Pupandaka 2

Chapter 2 - Silhouetted

"I can't believe you went into O'rathtare!" Drele shook Vertivar. "I know, I'm sorry, I just wanted to see what it was like," Vertivar said. "Sometimes wishes can have their dangers," Tearlach explained. Drele looked at the queen. "This is like the demise all over again," he said. "During the rule of former Queen Renaha, yes. Remember the story in which she died fighting for Pupandaka and the dragon race?" Tearlach asked. "Who doesn't?" Drele chuckled.

"I think this time, that will be me soon. Because this guy woke Sapta up, there is no way to stop it. Tanark nearly died trying to contain it over 500 years ago," Tearlach explained. Drele looked at the dim green glow atop Mount Biodra, where the dragon relic lies. He then turned his head towards the sea. "What if," Drele said as he thought, "what if we sailed out on sea onward to Hverki? They may be able to help us." Tearlach was surprised. She had never heard anyone mention that kingdom, ever!

Hverki was a kingdom southeast of Pupandaka across the Sea of Dragons. They do not have dragons inhabiting their land, for they decided to use their natural ways of evolving. However, Hverkians were quite impolite. They'd snatch stuff from others without saying a word. In fact, Hverki is probably the most overrated kingdom on the planet. They'd dress nearly in black and, truth be told, look pretty badass. But not the badass you're thinking of.

"I don't think we should go to Hverki," Tearlach said. "Why not?" "Long story," Tearlach said as she looked towards the sea. "It's the closest kingdom to us out there," Drele said. "Yes, but, trust me, you never want to take a step there." "Well then, how does Uberveropsoki sound?" Drele proposed. "I guess that would work even though they are a small kingdom," Tearlach agreed. "But... nobody in Pupandaka had set sail out to this sea in decades," she continued. "How come?" Drele got hooked. "There were wars out on this sea for years. So we agreed to stay out of the sea until peace is made with the surrounding kingdoms," Tearlach explained.

Drele turned to the relic one more time until leaving the palace. Back home, he contemplated the conversation he had made with the queen. She sounded terrified and full of hesitation when he mentioned Hverki. He remembered the story now. When Tearlach lay dying after powering the relic, before Tanark arrived, she had seen four towering figures dressed in black. One offered to kill her quickly and the other offered to beat her to death. That was until Tanark arrived and scared them away.

There had been Hverkians in the kingdom, but what does it mean? Why were they here the moment Tearlach lay dying? Perhaps the better question is: Who are they really? They could have been anything. A murder squad, a search party, or... just silhouetted men trying to see what's going on. He demands answers to this. He wants to know what really happened. He plans to meet with the queen again tomorrow afternoon. Drele dropped onto the bed and slowly fell asleep.

As the sun shone into his eyelids, he woke up. Drele got up quickly and looked at the time. It was half past 7. He opened the door and suddenly a very cold air wave blasted him in the face. It felt as if his face had been turned to ice. He opened his eyes and what he saw was shocking. Everything was covered in ice and snow. Has winter arrived too early and too quickly?

He grabbed a coat and started out the door. Drele could see everyone gathered up in the middle of the kingdom. "What's going on here?" Drele asked. "Oh, there you are," Tearlach said as she spotted Drele in the crowd. "Come on," she said, heading towards her palace. Drele followed.

"It's summer, but it's freezing cold and it's snowing," Tearlach said, pacing around the room. "Could this be a sign that Sapta has escaped from its prison?" Drele looked down. What he did know was that everything around Sapta would be winter as long as it stays. He turned to Vertivar.

"When you were in O'rathtare, was it cold and icy, like this?" Drele asked Vertivar. "Yes, I guess so," he answered. Drele then turned to Tearlach. "Yes, Sapta escaped and is nearby. Tell everyone to keep an eye out," Drele ordered. Then it struck him. It was the Dragons' Festival. The dragons will soon be coming and he needs to do this quickly.

Queen Tearlach ordered everyone to keep an eye out for a dark mist, or silhouettes that may indicate Sapta. Drele ran up to Tearlach. "Um.. can you tell me what the silhouetted people were as you powered the relic and lay weak?" Drele asked. "I don't know, it's as it goes, silhouetted men. I can't make them out if they're silhouetted," Tearlach explained. "But by how they speak, it had to have been Hverkians."

Hverkians or Sapta? She did say that Sapta sometimes appears as a silhouette, so was one of them Sapta? It was often said that it was a quiet figure, and there were four of them, not just those two. Based on this observation, he can infer that one of the other two had to have been Sapta. Was it working for Hverkians? "No, don't be silly," Drele told himself, "Sapta doesn't work with anybody. It has no emotions."