by W. C. Jasper
When they returned, King Jeraash’s demeanour had no residue from his previous conversation with the Queen and Prince. He ordered the two servants standing by to move further away and out of hearing distance. He proceeded to kiss Prince Jared on his forehead and embraced him just as a father would, and so did General Thayman. Thaymas had now noticed that Prince Jared was loved greatly, and was probably the most loved person in all the Earth next to his daughter. Queen Maomi kissed the Princess all over her face as she giggled uncontrollably and handed her back to the King. Everyone sat down comfortably on the grass as Prince Jared lay down on the grass with his head on Queen Maomi’s lap. Thaymas could see clearly that even though Queen Maomi was only 30 years old, Prince Jared and the Queen were essentially mother and son. They were so intimate that Thaymas felt quite queer about seeing such an intimate and maternal relationship between two people so close in age.
King Jeraash placed the Princess on his lap and inquired for her answer to his last question. She answered swiftly, “The greatest threat to a ruler is lacking wisdom!”
Thaymas: “THAT’S A FIVE-YEAR-OLD!?”
Thaymas did not yet know that not only did the Princess possess prodigious wisdom and intellect, but she was also already being trained by the wisest people in matters of rulership.
King Jeraash raised his eyebrows with a frown that expressed how impressed he was, “Valiant effort, My Princess! But it’s not correct.”
Princess Jeniah pressed in her matchlessly adorable voice, “What is it?!”
King Jeraash: “The greatest threat to a ruler is always themselves.”
Thaymas: “Of course! Pride!”
Princess Jeniah: “I am guessing you will once again say that is something that I will understand when I get older, and that this too has something to do with pride?”
Thaymas was understandably shocked, “WHAT! N… THAT’S…! I guess people are not born equal after all…”
King Jeraash coiled the Princess in his embrace and spoke, “When you get older… You shall be the one teaching me things… But do remember that we don’t use the word ‘pride’ for these matters. Because there is such a thing as ‘good and righteous pride’. What we are talking about here is better to be referred to as ‘ego’, okay?” He kissed her temple as she nodded in her sweetly obedient demeanour.
General Thayman took over the duty of keeping the Princess entertained as King Jeraash wasted no time and began, “Thaymas, make no mistake, you are just as much royalty as me and my brother. And this is not goodwill. I am speaking the absolute truth when I say this. I know you have heard that Uncle Thayman was adopted into the family by my father. But there is far too much you do not yet know about the House of Rash-Yaph. I’m sure you’ve heard many legends about the magic in our blood. While some of the legends might be embellished, know that there is supernatural power in our blood. Let me start with the most significant part for you. When my father adopted Uncle Thayman into the family, it was not mere words and sentimentality. It was a ritual which forever transformed the essence of your father’s being. When that ritual was performed by my father, Uncle Thayman was verily accepted into the House of Rash-Yaph, and the blood of the House of Rash-Yaph entered his arteries. So never again will you think for even the smallest moment that you are not as much royalty as me and my brother. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, My King,” answered Thaymas.
Prince Jared burst into laughter and got up from the Queen’s lap and added with animated acting, “Also, stop referring to us as, ‘My King’ and ‘My Prince’ when it is just us.” King Jeraash continued, “While in the presence of others, it is important to always use the proper titles and honorifics, but if you keep doing that when there is no need, then we will have a problem. I repeat, you are as much a part of this family as Jared is.”
