The Wrath Of the Forgotten (37 page)

“And what about you, my darling?” Tov asked. “What have you been doing since I left? Spending time with Klock, no doubt.”

Urae’s eyes averted from his. Her limbs became stiff, and she stumbled in one of her steps. Tov stopped. He gently guided his daughter’s chin back around so he could review the emotion within her eyes. Her irises waivered.

“You remind me so much of your mother,” Tov said. “Do you love him?”

Urae said, “Yes. I love him with all of my heart. And he loves me.”

Tov sighed. “I was promised some time to relax by the Celestial Ones. In that time, I’d like to spend time with Klock. I want to get to know the man who has absconded with my daughter’s heart.”

Urae’s eyes widened and illuminated with the intensity of a warrior’s funeral pyre. “Really?”

Tov smirked at her. “Who knows what the future will hold? We might as well all have the things we want before war actually starts.” He gestured with his hand. “Off with you. Fetch your beloved and tell him to bring meat for dinner. I am quite hungry.”

Urae leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you, Father. I’ve never been so happy.”

Her wings fluttered to life. She didn’t fly, but she flapped them about as she moved.

A bitter sweet realization echoed in his mind.
If she got pregnant, she wouldn’t be expected to fight.
Tov continued to walk through the forest community until he came to a large wooden structure.

The structure sat at the base of an enormous oak tree. A wooden statue of a female figure with large wings and a horn growing from her forehead stood in front of the building. The figure held a long rod with an ornate circular headpiece. Elaborate wooden carvings covered the outsides of the building. The carvings depicted the Yaoguai in their height, as lesser Celestial Ones.

Tov stopped before the statue and closed his eyes. His lips moved softly. “Oh great Celestial Ones, guard my Urae as she prepares to grow up and leave me.”

He lingered there for a moment before he moved into the modest Temple of the Celestial Horns. The interior of the temple was spacious. Large pillows lined the walls of the temple. Yaoguai monks dressed in faded orange robes sat on the pillows, and they were meditating silently. At the far end of the temple sat a gigantic yellow gem the size of a large wagon. Tov’s armband matched in color and appearance to the large gem. A line of pillows were set out before the giant gem. Yaoguai monks with more elaborate robs rested upon these pillows, and they stared at the gem longingly. These were the Elder Yaoguai, the leaders and wise men and women of the community. Tov’s own grandfather sat on one of the pillows.

Immediately, the large gem flared to life. Several of the elders squinted their eyes due to the brightness.

The voice of the Celestial Ones vibrated in his mind.
You have done very well! Give the lore to the elders, and then sit before us.

Tov handed the scrolls to the closest elder. The elder was a woman named Thullis, and she had been the youngest of the elders, boasting three hundred years of age. The elders all rose from their pillows and filed out of the room. None of them said a word.

Tov’s blood ran cold as he sat before the gem.

The Celestial Ones said,
You have done what others could not have accomplished. You have proven yourself a loyal servant, and for that you shall be rewarded. Prepare to take in what you deserve.

The air in the chamber felt different almost immediately. A sudden thickness had coated every deep breath that Tov inhaled. Rather than be a solid, physical thickness, the air felt overly saturated with energy. He tasted something pungent on his tongue. Tov’s eyes started to sting.

A beam of energy shot from the gem and barreled into Tov’s chest. Every cell in his body felt like it grew twice its size before shrinking back again. His head swam in the energy pulsating from the gem. Breaths became sweeter, and yet, more painful at the same time.

The beam stopped. A cloud of steam rose up from Tov’s chest. His body still tingled.

Tov asked, “W-what did you do to me?”

We have made you more like us. That is your first step to ascension. You will no longer appear sickly to the humans. You are immune to disease. You will not age anymore. Your power is increased, and you will be able to communicate with us without using the gem armband. There are other gifts as well, but you will discover them in time as your body attunes to its new abilities. This transformation comes with a boon as well.

Tov gaped at the large gem in the room. “Wait, this increase is not my reward?”

The room filled with the laughter of the unseen.
No, we ascended you because we value you above all other Yaoguai. We need you and those you trust. You are now a Yaoguai Knight. The boon is this: You can pass on this gift to four others. They will become your personal troops. Once you have ascended your fellow Yaoguai, then you will rest a week. After that, we will need you and your unit. There is another enemy that we must have you deal with
.
One that is the most dangerous of them all.

Tov frowned as he rested his hands in front of him. “What enemy is more dangerous than humans?”

The Masters said a single word in Tov’s mind.

Tov trembled.

THE FADING LIGHT
of the day poured in through one of the windows of the corridor. As the sun got lower in the sky, a particularly focused beam kept getting right in Nori’s eyes. At first, he squinted, but then he moved a little. Apisa and Rayko sat on a couch on the opposite wall. Luxi and Vihori sat on couches on either side of them. No one said anything. They sat in one of the many elegant halls of the Imperial Palace. The floors were made from marble, but they were also painted with the most harmonious and delightful pictures. A depiction of a small phoenix sitting on a purple dragon’s shoulder adorned the floor of this particular section. Both the dragon and the phoenix appeared to be reading a scroll lay out before them. The script of the scroll was written in the format of a letter to someone of great importance. The ceiling was thirty feet above them, and it was painted to resemble the clear blue sky.

Nori crossed his arms over his chest, and he let out another weary sigh. As soon as they got to Xian Ba, Flara had insisted on having an audience with her mother. That had been two hours ago. What had kept them engaged for that long?

Luxi finally broke the silence. She peered over at Nori. “So what’s she like? The Empress I mean?”

The others focused on him now, and each sought the same answer just as desperately as Luxi did.

