Green Eyes

Above them, Micaela couldn’t resist a bright smile creasing her face. “That was incredible,” she shook her head in amazement. “I’ve never seen anything like that. I can’t believe they didn’t decapitate each other.”

“Yeah, it always scares the life out of me,” Selene commented. “I can heal a lot of things, but I can’t reattach heads.”

“I know that Kalashonians aren’t exactly known for their artistic skill, but that was like watching a dance,” Micaela continued. “A deadly, frightening dance, but strangely beautiful. What are they like in actual battle?”

Selene winced. “Horrible,” Selene cringed at the memories. “Even against Kalashonians soldiers, it is like watching a butcher in a slaughter house. I love them to death; they’re like the siblings I never had but I’m not a fool: their hands are dripping in blood. They’re certainly not angels.”

“I can imagine,” Micaela herself shuddered.

“I will tell you this,” Selene decided to add. “You could not have picked better teachers for your women. My dad, who was a physician and a pacifist, never taught me martial arts. They took me from knowing nothing to being competent with two Forms in just a month. In the last two months, I’ve seen Jared break into two castles, first to rescue me and then to ‘rescue’ Mara, not that she needed rescuing. By himself, he took on the entire compliment of two castles and essentially beat them. I watched him and Mara take-out an entire cavalry cohort by themselves in one move. They took down a crime syndicate that had had a strangle hold on an entire city for the better part of a decade. They saved my butt from Brutus, a sorcerer. And that’s just the things I’ve seen. They might not be the smoothest pair, but when it comes to understanding war, there’s no one better.”

“I’ve noticed,” Micaela commented as the Amazons below them started dividing into their respective groups. A couple of minutes later Mara appeared with her bow and a quiver full of arrows and led 22 of the women off towards the archery range. Remaining below, Jared lined up the Amazons and began instructing them in the basics of Form II.

“I know you don’t like Jared that much,” Selene ventured as they watched, “but you could learn a lot from him and that couldn’t hurt. Why aren’t you down their?”

“Really?” Micaela raised her eyebrow, gingerly lifting up her arm in its white sling.

“You know I could heal that for you,” Selene pointed out.

“I do,” Micaela nodded. “But I’d rather let it heal on its own. Why aren’t you down there?”

“This may make me the worse Kalashonian in history, but I’m not particularly fond of martial arts,” Selene answered with a grimace. “Besides swords aren’t going to be of much use in my fights.”

“Battles against Brutus and his sorcerers?” guessed Micaela. “I’ve heard things,” she added before Selene could ask.

“Yeah,” Selene dipped her head. “Jael didn’t die because of Jared, despite what you may have heard. She died because I wasn’t strong enough to face Brutus, which I ended up doing anyway. He beat the daylights out of me without breaking a sweat. I need to focus on strengthening my powers so that when I’ll face Brutus again, I’ll be ready for him.”

“So that’s where you’ve been hiding the last couple of days,” Micaela concluded. “How has it been going?”

Selene grimaced. “Not good,” she exhaled. “I feel like I’m hitting a wall. My fire powers are pretty strong, as are my ice powers. Beyond that, I’m not entirely sure what my powers really are. I mean, I know I have some telekinetic abilities, but I’m not sure how strong they are. I think I can read minds, but I’m not sure.”

“Tell me about it,” Micaela prompted.

“Sometimes when I look at people, I get these fuzzy images,” Selene explained. “Once in a while the images are clearer, but I rarely understand them and they don’t last much more than a moment. I’ve tried to get the pictures at will, but I’ve never been successful.”

“Curiosity,” Micaela declared abruptly.

“Huh?”

“Your powers are fueled by emotions, though once you get the hang of them you can trigger them at will,” Micaela explained. “Telepathy is fueled by your desire to know; curiosity.”

“I guess that makes,” Selene cocked her head as she thought about it. “How do you know that?”

“I’m not a goddamned Kalashonian who thinks that everything can be fixed by hitting it with a fucking sword,” snapped Micaela before quickly adding, “No offense.”

“None taken,” Selene felt her cheeks flush at the explicative language. “But what does that mean?”

“Esthorians natural talent is wisdom, understanding, and knowledge,” Micaela told her. “We don’t have the natural affinity for warfare that Kalashonians do, but when it comes to science, philosophy, history, and anything else academic, we are better than everyone else. Especially for someone from the ruling house, knowing things is just what we do, like fighting is just what Kalashonians naturally do. Navi make particularly interesting study subjects. Plus, Jerel is in Esther. Haven’t Jared and Mara told you all this?”

