Sovereign Servants - The Sending (VIRGIN EARTH Book 1)

by W. C. Jasper

  King Jeraash arose and spoke, “That’s decided then. You kids will define the details of your little arrangement in time, but I have a feeling that you two are going to have a stronger bond than either of you realise.”

  General Thayman interjected, “Not to mention, this combination of two troublemakers is going to spell chaos for us.”

  “No doubt about that,” said King Jeraash as he walked out of the room.

  Akini knelt down on one knee with her left fist on the ground in front of her and her head bowed and declared, “I, Akini Swaasam of Numaj of Jerudia swear my absolute fealty and unquestioned, blind trust to My Prince, Jared Ehbed of the House of Rash-Yaph until my dying breath. I will be his shield and obey his commands to his pleasure.”

  Prince Jared laughed and replied, “As long as you are my pupil, it will be my duty to protect you, and not the other way around.”

  General Thayman interjected, “Let us have some tea, I haven’t had the chance to enjoy tea today even once.”

  Akini stood up and said, “But, it is already night…”

  General Thayman and Prince Jared interrupted in unison with queer, silly expressions and a shake of head and raised eyebrows, “It is never a bad time for tea!”

  The next day, on the break of the ninth hour of the day, Maomi had shown up to the military base in the 2nd district of the capital city of Radaa. King Jeraash was already present there with the three Generals, Prince Jared, Lieutenant Hana, and Lord Akula Kiaaran to set up Miss Maomi’s unit of female warriors. General Thayman had been informed by now that King Jeraash was fond of Maomi, and the Prince and General Thayman kept scanning the King for any giveaways but could see nothing. King Jeraash was absolute in his dutifulness.

  The three Generals had a lot of input regarding this important military affair, and King Jeraash made sure that Maomi’s wants, demands, and concerns were dealt with respectfully and reasonably. The proceedings lasted more than five hours, and at about 20 minutes into the fourteenth hour, the party was dismissed.

  As everyone departed for lunch, King Jeraash requested Maomi to stay back. Prince Jared and General Thayman giggled away together as King Jeraash shot them a scolding look.

  Standing behind the King’s left-hand side, his loyal protege, General Hana said with a blank voice, “No rush. She’s not going anywhere.”

  King Jeraash responded with a barely mocking voice, “Thank you for the words of wisdom, My Lady! You may take your leave now.”

  King Jeraash spoke as his face blushed sharply, “My Lady, I apologise if I seem too aggressive or rude.” The unwavering and ever unshakable feet of King Jeraash as firm as the Earth itself trembled for the first and very last time as he continued, “But I have fallen in love with you ever since I first met you. I desire to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you. I realise that we have only met yesterday, and this seems far too irrational and rude and… inappropriate? But as a king whom this world praises for his wisdom and singularly exceptional ability to perceive and understand things with a single glance, I have seldom been surer of anything else in my life.”

  Maomi smiled with an inner chuckle and replied, “Any woman would be blessed to marry the matchlessly righteous King Jeraash. Even at such a young age, the world already hails you as one of the greatest men to inhabit the Earth. And I too, have the utmost respect for you, My King. I admit that I am fond of you as well. But as a man who is expressing his desire to marry a woman whom he met only yesterday, you will need to do a lot to convince me about a decision such as this, My King.”

  King Jeraash was delighted to know that Maomi was fond of him too. He spoke with devoted conviction, “Please forgive me for what I am about to do, and know that I only do this to show you how sure I am of my decision, and how sure I am of the truth that I was destined to marry you.” He knelt down on one knee with his head bowed, unsheathed his swords, and planting them into the ground, declared, “I, Jeraash Ehbed of the House of Rash-Yaph, Son of the King of Kings - Jahous Ehbed, and the 24th King of Jerudia, declare the following with the two clowns giggling over there as witnesses.” Prince Jared and General Thayman stopped giggling at once as King Jeraash continued, “On my honour do I swear that King Jeraash will only marry Lady Maomi of Jerudia and will stay loyal to her for the entirety of his life. I pledge my life and my swords to you; my heart forever belongs to you.”

  General Thayman turned to Prince Jared, “Were you also this dramatic when you proposed to Wardiela?” Prince Jared responded with a violent fist to his uncle’s deltoid, “Shhh!!! Let me hear!”

  Maomi knew very well that she could not have asked for a better husband. Being a citizen of Jerudia, she knew that the King and Prince were men of honour and that the mountains would crumble before their words could ever be broken. She spoke as her eyes glinted in joy, “Knowing you to be a man of utmost integrity and virtue, it would be most foolish of me to question your commitment or resolve after the vow you just made. I will not be disgraceful and expect more from you, My King. It will be my joy to be your wife.” King Jeraash was overjoyed and on a rare occasion his face lit up in joy as he grinned ear to ear and his eyes welled up in disbelief of his fortune. He took her hand and spoke, “My Lady, it is my honour, and a blessing from Sathyam himself that I would be bestowed with the privilege to be your husband,” and kissed her hand. Prince Jared jumped out from behind the carriage of food supplies where they were hiding and exclaimed as he ran towards them, “We will have a feast tonight!!!” One would have thought he was more excited about the feast than his brother being betrothed.

