225 passed me by,
226
Thou shall not pass!! In Gandalf's voice.

Boss Centino, thank you immensely for this. You've prevented suicide more than once, but you don't know it.

Papa Efe, rest in higher planes.

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

Super fun right. Or not.

Top 1% theory.

So here goes my 1% theory.

25th brought more COVID fear, in twisted ways. I woke up to a text from my product supplier telling me to tell clients to payup because the clients might be using his money to stock up foodstuffs while he can't. This made me count how many cups of rice and beans i have left. It wasn't funny. My own money was tied down in that payment too. Then COVID reminded me it hasn't affected me yet. It has been kind of targeting the 1%.

The 1% that went to Dubai recently. And Italy and Spain.

I'm not among the 1%, are you? You can't meet the 1% on a regular basis. Their strip clubs are not your beer parlours. From the presidential candidates son to the celebrities wife, there's 0% chance you'll meet them in your lifetime. Okay some people will.

The A list of infected continues. A governor is affected too. They all have been eating our money let them all die, except Talker he is a comedian. Then the news Presidents hench man is infected. Well let that one die painfully, and his cohorts.

The no 1 man might be infected also. Obituaries have been edited in anticipation as far as it was the 1%. It's easier to meet the Mayor of Los Angeles in a Shopping Mall twice a month, than to meet your Local Government Chairman in a lifetime. So there the 1% in my country is way apart from the 99%. No transfer of COVID -19 to the poor citizens. If they die, they die. Z
For once i was kind of glad not to be among the 1%.

Then the next phase began.

PANIC

Still on the 25th, my beloved 'garri' increased its price. I was heartbroken. Garri was not the 1% food. They eat Semovita. Garri is my food. Garri why?. I bought it with a heavy heart, it was if i caught my girlfriend cheating right in that shop. The owner of the shop became the Antichrist in my eyes. I was seeing 666 all over her face. Ugly mtf.

Foodstuff prices shot up. A lady bought 5 basins of garri at once. I wondered where she wanted to stuff it as she was a beautiful elephant. I love them large, doesn't apply to when they want to eat all the food in the world and leave us with nothing . Salt suddenly became precious in my eyes. People underrate it, until it becomes scarce. People would kill for salt then.

Panic develops from fear. Even common "sachet water" increased its price. How? Did God increase price for water? I wished all price hikers to develop constipation during this period, painful constipation. That being said i got home prepared dinner and relaxed and opened nairaland and twitter. Then i saw the extent of the COVID Panic. Sanitizers being sold out, face mask non existent, toilet paper too.

Funny how the world is going bunkers and all people care about s eating, and TAKING A SHIT!. YES, taking a dump is number 3 on their list of things. Don't you see their stay at home vids with the toilet paper. Eat, take a dump, eat again, take dump, take more dumps. So in essence you need more toilet paper. It's understandable.

For those who can't afford toilet paper, or can't see where to get one feel free to use your hands.

The COVID Chronicles continues.

obehiD:
As we walked through the room, whispers began to rise. The uspecs bowed in deference to the duke, but their eyes fastened on Fabiana who followed dutifully after its progenitor. None of them bothered with me, but why would they when I appeared to be one of three bannerets escorting wellborn nobles? I looked around the room and noticed for the first time that all the uspecs in this room were nobles. Most of them had golden armbands on. Those that did not, had silver on instead, showing them to be made nobles, the type of noble I pretended to be. There were the wealthy halcyons in their silver wristbands, loyal adherents in their silver headbands, and of course the bannerets in their silver neckcloths. I had never seen a larger assemblage of nobles in a single place. While the majority of the nobles appeared to be of the hooni spectrum, I caught sight of a few exceptions.

The two-band noble paused when we reached another set of thick golden curtains. It turned around then, its gaze landing on the bannerets that had accompanied it. With a nod, it dismissed them. The bannerets turned around and joined the nobles in their lounging.

With the bannerets dismissed, the noble pulled the curtains open and walked through. There was a short walkway between these set of curtains and another, directly opposite.

“Wait here.” The duke said to its offspring. “I will speak to my sibling first.”

