The End is in sight

The draft of the final chapter has been completed. All that remains if the Prologue and Epilogue.

Chapter 34

The Myshkans are let out of the temple from where they have been under siege. Lyrin and Ony'a decide to go see Moku and figure out what they should do next. When they get there Ony'a is happy to see Erut once again. Omin and Avin are there with him. Moku explains to them all why he is willing to risk his life to help them. They decide that Lagos wants to be heard by the court and that they need to give him that chance.

An excerpt:

The doors of the temple were opened by the Myshkans trapped inside. The first light of the day was being pulled across the horizon like bright orange taffy wrapped in the green of the dipda/kovan canopy. Ony’a stepped out into the courtyard along with all the others who had been kept inside.

As promised, the soldiers were gone; the courtyard was quiet.

Ony’a felt lost. Her home was far away, her father was gone, and now her brother had been taken away. What was there left to fight for? Who was left to fight with? She thought of her brother and what might happen to him. Would they harm him.? Would they give him a fair trial?

She stepped further out into the courtyard to the platform where her brother had begun the ritual just a few days ago. Everything was still in place, just where Lagos had left it all before he ran to the temple. She sighed. It would have been wonderful if the ritual had gone through, if they had just ignored those banners taunting them from the columns. They could have felt a sense of pride again. Her people could have come together. Maybe that’s why Rin did it, she thought, to provoke us all so that we would fight instead of banding together. As long as we are kept separate we will be weak and ineffective. The Kevutians know that. The maceoran knows that, but we didn’t come to see what they were doing until it was too late. Now, everything from the ritual has been left here in the courtyard to remind us of our foolishness.

But not quite everything. Ony’a noticed that the three containers of colored dust were empty. Did they know? It would be a terrible mistake if the Kevutians discovered their secret. She tried to think who she could tell. She thought of Omin and Avin but had no idea where they were right now. Then, she thought of someone.

Ony’a heard the sound of Lyrin’s heavy steps behind her. She turned around.

“I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now,” Lyrin said. She said nothing in return. He put his hand on her shoulder easily covering it. “What do you want to do?”

Ony’a looked into the distance. “I want to help my brother.”

“But how do we do that?”

Ony’a turned to face Lyrin.

“I don’t know but I think there is someone who might.”

“Who would that be?” Lyrin asked.

Moku.”

“Who?”

“Oh, he’s a merchant that works near here.”

Lyrin dropped his hand and looked harder at her. “Your brother is about to go on trial and you want to go shopping.”

Ony’a just smiled. “You’re just going to have to trust me on this. Coming?”

Chapter 33

Avin, Erut, and Omin make their way east. Omin explains how explosives are derived from the elements used during the ritual. Along the way they discover Riahn performing a ritual for other Kevutians, not Myshkans. Omin protests, saying the ritual is only for Myshkans but the others decide to just leave Riahn alone since he is causing no harm.

An excerpt.

Avin stood first and walked boldly into the circle, leaving her sacks behind. The other two followed. She looked at the people surrounding her and at a small table set in the middle. On it were several cups, some with oil, others with dirt. The Kevutian in the middle of the circle still held one cup while the fingers of one hand were topped with the dirt. The person he had been facing had a spot on her forehead glistening with oil.

“What are you doing?” Avin asked with a hint of anger in her voice.

With great calm and without reservation the Kevutian answered her. “I am anointing others into the Fellowship of the Free Yocugu.”

“You’re what?” Omin howled stepping forward with great annoyance. His motion was stopped by Avin’s outstretched arm landing squarely on his chest. He moaned as he hit the solid arm, then looked at its owner, but made no further movement.

“Yocu is the spiritual inspiration of the Myshkans, not the Kevutians,” said Avin.

“The truth knows no race, no class, no distinction. It does not belong to one people and not to another. If it is not true for all, it is not true. It does not exist in only one corner of the universe. Its light shines on all, for all times, and in all places,” said the man.

Avin wrinkled her brow in confusion. She took the end of her torch and lit it using the light from one of the standing torches. “Who are you?” she said, looking into his face. He said nothing in return but looked at her with a calm serenity she had rarely seen before, especially from a Kevutian.

After a moment, the man said, “I am no one.”

Avin stepped closer to him. No one else moved. She studied the face of the man before her more intently. She noticed a long shadow on his left cheek: a scar. The man saw her interest in the deformity.

“An unfortunate gift from Pa’Crolas,” he said.

Avin stepped back from him in horror. “You are Riahn, the Tormentor, Commander of the Detention Center.”

The man only smiled. “Not anymore,” he whispered. “I am no one.”

Chapter 32

Avin and Omin find Erut walking the perimeter of the temple looking for them. They take him up into a secret reconnaissance area up in the trees known as The Aerie. Erut tells them what has happened at the Temple and what he thinks will come next. The two Myshkans show Erut a new kind of staff designed for actual fighting (rather than the old feud fighting). Omin spots several squads heading their way so they decide to leave into the darkness and escape.

