"Guard of Ituha, an ancient order whom you once called master summons you from your slumber. Wake and obey me, for I am the Atha-Ba, Lord of the Hhtuno and your true master. Show yourself, for I have come to reclaim what you possess but do not own."
Un-Nabus lowers his hand into the water and the darkness grows. With a deep thunderous crack the water dips, creating a wave that races toward the island. Hearing the crack, Puddle looks back to his master. He sees the wave moving closer and dives down to avoid being swept away by it. Under the water he hears a deafening noise, so he covers his ears. When the wave passes, he opens his eyes and looks at his empty hands. He watches as the pouch quickly sinks in the water as if a large stone were inside. Puddle hastily swims after it, but loses it in the bottom of the grassy floor. Fear chokes Puddle and he searches for the sponge. "I will never find it, he will kill me, he will torture me, I will never get my freedom."
He starts to cry and pound his head in frustration. Then he remembers how he found the Blood Sponge the first time. "That's it." Puddle takes a fleshy part of his forearm and bites down into it. Blood seeps into the water in a red cloud. It floats down toward the river floor. Puddle follows the trail of blood until he comes to a rock lying inside the grasses. He sees the sponge gripping the rock and absorbing his blood. His breath is fading, so he quickly grabs the sponge and swims to the surface. He splashes to the top, gasping for breath. The water's surface has become very rough, and he can hear loud crashing noises behind him. He looks down at his hands and squeezes the sponge. At the first bit of pressure, a huge amount of blood is released into the water. So much blood is expunged that soon the water turns color. The more he squeezes, the more blood darkens the river and is swept downstream toward the ocean.
The sound of crashing trees and splashing water gets Puddle's attention. He turns to see chaos raging from the island. Trees are being ripped from their roots and water is crashing in all directions, for some creature of great size and power stirs on the island. Puddle screams as he sees the Mankah emerge from the tree line. The Mankah looks like a common shell crab, but it is larger than any beast Puddle has ever seen. He does not move but rather squeezes the sponge harder with the shock of seeing such a creature. The Mankah has one gigantic claw that is half its total size. Puddle looks at its six armor-covered legs and its soft, curled, wormlike body that it drags above the surface as it walks. Puddle looks up at the Mankah's two black eyes protruding high above its head. The body of the Mankah is covered in a thick, horny armor with large, thin, black hairs sticking out from the horns.
Puddle sees Un-Nabus standing on the shore of a smaller island, pointing his staff at the great beast. Un-Nabus and the beast appear to be communicating, but no sound can be heard. The giant crablike creature slams its legs into the water, brandishing its enormous claw. The beast lowers its two antennas into the water. Water begins to bubble toward Un-Nabus. Un-Nabus reaches for his robes and withdraws something that he shows to the Mankah. Un-Nabus crushes it in his hand, tossing the remains into the water. The ground starts to shake, and the water bubbles violently in front of his master. The crab moves deeper into the water toward Un-Nabus, slamming and snapping its claw. The bubbling stops, and everything becomes still.
The Mankah takes a defensive position, waiting for an attack. Puddle sees the water sway back and forth in front of the Mankah. Then, from under the water's surface a giant lizard lunges out toward the crab and in an explosion of mud and fury. The giant beasts begin to battle. The crab hits the lizard with its claw and knocks it back into the water. A massive wave rushes at Puddle, and as he tries to avoid the tidal wave, he is swept closer toward the Mankah's island. The giant monitor slowly circles the Mankah hissing, opening its jaws showing the rows of spear sized teeth that line its deadly mouth. It slams its long powerful tail into the water in the direction of its enemy. Puddle looks into the lifeless eyes of the reborn lizard and shivers. The eyes of the beast are blood-red. Dark liquid tears pour down the side of its snout and into the water. The skin of the monitor is covered in open sores that are filled with pus that drip with blood. The great claw of the crab snaps aggressively. The Mankah charges, trying to claw the lizard, but the monitor strikes the Mankah's claw with its tail and dives back into the water, reemerging behind the crab. Jumping on the Mankah's back, it bites and claws at the shell-like armor. The Mankah’s armor is too thick and strong for the lizard to penetrate and the Mankah grabs the lizard with its smaller claw, throwing it to its back. Puddle turns, hearing splashing coming from down the river. Looking back and squinting his eyes, he sees something approaching from under the water. Puddle hears a loud roar of pain and looks back at the battle. The Mankah's claw has snapped off one of the lizard's legs and it flies over Puddle’s head and he dives into the water avoiding the down pour of blood. Under the water Puddle screams in terror at what he sees. Puddle frantically swims toward the island as if the water were on fire. The crab continues the attack, snapping its claw at the undead creature and grabbing the lizard by the neck. A loud snap echoes in the air, and the lizard's body goes limp. Un-Nabus watches as his champion is killed. The Mankah turns to Un-Nabus and lowers his antenna into the water.
