Analya

Chapter One

"Help, somebody please help me..." Jason screamed as he ran through the forest in the sheer darkness of the night. The full moon that was once shining its luminescence over the forest had begun to darken into a deep shade of red. As he quickened his pace, running as fast as his legs could carry him. The trees ahead of him began to cave in and the sky above him became pregnant. There were heavy clouds as well as thunderclaps and in a matter of seconds, it began to rain heavily.
As the rain droplets touched his skin, His flesh began to burn. He tried to hide from the rain under the shades of the hitrata trees but that did him no good as the shadow following him could penetrate any space and was as well gaining on him. Slowly his legs became as heavy and began slowing him down.
He couldn't run any further and his legs finally gave way.
He fell to the ground as he had completely lost all sense of mobility.
"H...e....l....p" He tried screaming but no sound was produced. It felt like his airways had been blocked and no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't scream. He started wheezing as he struggled to breathe and speak.
Suddenly, Jason could hear a voice coming from the direction of the forest. He turned to face the forest and a distinct sound was coming from it.
" The Time has come," said the voice almost as silent as a whisper. The whisper travelled through the wind and as wind started to pick up, so was the voice getting closer and closer. He looked up to the sky hoping in silence that someone would save him as at this point he could no longer save himself but his silent plea fell on deaf ears. The crows that took shelter in the trees were now screeching loudly and the sound was almost deafening.
His heart was pounding hard against his rib cage and his blood began to boil. His eyes became a deep blood red and the hairs on his skin turned into spikes, glowing ever so brightly.
A crow fell from the tree and landed on his body. The eyes are a mismatch of black and red. The feathers are a jet black colour. It cawed loudly and Jason fell into a trance.
"Ages and failures, stories and death. What you love most would hold the power between life and death. When the time comes, choose wisely  ". The voice echoed over and over again.
There was a loud whistling sound and Jason woke up from his dream state. He was breathing heavily. His vision cleared out from his disorientation and he could now focus his sight. He scrubbed his eyes groggily. Even in the darkness, he could see that there was a figure of a person in his room. After the trance he just experienced, his senses were heightened. He flicked the switch and the light in his room came on revealing his father sitting in a chair that was directly opposite his bed.
He was staring at him
"What the hell, Father. You scared me", Jason snapped
His father was quiet. Jason noticed that his father's eyes were as clear as glass, staring at him and tapping his feet on the ground. He quickly scrambled out of his bed and knelt at the feet of his father. His father placed his right hand on Jason's head, sinking his nails into his scalp and reciting an incantation
"Suī Gĕnerå vä si lą" he chanted repeatedly
Jason began to groan in discomfort
His father dragged his nails through Jason's scalp and began making an inscription on his head. Blood dripped down to the sides of Jason's face and he writhed in pain. The motion on his head continued for a moment until his father stopped. His father took in a deep breath and his eye colour returned to normal.
"The coronation begins in an hour. Clean up and Get ready", said King Zepheus
Jason took a quick look at the clock
"It's 11 pm. What's going on Father ?" Jason asked
King Zepheus shot him an angry look
"Meet me in the courtyard in an hour and bring the Wolf's bane I gave you on your 25th birthday ", said King Zepheus
Jason grumbling
"That's not a request Jason, It's an Order" King Zepheus added.
He walked out of the room, banging the door loudly.
As soon as his father left, Jason rushed to the mirror and bent his head to see what was inscribed.
"O....D.....I.....S", Jason mouthed the words and his eyes widened in surprise.
"NO....NO.....NO!!!", screamed Jason at his reflection and punched the glass which shattered from the collision.
He sat on the floor, lamenting.
How could he the black sheep of the family possibly be ODIS?
The spirits have to be wrong
There has to be a mistake, somewhere, anywhere because this cannot be true.
Jason thought as he panicked.
Jason placed his hands over his face and wept. He sat there for the next 30 minutes just mourning his freedom and all the privileges that this new development would cost him.
Things were now going to change and nothing would ever be the same as it once was.
He was scared but he also knew very well that he could not afford to be late for the coronation or he would have to face his father's wrath.
He stood up from the floor, walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. The cold water hit his skin and the once dried blood on his head and across his face washed away with the water. He washed himself clean. He took in a number of breath, got out of the shower and proceeded to the room to get dressed.
Staring at the wolf's bane that has been covered in a Zotin glass for the past three years, He remembered the night of his birthday when his father gave him the plant. He read no meaning to it as he saw it as just another weird gift his father presented to him since King Zepheus was known for giving really terrible gifts. Only now did he see the scenario in a very different light.
What secrets does this Wolf's bane hold and why is he the one marked?
He is not even next in line for the throne. His brother, Prince Colin has basically been trained since childhood on how to handle matters of the kingdom. He is ten times more worthy of being chosen rather than the king of Mischief who was no other person than himself.
The knock on his door jolted him back to reality.
"Come in", Jason said
The servant entered the room and said " Greetings my prince, Everyone is waiting for you in the Courtyard."
"Alright, You may Go", Jason scoffed. The servant bowed in response and left.
He took one final look at the now broken mirror and proceeded to the door.
"Here, goes nothing", Jason muttered to himself as he slowly turned the knob of his door.

