Luthando

‘’It would have been better had you had the foresight to die at least,’’ Uncle Kolisa says arms clasped behind his back whilst he looks out at the city sprawled below.

The words sting, more than I had ever thought words could sting me but I say nothing receiving the cold welcome I expected for my failure. Silently he looks out the large balcony not moving at all to the extent that I doubt he is breathing, I keep my head down waiting as is my lot.

A cool breeze flaps the edges of his robes as it blows in whistling lightly as in curves around the worked stone of the mount tower funnelled upward by the architecture to those at the peak using it in their wind aspected cultivation meditations. He seems so immutable as he stands there, probably able to identify individual faces of the people far below in the city proper as its rumoured cultivators at his cultivation continent can. It’s another two minutes before he deigns to send more words my way.

‘’I suppose we could marry you for breeding stock as a concubine to one of the other families, get some benefit out of you at least. Or have you permanently liaise with the Khar and Prides, you’ve always had an amicable relationship with the mortals under us but I fear your proximity would insite Khaya to a rage. We can’t have family killing family now so he’d have you maimed as you maimed his nephew, which would force me to retaliate to save face.’’

I keep my mouth shut, I wish Luvuyo had killed me as well. At least then I’d have this farce of an existence over with, I’m not even a cultivator so maybe the heavens or samsara or whatever the mortals hope for would have my soul. Fuck this existence and all its unfair injustices, fuck the families fuck the Bantu, fuck all these motherfucking people leeching off each other to make themselves stronger!

‘’You disappoint me.’’

A spike to my heart that has my hand trembling to reach out and grab his cloak in supplication stabs me, the urge to beg forgiveness on my knees strong but I suppress that shit ruthlessly. I’m a Bantu-jin man, whatever else I’m not. I bow and beg to no one. Fuck you too Uncle with all your distant ‘care’ and invisible manoeuvring, I survived this long on my own for all intents. I’ve always been on my own, I’ll face whatever comes on my own if I must.

A bell tolls on one of the neighbouring peaks, its sound reverberating throughout the whole city of 20 million citizens. A relatively small city when compared to those under most of the Moya elders but Uncle Kolisa hasn’t let the Khar expand much in the past 600 or so years for whatever reason. Stuck in his old ways, stifling the mortals, underestimating their potential and ingenuity, looking down at their use of weapons and arrays in battle.

So busy worried about cultivation, the other families, threats far outside Verelia and the theoretical threat of the Sayans that you don’t see the potential threat the mortal pose right under your feet. No, you disappoint me, Uncle!

I keep my head down, taking the harsh words having not been given leave to speak. My hands ball into fists power radiating out of me creating a slight breeze before I let my anger wash through me with a Chilling Breath. A technique teacher thought me to help control my temper so I don’t retaliate giving the other young an excuse to hurt me growing up. The memory comes and goes in a flash, a much younger version of me fuming with tightly clenched fists.

‘’How can you see the shortcomings and failures of all the people around me yet fail to see your own? I know you’ve been accumulating mortal wealth for many years, that you have properties and do business with the mortals to accumulate gems and luxuries that have nothing to do with cultivation. And since you have no core to fill I allowed this as a curiosity not something to discourage as your life is limited to what mana you can rely on, inferior energy though it may be.

‘’But I see now how my laxness has misshaped your thinking to be other, strange to us. You place value on these material possessions over your own family, you place these weapons over your own pride.’’

One of the exotic swords from the invaded world clatters loudly on the hard black-stone floor, louder than it should.

‘’Dangerous implements we will have to control, but these will never be disseminated amongst us as they are anathema to our cultivation. A lesson it seems you have never learnt to my eternal shame.’’

The wind outside is much louder now as it whistles outside the balcony, only a slight breeze coming in rustling uncle’s robes.

‘’The body Luthando,’’ he says tapping his chest lightly. ‘’The body is always the greatest weapon you have. Forged through fire, tempered through cultivation, disciplined through training, quenched in the blood of battle until any other weapon you carry is but a tool to face lesser foes. There are no limits placed on the body of a cultivator by the Planes of Creation, the very definition of cultivation is to defy the heavens and take immortality with your own hands.’’

The air screams in a whistling protest as he clenches his fist casually, ‘’a lesson it seems you have never learnt.’’

My hand reaches out, ‘’Unc-‘’

[Fla-tlee!!]

My tongue is ripped from my mouth by a rough tug of cold phantom claws, my teeth scatter, lips ravished outward as I stumble forward blinking before what happened registers. Pain comes next as I leak blood like a puking infant from the abused anus my mouth has now become. Reconstruction does nothing, the wound completely chi induced and beyond even my best mana ability to heal.

‘’To not just speak before being directed but interrupt me, truly your insolence knows no bounds grand nephew. Insolence I wish had strength behind it but you are a paper tiger, an origami of no consequence.’’

The sight of my bloody tongue on his open palm has me swaying as I suffocate on the blood filling my lungs and stomach, unable to staunch the internal bleeding.

