CHAPTER 8: THE SAVIOR
City of Chast ?
Celeste was relieved. She had managed to make it back in time from the briefing with Adrian for her father's address to the citizens of Chast - the Gnol's capital city on Terrest - and it seemed, at least for now, that no one had suspected where she had been, nor did they question her.
She had questioned herself about going to the briefing with Adrian at the hidden rebel base because of her father's speech to the city. However, she also had received word that Adrian's son from another planet called Earth had just arrived. Despite the risk in going, she went anyway. She knew that she would gain valuable information and more insight into these people who looked like Gnols, but obviously didn't have the same intelligence or power.
She had grown to respect the heathen aliens, as her father called them. But, never had any of them made an impression on her as much as Jake did. Why can I not get him out of my mind? she thought. After all, Jake was just another human. He wasn't as intelligent or as powerful as she was, even though she knew that he had the potential to be. Yet, she was impressed with him and obviously attracted to him when they met.
What am I doing? She shook her head and regained her focus for the moment at hand.
She was standing beside her mother, who was sitting in one of the royal chairs placed on the royal balcony of the palace that overlooked the city. Celeste looked down at her mother. She loved her mother very much. She was a selfless woman who had taught her to use sound judgment and to treat everyone with respect, a trait that she obviously did not learn from her father.
Her mother coughed and then wheezed as she tried to take in a breath of fresh air. Celeste knelt down and placed her right hand on her mother's cheek. She was burning up.
"Mother, you should not be out here. You should be resting."
Celeste's mother shook her head and spoke. Her voice was raspy and soft. "No, your father demanded that I be here on this great day of his."
"How could he demand that of you? He knows of your condition. He just wants you here for show. He does not have what is best for you in mind."
Celeste's mother looked up into Celeste's blue eyes and smiled. She reached up and placed her left hand on Celeste's cheek. "You remind me so much of myself when I was young and beautiful."
Celeste smiled back at her mother as she felt a tear roll down her left cheek. Her mother, Ciminae Chast, was a beautiful, dark-haired Gnol of royal tribal lineage back when they were on Gnolom. However, that beauty had faded because of a mysterious disease that had overtaken her within the last six months. In fact, there were a number of Gnols that had become stricken with the disease, which their doctors could not identify.
Now, Ciminae looked frail. She had lost a tremendous amount of weight. Her once dark beautiful hair was a gray, tangled mess and thinning. Her silky smooth skin had become a wrinkled bag of flesh.
Celeste smiled at her mother. She smiled back. Celeste had always enjoyed hearing the stories of her mother's family.
Ciminae would tell her daughter stories about the powerful tribe called the Girtheal, from which they descended. Ciminae's father was the tribal chief and a skilled warrior, back before the goddess gave the gift of technology to the Gnols, so they could leave their dying planet and find a new home.
Celeste remembered her former world, but she never saw the blue water and green valleys that her mother described. All she saw was dust. Her mother had explained that a generation before Celeste was born, Gnolom had been hit with a massive object thrown at them by the evil god of despair - a god her tribe worshiped.
Of course, Celeste knew now that it hadn't been a god at all, but an asteroid that had slammed into one of the east oceans and caused dramatic climate changes throughout the planet. Gnolom, once a beautiful and lush planet, had begun to die. The water dried up and the atmosphere began to change.
Celeste's father was the Gnol who was chosen by the great goddess, so the story goes, to lead the escape from Gnolom and find a new home. He led nearly two million Gnols in the exodus to Terrest. And now, nearly every Gnol worshiped her father as a god - the one who had saved them. Nevertheless, Celeste couldn't help but feel resentment toward her father. Why would a god, if her father were one, kill and enslave an innocent civilization?
Celeste stood up and shook her head. She returned to where she stood before and placed her left hand on her mother's shoulder. She looked out over the city that her father had begun to construct when she was just ten years old - just after the initial attack on Terrest.
