa with its beloved imp.

“Where are my things, Juke?”

The young one looked up at me. “I gave them to Chike. It said it would prepare a room for you, sirga.”

I frowned. “A room?”

Juke’s eyes widened. “Have you not been under the canopy trees yet? They are wondrous sirga? Some are like rooms fine enough to rival the best resort. The ground underneath those are soft hardened clouds with a firmness underneath. Soft enough even for your ailerons to sink comfortably in. We will all sleep well tonight. There are more than enough for everyone.”

In its excitement I doubted Juke thought much on its words. But I did. I thought of the rooms and how they were enough for the number of uspecs who’d survived. The bodies flashed in my mind, but they did not weigh me down as they had before my swim with the swans in the pond. The three of us were wet from the pink liquid, but somehow the combination of falling hail and drifting warm fogs dried our wetness away.

“May I ask something of you young majestic?”

Juke nodded emphatically. “Of course, sirga.”

I thought about my leaving. It would not be tonight, but tomorrow. I had to leave as soon as possible on my mission to get Chuspecip. And where I was going, I could not take my offspring with me. I was glad for Fabiana, Darlin and Juke. At least, I could leave my offspring in their care. “Never leave my offspring alone with the imp Halima.”

Juke frowned at me. “Has it done something to offend you sirga? It seems to adore Nebula.”

Appearances could be deceiving. “Will you do this for me?”

Juke nodded. It still appeared puzzled, but it did not question me further. “Of course, sirga.”

“And when the imp is around my offspring, you must watch it closely.”

Juke nodded. “Yes sirga.”

I put a hand on the little one’s scalp and squeezed lightly. “Gratitude, young majestic.”

It bowed. “Shall I take you to your canopy room?”

I smiled at its excitement. “Yes, you may.”

We walked past several canopy trees with some of their palm fronds lifted. I saw some that appeared like cooking rooms. Three imps had an inferno raging beneath a succulent looking rooster.

Juke stopped in front of the largest canopy tree that I’d seen. The fronds of this tree were shades of light blue and green. Juke held the palm fronds aside, and bowed low with its hand extended for me to go in. I chuckled at the gesturing.

Under the canopy tree was magnificent.

There was a small, shallow pool of pink liquid around the perimeter. I stepped into it and rinsed the sludge and quicksand off my feet, then I walked into what looked like the most dazzling room I’d ever had. The foam ground in the middle just looked like a ridiculously large bed. There were several tiny holes in the fronds which allowed for natural lighting under the tree. The base of the stem had a larger pond around it. Large enough that I could dunk into it for a good cleaning if I wanted to. I walked around the stem and found an offshoot. It looked like branches had grown and intertwined. The branches were so closely packed together that the offshoot could easily be used as a desk, or a bench. I found my coffer on one side of the room and a large platter on it. My mouth watered at the food.

“Join us,” I called out when I saw Juke retreating.

It walked in, cleaned the sludge off its feet in the pond, and then came to sit beside the coffer. We ate together, the three of us. Juke talked for so long I was shocked that it still had more to say after half of the contents of the platter was cleared. Nebula liked it though. It clapped excitedly and tried to copy some of the words Juke said. Sometimes its clapping turned into spasms, and its words were almost always stammered. But it was healthy.

“Where is Fabiana?” I asked, interrupting a tale Juke termed Chacip’s glory. It was a lore of the escapades of the first Kaiser of my line.

“It has the canopy room two trees away from yours, on the right. But it is asleep. It wept for a long time before the dignified Darlin was able to get it to sleep. We all really miss Binna.” There was a catch in its voice and then it looked down. I thought it meant to cry, but when it looked back up, there was sorrow in its face, but no tears.

“You didn’t cry.” I won’t have said it to anyone else, but Juke was special to me. As Binna had been.

“I don’t cry sirga. My progenitor beat it out of me. It is not acceptable for a noble to shed tears. But I am sad, and I mourn for Binna.” Juke picked up its cup and drank from it.

“I have not heard much to recommend the great Jukien.” I said.

Juke frowned at me. “You did not cry either sirga, and I know you loved Binna as I did. Is my progenitor wrong to say noble’s should not cry?”

It was an astute observation. I shook my head. “I don’t know. Fabiana is a noble. There are few I consider more noble. But it wept today. It lost its sibling and it wept. It is no less of a noble for crying. Perhaps the tears pay homage to the dead.”

