The 1st Sleek was a Saik - Arteyel Saik

This child… what was his identity, really? His aptitude for learning at that unconscious age was far beyond normal understanding. It’s as if the body was in the possession of an older djinn, like the infant was bedeviled.

Still, I knew this much that he was one of the heirs of the Sleek Tribe and also that he meant no harm. I had spent far too much time with him to think that he was evil.

Shah Furaith seemed to know about his mental and physical superiority, and that is why he was investing in him. No, that can’t be; if he knew about his maturity, he would have started his training about the time when I secretly did, but considering that he was waiting for him to grow the proper age, it seems like he was unaware too. Judging from what I knew of him, I had speculated that he would take Neil away from me when he would become 4 years of age.

I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t let him take away Neil. The Shah was my lord but that did not mean that I had to lay down my life for him. He went as far as to stop me from teaching him how to read and write. He just wanted a mindless soldier and I couldn’t waste Neil’s potential like that. My student was destined for greatness and I did what I could to help him escape. I decided to teach him what I could until he became 4 and then, we would get out here. Or at least, he would.

When he was 2.5 years of age, his understanding and control of nails was below mediocre. Well that was to be expected since he was just 2 and a half years old. But considering that age, it was a really exceptional level. I expected him to at least be able to confront the normal guards of this fortress after a year who had the rank of a private.

He had completely learnt reading and writing when he was that age, so in the time that was left; I focused on training him to the best of my ability while teaching him history and battle tactics. At first, I thought that he would not understand these concepts, but then he showed extraordinary ability to comprehend them.

I told him:

“Six thousand years ago, Mother Fire gave birth to us djinns, the perfect form of living things known to the realm. Marid and Ifrit ruled the land and their descendants did too. After a lot of time passed by, some of us reflected Marid; some inherited everything of Ifrit’s while some were blessed with a part of each. And so, as time passed, the distinction between the djinnkind grew large and we named ourselves Ifrits, Marids, Barts and Sleeks.

“The Marids are graceful and righteous beings. They are the masters of their anger and so, they started rebelling against the ruthless nature of all djinns. They are also the best at war strategies because of their ability to always think calmly.

“The noblest of Ifrits inherited the Moon’s deception and Fire’s aggression was given to all Ifritkind as a bonus. Because of their love for violence, they became a natural enemy of the Marids. The pure-blood Ifrits can disguise into anyone, or anything.

“The Barts are the descendants of the realm-famous Seer Barter Marid. He was a djinn whose dominating character was Maridic and from his progeny, the Bart Tribe emerged as a force to be reckoned with. Some of the Barts have the ability to foresee the future and many of them are good strategists due to their near-perfect intuition.

“Now, the Sleeks are a people whose origin is unknown but there is a myth that Shah Salah of the Ifrits once slept with Kate, the then princess of Marids, and the child born was the first ever Sleek. Still, the Sleeks of today are the best warriors in the whole realm. They have a great aptitude when it comes to learning any physical art. On top of that, Sleeks are really skilled in necromancy.”

Neil listened to me intently as I said this. I didn’t know if he knew that he was a Sleek or I should tell him about that.

“Then who are the Unnamed?” He had asked me when I finished telling him about the tribes.