The First Five Days: of the Lionean Saga

by John O.

  “How come you do not know the man who helped you?” Sin asked.

  “It was pitch-black and his face was covered so I was unable make out the man’s features. His voice was deliberately muffled and he took care to avoid my eyes. Notwithstanding, I believe he was a dark-skinned man like me,” Set replied with a thoughtful smile and continued.

  “Last month, I received word through a merchant from Lionea. According to him, a few days before Ishe Riva was assassinated, he amended the law on rape and surprisingly reopened my case. It seems the Ishe felt it an injustice to convict me solely on the medical reports that suggested the Spyinme was raped. He concluded that his predecessor had not considered the case holistically, and proceeded to nullify the verdict that had me on the run. The current Ishe, Fiten Rosento does not seem to have much interest in my case. However, what this means is that I can once again set foot on my home soil without being apprehended.”

  “What then is my plan? I intend to challenge HN Ruki Sen to a duel for his position as the HN. I can do this under the law, for not only am I a citizen of the Island, I was also the winner of the Swordsman’s Glory championship, affording me the right to challenge him. If I win, which I surely will, he will have no choice but to hand over to me the title of HN, after which I will abolish the celibacy rule and have that Riya Senet tried for slander,” Set concluded.

  It was two hours past the Hen’s Hour and all the Leades, save for Dan Thorne, were gathered in the training room. Swordsmanship was the agenda of the day and as such the Leades formed pairs in order to commence their routines. Ron Riten paired with Karl Izzy, Tido Riva with Remy Ni, Rosi Lite with Roy Ni, and Zach Sen with Rensy Set, leaving Sly without a partner. It was evident that the older Leades were not interested in testing the true extent of Sly’s abilities, especially as he had been trained by Yosi Sint himself. Doleful, the boy was about to sit the session out when Maya walked in.

  “Good morning gentlemen. I am sorry to intrude, but I need to speak with Ron.”

  “Will it be brief?” Ron asked.

  “Not likely. It involves an assignment from the HN.”

  Ron looked at Karl apologetically while Sly’s face brightened up. “Sorry Karl, but duty calls. Sly can take my place.”

  Ron proceeded to leave the room while an eager Sly took his stance in front of Karl. The two men unsheathed their swords as the others engaged in battle, although they surreptitiously watched the pair from the corners of their eyes.

  After about thirty counts, Sly began with a comment, “I guess you are either a counter-attacker or a defender. In any case, that works for me since I am an attacker.”

  The boy ran towards his opponent with near blinding speed and attempted a slice. Karl adeptly sidestepped at a critical moment, forcing Sly to lose his balance as he sliced the air.

  “Impressive. I did not expect one as laidback as you to execute that sidestep in time,” Sly taunted and moved to a safe distance from his opponent.

  “Oh really? Do not mistake my jocular nature for ineptitude,” Karl replied as Sly began another offensive.

  This time, Sly initially moved at moderate speed before suddenly accelerating his attack when he was two meters from Karl. Karl managed to parry just in time while spinning to a position that enabled him to catch Sly by the wrist. With the sharp blade of Karl’s sword on his neck, Sly was evidently surprised.

  “Wow! I never for once thought that anyone other than the HN could defeat me so easily.”

  Karl eased off Sly and sheathed his sword, “You are fast with your feet; I give you that. But your hands are not quite fast enough to defeat me. I sense that you held back a little as you swung your sword. You will need to strengthen your resolve to kill if you want to best me.”

  “Indeed I must. Thank you for sparring with me, Karl Izzy,” Sly replied with a smile that spoke volumes. At least now that I have allayed their fears about my abilities, they will be more open to accepting me, he reasoned to himself.

  Ron Riten entered Maya’s personal office within the Conclave to find Loila Even already seated. The Spyinme leader had briefed Ron on the objective of the inquisition immediately after they departed the training room.

  “Good morning Leade Ron,” Loila greeted him with a warm disarming smile.

