CHAPTER 23

“The calmness of the sea before a fearsome storm…”

The sun had set when Raviex and his comrades arrived at Kaza City. The sight was not a pleasant one at all. The only word which came to their minds to describe the city was ‘hideous’. Raviex’s jaw locked tightly as he balled his fists in anger. He had always been under the given impression that Kaza was improving day by day. The view made it plain that the city barely, or perhaps, never experienced any development or reconstruction at all.

Christine shuddered after sweeping a swift glance at the place. The city did not alter since the day it became the battlefield between the Valkyr Empire and the Imperial Army. The stench in the air was awful and nauseating, smelling terribly of rotten flesh. The shattered buildings stood dull and dead. The city was covered in debris and there was no one in sight. She never wanted to return to the place as it was where her father had died but for the Prince, she braved her emotions.

“So much for hoping for a warm supper,” Kyoden sighed.

The night breeze blew. The wide hood of Raviex’s blue cloak flapped against his cheeks. Lorene pulled her white cloak closer to her for warmth. Though the climate here wasn’t as cold as the climate at Sage Village which was situated more at the north part of the world, the chill was already biting into her skin.

“Looks like we’ve to hunt for a place to stay for the night,” said Sonia, frowning. She, too, had heard of the disastrous turnout of the Kaza War but was shocked when she saw the fallen city for herself. Once upon a time, Kaza City, which was dubbed the Kingdom’s Valour, was home to Senadon’s famous schools and higher learning institutions for martial arts. She doubted that any of them were spared after the war, considering that even Zephod’s shrine was destroyed.

Before they advanced more than twenty steps within the city’s wall, a rather faint but commanding voice halted them. “Hold yer steps, strangers! Kaza City damn well does not welcome outsiders!”

Kyoden strained his eyes as it was too dark to see the caller properly. Thirty feet away from them stood an aged man. The group was suddenly aware that they were surrounded. There were people hiding in the dark, behind the burnt buildings, piles of debris and in the shadows.

“We don’t mean you any harm. We are travellers and we seek for a night’s stay,” Sonia spoke aloud as the acting leader of the party.

A dagger whizzed through the air out of nowhere just as she finished speaking. It was targeted at Raviex. There was no need for him to dodge it for another dagger was flung from his side to deflect the menacing dagger. Christine hissed at the old man despite herself, feeling contested. Daggers were her speciality anyway.

Two more daggers sprang out mysteriously from thin air, this time headed for the red-haired girl. Christine effortlessly threw two more of the daggers which formed in her hands at the incoming threats without even looking at it. The attacker, provoked, finally came into light for a head-on clash. He appeared from the shadows and tried to shove a punch at her.

Christine blocked it with her forearm. Shocked that he missed, he pulled back a beat too slow as she had grabbed his wrist and threw him to the ground on his back. His breath was knocked out of his lungs. He did not attempt to get up anymore after noticing a dagger lingering at his throat.

“Why did you try to assassinate someone you have called a stranger?” she interrogated him, her eyes as cold as ice.

“Let him go! This is a misunderstanding!” another voice intervened. A teenager no older than Christine with tanned skin and black hair with dashes of flaming red jogged towards them. She scowled as she freed him. The assassin stood up and brushed off the dirt of his shirt roughly, glowering at her. He went to stand with the teenager.

“My name is Visanté Pyralis. I apologise for the rudeness of the people here to all of you,” said the boy with a gloomy expression. There was a certain air of pessimism around him that the five were quite sure about.

Kyoden frowned. “Visanté Pyralis? The Yamist of Bravery?”

He sighed regretfully, “I’m afraid so.”

‘All of a sudden, I’m surrounded by Yamists,’ thought Raviex dryly.

“This is my friend, Ismael. He really didn’t mean to hurt anybody,” said Visanté. Christine scoffed audibly at the statement, clearly unsatisfied. Ismael looked as though he’d like a rematch with her at the time too. “Come and stay at my place. You will be safe there,” he added friendlily. “I think I should be able tu clear up the misunderstanding with a bit of explanation.”

“Oh dear me, I simply love stories,” squeaked Kyoden gleefully. Sonia exhaled heavily at his behaviour which was a complete embarrassment in her opinion. Since they were now Visanté’s guests, the aged man turned away from the scene, so did the others who had encircled them.