In the fifteen short years since the attack, her father had successfully gained control of Terrest, and built his capital, which he named Chast in honor of himself. The city was beautiful. It was astonishing to see, even with all the bloodshed that came with the war. The city housed nearly two hundred thousand Gnols.
It seemed that nearly all of those two hundred thousand citizens were present today in anticipation of hearing their lord's words. Three hundred feet below the balcony, the citizens were crammed in the palace courtyard. Celeste looked everywhere. She couldn't see a patch of ground anywhere. It was a sea of Gnols.
From the balcony, Celeste looked up. She could see the top of the towering palace her father had built in honor of himself. The top of the palace stood nearly one thousand feet from the ground. The base was almost as spectacular, encompassing nearly forty thousand square feet. The palace was truly a remarkable architectural achievement by Gnol standards, especially since all of the technology that her father had introduced to them was relatively new.
The palace had thirty-five floors, each floor smaller by about ten thousand square feet of area than the one before, until the top floor, which was only about five thousand square feet, and was off limits to everyone but her father.
The floors of the palace served different functions. The first floor was dedicated to the public for worship of the goddess of light and her chosen one, Koroan Chast. The second floor through the thirty-second floor contained different living quarters for the hundreds of Terrestrian slaves that served her family, not to mention the thousands of military personnel in charge of protecting the palace. The thirty-third floor contained the living quarters of Celeste, her mother, her father, and her brother-in-law, whom she loathed. The floor above housed her father's military base of operations. And the top floor was the mysterious room only her father was allowed to enter.
Celeste shivered in the cold. Why did my father have to have this event on such a cold day? she wondered. It was spring now in this part of Terrest, but winter was still trying to hold on.
Celeste looked left as she heard the door that led from the military conference room to the balcony open. Her father's three generals walked out of the doors. The first general was Dorange Gar, her brother-in-law. Celeste cringed at the sight of him. She did not understand what her sister had seen in him, and why her father held him in such high esteem, especially since he was nearly the same age as her father.
Dorange took his place upon the balcony, on the left side of the podium from which her father was about to speak. He had an arrogance about himself that made Celeste sick to her stomach. It was obvious to all that Dorange wore his crimson red military uniform with pride, showing off the gold stars on each of his shoulders that symbolized his rank in the military along with various medals of honor adorned on his left breast.
Celeste wished Dorange wasn't wearing the inhibitors behind his ears. Oh, how she wanted to probe his mind to find out what deceitful plots he was planning in his head.
Dorange had proven himself worthy to Celeste's father. His talents with his mental powers and strength were astonishing. Yet, Celeste felt that there was something amiss about the Gnol, even though he claimed to have descended from a royal tribe himself.
Dorange turned around and walked toward Celeste and her mother. His smug smile sickened her. However, she had to admit that Dorange could charm anyone into doing his will, especially with his looks and words, which was obviously the case wit
h her sister and father.
He was a stunningly handsome Gnol with long black hair braided into a ponytail, which came to rest in the middle of his back. Despite being in his early sixties, he looked fairly young. If a Gnol were to meet him for the first time, one would assume he was just in his late thirties.
As Dorange approached, Celeste made eye contact with him. Even though he had sparkling dark brown eyes, she could see the deceit behind them.
He stopped within inches of Celeste's face. She backed up a little. Dorange stroked his goatee with his right hand. "Hello, Celeste. My, you look ravishing. I do believe you get more and more beautiful each day," he said.
Celeste glared at him. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of playing to his ego.
Dorange had been trying for four years to court Celeste ever since her sister had been killed in a strange accident. Celeste suspected that Dorange might have even murdered her sister because, at one time, her sister told her that she was afraid of Dorange because of his temper. Unfortunately, Celeste didn't have any proof.
Celeste's own father even encouraged Celeste to pursue a relationship with Dorange. But Celeste made it clear to Dorange and her father that she wanted nothing to do with him.
Dorange then knelt down and spoke to Ciminae. "Mother, how are you feeling today?"
Ciminae looked up at Celeste and rolled her eyes. Celeste knew that her mother despised Dorange just as much as she did.
