Ized- the Ancestors

by Esther Barvar

  »Father?« Atesch was completely confused. He had not yet experienced his father like that. Then he wanted to run after him.

  The next moment Befen kept him away with a painfully distorted face. If the boy got between the fronts, he could be hurt or even killed. A warrior in bloodlust had no reliable control over himself. The boy was not to be harmed. Only because of him Adar live at all. And Befen was not even sure whether the love for his son would be enough to keep him alive in the long run.

  »Why is father suddenly angry at me, Lord Befen?«, the little one wanted to know confused from him. Tears stood in the boy’s eyes.

  Befen wanted to go after Adar as quickly as possible, but first, he had to know the boy was safe. So he forced himself to rest and knelt on the ground before Atesch. He took him just as gently by the shoulders as his father had before. »He is not angry with you, boyo. He will never be mad at you. Please stay here. I will see what is wrong with him. We will certainly come right back. Do not worry. I’ll go after him and get him back. But you must promise me not to leave here.«

  Atesch nodded in tears and put his little hands in front of his eyes. Befen tried to hide his concern and restlessness. Adar was clearly out of control and in a bloodlust. Mehit had decidedly gone too far when she insulted Adar’s wife. Hopefully, he could still prevent the worst, but he did not believe that after Adar had hurled him through the room with such ease. Today blood would almost certainly flow. And they could all be happy if it was only Mehit’s blood. He gave a hint to a servant who had been attracted by the noise to take care of Atesch. He rushed after Adar.

  From a distance, Befen just noticed how Adar smashed the door of the residence with a power spell and stormed into the reception hall.

  He hadn’t stopped to knock and ask for admission. The splintering wood was still flying through the hall as he stormed in.

  »Where … is … she?«

  His dark voice, distorted by rage, not only filled the hall, it had to be heard throughout the entire residence. A terrible growl also went through the building.

  »Mehit,« he shouted her name, turning on his axis and hissing as the door of the dining room opened.

  When Befen came rushed through the door, he had to make an abrupt dodge. A magician flew straight towards him and landed just in front of his feet. The next moment Lord Abarta was thrown against the seat. Both men had been in Adar’s way as they came out of the dining room before Mehit. Attracted by the incredible noise he had made destroying the door, they hurried into the lobby.

  Moments later, Adar strangled Mehit with one hand at his throat, pressing her against the wall. Her feet hovered a whole hand’s width above the ground. She rattled, panicked her legs, held on to his hand with both hands, and tried desperately to release his fingers from her neck. But he squeezed her throat like a pair of pliers.

  The magician in front of Befen just got back on his feet and wanted to rush to her aid. He threw himself at Adar with an outcry and was carried back to the ground with a single blow of his free hand. There he lay unconscious. Adar hadn’t even given him a look.

  »Adar!« Befen forced himself to speak calmly but firmly. He was suddenly aware that he did not have the slightest chance to fight this angry warrior. He had no idea what a strength was resting in Adar. This was a warrior of a different category. Much stronger than he had ever been. And also much stronger than he had expected.

  Adar looked over at him, his eyes almost black. »No,« he pushed out between his teeth, and his whole body trembled with suppressed anger. »Enough is enough!« Nevertheless, he slowly let Mehit fall to the ground again, but still held her neck tightly clasped. In her eyes, there was a real fear of death, and her heart raced in panic. What had got into him? What did he want from her? »Please,« she ruffled.

  Slowly he approached her. Only a few inches away from her, he stopped his mouth very close to her ear. His self-control stretched to the limits.

  Lord Abarta was getting up with a pain distorted face. He kept a safe distance in order not to irritate Adar even more unnecessarily. Since Mehit was still alive and also no longer breath quite so sharply, she could perhaps survive if she did not make a thoughtless statement.

  With trembling nostrils, he still held the slender neck of the young woman clasped by hand. His voice was quiet and rough, while his warm breath grazed her neck. A terrible growl once again ran through the entire residence, »Speak badly of my wife once more. Talk about her only once more with my son. Spread only one more lie about her. And even if it is only a rumor, what comes to my ears. There will be no place for you to be safe from me and not survive the day I hear something. Do you understand me?«

  »Grandfather,« she pleaded in horror, and her panic-stricken gaze sought the Supreme Lord.