Fabiana sighed. “There is no need mater, you and I both know that senior cognate Salin will not be reasoned with.”

The duke’s jaw clenched. “I mean to try.” It said stubbornly. “Wait.” The duke left us with that order.

Fabiana and I walked through the curtains. We let them fall behind us, and as soon as their bottoms swept the quicksand ground, the noise from the previous hall was removed. It was as if the curtains had been imbued with some sort of magic to prevent sound from passing through it.

Fabiana took a few steps forward and then it turned to its right. I noticed then that there was another walkway which broke off from the one we stood in.

“That leads to the library.” Fabiana inclined its head towards the path. “The greatest library in this existence. I spent a great deal of time in it before my ability for pansophy was found. If only life could be as simple as it was then.”

I realized that the time had come for me to talk Fabiana out of getting itself killed.

“Declare Kuworyte.” I said without preamble. “Chuspecip is not worth dying for.”

Fabiana looked on me with the same patient smile that it had whenever our discussions had turned to religion. “You are wrong.” It stated simply.

“I am not!” I had to struggle to keep my emotions in check.

“You are.”

I shook my head at its intransigence. “Do you think that I came here to watch you die?” I demanded. “If you do something foolish, like, let’s say, declare yourself Uspecipyte, and they try to kill you, I am honor bound to fight for you. You are not only risking your life, you are risking mine. Does your god deserve my life too?”

Fabiana chuckled. “Chuspecip is the founder. If not for it, neither of us would exist. It deserves all uspec life.” Fabiana approached me. “Do not die for me sirga. I asked you to come along because I see the aura of greatness around you, I always have. Your presence gave me the courage to make the walk here with my head held high. Now, you must go sirga. The rest of this I can do on my own.”

I grasped the uspec’s upper arms and shook it. “You are insane. How do you think your family will survive your loss? Your siblings, your mater? If not for me, then live for them.”

Fabiana shook its head. “I have betrayed Chuspecip once. I swore never to again. If I abandoned my god now, I would never be able to live with myself. I would rather die with my faith than live without it.”

What madness was this? Panic set in as Fabiana’s calm really began to sink in. I had heard of the chasm, and laughed at uspecs like this, uspecs who declared themselves servants of the wrong god, even though they knew doing so would mean their death. Never had I thought that the chasm would get close to me, that I would befriend an uspec who cared more for faith in a god, than it did for its own life. This was madness, but it was madness that I could not cure.

Unless…

“The last brio.” I stated.

Fabiana frowned. “What?”

“The last brio.” I was whispering now. “You said that your purpose was to find the last brio and defend it. If you die, who will do that? The last brio needs you. You are the only uspec faithful enough to protect it with your life. Don’t you see, you mean more to Chuspecip alive than dead. Live for your mission.”

Fabiana faltered. The calm acceptance that had descended on it went away. It looked at me with pained eyes and I could taste victory. Fabiana was not yet ready to give up on its quest for the last brio.

Fabiana’s voice shook as it spoke. “I cannot, sirga. I cannot declare myself as anything other than Uspecipyte. I cannot do it. My conscience won’t allow it.”

“Then escape. You have pansophy, remove your appearance and leave. Save yourself. You cannot be made to answer if no one can find you.”

Again, I saw Fabiana falter. It contemplated my words. I could tell from the looks that crossed its face that it was not quite as ready to die as it wanted me to believe. This uspec wanted to live.

It shook its head. “If I escape my senior cognate Salin will blame my family. I cannot leave them to bear the punishment for my cowardice.”

I released my hold on the uspec’s arm disgusted with it for its stupid faith, and with myself for caring for it. “The plenum will find the last brio and they will use it to destroy Chuspecip.” I did not know where the words came from. Perhaps it was my desperation, my last gambit to get Fabiana to change its mind. “Your death will do nothing for the god you claim to serve.”

“You find it.” Fabiana’s response cut me off guard.

“What?”

“Find the last brio. You have seen all that I have. You know of the invasion, you know that the plenum does not have the power to stop it. You may not like Chuspecip, but you would rather have it than have a spectral existence ruled by imps. Find the last brio and save this existence. Perhaps that is your calling. Maybe that is the reason we met.”

