The Birth (The Black Wing Book 1) (18 page)

“Is that the curse?” I asked.

“Yes, the dead children crave that power, and will lurk into any child’s first heartbeat.”

Avalon’s eyes lowered, the hand that bloomed into a flower surfaced on her stomach. As far as I’m concerned, at puberty, child Lenurs are exposed to a supernatural power that can overtake them. But who decides that? Is it a law they follow? Avalon is obviously a grown woman, which means—

“You survive your own heartbeat.” I concluded.

We left the dark space and a dark cave laminated by a single candle. I can her the rapid breaths, and echoing moans. A teenage Avalon is on her knees, shaking vibrantly. Avalon’s grandmother is there, gently rubbing her granddaughters back.

“When she saw my body began to develop, my grandmother locked me in a cave resting beneath the levels of the ocean for a year. If my heart awoke on land, we would catch unwanted attention. We waited patiently for my heart to beat. It was a nightmare to me. My grandmother was ready to behead me when I fell close to giving into the power. It was the hardest thing I have ever done, but I prevailed, I passed.”

Avalon’s life has rolled around secrecy, she was separated from her parents and forced to live in the mountains—away from a society she calls the Empire.

“Why did you have to live with your grandmother?” I asked

My question startled Avalon. She gave me a confused stare, her eyes grew heavy, worn. Her lips moved but nothing came out, she’s trying to find the proper words to explain. Finally, she answered in a hateful tone.

“I’m not proud, nor am I grateful for what I am” said Avalon. “I hate myself, I hate my own existence.”

I asked Avalon what did she do wrong to make her say that, but she said only a Lenur will understand. Anxious, I told her to tell me anyway. Avalon began by asking me what humans consider beautiful.

I thought about my general ideas and told her the scenery of nature: a beautiful flower, a handsome man, a cute child, and definitely Kinoki.

“What does beauty have anything to with you hating yourself?”

“Putting minuscular traits aside, Lenurs are mainly attracted to three things, power, ability, and music. We are fond of strength. This is not the physical embodiment of strength, rather the stamina and unique control. Those who poses power are typically Lenurs who can perform in battle endlessly with great might and force. Not all Lenurs are strong, most Lenurs who are weak in strength possesses a unique skill that can make our hearts race. Those skills can be abilities to change eye color, control elements, and communicate with beasts. The last is music, for it is everything to Lenurs. One who can sing beautifully holds an utmost attractive trait. Personal feelings are important too, but we find our life partner with the three I mentioned. Many Lenurs have an equal of the three, some more than others, and some with none. My emperor…”

Avalon paused.

“Our Emperor, is an attractive powerful alpha male, his looks also credits his charm. He speaks with sensuality, and his strength is one of the most divine sights I have ever witnessed.”

“Who made him Emperor” I asked, now curious.

“He did.”

“Who decided he should rule?”

“He did”

“How did he become an Emperor?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t born when he became an Emperor nor were my parents, nor was my grandmother.”

“Wait—what are you saying?”

“His skill is
immortality
. No Lenur has ever lived longer or reserved his youth like him.”

I asked Avalon to show me the Emperor, but she replied with a simple no. She said revealing him or his name is a dangerous move. Everything she says about him is protected by word of mouth.

“Our Emperor hast two passions in life, the first, is his love for singing. We consider singing a sacred gift among my kind and we all embrace it. A Lenur who cannot sing, usually lives an unmarried life. The Emperor however, is a master of vocals. He won’t last a day without the sound of music reaching his ears. He even mastered his ability to sing and constructed it as a weapon. If he wanted to, his voice alone can mortally wound a Lenur.”

I imagined the Emperor as a fat opera singer, killing everyone in his path with his glass shattering voice. The thought made me chuckle, but Avalon doesn’t look too happy about my reaction. She continued.