  Adar squeezed her fingers more strongly again. »Do you understand me?« he shouted wildly at her.

  »Yes,« she ruffled in panic. »Yes, I understand.«

  He let her go abruptly, took a step back, and she sank to the floor, coughing and desperately breathing.

  »Adar!« This time it was Abarta who addressed him as calmly as Lord Befen had before. He, too, was anxious not to strain the warrior’s self-control any further. Hopefully, Mehit would keep her mouth shut now. Adar clenched his fists and stared at the ground, while another loud growl went through the hall. In a dark voice, he still gave Lord Abarta a deathly pale answer. »We’ll talk to each other when I’m able to, Supreme Lord. I will visit you then.« In the next moment, he was almost silently out the door.

  Abarta stepped limping to Befen. He had slightly injured one leg in the impact. »Befen, by the Waves of the Wide Stream, what was that? What got into him? Why this anger? And by the Waves, how strong is he?«

  »Stronger than I suspected, and stronger than I ever was,« he replied and looked confusedly through the destroyed door behind him. Various thoughts raced through his head.

  Mehit was still alive!

  No one had been seriously hurt!

  Adar had gone without spilling blood!

  Too bad about the beautiful door!

  »Let’s hope he never becomes our enemy.«

  »He is devoted to the land and the community of magicians, but Mehit provoked his patience to the death.« Befen’s eyes sparkled with rage.

  The magician just regained consciousness and crawled over to Mehit, who was still holding her neck. Tears ran down her cheeks as he carefully palpated her and sent her from his healing powers.

  »He must die, Grandfather! He wanted to kill me! He must atone for it!«

  Befen looked coldly down at her and angrily bared his teeth. This time the wild growl came from him. Mehit paled in a shudder and stared at Befen in horror.

  »You should be glad to be still alive. Happy that your blood is not yet decorating the walls here, after what you said to his son,« he hurled indignantly at her.

  Now Abarta became aware. What had Mehit done this time? Why didn’t she finally leave the young man alone? Didn’t this stupid brat get any smarter?

  »I didn’t do anything,« she shouted at Befen, raising her upper body a little. »You have always been against me. You also want my death, just like him.«

  Befen squatted with some distance to her, looked at her from narrowed eyes. »If that were so, you would no longer be alive. I don’t care much whether you are alive or dead. But let’s have a look at your visit with me today. You played with Atesch while Lord Abarta and I discussed. The opportunity was shamelessly taken by you to insult this warrior’s wife in my residence. In my home! So beware your tongue towards me. Otherwise, I will be the one to make your life clock stop beating. The boy asked a few moments ago what a slut and a whore is because Aunt Mehit told him his mother was one. So, how should he know these words? Do you want to deny that?« he asked a trace too gently. Befen’s eyes had darkened. He also had to control himself very much at the moment. For he felt an inner urge to tear the young woman sitting on the floor in front of him into pieces. What self-control did
Adar then have to bring up because she had personally attacked him with her behavior?

  »That … that’s just what I said,« she defiantly justified. Her look went uncertainly from Lord Befen to her grandfather.

  Befen snorted furiously. »Mehit, the boy is not quite five years old yet, and Adar is a warrior like no other in Ized. If you want to live, you should not express anything in the future that will even scratch the honor of his own. At least as long as you’re here in town. Please return to the province as quickly as possible — best before he gets back. You are no longer safe here, and neither your grandfather nor I can protect you from his justified wrath. Not only did you drag his wife’s honor into the mud, you did it in front of the child. He has so far let you offer him much. That is over now that you have involved Maioshan and Atesch. Since you no longer play your games alone with him but threaten his family, you can be happy to be still alive. A warrior protects his own, and you have endangered them.« Befen still trembled with rage, clenching his fists.

