Yuer started to think that he might not afford to ignore this one matter about his mark. So, he closed his eyes and began a simple routine of breath regulation. After ensuring his mental stability, he directed the currents of the Light Echo within him toward his mark. Then, he visualized a replica of his mark appearing on the back of his right hand. The momentary euphoria that was associated with the drawing of the Divine Echo coursed through him. Soon enough, the ecstatic feeling passed. A temporary, identical depiction of his true mark emerged across the skin of his hand.
Yuer froze. The many, fine little hairs on the back of his neck rose up.
His Alikana mark had always contained two rings; the inner one was white for Light Echo, the outer one was green for Earth Echo. There had never been a third ring and certainly not an utterly black one. The Kumatani had always taught that marks are the Mahatir’s blessing to her chosen children. According to the Scared Records, those marks would never disappear, not even in death. They also would never change. Whichever blessing one was born with, it would forever remain the same.
Yuer stood rooted to his spot behind the dressing screen. The wheels of his mind turned ceaselessly. At this conjecture, he was faced with two gigantic issues of preposterous consequences.
Firstly, there had never been a black Echo mark in the recorded history of the Semani Empire. Of this matter, he was certain. After all, during his past life’s early days in the palace, he was further educated by the best Reznali scholars. He was even taught Echo-Control by the Rahadi themselves. He knew that even Dark Echo marks were never black. They manifested in a dark tone of purple and they were fairly easy to identify. The pitch black color of this additional outer ring was something that no one had ever attested to seeing before in any public written record. This meant two things, either this type of Echo truly never existed before or that it did but someone, either the Reznali clan or the Zaradate Temple, did not want the world to know of it.
However, what truly worried Yuer the most in all of this was the fact that he had an unknown attribute of the Divine Echo coursing through him at this very moment. For a once-blessed person, meaning a Listener, or a twice-blessed one, meaning an Alikana-marked, not being able to exercise their Echo regularly is a disaster waiting to happen. Unexercised Echo was dangerous because it accumulated. If it continued to remain suppressed within a blessed’s soul, eventually, it would erupt in the most violent and destructive of ways. Yuer was faced with a suppressed attribute of the Divine Echo that he had no knowledge of conjuring, exercising or controlling. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that soon enough, he would be living on numbered days.
Yuer let out a sharp, harsh laugh. The ugly sound resonated viciously inside the silent walls of the inner chamber. He lifted his face, boring his unkind gaze into the ceiling, “So this is your game? Give the pitiful mortal hope so that you can take it back the moment he believes it? You wish to toy with me? Is that it?”
He unconsciously slipped his hand into the back of his hair and began to claw at his own scalp. “No, you don’t get to do this. I will not die just yet. You will not get rid of me just yet.” The back of his scalp began to turn numb from the pain but Yuer was relentless. He kept scratching and scratching until blood started to ooze down his fingers, “I have many scores to settle and even if this whole thing turns out to be but a dream, I will still end it the way I wish to end it.”
He froze for a moment then stared down, unseeingly, at his own bloodied hand. His usually soft-spoken voice took a chillingly dangerous tone, the kind which could grow thorns and daggers, “This Empire needs to collapse on its axis. Jarak Reznali, his father, his mother, his palace, his people, Naer Ayaseen, his Dasiri, his rotten blood…each and every one of them must burn first; they must burn and pay back what they owe me. I must be repaid. Yes. I must be repaid!”
Hot, angry tears flooded Yuer’s vision. The lump which had formed within his throat since the moment he woke up to this new lifetime grew larger and larger. His chest ached as if it had jagged glass shards for ribs.
Anger…he was angry. He had forgotten what this felt like. He had forgotten what being alive felt like. Back then, even the feeling of suffering became this empty, blank drag of a thing. The more the world hurt him, the quieter he became. He became so quiet that even his very own being dissipated into silence. He had become a ghost; a husk of a dead, mute thing. But now, he could feel it all once again; the sting, the heat, the agony and the wailing of his once worn-out soul. The heat within the pain boiled and raged. Pain birthed anger and anger made his blood sing and dance within his veins. Anger, this armor of his, he would hold on to it until the debt that the world owed him was settled. By then, staying or leaving, none of that would matter anymore.