  Prince Jared took the future queen’s hand and kneeling down on one knee, kissed it. He stood up and spoke with a wide grin, “Welcome to the family!” as General Thayman who was now joining them interjected, “Welcome to the family of kingly clowns and noble lunatics, my dear. It is never a dull day here.” He too proceeded to kiss her hand and embraced her in welcome.

  King Jeraash: “We cannot hold a feast just yet; it has to remain secret for now. Otherwise, people would question my reasoning for awarding Lady Maomi with her military unit.”

  Prince Jared frowned like a child, “Hmmm… Well, could we have a feast without announcing your betrothal then?”

  Miss Maomi chuckled as General Thayman laughed with his majestic belly, “My son, you’re the prince! You can call for a feast whenever you want, you don’t need an excuse!”

  King Jeraash stood by and watched, enjoying the beauty of the moment and marvelling at how blessed he was.

  King Jeraash ordered General Thayman and the Prince to give them a moment of actual privacy and they obliged happily this time. Once they were out of hearing distance, King Jeraash spoke in a low voice, “I owe you the following truth. My brother is the apple of my eye, and quite frankly, my everything. I’ve raised him like my own child, and he will always remain a child for me. Being my wife also entails loving him with all your heart. That is an absolute and non-negotiable requirement. Loving me means loving him.”

  Maomi smiled with her squinting eyes and said, “It would be my pleasure to love him the way you do.”

  King Jeraash: “I wish I did not have to disagree with you so early into our relationship, My Lady. But no one will ever love him the way I do.”

  Maomi smiled as she wondered about her fortunes of being blessed into such a family.

  Chapter Six

  Unstoppable Forces And Immovable Objects

  SHAR 3294

  Standing inside a void of pure light, 18-year-old Prince Jeraash beheld a dream. One that he would shape his entire life around.

  Abiding in a void of virgin white light, Prince Jeraash stood as calm and serene as ever. But the look in his eyes was of an unhuman blankness. Not in any way that was bad, but as if he was housed in a human body without any prior human experience. He was clothed in a red and white garment with golden-silk embroidery, which was quite similar to what he usually wore. He looked around leisurely as his eyes proclaimed deep thought and
great wisdom. Wisdom that did not understand the Earthly realm, but transcended the physical realm. The young Prince slowly blinked his eyes twice and started walking around as he observed his feet. His eyes expressed feeble curiosity as he lowered himself to the ground and knelt down on one knee and touched the non-existent ground he stood on. He felt that time was… queer. He was not sure whether time even existed in the realm he was standing in at that moment. After touching the non-existent ground he stood on, he surveyed his fingers.

  His eyes exhibited angelic mysticism as he seemed to wonder about something he was not sure he fully understood. With a sudden movement, he spread out his hands horizontally to the sides and fell back like a free-falling statue. As his back hit the non-existed ground, the entire landscape instantly transformed. Or maybe he was transported to a different dimension. He wasn’t sure. He now saw a blue sky with beautiful clouds and a few birds soaring high. He could feel on his back that he was now laying on lush grass. He sat up and looked for his beloved - his 13-year-old brother. He looked around and noticed that he was on a green hill island. A hill island only about 200 metres in diameter.

  He was confused. For even though there were birds soaring on high, there was no dwelling for them. For the only land in this realm was a string of infinite hill islands stretching in a straight line. He looked ahead and looked behind, and saw that there was no end to the string of island hills. And apart from that string of islands, there was only water all around. The reflection of the sky that could be seen on the water was like an endless, all-encompassing mirror.

  He blinked slowly a few more times with an outwordly mysticism as some form of knowing birthed in him. Suddenly, he felt a familiar wrapping around his left arm. He turned to his left and noticed his beloved little brother sitting beside him, with his arm wrapped around his. Rubbing his head on his elder brother’s arm, little Prince spoke with a voice that melted his heart, “Don’t leave me. Stay with me. Here. Forever. In this moment. Always.” Even though Prince Jeraash’s eyes were devoid of any human/earthly experience, his smile for his brother was the purest human sight. His eyes almost closed up completely as he smiled at his beloved, “Wherever you are, that’s where I am. Not even all of the powers in all of creation could move me from your side.” Both the princes knew that truer words had never been spoken. The little Prince’s tightly smiling lips manifested perfect security and bliss.

  Prince Jeraash put his palm on the back of his brother’s head and pulled him close. He kissed his forehead as both of their eyes closed in perfect peace. As he opened his eyes, the eternally serene and peaceful Prince tasted panic for the first time. His beloved was not in his arms anymore. His eyes screamed in shock and he looked around frantically. He noticed that his younger brother was now on the island behind him. There was a distance of about 400 metres between each island hill. Seeing his little brother weep in agony and shock, Prince Jeraash started running towards the water to swim over to his brother.