“His second passion are skillful, powerful, and unique women. The Emperor marries the strongest breed in the Empire. In peaceful times, his wives live a sheltered life in the palace, partaking in friendly combat to test their strength. During war, they take important roles as warriors, and join the Empire’s army. The Emperor doesn’t select his wives out of carelessness, many are bred to be his wives, but few are chosen. Others like me, have no choice—”

“You…?” I interrupted.

“That’s correct.” revealed Avalon. “I am one of his wives.”

“But I thought you were living in secrecy.” I said.

“I was—b-but—you see…”

This is the first time I caught Avalon stuttering, even her shoulders are starting to tremble. The landscape is changing once again. We’re on a balcony, made of thick marble bricks of stone. For once there is no snow, it must be the year they snow evaporates. Again, I a part of me wants to attack her claim that their global warming causes the snow magically evaporate. It should have melted and flooded the entire planet.

Avalon didn’t move, she crossed her arms, silently pressing her eyes closed. I told her what she wanted to show me but she told me to wait. She wanted to prepare herself, with that, I left my post and curiously looked around. It’s not every day I get to visit an alien planet. When I leaned over the balcony, I almost lost my breath. A thick blanket of fog covered the ground below. This palace is built on a mountain, we’re standing on the tallest balcony, overlooking what seems to be the Empire. The passing fog keeps me from seeing the structures below, and I know why it’s being kept from me, this is a private place. Avalon, tried to control her breathing. This memory must be a bad one. A hurtful one, I know because she reminds me of myself.

“You asked me why I was forced to live with my grandmother.” she started. “I have unlimited capabilities. My parents foresaw it in my mother’s womb, I have exceeded the Emperor’s expected strength. There are many powerful Lenurs in the Empire but none has overpowered the Emperor’s capacity to create energy, none except me. If I lived in the Empire, I would be executed for treason. Living in the Mountain of Sei was never a safe haven. Lenurs who don’t belong to a nation are considered outsiders, untrustworthy, and are usually slain.”

“Why would your grandmother risk her life and live a life like that?” I asked. 

“She was a citizen of the Empire, but after she gave birth to my father she was called into the wilderness by a spirit named Ebon. When she left the Empire, she knew it was treason and could never return. We hid by manipulating our presence to impersonate the small creatures in the wilderness. This lasted until the Empire was attacked by a dark skill known as
demptness
. It was casted by a unique Lenur who mastered a powerful skill that can vaporize our physical body.

The nations outside of the Empire made an alliance with another Empire known as
Tale’d
. At dusk,
demptness
came like a fog much like the own below this balcony, one by one the citizens turned into nothing. Not even the Emperor can survive such a new unique skill. To do so you need time, and trials to pinpoint a flaw. We were aware of chaos, my grandmother and I fell into a dilemma. We didn’t know if we should let the entire Empire meet their fate or if we should aid them. If we flee, the nearby nations will not accept us and they will surely hunt us down. If we stay hidden in the Mountain of Sei, we will eventually be driven out by this fog. My grandmother knew my desire was to save my parents who still lived in the Empire. Finally, we came to a resolution. Ebon, the spirit that called my grandmother to the wilderness spoke to her. He said if we help the Empire, we may shift and predetermine the outcome of many Lenurs in the future ahead. His words were not comforting, or convincing, but he suggest we help.”

It sounds like a difficult decision to make, especially when a creepy ghost is persuading you to do it. If I was Avalon, I would tell that ghost to shut up and mind his own business. Wait a second—Ebon is a ghost?

“We left the Mountains of
Sei
and set out for Empire. The Emperor’s palace was beyond our reach, it stands on the tallest mountain peak, in the city grand of
Hitvon
. In the streets, the
demptness
has already taken the lives of many, the whole Empire was in confusion. Bodies dropped one after another, others vanished with the fog. Those who had a mutation against the effects of
demptness
were driven mad, fights broke out in every household.