Yuer wiped his tears and the blood on his hand with his discarded old undergarments. He, then, put on a collar-long, black tunic with long, tight closed sleeves. The tunic stopped slightly past his knees, hiding underneath it a portion of matching tight-fitting pants. He offset the dark tones of his outfit with a slim golden sash. Lastly, Yuer slipped his feet into dark, knee-length leather boots and walked toward the copper basin of fresh water on his bedside table. He splashed his face with the shockingly cool water and dipped a small towel in the basin. He started to slow clean away the blood around his wounded scalp. He did every wipe meticulously and with infinite patience as if the disturbing outburst he had just had never took place at all.
After making sure that the wound was clean, Yuer invoked his Light Echo and applied a small heal to the gush. Lastly, he washed his hands one more time before wiping it dry with another towel.
Afterwards, Yuer walked to the bed and undid the covering. He rolled it several times until it began to resemble what might seem as a laying human form. He put the rolled covering on the bed and pulled several other coverings over it. He walked back several steps and stared at his handiwork. From his angle, it did look like someone, albeit a bit too skinny, might be sleeping on the bed. Good thing he had always had a scrawny and lanky stature so as long as no one drew close enough, they might be fooled. Next, he run to the chest from which he previously pulled the money pouch. He stuffed the small pouch into the pocket of his pants. After that, he went and made sure to shut the two windows within the room. Shutting the windows wasn't enough so he pulled at the dark silk curtains, draping them over both windows. He threw the dark cloak over his shoulders and surveyed the inner chamber one last time before quietly closing the doors behind him.
He touched the hood of his cloak closer to his face and took brisk, quick steps toward the backdoor of the residence. The backdoor was usually exclusive to the use of servants and at early morning, most servants were already busy in the western kitchen and scattered about the different courtyards. No one paid specific attention to who came and went through this door. Soon enough, Yuer reached his destination without any accidents. He immediately noticed that the assigned guard was nowhere to be seen and thought that Sakina might have something to do with his convenient absence. He glanced to his left and then to his right before swiftly slipping away through the ajar backdoor.
The moment he stepped a foot outside the Ayaseen residence, Yuer felt that he could breath more easily. He squinted his eyes at the open, clear autumn sky and smiled.
Yes, Esteemed Malhada. You just sit tight in your golden seat of honor and wait. Flesh for blood. A face for an eye. In this lifetime, I shall sink your sun to where it can never rise again and the days to come shall bear witness to that.
Yuer walked some distance away from the outer walls of the residence and waited.
Yuer wasn’t certain for how long he had been waiting but eventually, a simple, unmarked darkwood carriage trotted its way toward the backside of the residence. He didn’t wait for it to stop and instead, went and intercepted it. The driver was a middle-aged man with the most forgotable of faces. Yuer remarked that the man would make quite the formidable spy with such a naturally plain countenance. The driver threw him a brief glance and said nothing. Instead, he tipped his chin in the direction of Sakina, who was seated inside. Under the heavy tail of his cloak, Yuer invoked his Earth Echo. Several little stones rose from the ground and he used them to hop on the carriage. After settling within his seat. Yuer willed the little stones to crumple and be swallowed back into the earth. The carriage moved on.
Sakina saluted him with a bowed head then proceeded to whisper, “I took a little detour with the driver before coming here. I wanted to take a look at the main entrance doors. As expected, they were crowded with servants and guards. The residence’s official carriage was waiting, along with the side carriage. It looks like esteemed Dasi and esteemed Dasiri are departing together.”
Yuer nodded, “Good.” A strong tap interrupted their conversation. Yuer shot Sakina a look and instructed, “To the Zaradate Temple.” Sakina’s brows furrowed in askance before she curtly nodded. She pulled the carriage’s curtain aside, relayed their destination to the driver before quietly settling back into her seat.
Silence blanketed the inside of the rocking carriage before Yuer decided to break it, “You can ask, you know. I won’t admonish you for it.”
Sakina instantly retorted, “I wouldn't dare.”
“Sakina.” Yuer sighed.
“Yes, master?” The young girl bowed her head slightly as she answered. Her conduct was that of a perfectly subservient and unruffled servant.
