Crowning Fantasy Book 1 (16 page)

***

T
he surviving Mikachiari from all over Varlid had massed at Port Nomoshichi in Aririnkatata. The Grey hats could only annoy them with their weak magic spells. Mikachiari archers brought some of them down before the White hats could assist.

Priestess Tado had refused to send the Mikachiari from Rasima with the blessing of the Elyun government. Batu and Kazi managed to lead a small group and escape with the help of a few Kertenekele.

The Mikachiari didn't have long to wait. The Asistan Ti had used Mina immediately and during the next skirmish the Grey hats dropped out of the air, dead. The White hats cried out. Blind they flew into buildings and trees. When they dropped to the ground the Mikachiari pounced on them and ripped them apart with teeth and claws. Others used weapons to skewer them, laughing and shouting, "They taste bad!"

Gumus watched at the entrance of Port Nomoshichi, waiting for the carnage to be over. Luru walked up the main alley towards him spitting out a White hat's head and flinging it's body aside like the inedible skin of a piece of fruit. She laughed and jumped on Gumus's back. "Are you ready?!"

Noki, Batu, and Kazi joined her and they screamed, "Sisters, Nokashikatekiariku is ours!" They marched through Aririnkatata where the Faglar joined them. Dried purple blood stuck to their bright colored feathers, beaks and talons.

Gumus Ay entered Nokushikulumichi with his great axe swinging killing any Asistan Ti who crossed his path as he made his way to Chishikuku.

"If Mina is alive, that's where they're keeping her," Luru said. Gumus grabbed Noki in case Mina needed help.

The giant tree stood quiet, impassive to the chaos and violence happening under its shade. Gumus ignored the cries of the scattered White hats crawling on the floor. "Mina!" he called over and over again.

***

M
ina lost count of how many times Blan Chapo Yon Sel had revived her. This time was different. The intense light snapped out instead of fading. Mina gasped at the fresh pain. Blan Chapo Yon Sel faltered above her wiping at her eyes.

With tiny hands outstretched Blan Chapo Yon Sel felt her way down to Mina until their faces met. "What have you done?" she cried in an ear splitting, high-pitched voice. Her eyes covered with an opaque film.

Mina gathered what little moisture was left in her mouth and spit in Blan Chapo Yon Sel's face.

The other White hats in the room cried out for guidance. Blan Chapo Yon Sel withdrew and Mina could no longer see any of them. Soon the room was completely silent. She looked down at her body. She squirmed and tugged at her straps. The needles felt like tiny fires, except her legs. Below her waist Mina felt nothing. Time passed, the colors in the jars faded and then vanished. No one came back for her. 

Hunger clung to her belly and thirst made her delirious. She thought she heard her name. Then she recognized the voice. It was Gumus, she was sure of it, shouting her name over and over again. Mina could only whimper in reply. She heard wood splinter and crack then he was above her. The axe he brandished slipped from his fingers and clattered to the floor. "Noki!" he called.

Gumus's hands floated above her unsure of what to do first. Mina tugged at her wrists and with one snap of his finger she was free. She began picking needles from her body. Noki entered whispering, "Oh Goddess. This is a miracle."

Mina threw needles at her.

"No—it's okay!" Noki stammered. "Your babies live. Five strong males, they are safe!"

Gumus pulled a canteen from Noki's back and placed it to Mina's lips.

Once all the needles were out Mina could still not move her legs.

Tears rolled down Noki's face.

Gumus picked up Mina and carried her outside.

Mina closed her eyes.

When Mina opened her eyes she was immersed in water. A giant animal, again something she'd only heard about in stories, splashed through the water. It had long legs and a long neck and was munching on leaves from branches high above. Mina heard a snuffle and turned her head to see Noki still crying.

"They kept the zoo open. These animals are from all over Aririnkatata," Noki said as she wiped her nose.

Gumus raised his hand dripping with water and let it splash over Mina's head. "Bring me a large piece of cloth," he told Noki.

Mina didn't speak, didn't know when she would want to again. Her eyes drifted over the rich greenery, her other senses filled with the smell of flowers thick in the air, the buzz of insects and animals nearby. Across the pond where Mina floated, Mikachiari pulled a sobbing White hat from a house onto the patio and methodically ripped her apart.