"Is this the extent of your great powers, Lord of the Hhtuno? I have defeated countless foes many times greater than this fleshy, undead vessel."
Un-Nabus speaks into his hand and lowers it into the water. "You are truly a great and mighty warrior, Mankah, a true champion of a forgotten age. Your armor is thick and your claws powerful. The stories of old do you no justice. You are far beyond my powers, but die today you will, and I shall have avenged your betrayal. Prepare for the emptiness of the afterlife guard of the Ituha." Un-Nabus bows to the Mankah.
The Mankah laughs, "You have no army, follower of the deceiver. I betrayed my creator so that the world would live not in darkness and slavery but in light. I have paid for my sins many times over. I live through the ages as a whisper who begs for a death that will never come. Now you speak to me of the ever-darkness that I yearn for, how will-"
The Mankah flinches, stabbing one of its legs into the water. Un-Nabus smiles when he sees what dangles from it. A grey shark wiggles for a moment as the Mankah tosses it back into the water.
"COWARD!" the Mankah screams.
The Mankah stabs the water with all of its legs, trying to move back toward the island, but it is dragged deeper into the river. Puddle watches from the shore as countless fins pierce the water's surface, rushing toward the crab. Sharks in great numbers have followed the scent of blood and now come to feast.
Un-Nabus raises his arms, putting on his hood and changing his form. He flies over the onslaught of countless teeth that rip and tear at the Mankah. The first of the great sharks leaps out from under the water, assaulting the crab. The Mankah slashes at it with its claw and cuts deep into the shark's flesh. The shark splashes back into the water, a giant blood wave rushes toward the island. The crab is slowly dragged deeper and deeper into the water until its fleshy underbelly is exposed and sharks shoot out of the water, grabbing the Mankah's worm like body with their countless rows of sheraded teeth. Two giant sharks grab his massive claw and drag him under.
Watching the great creature die Puddle feels a deep sorrow. He does not understand why but watching the Mankah’s sink to his doom Puddle feel as if a great shadow has grown stronger. Claws clamp down on his shoulders, and he feels the ground leave his feet. His master has taken him into the air and too the heart of the island. They circle overhead three times before diving down to the ground. Puddle cries out, covering his face with his hands before his master releases him and he splashes to the ground.
"Follow me, Gynok, and stay close."
They come to the cave of the Mankah. The opening of its shell is half sunken in the muddy floor of the everglades. The great conch shell opening stretches towards sky. The inside of the shell glistens and reflects the light of the setting sun. Puddle looks at the shell and knows he is staring at something older the
n he can comprehend.
"You must do this alone, Gynok, and if you succeed you will be freed. You must journey into the heart of the shell, and there you will find the Len of Ituha. Grab only the Len and return to me. Now go!"
Puddle looks into the darkness of the shell and timidly walks through the opening of the Mankah's lair. Walking in the shell, Puddle can hear his movements echoing against the walls. He climbs the smooth circling walls as he ventures farther into the twisting tunnel. Puddle notices strange markings carved onto the shell's walls. He stops at an inscribed figure that looks like his master. He rubs his fingers across the symbol and sees another one much smaller and hunched over. It is crawling in the direction of something covered in a small light. The sound of dripping water gets his attention and he continues on. He comes to the final chamber, and there is a small opening in the ceiling. The opening lets in light that shines onto a small pedestal.
