Chapter 26
The next day, Ibaeran was called to the king’s chambers.
Once there Ibaeran stood before the towering giant that was the king of all Uha Tamunarans, seated on his mighty throne and looking down at her from it, as to him, due to his massive height, Ibaeran was comparable to an insect.
“You call for me your majesty” asked Ibaeran, summoning every ounce of strength she had to fight away the overwhelming feeling of fear she heart for the king in her heart.
“Yes, I’ve decided the fate of the four nations” said the king.
“What?” said Ibaeran, shocked and confused to her what the king said.
“What do you mean your majesty when you say you’ve decided the fate of the four nations?” asked Ibaeran.
“The four nations are no longer any use to me. You humans may be extremely product and efficient in creating marvelous machines and tools of different kinds but you all are also weak, frail and pathetic when compared to the Uha Tamunarans and thanks to the time we’ve spent with you all we’ve learnt how to create the machines and tools ourselves, and so your value and worth have significantly reduced. If anything you humans cost more than your worth, why tell ten human slaves to do the work one Uha Tamunaran can manage alone” said the king.
“What does that mean for us humans” asked Ibaeran, fearing the worst for her people.
“It means the same thing as when every other thing out lives its usefulness, it is thrown away, discarded, or in some very special cases eliminated. Do you understand Su Baera” said the king.
Ibaeran upon hearing what the king said bowed her head with fear and sadness in her heart, as she understood what the king was trying to tell her about the future of her people.
Small droplets of tears then began to flow down from Ibaeran at that moment felt as though she had failed her duties as a Su Baera in protecting her people from the wrath of the king of all Uha Tamunarans.
The king, upon seeing the look of sadness and despair on Ibaeran’s face upon hearing that he was planning to eliminate her people as they were no longer useful to his Uha Tamunarans Empire, smiled.
“You know, I could be persuaded to let you weak and pathetic little human live” said the king.
Ibaeran, upon hearing that there was a chance that her people could be saved, raised up her head.
“What would it take for you to spear the lives of my people?” asked Ibaeran.
“The same thing I asked of your people the very moment I conquered you human, the Dumo Stone” said the king.
Ibaeran upon hearing what the king said bowed down her head once again, wondering how unearth was she going to get the Dumo Stone for him when she lacked control over her powers as a Su Baera.
“Your majesty, you have to understand. I just got this power and I have no mastery over it. I promise you I will deliver the stone to you but I just need more time to fully master my powers” said Ibaeran.
“Hmmm”, the king thought for a moment before saying, “a month, I’ll give you a month to travel to Kiri Dumo and retrieve the stone for me and if you fail to get me the stone before a month’s time, you people will suffer a painful, slow and agonizing death” said the king.
Ibaeran upon hearing the king could only bow her head down, agree to the king’s terms, fearing that it she dared to say another word the king may do something to her or her people.
“You may leave, I expect you to be ready with my stone within the span of 30 days” said the king.
Ibaeran then left the throne.
Once Ibaeran was gone the king heard the sounds of someone clapping slowly.
The king the sighed before saying, “come out Niyanlafu”.
Niyanlafu then appeared before the king’s throne, slowly clapping at him with and amused look on his face.
“Well played Datubo, using her people to manipulate her in to doing your biding. Cowardly but an effective plan none the less, too bad that despite your careful planning this will all end up blowing up in your face” said Niyanlafu.
“Can anything positive ever come out of that filthy mouth of your” said the king.
“I speak only the truth your highness. That girl is a threat to everything you’ve built and you’re too blinded by your lust for power to see it” said Niyanlafu.
“She is only a threat if I give her chance to fully realize her power as a Su Baera. As long as I keep her distracted and focused solely on free her people and getting me the Dumo Stone she won’t be a threat but rather my greatest tool” said the king.
Niyanlafu just sighed before saying, “You’re a fool Datubo, a miserable, sad, power hungry fool. Try as you may eventually she will realize just how power she truly is and when that day comes this empire you built for yourself will all come crashing down and you’ll be left with nothing”.
“That day will come when the sun refuses to set” said the king.
“Stranger days have come and a dark day when the sun refuses to shine will be no acceptation” said Niyanlafu.
The king upon hearing what Niyanlafu said just sighed before saying, “ Are you done because if you are you may leave, go back to the queen which you serve and adore like a foolish loyal dog”.
Niyanlafu just smiled at the king before saying, “I serve her because she deserve it for she possesses power far greater than anything you or any other mortal can or will ever possess”.
“Then I will be the first mortal surpass her power with an even greater power” said the king.
Niyanlafu just smiled and nodded his before saying, “My queen, throughout the existence of this world and many of the other worlds has had only one rival, her equal in both power and strength, and that rival is not, cannot and will never be you Datubo”.
Niyanlafu, with those words said began to slowly disappear in a black cloud surrounding him.
“You are a fool in every sense of the word Datubo, a foolish man who wants to be a god” said Niyanlafu before disappearing completely within the darkness of the dark cloud, leaving the king alone to think about everything he told him.
The king then sighed before saying, “I don’t care what that fool say’s, I will obtain a power far greater than any man or god and become a supreme being above all, even the queen of pure chaos”.
