Greetings All
What a great start to the week. Horrible project is gone, one garden book done, starting another, and have a request to do another. Things are going great. I'm even taking a break today to do some of my own writing.
This is a continuation of the scenario revealed in Part 26 last week. So, be sure to read it before you continue!
Saasha squeezed her eye closed and tried to bury the memories that suddenly surged forward of her own torture. No one made eye contact with her until she looked up again. “What of the system in her body?”
“It is a parasitic machine that makes use of her internal life energy to create vast quantities of energy. I am not sure I can even begin to fathom the mathematical equation needed to work out what even a square inch of the lattice could be in terms of energy output.”
“When she was having her medical did you see the bite mark close to her neck?” asked Bolx.
“I saw, must have hurt.” Said Aastii.
“She nearly died. Blood loss was more than what should have been lost by someone of her size. She lost the lattice marks from here to here.” Bolx held onto the baby as he got up and pointed out the range of lattice that had been used. “The machine will not let her die.”
“There was a note in her medical history about being impaled as well.” Said Kessa as he flipped through the data pad again. “Roughly the same amount of lattice was used. I think Bolx is right. The machine will not let her die or at least not until it has done what it needed to do.”
“And what exactly is that?” asked Brucel. “All I am seeing is that she was designed by humans to be some kind of weapon. Which she is and she is dangerous.”
“I don’t disagree with you.” Said Kessa. “The thing that you must keep in mind is that the technology used inside this girl is not of human origin.”
“Where did the humans get it from?” asked Mertz.
“I think you are all missing the point here.” Said Gala as he looked over the hologram. “The twins are saying the humans had nothing to do with the creation of what Saita is. And going on about why the old human king attacked us can only lead me to believe that the Dekai are involved in this.”
He then looked at Saasha and said. “And I suspect you may have known for some time about their involvement.”
The table looked at their Queen and she nodded her head. “It was a suspicion I had, and it has been confirmed. All of this was orchestrated by a Dekai that goes by the name of Edzeeker. I have had Gatex look into him, but he is difficult to catch unawares.”
The Kai laughed and then pointed to Saasha. “You bring us this boy as proof of time travel and then you drop an ancient name. Your Majesty, what are you trying to do? Convince us that you have finally reached an age that you should no longer lead or that this Fell Dragon is capable of twisting time and space to do what? What are you trying to convince us of?”
Saasha looked to Bolx who sighed and said. “Edzeeker was in my time. He did this to my Saita as a way to fight the Fell Dragon, but he deemed her a failure and left. I suspect that is why Saita from this time was taken at the age of three to start the experiments and prepare her body to accept the machine.”
“Absolutely laughable.” Snorted the Kai. “Time travel. Dead Dekai. A parasitic machine! What next?”
“The wasting disease.” Added Bolx. “You will start getting reports of it soon. People who seemingly are carrying on with their everyday activities drop and waste away in a few days. Then the agents of the Fell Dragon come. Beasts encased in metal armour that draws power from people with their claws and teeth. Not even your armour will save you.”
The Kai fell silent, having turned pale white, before saying. “Is there a cure for this disease?”
“Not from my time.”
“If I may.” Stated Aastii as he pointed to the hologram. “If what Bolx says is true then Saita is the perfect source of power for this Fell Dragon.”
“Then she is attracting it?” asked the soldier.
“Yes.” Said Saasha. “She has been attracting it since the first component was placed in her body. Jethron told me about this.”
Saasha spent the next few minutes informing everyone of what her adopted son had told her. Everyone’s faces were growing more and more grave as she continued.
“There is nothing we can do. The damage of the Fell Dragon trying to force its way into this universe, this timeline has been done and there is no one to blame.”
“Am I going to have to be the bad guy here?” asked Brucel.
The table looked at him in confusion. He sighed heavily and said. “Would the Fell Dragon still come here if she were to be disposed of?”
The table fell silent and looked to Saasha for some kind of answer to the question. She looked to Bolx and asked. “Well?”
“We were already suffering the destruction of our timeline when my Saita had this done to her. I think if the Fell Dragon has made up its mind to come here and feast it will come whether she is alive or dead.”
Saasha nodded her head. “It is as Jethron said. This thing needs power, the more power the longer it sleeps. The longer it sleeps the more universes that get created and when it wakes the more sources it can make use of before it gets to rest again.”
“Then what do we do about the girl.” Said Gala. “We can hardly hold her responsible for her mad father…”
“The Humans have banished her from their lands. This is why we present her as Saita and not Saita Karesh.” Said Saasha. “And I am glad you share my view. The girl is absolutely innocent in everything. The Kai were framed. The Humans tricked. And between all of that, we have a weapon inside a damaged human being that has no idea why this was done to her. What are we going to do?”
Silence seemed to drag on until Jek raised a hand. “My Queen, if I may?”