I almost laughed in the uspec’s face. If only it knew the truth, if only it knew that its precious last brio was in the wind, and that the closest uspec to finding it was Fajahromo, an ambitious irira eager to slaughter Chuspecip, and the plenum, for power.

“No.” I turned hard, unflinching, eyes on the uspec. “You may be willing to die for your coward god, Chuspecip, but I am not. I will never be.” My mind filled with thoughts of a coffer and a ring, of an uspec Fajahromo, of the plenum who were responsible for the death of my line, of an invasion planned by imps. I thought of all this, yet I could not accept Fabiana’s mission, not if it meant that the uspec would willingly hand itself over to death.

“It is funny how ‘never’, never quite seems to last forever. Just ask my cognate Foild. Only five years ago it pledged to never forsake my family, not for any riches or worldly possessions. Now, it has handed me over for the inquisition all to gain favor in our senior cognate Salin’s eyes.”

“You think Foild told Salin that you were here?” I asked.

“Foild is the only one who could have.” Fabiana shrugged. “Not that it matters now.”

The curtains on the other side were drawn.

“The majestic Fabiana.” A voice boomed. “You are summoned to appear before the mighty Checha and the high Salin.”

Fabiana smiled sadly. “That is my cue.” It said. Its hands settled on my upper arms. This time I knew what the touch meant. There was a part of me, a stubborn, resentful part, that wanted to deny Fabiana this parting embrace, but I found that I could not. My arms rose. I returned the uspec’s touch.

“Think on my words Nebud, find the last brio.” It released me, and then turned to face its execution.

I was so shaken by its use of my name, that it took me a while to realize that Fabiana had walked into the other room.

I ran after it, bursting into the room before the curtains were closed.

My arrival did not seem to cause the fuss I’d imagined. In fact, the proceedings continued as if I was not there.

There was a stage to the right of where I stood. I turned to face it, just as Fabiana had done. Immediately, I recognized the high Salin as the uspec from the pits of Hakute. It sat on a large throne. Another familiar uspec stood by its side.

Fabiana bowed deeply. “Salutations senior cognate Salin.” It greeted.

Salin’s face was set in grim lines. It nodded at Fabiana, then it inclined its head to the side. The uspec standing beside it, the one that I had thought familiar, took a step forward.

“Majestic.” It said with a jerk of its head. “I believe we met on the commune road, but we were not properly introduced.” Commune road? It hit me, this was the four band noble whose life Fabiana had saved.

“Salutations.” Fabiana bowed deeply to it.

“I am Chechin.” The uspec’s arrogant words filled the room. “Junior cognate of the mighty Checha.” The uspec pointed to the left, to the uspec seated beside Salin on the stage. “Before we make the formal introductions and welcome you back home, we must ensure that we are amongst friends.”

The uspecs words faded to the back of my mind as my gaze fastened on the uspec seated by Salin. This was Checha. It was garbed in a long red coat with a collar which covered its neck. It wore a tall hat over its head, and the tail of its coat was blown and reached all the way to the ground. The only parts of its body which I could see was its fully filled face, and its hand with the golden rings. On one finger in each hand it had an additional cyan ring. I had known that Checha was a member of the plenum, but looking at the uspec now, I knew that I was in the presence of the plenum.

“Tiyoseriwosin Fabiana?” The uspec Chechin asked.

Fabiana parted its lips to respond.

I found myself speaking before Fabiana could.

“My name is Nebud,” I announced in a loud clear voice, drawing the attention of every uspec in the room. “I am the last brio.”

Well oh well.

Great update.
Personally i think that Nebud isn't just the Last Brio.
I think it *Contains The Last Brio*.
Or it is the Last Brio and Contains Something Inside Him.

The something it contains maybe
1. The Voice in Nebuds Head.
Which could be
2. An entity in Nebuds Body.

Possibly
1. A part of Calami its progenitor stored inside Nebud.Or
2. A part of Calam.
3. Or Chuspescip Himself. Stored as an Essence.

Anyways thats just me and my musings.
I could be wrong. Or point blank correct.
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