“Not really,” Selene shook her head. “I’ve kind of had to figure a lot of this stuff out on my own.” Jared and Mara had been fantastic teachers when it came to martial arts and even Kalashonian history, when she asked albeit they were hardly forthcoming. But when it came to the Navi, they would simply shrug and say that they weren’t the person to ask. It was simply something they didn’t understand.

“Typical,” Micaela snorted. “What do you know?”

Selene recited what Jared had told her about the Navi being the unofficial fifth house, the balance between the nations, and the special conduit between the Creator and the people. “There’s so much I don’t know about what I am,” she lamented. “Like I have no idea what it means to be a conduit between the Creator and the people. I don’t even know what all my powers are!”

“I can’t help you with the conduit issue,” Micaela apologized. “It means being in communication with the Creator and then communicating that will to the people. But I have no idea how to do that; that is something that only a Navi can understand.

“But I can help you with your powers,” she added optimistically. “There are four types of Navi, each representative of the four houses which in turn are representative of the four points of the compass: there are those representative of the north, the Beth Har Navi; from the east, the Beth Esther Navi; from the south, Beth Shemesh Navi; and of course, you, the western Beth Yarack Navi.”

“What are the differences?” Selene inquired.

“Northern Navi have a natural connection the physical elements: water, earth, fire, and air, much like northerners, Malchians for example, have a natural connection to the elements,” Micaela stated. “Malchians are the world’s best blacksmiths, no question. Eastern Navi, like Esthorians, have special mental powers, such as telekinesis, telepathy, and foresight.”

“Foresight?” Selene interjected.

“The ability to see the future,” Micaela clarified. “That has always been an interesting one. Esthorian Navi have always been closed when it comes to seeing the future. Occasionally they drop some bits of future info, but for the most part they keep it close to the chest. Something about telling people the future not ending well.

“Anyway,” she continued, “Southern Navi have control over living things, like animal telepathy, ability to manipulate growing things, and healing powers, both over others and themselves.”

“I have those,” Selene pointed out.

“You do, because you’re a western or Kalashonian Navi,” Micaela nodded approvingly. “That means that you have the powers of all the others combined.”

“Wow,” she breathed. “I can do all that?” The list of power that she had was both astonishing and a little frightening.

“More than that,” Micaela told her. “As you grow as a Navi, you’ll learn how to combine your powers in even more incredible ways. Some Navi can fly by manipulating telekinesis. It is rumored that the Harosheth was created by the Navi. I’ve even heard stories of Navi creating entire storm systems.”

“Wow,” Selene shook her head, astounded at the thoughts of what she could do. “Why us?” she questioned.

“Why were you chosen as a Navi or why do Kalashonians have such power?” Micaela returned.

“Both.”

“To the first, only the Creator knows,” Micaela supplied. “The Creator decides what he decides. As to the second, that comes down to how the world was designed to work. Each of the four houses fit together like pieces of a puzzle. Did Jared tell you this?”

“He mentioned that the four houses were to be part of one nation with Kalashon at the head,” Selene recalled. “But he didn’t elaborate.”

“I’m not surprised,” Micaela allowed a small smile. “It’s a touchy subject for Kalashonians. Has he told you about the Kalashonian Empire?”

“Bits and pieces,” Selene responded. “He said it collapsed about a thousand years ago after lasting two thousand years or so.”

“2052, to be exact,” Micaela confirmed, “and the official collapse began 1108 years ago; culminating in the current Kalashonian borders 1067; hence this is the year 1067.”

“I always wondered where our calendar system came from,” Selene commented. “That makes sense.”

“There are three divisions to our year system,” Micaela elucidated. “After the introduction of the Adversary after the creation of the world, there was a chaotic period of 589 years where the Kalashonian Empire was formed, called the PKE or Pre-Kalashonian Era. Then came the 2052 year golden age of the world, when the world was almost as it should be, called the KE or Kalashonian Era. The AKE or After Kalashonian Era officially began in 1067 and the world has been slowly falling apart since the Empire collapsed.

