Kalon

Chapter One-Hundred-Thirty: Alakin - Part One

Galactic Quadrant: Darna Quadrant

Ruling Government: Talum Merchant Federation

Solar System: D-447

Planet: Ora

Location: Orarak City, above the planet's surface.

The darkness cradles me, slowly swallowing my being, I am somewhere between reality and the realm of dreams, memories flow past me, allowing me to glimpse them one last time before I return to the endless void of the thereafter. I am grateful for them, they are the salve to the pain. I see many fond memories before me, played upon the surface of a portal of light, mostly of childhood, some more recent, with Luna. Seeing her face after all this time, it cripples my heart, knowing that I will never hold her again.

As my body breaks, and the venom consumes me, the memory of her plays before me.

It is us in the abandoned city, where I read to her a tale for children, a story about the three mothers.

"Tell it to me again," Luna insists.

I see my past self frustrated with her request. It brings a smile to my face now, seeing her. Even back then with the grim circumstances, she was a light in the darkness.

"It is a tale for children, are you a child?"

She raises an eyebrow at me, "I'll show you the next sequence of mana tracing."

My eyes hover on her face for a few moments before I see my past self open the book once again.

"Just the part about the three mothers."

My past self nods, reluctantly telling it.

"Long ago, there were three mothers."

She smiles, pulling up a blanket closer to her face.

"Kuwathi, Goddess of Life, the first, known as The Dawn Mother. It is said that she guides souls from the darkness to be reborn."

She nods, bidding me to continue.

"Leora, Goddess of Hope, the second, The Day Mother. It is said that her hope gives purpose to those that live in the light of day."

She nods again, there was a deeper smile on her face as I talked about Leora. There was also hesitation in me to say the name of the next one. The one that my mother used to speak to, the only god she ever prayed to.

"Amara, Goddess of Death, the third, The Dusk Mother."

"She's Kuwathi's twin sister, right?" Luna asks.

I nod, giving her an irritated glance for interrupting.

The Sage did not say much about her, but my mother did, she spoke of her often. As though she knew her personally. Thoughts of my mother find me, regret that I could not live a full life for her sake. Especially after she…

"She is said to guide those who die into the afterlife, to know her face is to know death itself."

"Indeed," Luna says, pushing me playfully with an eyebrow raised, "Knowing death itself, scary."

"It is what is said, not my opinion."

She smiles at me, teasing me with her expression.

The memory pulls away, and I feel my hand reaching towards her, regret for not honoring my promise to see her again. I am pulled towards a memory that distorts the gravity of the darkness around me, causing the light to fold as the Cursed Edict in black box form comes into view. Ripples begin to steadily appear from the portal of light containing the memory, a vibration resonates around me. It was when I first looked at the box fully, I see myself cut my finger on one of the edges. A single drop of blood rolls into the box, and a faint light flickers, something I hadn't noticed before.

The memory moves now to the last time I saw the box, but I see something strange, as the blood flows in, something else flows out from the box and into me. It flows into the source of the wound, speckles of light riding the path of the blood into my body. I try to look closer, but the center of the black box begins to burn brightly, rolling waves are coming from the portal of light containing the memory, the words inscribed in the center glowing fiercely.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Hail Thy Gods

The edges of the darkness around the memory warp further. I must be nearing death, this is my last memory… could it not have been of a loved one? The pain from the venom is rolling through my body now, coming in waves, the memories no longer enough to abate the pain. It is agony as my body is set ablaze by the venom, it will be over soon. So many regrets, so many questions unanswered. The place between realms distorts wildly now sucking me into the abyss. Then I see it, the last memory, it is my mother. My soul weeps at the sight of her after all these years.

From the memory I see her hand extend and touch my younger self's face, pushing back the darkness that wraps me. Her words strike at my heart, carving the ice.

"Kalon, what's wrong?" she asks my younger self, clutching me warmly.

"There is so much suffering, everywhere we go… it is endless."

She kisses my forehead, "Someday, you will become strong enough to change that, my child."

I see myself looking down at my small and feeble hands, "How?"

"Belief becomes power."

The words confuse my younger self. She ruffles my hair and kisses my forehead again, her deep yellow, dawn-colored eyes are filled with happiness, even in the darkness of our reality.

"Until you are strong enough to stand against everything, do not worry my child, I will be there for you."

My mother turns, looking toward me, not in the memory but as I am now, my heart quickens. The dream world is vibrating violently, cracks of light beginning to form all around me as she moves towards me in the present, walking through the portal of the memory. The words she speaks ring through the essence of my existence.