Juke tore off a chunk of sweet bread and chewed thoughtfully on it. Then it shook its head. “I do not think so. I think tears are a solace for the living not for the dead.” It looked up at me and the cunning I saw in its young gaze both startled and impressed me. “Don’t get me wrong sirga, I do not think any less of the imperial Fabiana for its tears, far from it. Maybe I would weep if I knew how. But I do not, and I think that my way of honoring Binna is better.”

“What way is that?” I asked.

“Binna talked long and often about a charity fund it wished to convince its progenitor to create. The fund was one that would educate and empower fifty of the poorest Lahooni commoners a year. They could be pious. Or scholars who could become adherents. Fighters who could become bannerets. Merchants who could become halcyons. It wanted to make the average Lahooni uspec richer. It believed that by doing this it could make Lahooni richer both in wealth and moral character. In its memory, I will create that fund. I think that would please Binna. Since I know what I intend to do, I do not mourn. By my works I will honor it.”

I put my hand on the uspec’s chin and tilted its head up. “You are a wise one, young majestic.”

It chuckled. “I am the last offspring of a duke. I must have something to distinguish myself.”

“One day, you will be one of the advisors I count on most.”

It laughed. “You jest, sirga, I will be nothing more than a majestic crawling through your library and sparring with you whenever you give me the chance.”

I shook my head. “No. You will be a duke, and you will be my advisor. That much I can guarantee you.”

The young uspec gaped at me. It appeared at a loss for words. “I have older siblings sirga, it is their place to inherit.”

I grinned at it. “I will create a dukedom, just for you.”

It looked uncomfortable. “That is not why I spoke…I mean…”

I cuffed it playfully. It did not know it, but the uspec had given me a way to honor the nobles in my honoraria who’d sacrificed their lives for this mission. I would find what they cared about most and I would see it brought to life. I would do that in their memory.

Juke cleared its throat. It shifted from sitting to kneeling. Then it bowed to me. “Gratitude sirga.”

I laughed. “Sit down, Juke.” It did. “Tell me another story.”

Once Juke started talking, there was no shutting it up. Nebula copied its speech and mannerism and I watched the both of them. My burden lightened. I would be okay leaving Nebula here, with Juke. Juke would take care of it. And there were others. Fabiana, wise and strong. And Darlin, fierce warrior that it was. My offspring would be protected.

The rest of the meal passed quickly after that. Juke left and Nebula and I settled into the hardened clouds to sleep. I didn’t realize how exhausted I was until I settled into the foam. Sleep came as soon as I closed my eyes.

There was a blunt object pressing into my face.

I woke with a start.

At first, I thought it was Nebula.

Then I opened my eyes and found Nebula in an uspec’s arms. I couldn’t believe it. It was an uspec in my honoraria. The uspec had a hand over Nebula’s mouth and another hand holding the sharp edge of a dagger against my offspring’s neck. Was this some sort of joke?

“Don’t say a word. If you try anything, we will kill your offspring. Do you understand?”

I was too startled to believe my ears. I knew that voice. It was an uspec I trusted. An uspec I’d trusted with my life!

“Do you understand?” It demanded.

The uspec holding Nebula pushed the dagger closer towards it.

“Answer,” it snapped at me.

“Do you understand?” The voice behind me prompted. I was beyond betrayed. I knew this uspec. I’d trusted it.

I nodded in answer to their question. I did not want my offspring getting hurt.

“Good. Come with us.”

I couldn’t believe it. What would prompt Darlin to do a thing like this? I didn’t know, but, for threatening my offspring, I was going to kill it the first chance I got.

Wow. A really long one.
What is next now? Why would Darlin do this.
Was Cantonia right afterall?

Three episodes! Wow!! Today is a good day. Darlin of all people sha...so Nebud has been kidnapped? It is well.

eROCK247:


In the light of this story we're not Uspecs. We're Umanis and therefore should side with the imps if sentiments are at play here.

Lolzz so we should side with our kind even though they are wrong in trying to steal wat is not rightfully theirs

obehiD:
Publishing updates for those who've read and follow the human part of the Marked Series:
=============================================================

This week, I received the biggest disappointment of my writing life. My publishers, who I’ve been working with for the last year and a half, decided to terminate my contract. It’s been a very hard week for me, trying to get past the disappointment and keep writing and figure out what to do next with my Marked series.

