Brankin Huoh

  Lozan’s gaze drifted from the floor in slow motion, Kyriu sliding into his field of vision inches at a time and relief washed over him, filling the spaces vacated by anxiety. There was no reason for this. Never in all the summoning’s had there been a failure, but Lozan knew that if something went wrong, he would bear the blame. What sort of punishment would be meted out he did not know but whatever it was, he was certain it would be very unpleasant.

  Lozan and the adepts released hands. The adepts tucked their hands in their robes and remained kneeling with their heads bowed while Lozan climbed to his feet and met Kyriu's gaze.

  Kyriu's yellow eyes burned with an intensity that paralyzed Lozan. Only for a moment though. Kyriu was volatile and could lash out over the slightest deviation from ritual and ceremony and Lozan knew he had to keep the proceedings moving forward. He bowed his head slightly. "My lord, you have come."

  "As scheduled." Kyriu scanned the room, pressing his lips together in a fierce scowl, eyes narrowed with suspicion, looking.

  "I am sure you will find everything to your liking…" Lozan trailed off as he noticed Kyriu had stopped his appraisal of the chamber and was focused on one corner of the black cloth draped over the dais. Unlike the other three corners that lay perfectly flat, this corner was folded back on itself in a haphazard way. Lozan swallowed hard. He should have come earlier and checked everything himself.

  "Who laid this cloth?" Kyriu thrust a scaly hand toward the offending corner. His voice was raw and throaty.

  "I..I..it was Crylir, I believe." Lozan was glad that he was able to direct Kyriu's anger at someone else.

  Crylir was the newest of his adepts and had been promoted after the last time routine hadn't been followed to the letter. Lozan shuddered as the memories of that occasion surfaced. He forced them back down and regained control over himself. If he weren’t careful, Kyriu's wrath would fall on him anyway. Though Lozan was highly ranked with Kyriu he knew if he didn't perform as expected he would be replaced with nary a thought. Kyriu had never said as much, but he didn’t need to. His actions made it clear.

  "Crylir!" Kyriu whipped his reptilian face around, his gaze falling exactly on Crylir.

  Crylir flinched under his robes but remained looking down, resisting the urge to run.

  "Fix this blemish immediately."

  Crylir rose at once and scurried over to the offending corner He knelt and flipped it into its proper position, then flattened it with the palms of hand as if he were ironing his robes. When he was done he remained kneeling, awaiting further instruction.

  "Do you wish forgiveness?"

  "I do my lord." Crylir’s voice was barely a whisper.

  "Then come and beg for it."

  Crylir rose and strode so fast to Kyriu it was like he was in two places at once. He dropped to his knees in front of him, but kept his eyes locked to the floor at all times.

  Kyriu regarded Crylir’s crouched form before extending his hand and the mood flipped from anger to malice like a switch had been thrown.

  Crylir snatched the offered hand at once, like a drowning man would grab a rope, and began pledging his allegiance to Kyriu, to the rule that he maintained over Brankin Huoh and to anything else he hoped would appease him. With a final kiss of Kyriu's glittering ring, Crylir let go of the hand and waited in his prone position.

  "You may return to your spot."

  Crylir exhaled softly, a weight lifting from him, and then rose to rejoin the line of adepts. As he turned to step away, Kyriu screeched violently and his scaly hand shot out with deadly accuracy.

  Startled by the scream, Crylir turned to his head to Kyriu and saw a spray of blood that splattered the adepts' robes. It was his blood, spurting from the gash in his neck. He stumbled forward a step and fell to his knees, clutching his neck, trying to staunch the flow. He looked to his fellow adepts for help but none met his eye. Crylir flopped chest-first into the growing pool of red, and he smiled to himself as his essence left the flesh behind. He was proud that he had died in Kyriu's service.

  Kyriu licked the blood from his claw as he watched Crylir die. He resisted jumping on the dying body and savagely attacking it; ripping it to shreds and devouring its raw flesh and blood. The urge was almost overwhelming but he managed to quell it. He knew it would only satiate him physically for a short while. There was another, more attractive meal in the room at the moment. Fear. The assembled adepts and Lozan were slathered with it. It was seeping from their pores, emanating from their psyches in waves. The sight of their colleague dying had brought it on out of their control. They quivered under their robes involuntarily as each of them silently prayed he wouldn't be next. Kyriu could feel this all. His pointy tongue flicked out seeking a taste. He threw his head back and inhaled deeply. He could feel the energy fill his lungs. His head swam as if he were drunk. This was what the Mrüg lived for and thrived on; where they gained their power. The energy released by fear was both intoxicating and sustaining. It inflamed Kyriu’s desire for blood and he toyed with the idea of slaughtering every single person in the room. But he knew that wouldn't serve his purpose either. Such a selfish act would set their agenda back months, maybe years. Even he, as highly ranked as he was, had someone to report to. Plus there were bigger things on his mind at the moment. Reminded of why he was here, he took another luxurious slow breath, and then turned his attention to Lozan.

  "Come Lozan, there is much we need to discuss." He turned and sauntered toward the spiral staircase at the side of the chamber as if nothing had happened.