The pedestal is surrounded by water, and Puddle has to swim to get to it. The farther he swims the shallow water the water gets. He looks into the water and sees gems and jewels shimmering on the bottom. Knowing nothing of greed or wealth, Puddle ignores the treasure and continues to the pedestal. He comes to the pedestal carved out of white stone and sees a black cloth lying on top of it. Puddle unwraps the object and lifts the cloth to expose the black Len of Ithua. The air in the chamber grows still. The light fades, and the treasure in the water sparkles and reflects against the shell's wall. Puddle grabs the Len, and the ground rumbles. The water turns black, and all the shimmering jewels have gone. Then the darkness begins to engulf the walls. Puddle looks around and sees the chamber sinking into the ground. He hears a crack and the pedestal is sucked into the ground. An eruption of mud and filth take its place. Puddle lunges for the exit, frantically swimming to the entrance of the shell. The walls are closing in around him, but he sees his master outside the cave.
Un-Nabus raises his hand, "Gynok, halt and throw me the Len." Puddle stops, "But I will be trapped."
"Puddle, listen to me. There is a powerful curse on the Len. You cannot cross the opening of the cave with it in your hands, or you will be poisoned."
Puddle throws the Len, and it lands on the ground next to Un-Nabus. Once the Len leaves the entrance of the shell, the rumbling stops and everything goes quiet. Un-Nabus looks at Puddle and starts to laugh. "You have done well, my little companion, and so I grant you your freedom. I release you and give you dominion over this cave. It will be yours and only yours until your death." Un-Nabus points his staff at Puddle, who feels a cool sensation on the back of his neck. Puddle touches his neck and feels that the mark of his master has vanished. He smiles in ecstasy as if a great weight has been lifted from him.
"Thank you, Master. Puddle is now free."
"Yes, my little friend, you are free to do as you please." Puddle starts to walk out of the cave, but an unseen force holds him back. He reaches out his hands and feels an invisible wall before him. He slams his fists against the force and screams, "Master! What is happening? Master!"
The cave begins to shake, and with tears pouring down his cheeks, Puddle watches his master disappear behind the shell as it stands upright, sinking into the everglades. Puddle climbs to the top of the conch shell. He looks at the black walls and sees new inscriptions. He sees a small creature crawling towards a point. He sees an eye and a bird. Then he sees the creature hunched over with fins circling him. Puddle reaches the end of the shell and curls into a ball. The shell continues to sink until only a small point sticks out of the everglades. Sobbing loudly, Puddle shivers, crouched in his shell prison. Un-Nabus walks over to the shell and looks into the opening where light once shone into the cave. He sees Puddles, eye looking up at him, shaking in terror, "Please help poor Puddle. He was a good servant. Please don't leave me here, Master. Puddle does not want his freedom anymore."
"The night I rescued you from that lizard in the forest . . . do you remember that? You see, Puddle, I had been searching for my former master . . . and I found him cornered by a common lizard, curled in a ball pathetically begging for his life." Puddle's eye opens even wider as he realizes for the first time who his master is. He rubs his scar and remembers back to the night his slave ran off into the woods. "That's right. It is I whom you took as an infant from under a tree to be your slave. The child you used as bait so you could toss your pathetic little stone and kill the very forest monitor I brought back to fight the Mankah. I, the small boy who you starved and beat. It is I whose most precious possessions you took and crushed. It was I who ran crying, scared, and alone into the darkness of the forest. So, no, Master Puddle . . . I will not save you . . . but I will leave you now, forgotten and alone. You once saved me from the wild, then used me as bait to claim your cave from a beast beyond your power. I rescued you from certain doom and have used you tonight as bait myself. The circle of our union is complete. Goodbye, Little Master."
"Nooooo!" Un-Nabus hears as he walks away. He comes to the Len that is lying in the mud. He can feel its power, and the darkness that surrounds him pulses with the beating of his heart. He feels a pounding in his chest and a burning under his skin.
"Take it, my son. Pick it up and with it, claim the world as yours." He looks down at the small dark object. All of his thoughts and energy seem to be focused on this plain wood-carved flute. He looks at the Len and sees how the mud reacts under its power. The Len shakes as he holds his hand over it. "NOW!" he hears, and he grabs the Len. Instantly, the darkness around him explodes, covering the island in a dark cloud. Standing in the darkness Un-Nabus hears a deep and dark laughter in his mind.