“Thank you for the generous offer,” spoke Lorenne softly.

“Come with me.”

As they were led by Visanté to his home, Christine snarled at Ismael once more before picking up her steps. Ismael ignored her, knowing that it would displease his friend if he acted on his own again. Satisfied, she smiled to herself victoriously.

“Thanks,” Raviex muttered to her.

Christine was so occupied in gloating over Ismael that she had forgotten that Raviex was still right beside her. She looked at him absent-mindedly and was reminded of his presence when she found herself looking into his heavenly-blue eyes. She quickly avoided direct eye contact with him.

“I would’ve done the same for anyone else,” she remarked, hoping it sounded nonchalant to him. It was awkward being around and talking to Raviex after the incident a few hours back. Instincts told her he was feeling the same way. She deliberately walked ahead to be with Sonia and Lorenne.

“Wait—” he tried to call after her.

“Owh, she likes you!” teased Kyoden, swooshing to the Prince’s side.

Raviex stared at him in disbelief and looked away, blushing. “Err… that’s not up to you to say, I think.”

“Are you kidding me?” the Haikenese uttered in sheer amazement. “For the love of Kaisen, even a blind man could see that! It’s as plain as… as… well… a sheet of white paper!”

“Really?” asked Raviex doubtfully.

“Haven’t you attended any classes like ‘How to Understand Girls and Woo Them’ before back at home? I mean, surely, you have!” he cried.

“Err… I don’t think so,” answered Raviex truthfully.

“Heavens! May Calith save you!” exclaimed Kyoden in despair. “What were you doing all this while anyway in Katelion City? You are lucky you have a friend like me. And your friend here tells you that that girl likes you. So, if you’re giving it a shot, make it fast.”

“What?! But whoever said I like her?” said the other.

“As plain as a sheet of white paper, man…” sighed Kyoden, unable to believe how ignorant the Prince could be.

The five and the Yamist of Bravery walked towards the outskirts of the destructed city. Their noses soon smelt salty air and they knew the sea was close by. Raviex made every endeavour not to appear too pleased at the thought that the sea was so near but he could not help smiling at his own eagerness to soak his feet in sand and sea water. Obvious to say, it was impossible to find a beach on the Floating Land.

Coconut trees dotted here and there along the shorelines, swaying along with the wind. Treading on sandy grounds now, they came to a rectangular wooden house which stood alone on this part of the beach. Raviex peered intriguingly at it as it was his first time looking at a house with patches of dried leaves for its roof and extended wooden legs, outside the pages of the books he studied in Katelion City. He noticed there were many of these houses which lined the beach when they were making their way to Visanté’s house. Apparently, they were a fishing village.

“I hope you are familiar with the culture here of taking off your shoes before entering one’s home,” informed Visanté. The group courteously left their footwear outside and proceeded to climb the few steps of stairs to enter the house. Visanté made a small gesture with his left hand and the candles placed in their glass holders around the small house lit up brightly.

The capability of the Yamist of Bravery to completely manipulate the fire element, mused Sonia. It was a curious thing for the little flames on the candles to never die out no matter how strong the wind blew from the open wide windows.

“You live here alone?” asked Kyoden casually.

“My family was killed during the Kaza War. I moved from the city and built this place here,” said Visanté quietly.

Sonia glared at Kyoden for bringing up such a topic, though it was unintentional. He instantly apologised and offered his condolence, so did the rest. Christine, however, caught Raviex staring hard at the floor in deep guilt. Shame was what she felt then when she recalled how inconsiderately she had held the King, his father, as the fault of her father’s death.

“I appreciate your sympathies,” the Kazan gave a small smile. “I’ve two spare rooms for you. They’re both not very spacious, so, the girls might have to tolerate with the limited space.”

“We’re fine with it,” assured Sonia. “We are already grateful enough of your generosity to share your home with us.”

He smiled sheepishly at her speech. “Well, I don’t suppose you’ve all eaten?”

Kyoden’s eyes lighted up at the question. “Oh, Kaisen, no! Can you tell us where we could grab a bite?”

“You won’t be able to find any place to dine in here. I’ll cook,” he answered.

Lorenne looked around the house to get a better bearing of the house. Similar to the house, she saw that the furniture too was self-made. Though so, they were done with skills of a true craftsman and carpenter. The material used to make the chairs was rattan. The table was of wood. The wall was bare and no frames of photos or pictures were hung there. She guessed all his properties must have been lost in the Kaza War.

