Balance of Death Read online

  Kredulus re-adjusts himself in his seat sitting up straight; “Daeva… Kentro we go back quite a ways I take no issue with you assuming the role of Kentro, and I am loyal as ever, so of course I would not take issue with any order or change of regime. That being said, just as we were discussing earlier, fear can be a weakness.”

  “I understand and appreciate your words good friend, however, I consider this a measure of direct need. I do not fear having to replace or vanquish entire radian outfits if necessary, but I refuse to be given anything less than one hundred percent support and respect from my Radians. The lack of coordination has had a negative effect even under Treggin. If I wish to continue and grow I must improve this now.” Daeva quickly retorts.

  “Fair enough. War against Radians do you see it coming to that?” Kredulus replies.

  Daeva not interested in engaging in speculation with Kredulus; “For some perhaps, I am not that familiar with all the dealings overseen by my Radians’. Regardless, it is good to have your express support and I think you should move forward with Azriel. Keep me informed and I shall ensure that we avoid any major missteps from above.” Daeva commands.

  Kredulus is pleased with his answer even though twenty men from his outfit especially strong men is a significant loss. The syndicates do most of the leg work, and they obey the circle out of fear mostly, so it is unlikely he will need the men. Still he can’t afford to be viewed as vulnerable.

  This does present an opportunity to leverage his loyalty for something he has long sought; “I appreciate that and will keep you up to date. In light of all these changes I would ask for something that would help me continue to grow with you Kentro. I would ask to be sired.” Kredulus’ requests. Knowing that Treggin was very meticulous in deciding who will become a vampire in the circle, and even going so far as to control vampirism wherever the circle has influence.

  Daeva is not surprised by Kredulus request and the timing makes sense. However, it wasn’t that long ago that he received the trait and learned the techniques of a vampire. There is a hint of doubt as to whether he could properly sire Kredulus. He is now the oldest vampire in the Circle of Śmierć. Not wanting to show any of this and appreciating Kredulus’ support decides to indulge him; “I can do that. After I finish my travels and speak with the rest of the Radians I will return and make you.” Daeva asserts.

  Kredulus now with a clear mouth nods his head in respect; “It means more than you could know. I have made many great strides with alchemy, but securing my conscious energy has always eluded me.“ Kredulus pauses for a moment fixated on his armored left hand, he clenches his fist and continues ”With Azriel disobeying Thatos, Amneka moving into other lands, their universities following; it seems as if the paradigm is changing before us.” Kredulus smirks exposing his pessimistic attitude towards the legends of the days of old “if you believe in that sort of thing.” he adds.

  Daeva recognizes his own ambitions in Kredulus; “I am no fool, but it does remain true that to an infant I am a god, however, give the infant time to grow and teach him to compose Soten or utter the words of the mage and he may surpass me.” Daeva says as he leans forward.

  Kredulus interested in furthering his relationship and showing his worth to his soon to be maker. “I know you will be busy aligning the Circle’s purpose. After such tasks we should reconvene; give me the chance to share with you some of the amazing things I have learned in my years of smuggling out of the realm of Anteous.” Kredulus says.

  Daeva had been busy with Thoraza and helping Treggin secure the alliance with Ruvaen that he had lost touch with Kredulus in the past couple years, however, his work with alchemy has always been cutting edge and quite powerful. “Of course, I am planning to meet with the last of the Radians in no more than sixteen days. We’ll talk shortly there-after. Just remember to stay focused on these deals with Azriel, don’t underestimate him. And, inform me before every and any transport” Daeva responds.

  “Yes, my Kentro, is there anything else you’d ask of me?” Kredulus replies.

  Daeva eager to move the conversation to the last point. He wants to share with each Radian his desire to grow the Circle’s power not just financially or politically, but individually. If his desire to surpass the traditional limits of mortals was a smoldering fire before, Asta’s level of strength has certainly fueled it to a blaze. “I want to let all my Radians know that the legends that were mocked and tossed aside as myth will now be made real under the Circle’s hand. I have seen power only spoken about in legend. “Daeva responds before taking a moment to stare into Kredulus’ eyes forcing him to take heed of his words. “Also, Amneka is trying to secure the central lands, and that will give us the opportunity to approach the great clans. I also have set my sights on other Realms. For now that is all that needs to be known as I take on more initiatives I will coordinate with the relevant radians.” Daeva say’s careful not to divide Kredulus’ focus too much, fearful Kredulus will confuse his intent and begin moving on that misinterpretation.

  Kredulus’ interest is peaked. What has emboldened Daeva to bring up such things? Is there even greater power available to mortals? Has Daeva been working further with the clans? “What power have you witnessed? More powerful than Yourself, Treggin, and Aeshma?” Kredulus questions.

  Daeva laughs and stands up grabbing the bone and tears off one last bite of meat before tossing it back on the table.” Far more my Radian- far more.” Daeva answers as he leaves the room. He makes his way past Kredulus. “I’ll be in touch.”Daeva says just before he exits the room.

  Kredulus stunned by the notion of such power, is now left with the task of reconciling how power of this magnitude could be possible for mortals.