The king was determined to gain power above all else, so much so that he was blinded and could not see beyond his lust for power, Niyanlafu’s words were in did true because at that moment the king was truly a blind fool and a mortal man who sought be become a god.
Ibaeran stayed in her room for the rest of the day with thoughts of what the king said about the fate of her people flooding her mind.
Her people’s fate was now in her hands but she feared she wouldn’t be enough to save them as to do that she would have to do something that was next to impossible at that very moment.
She would have to somehow, learn to master and control the power of the Su Baera, retrieve the Dumo Stone from Kiri Dumo and then give to the king but how could she do all that within the span of a few months.
Night soon fell and as the dark shadow of the night sky consumed everything in the land Ibaeran remembered the strange Uha Tamunaran that came to her room the night before.
He had told her that he wanted to train and help her master the powers of the Su Baera bestowed upon her by the steel wings but she wasn’t entirely sure she could trust him.
Ibaeran then looked out the window, remembering how the Uha Tamunaran told her to meet him in the garden, wondering if she should indeed go and see him.
The Uha Tamunaran seem strange, unlike the rest of the other Uha Tamunarans in the palace, he spoke with confidence and without an ounce of fear in him, he openly exhibit his anger and quite possibly even hatred for the king through the way he spoke about him, calling the king a monster, a word she had only associated the king with only in the realm of her mind.
But what was even more stranger about the Uha Tamunaran was his attitude towards her, it didn’t seem like he minded or even care that she was human or the Su Baera, he spoke to her like a normal person, even though the circumstance were not the best of ones.
There was no doubt her mind that the Uha Tamunaran was indeed peculiar and unlike the others but Ibaeran still couldn’t help but wonder why an Uha Tamunaran who have any intention of training her if he wasn’t sent by the king as the king was the only Uha Tamunaran who seemed interested in the power of Su Baera.
Ibaeran, wanting to know more about the Uha Tamunaran from last night and if he truly could help control the powers of the Su Baera, decided to meet him in the garden.
Ibaeran, in the den of night, then silently came out of her room and made her way out of the massive Uha Tamunaran palace and in to the garden.
Once there, Ibaeran wondered through the massive forest like garden, seeing trees that seemed tall enough to touch the night sky and flowers of different kinds, colored beautifully by nature.
Ibaeran could help but lose herself to the overwhelming beauty of garden for a brief moment before remembering why she had come to the forest in the first place.
Ibaeran then began to wonder through the massive garden, not entirely sure where she was going, yelling out, “I’M HERE UHA TAMUNARAN!!!!!!” but was only answered by the definite silence of the garden.
Ibaeran, after a while of wondering through the forest, grew tired, thinking that Uha Tamunaran would not come and her coming to the forest was just a waste of time.
Ibaeran just sighed, thinking about how she might have to learn how to control the power of the Su Baera on her own and within the limited time of a month no less, a task seemed next to impossible the girl to perform.
But then, just as she was about to leave, she heard something moving about through the forest.
“Hello, who’s there” Ibaeran said cautiously.
She then caught a glimpse of a mysterious black shadow moving about through the on all fours, like some kind of animal, moving too fast for her eyes to keep track of.
The mysterious shadowy creature circled around her, hidden by the shadows of the massive trees in the garden and moving far too fast for Ibaeran to see clear, before charging straight for Ibaeran at lightning fast speed and struck her with its razor sharp claws.
Ibaeran yelled out in pain upon being scratched by the mysterious shadowy figures claws before falling down to her knees.
Ibaeran felt her back bleeding and was pain due the wound inflicted upon her by the creature claws; she then heard the mysterious shadowy creature moving about through the forest, once again circling around her.
She would sense that it was about to strike and with it being about to move at speeds her eyes could not comprehend and being cloaked by the shadow of the trees, she was very vulnerable.
Her only hope was for her to, how be able to move and react faster than the beast could attack but she doubted would be able to do that, remembering her fast the creature moved before attacking, she could barely see its shadow much less move out of its way before it attacked.
Ibaeran then heard a voice whispering softly in her ear, the same voice she heard whisper to her when she was fighting the Uha Tamunaran possessed warrior in the tournament, saying, “Tell me Ibaeran are you really going to give up now? After coming so close and doing what no warrior before you could. Is your story truly going to end her, in a garden while being attack by a beast that can’t even look in the eye?”
Ibaeran, upon hearing the voice then got back up.
The voice had remind her of something she seemed to have forgotten, she had come too far and fought hard in too many battles to be taken down by a beast who only attacked from the shadows.
Ibaeran then took in a deep breath and as she did so she felt the power of the Su Baera flow through her entire body and as the power flowed through her it heal her of the wound on her back inflicted on her by the beast.
The beast then attacked, once again moving at lightning fast speed but this time Ibaeran caught it by the neck before it could strike her with its claws.
“Well done Su Baera, you passed your first lesson” the beast spoke with a familiar voice which Ibaeran immediately recognized as the Uha Tamunaran from the previous night.
Ibaeran then, annoyed and slightly enraged by the Uha Tamunaran who attacked her, threw him straight in to a tree.
“Ouch, I think you broke something” said the Uha Tamunaran who was currently on the floor next the tree Ibaeran threw him in to.
Ibaeran then approached the Uha Tamunaran with a serious look on her face before saying, “Who are you and what you want from me”.