The Azurean Trilogy (All Three Books: 1, 2 & 3): Essentia, Burgeor & Manifest
Page 24
“I, the Gifted 5 and their Kulindas will join this man to the palace. The rest of our troops are on the way. Meet them here, and wait for us to return. I will update them on the situation.”
The men all gave each other salutes by putting their forearms together.
“Peace be with you.” Janto said as we left.
Janto had arrived on the beach with every intention of marching straight into the palace and making his demands. But Papa's words had hit a nerve.
Growing up, he had been witness to so many hardships and injustices. He had been so young, but had seen so much. He took it all in, memorizing each hungry face, each pain filled cry.
He had made a promise that when he grew older, he would make some changes. He would stand up for the people. He would get access to Aoki and Obsidian II. He didn't know how, but he knew he was willing to crack a few heads in the process.
But his Grandmother had always tried to calm him down. She worked for the Houdakin and made the long trek every day to work in a Houdakin home.
She too believed in The Prophecy and would tuck him into bed telling him pieces of it. He had thought it all to be the wishful thinking of a people who desperately needed something to hold on to.
His Grandmother knew the pain and anger that resided in the little boy. And she had wanted to heal it. She had been the closest person to him, outside of his Mother and Father. But when she turned up missing, and her body later found floating on the shores of Boralia, he decided that as soon as he became strong enough, he would avenge her death. He had known instinctively that the Houdakin had been behind it.
The only thing that had unexpectedly changed his heart was Papa uttering a phrase that his Grandmother used to say to him all the time. Janto closed his eyes, remembering.
“But Nana Ninu, I hate them. I really do.” young Janto had cried after another one of his friends had died from an illness that Aoki could have cured.
“My sweetheart. You cannot hold that inside. It will kill you. It will destroy you, in one way or the other. If you want to make change, you must let go of your anger. You must put your trust in God. That is the only way.”
Janto opened his eyes again, surveying all of the troops spread before him.
For Nana Ninu, he would try.
Chapter 10
“And if all the trees on earth were pens and the Ocean (were ink), with seven Oceans behind it to add to its (supply), yet would not the Words of Allah be exhausted(in the writing): for Allah is Exalted in power, full of Wisdom.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Surah 31, Ayah 27
Facing the Palace doors, I didn't know how, but I knew that the next moments would change my life forever.
The last hours had whipped by in a blur.
Borche had invited us inside to see exactly what we wanted. Both he and Princess Beema were there, both greeting us with fake graciousness. But when they saw our hair turn jet black and heard our requests, the facade in their eyes was replaced by hatred.
Aziz had made the request.
“We are the Gifted 5 of The Prophecy. We come in peace. We come to ask that the Houdakin tribe come together with us to establish new lines of peace. We ask that we be allowed to cultivate Aoki so that the health of our peoples can be preserved.”
“We ask that we be allowed to develop Green Energy on our Sectors. And we also ask that any Obsidian II found on our Sectors be our property.”
Borch and Beema had looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
Borche had looked hurt once he realized that his long lost Brother was among us, but had quickly regained his composure. We had been dismissed and asked to wait with the rest of the troops on the beach.
Only twenty minutes had gone by when row upon row upon row of menacing Mechanical robots marched out.
And they had been followed by row upon row of Houdakin soldiers equipped with Power Bio-Strips, effectively making them 3 times stronger than they originally were.
The pupils of our eyes had begun to swirl and our uniforms had shifted from oatmeal to slate gray. We were armed and ready for whatever was to come.
Our combined troops had fought hard and long, pulling out our full arsenal including the Pulse and Deflect skills. The Gifted 5 and the Kulindas had also used our skills in every way possible. The Houdakin Army had almost begun to wear us down when Teo remembered one of his items, and felt inspired to put them on.
“You're putting on shades now, Bro? Do you really think this is the right time?” Aziz had called out when he noticed Teo slipping the eye wear onto his face.
“Cover me, Bro. This is one of my items, I think it might be able to help.”
Teo had stepped away from the Mechanical beast he was battling while Aziz power kicked the monster in front of him and then back flipped to knock out the one Teo had been engaged with.
“Woo-hoo! Aziz!” Teo had shouted after moments of surveying the beach's surrounding forest through the glasses. “Aziz! The trees! Get everyone to lead the Houdakin soldiers over to the trees! The Bio-Strips and the Mechanical Army both use the same technology! They are emitting a toxin....no time to explain,, just spread the word!”
Aziz and Teo raced around, knocking out robots while passing along the message. Within minutes, we were hurling, kicking and blasting the members of their Army over towards the edge of the forest. They tried to escape, but we all used our Pulses and gifts to keep them behind the tree line. And sure enough, the Army began to drop like flies. Caterpillar Venom was a main component behind the technology used to power both the Bio Strips and the Mechanical Army.
Both things were releasing the chemical trail of the venom. The Willow trees on the beach were responding by releasing a toxin of their own. They were recognizing the Army as predators and were responding!