  Daeva would over the next couple days make his way across the various regions of Prósdesi speaking with his Radians securing his power as Kentro. Saving his most challenging meeting with Lucio Modica for last. His region of operation is the most lucrative, affording him the strongest outfit in the circle of Śmierć. He even has a few made Enforcers. Outside of some of the Kentro’s Enforcers there are no other vampires in the organization. The meeting with Lucio weighs heavy on his mind as he is ready but not eager to go to war with him. It would put his plans to progress back quite a bit. He will force Lucio to comply by leaving him no alternate opportunity for survival Weighing his might he has Asta, her death dealers, and the support of the other Radians.

  Chapter 4

  Near Akardos sea at the heart of the Qilong clan: stands Qilong city. Rolling hills filled with lush grass and open plains for as far as the eyes can see. The only anomaly in the landscape breaking the conformity of the land is the giant mesa that Qilong sits atop. Its sides are completely vertical and even with negative angles at some points. The colossal plateau is so wide when standing at the base its cylindrical shape isn’t conceivable. The summit, where the city sits, is disguised by the clouds. The only feasible path up the giant mountainous plateau would be the small winding path circling it.

  The unapproachable monolithic plateau mirrors the legends of the clans. An order of supremely powerful monks. Who have dedicated themselves to the teachings of Lady Kutara, and the study of Soten?

  A group, returning from collecting rare resources, make their way towards the path going up to Qilong city. They are walking along a dirt road cut through the tall grass and rolling landscape. With large wagons pulled by mighty creatures greater in size than an elephant that look like rhinoceroses with hair and several smaller horns on the front of their head accompanying the main two at the tip of their rugged nose-Ngombe is the name given by locals.

  The front creature is led by a Vikaman- an incredibly tall humanoid beast with a slim frame, four arms, and an elongated face. Two horns starting from his ears going down past his jaw and curving upward. Making him almost look like a horned insect.

  A man separate from the group walks off to the side with a look of peace on his face as he gracefully makes his way through the tall grass. He is wearing
a robe and long wraps on his feet going up to just below his knee the material wrapped on his calves is held on by a type of rope spiraling his leg.

  Suddenly the calm of the moment is broken by the loud shriek of a creature. From over one of the hills in the distance a large four-legged beast clears the crest. It is a fierce monster with only moss like fur at the top of its back and quills coming from the peak of its shoulder blades down to where its neck meets its head. It has asymmetrical horns jutting haphazardly outward from its skull, the beast’s snout is lined with an exoskeleton of sorts. As it spots the group and the ngombe in the distance it lets out a deep bawl, its mouth opens exposing blunt jagged teeth. As the bawl intensifies a second row of teeth behind the blunt ones jut downward smaller in size but terrifyingly sharp.

  The Vikaman grabs the horns of the ngombe as it reacts in fear to the monster in the distance. As he attempts to calm the creature he yells back; “Sonkissa! Sonkissa! set the anchors.” All the other people and a few other Vikaman scramble to the top of the carriages and pull a large lever connected to the harness that binds the carriage to the ngombe. The lever touches two crystals together causing four large arms with pointed tips attached to the ngombe to snap with immense force downward their spines penetrate deep into the earth. As they sink into the ground fans jut out from the spines into the earth increasing the surface area buried in the dirt.. The ngombe rustle and howl in fear but are unable to unearth the arms holding them securing both the carriages and them. The others bring giant wraps of grass to the front of the ngombe in an attempt to feed and calm the creatures.

  Meanwhile the Sonkissa in the distance is racing towards the group. The man in robes leaps into the air his graceful leap barely disrupts the ground beneath him. He lands between the group and the Sonkissa as it hurdles towards them with more aggression than agility; the robbed man performs eðlilegt Soten. Or simply known as Ekten which is specific to your chakra; only other members of your blood relation can perform the same eðlilegt soten-ekten as you.

  The robed man composes various hand signs too fast for the eye to see. Each sign he weaves focuses, controls, and manipulates his chakra in specific ways. As he finishes he brings his hands together chakra seeps out of his skin forming an almost fluid bubble of bright blue chakra around him. He pulls his hands apart and two arms of chakra protrude out of the bubble. The sonkissa is only about twenty feet away it drives its antlers into the earth tearing and destroying the ground. It’s six eyes lock onto the robed man. The robed man’s chakra arms grab the front of the sankissa. The force pushes the man backward. He swiftly composes a Soten with his one free hand and twists his back foot the earth around his feet erupts and dust shoots up instantly stopping the momentum of the sonkissa. He proceeds to grab the sonkissa’s head lifting it into the air as it struggles savagely contorting its immense weight and strength. Holding the sonkissa in the air the man clenches his free hand into a fist and thunders the free chakra arm forward striking the bottom of the sonkissa propelling it backward through the air. It collides with the ground and all of its weight and momentum reconcile with the earth digging huge canals and holes as it rolls backward until the force is reduced enough for the Sonkissa’s weight to halt the forward progression.