  Ron stoically nodded, making it clear that coy moves were wasted on him. He proceeded to sit on the other side of the table beside Maya.

  She began, “Loila Even. I assume you know why you are here?”

  “As a matter of fact, I do not,” Loila replied with a curious look upon her face.

  “Are you aware that Ziri Lenny, Julya Rose and Surita Stone have not returned from their mission to inform the Ispris of the new HN’s appointment?”

  “Yes I am. But I only assumed that you must have dispatched them on a more classified mission, which is why they are yet to return.”

  “I see. Well, I did not dispatch them anywhere, Loila. You ran reconnaissance that day, and I assumed they must have checked in with you upon completion of the first leg of their mission, in line with standard procedure.”

  “Yes. I recall receiving a pigeon from them.”

  “And did their message hint that they would not be returning to the Helesp? Or it explicitly stated that they were making their way back?”

  Loila suddenly coughed as if to clear away stray phlegm. In truth, however, she was only trying to buy herself time to think through her reply before letting it out.

  “I do not recall the exact details. I do remember thinking nothing of it at the time; for there were other ongoing missions of which I was keeping track.”

  Ron deliberately placed his short sword on the table. It was evident that the Spyinme was hiding something, and he needed to play his part in eliciting the truth from her. The HN had stated that torture was out of the question. However, what he did not state was whether or not the threat of torture could be used.

  At that point, Maya decided to change her line of questioning, “Tell me, Loila. Where were you last night?”

  Loila’s countenance quivered ever so slightly upon hearing the question. She had taken extra care to ensure no one followed her. As a matter of fact, she had stuffed her beddings in order to mislead anyone from realizing her absence during her brief meeting with her handler.

  With the skill of a practiced liar, she replied, “I was in the Conclave, sleeping on my bed for the most part. At some point, I was unable sleep, so I decided to get some fresh air out in the back yard.”

  “Why then was stuffing found under your beddings?”

  “Did you have me followed? What wrong have I ever done to warrant such treatment?” Loila tried an indignant approach.

  “Loila, I will not say this a second time, we do the asking, you do the answering,” Ron interjected with a cold and steely voice.

  “Did I stuff my beddings? Yes. Why? To avoid being questioned about my whereabouts. Why would I take such extreme measures to avoid this? Because I did not want to be accused of having an affair. It is no news that I spent my first few years as a spy in Souecon. There, I was not bound by the celibacy rule and I am no virgin. To sneak off in the night would raise questions as to whether or not I was abiding by the rule, so I only did what I thought was best.”

  The blank look on Maya’s face confirmed her handler’s theory that they had nothing concrete on her. With the absence of damning evidence, all they could do was speculate. Victoriously, Loila maintained a teary-eyed look to emphasize her supposed hurt at being treated this way.

  “When you realized that the girls didn’t return when they should have, did you take it upon yourself to inform me, or any of my assistants?”

  “Like I said earlier, I thought nothing of it. None of you seemed to raise any alarm either so it only made sense that you knew exactly why they had not yet returned. Based on your questions, I realize now that you, just like me, have no idea about what happened to them. Shouldn’t a search party be launched or something, anything at all, that m
ay help find my friends?”

  Maya realized she had been bested. She was not surprised; for this one, having been an offshore Spyinme, had spent her early years perfecting the art of lying. She cast a sidelong glance at Ron who signaled that the best course of action was to retreat.

  “I agree with you, Loila. It is on the basis of that thinking that Ron and I are conducting this very interview. I hope you have taken no offence; this is just standard procedure.”

  Relieved, Loila smiled and replied, “I understand. I would have done the same had I been in your position. You have to believe me when I say I know nothing of what happened to them. Please do whatever you must to discover their whereabouts. Is there any other thing you wish to know?”

  “Not at this time, Loila. If anything more comes up, we may have to do this again.”

  “Not a problem. I will always be available to share whatever I know, provided it helps to recover the missing girls.”

  “Apologies once again for the inconvenience, you may now return to your post.”

