The Jewel of Kamara (The Delthenon Chronicles) (2 page)

“Why?”

“Because
everything the Great Gods do is of importance.”

“All
right,” she said. “At the creation of the world of Delthenon, all the Great
Gods gathered together and chose the land they wanted to create for their
people. The Goddess Hiunto, with her brown skin and hair as black as night,
liked the deserts of the south. This would be Horatio, home to the black
skinned Hories. The God Sviena chose the cold mountains to the north. His
blonde haired Euphemians would find peace in the cooler climates of the land he
would call Euphemia. The God Mohari liked the swamps and the barren plains in
the east. This would house his white skinned, black haired Galens. The high
cliffs and green pastures of the west would suit the God Brona and his plans
for the kingdom of Octivin. His pale skinned Octins would fish and harvest the
fields. The Goddess Yiamo waited patiently to claim the Pentian Isles to the
west for her cream colored people. As each god chose their land, they walked
away from the Inner Circle and got to work on creating their people. They left
one by one until only two were left seated.

“The
God Windel turned to the Goddess Allarah and asked ‘we have but one land left.
What are we to do?’

“The
Goddess Allarah smiled, ‘it is but simple, kind brother. We are to create our
land together, as one.’

“So
they discussed this idea long through the night until they agreed on how best
to execute this. The God Windel wanted white skinned children, who would build
a kingdom that would be the envy of the rest of the world. They would be known
as the Kamaris. The Goddess Allarah wished for nothing more than for her copper
skinned children to be one with the land and the creatures it was home to. They
would take to the mountains and forests of the south and live off the land and
be known as the Kalaowins. And so it was decided. Two races on one land, living
harmoniously side by side.”

Mother
Chennai smiled. “You remember the tale well.”

“Chae
loved hearing it and made her tell it to us most nights.”

“And
you were not so fond?”

She
shrugged. “I never understood why it was so important that each land had
different colored people. Mama would say that it distinguished each person
until the kingdom got a personality of its own, but I still didn’t like it. And
didn’t Windel and Allarah foresee what would happen by creating two races on
one land?”

“It
would seem they were misguided in their hopes for a united kingdom without
anything to unite them. But Gods do not think as we do.”

“Clearly
not.”

“Do
you remember the rest of the tale?”

She
frowned. “There’s more? That was all she ever told us.”

“It
got added to over the years.”

“How
does the rest go?”

“The
land known today as Kamara is not the land it once was. The luscious green
fields and flowing streams remain, as do the high mountains and dense forests.
But what lies before the Inner Circle now is a kingdom shattered by its differences
- torn apart by their prejudices against one another. Where once united in
their stand against foreign invasion, they now fight internally. Neither
victorious.

“The
copper skinned Kalaowins were one with the land and animals. The white skinned
Kamaris valued wealth above all else. It wasn’t long before the strong desire
for wealth brought the Kamaris onto land that was sacred to their cousins. They
stole what did not belong to them; horns from unicorns, furs, jewels from the
depths of the mountains, people. And sold them to anyone willing to pay a fee.
And they killed what they did not understand. Centaurs, satyrs, harpies, fauns,
wyverns, ogres. Anything they deemed unnatural. This sparked the beginning of a
long battle between the inhabitants of the kingdom.

“A
Kamari would not live past his first breath on Kalaowin territory. Cut down
before he could swing his sword, his blood seeping into the ground that did not
belong to him. Kalaowins who trespassed on the soil of the white man were met
with a lifetime of servitude. Once in, she and her children that followed were
never free again.

“The
Goddess wept as her people were forced into slavery while the God felt despair
as his were killed if they ventured too far south. Yet the God faced trouble
within his own people also. His common born children also suffered. Not at the
hands of the Kalaowins but by the restraints and injustices placed on them by
their own kind.

“The
Great Gods argued day and night on how best to fix the problem.”

“‘Could
we not just create another piece of land?’ The God Windel wanted to know, his
strength waning the longer his people fought one another. Yet they knew they
could not create a new piece of land without taking land from their brothers
and sisters, and in doing so bring about the end of Delthenon.

“‘We
will use a human vessel, brother. But while we wait for a worthy vessel we must
send a message of hope to our people.’

“With
the God’s strength waning, the Goddess searched high and low for a messenger
she could use. But as the human years continued to pass by she felt as though
she would never find someone strong enough to get a message of hope out to the
people. Until one day she found her. A woman about to be persecuted for using
her gifts. The night before she was due to be burned in the city of Fenella,
the Goddess paid her a visit and whispered in her ear.”

“To
this day the people present at the burning of Serenite the Witch claim she did
not scream in pain nor did she cry for help. She only spoke once and after she
did she was bathed in a golden light and carried into the afterlife by the
Goddess herself. The story of Serenite the Witch spread throughout the kingdom
until every Kamari and Kalaowin knew her message by heart.”

Tempani
inched forward, eager to hear the message.

“One
woman will come forward to bridge the gap between our two people for she
understands and is the voice of both.

She
will bring forth the freedom of all enslaved as she is bound to them for all
eternity.

She
will bring about the rise of women and lead them into the power they should
possess for not only men should wield magic and strength.

She
will be blessed with the Power and will have the hand of the Goddess on one
shoulder and the hand of the Black and White Woman on the other.

And
the Goddess in a way very few will see shall mark her as The One.

Her
faithful servants - woman, man and beast alike - will aid her, until peace is
found once again across this land.

We
will know when she has arrived, for the strength of her Power will reach the
furthest corner of this great land.