“Back to the Empire,” Micaela returned to the original subject. “Originally the people descended from each house were to fit a specific need in the world. Beth Har, who are largely the Malchians today, were the engineers and builders. They made the things that people needed for life. Beth Esther were the scholars and thinkers. We were to teach people history and philosophy, make breakthroughs in science and medicine, and sharpen people’s minds. Beth Shemesh were the farmers and gardeners. They were to take care of the earth and provide its people with food. Beth Yarack or Kalashon as it became known as, were the warriors. They were to be our defenders and protectors and therefore, our rulers.

“Kalashonians have a natural desire for power and they are naturally very good leaders, especially in their ruling house,” Micaela went on. “One only has to take a look at Jared and Mara to see that. It is not to say that they are superior to anyone else; ruling is simply their task. It is a responsibility more than it is a privilege, something the Kalashonian Emperors forgot.”

“What happened?” Selene was fascinated by this history lesson.

“Your people’s hunger for power, while a great asset at times, can also be a grave weakness,” Micaela answered. “As the world continued in peace and harmony for decade after decade, the Emperors grew restless. They became envious of the Navi’s powers, seeing it as the only thing they lacked. They tried to take it, eventually forming a league with the Adversary and introducing, or reintroducing sorcerers into the world. Their rule became tyrannical and wicked, fomenting hatred and resentment among the rest of the world. Eventually the Navi were forced to unite the rest of the world into a rebellion against the Kalashonians, one that lasted 41 of the bloodiest years in history. The last Emperor of Kalashon realized his people’s failings too late but managed to preserve the nation as a kingdom, only a shadow of her former glory.

“After the Empire fell, the people had no more reason to work together and slowly everything fell into chaos,” Micaela sadly described. “Without the strength of the Kalashonian rulers, even the Navi couldn’t hold the people together and over progressing centuries, the borders were slowly divided up as they are today.

“The last thousand years have been a dark age for this world,” Micaela went on. “Instead of working together, the four houses have been at each other’s throats and the people are suffering for it. The world isn’t right without Kalashon ruling it. Malchi has been brutally trying to build their own empire; the Confederations have been in a constant state of civil war for 500 years, Anory and Arad can’t seem to get along, Ammon is weak from war, and even my own people, long the stalwarts of civilization, are on the brink of disaster. My father is old and has no heir, marking the imminent end to the House of the Stars.”

“But couldn’t you claim the throne?” questioned Selene.

“In Kalashon, perhaps,” Micaela shook her head. “But in Esther, only men can rule and I was the only child to my mother. I am no heir, something that I was reminded of every miserable day of my life in Kaiserstadt; punished from the moment I was born for something I had no control over. For my father, the best he could hope for was to marry me off to some noble and have many babies to keep his line going, reducing me to nothing, not even a historical footnote. That was a fate I absolutely refused.”

“I can understand,” Selene tried to sympathize.

“No you can’t,” Micaela laughed bitterly. “But I appreciate the gesture. My point is that the world is ready for the Empire to come back; unfortunately Kalashon is not.”

“What do you mean?” Selene curiously inquired.

“No matter how much he may want to be, Manasseh isn’t the man to recreate the Empire,” Micaela answered. “I will say that he cares about his nation, too much so. He’s so nationalistic that he’ll sacrifice his people for the sake of the ‘nation,’ forgetting that it’s the people who make the nation, not the other way around. That is not the kind of man I want ruling the world.”

“You talk like you’ve met him,” Selene observed.

“I have, a couple of times,” Micaela confirmed. “A long time ago, before he was king.”

“You must be older than you look,” Selene raised a pair of eyebrows.

“Thirty-five,” Micaela supplied. “The young looks are a bit of a genetic curse or blessing, depending on how you look at it,” she added before regarding Selene curiously. “You don’t seem surprised,” she commented.

“I’m not,” Selene shrugged. “After all I’ve been through the last couple of months, not much really surprises me anymore. So you must have been a teenager when you met King Manasseh?”

“The first time I was nine and the second time I was 14, about eight months before he took the throne,” Micaela’s violet eyes darkened at the memory. “After what he did to his own family, the thought of him sitting on the throne in Jerel makes me sick.

“Anyway,” she shook off the thoughts, “as the daughter to Kaiser Fredrick, we went on diplomatic visits to other nations, including a couple of trips to Kalashon. On my last trip, I got to know the Royal Family a bit. I must confess,” she added with a mischievous smile, “I had the biggest crush on the Crown Prince, Nathaniel.”

“Really?” Selene giggled at the 20 year old gossip.