  The girl stood and departed the office as she was bid. Defeated, Maya turned to look at Ron and said, “That went rather poorly.”

  Ron shook his head as he replied. “It’s only normal. We had nothing to begin with. At least now, we know she is definitely hiding something.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Didn’t you notice an odd shift in her cheekbone when you asked her about her whereabouts? That was nowhere near normal. Subtle as it was, it means there’s more to her than she lets on. She would not be the first person discovered with abilities to modify their physical features.”

  “Wow, it is a good thing you’re here. I missed the clue completely. Are you absolutely certain?”

  “I am. At least now we can have her followed to see where it leads.”

  “I already did that, Ron. All I could find was her stuffed beddings. Now that she knows we are onto her, she’ll be extra careful.”

  “Not to worry, Maya. We will think of something in time,” Ron said in a placating manner.

  Maya also realized that the situation was over, and dwelling in the past, however recent, would do nobody any good. With resignation, she thanked Ron and watched him as he departed.

  21

  Rahel Ni listened to the sounds emanating from the Leades’ practice session. She was becoming increasingly weary of her duty post in the Helesp hall. Just as she was about to drift into her imagination, Sly Zozan and Rensy Set emerged from the training room and looked up towards her.

  “Miss Rahel. Have you any flair for puzzles?” Sly called out.

  “I can manage myself well I suppose. Why do you ask?”

  “Well, there is this annoyingly long puzzle Rensy Set has presented me with. He knows the answer quite alright, but he cannot explain how he arrived at it. He wishes for me to explain it but alas, I cannot even guess the answer correctly. Will you help us?”

  Rahel didn’t mind any activity that would save her from the doldrums of her duty post. However, she didn’t see why they hadn’t asked Zach Sen first. Suspiciously, she replied, “Do you not think Leade Zach would be in a better position to help you with this?”

  Sly laughed and replied, “I have no doubt that he will solve the puzzle. However what we need is a clear explanation of how to solve the puzzle. Someone once told me that women are generally better in communicating things they can understand. This is why we have come to you instead.”

  “Very well. I will join you downstairs.” She replied as she stood up and proceeded towards the stairs.

  Just before she reached the end of the stairway, Zach Sen emerged from the training room. Their eyes met briefly as Zach made his way towards a chair that was some distance away from the boys. Rahel proceeded to sit opposite the boys. “Out with the puzzle, boys,” she said smiling.

  Rensy Set narrated the puzzle with Zach Sen listening in from where he sat. When he was through, it took Rahel about fifteen minutes before she solved the puzzle and explained the solution. Zach Sen was more than impressed. Not only did he admire beautiful women, he preferred it when they were intelligent. Before him was a woman who encompassed both qualities, and it intrigued him to no end.

  Rahel was aware that Zach was impressed by her feat. Again, what worried her was how good it made her feel. It wasn’t like she needed his approval or anything. But the fact that the man she was falling in love with was… She caught herself in order not to explore that line of thought. What could be happening to her? Disconcerted, she left the boys and ascended the stairs to her post. As she sat down, the smile that met her from below not only disarmed her, but also caused her to wobble within herself. If this man knew of her link to the Norwans, he would be hurt, she concluded. While this was an entirely wrong reason to be motivated to maintain her cover, it seemed to be the strongest influence over why she strengthened her resolve to ensure her cover remained intact. For the first time in her life, she found herself cursing the empire that was known as Norwaland.

  “Zach, Rahel, I need to speak with you both.”

  The two officers looked up to see the HN on the corridor. His request was clear and he wasted no time in returning to his room after ensuring he had made eye contact with the pair.

  As they made their way towards his room, Rahel couldn’t help but wonder whether it was another attempt to convince her of her grandfather’s debauchery.

  “Don’t look so glum, Rahel,” Zach Sen smiled as he took her hand for a brief moment. Managing to suppress the feelings which arose with the touch of his skin, Rahel smiled and tried to put on a more pleasant countenance.