Listen
for her call and follow her to your destiny.”

“So
they were her last words?” Tempani asked. “And people believe it? They really
believe that one person can deliver so much?”

“They
did. There was a time when those that suffered believed their savior would
come. But as time wore on, faith faded and desperation took hold.”

“So
I am to place my faith in a story of hope?”

“You
are to enter this new phase with a belief that there is still hope somewhere in
this kingdom. That not all are blinded by prejudice.”

Tempani
sighed. She wanted to believe that one day people would not look the other way
when she passed, but she had long ago decided that was a child’s dream. She had
seen her mother slain before her very eyes. And from that day she had lost her
innocence.

Mother
Chennai placed her hands on Tempani’s shoulders and kissed her forehead. “I
know you wish to return to Amarill, but believe me when I say that is not the
place for you, my daughter. Your path in life is just beginning, and it will
take you to some interesting places. You need to trust in the people around
you. Don’t run from something because you are afraid. Fear is no one’s friend.”

“Do
I even get a choice?” She whispered. But she knew she had no say in the matter.
She had been dragged here against her will, and now she was being dragged to
the city. Her father made her decisions until she wed. Then it fell to her
husband. She looked around her. At least here she had been able to make a
choice about some things. She had chosen to work in the vegetable garden and in
the infirmary. It was the first time in her life she’d been free to make a
choice. But now that would end. And there was nothing she could do to change
it. She sighed. “How long do I have?”

“Your
time with us will end in a matter of days.”

Tempani
bowed her head and kissed the abbess’ hand. “Goodnight Mother Chennai. Fear
not, I feel no contempt towards you. You are, after all, only the messenger.
Sleep well.”

The
young girl walked away, head lowered and shoulders hunched. The dog,
Tilaw
, followed closely behind. Mother Chennai frowned and
gazed up into the night’s sky.

“I
hope you know what you’re doing,” she whispered to her Goddess.

Tempani
did not sleep well that night, nor the next. If there was one thing in life she
knew she didn’t want, it was to go to Fenella and be handed over to any man
willing to take a half-blood into his bed as his wife. She knew the chances of
a good man, a man she could maybe one day fall in love with, wanting to be hers
were not good. It did not matter that her father was the most recognized and
decorated knight in the kingdom. The only thing that would matter would be the
color of her skin. She had faced these prejudices for as long as she could
remember. Her childhood friends at the palace made sure she knew she was
different.

And
she did know it. While most girls enjoyed their lessons on how to be a lady,
Tempani preferred to be outdoors, running through the fields, riding her horse
Mincha, swimming in the lake on Amarill. She liked hearing stories on Kamara’s
history, stories of their neighbors and stories of her mother’s people, the
Kalaowins.

She
often thought about slipping away in the night and trying to find her mother’s
tribe. But then she thought of Chae, the brother she had not seen in years, and
she came to her senses. The only good thing about going to Fenella would be
reuniting with her older brother.

Chae
was now twenty years of age and had been a knight for two years. He had left
for the palace when he was ten to begin his days as a page. She had never seen
her parents so proud. Her father boasted to all the villagers that his son was
going to be a greater knight than he was. Chae put on a brave face, but Tempani
knew of the struggles he faced in his first year as a page. No one wanted to
befriend him. He was picked on most days. But in the privacy of his room, he
practiced well into each night until he could prove to everyone that he
belonged there.

Tempani
had only seen her brother once in ten years. He returned to Amarill with his
knight master Sir Danei of Quito and the contingent from the palace to be with
his family on the day they buried Lady Hamalia of Amarill. His visit had been
brief. He had stayed one night only, and then he was gone.

Two
days after that, Sir Otto followed him. King Wimarc had attended the burial
with his family, to pay his respects and to convince his good friend Otto to
return with him to Fenella and take up the position of Training Commander to
the pages and squires and the position of Defense Minister on the King’s
Parliament. It had not taken much to convince the grieving widower to leave his
estate and take up residence at his manor in the city.

The
day after Sir Otto left Amarill, Tempani was woken at dawn by her Aunt Sofhia.
She dressed quickly and ran outside to find a horse saddled for her and a guard
of eight of the estates finest fighters. She was being taken to the convent.
Indefinitely. No time for goodbyes to her friends in the village. Tempani was
whisked away.

The
young girl had arrived at the convent, scared and tired. She had lost her
mother, and she felt as though her father had abandoned her. And then she was
taken from her home and forced into a world that she did not want to be part
of. Tempani refused to speak for her first season there. She did not pray, and
she barely ate. On the rare occasion that she looked someone in the eye, all
they saw was an emptiness that threatened to consume them. The only company she
kept was
Tilaw
.

And
then it all changed. Mother Chennai saw her slip out of the convent walls that
first time. She stood, hidden in the shadows, for half the night until she saw
Tempani and
Tilaw
return. They walked past where she
stood, and she heard the girl speak for the first time.

“Nika
is here to save me
Tilaw
. I know it.”

Mother
Chennai could have scolded her for sneaking out, but the relief in hearing the
girl talk pushed all thoughts of punishment from her mind. And the next morning
the girl knelt in the chapel when all the others did, and she prayed.

But
now that the time had come to leave a place she thought she did not want to be,
Tempani felt a wave of sadness. She had come to grow fond of the convent. She
loved Mother Chennai and the animals. She felt a sense of gratitude towards the
sisters and even some of the novices. They had, in a sense, become her family.
And now she was being taken from them too and being sent to a family that she
no longer knew.