A whiff of barbequed meat drifted in the air. Kyoden felt his saliva wet his mouth and his stomach roared like an animal. It came from the back. The five could not resist trailing to the backyard to see what was cooking. They found him barbequing six medium-sized fish and what looked like a slaughtered goat with two separate pits.

“Do you need any help?” asked Christine.

“Not really, it’s rather simple for me,” he replied.

True enough, all he had to do was watch over the pits. The fire was doing most of the work. They grew and shrank when necessary, barbequing their dinner to perfection.

From a large crate placed in a small shed beside the house, he brought out six freshly-plucked coconuts. Then, with a chopping knife, Visanté chopped off the top part of the coconuts to reveal the juice and tender white flesh within. They were to use hollow bamboo sticks to suck out the juice.

The fire from the barbeque pits continued to dance as they tucked in on dinner, sitting on dead logs. The diners could have sworn they had never tasted any barbecued meal as scrumptious as this. The fishes, which were fresh from the sea, carried a tint of sweetness in their flesh. The mutton too was tasty and a blessing to the mouth (Visanté took the effort of cutting it into thin slices). No words were passed between them for everyone was too busy eating.

Nonetheless, as soon as dinner was over, they retreated to the wooden house for a discussion. The guests occupied all the available rattan chairs in the living room while Visanté sat on a stool. Raviex conveniently leaned Letaikno against the wall next to him.

‘Bless her for her brilliance, gods of the Light,’ he thought. Lorenne had cleverly invented a spell especially for him and Letaikno considering that it was troublesome to wrap it in cloths. During normal circumstances, Letaikno would take upon the appearance of an ordinary sword, without the jewel and inscriptions. But when he needed it in battles or when it was safe to reveal its true identity, Raviex would only have to speak the words required to unleash it.

“I think we ought to properly introduce ourselves first, that would only be right,” said Sonia. The group stuck to their own names except Raviex, who again bore the name ‘Cedric’.

“So, tell us, why are the people here so eager to have us either killed or thrown out of Kaza?” asked Christine wryly.

‘And bless Ryn for her bluntness,’ Raviex added, smiling.

Visanté heaved a sigh before he launched into his explanation. “I’m sure you all know about the Kaza War. (The five nodded.) The citizens here lost everything, as you can see from what is left of the city. Despite our own loss, we were in a greater grief when we knew about the death of King Levon in the war.”

There was a moment of silence to honour King Levon. Christine stole a glance at Raviex and from his eloquent eyes, understood that he was thinking about his father once more.

“There was not a day’s delay for help to arrive. The Floating Land sent assistance to the Kazans. Soldiers dug up the corpses; those still recognisable were claimed by the surviving family members whereas the rest were given a fire burial for the amount was too large. Medics and healers were buzzing up and down rescuing the injured and traumatised. We had high hopes that the city will be restored to its glorious days in the shortest time.

But that dreadful governor of the city was a corrupted officer. He brings so much disgrace to the Prince’s name. The money given to Kaza City for its reconstruction was totally swallowed up by him. If it wasn’t for him, the city would have been on its way to its end of reconstruction already!”

Christine intuitively held his shoulder, preventing him from rising. Raviex took in a breath and maintained self-control. Impulsive act was not necessary. He was furious, but he knew the others were too. He would not want his act to ruin any future planning.

“It still doesn’t explain the aggressive behaviour of the people just now,” Sonia pointed out.

“It’s complicated. Basically, there are two groups of Kazans now; one supports the Prince; the other opposes the Prince. But they share a common goal, which is to override Lord Dymaz, the governor,” said Visanté.

“Why the two groups?” asked Christine sharply.

“While the Prince has loyal supporters, the leader of the other group persuaded some to join him in his radical opposition. He set up a propaganda claiming that the Prince has abandoned us and consented to Lord Dymaz’s way of corruption,” he answered meekly, a little afraid of the redhead.

“The ones who tried to ambush you were Pak Kishak’s men. They categorised any unknown people as spies and enemies. With them constantly scaring people away, it makes it hard for us to receive help. The worse thing is we can’t get a word out of the city. We know Lord Dymaz has been making false reports to the higher authority and also silencing the media,” he continued.

