In Huck's Hands

Chapter 2: How Droll

The sounds of the locals' murmurs faded away as Aiko drove us from that grisly scene, the race of my own heart echoing louder than any voice could scream to my hungover eardrums. Though Dennis' treacherously brief reign was over, I felt no sense of accomplishment--only a gnawing resolve to unite all peoples of sandy Buriti Vasca, no matter the cost.

As we navigated the abandoned freeway cutting through the desert, my eyes traced the undulating dunes stretching infinitely toward the red-streaked horizon. This harsh, unforgiving land held nightmares beyond the human conflicts raging across it. Massive, ungulate Andrewsarchus stalkers crept in the plunging wastes, that terrified me to my core...

My own uncle died to their huge gaping maw during an ambush of insurgents, the aftermath of his almost entirely devoured corpse was enough to ignite my mind to the many mythic creatures said to roam to sacred dunes of Buriti...But not enough to believe in the rampant mysticism that plagued all peoples of the continent of Izmar. Thousands of fabled encounters with ancient spirits and fictitious creatures combined into only a nagging sense of unease.

This feeling was not enough to deter me from my scheme, unlike my pretentious, squeamish father who deemed the native tribes and rebels "contaminated"-- Fit only for bloodletting, slavery, or sacrifice should they dare trespass too near a Vascan noble's fiefdom for fear of our Vascan god; Dhira's wrath. I intended to extend an olive branch instead.

Even if that meant undertaking their traditional truce ritual of relinquishing my personal dagger while surrounded by Aygu's strongest warriors to the man directly. It was a tremendously risky undertaking, one that Father would have balked at as an abject weakness showing from the first moments of my rule.

But I could no longer watch idly as our great nation tore itself apart over ancient hatreds and injustices. The time had come to shed the prejudices and intolerance of the past. No matter the perils, I would be the one to unite all peoples under a new era of parity and progress for anyone who called upon my name.

My ruminations were swiftly interrupted as Aiko's gruff voice broke the tense silence. "You gambled back there that the locals wouldn't pick you apart too Huck...Where have you been?" I was sitting in the passenger seat this time around as Aiko made her way down the only freeway leading toward the Mauve Palace; The present capital of Buriti Vasca after losing the previous to bad land deals with the north.

The roadway was devoid of any human life as lithe gazelles grazed beautifully on the river bank running perpendicular to the main highway of Buriti Vasca, a wonderful sight for my already tired eyes. "What, Koi nah--I had been bumming around Nak, for the last week this muddy southern sector has been very...Accommodating."

She appeared to be contemplating something deeper than the moment as her light brown freckled face remained stony yet pristine; fig-colored eyes on the barren road. I don't know what her problem was--She was my sister's keeper, not mine.

Well, I guess she was mine now that they all lay in Dhira's inferno... Culture dictated that both the Vascan king and his female kin be followed by a lone bodyguard that was meant to only answer to him and the family he deemed worthy of the Shadow Sentry's titanium-like loyalty. This duty now fell on her to be by me despite her own convictions.

"Can you listen really quickly?" Her voice was rough as always as Aiko slowed down from the high velocity we had maintained since the incident with Dennis. I've never been one to dwell on the past but since this morning--The dawn ambiance had kept forcing my mind's eye to the shattered mural that is my past. I found her question comical, as if unfamiliar with my own issue with retained attention that disallowed me any peace of mind.

Aiko knew better than to try too hard at the effort, I had spent an unhealthy amount of time with her leeching the ShadowGaurd training as a royal sentry. Every summer when she and Kash would come back from Svetlo-Vascan boarding school...Terrorizing the onyx marble walls of the gaudy Mauve Palace with their talk of stratagem and use on my pudgy body for endless games of torment and mockery.