Chapter 25

Night soon came and the king, seated on his throne, was deep ithought, thinking about Ibaeran and the threat she possessed if she was somehow able to master the power bestowed upon her by the steel wings of the Su Baera.

A guard then entered the room.

“You called for me my lord” the guard said while going down on one knee and bowing before the king.

“Yes, bring me the Su Baera” said the king.

The guard then got up and left the room to get Ibaeran as the king instructed.

While the guard was gone the king pondered a little more about Ibaeran and the power he felt coming from her, even though he had faced the power of a Su Baera before he had never felt anything quite like the power Ibaeran possessed, and the way the power kept raising was astonishing to him as he had never seen such a display of power before even from the former Su Baera which he only managed to defeat after a long and hard battle.

Soon the guard returned along with Ibaeran who looked upon the king with a look of pure fear and terror.

“You asked to see me your majesty” asked Ibaeran, trying her best to hide her fear.

“Yes” said the king as he stood up from his massive throne and went to Ibaeran, with each foot step he made to her Ibaeran would felt her heart begin to faster and faster due to the overwhelming fear she had for the king.

The king now stood in front of her with Ibaeran struggling to see his face due to his immense height.

The king then bent down so he could Ibaeran’s face before saying, “You know what I can’t stand above all else within my kingdom”.

“No, I…I don’t know” Ibaeran stammered as she struggle to speak due to overwhelming feel of terror she felt as the king was now so close to her.

“Disobedience, I can’t stand it. I am the king so everything and everyone should conform to rules; obey all commands given to them or face my wrath” said the king before grabbing Ibaeran with one of his massive arms.

“This morning I gave a command, for you to travel to Kiri Dumo but instead of doing so you decided instead to display your power as a Su Baera to me” said the king before he began to slowly crush Ibaeran with his massive fist.

“Please stop, have mercy” Ibaeran begged the king as she felt her bones begin to crack and break from within her.

The king then flung her to the ground as she was nothing before saying to her, “Know your place girl, you may be the new Su Baera but I am and will always be your king and even with the power you possess you are and will always be beneath me”.

The king then called for a guard to get Ibaeran off the ground and carry her back to her room.

Once Ibaeran was gone king sighed deeply, hoping his display of power would make Ibaeran doubt herself and the power she possessed as a Su Baera and maintain the immense fear she had for him, knowing that doing that was the only way he could keep her in line and maintain control over her.

The king however feared that doing that may not even be enough, understanding the more time passed the greater the risk of Ibaeran mastering and understanding the power she possessed grew and he needed away to make Ibaeran get him the Dumo stone before he has a chance to fully master her powers.

Ibaeran was taken back to her room and placed on her bed by the guard before leaving the room.

As Ibaeran lied on her bed still unconscious her room door opened and shadowy figure black figure walked out and made its way to Ibaeran.

Upon reaching Ibaeran’s bed the figure bents down to her ear and whispered softly, “Wake up Su Baera”.

Ibaeran, upon hearing the figures voice, acting on pure instinct woke, grabbed the figure by the neck and then, moving too fast for the figure to react, got up and pinned it to the wall.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my room?” were the first words uttered by Ibaeran before she began to examine the figure’s appearance.

The figure was an Uh Tamunaran man who looked like a strange combination of man and beast as he was covered from head to toe with black fur which were larger and thicker on its head, making him resemble a lion, with razor sharp on both his hand and feet along with a long tale that was covered as well with black fur.

“Impressive Su Baera, you’re quick and alert, two qualities that make a fine warrior” the figure said before wrapping his tale around Ibaeran’s waist and flung her back to the bed with it.

Ibaeran, now on the bed, was about to get up but before she could the figure jumped and landed on top of her, pinning her to the bed.

Ibaeran tried to free herself and push the figure off her but the figure was too strong for her to overpower.

“HEL…”Ibaeran’s attempt to scream for help was thwarted by the figure wrapping his tale around her mouth and preventing her from screaming.

“Look, I know how things may seem being that a total stranger just snuck in to your room in den of night and is now currently on top of you but I assure, I’m her to hurt you in anyway” said the figure.

Ibaeran, upon hearing what the figure said calmed down but still did not trust the figure or his intentions for coming into her room so late at night.

The figure, seeing the Ibaeran had calmed down, removed his tale from Ibaeran’s mouth, allowing her to speak once more.

“Get off me” were the first words that came out of Ibaeran.

The figure then got off Ibaeran and came down from the bed.

Ibaeran, now free from the figure’s hold, looked at the figure cautiously, wondering why he came to her room.

“Like I said before I’m not here to hurt you Su Baera” said the figure.

“Then why are you here?” asked Ibaeran.

“To help you” said the figure.

“Help me, how?” asked Ibaeran.

“By training and teaching how to master and control the powers bestowed upon you by the steel wings” said the figure.

Ibaeran upon hearing what the figure said looked at him with a shocked and confused expression on her face.

“Did the king send you here?” said Ibaeran, wondering if he was sent to her by the king.

“No, I don’t answer to that monster” the figure said with venom and bitterness in his voice as he spoke, shocking and confusing Ibaeran even more as she had never seen or hear anyone speak about the king of all Uha Tamunarans in such a manner before.

“If the king didn’t send you, then why are you here?” asked Ibaeran.

“I told you, to teach you how to master and control your powers as a Su Baera” said the figure.

Ibaeran remained silent for a few moments as she thought about everything the figure just said, he wanted to teach how to control the powers of the Su Baera and from the way he spoke about the king it was clear he wasn’t fond of him.

Ibaeran wasn’t sure she could trust the figure especially after considering the fact that he snuck in to her room so late at night.

“Why do you want to train me?” asked Ibaeran, curious as to why the beast like Uh Tamunaran wanted to train her.

The Uha Tamunaran was about to answer hear when he heard the footsteps a several guards making their way to her room.

“Come to the garden tomorrow night and I’ll tell you” said Uha Tamunaran before jumping out the window, landing on one of the branches of one of might tall trees that grew within the castle’s garden.

Ibaeran could only watch as the shadowy figure ran on all four legs through the jungle like garden until he finally disappeared within the dark corns of the garden.

The guards then arrived, opening the room door only to see Ibaeran standing next to the open looking at the guards with a confused look on her face as she was still trying to process everything that had that night.

“You alright Su Baera” one of the guards asked.

“I am but why are you here, in my room?” asked Ibaeran, wondering why the guards had come to her room.

“The king orders us to keep an eye on you and to protect you if you were ever in danger, calling you in his own words ‘an asset too valuable to lose’” said a guard.

“We heard strange sounds coming from your room so as per the king’s orders we came to check and make sure you were alright” said another guard.

“Oh, alright then” said Ibaeran, understanding the guards were only obeying the orders given to them by the king.

“What was sound coming from your room” asked one of the guards and it was clear from the tone on his voice he was demanding answer.

“It was…”Ibaeran paused for a moment, wondering if she should tell the guards about the strange Uha Tamunaran that snuck in to her home.

“It was what?” asked the guard once again.

“It was me, I had a bad dream and couldn’t sleep so I decided to open the window and get some fresh air” said Ibaeran, choosing to lie to the guards as she didn’t want to say anything about the strange Uha Tamunaran that snuck in to her room as she was curious about him and wanted to know more about him before saying anything.

The guards, upon hearing Ibaeran’s story about having a nightmare, were satisfied and so they left.

Ibaeran, now alone in her room sighed deeply before looking out the window once again, wondering just who was the strange Uha Tamunaran and why was he so interested in helping her master the power of the Su Baera.