After neither Celeste nor Ciminae responded to Dorange, he nodded and smiled. He then resumed his position next to the podium.
Not only did Celeste despise Dorange, she hated her father's other two generals just as much. Standing on Dorange's left was General Aralt Thourad. General Thourad, who was in charge of the ground army, was just as arrogant and smug as Dorange. Thourad stood about six feet tall with short, blond hair and hazy green eyes. At forty-three years old, he was also remarkably well built with rippling muscles.
On Thourad's left was the short, pudgy, and balding General Kamferal Ochalt. Despite his authority over the Gnol navy and his general arrogance, there was something humorous about his stature.
Celeste heard the door slide open again and out walked Vlamer Kreuk, her father's high priest and second in command only to her father. Vlamer was donned in a ceremonial robe of bright scarlet and black that extended all the way down to his feet. The robe symbolized her father's power and godhood over the Gnol civilization.
As Vlamer walked out, he looked at Celeste and Ciminae with his clear green eyes and bowed his head. The red temple hat that extended nearly a foot off his shaven head nearly toppled. Celeste managed to hide her amusement as Vlamer quickly raised his head and gave Celeste a smile underneath his black goatee. Vlamer then assumed his position on the right of the podium from which her father was about to speak.
A few minutes later, out walked her father, Koroan Chast, Supreme Commander and lord over the Gnols. There was an eerie silence over the thousands of Gnols in attendance. Celeste looked out over the sea of Gnols, and it seemed that almost every one of them was kneeling down on one knee in reverence to their savior and lord.
Koroan turned and looked at Celeste and her mother. He gave them both a warm smile and nod. Celeste and Ciminae nodded respectfully in return. Celeste continued to watch her father as he walked up to the podium. He was an intimidating Gnol. Koroan stood nearly 6'5" tall, with long, black hair that hung straight and loose on his broad shoulders. In addition to his piercing blue eyes, he had a short black goatee. Just his appearance was enough to strike fear into anyone, including Celeste.
Koroan was dressed in his all-white robe and red cape that extended past his feet. On the back of his cape was the symbol of the goddess of light. The symbol was of a beautiful, blond woman with long, flowing hair. She was adorned in light and dressed in a light blue dress with her arms outstretched. It symbolized her gift to the Gnols, the gift of technology and of her chosen one - Koroan Chast.
Koroan stepped up to the podium and raised his arms above his head. At that moment, the sea of Gnols all said in unison, "Hail our lord and liberator!"
The sound of their voices was deafening.
Koroan lowered his arms and smiled as he looked out over his people. He spoke with a thunderous, deep voice into the voice enhancer that he had invented, along with all of the other Gnol technology.
"My brothers and sisters, I have called all of you here today at the request of our goddess mother."
The entire crowd bowed their heads in honor of their goddess. Celeste, on the other hand, had a difficult time bowing her head in honor of a goddess that was new to her people. For generations, the people of Gnolom had worshiped many different gods or goddesses, depending upon which tribe they belonged to; until the day her father claimed he had been visited by the true goddess of Gnolom, who bestowed upon him knowledge of strange and wonderful devices that made life easier and possible for the Gnols to flee their dying world.
After the moment of silence, Koroan continued. "Our mother appeared to me in a vision and commanded that I, the chosen one, should give her people a report on the war with the heathen aliens that have stolen this beautiful world from her. But first, our mother wants me to remind you and reprimand you for rumors that have been circulating. It has been said that I am a tyrant. It has been said that I am a murderer and kill in cold blood. It has been said that I lie and deceive.
"And, who is it that spreads these lies and untruths? It is the rebels. These so-called rebels have been spreading these lies to the Gnol citizens. It has even come to my attention that we have traitors living among us that have told the rebels these lies."
Celeste's heart felt as if it had suddenly jumped into her throat. She had been careful not to give her position away. Was it possible that her father knew?
"But, need I remind you," Koroan continued, "who was the Gnol chosen by our queen mother?" Koroan waited and a deafening sound resonated from the crowd.
"You were! Our lord, Koroan Chast!"