Once the Army was down, our main group split up. A team of troops went inside to secure the Palace. Aziz, Joelle, Kaisan, Father Zouadin and I all teamed up to find the prisoners. We had almost run straight into a group of Houdakin, but had ducked into a closet as soon as we heard their voices. The marble in my right pocket, one of my items, was placed in between the door and frame to hold it open so that we would not be trapped inside.
We had reached the dungeons, but a network of lasers barred the entrance. Thankfully, there were no guards anywhere as they had all been called outside to battle. After contemplating several options to bypass the laser fence, I remembered the green paper, another one of my items in my pocket. I hadn't realized it at the time, but the paper was like one my teacher had used in a science class years earlier. It was laser deflecting paper, and, coupled with a piece of chewing gum, one of Aziz's items, we were able to affix the paper in the correct position, cutting off the laser and allowing us to free the prisoners.
Hantaywee, Teo, Chord and Sister Josephine had all teamed up to find and disable the Missiles.
Chord had spotted Borch running through the halls, and had split apart from the group, dead set on avenging his parent's death. Teo had followed him, with the intent on trying to stop him, while the others continued on to the Control Room.
They found it, but were met with the sight of High Chief Officer Henken crumpled and bleeding profusely on the floor.
He had barely been able to speak, “I'm...I'm trying to stop the missiles. You must stop them. Borch already started the sequence.” His voice was a thin feeble whisper, but one that nevertheless showed the sincerity of his words.
Hantaywee had bent down beside him, pulling one of her items from her pocket. “Shhhhh, don't worry. Let me put this salve on your wound. Let's try to stop this bleeding.”
Henken didn't seem to care about his wounds. “The sequence. The sequence. I put in the first numbers, but ...”
“Oh no!” Hantaywee had breathed. Henken had lost so much blood that he had passed out cold.
Sister Josephine ran over to the dashboard which was counting down. “Looks like he did enter in six numbers, but the seventh box is blank.”
Sister Josephine had punched in the number “2” and they all watched as the countdown had aborted.
Teo had searched all over, finally finding Borche and Chord in an all out, throw down fight. Brother Chord had knocked Borche's weapon out of his hands and had him pinned on the floor, the blade of his sword at Borche's neck.
“Go ahead,” Borche had taunted. “Because killing me will do nothing. The Houdakin can not die. CAN NOT DIE. There will always be someone eager to replace me. Nothing you do here will change the facts. I am Superior and you are NOTHING!”
The whole of the blade would have silenced Borche once and for all, but Teo ran over and shoved a picture in Chord's face.
“Look! Brother Chord! Look at this! This is one of my items! It is no coincidence that I was the one to receive this. Look at your parents. Would they have wanted this? Would they have wanted to continue the cycle of violence? Would they?!”
It almost didn't happen. The satisfaction Chord wanted to feel from ending Borche's life nearly took complete control. But he had torn his eyes away, and once he looked at his parent's faces, at their warm smiles, their kindness radiating beyond the film, he had dropped the sword and punched Borche instead.
He pulled a pair of holding locks from his holster and slapped them on Borche's wrists. “You will be tried for your crimes, you slime. You can be sure of that!”
Everyone had begun to file outside. But something was left undone, and I had turned back to face the Palace doors.
Aziz had noticed and was concerned.
“Everything Ok, Sis?”
“Yes. I...I just need to go back inside.”
Understanding, Aziz paused a moment. He didn't know why I needed to go back inside, but he knew that I needed to do it.
“You need any backup?” he said.
I gave him a quick squeeze. “I don't think so. But I'll call you if I need you. Thanks, Bro.”
So, here I was. The palace doors loomed before me, daring me not to enter. My eyes began to glow. I mentally pushed fear down until it was under my feet. Then, I pushed open the door and walked inside.
Chapter 11
“Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. “
The Holy Bible KJV, The Old Testament
Proverbs 4:7
The massive doors closed behind me with a gentle swish. I looked to the left and to the right. I had no idea where to go.
Bismillah I whispered. O my Creator. Please lead me.
I opened my eyes and continued walking forward. I could feel something coming, something on the horizon and was both terrified and anxious to just get it over with. I made a few turns, and then found myself in front of another set of massive doors. I knew these were the ones that I needed to go through.
I stepped inside, and found Princess Beema seated at a table. I was taken aback. The girl was beautiful, and was fully clothed in battle armor.
“I've been waiting for you,” she said, not taking her eyes off of me.
I wasn't sure how to respond. So I didn't.
“So, let's get this started, shall we? I've seen you have a few skills. You'll need them. I fully intend on defending the throne. My throne,” the girl spat out.
I straightened my spine. I wasn't going to back down. “I don't want to hurt you. But I will defend myself.”
Princess Beema let out a loud, cynical laugh. “Hurt me?” she snarled, “I'd like to see you try.”
Resigned that she wasn't going to let me leave without a fight, we each crouched in ready position. She flipped a semi-long blade in her hand, hoping the moves would intimidate me.
I blinked and the two eyes flashed before me. This is not the time I mentally scolded my visions. I needed to concentrate on not getting killed.
Beema lunged, missing my jugular vein by a hair's breadth, and I spun around backwards, my legs knocking her clean off of her feet. She landed on her butt, and was furious.
“Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!” she screeched, fuming. “I am going to rip you to shreds!”
Beema lunged at me again, this time pulling a second dagger out of her boot. I hoisted a chair into the air to block it as she hurled it at me.
I couldn't help it. I was going to mess with her too. “All that anger really isn't good for you. It's all just pent up, bottled all up on your insides. Girl, you gotta just let it go!”
Beema was close to losing it. “Stop talking to me! I am not your friend. I hate you! I hate your kind!” she hissed.
“Your kind? Your kind? Sweetheart, stop sipping the poisoned punch! You, me, we are the same. The SAME! Your blood, your hair, your skin, nothing you have is any better than what I have. God gave it to us both.!”
“Don't talk to me about God! There is no God!” Beema was out of control now. She came at me full force. She dropped her weapons, relying now on her Martial Arts skills for the close combat.
We both delivered jabs simultaneously to each other, and at that precise instant, a vivid vision played in my mind, as if I was seeing the past. I looked at Beema and realized that she had seen the same thing.
Confused, we continued to battle, delivering punches and kicks non stop. Our hands touched this time, and another vivid image flashed
“Stop that!” Beema yelled.
“It's not me!” I yelled back.
We went at it again. We wrestled until her arm was wrapped around my neck, threatening to cut off my airway.
“Beema, please!” I whispered., in a desperate attempt to get her to stop. I was gasping for breath and felt my consciousness start to falter. Right then, I realized this was the choice. It was the situation I had been getting advice and warnings about. I knew that I had it in me to send out a blast that could knock Beema to the floor. But the anger I was feeling would certainly be the motivation behind my actions. What would using my powers with the wrong motivation do to me? I had seconds before I would pass out, and I made a split-second decision. Instead of using force, I decided to go in the opposite direction.
I grabbed Beema's hand.
That was all that was needed to get the images to roll to the surface. Both of our eyes closed as time seemed to freeze and we sat as an audience to the past.
A brown skinned pregnant woman went to work in the Palace. She parted with her husband as he worked at the loading docks, and made her way inside
That day, she went into labor. It was the same day that Borche's wife, Queen Azari had begun having contractions.
Both women labored hard. After nearly 8 hours each in labor, the brown skinned woman had a beautiful baby girl. She rocked her and sang a beautiful song to her.
Queen Azari and her baby both passed away. Borch was overcome with grief. He couldn't believe that his beautiful wife and heir to his throne were gone.
The midwives talked in secret about it. Driesh, the Emperor's henchman, learned of the tragedy, and immediately began to make plans to steal a baby from one of the Sectors to replace Borche's dead one.
But, as it turned out, he didn't have to go too far. Driesh learned of the brown skinned woman's baby and forced the midwife to gather the child to be washed. He threatened to kill her and her family if she didn't comply.
The brown skinned woman hadn't wanted to let the baby go. But the midwife had insisted. An hour later, the babies had been switched. The dead baby was shown to the brown skinned woman, and the living one was presented to Borche.
It wasn't the same baby, Borche knew. But he didn't care. Everything was Ok again. His throne had been saved, and that was all that mattered.
The brown skinned woman and her husband had gone home devastated. They had both quit their jobs at the Palace, the memories being too painful.
Several years later, the Princess, whose birth had been announced the week after her actual birth, appeared on a pamphlet.
The woman had stared at the child, something familiar looking back into her eyes. She couldn't believe, and yet, she could not get the image of the little girl out of her mind. So she decided to go and see for herself.
She posed as a servant, and was able to get inside. She came across the midwife who confessed all that happened.
So, the brown skinned woman went to get her child.
She should have left her emotions behind. She should have planned. But she simply walked into the child's nursery and demanded that she be given back.
Guards quickly took her into custody. Once Borche got wind of what had happened, he had both of the parents executed immediately. Their house was burned down and all of their things destroyed.
But the brown skinned woman and her husband had left behind two other children. Two twins. A boy and a girl. They had been staying with their Aunt and Uncle that afternoon.
Once the Aunt heard that her Sister's house had been burned down, she paid to have all of their identities changed in the Houdakin census system. It had taken all of her savings, but there was no other way. If the Houdakin found out about any other family, they would be killed as well.
The Aunt and Uncle moved away. They came to be known as Mama and Papa. Time went by. Both of the children grew. And the seasons went by, each year placing a bandage of silence over the truth.
We broke apart, stunned.
“You're....my Sister?” Beema's voice was barely audible.
My thoughts were spinning. Mama and Papa really weren't Mama and Papa. Princess Beema was my Sister. Borche had had my real parents executed. And The Prophecy had brought it all full circle.
Beema found her voice again. “I don't believe it. It's just all part of some kind of trick from you people. Yeah. Nice try. I 'aint fallin' for it.”
But I knew. I felt the truth of it.
“Beema,” I began, but Beema cut me off.
“This is all ridiculous. All of it. You're not my Sister. Borche is my family. You know, I tried. I tried giving this 'God' thing a shot. I prayed. Did you know that I prayed. So, I have proof that God is not real.”