The Truth

Chapter 3 - Vrantas

The sodrās, Dālef paced anxiously in his lodge. His two remaining soldiers stood to attention; but the taller, Hāleth followed his lord with his gaze attentively.

"How could I let her go?" Dālef scolded himself. He was already anxious about what to tell his arriving brother about the whole affair. He was happy to learn that Rastrākhos was delayed but now, there was no time left. He didn't even take nourishment to himself since the girl escaped. He punished himself this way. He would never have stopped pacing if suddenly a strong light hadn't appeared from behind him, and from it, Rastrākhos hadn't stepped out. Escorted by soldiers of his own and with Amalē, helding the knyghref as captive. Dālef stopped in front of his brethren calmly. He swept his fingers, bent except for his index and middle fingers, across his forehead, a gesture that signified a greeting among his people. He was about to speak when Rastrākhos waved him off.

"I already know she escaped. One of our spies currently works at an asylum where humans lock up those of their kin who have the ability to see us. They are afraid of them. He found the girl there." Dālef smiled.

"Once again the humans" fear of the unknown benefits us. This way we have less chances to be discovered" however, seeing Rastrākhos's strict face he switched to a more serious tone. "But there was something else, right?" His brother turned his gaze to the knyghref. He looked like an average human male, but his eyes were swollen and his nose broken.

"He admitted that he and his disciple came here as father and son. He prepared him to impregnate the Noesenoch. And it has been done." Dālef stepped closer to the man.

"You knyghrefs are always preaching about freedom and peace. And yet! You are possessing human beings when you arrive on Earth." He turned away with disgust and sniffed the air. "But you cannot hide your stench, Vrantas!" The black man smiled smugly and looked him in the eye.

"You can kill me now. But it is already too late. My disciple has fulfilled the prophecy and he's gone. You'll never find him. But should you try, you will face the fleet of Exonas!" Rastrākhos laughed mockingly, it echoed ominously.

"Unfortunately your grandson is flowing out with blood out of its mother!" He pronounced grandson in the most vile way he could. He leaned in to whisper to his ear. "You have failed your quest and the foetus was an offering to me before our brother destroyed it in the asylum!" The man hung his head in defeat. He realised his failure. He could only hope that his kin had left the planet alive.

The knyghrefs existed without a physical body out of the Earth. They had bodies of light, able to travel with the speed of light in space. If the boy was able to leave the planet they couldn't reach him, no matter how hard they were trying.

"What was the order, what should we do to him?" Dālef ended the hateful discourse. And his brother answered, quite disappointed.

"There wasn't an order. But we should rather destroy it. As we would've done so with the boy if he hadn't escaped." On the knyghref's face there was no sign of any fear. However, Dālef raised an eyebrow.

"That might be, but his kind has possessed humans for thousands of years. We could remove him from the body before purging him" he offered a solution. Rastrākhos snorted.

"My dear brother, since when are you such a fan of these lesser species? Humans are just humans. We could easily create new ones anytime. Not to mention they procreate so quickly as pests!"

"May that be like that, yet if we kill every human or simply let them die there won't be anyone left you could rule over and in the end, anyone left to die." Rastrākhos fell silent and let Dālef take action. From his pocket he pulled out a strange herb with gelatinous leaves. Signed his two soldiers to hold the man still, then pushed the herb down his throat. The man started to gag and his mouth was foaming. Convulsions ran through all of his body and moved into the foetal position. His eyes become bloodshot and stuck for a moment. After that a shining, turquoise sphere of light left his throat. As soon as it tasted its freedom it started to float towards the open window. However, Rastrākhos drew out a glowing blade and threw it at the sphere. At that moment there was an enormous bang in the whole lodge and the soldiers fell to the floor as the sphere of light exploded and turned into a billion shimmering specks of dust falling to the wooden floor.

"I hate knyghrefs! You need to clean a lot after you kill one," Rastrākhos spoke loudly and stretched out his arm. The dagger returned to his hands obediently. "But... I have to admit," he spinned the dagger in the air, "they can look better than fireworks here on Earth." He finished the sentence sheathing the blade. The other jallveah waved to his soldiers to pick the man up from the floor, then turned back to his brother.

"What did Solvātēth command, what's next?" he asked. This time a woman stepped forward, who watched them in silence till now. She wore a crimson cloak over her clothes. Her bright yellow eyes shone out eerily from her dark face. Sometimes her eyes sent even Dālef a shiver down his spine.

"We need to find the girl. He said nothing else. But I can feel, she's not at the place Rastrākhos mentioned anymore. It is likely that the larecs helped her escape. However, till they find a suitable mate to fulfil the prophecy, it is not our problem. They won't force it on her." Her voice was deep and felt like it was constantly echoing. Another thing that made her frightening. Not even the other jallveahs knew why she was different. Her skin was pitch black, and her eyes were like molten gold. She didn't bear any resemblance to the others. It was Rastrākhos who introduced her to the others as the last gift of the First Ones. He might have known more about her, but even if he did, he never talked about it and no one ever asked. However, her unconventional looks paired with extraordinary abilities.

"Do you feel where she is?" asked Hāleth, who - as a mere soldier and what more as a halfblood - wasn't allowed to join in their conversation. However, he was someone who never gave much thought to social rules and traditions. Amalē shot a dark glare towards him but answered the question, facing Dālef instead.

"The girl's abilities are starting to show. She was born to give life to her children and be able to protect them, as much as herself. The more time she spends with those who are able to teach her, the less I will be able to sense her. For now I do sense her, but something masks her presence. A strong larec hides her." Dālef remained silent but he smiled deep within. The larecs have always amazed him. They were more gifted in hiding than any high-vibrational beings. They were even harder to find than jallveahs, which was no small feat.

"Then we have to find the larec" he stated.

"We are on it," the woman nodded.

"Till then, please, eat! Rest! You are my guests!" After this, Dālef withdrew to his bedroom. He tried to steer away his attention from the events of the past few days. He sat down to meditate but the Noesenoch's face lingered in his mind. She was much more unique than he expected. And, though he was hesitant to admit it even to himself, he felt a strange fatherly pride when she killed those three soldiers only to protect the servant.