Koroan smiled. He knew that the crowd was playing into his hands. "Who did the queen mother choose to unite the warring tribes and to organize Gnolom into a united government?"
There was another resounding response.
"You! Our king, Koroan Chast!"
"And, who was chosen by our mother to give her gift of technology and save us from destruction on a dying world?"
"You! Our savior, Koroan Chast!"
Koroan's smile grew bigger, as did his ego. "Yes, it was I. I was chosen as the one to unite our people. I was the one chosen to develop new technology; technology that was not known to us because of our ability to probe others' thoughts. Thus, there were wars between tribes on our old world that lasted as long as history has been recorded.
"For thousands of years, our civilization was not allowed to progress because Gnols knew others' thoughts and ideas. Evil and deceitful Gnols would steal those thoughts and ideas, and in turn, wars would result that would destroy any progress we would make. But, I say. What does the ancient scripture say that has been handed down from tribe to tribe, father to father? The ancient scripture says that one day the chosen one would arise. The chosen one would unite two peoples and two worlds and he would be a ruler among them."
Koroan paused again.
"And, who is the chosen one that has fulfilled this prophecy?"
There was yet another deafening response from the crowd.
"You! Koroan Chast, our god!"
"Yes, I am he. I am the god that was prophesied. I have risen up and united our people. I have also united our old world with our new one.
"Our mother appeared to me almost a generation ago. She is the true goddess of our world and universe; not the heathen, pagan gods our tribes worshiped. It was she that gave us a new language - her language. It was she that gave me the knowledge to develop devices that would block our brain waves, thus, preventing us from stealing what is most valuable from one another. It was she who gave me the knowledge to dev
elop technology; technology that would take us from our dying world and to her home world.
"Her world was taken away from her by these heathen aliens. Aliens that look like us but do not have the mental power or intelligence we possess. And now, there are those that would dare spread these horrible untruths about me. I have only done what has been commanded of me. I have retaken our mother's world. I have graciously saved these lesser people that did not die in war. I have graciously allowed them to serve us. And they dare spread these lies about me!
"Well, I have a warning for those that dare oppose me and our mother. I also warn those Gnols amongst us that have betrayed me! You will be found. You will not be granted mercy, and you will die as a sacrifice to our goddess and mother!"
There was a resounding cheer from the crowd. It was obvious they were loyal to Koroan and believed he was the chosen one. However, Celeste felt a bone-chilling shiver resonate up her spine from her father's words. If it were true that he knew that she and some of her aides were spies for the Terrestrian rebels, he would kill her. The thought of facing her father was terrifying. He was the most powerful Gnol ever. If she wasn't wearing the Mind Inhibitors - which luckily he never demanded she take out - he could easily probe her mind and kill her.
Koroan continued, but spoke in a softer voice. "But let me give you reassurance, my brothers and sisters. To date, we have succeeded in destroying all of the Terrestrian's major cities. We are now in the process of leveling these cities, getting rid of any remnant of the alien heathen. For those heathens that don't resist, they are given the honor of serving you and me. I predict that the war will be over soon, and we will experience the most powerful and peaceful civilization ever."
Celeste resisted the urge to reach up and plug her ears. The cheer from the crowd was so deafening that even Koroan seemed to duck his head from the sound.
After the crowd became quiet, Koroan concluded.
"And now, my brothers and sisters, I bless all of you with my love and bid you farewell. Until we meet again."
In unison, the crowd cheered. "All hail, our lord and savior, Koroan Chast!"
Koroan turned from the podium and walked toward Celeste. Celeste swallowed the lump that was in her throat as he approached.
"Celeste," he said. "Take your mother to her chambers and join me and my generals in the conference room. There is something we need to discuss."
Koroan leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, ignored his wife, and exited the balcony. His three generals and Vlamer followed him like baby ducklings following their mother.
As he approached the door, Dorange made eye contact with Celeste and gave her a knowing smile that sent shivers down her spine.
Celeste quickly turned her head and thought. Oh no, he knows!