An excerpt:

He wasn’t sure how it happened. One moment he was just walking along and the next he was face down in the dirt buried under a pile of dead leaves.

He had been heading north from Kodok province circling around the temple. He walked past the marketplace and noticed how empty it was. Next he passed Moku’s stand and remembered his first encounter with him. Continuing on, he crossed into Lukva Province and found himself in the only remaining copse of live trees left in the province. Most of the rest had been burned out or excavated to make room for Kevutian buildings and installations. He was glad to be in the woods after spending a great deal of time avoiding other Kevutians. Mostly he just told him he had been separated from his squad and was trying to find them. There were plenty of soldiers in the area, much more than usual, making it easy to blend in. Fortunately, no one seemed to recognize him.

He headed for the fields north of the temple when he felt a weight hit his back. Panicked, he pushed himself up from the ground and started swinging the shock wand he managed to obtain on his trek around the temple. Most Kevutian soldiers were quite skilled with their staff: swirling and spinning them in such a way that anyone unfortunate enough to be near one in motion would certainly suffer broken bones and a damaged ego. He tried to imitate that motion, but only succeeded in beaning himself on the side of his head. He held his head and looked up. There was no one there in front of him. In the very next instant all he saw was a whoosh of green as a leafy branch from the tree above smacked him hard on the face knocking him flat on his back. His face stung like he had just been smacked by a dozen angry grandmothers at once. He took a moment to open his eyes and when he did, he expected to see green leaves and sky, but, instead, saw a face looming over him.

“Yea, it’s him,” Omin said, staring down at Erut.

“You sure?” came a voice in the trees. Erut recognized it as Avin’s.

“Yea, I’m sure.”

Erut heard a body come sliding down from the trees and onto the ground. He could just barely make out the shape of Avin. She walked up to him so he could see her clearly.

“How did you ever make it out of Basic Training?” Avin asked Erut.

Erut eased himself up from the dirt with his hands. He felt sharp needles of pain follow his motions. Dead leaves crunched and shifted as he made his way up none too quietly. When he reached a sitting position he turned to look at Avin, but his neck didn’t let him turn his head completely. He groaned.

“Basic Training is a joke, nowadays,” Erut scratched out. “No one fails unless they hit an officer or say disparaging remarks about the SM.”

Omin moved from behind Erut’s head to the side opposite of Avin. “The SM? The sadomasochist?”

“The Supreme Magnate,” said Erut.

“Good guess,” Avin quipped to Omin.

Chapter 31

Rin gives the Myshkans under siege in the temple an ultimatum: they are to give up their leader. In exchange, the rest of the people will be let go. Lagos accepts the deal and is told he will be put on trial. His friends try to convince him not to do, that they can fight it out, but he tells them he wants to go and spare the suffering of everyone else.

An excerpt:

“Alright, we’re listening.” Lagos said. Someone had found a table and set it in the middle of the main hall so that everyone could stand around it and listen to the conversation. The only ones seated were Lagos at one end and Maceoran Rin at the other.

“Look,” said Rin. “I know you may not believe me, but it is really not in the interest of either of us to start a war.”

“Don’t want to get your butts busted back to your little rock?” Lyrin mumbled from above and behind some of the observers gathered around the table. Lagos shot him a glance that told him to button it tight. Rin pretended not to hear it.

“I appreciate you saying that, Maceoran Rin. I think we are all weary of fighting.”

Ony’a stepped up behind her brother and placed her hands on his shoulder. “Wouldn’t the simplest path to peace be to just let us go?”

The maceoran placed her fingers together almost as if prayer, then leaned forward. She touched the edge of her fingertips against her lips in a gesture of deep thought. “Oh, that it were so simple, my dear,” she said. “But it is not. You see, I have superiors to answer to and they have their own superiors and, of course, we all have the Supreme Magnate. They will want to know what we have done here to take control of the situation; they will ask who will pay for the incursion, how we will restore order.”

“I’m sure they will listen to you,” said Lagos. “You are, after all, a maceoran.”

“This may be true, but I did not get here solely on my charms and eloquence, abundant as they may be,” she smirked. “I, too, must follow orders. Those orders include maintaining peace and assuring that disruptions to that peace are dealt with.”

Lyrin pushed past the people in front of him whose forms were now knocking down several others surrounding them. “If you hadn’t put your arrogant banners of conquest on our temple, we…”

Rin’s face reddened as she forced herself to remain in control. Lagos rose from his seat and stood directly in front of Lyrin.

“Lyrin!” Lagos barked. “I need someone to go to the front doors and keep watch!”

“But…” said Lyrin gesturing in the direction of the maceoran.

