Chosen: The Legend of Saqui

BOOK III CHAPTER I

BOOK III: THE RACE FOR OLUBAYA

CHAPTER I - THAMECHANIA IASONE

Two years have passed since Saqui killed the pfarrno. In those two years, many things had changed.

The tribes had united more so than they had before. There were more intertribal marriages in those two years. Instead of six separate states, they were one united nation.

Nothing showed that union as much as the aftermath of the Great Storm. For five days and nights, it rained constantly. There was damage from the flooding and from the winds which reached speeds of one hundred fifteen miles per hour. The villages of Yottoko and Leyati received the most damage.

The six tribes united to rebuild the villages and restore the lifestyles of those affected. Relations between the tribes had never been better.

There was also a bit of sad news. Saqui's grandfather Rucalaf passed away. He was eighty-eight years old. Few Chican lived long past the age of eighty.

Perhaps the biggest change in Saqui's life was that she had become a mother. She gave birth to a little girl she named Olubaya.

She loved Olubaya so very much. She never let her little girl out of her sight. She was happier than she had been at any other time in her life.

That all changed one night. Saqui was awoken by her seven-month-old daughter. She could not stop crying, no matter what her mother did.

Olubaya had a high fever, blotchy spots all over her body, and her pupils were dilated.

Doctors tried several different remedies to cure her. Nothing seemed to help. They were stumped as to what to try next.

They looked through medical journals to see if they could determine what her problem was. Everything they found in the journals was what they had already tried.

They found one other option, but it was a very rare disease, one that had not been seen on more than five hundred years.

"Your Highness," they said, "we fear that your daughter may have thamechania iasone."

"Thamechania iasone?" she asked. "What is that?"

"It is a very rare disease. We have never seen it before, nor has any doctor in the past five hundred years."

"Then, how do you know she has it?"

"Well, we can only assume. We have tried everything we do know. This is the only thing we have not with the symptoms she has."

"Do you have the cure for it?"

"Alas, we do not. Since there have been no cases in so long, no cure was kept in case it came back."

"Can you make a cure?"

They searched their journals to see what was needed to make the cure, but could find nothing.

Suddenly, a thought hit Rimac. He ran to his quarters and began searching through his books. When the doctor mentioned thamechania iasone, it triggered a memory. He found what he was looking for and brought the book back.

"There is a cure," he said. "I have been reading everything you brought back from Thallius, and I remembered that this was the same disease that killed the Kosumi. As I looked, they spoke of the cure that they were unable to create."

When he said that, it sent a chill up and down her spine. Had she brought back the virus from Thallius? Is she responsible for her daughter's ailment?

"So, can we make the cure?" she asked.

"Yes, we can make it, but we need five components to make it, and they are in very limited quantity. They will need to be brought to us in order to make the cure."

"What are they?"

"The first is Aegeira, pressurized water from the deepest part of the Galenic Ocean.

"The second is Myritele, a rare mineral. It is rumored to be in the icy region north of Nielol.

"The third is pollen from the Xanthyia. The only known Xanthyia grow in Aa Tlorec.

"The fourth is pollen from the Lampheurya. It grows on the top of Mount Atau.

"The last element is Daeluceus, a rare mineral last seen outside of Olujimi."

"That's it?" she asked them. "Well, I can go get them and bring them back to make the cure."

"I feel we must warn you. Your daughter only has maybe another two sunsets left to live. We need those elements as soon as you can get them."

"Then, I must leave immediately."

"We must leave immediately," Jumoke said. "Two people can find the elements quicker than one."

"No, it is too dangerous. You do not know what danger lies ahead."

"Neither do you. I feel so helpless sitting idly by doing nothing while my daughter suffers."

"You can do your part by watching over Olubaya and comforting her."

They continued arguing until he eventually caved in and agreed to stay at the Palace.