***

A
mong the uppermost branches of the Chishikuku, Prezidan Jules floated in a clear bubble, one milky white eye darted about as his body twisted in pain. He was half the size of the other Asistan Ti gathered around him.

Blan Chapo Yon Sel knelt at his side weeping. "They have overrun Patri Peyi. Give me your blessing and I will drive them into the Bred Hav!"

Prezidan Jules took a small drag of air that sounded like rusty springs. His tiny hand broke through the bubble and touched Blan Chapo Yon Sel. "I would have been happy to make you the next Prezidan."

Blan Chapo Yon Sel's face turned as white as her clothes. "No—"

The Prezidan withdrew his hand and the bubble began to glow and then burst into a sprinkling of gold colored dust. Before the dust faded hundreds of popping sounds filled the air as Nwa Chapos, Black hats, filled the branches of the tree.

Where The Prezidan had vanished Nwa Chapo Yon Sel appeared.

"You don't deserve to be Prezidan! You have forsaken the Deyes nan Magic! Look at what has happened to Patri Peyi now!" Blan Chapo Yon Sel screamed.

Nwa Chapo Yon Sel called out to all the Asistan Ti. "I am your new Prezidan, Prezidan Boni." He reached forward and grabbed Blan Chapo Yon Sel's hand. "The White hats loyalty to Prezidan Jules has blinded you all." At his touch she relaxed. He tucked her hand into his waistband. "Hold on." To the rest he called out, "Nwa Chapos our exile has ended. Find every  Blan Chapo still alive and protect them."

The new Prezidan Boni rose from the branch and floated out to the main courtyard in the center of Patri Peyi. Mikachiari and Faglar who had been dancing and singing stopped at the sight of Black hats floating down from Chishikuku.

A cry went up and weapons flew at the Asistan Ti. Black magic whistled through the air knocking Mikachiari and Faglar to the ground in bursts of color. Blan Chapos cast protection around the Nwa Chapos.

Prezidan Boni yelled from above, "Where is Teke?"

A Kertenkele he recognized carrying a Mikachiari in a sling across his chest spoke, "She's dead."

Noki hissed. More weapons sailed through the air and were swatted away with bursts from the hands of the Nwa Chapos.

"You cannot hurt us. The Gri Chapos are dead. The Blan Chapos are weakened and blind, but us," Prezidan Boni spread his hands toward the Nwa Chapos. "We're fine. We are leaving Patri Peyi. Every single Asistan Ti you kill from here on will be avenged." He drew close to Noki ignoring the screams and hisses from the Mikachiari. "I know you have five Ri's so talk your agitated sisters into settling down, or I'll find those Mikachiari babes and kill them now instead of later."

Luru flung herself forward from behind a small group of Mikachiari with dagger raised. Noki grabbed her by the waist. "No!"

Prezidan Boni rose into the air and bowed. "Orevwa, for now. I'm sure we'll see you soon in Enade."

T
o challenge who determines who lives, who dies, and how they live and die—that would be revolutionary."
- Refuge diary

Furstinna wiped the sweat from her brow. Growing food was hard work.

The soil in Refuge wasn't the best to start with. It was hard to find between the numerous rocks her hoe hit every other time she used it. Furstinna had learned a great deal about soil, how to make compost out of food scraps from the cafeteria and dead leaves and grass, whether it was alkaline or acidic, how deep it had to be to properly support plants. Goddess forbid you should ever walk on the mounded rows of soil and compact the earth. Her ears burned from the scolding she'd received from the 'earth steward'. Weeks afterward he still shot her looks of contempt.

That was just preparing the soil, the foundation for growing food. If done right then the work continued to planting, weeding, mulching, crop rotation, and the constructing, taking down and moving of cloches to extend the gardening season. Then there was the never ending battle with pests, insects and animals, looking for a free meal. There were also seeds to be saved in order to start the whole process over again for the next season.

It was mind numbing work. Furstinna stood up one day and looked out across the rows she'd help build. Until Furstinna had participated in this work duty she'd never realized what it took to feed a person let alone a group of people. Vegetables were at least five producing plants for each person. Five hundred people in Refuge equaled two thousand five hundred plants. This didn't account for fruits, trees, and tubers like potatoes and beets which you would double and sometimes triple the amount per person. Then there was corn and grain to be planted.