General Thayman continued to be engrossed in his duty of entertaining the Princess as King Jeraash continued, “You should also know that the blood of the House of Rash-Yaph carries supernatural physical strength, speed, physical durability, and a visual gift that transcends natural vision and can even see things that exist on a realm beyond the physical one. The visual gift also includes the ability to sense people’s aura - their presence, energy, spiritual force. To a certain extent, everyone can do it, but they can do it only on a miniscule scale. With this gift of yours, when you sense people’s spiritual force, you can gain extraordinary insight into people. Not just about how strong they are, how powerful they are, but even their moral character and specific traits and virtues. But remember that your own wisdom plays a huge role in this. You have obviously already been using this talent of yours for a long time now without fully realising it; but as time goes on, you will also further develop this particular gift. Jared will teach you more about this including how you should be suppressing your own spiritual force. Training with my little brother, you will soon become an incredibly powerful warrior. And when that happens, being in your presence will make even ordinary and average people feel your extraordinary spiritual force like a tangible pressure in the air surrounding them. Same as it happens to people when they are around us. That is an inconvenience for everyday life, which is why we usually suppress our force when we are out and about among the common folk. We strategically choose when we can relax and leave our aura at its natural state such as when we are inside the Royal Palace or at the military base. A more important reason for you to learn this will be to hide your presence when you are in enemy vicinage. Otherwise, stealth would be an impossibility, wouldn’t it?”
“Anyway, now that you know all of this about what our royal blood carries. Now that you see that these powers you possess are absolute evidence of your royal identity, never again will you ever think of yourself as anything less than royalty. Now you know that when I said that the blood of the House of Rash-Yaph entered your father’s arteries, it was in a literal sense. Of course, I am still your King, Jared is still the Crowned Prince, and My Lady is still your Queen; but you are still part of this very family. I am going to need to hear it from your mouth that you accept the fact that you are royalty.”
Thaymas spoke aloud with much effort and stiffness in a funny fashion, “I am royalty!”
General Thayman laughed uproariously, “He’ll get better with time,” still focused on entertaining the Princess.
Queen Maomi interrupted with restrained agitation, “After keeping this young man away from us for so long, you shouldn’t be one to talk, Uncle!”
While everyone else was enjoying mangoes in a humanly fashion; Prince Jared, of course, was not using cutlery and plates, but peeling off the skin with his teeth and hands and devouring mangoes like a beast of the wild.
Queen Maomi scolded him, “You need to set an example for your daughter! Stop behaving like a savage!”
Princess Jeniah responded loudly with her infinitely adorable voice, “Don’t say that! I do not eat like Appa! I have very good table manners, Ma! And even if he listens to you now, he will go back to the same habit once you are not around.”
Everyone burst out in thunderous laughter, including Prince Jared who enjoyed laughing at himself more than anyone else.
However, Thaymas, who was still acclimating to this alien environment, could not laugh yet. But he did notice that the King, Queen, Prince, and General Thayman shared the trait of squinting their eyes almost to the point of closing when they laughed or smiled. He also noticed that General Thayman and the Prince shared the trait of laughing with their whole bodies. Prince Jared quickly washed his hands and wiped them on a towel nearby and charged at the Princess and picked her up, “Maybe I should take a bite out of my favourite mango then!” and started biting her cheeks playfully as she feigned displeasure, secretly enjoying every bit of it.
King Jeraash continued with a rather serious voice once the laughter died down, “Thaymas, you also need to remember that being royalty does not make us better than anyone else. Being royalty makes us servants. We are servants and ste
wards of the people and of the land. It is our job to always serve and protect these people and this land. All around the world, royalty is considered better than other people,” his voice changed momentarily to one speaking commands as he continued, “and that will never happen in Jerudia. You will never forget this. Royalty will be respected and honoured for their position, but not any more than they deserve it. The law is the same for us. Justice is the same for us. However, we do enjoy more rights, and more power, which is fair since we also bear a greater load of responsibility and a greater burden. And never will you forget that.”
Queen Maomi spoke up, “Okay, that’s enough for today. It’s time to eat. I do not want Jared getting cranky…” Eyes rolled all around as she continued, “Let’s move to the dining hall.”
Everyone started moving towards the dining hall, when Prince Jared sneaked up on Thaymas out of nowhere and put his hand on his shoulder and whispered into his ear, “I need you to answer this question with absolute honesty. Are you prepared?” This was the third time Prince Jared had sneaked up on Thaymas, which was pretty much an impossible feat, but Thaymas had learned now that Prince Jared had frightening capabilities in stealth. Thaymas prepared himself, made his spine erect, and responded, “Yes, My—” and corrected himself, “Yes, Aani.” ‘Aani’ was the honorific used to address elder brothers in Jerudian culture.
