Covenant: Exodus

Chapter 27

The waves pounded relentlessly as the boat rocked in the violent sea. Tarrin sat alone with Nala looking out over the crashing, white-capped waves as the rain pounded down. He stroked the top of the tiger's head as she purred gently beneath him. He could feel her sense of contentment, and deeply wished that he felt the same way, but his mind seemed as turbulent as the storm-tossed seas tonight. Once again, they were on the hunt for Noahim and the other survivors of Atla. Jakon had learned many things from the book that he had sought for so long, the Ratam Ra'Ava, but he had not, as of yet, been able to touch the True Ari'Yet.

Limitless power, Tarrin thought to himself. That was the goal of all this misery...of all this death. How much longer would they be in this boat, searching for something that Tarrin was no longer certain Jakon could, or even should, ever wield? Jakon had been more than fair to Tarrin, that much was certainly true, in fact, he had become his second in command...leading his large army of brutal men throughout the lands that they encountered...searching for the remaining clues to unlock the True Ari'Yet, and conquering all that they encountered along the way.

The legend of this army of gods had spread to such an extent that now when they arrived in a new land, Tarrin had but to announce their presence and they very rarely met resistance. Men would lay down their arms and submit, the most fearsome of them would be brought into the army, the rest enslaved, along with the women and children. In the rare instance that they had to fight, the other side was quickly dispatched. Jakon's army had grown to an incalculable number and was comprised of the most vicious men from each civilization that they had conquered. Not to mention that it was led by Tarrin and a multitude of other gifted men, each of whom had benefited greatly from the things that Jakon had learned in Ratam Ra'Ava.

Tarrin still struggled to believe that he was able to wield the amount of power that he now could, and yet, even though his own power had been increased tenfold since they had left Atla, it paled in comparison to that of Jakon. Tarrin closed his eyes and succumbed to the rocking of the great boat, allowing himself a brief moment of rest. His hand slid from Nala's head as his body sagged and his mind was lost to dreams. In his mind, he saw himself standing on a great green hill looking out over an incredible sight, it was Atla, although not the Atla that they had left, but some new version of their home. People were everywhere, flooding the market, busying themselves around the temple...children played in the grass beside what appeared to be a great river off in the distance. He could see a few RaSheen walking among the people, a small deer and a golden mountain lion, but he could not place the Mul'Ki that they belonged to.

His eyes searched the city for faces that he knew, but none could be seen. Tarrin felt certain that his family was in this place, the family that had been lost to the catastrophe the day that the sky fell. The family that had ignored Noah's warnings and followed Tarrin and Jakon only to meet their own doom. Tarrin continued to search as he saw a large black shape materialize from the temple, followed by a man in silver robes. It was Noahim and Karok. Tarrin's heart began to pound and reached down to be reassured by the presence of Nala, but she was not with him, he stood alone.

Noah and Karok continued their purposeful march toward the hill that Tarrin stood on, and he contemplated trying to find a place to hide, he knew that even though his gift had been increased, he was still no match for Noah on his own, especially without his RaSheen. Where was Nala? Why would she have left me here? His mind raced, trying to decide what to do, there was nowhere to hide, and Noah and Karok would be on him any moment, would kill him, possibly even torture him to get information about Jakon. Tarrin was well familiar with Noahim's bloodlust for Jakon, his insatiable desire to kill the man that had taken control of the brotherhood from him. Noah was jealous of his gift, jealous of his experience and knowledge, but most of all he feared that Jakon would take away the small amount of power that he still had over the small group of Mul'Ki and citizens of Atla that had gone with him.