  Abarta joined him. »You were lucky back then. Befen is right. Even I won’t be able to protect you if he wants to kill you. As long as you do not provoke him, he will keep his word. I know him so well in the meantime. But believe me as a warrior; what Adar has just told you, he will do. He will kill you if you endanger his family.«

  Lord Abarta also trembled with rage because she was so unsensible. At the same time, he was worried about her welfare.

  »He will not be punished, grandfather?« Her shrieking voice almost rolled over.

  »You get off unpunished, Mehit,« he pressed out between clenched teeth. And an audible growl also came from him. »It is the prerogative of all warriors to be allowed to kill in the face of an obvious threat. You are a threat to him.«

  Now Mehit became pale. She pressed her lips together angrily. But she didn’t want to see why she was the one to be punished again. She didn’t want to understand why her grandfather, who was the Supreme Lord of the country, didn’t want to call this brazen warrior to account.

  Abarta shook his head and sighed, »It is better if you return to the province. Unfortunately, you haven’t learned anything in recent years. You believe that just because your grandfather is the Supreme Lord, you can allow yourself anything. You still don’t understand. We warriors live by a strict code. We discipline ourselves daily, for we must. Otherwise, we would move from one fight to the next. People like you would die by the dozen if we did not keep ourselves in constant restraint under great self-control. We all owe the fact that you and we still live to his self-control. So go better as long as you are still able. Even I, your grandfather, feel a strong need to tear you apart at the moment. Lord Befen is right. The best to do is to pack your things now and return to the provinces before he comes back.«

  Abarta felt tired. The tension that had built up in the few moments of danger promptly collapsed. He felt his age like never before. Abruptly he turned around, grabbed Befen’s sleeve, and pulled him rudely into his study. The door fell into the lock with a loud crash.

  There he let go of Befen and walked directly to the table with the drinks. He poured the whiskey generously into two cups. One he handed to Befen after checking both for poison and the other he poured down all at once. Then he took the bottle, poured himself again, and went over to the suite. There he placed it on the table with a slight bang. Abarta let himself fall into one of the armchairs. His voice trembled: »Damn you, sit down, Befen! How strong is he? I haven’t experienced such anger, such strength before,« he hissed.

  He also let himself fall pale into one of the other armchairs and held the cup with both hands. »I do not know, my lord. I am so sorry, but I had no idea. Atesch asked him the question out of nowhere. I was shocked. Adar lost control of himself today.«

  Abarta laughed scornfully, and Befen flinched disturbed. He stared at the Supreme Lord in amazement. How could the man laugh now?

  »Don’t be ridiculous, Befen,« Abarta cynically made clear. »No, he certainly has not lost his temper. For then, Mehit would be dead, and we too would at least be incapable of fighting. How much this man has to discipline himself every day. By the Waves of the Wide Stream, he threw me against the seats as if I were a little child and not the Supreme Lord of the country. I had to realize today that I was not the strongest warrior of Ized.«

  Befen confirmed and drank the whiskey. »I have seen it, Supreme Lord, I have seen it. He hurled me around the room like that, too. Since Maioshan has gone, he is visibly physically diminishing. He has hardly eaten anything in recent weeks. His strength is currently in no way even close to its peak. On the contrary. At the moment, I already have fears for his life because he eats and drinks too little and hardly sleeps. The thick edges under the eyes testify to insomnia. Lord Sors told me with concern.«

  »Rory and Reito are as keen as he is?«

  »No, Supreme Lord, not nearly. None of the other magicians possesses this strength. He is truly unique. I knew he was stronger than everyone else, but I couldn’t see how strong he was. I didn’t think that was possible. Now I’m beginning to understand why he has always been so controlled and restrained in many things. I have never experienced a warrior of this kind before«.

  Adar hurried to the stables. He had to leave here. He quickly saddled one of the animals. Then he ran away, out of here and into the forest. Ashes whirled up behind the horse. Not a single green leaf existed anymore. The bare black remains of the tribes, charred and accusingly sticking out into the sky, matched his inner conflict. At some point, he stopped between the burnt tree remains, descended the reins to one of the stumps. The anger that had seized him did not diminish.