Prince Jared moved in front of him, caught him by his shoulders, stared into his eyes almost like peering into his soul and said, “Understand that this is a question of utmost importance. I need you to be accurate in your answer. Do you understand?” Thaymas took a couple of seconds to prepare himself and nodded yes. Prince Jared spoke with a weighty voice that meant business, “Do you like eating meat?” Thaymas stood frozen for about four seconds, not knowing how to react when Prince Jared repeated loudly, “Do you like eating meat?!” Thaymas answered hurriedly with a sheepish, shocked, and foolish expression on his face, “Ye—Yes! Yes! I love meat!” Prince Jared smiled, tilting his head to the right, “Ahh! I knew it! Aane, you definitely carry the blood of the House of Rash-Yaph in your arteries!” and laughed uproariously. ‘Aane’ was the honorific used to address younger brothers in Jerudian culture.
Thaymas’ night did not see much sleep that night and spent hours in his bed collecting his thoughts and internalising the overflow of information. He had seen and heard far too much in a single day, and having to adjust to an entirely new living arrangement, that too in the Royal Palace was quite something. Thaymas understood right away that while the Royal Palace was grand as it should have been, it was not as extravagant as one would expect a Royal Palace to be. His quarters were identical to Prince Jared’s. It was elegant, extremely well endowed, yet sober. Thaymas drifted into sleep that night stewing in thoughts too difficult to comprehend.
“My Lord, things have calmed down in Atresia city. Lord Richard Binurd awaits your word,” said a messenger with a stiff posture and stiffer voice. “Hmmm…” said Emperor Thon Cletrinil with his immensely handsome, deep, and charming voice. Sitting in his outrageously grand throne, with flawless skin, the colour of the darkest brown clay and his welcoming black eyes; he looked powerful, yet harmless. He proceeded to take a tiny sip of his wine and let out a moan, shaking his head ever so slightly with closed eyes, appreciating the wine like a connoisseur appreciating a fine piece of art. Every blink of his eyes, every tiny mannerism, and every involuntary movement in his body danced on the line between eccentricity and scholar-like charm. He was 6 feet 2 inches tall and built like a perfect human specimen, perfected with centuries of study. At the age of 42, he was already the most feared ruler in all the Earth.
Slowly breaking away from his appreciation of the wine, he continued in his handsome and lovely voice, “Atresia… The drama performer Sisuje Sotelum wrote to us last week complaining about being unhappy with his remuneration, correct?”
“Yes, My Lord!” answered one of his top advisors standing nearby - Lady Lemi Lech Lakaam, a 37-year-old fair-skinned woman with dark hair who was a scholar in political studies.
“Well then,” said Emperor Thon, setting down his wine glass slowly and very gently, “It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Lady Lemi stood confused, at which Emperor Thon clarified, speaking in his scholar-like and leisurely tone, “The tensions and unrest in Atresia have calmed down. Now, tell me, how would we control the people if not with fear and hatred? The Tranks have been oppressed for over 750 years. And sure, that oppression might have been dead for 200 years now. But conflict is easy to manufacture. And we have been able to create a good equation right now by not only magnifying the scars of those 750 years, but also regularly fabricating new oppression. Neither the Tranks, nor the Kraskos can be allowed to move past the…” He flashed a short smile and a shrug and continued, “—past. The Tranks need to believe that the Kraskos are still their enemy. And the Kraskos need to feel guilty of the crimes that someone else in the past committed. Sisuje is the perfect piece in this game as he is a prominent figure in the Tranks tribe. To slack on this now would be a terrible waste. If we leave it alone, the fire of hatred between them would soon die out. What a waste would that be… And I do not like waste…”
His speech was like an eccentric sage imparting wisdom and his voice now grew more relaxed as he continued, “It is necessary to keep pouring fresh oil in the fire, for how would a fire burn without fuel? So, we ask Sisuje to stage an attack on himself and hire two Kraskos to do the deed. Since Sisuje is already an actor, I am sure that it will be easy for him to act like a victim and fool people. With all the newspapers and all the information and news outlets in the land in our hands, we convince everyone that the animosity and enmity between Kraskos and Tranks is still very much alive. We will convince everyone that the oppression of the Tranks remains as strong as ever. More Kraskos will feel guilty with every passing day, and more Tranks will feel oppressed. The intelligent ones, which are always scarce of course, will still see the truth. But they will continue to remain silent, while the stupid ones… Well, you know what they say about empty vessels. The fools will always drown out the sensible ones with their sheer loudness. And we will regularly make sensational speeches convincing the Tranks that I am the only one who can help them, and the Kraskos who feel guilty and self-righteous will have to support me just so they can look virtuous and noble in the eyes of the majority. Is it clear enough now?”