“Yeah,” Micaela grinned for a moment before sobering. “But he was several years older and had a fiancé at the time. Not that it would matter; they were all killed a few months later. I was devastated when I heard. Interestingly enough, I might have become his sister-in-law had things not gone the way they had.”

“Oh?”

“My father and King Josiah were discussing a marriage alliance by marrying me to the second youngest, Zadok,” Micaela recalled. “He was my age and really annoying, like all 14 year-old boys are. Not that I didn’t annoy the Crown Prince and Princess, following them around like a puppy dog.”

“Crown Princess?” Selene cocked her head.

“Nathaniel’s twin sister, Hadassah,” Micaela answered with a cocked head. “Haven’t they told you this?”

“They don’t talk about their time in Jermelek, at all,” Selene returned.

“I guess I can’t blame them,” Micaela allowed. “It would be a painful memory. Anyway, Kalashonians have very specific laws of succession. A king-killer cannot rule, the eldest by week, regardless of gender, and must be of Beth Yarack. The second law means that twins, even triplets in one case, can co-rule, which usually means prosperous things for the kingdom. Nathaniel and Hadassah were twins and so destined for co-rulership which had the people very excited. There were even whispers of them rebuilding the Empire, not that they got a chance.”

“They were twins?” Selene repeated. “Like Jared and Mara?”

Micaela got a very curious look in her eyes. “Yes,” she said guardedly. “Like that.”

“Cool,” Selene moved on. “So you were going to marry one of the princes. How many were there?”

“Five total,” Micaela informed. “The twins at the top, then Isaiah came next three years behind, then Zadok two years later, and the youngest was Ezekiel, who was only three years older than you. Pity you two never met.

“Of course things never worked out that way,” Micaela went on. “Manasseh took the throne and killed the entire Royal Family. Five years later my father got a better offer for my hand: the new Kalashonian king himself wanted me for his wife.”

“Manasseh?” Selene was horrified. “Isn’t he a lot older than you?”

“127 years, to be precise,” Micaela nodded. “But that didn’t matter to my father. All he saw were his grandchildren sitting on the throne of both Esther and Kalashon. My happiness was apparently irrelevant. After seeing Hadassah, I was already having huge questions about my rights as a woman. In Kalashon I saw women living their own lives, running businesses, leading armies, and such. I knew I was more than just a bargaining chip to be thrown around the table and being forced to marry the man who killed the only man I’d ever liked was the last straw. I escaped that night and came here. The Amazons first gave me a home and then their allegiance.”

Selene took in the story, shaking her head at the cruelty of life. “No wonder you hate men,” she remarked. “But you know that not all men are bad. My father was a great man who raised me on my own after my mother died. Then he sacrificed his life for me. Jared’s a great guy too,” Selene added. “I know he may seem gruff on the outside, but he’s really got a good heart when you get down to it. He’s bailed me out of more stupid situations I’ve gotten myself into than I can count. Or care to count.”

“I’ll bet,” Micaela snorted, indicating she felt exactly the opposite.

“What is your problem with him?” Selene asked. “I mean other than breaking your arm,” Selene added quickly. “Besides, you did kind of ask for it. He did offer to just walk away and forget the whole thing.”

“Thanks for the reminder,” Micaela growled. “I don’t like him because he’s an arrogant, harsh, know-it-all, insensitive ass. He doesn’t give a damn about how his training methods might psychologically damage my women and won’t come down off his high horse to listen to me. He knows everything already and heaven forbid he have to listen to anyone else’s opinion.”

Selene listened to the tirade with a touch of amusement, knowing that Jared felt more or less the same way. “You’re not used to having someone challenge you, are you?” she questioned. That drew a sharp look from Micaela but she didn’t say anything in reply.

“Look,” Selene said, “it’s probably not my place, but give Jared a chance. I know that he can be difficult, especially at first, but once you get past the exterior, you might find that he’s someone worth respecting.”

“We’ll see,” snorted Micaela. “Do you want me to help you with your powers?”

“Can you?” Selene asked.

“A little bit,” Micaela confirmed. “I can help you tap into your powers but refining them is going to be a bit more of a challenge. That you’ll have to learn from another Navi. After all, you can’t learn the sword from a book; you have to learn from a master.”

“Thanks,” Selene said. “Do you have time?”

Micaela glanced at her sling. “I have nothing else to do,” she shrugged. “What do you want to work on? I’d prefer if we don’t do telepathy; I think you’ve done enough mind reading for the day.”

“Fair enough,” Selene beamed.