Nori bit the inside of his lip and shifted in his seat. “How am I supposed to know? I’ve never actually met her. I was merely displayed in front of her and her daughters like a prized head of cattle.”

“Well, you are the only one of us who’s actually spent any considerable time in Xian Ba,” Luxi said. “Have you heard of any rumors about her? Is she unreasonably cruel? Is she kind? Give us something to digest on.”

Nori grimaced. “You do realize we’re in the Imperial Palace right? As an imperial Qu-Tar, you’ll understand if I only have glowing things to say about our matriarch. Truth be told, I’ve not heard much.”

“How is that possible?” Rayko asked. “As a member of the royal family’s bodyguard corps, I would assume your order would have juicy details on court gossip.”

Nori replied “We’re trained to listen for threats and keep an ever vigilant eye out for our wards. We have no reason to listen to or care about court gossip. I wish I could provide you better insight into who she is.”

Apisa placed her hands behind her head and leaned back a little on the couch. “Can you tell us what it’s like living in Xian Ba? My mama always said you could tell a lot about the leadership of a place if you look at how prosperous their area of control is. My mama usually only meant that kind of stuff for farms. I think it applies here too though.”

The others gave silent nods, and then turned to him again. Once more, they waited for him to reveal some wondrous secret.

Nori shrugged. “Well, in Xian Ba, there are good laws that keep people safe and keep the businesses operating fairly. There are numerous programs designed to offer homeless people jobs and homes. The whole economic infrastructure is depended on keeping everyone employed, and somewhat happy about their stations. Taxes do exist, but they’re fair. If citizens have issues with the way a law is being implemented, they’re welcome to appeal it to a court. Usually, crime in Xian Ba is fairly low in the better parts of the city. We still have slums though. I have heard that the Empress takes care of her people. From my experience, that has always been true.”

A deep voice resonated through the hallway. “As a member of the Qu-Tar, I’m pleased that you feel that way.” A large man, although not as large as Nori walked out of a chamber with elaborate doors.

Flara had entered that same door two hours earlier.

The man had ornate battle armor and a sword hanging from his belt. His skin looked dark like smoke. A pair of dark eyes focused on Nori.

Nori immediately stood up. “Commander Hijiyap.” Nori’s hands went to his sides, his shoulders went back, and his eyes looked forward.

Apisa stood up, but she paused before trying to adopt the same pose as Nori. Rayko stayed seated, but she kept bouncing her gaze between the commander and Nori.

Commander Hijiyap stepped right up to Nori’s face and glared into his eyes. “Princess Flara has finally finished telling the Empress her story. Is what she claims true?”

Nori’s jaw tightened. “I will defend every one of Princess Flara’s words as truth, Commander.”

The commander placed his hands behind his back, but kept his chest pressed up against Nori’s. Nori kept utterly still.

Commander Hijiyap scoffed a little. “I would expect nothing less from one of my Qu-Tar. Well done. As soon as you have some free time, you will report to me for debriefing. Do you understand?”

Nori asked “Am I being reassigned to another duty, Commander?”

“That is neither your decision nor mine,” Commander Hijiyap replied. “You will serve where you are told. Report to me when you are finished. Enter into the audience chamber, but you will say nothing unless you’re spoken to.”

Nori side-stepped away from the commander, and then moved into the room. Apisa, Rayko, Luxi, and Vihori all moved behind him.

Nori’s stomach swirled in on itself, and the desire to hurl on the palace floor nearly over took him. Nori walked down a long hallway and finally entered into the Empress’s audience chamber. Like the outer hallways, the floors of the audience chamber consisted of elegant marble with a painting covering its surface. The images of the sun and moon adorned the center of the floor. Within the giant sun was an opened scroll, while a drawn sword was within the image of the crescent moon. Between the sun and the moon was a golden throne. The throne was painted to be glowing with magical light.

Flara stood before an elevated platform with three thrones sitting side by side. The throne in the center sat the tallest tier, while the other two chairs rested on lower tiers. Three women sat in the thrones, and they all engaged Flara in conversation.

The woman to the right of the throne wore an elegant silk dress that had light blue, green, purple and pink patterns woven within it. Her black hair had been tied into a single pony tail that trailed down her back. A pair of magenta eyes lifted off of Flara and fell upon the group.

The woman who sat to the left of the throne looked younger than the first, but still older than Flara. She wore a silk dress as well, only hers had various shades of blue and purple rather than the lighter colors. A pair of black pig tails fell over each of the second woman’s shoulders. Her blue eyes also turned from Flara. Nori became the object of her speculation.

The woman on the highest seat looked the most regal of all. A golden crown rested upon her black hair, and she wore the most exquisite red silk dress Nori had ever seen.

Flara turned to regard them. She gestured to the women.

“My friends, please allow me to introduce you to my family. Princess Twisha Cestise is the heir to the throne, and she is also advisor to my mother.”

The woman to the right nodded.

Flara gestured to the woman to the Empress’ left. “This is my second sister Twisha Lusianis, she is in charge of the military actions and decrees my mother sets forth.”

Lusianis’ eyes narrowed, and she remained silent.

“Lastly, may I introduce you to the Empress of all of Korrine, Twisha Fausa,” Flara said.

She turned back to the thrones and bowed to the women before her. After that, Flara took her place beside Apisa and Rayko.

Empress Fausa sat back in her chair and beamed a regal grin at the group. “Which of you is Tadaga Vihori?”

Vihori stepped forward and kept his back straight. He bowed low before the throne. “I am here at your service, my empress.”

Cestise leaned forward in her chair. Her voice sounded airy like a beautiful spring morning. “I find your use of the words ‘my empress’ most intriguing. It was my understanding that Gohoda declared independence from the Empire. My sister Flara has attempted to rectify this complication, but is this what your mother really wants?”