I’m not sure yet when/how I’m going to publish White Sight: The Awakening, but I’ve decided that it’s not fair to my Crimson Night readers who’ve been waiting to read Awakening to drag this process out for another year or two (which is what will inevitably happen if I try to go down the rabbit hole of traditional publishing again, with this book).

So, while I decide on how to officially publish this book, I want to give some of my Crimson Night readers, who’ve been so supportive and patient with me and this story, the chance to be alpha readers for the next book in the Marked series. What that means is that you’ll be agreeing to read a rough draft of the Awakening story in exchange for feedback that can help me improve on the work as is. If you are interested, please leave a comment on here with this post quoted and I will send you an email through Nairaland.

If there's anyone on here who read Awakening back when I posted it on NL and would be interested in helping me out as an alpha reader please let me know. This is a second version of the book with most of the same plot themes, but the story has been redone. I made one big change to the marks, so I got rid of werewolves and made them werejackals instead. Anyway, it would be nice to have some comparisons between the previous version I had on Nairaland with what I have now if anyone who has already read it before is willing to read it again. Let me know and I will reach out to you.

Thanks in advance!

I just saw this been away for too long
I'll be interested send a mail

I'd always doubted Darlin since the incident with Cantonia.... A very long update from Obehid today thanks a bunch

Thank you sirga ObehiD, it's a bumper update. Poor Nebud will this war ever be over you will ask after reading his betrayal. Who and who is with Darling on this one?

Oh dear Obehid ,so u off our Binta just like that .the plenum wnt be that foolish not to have eyes or ear's around Nebud i think the want to use a stone to kill two birds doing that they ll have to face the founder unless darlin is on it for the wealth by the way were is Fajaromo this look like his style ..still expecting more of this fanstastic update of a story.....and one more thing , i understand why imp our worshiping sada. What do they really know about an underworld god by helping it to take over this existance...... Gratitude KuworObehid

obehiD:
Publishing updates for those who've read and follow the human part of the Marked Series:
=============================================================

This week, I received the biggest disappointment of my writing life. My publishers, who I’ve been working with for the last year and a half, decided to terminate my contract. It’s been a very hard week for me, trying to get past the disappointment and keep writing and figure out what to do next with my Marked series.

I’m not sure yet when/how I’m going to publish White Sight: The Awakening, but I’ve decided that it’s not fair to my Crimson Night readers who’ve been waiting to read Awakening to drag this process out for another year or two (which is what will inevitably happen if I try to go down the rabbit hole of traditional publishing again, with this book).

So, while I decide on how to officially publish this book, I want to give some of my Crimson Night readers, who’ve been so supportive and patient with me and this story, the chance to be alpha readers for the next book in the Marked series. What that means is that you’ll be agreeing to read a rough draft of the Awakening story in exchange for feedback that can help me improve on the work as is. If you are interested, please leave a comment on here with this post quoted and I will send you an email through Nairaland.

If there's anyone on here who read Awakening back when I posted it on NL and would be interested in helping me out as an alpha reader please let me know. This is a second version of the book with most of the same plot themes, but the story has been redone. I made one big change to the marks, so I got rid of werewolves and made them werejackals instead. Anyway, it would be nice to have some comparisons between the previous version I had on Nairaland with what I have now if anyone who has already read it before is willing to read it again. Let me know and I will reach out to you.

Thanks in advance!

I don't understand why your publishers would abandon you at this point, you are a good writer and your stories are very good so far. It is a sad event indeed. Anyway, I will love to read these rough drafts and hopefully give one or two insights.

Just email me on fabianibeh32gmail.com or zirconfabian@gmail.com any of these emails will do. You are getting bigger Obehid.
BTW, stick to werewolves instead of were jackals, jackals are dirty, wolves are much majestic.

As for Nebud/Cala story, so far very great. It has been mixed with adventure, actions and most importantly emotions ranging from anger to list to greed most especially pain. Binna's was one of my favorite I will miss it.

Darlin whom I though was a darling is actually acting the opposite. It seems like it is in cohorts with the plenum. Well every thing leads to Nebud's success regardless of the challenges.

You are doing well Obehid. Well done dear.