Chronicles of Efia: Dawn of the Desert King

Chapter Twelve

Fulbright turned his body toward Rahnka and looked to see if she was serious. The firelight bounced feverishly across her face, illuminated her unwavering gaze. Shiou's face tightened, his lips pressed so firmly together that only a thin line defined his mouth. There was silence between Rahnka and Shiou, but their eyes were fully set on one another.

"It's alright, Shiou," Umar replied. "I think Rahnka can handle it now."

Shiou blinked and exhaled. He cleared his throat. "What I am about to tell you was passed down to me by my father, who learned it from his father, Shamo Nu, firstborn of Xia. He spoke of it as if it all was just a dream." Fulbright put down the wineskin and leaned in. Shiou sensed his eagerness. "Do you know of the story of the Valley, your high--I mean Faisahl?"

"No one speaks of the Valley in Ackerley except to tell us to stay away from it. Go on," Fulbright motioned with his hand.

Shiou squinted his eyes, thinking of how to start. He stared hard at the fire, turning it to a dismal green. Then with a wave of his hand, Shiou snuffed out the fire until there was nothing but embers and stars glowing in the dark sky. The tone of Shiou's voice sank deeply until it was as dark as the night. Fulbright peered into the mound of embers and noticed as Shiou began to speak, the cinders came alive to his words, creating images of his story.

"Before the dawn of Efia," began Shiou, "our forefathers, the firstborn, belonged to the memory of another world, another time very different from ours. Their world was dying from the inside out, a demise brought by Kos, the Great Shadow. He had wreaked disaster upon the lands, a disaster none in our world have ever experienced."

"Many were enticed by Kos and his many forms, whether out of fear or out of greed for power. There were some who resisted his power, but were destroyed because of their loyalty to preserving the Light. They knew that Llewell would avenge them some day, so they clung to that hope even as they met their fate. Still there were others who showed no allegiance to anyone but themselves. They, in my grandfather's ancient tongue, were called jenha-ni, the heartless ones."

Shiou lifted and moved his hands around to manipulate the fire. The vivid flames contorted into a sphere filled with armies of light and dark colliding in battle. Fulbright gazed into the flame and watched as a beast-like shadow opened his mouth and devoured the dark armies. Suddenly, the shadow began to grow.

"As the old world was fading, there was a great battle! Kos had cultivated a mass following for his own personal advancement and the dark armies that had pledged their allegiance to him had served their purpose. Kos feasted on his own army to gain more strength and power, and they were no more. After he laid waste to Llewell's army, Kos stretched out his shadow over the jenha-ni and began to consume them."

"First, he consumed their forms, but before he could consume their souls, Llewell separated Kos from his power so that he could not fully devour the jenha-ni. He bound Kos' form to the Valley, trapping the jenha-ni inside of his shadow. Then Llewell sealed Kos' power inside of the moon of the former world."

The fire died, revealing the darkness of the sky once again. Shiou stretched out his finger to upward and continued to speak. "If you look just past the darkness of the heavens, you will see something darker still, like a hole in the heavens. That is where the firstborn say Kos' power lies dormant."

Everyone looked up into the starry sky that kissed the sandy dunes toward the horizon. Amaris was waning in light, preparing for the harvest season of Jirro. Just past the harvest moon was what appeared to be hole in the sky. Rahnka gasped as she pointed to the spot where she could see the dark anomaly. She returned her gaze to Shiou.

"So," Rahnka replied slowly. "Your grandfather is a remnant of this 'old world'?"

"That is what I have been told," Shiou nodded wistfully.

"But what about the jenha-ni?" asked Rahnka.

"In a minute, olin-na! Do not spoil the story with your questions!" Shiou hushed Rahnka. She gave a silent apology with her raised palms and then twisted one hand in a locking motion over her mouth. Shiou continued.

"The jenha-ni , trapped inside of Kos, were now only exposed to Kos' merciless darkness until they could be awakened by the light."

"You mean there are people inside the Valley?" Fulbright wondered. "People from another lifetime?"

Shiou solemnly nodded his head. "Or so I have been told."

"Wait," Rahnka began. "My mother used to sing me to sleep with what I always thought to be just a lullaby:

"And while they slumber in darkened dreams
until what seems like eternity,
their souls will one day be redeemed
when they taste the morning light."

A small flame returned to the embers, casting shadows on everyone's faces. Dimples pricked the sides of Shiou's cheeks as he smiled at Rahnka's understanding. "You are right, olin-ni. The bards of Peor wrote that song many centuries ago to tell of the promises of Llewell."

"But if it is the light of Llewell that must redeem them, how come they are still bound to the Valley? Can't Llewell just save them?" Fulbright asked. To him, Llewell seemed as though he was just as heartless.

"Llewell already saved them," Rahnka answered slowly, still forming her response.

"How?" Fulbright scoffed.

"Llewell bound Kos so that he could not completely destroy them. But in doing so their souls were bound to his Shadow. As far as being redeemed by light, well, I haven't thought that far."

Fulbright sighed, partly enamored by Shiou's storytelling, but partly disturbed by the contents. In Ackerley, Llewell hardly took an active role in anyone's affairs aside from telling the Alodians who to name as king. However, out in the desert, Llewell was an avenger and a judge. Fulbright wondered if Llewell once meant to Ackerely what he seemed to represent for Peorians. The juxtaposition of these two images of Llewell left Fulbright with more questions than he could harbor in his mind at one time. Fulbright felt silence encroaching upon his thoughts, and he suddenly realized that everyone was staring at him, wordlessly. He decided to breach the awkwardness.

"You do know how to tell a story, Shiou," he replied with a smile. The crew chuckled at his comment as they began to stir. Fulbright exhaled in relief.

"Alright, I think that is enough orating for the night," Umar yawned as he stood to his feet. "We set out before dawn tomorrow, so I think it would be wise for us to get as much sleep as we can."

Everyone began to climb back onto the ship as they said their goodnights to one another. Umar walked over to Fulbright and stared up toward the part of the ship that Fulbright had been working on earlier. Fulbright held his breath.

"This is fine work, your Highness," Umar grinned.

"Please, I am Fai-sahl now," Fulbright replied

"You know, I had you all wrong, Fai-sahl. I figured that since you were raised as a prince, you would be a bit of a freeloader," Umar chuckled. "I am sorry for that assumption."

"I take no offense," Fulbright replied nonchalantly as he held up a hand. "Had these been different circumstances, I might have been."

Umar sifted his fingers through his dark hair and chuckled.

"Thank you for the compliment," Fulbright bowed.

Umar paused and examined Fulbright, unsure of how to respond to Fulbright's personable nature. His thick brows furrowed over unsure eyes that searched for an explanation. "I think you should have some adventure at your age," Umar grinned. "The world can offer you much that a school cannot. I shall take you to Parsha then, only if you promise to return home when the time beckons you."

"I will," promised Fulbright. "But I hope the time does not come for a while."