Somewhat concerned at what the old man wanted to say Saasha sighed and allowed him to have the floor. Jek stood up and pointed to the hologram. “This human is young. You mentioned a non-Saith on the Guard. I believe this is a good move on your part. If she has had some training as a fighter then she should be an excellent addition to the Guard, but I would keep her particularly close to you. I heard that she is an S-class fighter, she may not be the best person to place within the Guard in terms of their planetary duties but as an honorary position, it could bolster relations with the humans. Politically the move is a good one. It does, however, require her and the Guard to agree to this.”
“I have no qualms about training her in our ways. She will need to work on her language skills though.” Said Larden. “I agree that she may not gel well with the others of the Guard, especially when they find out she was granted to position to curry favour with a race they just finished waging war with. Many people are still very angry. There were many deaths on both sides. She will not be treated with any respect unless she earns it.”
“Agreed General.” Said Jek. “With her under our watchful eye, we can maybe steer this battle in our favour. Set a trap of some kind.”
Saasha nodded her head and looked to Bolx who was shaking his head. “What is the problem Bolx?”
“She has no wish to stay here.” He said sadly. “She is fearful of making connections with people because every single time she had she has been hurt. She wants to go back to being an S-class fighter under the Dreg Lord Chaka.”
“Well then, you need to find a way to make her stay.” Said Silens with a grin.
“She does not feel for me what my Saita did. And I refuse to play with her emotions so that you can keep her on a leash.”
“That is not what I am saying.” Said Jek. “Let me rephrase my thoughts.”
He thought for a second and said. “Don’t offer her the job of being part of the Royal Guard. She clearly has seen through that ploy already. Offer her a home, a family, and people she can trust and rely on. Make her feel welcome so that she doesn’t want to leave.”
“That is rather nice of you,” said Saasha. “Surprising but nice.”
“I am getting old; it is no longer time to be stubborn when I only have a few years left.”
“Well, where she goes is not entirely up to me anymore.” Said Saasha. “I gave the Human King an ultimatum. Either they take her back, which is something she desperately needs, or I make use of her.”
There was some discussion around the table, but most nodded their heads solemnly. Even the Kai looked like he was done talking.
“Is there anything else that needs to be said before we call this addressed and set it aside?” asked Saasha.
“One.” Said Siar.
“Yes?”
“Let me talk to the recruits about her. Gauge their reaction. Have Larden and Mertz do the same with their Guard. I understand the need for a political move on your part but if your own soldiers are unhappy this is something that will be an absolute hell of Saita when it doesn’t need to be.”
“Agreed.” Said Larden and Mertz.
“Fine.” Saasha nodded her head. “Anything else?”
Silence followed her question.
Saita had been helping Danna with the cooking when Larden came home. He seemed to view the two of them for a significant amount of time before hugging Saita and whispering in her ear. “I am so sorry this happened to you.”
He then went to hug his wife and clearly said something to her as well because she only nodded her head and left the kitchen. He then sat down and tapped the table, indicating that he wanted Saita to sit across from him. She wasn’t sure what was happening, but she did as he bade. He seemed to be gathering his thoughts before he said. “Saasha had a rather serious meeting today where you took up a large portion of it.”
“Am I being disqualified?” she asked softly.
“Not at all.” He smiled a little. “No, we were discussing the time after the Games.”
“I already told Bolx. I don’t want to be on the Guard.”
“I understand that.” Larden raised his hands. “Saasha understands that. We all do but there is a crisis brewing and we need all the allies we can get.”
“This is a political move…”
“Just listen. I am not asking anything of you, I have no right to.” Said Larden gently. “I just want you to hear me out. My mother has asked your King…”
“He is not my king.”
“Your cousin then.”
“Banished remember?” she said bitterly.
Larden sighed and rubbed at a brewing headache. “Saasha has asked Lord Pura to take you back.”
“Why?” she exclaimed. “They don’t want me there.”
“If that is the case then she has offered you a home here.”
“But why? I am nothing!” Saita was actually starting to get angry by all this.
“Do you really believe that? That you are nothing?” Larden looked at her sadly. “That you have no worth?”
Saita remained silent and looked at the table before her. She missed her family and all she wanted to do was go home but she was barred. Being offered another home just brought her misery as she knew how easily people could go back on their word.
“Saita.”
Larden’s voice cut through her thoughts, and she eventually looked up.
“Do you truly believe you are worth nothing?”
“I was brought into a family to be an heir and when a son was born, I was discarded. I was no longer needed. I wasn’t worth keeping around.” She hissed, revealing far more bitterness than what she had intended to.
“Let me show you something.” Larden got to his feet. “Come on.”
Saita sighed but followed the warrior as he made his way through to a room in the back of the house. He grunted as he pushed the door open with a squeak of protest.
“I clearly haven’t been in here in a while.” He muttered as he reached for the light switch.
The room flooded with light and the first thing that Saita saw was that everything had been covered with dust cloths and they were covered with dust. The room smelt musty and likely hadn’t been opened in some time. Larden made his way to a wall that was covered by a white sheet, and he pulled it down with a cough as dust went everywhere.