"Good, my son, good, feel the power inside you. It is time to claim your kingdom and begin again the reign of the Hhtuno. Go to the ancient tower beyond the Whispering Canyons and find your army of Oota-Daboon."
Un-Nabus lifts his hood over his head and the Hornbill bellows loudly. Now that the Len is gone from this island its magical hold over it fades and the mud and grasses begin to sink back into the water where they naturally belong. Puddle watches as the water rises in his new prison. He grabs at the opening of the shell that once let the light into the Len’s chamber, ripping out large chunks of shell creating a hole large enough for him to escape. He looks around watching the island sink into the marsh. Puddle climbs on top of the twisting shell above the water and squats on the tip avoiding being sucked into the bubbling mud. The bubbles fade and the water calm and the island stops sinking. Puddle looks down at the calm water at his rippled reflection and a sense of panic grows inside him. He begins to understand how exposed he is, alone and on this shell just above the water. Puddle flinches after hearing a splash behind him and he turns to see what it is. He sees a fin start to circle the shell. He cries out in fear. Other fins start to emerge from below the surface. Crying, he stands on the tip of the shell and starts to jump, yelling at the circling sharks. On his last jump, the shell starts to sink, and the fins close in. Sobbing uncontrollably, Puddle curls into a ball feeling the chill of the water surround him and he bounces on the surface helpless and exposed. The tip of a shark’s nose slowly rises from under the water and Puddle vanishes under a quite splash and a thrash of a fin.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
A full year has passed since Taeau left the Msa-Oda. The jungle has made him leaner, darker, and stronger than before. His face and hair have grown wild like the jungle. The diversity of life that thrives in this sun-filled world fuels his powers. Away from the distractions of society, his mind has become still. He sits without fear on the darkest nights, and he meditates, dripping with the wetness of the jungle, visions come to him and the jungle speaks, telling him its secrets.
The night is cool and less humid than usual as Taeau warms himself by a slow burning fire. A river fish he caught earlier roasts above the flames. After he enjoys his meal, Taeau's eyes grow heavy. He fights off sleep and reaches for his drinking jug that is carved out of a large tree nut. He lies down and puts the nut to his lips, tasting the soft, cool water he
has collected from jungle leaves. He takes a large sip and relishes in its refreshing relief.
"Cousin."
Taeau looks up from behind the nut to see something sitting on the other side of the fire. "Ven?"
He stares at the small glider that has appeared in his camp. "Am I asleep? I do not remember sleep taking me," Taeau says softly. He looks back at the vision of Ven. "This is not the first time you have come to me, cousin. Was it not you whom I dreamed about that night before I came to this place?" Taeau asks the apparition.
The small glider silently nods his head, and as he does, Taeau sees that the side of his face has an open wound.
"Why have you come? What is it you want from me? I know now I could not have saved you or your father even if I had tried. I was just a child . . . I was scared. Do you judge me for that, cousin? I am SORRY!" Taeau yells, throwing his jug. He turns to the fire and sees that Ven has vanished. Taeau lowers his head toward the ground, breathing heavily, "I am sorry friend, I miss you . . . I miss them all."
Everything goes dark and quiet as a strong wind blows, extinguishing the fire. Taeau turns and hears crying coming from the jungle. He sees Ven, but the glider is curled in a ball, shaking and sobbing loudly. Taeau crouches down and puts his hand on his cousin's back. He is surprised to feel the softness of Ven's fur.
"Why do you cry, cousin? I meant you no harm. I was only trying to make you understand." Without lifting his head, the glider points toward the dark jungle.
"What is it, cousin? What do you want me to do?" Taeau looks to the place where the young glider points and sees two white, lifeless eyes staring at him. Taeau jolts to his feet, a deep growl echoes within the velvet jungle. Taeau hears his cousin's crying grow louder.
The wind continues to blows against Taeau's face. "This beast has tormented us from the shadows for too long cousin. I remember that night you came to me in the plains, and how this evil chased you from my side. I felt its cold, lifeless touch, and I too cried out in fear. DO YOU HEAR ME, BEAST?! I no longer fear the darkness, and it is time we are rid of you."
The New World (The Last Delar) Page 15