Ulima Dom Sekar - Alakin Dom Jukora

Forsaken by man - Chosen by the Gods

The dream world is raging in defiance against the intrusion, she moves towards me still. Lightning streaks and thunder booms, the darkness tries to pull me harder, a storm of wind and energy all around me. She is standing before me, and she slowly raises her hand upward and places it upon where I was stabbed. The area around the wound begins to glow with a blinding light and I feel a cooling calm flow through me, the venom and the darkness retreating from the light. The dream world shakes even more, and I see her gaze turn, looking toward the cracks as though she senses something coming. She turns to me once more, her words vibrating through me.

Son of Kuwathi, rise with your mother's blessing, belief becomes power

There is something moving on the edge of my perception, moving towards us, bending the space around us like she does. She turns towards what I sense and pushes me gently backward. I reach out to grab her, but I am falling out of the dream, flashes of light and thunderous vibrations around me until there is suddenly nothing.

***

There are loud voices around me, I hear people arguing, and cursing in the old tongue.

"He will die by my blade!" Arrum yells.

My eyes open slowly adjusting to the light, I am lying on the sandstone where I fell. My hand reaches for the wound, but it is gone. How is it gone, how am I alive, what was that memory, was that really my mother? My mind has questions, but the voices pull me back to the task before me, I must stop this.

"You will not lay a hand on my cousin!" another man yells.

"He is a Sekating rat, his death is the only solution," I hear Urik say.

"He killed the one that gave us victory, this must mean death," Ira says.

"He was my Kada, only blood will end this," Arrum demands, I can hear his blade singing.

My mind is coming into focus as I begin to stand, stumbling over towards where I hear Arrum's voice, pushing through the crowd of people. I hear gasps and whispers as I move.

"Come then, meet your…" a voice begins but stops as silence falls over the crowd.

Arrum takes advantage of the situation and moves towards Henek. I grab his arm as he draws his blade, he tries to free it but stops when he hears me speak.

"No, Kada," I say to him. Bioluminescence swirls as my Kuwathi eyes glow brightly.

Turning slowly, he looks at me, finally seeing me, his blade falling into my grasp. He does not speak for a moment, he is stunned.

"But, you were dead…" there is confusion in his eyes, he looks at where the wound was and then back to my eyes.

I move toward Henek, the man who stabbed me, the man whose Grandfather I killed, Arrum's blade in my hand. His cousin moves to block me, and I put a hand softly on his shoulder, looking into his eyes, he is trembling. He steps back after a moment, his eyes having found an answer in mine. As I walk towards Henek, hands touch my shoulders, and mouths utter prayers to their gods.

Henek is kneeling on the ground, his face battered, by the hands of those around me. His eyes are wide as they take me in, his mouth opens to speak but words do not find him. Lowering down to my knees in front of him, eye level, I stab the blade into the sandstone and pull him into my embrace.

"Let it end here," I say to him, loud enough for the others to hear.

He pulls from the embrace, he does not understand, and his eyes search me for meaning. I rise to my feet, pulling him up with me. The gathering of people is quiet, the only sound is whispers and the muffled music outside. There is a serene calm washing over me, my mind becoming clear, a voice pushing to emerge from deep within me, a voice I allow to rise.

"When I look upon you. I do not see an enemy," I grasp his face and put our foreheads together, "I see someone who shares the blood of my people."

Henek's eyes begin to soften at my words. There is a stirring in the crowd, eyes looking at me, searching for answers, ears all listening to my words seeking clarity.

"Our enemies are the ones who put us here, the ones who make us spill the blood of our people. We die for their amusement. We are above this. It is not enough to simply survive, we as a people must thrive."

There are tears beginning to well in Henek's eyes, a faint glow filling the irises. I pick up the blade from the sandstone, turning from him, and moving toward Arrum, placing the blade in Arrum's hand, looking at him when I speak next.

"We as a people must rise."

I want to continue, but my head begins to spin causing me to stumble. I reach my hand to my nose, blood is flowing. Arrum catches me before I collapse, letting me lean on his shoulder. The others begin to whisper louder. I can see that my words have not fallen on deaf ears, perhaps there is hope for my people.

Hearing a door open to my side, I look towards it, a squad of soldiers in their metal armor moves towards us.

"Disperse and return to the pods!" one of them yells.

They point their weapons and push people into their respective doorways to the pods. My eyes feel heavy, sleep calling me. I can see Arrum does not want to leave me and is trying to stay, his eyes look to fight the soldier's orders.

"Be calm, Kada," I tell him. His jaw clenches, but he nods, letting me go and following the orders. I stumble to my pod, slumping down against the glass wall as the doors close, something feels wrong inside me, like I have been stretched thin.

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