On our way to the palace, I secretly kept a look out for my parents, but I couldn’t find them. After avoiding the guards and the Emperor’s wives we humbly presented ourselves to the Emperor. He stood right here, in this balcony, watching his empire fall by a natural, unassuming fog.”

“So that’s why we’re here.” I said.

I didn’t see the Emperor. Avalon was not joking when she said she couldn’t let me see him. He’s like a celebrity whose fans have to pay money to see. Avalon went on, she pressed her hand on her heart. Her cheeks started to glow a pink tone.

“When I laid my eyes on him, it felt as if my heart was going to rip through my chest. I was immediately attracted by the profile of his face—each of his movements caused my composure to weaken. His striking eyes immediately demanded my respect, the energy emanating from him overwhelmed me with a security I never felt before. My grandmother revealed herself and instructed me to do what needed to be done.

As the fog got closer, the Emperor backed away from the balcony. His wives came and surrounded him, they also had an aura that stroke every nerve in my body. Their eyes were like that of a voracious beast, ready to kill for their husband. My grandmother stood behind me for support. I allowed the fog to overwhelm me, and the moment I felt how unnatural it was, I let it sink into the pores of my skin. Within seconds, I located the essence of the distorted spell and silenced the fog by the wave of my hand. In just a few moments, I ended the incoming catastrophe and prevented the death from the Emperor.

Those who witnessed it, were overwhelmed by my ability to dispel such an indefinite matter. It was enough for the Emperor’s advisors to fear me. After I saved his life, I was surrounded by his wives and imprisoned for questioning.”

“That’s ridiculous, you saved the Emperor!” I hollered.

“In my imprisonment, I should have been feeling that way but I did not. My thoughts centered on the Emperor, I fell in love with him the instant I saw him. He affected me like a drop of cold water, crawling down my spine—sudden, and alarming. For a year, I remained imprisoned beneath the Emperor’s palace. My grandmother was nowhere to be found, in my solitude—I cried out to her.

During my trial, I begged to be freed. I wanted to return to the Mountain of
Sei,
and be with my grandmother. But the Emperor’s advisors had other plans. They were eager to get rid of me and my abilities—forever. They knew my limitless energy overpassed the Emperor, they can sense it. To them, I am a threat. To my surprise, the Emperor didn’t agree with his advisors, he became attracted to me, as I was towards him. The opinions of his advisors didn’t influence him, he held their tongues, and told them how he would never come across another woman like me. In order spare my life, the Emperor’s advisors forced me to become one of his wives. I feared death more than my own freedom so I made no objection.”

On my own, I concluded that this is how Avalon got pregnant. For an Emperor with many wives, not once did I hear any mention of his children. Avalon must have gotten pregnant through another Lenur, a worker in the palace perhaps? That’s why she escaped, she wanted to avoid punishment. Avalon noticed I’m trying to find the conclusion on my own, she immediately stopped me. I told her that if the father of her child is the Emperor, then why did she left the Empire.

"Did you forget that the Emperor is an immortal?” said Avalon. “None of us are supposed to have children. He doesn't want to have an offspring who can rightfully overthrow him out of his seat. In order to prevent the Emperor from passing his unique, immortal genes to one such as myself, the advisors made me barren. Often have I laid with my husband, and remained motherless. The Emperor was very pleased that I couldn't pass my own gene and trouble him. My sister wives were less fortunate, many became pregnant. The second a life is discovered in their womb. They immediately terminate their unborn child through the process of disconnecting their spiritual link with the fetus. The action made some of my sister wives depressed, a majority of them are just like the Emperor—corrupted. They believe in his great cause and abort without remorse.”

“You said you love the Emperor, and yet, he doesn’t sound like a good person.”

Avalon’s eyes watered up, her breath quickened, she continuously rubbed her tiny belly. She really is in love with the Emperor.

“My love for my Emperor changed when I went on a mission.”

Avalon cleared her voiced, she swallowed her saliva and straighten her neck. I told her she didn’t have to tell me but she insisted.