Chosen: The Legend of Saqui

BOOK II CHAPTER VII

CHAPTER VII - THALLIUS

Weeks had passed since she killed the pfarrno. She continued training using the Quesmi to perfect the Spirit of the Rochin.

But she was still curious about the lost tribe. She knew nothing about them and wanted to learn more.

One day, curiosity got the best of her. She went to Rimac.

"Dear Rimac," she said, "where did the Kosumi live? I would love to see their village and find out more about them."

Rimac was eager to learn about them as well. As a historian, he could only study that which was written about them, which was next to nothing. He looked through his scarce records to find where the lost village of Thallius used to be.

"According to legend, Thallius was in the Galenic Ocean, forty-four miles off the coast of Aa Tlorec. The village was smaller than any of the other six, yet much more extravagant."

He showed her some sketches of the palace and other buildings in Thallius. They were only sketches since no outsider had ever visited it.

The next morning, she set out for Aa Tlorec. Rather than swim the forty-four miles, she had the Lefitray take her to where Thallius was believed to be. Once there, she dove in. Knowing it was deep in the ocean, she took a light with her.

Using the Quesmi, she dove one mile down. Using the Spirit of the Dowo, she sought out any buildings. After a few minutes, she got a faint vision of the palace. It was a half-mile to her left and a thousand feet down.

She swam into the palace. Once she entered, she discovered that she was able to breathe without using the Quesmi.

She saw skeletons scattered throughout the palace. The Kosumi died out hundreds of years ago. There were no living Kosumi left.

As she searched the palace, she found some relics that explained their history. She also found some books that told of their culture.

She knew she had to take some of those back to the Grand Central Palace, but she felt like she needed permission to do so. She felt without it, she was stealing from them.

"If anyone can hear me, my name is Saqui. I am Queen of the six tribes. Your village is amazing, and I wish to share it with the rest of my people. But I know you are a proud people, and I do not wish to offend you or your customs. May I take some of your history back to my palace so we may learn more about you?"

There was silence. She asked again. "May I please take some of your history back to my palace so we may learn more about you?"

After a long silence, a faint voice could be heard. "Saqui," it said.

"Who is this?" she asked.

"I am Malosaphinax, the last king of the Kosumi."

"It is an honor to speak with you."

"The honor is mine, Chosen One. It was told that one day an outsider would visit us. I regret that I am unable to shake your hand."

"I have learned some about your people, but much more by touring your magnificent city. I wish to take some of this back to my people so they may enjoy it as well. But I will not do it without your approval."

"As you know, my people separated ourselves from the rest of the world. We chose a solitary life. In retrospect, had we become allies with the other tribes, my people would still be alive today.

"You see, once we a proud race. That is, until the plague struck. This plague started slowly, then grew rapidly. Soon, half of my people were infected with it. We knew of the cure, but to get what we needed meant having to travel by land to the other tribes."

"Could you travel by land to get the necessary items?" Saqui asked.

"Yes. We are able to walk on the surface world, but only for a limited time. Retrieving some of the items needed would require great distance, distance my people could not have made."

"So, your people died because of your distrust of the other tribes to help?"

"Yes. And I must deal with the regret of that choice every day."

"May I take some of your history back to share with my people to show them that the Kosumi were a great tribe?"

"Yes, Chosen One, you may share our heritage with the rest of Larunda. We do ask that you do not take all of it. We must be allowed to preserve some of our past here."

She bowed to his presence. "Thank you, Your Highness. I will honor your request."

She made several trips from the city to the boat. On the first trip, she brought some ancient weapons of the Kosumi. When she returned to the city, she brought containers so she could carry books and records and keep them dry. With her final trip, she brought items from families, personal items.

She left the riches behind. She did not need them and felt it a disservice to take their treasure. She left behind the king's crown to honor him. Compared to what she saw, she took very little, but it would have a huge impact at the Palace.

Rimac was like a kid in a candy store when she showed him the artifacts from Thallius. He could not stop reading the books she brought back.

He read stories of great battles. He read that the pfarrno attacked Thallius once, but the Kosumi chased it away. It was from there that the pfarrno attacked the other tribes before the wizard's spell.

While Rimac chose to keep the books to himself, the rest of what she retrieved from the ancient city were on display at the Grand Central Palace for everyone to enjoy.