The 'earth steward' took his job very seriously and Kvinna appreciated it, otherwise they would starve. Every opportunity was made to save and store food, but one bad season would wreak havoc on Refuge's carefully planned system. When she'd asked him if a crop season had ever failed he'd muttered, "We've been extremely lucky as long as I've lived here."

Furstinna had chewed holes in her cheek to stop from speaking out during every discussion she heard around her. A general disdain for the Rahis of Elyun and the Vakt of Manskliga. The argument against the Vakt were numerous. Too much money allocated, too many resources, too much government investment, for what? Furstinna had squeezed her eyes shut and thought.
To keep you free, to keep you safe, to keep you able to wander across Varlid to Refuge to set up your experiment in living
, she wanted to yell at them.
Do you really think you could have done that without the Vakt?

Tuva had noticed Furstinna's discomfort and winked. When she was out working in the fields Tuva had picked up a hoe and started talking. "You shouldn't be afraid of voicing your opinions with others here. Conflict in society is inevitable and sometimes even desirable. I think the Manskliga have made the mistake of using the Vakt to negotiate all our conflicts instead of just the important ones because it is commonly thought that violence works quickly."

"We lost the Varlid war," Furstinna said. "Violence didn't work then at all."

"Do you think our cause was just?" Tuva asked.

"To hold on to lands that traditionally were ours against invaders, yes."

"What of the Vartalf and Padda? They held the land before the Manskliga rose to power."

Furstinna let her mouth slide into an easy smile. "That was before my time."

"What did we do to them to conquer this land, I wonder?"

"I'm sure our forefathers did whatever was necessary and we're here to enjoy the fruits of it so I can't very well condemn their choices."

"This is a conflict-filled world and societies should have the capability to defend themselves. Refuge is not waiting until the outside world is more cooperative or that forces like the Vakt disappear or that justice and equality exist before there is any action. There will always be a need for the Vakt."

Furstinna nodded in agreement.

"But," Tuva continued. "The use of violence is not always just. Especially when it is concentrated in the hands of the few. How many citizens of Manskliga participate in the Vakt?"

"A small percentage?" Furstinna guessed.

"A very small percentage. What if civilians were able to defend themselves?"

"You mean, arm everyone?"

"Goddess no, I can't hit the broad-side of a wall. Civilian defense would be nonviolent at its core. Surely Kunskap encouraged discussion such as this?"

"He disappeared right when I was supposed to become a part of these discussions. To be honest I don't see it's practicality in any kind of defense."

"Nonviolence is rooted in a citizen's general disposition to be stubborn, to be tempted to do what is forbidden, and to refuse to do what has been ordered."

"To what end?"

"We're talking about shifting away from reliance on the use of force as strength and instead a society that is strong and able to organize. Would you be willing to attack a society that is able to undermine the use of force?"

Furstinna shook her head. "I don't follow you."

Tuva patiently continued. "Nonviolence does not act less quickly than violence, it is not coming from a place of weakness. It can be so powerful that it disintegrates the power base of a government. All governments need the assistance of citizens to rule. Without this cooperation they have no power, no authority, no legitimacy."

"What do citizens control that the government can't simply take?"

"Oh, everything! They have to obey, cooperate, and assist a government with their knowledge, resources, skills. The wielding of power is a very fragile thing without the cooperation of those being ruled over."

"I thought nonviolence simply meant to not use violence. I don't see how civilians by just standing around not using violence can change anything let alone defend themselves from anything."

"There are two things that must exist for nonviolence to work. A citizen must have the willingness to defy authority and to work to undermine sources of power for that authority if need be. Remember, everyone is basically stubborn, likes to do what they've been told they cannot do and what it has been told is forbidden to do."

"You're assuming that a citizen's basic stubborn nature will do all that?"

"Maybe. Lets assume civilians are organized to disobey, distract, disorganize. They would be more focused on the original outcomes of the conflict rather than how much damage was done to the enemy. This would lead to fewer casualties and less destruction. It would reduce the size of the government and money spent on forces such as the Vakt. Right now all gains we've made have been due to spending and maintaining the Vakt. The Skal for instance, it was first produced so the Vakt commanders would have a faster way to communicate with each other. Civilians would have to ask themselves, what are we acting for and why?"