Lady Lemi’s face now expressed comprehension as she nodded, “Yes, My Lord.” Lady Lemi was not trained in combat in the least capacity, but she had spent her entire life studying politics and had connections to the right people.
She added, “But the ‘Liberty Legion’ is proving to be a growing concern. With every passing month, they are convincing more and more people that we are the ones orchestrating all the hatred and social unrest.”
Emperor Thon broke off from his smile that was in admiration of his wine and seamlessly transitioned into his mystically charming laughter, “I have to admit, they can surely pick adorable names - Liberty Legion.” His laughter slipped out inadvertently once again before he continued, “It is actually a good name. Heh! This Pedro Yordaan is a truly worthy intellectual adversary.” Setting down his wine glass once again, he continued, “But he lacks the deviousness to make him worth my time. However, they are a nuisance, as you said. And will eventually prove to be a problem. But if we eradicate them now, it will only tarnish my image. I will no longer be seen as a saviour or protector of Gessold. So, as we always have, we will restrain them. There is a reason that our rule is absolute. It is because we control information. He who controls information, controls everything. As of now, we have control of about 82 percent of the information channels in Gessold. Which means no matter how persuasive their writings and speeches are, the Liberty Legion can still not gain any more traction than we allow them to. They can rant on and on about,” he continued with a charmingly animated, physical mockery, “‘attack on liberty and free voices’ all they want, but as long as we control
the information channels in the land, there is a limit to the impact they can have. Add to that the reality that fear always trumps facts. We can ignore them for now. As for when the time arrives when they become an immediate threat that will need to be dealt with, I know exactly what to do.”
Lady Lemi once again nodded, affirming her understanding. The only two other people in the room were Gessold’s greatest sniper, Satya Tyagi, with an incredibly magnificent bow on his back and Emperor Thon’s chief chef who was serving his special wine which was unmatched in its glory. Not a single word was spoken by either of them. Lady Lemi flipped the pages of the notes in her hands, “We also have two Tranks and three Kraskos here today who wish to present some dispute to you that State Chancellor Lord Beejin was unable to resolve.”
Emperor Thon passively growled in annoyance with his uninterested voice, “Why won’t you people ever take care of these things yourself?” He mumbled to himself, “I wonder when I will have my freedom from this…” and signalled with his hand for them to be brought in.
One of the Tranks was a bald, brown-skinned, slender man, and the other was a pale-porcelain skinned, loosely built man with short blonde hair. Two of the Kraskos were twin brothers who had dark skin like dark chestnuts and were extraordinarily tall; and the third Krasko was a fat man with peach-coloured skin and brown hair.
As the civilians were brought in, Emperor Thon had now suddenly turned into a very solemn ruler. Or at least his face had. His detached and carefree body-language had now been replaced by deep sincerity. As they bowed before Emperor Thon, Lady Lemi spoke, “These two Tranks operate a clothing store in the same locale as these three Kraskos. The Tranks claim that the Kraskos have been slandering their store and spreading vile falsehoods about them and clothes they sell and have ruined their livelihood.”
