. . . . . . . . . . .C A R T À. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[O G R I D A’S H O U S E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . He took a deep breath. His eyes reddened. What Era had just told him weighed on his shoulders? He felt them drop with depression. He was told that he was the key: the one who would decide whether the border remained closed or open. He thought about everything, not knowing when his simple life had become so complicated. To think how quickly things had changed.Era was still sitting next to him on the log they had sat on earlier. The moon had risen so high above their heads."Are you all right?" she asked, but Castar did not answer. He was silent, gazing into the distance. He was too absorbed in his thoughts to hear anything."Castar," she whispered.He heard her call, though it was not as loud as the first. He had nothing to say, wishing he could close his eyes, open them again, and begin life anew in a place where there w
It was overwhelming. He felt the tension. Several thoughts flooded his head, and he did not know which one to give his attention to. . .He asked himself so many questions at the same time, and some of these questions had no answer. He felt like he was losing his mind. . .He drew his eyelids over his eyeballs only for what seemed like a second. And when he opened them again, darkness filled his eyes. The moon was no longer in his field of vision, nor did he feel the cool night breeze brushing his skin. He knew what it was; he knew where he was; he was just waiting for confirmation.“Malak!”Yes, that. That voice was what he had been waiting for. He thought about how quickly it came over him. He could have sworn he had not even fallen asleep before it crept up on him.“It’s almost time!” It said to him.“Time for what? I do not know what you are talking about,” Castar thought and heard it.“You will know when the time comes, and your blood will guide you,” it said. Castar thought abou
The horse neighed when it saw Castar. He found this abnormal; he was not used to hearing that kind of sound from a horse's mouth when he tried to touch it. His hands ran through the horse's coat as he thought about the dream he had last night. He brought the horse out of the stall and packed up his things; a jar of water, the psychís and a loaf of bread.He thought of something; he thought of what the voice of darkness had said to him. He remembered he had made a deal with it. He did not know what he had to do, but he knew he had taken something on himself. What it was, he looked at it and could have figured it out without having to make that deal. He regretted it and wondered why he had made that decision.He was not sure if he was welcome to take a horse from Ogrida's stable, but he knew he had to. He could not make the journey he was about to make without a horse.He wanted to get away, away from everyone, realizing he was a danger to everyone around him. That was why he had woken
It was indeed a lonely ride. Why should it not be? It was dawn, only half the time. He did not care about the loneliness; he wanted it all to end. He wanted to stay away, and the only place he found isolated enough was at the top of the hill, a place where no one would go easily. He believed that was the best place to be if he wanted to stay away from the rest of the world.His eyes wandered the moment he heard his name from the distance. He knew who it was that was calling him. He realized Era was after him. She had not seen him, but she heard his horse's feet as they crunched across the rocky ground near to her. She must have ridden faster than Castar to close the distance between them in no time. Era was not ready to give up yet. She rode on, and when she knew Castar would never answer her call, she took a different route. She knew the land well enough; it was near to her home. The route she followed crossed Castar's route at the point he had not reached. Era reached the point wh
They approached the hill. They had spent a whole day crossing all the lands to the north. Now they had reached their goal. Their eyes tracked the mighty hill from its base until their gaze was lost in the sky. They were both nervous. They stopped talking the moment they were close enough to see the base of the mountain.Castar felt something on his upper arm, and when he looked up, he saw a bug fly away. He looked Era in the eye, and she shook her head. He had hinted at something she did not want to believe."No, it means nothing. It's just an insect wandering around," she said and he stopped."You know what it means. It's not a good sign," he said, and she interrupted him."What are you implying?" she asked. Of course, she knew what he was implying. She just did not want to give any room for negative thoughts."You can not pretend that everything is fine, because it's not," he said, and Era ignored him.She walked past him and started down the path. They reached the bottom of the hil
And there he was. Castar saw a man with a golden spear come up behind Baraka from nowhere and ram the spear through his back into his chest. Baraka coughed blood as he fell to his knees and let go of Era. Castar broke free from the position he was trapped in at that moment and ran to Era to see if she was alright. She only had bruises on her neck."Are you alright?" Callagh asked and Era nodded, massaging her neck."Who is that?" Castar whispered into Era's ear, referring to the man with the golden staff."Callagh," she said, and he heaved a sigh of relief. He pulled her back to her feet, and they both watched as he plunged the spear into Baraka's chest for the second time. The light in Baraka's eyes went out, and they resumed their normal color. His mouth was open and a yellowish smoke escaped from his mouth. Callagh knelt beside him and pulled his eyelids shut.Era walked up to him and looked down at Baraka's body."He's dead, is not he?" she asked, and he nodded."That means Castar
The reddening of the eyes killed the green light in his eyes permanently. It was a change. A kranian who had red eyes is one that had taken a soul. It is a significant aspect of coming of age.Malak smelled the blood on the blade and smiled. His eyes were no longer the usual shade of brown - his normal eye colour - but had turned red like Baraka's (when he was not hosting). Malak was in full control. His grief was gone, the pain, the guilt, the conscience, everything was gone.He knelt beside Baraka's body and placed two fingers on his forehead, reviving him. It seemed Callagh only killed the soul Baraka was hosting and not Baraka's own soul. A Kranian who was hosting another soul would have needed to be killed twice.Baraka opened his eyes and his wounds were healed. The psychís glowed as Baraka sat up, and the red light in his eyes was rekindled."Malak! You are now worthy to be called Varata's son," Baraka said to him and Malak nodded."I am sorry you lost your brother's soul, but
Malak embraced the man standing before him in contempt. He could not help but see the resemblances between him and Varata, and it made him wonder how he ever called Aldéris his father. Their height was exactly the same, the jaw, and the nose were the most significant features their faces had in common. He looked at Varata and he can only see himself aging to become the man standing in his front.The sounds of the whistling winds had not stopped. The dust, swirling, and the clouds covering the rising sun. The dawn had just made its way out in a flash of time, even as it took its normal course, the events that occurred might have probably fastened things to everyone present at Kin hill."My son, my true son," Varata said to Malak and his voice trembled. His voice was cold and threatening, even as he was speaking to his beloved son. That was his happiest moment, and he was extremely joyful, but that was Varata. He could not have sounded happier.Varata was the most feared Kranian in his