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As He approached the courtyard, he could see that all the people of the Analya Clan were already gathered there. His eyes scanned through the courtyard to see the number of people that had come to watch this joke of a show until his eyes met the King's own. The King was standing at the Chapel with his brother and some other Elders of the Clan.
King Zepheus motioned for him to come forward. As Jason walked through the crowd, the people began to make way for his passage. He could hear their murmuring and see the look of uncertainty in their eyes. People looked at him like he was a bride walking down the aisle on her wedding day.
Their fucking Messiah!!
The only thing was that this was not a happy occasion rather he felt like he was a goat that was walking down to meet his end.
"Let us begin," King Zepheus yelled
The elders started chanting an incantation, invoking the spirits. The King walked Jason to where the elders were standing. He collected the Wolf's bane and ordered him to kneel. He handed over the Wolf's bane to one of the elders. The elder took the plant and crushed the Wolf's bane over Justin's head which seeped in through the inscription that was earlier made by the king. Immediately the crushed plant touched his scalp, Jason began to scream. He started crying blood and speaking in the old Arilian Language. He was also shaking violently and fell flat on the ground.
Something was crawling through his skin and that caused Jason to turn and face the sky. A bright light shot from his eyes into the sky and the people began to jubilate.
He finally calmed down and regained consciousness. The servants helped him to stand upright
King Zepheus Laughed heartily and faced the people saying, " I present to you, Your New Leader. My Second Son and New King of Analya, Jason Analya". The people jubilated, whistled and sang praises to their new king
Prince Collin was utterly shocked.
"Father, how could you let this happen", he managed to say, looking at his father with so much pain in his eyes.
"I am sorry my son. The spirits make the decision, I don't " King Zepheus responded sympathetically.
Prince Collin shot his father an angry look and stormed off.
King Zepheus was leave and there turned back to his people
The show must go on
"Let the Celebrations begin", King Zepheus said and the Musicians began playing their Arrilian instruments.
"Father, may I speak to you", Jason whispered
"Not Now, Jason", replied King Zepheus
"Father, you either speak to me now or you will never see me again", Jason snapped.
His father took a quick look at him, watching his demeanor to know if Jason was bluffing. From what he could gather, he knew he had to speak with Jason or else all hell will break loose.
"Alright, You wanna talk... Let's Talk" King Zepheus snapped and walked in the direction of the palace.

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"We both know I cannot rule this Kingdom. This is Collin's destiny, not mine. He's the one that should be king and not me" Jason said all in one breath.
"I know you are scared, Jason. The spirits have chosen you for a reason. Do I agree with them, No because I just don't think you are ready yet but I cannot change the prophecy" King Zepheus said.
"After the Incident with the humans that cost us your mother's life as well as being bound like slaves with this stupid bracelet, there is nothing more I can do to challenge the spirits. We are at their mercy" king Zepheus added as he tried to reason with Jason.
"Don't bring Mother into this, I will not be the Leader of the Analya Clan and that is final. Let Collin freaking do it and just leave me the fuck alone." Jason screamed at his father. He pointed his thumb and index finger at the wall and turned his fingers clockwise really slowly while muttering a spell. The dust around them began to pick up and there was a loud swooshing of air and just like that, a portal was created.
"JASON... JA...." King Zepheus called out
Jason jumped through the portal and disappeared
"We are doomed" said King Zepheus. As he was still murmuring to himself, the room became filled with a thick black smoke.
King Zepheus began to breathe heavily, his eyes widened as if he had just seen a ghost
"It wasn't supposed to be like this, You promised... You promised to leave him out of this." King Zepheus yelled amidst his tears.
The shadow laughed maniacally