  The pair entered the room and sat before the HN as he began, “I have two missions for you, Rahel Ni and Zach Sen. The first is as follows. I want you two to visit the Ispris today. More specifically, Rahel, I want you to see if you can detect anything from her. If you detect nothing, give her this letter. He handed her a sealed white envelope. On the other hand, if you do, give her this one instead. This time, he handed her a sealed red envelope. Whatever you do, ensure that she comes off thinking your mission was simply to deliver a letter.”

  “Sire, would she not find it odd that you sent a Leade along for a mission this ordinary?”

  “No. The last Spyinmes to visit her are yet to return. She is well aware. The Leade is with you for safety reasons. Meanwhile, you will also help retrieve the chariot I left behind at her residence.” He replied before asking, “Any other questions about this mission?”

  “No,” the two replied in unison.

  Yosi nodded before continuing, “The second mission should be embarked upon only after you are through with the first. I wish for you two to search for clues concerning the missing Spyinmes. In particular, focus your attention on Cemetery Street. Search the nearby woods for any clues. Also, there are two bodies in the Ice Hall which you must retrieve. I stored them there in order to preserve any evidence they may possess. Deliver the bodies to my father and inform him to conduct an autopsy. Please ensure that you do not inadvertently tamper with HN Ruki Sen’s body. Any questions?”

  After nearly ten counts, in the absence of any forthcoming questions, Yosi Sint concluded, “Good. Now you two need to set out as early as possible in order to return before nightfall. May the Almighty Spirit guide you as you depart.”

  As he watched them leave, his thoughts once again returned to the mystery surrounding the Ispris. What did she have in common with Sly? Why was he able to see her? Then it hit him. Their eyes! They both have greenish-brown eyes. He was surprised that he hadn’t made the connection earlier. Not that the feature was entirely unique, but he could count only few others with it: Priess Foté, the Ispris’ late sister; Tis Foté, the Ispris’ late mother; Selina Even, a sister to Tis Foté; Raci Even, Selina’s daughter; and the late Priess Rosento, an Icasa woman who was wife to Hinary Rosento and mother to Juck Rosento, Tis Foté and Selena Even. In essence, other than Sly, everyone with greenish-brown eyes seemed to have descended from Priess Ro
sento, Yosi realized. Pleased that he was getting somewhere, he decided to focus on Sly’s ancestry.

  He quickly dashed for his register and considered what he saw. Sly looked nothing like his supposed parents. Other than the blonde hair which he shared with his father, none of his features were similar to those of the Zozans and their known ancestry. As a matter of fact, his features closely resembled those of the Ispri and the Ispris. Was he somehow related to them? If yes, whose child was he?

  Prince Reign exchanged pleasantries with the commander as he entered his office.

  Sitting opposite the man, he asked, “Do you have any new information on the Lioneans?”

  “Yes. We received correspondence just this morning. It appears the Ishe was assassinated last night,” the commander replied.

  Reign’s pleasure was visible as he asked, “Has my father been informed?”

  “Yes he has and he was quite pleased. Our enemies seem to be making our task easier. Two Ishes in two years? The Lioneans will tear themselves apart without our hands taking part.”

  “Any word on how he was murdered?” Reign asked.

  “It seems their military head believes it to be as a result of some dark arts.”

  Reign burst out laughing in derision. “You mean the supposed most intelligent man on that Island came to such an outrageously naïve conclusion?”

  “You consider it outrageous?” the commander asked with a frown. “Prince Reign, I am aware you are well read on many things and you are indeed wise. However, you must realize that this world is very complex and there are many things you know nothing about. When I told the king that the description of the new HN matched that of a man who singlehandedly slew a sizeable number of our best swordsmen, he almost cast me away from his presence. But I was on the battlefield and I witnessed it all. For someone who seems to have unnatural abilities, it is not surprising for this man to come to the conclusion he arrived at. Does the fact that you have not experienced or come across something mean that it is impossible for it to exist?”