  Adar moved a little away from the animal so as not to worry it. Then he woven fire spells in his hands — fireballs formed in both palms, which he hurled in a blind rage at the already burnt trees. Again and again and again, he threw the mighty spells from himself. The light, grey-black ash was whirled up by the power of the impacts and floated in thick clouds around him. Tears of rage and despair ran down his cheeks, leaving marks on his face. Finally, his despair unleashed in a horrible scream. Completely exhausted and wheezing, he then sank to his knees. He supported me with his hands on the ground. Exhausted, he calmed down slowly. Nevertheless, he was still not able to think clearly.

  Drained, he finally pulled himself together and slowly returned to the city, saddled the horse, and groomed it himself.

  He still felt this deadly rage in him. Even the urge into the distance, which he knew so well, controlled him again with an unruly power. These uncontrollable feelings, against which he had so often fought when he was not yet with Maioshan, tormented him. Oh, how much he missed her! How much he needed this woman! Only her closeness calmed the beast inside him.

  The steady movements of the groom and the thoughts of Maioshan let the murderous rage fade away. After he has taken care of the horse, he went to the bathhouse. After the cleansing, he made his way to the residence of the Supreme Lord.

  A new one had replaced the old door, so he knocked. The servant who opened the door paled and took a step back, frightened, but quickly caught on again. »Lord Adar, how can I be of service to you?«

  »I’d like to talk to the Supreme Lord,« Adar said quietly with his head slightly bent. He waited outside the door to make it clear that he was no longer a danger.

  »I ask you to follow me, Lord Adar.« The servant led him through the hall into the study of the Supreme Lord. »I will inform the Supreme Lord that you are here, my lord.«

  Adar nodded, and while the servant left, he looked around. The last time he had been here for his wedding. Directly opposite the entrance stood the desk of the Supreme Lord, in front of which they had promised themselves. The dark wooden table was old. It had to stand here for many generations. Behind the table stood a comfortable chair and two more in front of it. Books and files piled up on the shelves.

  Adar went into the area of the room where a seating group was arranged around a table. He noticed how simil
ar the working room of the Supreme Lord was to that of Befen. The furniture was made of different wood, but the arrangement in the room was very similar.

  Lord Abarta entered the room. He saw Adar standing at the window and walked over to him. »Please sit down, Lord Adar,« Abarta began a friendly conversation.

  However, he did not attempt to comply with Abartas‘ request. He bowed before the Supreme Lord. »I must ask your forgiveness, Supreme Lord. Your door, Mehit, I have lost control of myself. It’s just unforgivable,« he confessed quietly.

  A smile scurried over Abarta’s face as he shook his head. »You haven’t lost control, Adar,« he contradicted the young man. »And you know that as well as I do. We are both warriors. I can only conditionally imagine how you must have felt. You have only protected your family reputation. I fully understand that. No, you have not lost control in any way. No one has come to harm, and no one has been killed.«

  »No!« Adar contradicted quietly and looked him straight in the eye. »I should have controlled myself better and sought a conversation with Mehit. Do you allow me to talk to her? I want to explain it to her. I also have to apologize to the strange magician. I promise you to control me better this time.«

  Abarta shook his head regretfully. »I believe you, but unfortunately that is no longer possible. I told her to leave the city as soon as possible. She’s gone. Mehit hasn’t been here for years, but she hasn’t learned anything during that time. She will always instigate intrigues against you. Her fiancé, on the other hand, was insightful. He may not be a warrior, but he knows about our peculiarities and our temperament. After the training, he went as a healer to his home village. He fell in love with Mehit and will hopefully have a good influence on her. My granddaughter has always been very stubborn. What she has put into her pretty head, she mostly achieved somehow. I agreed weeks ago that she would come and visit us because it seemed as if she was above you. At least she is engaged. It was a fatal misjudgment. It was only my assessment of the situation, and I’m sorry how she wanted to abuse your son for her own purposes.«