  As he hit the water, he realised that the water repelled him back onto the island he stood on. He charged once again, but this time like a rhino, resolved to break through the invisible evil force that kept him from his brother. But he was once again gently repelled back onto the island. The elder Prince, who was a castle of eternal fortitude, was now undone.

  In a moment that perturbed nature itself, Prince Jeraash broke and cried out in agony. Watching his little brother weep and call for him and still being unable to get to him was the most harrowing experience he had ever experienced. Not even the pain of losing his parents compared to it. He desired to tear apart the building blocks of existence. He wished he could clobber and shatter all space and matter that separated him from his brother. He crumbled and collapsed in defeat with his forearms smashing the ground below him. As his tears hit the lush grass and climbed down the grass and seeped into the ground below, Prince Jeraash closed his eyes and was escorted out of his nightmare.

  The immovable object had been moved.

  SHAR 3297

  The 17-year-old Prince Jared too saw a dream he had never seen before. But one that would revisit him and haunt him many times in his future. A dream that was a warning from the spirit realm.

  Trapped inside a room of dark void, Prince Jared saw himself fallen on his knees, wearing only a loincloth made of yak’s hide. Fallen. Like a man who was broken from the inside. A man whom the enemy broke from the inside knowing that breaking him from the outside was impossible. Fallen on his knees, with every muscle exhausted, not from exertion born of labour, but from exhaustion born of an inner struggle.

  Five giant metal shackles emerged from the void like vipers striking at him and took hold of his arms and legs, while one secured his waist. As soon as he realised that he was captured, the soldier in him awoke and his eyes widened in anger. Anger, for fear was essentially unknown to him. He quickly jumped to his feet and immediately started to struggle to break free. Even though the metal shackles were gigantic, he could sense it oh so clearly that he possessed more than enough physical strength to break free from the shackles. But to his shock, it did not work. For the very first time in his life, his strength had failed him. He refused to accept that his strength could fail him. He struggled as his eyes raged like a maniac and his entire body rocked around like an unhinged, frenzied beast.

  Prince Jared had only experienced one fear in his entire life until now - the fear of darkness. He was born with a fear of the dark and could never stay in a dark room for even two seconds. But given his ludicrous stubbornness and warrior pride, he decided to change that when he turned eight years old. Even as a child, he had far too much pride to simply accept any fear as a part of himself. So, he started to acclimate himself to darkness by practising sitting in dark rooms for short bursts of time even though his stomach tied itself into knots. He started with short bursts of five seconds. As soon as the five seconds ended, he would dash out of the room as if a demon from the depths of hell were reaching for his feet. As he ran for his life, his feet would repel the ground as if it were lava. His tiny pride would be offended greatly as everyone in the Royal Palace would laugh at the little Prince’s theatrics. But he kept on. And by the time he was 12 years old, he had completely conquered his fear of the dark with diligent daily practice.

  But now, he was introduced to a new fear. Almost as if the demons had conspired against him. Almost as if this new fear was a choreographed, strategized attack to ensure that his former fear was replaced with a new one. An unexplained fear arose inside of him. It made no sense to him. Fear was not something that he counted as natural to him. He believed that fear was something that had no place inside him. As an incomprehensible and inexplicable fear started filling in the pits of his stomach, his rage grew greater. He started to summon new strength from a hidden dimension within himself and pulled on the shackles with all his might. But his eyes now trembled in shock at noticing that the shackles stayed as unmoved as a mountain.

  The unstoppable force had been stopped.

  SHAR 3305

  It was now about 20 minutes into the fifteenth hour of the day. After having heard that account, Thaymas was now looking forward to meeting Akini even more. As they sat by the shore, peering over the lake and enjoying the beauty of the sun’s light reflecting over its gorgeous cyan waters, Thaymas was just now noticing that his body had lost a lot of fat. He realised now why they had eaten the wild boar in the midst of their training session.

  Thaymas was now feeling even more comfortable around them and decided to ask, “If you and Maomi-ka fought without holding back now, who would win?”

  ‘Akka’ was the honorific used to address elder sisters in Jerudian culture and ‘ka’ was used as a suffix-honorific while addressing them.

  Prince Jared, laying his head on his brother’s lap, continued to gaze into the sky as he replied, “Well, Ma is marginally faster than Brother, but my speed is still too great and gives me an explicit advantage. Our durability is about the same, now that she is part of
the family and has the same royal blood in her arteries. While you and I are equal to Brother and Ma in raw intellect, they have a singular talent we do not possess. You know how your father always says that chess is about playing your opponent more than the game itself? Uncle always beats me at chess because he has the ability to think too far ahead into the game, anticipate my moves, and most importantly… dictate my moves. You and I, Thaymas, are not built for that kind of thinking. Which is why we both are devastatingly poor at chess. This gives Maomi-ma a considerable advantage that helps her negate my speed advantage. She would be able to dictate my moves with significant success as it is. But given how intimate we are now; she knows me far too well, which means she can anticipate my moves, and even dictate my moves to a frightening extent. So, truth be told, I think we would tie.”