Kyoden scowled and muttered something that sounded a lot like ‘coward’ and ‘bastard’. “What do you mean by the Prince consenting to Lord Dymaz’s way of corruption?” he demanded. He would have liked to add in the fact that they were detouring to Kaza City, risking an upset schedule to find the Ultimate Praetor Valkyr Leo.

Visanté shifted uneasily. “For one thing, the officers who were sent here in the name of the Prince never seemed to make any difference. I’m sure they know about his dishonesty but nothing is done to him. Pak Kishak’s men are fully convinced that the Prince is as terrible a coward as he is because His Highness does not dare to take any action against him.”

“Oh, trust me, His Highness will definitely return the honourable favour alright,” snapped Christine. Lorenne giggled at her words.

“Are you five by any chance, some sort of undercover agents for His Highness?” queried the Yamist of Bravery warily.

“Shh…! As a matter of fact, we are! I can’t believe you saw right through us, Visanté!” said Kyoden all of a sudden. Raviex raised an eyebrow at him. As far as he was concerned, he never had any ‘undercover agents’, the Shadow Guardians, yes, but certainly not ‘undercover agents’.

“But we would like you to keep that a secret in the meantime,” added Sonia wittily.

“Of course, I will, in Zephod’s name I swear secrecy!” vowed Visanté.

“Have you tried overriding Lord Dymaz before?” questioned Raviex abruptly.

Visanté stared at him. Oddly, he sensed a distinctive aura from him, unique from the rest, perhaps even majestic. There was a sense of authority and power around him, as if born in him naturally. He blinked and looked at the ground. ‘I think too much, he is an undercover agent for His Highness,’ he hastily concluded.

“We have attempted half a dozen of times… but they all failed miserably. For one thing, our force is already diverted in two parties which is a big enough disadvantage. There is a Kazan saying which goes, ‘bersatu teguh bercerai roboh’, bringing the meaning, united we stand, divided we shall fall. That is true enough for us,” Visanté’s voice trailed off, then, added hesitantly, “Besides that, there is… another factor.”

“Allow us to hear it,” beckoned Raviex.

The Kazan’s eyebrows furrowed together. “There’s something strange about Lord Dymaz’s men.”

“Please, try to be specific,” said the blue-eyed one.

“Well, to be specific, every time we try to rebel, he sends only ten men and these ten men are the same ones we fought all six times of our rebel. Our number exceeds two hundred, yet, we still lost.”

Lorenne bit her lips. Two hundred men defeated by only ten men? That’s incredulous. But there was only one possibility she could think of.

“I assume you were part of the rebel?” she asked. Visanté nodded. “When you fought the ten men, do you smell rotting flesh?” He nodded again. “They have immense Sacred Energy?”

“How do you know?” he gasped.

“Your men had been fighting puppets,” she said coolly.

“What?!” Kyoden and Visanté yelled simultaneously.

Lorenne exhaled. “The ten men are not alive anymore. They’re just animated corpses. The puppeteer is manipulating them from a distance, hence, the huge amount of Sacred Energy. Our situation gets murkier because the puppeteer is more likely to be even stronger than his puppets or he could not possibly afford to split his Sacred Energy to animate ten corpses.”

“Wow, I never thought I’d meet a Meijin here,” whistled Kyoden.

“What’s a Meijin?” Sonia, Christine, Raviex and Visanté asked at once.

“Err… it’s a Haikenese folklore creature similar to Lorenne’s explanation of her ‘puppeteer’,” he said simply.

“If based on Lorenne’s explanation, then it reminds me a little about what we call ‘pontianak’ here,” reckoned Visanté.

“Vampires?” Christine wondered aloud.

Lorenne shook her head. “Meijin is not the same as ‘pontianak’ or vampires. A Meijin is immortal because he deals with an incredulously major amount of dark Sacred Energy, particularly a Lundea of Mepheus, the god of Chaos.”

“The people will meet for another rebel tomorrow,” muttered Visanté, his face paling.

“Then we must stop them. I don’t want anyone hurt for nothing,” said Raviex.

“I think it is best we turn in early while it is still peaceful,” suggested Lorenne quietly. Kyoden stretched out his arms and yawned loudly. “Great idea, Lorenne, even the undercover agents of His Highness needs some rest.”

“Indeed. And tomorrow, I will take you to the meeting of the rebels.”