Another breeze comes in cutting the slab of flesh on his palm into mince-meat with such precision and fine control that the pieces float away instead of fall on the ground, all within a heartbeat.

His chi disappears from within me a moment later, Reconstruction, I heal gasping a single breath before calming myself as the pain leaves me.

‘’What do you have to say for yourself?’’

Uncle Kolisa asks turning to face me. A large handsome muscular man like most of the family cultivators, sharp gaze with pinpricks for pupils piercing through me. I find that I can’t find the words that I had in my mind, how Luyolo ruined my score, how I did everything right, how unfair everything has been since the shattering of my core as a child, since the death of my mother.

‘’I have failed you and myself uncle,’’ I say bowing at the waist. ‘’I await your judgement.’’

Fuck!

That gaze stays on me, assessing me impassionately.

A cold claw of air lifts me upright before I can even register; a shiver goes through me at the fading sensation of the phantom touch against my skin. Or is the shiver from having to look directly into the eyes now trained on my own?

‘’I am glad you still remember that you are mine to judge grand nephew,’’ he says patting me lightly on the shoulder. I didn’t see him move but his hand on me is comforting, more familiar in the way we occasionally interact.

‘’You have three days to get your affairs in order, after which you are to never set foot on Verilia before you can stand before your cousin and kill him with your bare hands.’’

Again he is across the room, pouring two crystals half full with viper spirits before lounging cross leg on the sitting rug.

‘’Come have a drink with me,’’ he says as though he hasn’t just exiled me from the only home I’ve ever known.

*

Sachihiro

How can something so nimble be so hard?

[Clink]

Ineffectively my slash bounces against the hard scales of the floating serpent, diving out of its path I roll into an upright position. I swing Honour as I come up, {Water Bolt} {Water Bolt}, casting with each slash at its side as it manoeuvres its large body around stalactites.

Ineffectively the bolts score across its scales with loud splashes doing absolutely no damage that I can perceive before losing connection as the droplets freeze over.

I run across the rocks towards the tail trying to keep as far from the immerging head as I can before-

[Shhhaaa]

I stop in my tracks at the hiss, completely petrified into immobility. The metal blade of Kata groans on my waist, ice crystals forming all over me as the chilled of its ability permeates to the bones.

Faster than a creature this large should be able to move its upon me just as I’m again able to move.

[Claa]!

I use its moment and Honour against fangs as long as my torso to push off, I grunt as I land awkwardly on some rocks but I’m up a moment later stabbing into its face.

I’m pushed back, the length of my sword the only thing separating us, poking without penetrating against the hard scales of its head. Our eyes connect for the first time through the darkness, it’s so close!

Unsheathing Razor I stab into the dark orb gazing at me as its tongue flickers out. It flinches backwards coiling away with Razor stuck in its face, with a roar I launch off following with all speed. Now its my turn to be the hunter, following my connecting to Razor I know exactly where the head is even as it coils its body around itself protectively.

[Clank]

I strike against the scaly body looking for a way through to its head, one hand on its body I vault over the thing as it reflectively flexes downwards. It's a very big snake but I spot an opening as its body coils. I can feel exactly where my bound o-katana is.

[Vu-vu-vu-ktlaff]

Kata flies and scores lodging itself right next to Razor.

[Shhhaa]

I find myself locked in place petrified as the thing coils tightly, shit. Suddenly I’m being squeezed having gotten myself into a trap. Everything happened so quickly and I couldn’t keep track of the whole snake in this darkness.

[Ahhhhh]

I scream completely unable to move, the scream expelling the last of the air from my lungs as my joints dislocate painfully, Honour crammed against my side having been completely useless against this underground creature.

[Pop-pop]

My shoulder and hip pop out of alignment the pain and suffocation triggering me into the Rage, [pop, pop]. This snake needs to die now, it needs to die finding honour in death!

I see red, Honour melting into my body, the sheath into my back.

[Tlaff]

My left eye pops out with a burst, my mind a haze of pain and adrenaline that importantly does nothing for me as I hear my body squeeking, breaking, shikai or no I’m dying, fast.

A rib on my left side snaps loudly to my ears, blood squirting out from where my eye used to be.

[Snap]

[Snap]

[Snap]

In a cascade other ribs go, urine flowing out of me as death takes me so fucking randomly. So fucking randomly, faeces I didn’t know I had is squeezed out of me like cake creamer. The axe-blade of my zanpakuto against my chest the only thing prolonging my existence keeping my torso from being crushed to mush.

What the fuck have I gotten myself into, I cry out in my mind. Pulling on the spiritual threads with all I have flailing for survival, death not an option, not like this, not now.

{DONG}, a sound tolls.

Peace comes over my panicking mind, great peace that releases me from the grips of utter panic as I accept my end. Even in this there is honour for me, a sigh escapes me as I find myself falling, falling out of the Rage, falling out of all my worldly delusions.

Something catches me.

‘’Easy now easy,’’ a voice of peace says gently placing me on the floor. The snake, where is the snake?

Darkness takes me.