“Urgh, Dad would be unimpressed that I have allowed this room to get in this state.” Larden swatted at the dust and then indicated that he wanted Saita to come to him. “Come look here.”
Tentatively the young woman came to stand next to him as he pointed to the tree painted on the wall. The paint was old and starting to chip, but it showed signs of being restored in certain places and even additions of new branches here and there.
“This is my father’s line.” Said Larden proudly as he set his hand on the tree trunk. “Regius Cohortis.”
“That was your father’s name?”
“No, that was the name of the first of the Royal Guard. His name is Kai for Royal Guard. He was the founder of our family and the reason the Saith survived against the Kai.” Larden traced a name at the base of the tree that Saita couldn’t read. “Father would tell me stories about him when I was growing up with Jethron before…well before we lost him.”
Larden pointed to the top of the tree. “There is my line, that long branch over there. Usually, the Royal Guard family kept to a single child, maybe two, I was the first to have so many. I wouldn’t mind another honestly but would have to convince Danna. There is Bahn, my eldest, he has a daughter who is in the Academy right now and looks exactly like my mother. There is Sash, likely she will never settle down, knowing her she’ll likely adopt like my mother was. There is Truhan, I have no idea what he is planning with his life, but I heard from Jethron that Amara is still smitten by him. Perhaps they will decide to join to add Jethron’s line to the Royal Guard. Would be nice, no idea if they will be able to have children though.”
“Why are you showing me all of this?” asked Saita.
“To show you that no one is nothing.” Larden brought his hand down to the first name. “This man grew up in an age when Saith were nothing more than tools, slaves. His life was worth nothing, but this is what he produced.”
Saita looked over the thousands of names that littered the wall. Many branches were short but towards the top, they spread out fully and Larden’s smile was huge. He clearly had great pride in this painting.
“No one person is nothing.” He said softly. “There will be days that you feel that way, but it isn’t true. Every individual plays a part in life, one way or another.”
He set a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “I can’t even begin to understand what you have been through, Saita. I don’t think anyone can, but you have a heart that pumps blood and a brain that thinks. You are alive and you have a purpose. What that purpose is we can only suspect with what is happening around us. If you want to return to the Dreg Lord, I understand. There is comfort in being around familiarity, but can you grow from that?”
He then waited for her answer, and she mumbled. “No.”
“You were a princess, and now you are a fighter, was that for the better or worse?”
“I don’t know.”
“Something is coming Saita and we don’t know what it is. You contain a weapon inside of you and I am not going to pussyfoot around the fact that it can and will be used. Whether you are here, with the humans, or with the Dreg Lord. You have no control over that. What you do have control over right now is to decide what you are going to do. So, what are you going to do?”
She remained silent but continued to look at the tree. Larden tapped the name at the bottom and said softly. “This is you. Something great can come from you in the future but only if there is a future to be had. So, whether you take my mother up on her offer, the human king reclaims you, or you strike out on your own, you are the one that has to shape your future. And I wish you had the time to figure all this out for yourself but there just isn’t any time left for us. Worlds are dying and disappearing, and this Fell Dragon is coming, and it is coming for you. You are a source of power that it wants.”
Saita looked at him in horror, but he continued. “Many on the council want to hide that fact from you but I will not. You cannot make an educated decision if you do not know what hardships lie in store for you. You are what the Fell Dragon wants and even if you removed yourself from the equation, it would change nothing. It is coming to destroy everything we know and love. So, no matter where you go you will need to fight. Stay, go, it doesn’t matter, what matters is that one day you will come face to face with this thing and the decisions you made to get to that point are what is going to determine if you, and by proxy, us, survive. You are a keystone in all of this Saita, you are not nothing.”
He didn’t add to that but rather reached for an old photo frame and looked at it for a few minutes before setting it down with a sigh. He then looked to Saita with a half-smile. “I think that speech would have made my dad proud.”
He looked at the upper branches and added. “Fight in the Games Saita. Enjoy them with a light heart but know that we are facing an enemy and we can use all the allies we can get. Mother thinks having you are our backs would be beneficial but the only one who has a say in that is you.”
Larden, laying down some hard truths there. Which reminds me, I still need to finish writing the story for how the Royal Guard family came into being. Nice long update for all of you to get through the week! See you for the next update on Friady!
For those of you just joining us, please note that this the third book in the Fell Dragon series. Follow this link to read the two earlier books:
Fell Dragon Book 1
Fell Dragon Book 2
Start of Book 3 here
As the series continues, it will combine with another book series I wrote. To avoid confusion about what is happening, introductory chapters will be introduced separately so that you don't have to be lost. However, these chapters will contain spoilers. You can find these chapters here:
Races Explained
Banishment
Royal Guard
Saasha’s Direct Family
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Haven't read the other parts yet? Follow these handy links:
Part 26>>You are Here>>Part 28