  Lozan drew his pale face away from the bloody remains of Crylir on the ground, managed a stiff nod in Kyriu's direction and then fell in step behind him. At the top of the stairs, he passed Olkuu and ordered him to have the body disposed of and the room cleaned. Olkuu only nodded.

  Kyriu marched ahead, listening, keenly aware of every detail. He heard Lozan relay the order to dispose of the body and made a mental note to have Olkuu take the body somewhere where he could have his way with it unseen.

  Though Kyriu was physically spent and needed to rest and recover that would have to wait. This visit was more urgent than a normal check-in to make sure Lozan was following orders. He needed to make sure Lozan was fully informed before he could rest. He led Lozan to the closest meeting room and entered, taking a seat at the head of the long table inside. Lozan took the seat to his immediate right. He looked shaken. Kyriu had had reason to discipline before but had never done so this violently. He usually reserved that kind of savagery for his own pleasure when he was alone and could take time to enjoy every sensation. He reminded himself to keep a tighter rein on his emotions in the future. "Now, Lozan," Kyriu started.

  "I am sorry for the offence my lord. It won't happen again," Lozan blurted out before he could help himself.

  "I am certain there will be no repeats." Kyriu remembered fondly the depths of fear he felt in the chamber after slaying Crylir. Lozan was still rife with it.

  "We have collected much gold and silver my lord, as you bid."

  "There will be time to go over that later." Kyriu felt weary and impatient. He usually admired Lozan's attention to detail with the orders he was given but in his current state he was starting to get annoyed. "Am I correct that the annual induction ceremony is set to take place in a few days' time?"

  "Yes my lord."

  "Good. My stay this time will be longer than usual. Make the necessary arrangements."

  "Of course my lord. It would be an honor to have you with us as long as you wish." Lozan wondered why this visit was going to be longer than usual but decided it didn’t matter. He was delighted to have more time to make amends for the gaffe in the burial chamber.

  "There is a boy among this year's eligible that will require 'special attention'," Kyriu said, almost as if he could read Lozan's mind.

  The induction ceremony was Kyriu’s brainchild. The directive Kyriu gave all the human rulers under his command was the same; to oppress their people as much as possible. Keep sque
ezing and squeezing as a means to retain control and remind them of their place in the world.

  Lozan took this directive very seriously and didn't merely follow it - he dreamed of ways to expand it, to make life as degrading and dehumanizing as he could for the citizens of Brankin Huoh. This was why he was one of Kyriu’s favorites.

  Through his observations of human interaction Kyriu came to realize they had an especially strong bond with their offspring. He found this curious and wondered if he could find a way to break that bond, separate children from parents, would the adults would more readily accept domination. Based on this idea Kyriu developed a scheme where each year there would be an induction ceremony. The ceremony was used to choose from the children that were to come of age that year, which occurred at fifteen in Brankin Huoh. Those selected would take up residence in the Citadel to be trained. It worked masterfully, even better than Kyriu had expected. As an unforeseen benefit, the drama and angst created by separating children from their parents was intoxicating.

  At first the people resisted the idea of their children leaving home to become part of the Citadel but over time they came to accept it. In fact they began to look forward to it, as it became filled with prestige and honor to have their child inducted. The chosen family or families were given a few more rewards than the rest of the townsfolk in return for their child being chosen. A marginally lower taxation, repairs to their farm or shop, a little bit of notoriety. Nominal things, but those few rewards were enough to get people to buy into it. The children who were chosen were usually of lower intelligence, the types that had shown a tendency toward violent and sadistic behavior. These were Kyriu’s favorites. They could be easily trained to enforce the Citadel's rules, even turning on their parents in efforts to gain favor with higher ups.

  The most ingenious part of the induction ceremony was that it also allowed the Citadel to take children that were of above average intelligence, though there were fewer and fewer of those types these days. These were the ones who 'could open their eyes one day' as Kyriu referred to it. The smarter kids were the types who could one day present real problems for the Citadel. They could see more than the regular people. They could connect the dots and realize that they didn't have to live this way. That there was a better way, a better future for all of them; they only had to believe in it and work together to make it happen. If they were really smart, they would eventually figure out that the Citadel had no real power, only the power the people gave up when they bought into its systems.

  The chosen ones would be brought to live in the Citadel and their behavior would be rewarded or curtailed, whatever was needed. The mean kids would usually end up in the Citadel's personal guard. Or they would work in collections or policing. The really nasty ones would become adepts, serving the ruler of the Citadel, hoping to one day become leader. The potential trouble makers would be shuffled into un important roles around the Citadel. They would be made to do just enough to keep them busy, keep their minds occupied with the drudgery of daily work routines and away from any ideas of rebellion. The inductions had worked so well that Kyriu had implemented the same plan in other towns he ruled.

  "My lord?" Lozan was confused.

  Kyriu fixed his yellow eyes on Lozan. "The boy named Tagan must be inducted."

  Lozan scanned his mental records of all the hopefuls for the name Tagan. He remembered reading the name on one of his registers but it was not associated with the regular attitudes they looked for and Tagan definitely was not on Lozan’s list of inductee’s. Tagan might as well not have even existed, such was his notoriety. "There have been no reports of ill or of good about Tagan my lord. Are you certain that he is the one we need?"

  "I am certain it is he. He doesn’t know it yet, but Tagan can ruin everything."

  Chapter 3