“I know,” said Lagos. “But this is not the time.” He looked up at the sacred walls and the high vaulted ceiling. “This is not the place.”

Lyrin looked at the unmoving woman at the table and then back at his friend staring him down. He huffed then relented. His hulking mass moved toward the front doors.

“You see?” said Rin indignantly. “This is precisely what the button pushers on Kevutu think of you. You are rash and untrustworthy. You do not understand that you are now part of the Great Conglomerate. All of this…” She raised her hands above her to indicate the temple itself. “Is also part of the Conglomerate.”

Chapter 30

We are introduced to a committee meeting of people on yet another planet. This one is called Ardis and on it Talib Jamanour leads a discussion of the current condition of all the planets in the cluster. They discuss the growing influence of Kevutu over the rest of the planets. They seem concerned about the loss of independence throughout the different cultures living under the rule of Yaves III. Talib listens to all the reports and then decides that he needs to tell the Elders that it is time to take action.

A quote:

“So, we gather once again,” Talib said. None of the others responded nor did they look ready to begin any conversation with him. “OK, reports, please.” Still no one moved so Talib looked to the person on his left. “Why don’t we begin with you, Hector?”

Hector Caheleru sat in a long dark gray robe and searched out the faces of those around him. “I think most of you already know about what is happening on Kevutu. Not much has changed since the last cycle except to get worse. The population has exploded exponentially, their resources are nearly depleted, and poverty and suffering is rampant.”

“Yet the people take no initiative to improve their situation,” added Talib.

“Yaves III has tightened control beyond what any reasonable person might call tolerable through fear, intimidation, and the subtle manipulation of their corp idolizing religion. As you know the Supreme Magnate has set off a campaign of domination throughout the cluster. Their efforts have made it possible for their population to expand to other worlds where they dominate the people while extracting their resources.”

“Yes, we are all well aware of their intentions. Any signs that there may be a change in policy or circumstance?”

“None. They have been unimpeded so far and feel emboldened enough to continue on their goal of total occupation.”

Groans and whispers followed the words uttered by Hector. As representative of the planet of Kevutu, it was his responsibility to send agents to that planet and compile a report for this committee. His reports were rarely full of good news.

“Thank you, Hector,” said Talib. “Jakobe?”

Faces around the table turned their attention to the representative next in line around the table. A dark skinned man in an indigo colored robe sat calmly though not content. Like all the others in the room he sat wrapped fully in his cloak so that only his hands and face shown–neither of which possessed any hair.

“I can report nothing of much importance since our last meeting,” said Jakobe. His words were heavy both with cycles of concern behind them and with the focused and meticulous manner in which he formed his words. The Kevutians are in control of the Chotian people and their resources. What spirit they had in them to fight has either died out or been annulled through their religious education. We have documented for them the brief history of their first act of defiance, the first in the Cluster, so that it might not be eradicated by the Kevutians. The Chotians are insular people and are happy enough to cooperate if they are left alone. Many of them are satisfied with the arrangement.”

“I see,” said Talib. He lowered his head in thought. “It’s a strange twist of irony that the first planet to resist the occupiers is also the first to capitulate to their demands and the least dissatisfied with their treatment.”

Chapter 29

Trapped  and under siege in the temple, Erut suggests they ransack the offices and look for important papers. He also suggests, reluctantly, that he escape through a window and mix in with the other Kevutians to find out what is going on. He goes just as there is a pounding at the door. It happens to be the maceoran herself and she wants to talk.

An excerpt:

Ony’a had been listening and watching the conversation intently, but when Erut started stumbling on his own words she took more notice. There was fear and uncertainty rising in him. It didn’t take long for her to guess what he was thinking. What made her even more curious was why he was even considering the idea at all. She gave him a sidelong look.

“Let me hear it,” said Lagos.

“Well, uh, I…” said Erut.

“No!” Ony’a said to Erut. “It’s too dangerous.”

“What’s too dangerous?” said Lagos. “You already know what he’s going to say?”

“I have a pretty good idea based on what he’s feeling.”

“Alright, then, what’s he thinking?” asked Lagos.

“Nothing, forget it!” said Ony’a, but Erut blurted it out before he could even stop himself.

“I could crawl through one of the windows, claim I escaped from you, and then blend in with the other soldiers…”

“If none of them recognize you,” Ony’a said.

“I could find Omin and Avin, see if they could help us,” Erut continued.

“There’s nothing they can do to help us,” Ony’a said with a hint of panic in her voice. She didn’t like the idea of not being able to protect him.

Erut turned to Ony’a. He saw the look of fear in her eyes, not for herself but for him. “At the very least they might be able to smuggle in food and supplies.” He took Ony’a hands in his. “You have been so kind to me, all of you, but I can’t stay here. If soldiers come in here they will take one look at me and brand me a traitor. I’d rather be doing something useful.”