“I’m giving you permission right now to ask me any number of questions. So, ask away.” She opened her mouth but Yuer cut her off, “You are not allowed to weasel your way out of this. I ordered you to ask me questions so that is what you will do.”
Sakina hesitated for a while. Her lips wordlessly mulled over the many questions she truly wanted to ask her young master. Yuer let her take her time. He knew well enough how difficult it was for Sakina to open up about her personal thoughts and feelings. She was raised in a way that made her hard-pressed to strip away all things that would distinguish her as a person of her own right. The Shefrin, in particular, were dogmatized into senseless deference the moment they learned to walk. Language that was spoken to them in tones other than orders and commands unsettled them. This injustice to their very dignity as living people was no fault of theirs.
Even the Zaradate Temple, for all their benevolent and flowery language, did not allow the shefrin into the ranks of their Kumatani. They also refused them conscription into the Helisari order. The entirety of the Semani Empire was build upon this notion of lessers and betters. It wouldn’t change now and it wouldn't change for many years to come. Yuer decided to change his line of thoughts and threw a glance at Sakina, only to find her brown gaze already fixed on him.
It was impossibly rare for Sakina to meet his gaze head on and not look away. The first true, genuine smile to ever paint his lips since he woke up to this new lifetime broke across Yuer’s face.
Seemingly encouraged by his good mood, Sakina mustered up her tenacity before asking, “Why the Zaradate Temple? Esteemed young master must know how strict esteemed Dasi is about your visits to the Temple. Aside from religious ceremonies and certain festivities, esteemed young master is prohibited from setting foot into the Temple.”
“True. But have you ever wondered why?” Yuer pressed.
Sakina seemed to think her own answer over before replying, “I believe esteemed Dasi is particular about your visits because he doesn’t wish for the Kumatani or the Helisari to influence your thoughts on certain matters.”
Yuer’s smile stretched into a satisfied smirk. He had always known how intelligent of a person Sakina was, even at such a young age. Truthfully, she was far more intelligent than he ever was. Of that, there had never been any questions. Her only fault was her strong attachment to the notion of loyalty. Had she abandoned him to his fate back then, she could have saved herself instead of dying in a pool of murky waters for the sake of a useless person such as himself. Yuer did not know to fix this fatal flaw of hers this time around and, truth to be told, he wasn’t sure he wanted to.
“And what certain matters would they be?” He looked at her, his stare testing how far she would allow him to take this line of conversation.
Sakina bit down her lip, hard. Her eyes were growing nervous.
Yuer supported his elbow on the carriage’s window and rested his chin in the palm of his hand. He slowly began to tap his fingers against his cheek, “Whatever you are thinking, you can say it. It is only you and I in here. The driver is an unblessed person so he cannot hear our conversation unless we want him to hear it.”
“Esteemed Dasi doesn’t wish for esteemed young master to visit the Temple because he…” She paused a bit before continuing, “Because he fears the retaliation of his imperial majesty, the Rezas.”
“So you knew.” Yuer chuckled, self-deprecation dripping off of his tone, “but then, you have always known. The idiot have always been me.”
“Esteemed young master has never been an idiot!” Sakina snapped, her previously nervous eyes burned with unprecedented indignation, “Your esteemed self has chosen to trust in the man who is your sire. Esteemed master is good-natured and kind. He doesn’t understand the murky, unclean waters of politics.”
Yuer blinked few times, taken aback by the intensity of Sakina’s unwarranted temper. He had always known that Sakina held great affection for him, mostly born out of gratitude and a sense of indebtedness. After all, he did save her life back in the day. She had been crawling through the streets of the Under-city, starved and on the verge of death. He took her in into his home in a whim and in the end; she did repay his impulsive kindness with her life.
Yuer looked at this wisp of a young girl and fondness spread its warmth through his worn-out heart. He had to remind himself that this Sakina before him was but a fourteen summers old little girl. She had yet to grow up, she had yet to blossom into the incredible woman he once knew. He and Sakina were a fated pair who had been through a lifetime of bitterness together. This time around, it was his turn to protect her. This time around, he would fulfill his debt.
Comments (0)
See all