  The sonkissa scrambles to its feet. Disorientated it shakes its head and shoots a gust of air and debris out of its large nostrils. As the sonkissa regains itself it looks back at the robed man-who puts his palms together at his chest calmly before facing both his palms downward and slowly pushing towards his feet. As he does this the chakra form around him dissipates. The sonkissa glances between him and the group before letting out another deep bawl exposing both rows of teeth. With a shake of its head it runs off into the distance.

  After a moment the air of violence settles. The sun against the tall grass and soft rolling hills fills the atmosphere with peace once again. “Setgaith!” One of the onlookers by the carriages yells out as he begins clapping. The rest of them slowly begin to contract this attitude and add to the ambient clapping.

  Setgaith dusts his robes off and walks back towards the chain of carriages. As he gets closer the cheering settles in anticipation of his address to the group. “Take rest here, drink, eat, and feed the ngombe. Ready yourselves to begin the trek up to Qilong city.” Setgaith say’s with confliction. Even with the success of the mining and material collection his inability to further his understanding of Soten during this trip leaves him disheartened. The path up the mountain seems more laborious than usual. Time between journeys used to be a reprieve and an anticipated event it now stands as a hollow version of its past expectations. Setgaith’s eagerness instead focused on new journeys in hopes of redeeming his failures.

  A while later the group packs up their food and various items to complete the final leg of their journey. As the sun lowers in the sky; the group moves with excitement ready to return home. One of the Vikaman stands towering over the humans around him he catches a view of Setgaith sitting in the grass gazing at the wavy slopes on the horizon. This isn’t the first time he has noticed Setgaith’s distance during their travels: he is concerned and confused by it.

  Their trip was lucrative; they got all the materials requested even some extra. With no casualties along the way. An impressive feat given their numbers and the dangers of the swamp land they were in. The vikaman shirks his share of the clean up and steps over his human companions-bent over picking up various chairs, blankets, and meals after their break- towards Setgaith. Little notice is taken as over the past couple months of their journey they have become familiar with each other and shared equally in all tasks. Not to mention everyone’s eagerness to get home has put an emphasis on getting things ready for their final movement. As the vikaman approaches Setgaith. “I just wanted to say that I am glad you were able to join us. I think we may not have faired as well had you not been there. Our complete lack of casualties is thanks to your guidance and protection. Thank you.” Nich extends his appreciation. His deep voice breaking periodically, an accent from the nature of his native language.

  Setgaith contemplating his words quickly realizes that his actions expose his discontent. The idea of his thoughts being visible however partial is uncomfortable for him. In an attempt to set a different tone he smiles and nods his head; “Certainly, thank you for your words Nich, and I am lucky to have been gifted such a coordinated group. Everyone seems to take on responsibility and forgo the temptations of laziness.” Setgaith replies.

  Nich notices the disparity between his mood and his words; “I don’t want to pry but over the past few days you have seemed distant. Is there something wrong?” Nich inquires. Setgaith not interested in engaging him with his concerns. In his experience when a kind being asks such a question they are usually ill prepared to reconcile any real issues. Rather they are acting out of obligation to intervene from either some socially accepted paradigm or subconscious desire to offer their concern.

  “I have just been deep in thought regarding my return and things needing my attention. I am quite happy to be back.” Setgaith responds in an attempt to soothe Nich’s concerns.

  Nich not fully convinced, but is hopeful that everything is okay. “I am sure you will be very busy. I’ll leave you to your thoughts.” Nich concludes. Setgaith nods his head in recognition before Nich turns and walks back towards the group.

  The following day in the Qilong city Setgaith makes his way to the clan’s assembly chamber. Donned with a fresh set of robes, he daydreams about where to go next to further his Soten as he walks through the bustling city noticeably more quaint than the captivating Thoraza. He approaches a dome structure that looks like it was expertly carved from a large rock formation. The curve of the dome is smooth and consistent only broken up by a chimney at the peak and a ledge. Around the outside monuments of past clan sages sitting in the lotus position. Each one displaying a hand sign, together the various statues complete the Soten to achieve metaphysical communication.

  He makes his way into
the building; inside there is a large fire pit at the center with marble like stone chairs around the outside expertly crafted with linen to conform to the users body. Only two others are in the room, One of which is an authoritative robbed man with a more serious demeanor. His robes seem more deliberate: as if their form is more concerned with exhibiting discipline rather than providing comfort. He is Thromb, sage of the Shanshe clan. The other man is a cleric wearing different robes of very high quality black crystal and greenish gold metal fragments woven in to amplify chakra and natural energy with a decorative half cloak. He is an emissary to Thatos one of his representatives placed within the clans as part of an agreement made a millennia ago. Thatos places clerics amongst societies throughout Prodesi to secure his interests. However, any society or organization that crosses realms into other gods territoires are off limits due to treaties between the gods over each realm. Notably Amneka just began coordinating in other realms Thatos surprisingly did not lash out at them for this and instead simply withdrew his cleric.

  Setgaith greets the two politely before taking a seat. Thromb glares towards Setgaith “are we all ready” he asks. Both the cleric and Setgaith nod their heads. All three men sit and compose a Soten before closing their eyes. The Soten they are using is a rare one that focuses on manipulating conscious energy considered a transcendental Soten commonly called scendental Soten. Most scendental Soten is outlawed by Thatos, however, some basic few are used.