Damianos jumped at Calhoun. Calhoun dodged him and swiped at him with his sword.
The being dodged and slid back before jumping to attack Calhoun again. They kept on with their
exchange of blows, sword versus claws. The clanging of their hits was very loud; it almost
drowned out the people screaming. Calhoun made his attack again, which the being stopped with
his claws.
“Boy, you really should just give up. What’s wrong with giving me a woman you barely
even know?”
Calhoun did not pay any attention to him. He dragged his sword out of his hold and
fought back again, giving out strike upon strike. They all kept being blocked by Damianos, who
in turn was making his attack on Calhoun.
The screams of Calhoun’s guards and Firoza were starting to get to him. If their noise
didn’t stop, he was afraid he would hurt them instead. He struck the being who expertly dodged
the attack, then suddenly paused, preparing himself for his next move.
“What happened, young man, getting tired already?” Damianos asked mockingly.
“I just remembered that I also have an introduction to make,” Calhoun replied.
“I have no idea what picture of me you painted in your mind, but I would have to help
you correct it. Do you think you are the only one who has powers? Well, you are wrong.”
Calhoun then released his powers and started his attack again. Damianos was shocked at
Calhoun’s declaration and even more shocked when he experienced Calhoun’s powers.
“You? You! No! It can be!” Damianos said, attacking even more fiercely. Calhoun’s
attack became direct and fatal. He fought like he was a crazed man, and he reveled in the blood
he was spilling. Cuts were starting to appear on different areas of the being’s skin, and the blood
coming from it made Calhoun even more powerful. He laughed as he slashed at the being,
cutting every open space he saw while also defending himself.
Firoza suddenly felt as if she was in a cocoon. The immediate comfort she felt was
nothing like the intense pain earlier. She was still seeing the source of her fear, but it was like she
was viewing it from outside her body. She relaxed in the comforting embrace and finally shut her
eyes.
Damianos attacks were getting weaker. He tried all sorts of ways to defend himself from
Calhoun’s attack, yet he couldn’t, let alone leave a mark on Calhoun’s skin. Finally, he was
pushed to the ground when he could fight no more. Calhoun stood over him, pointing his sword
directly to the being’s throat.
“You cannot possibly be, the Blood-” his speech was cut short immediately as Calhoun
cut his head off from his body. His blood spilled everywhere, touching even Calhoun, who stood
still, absorbing the power it gave him. Anyone who saw him would tremble in fear of the way he
looked, like an Asura who came straight from hell.
Calhoun’s guards collapsed, fatigued from fighting their inner fears. They were free from
Damianos power upon his death. Calhoun turned to face his guards, paying no heed to the body
he had decapitated.
“Take your needed rest. We need to move soon.”
*****
The Kingdom of Neba.
The King’s Palace…
The King welcomed his guests into his royal banquet hall. They had all taken their
allocated seats, with the King at the head of the table and Svetlana standing right behind him.
The huge banquet table was filled with all sorts of food. Servants stood beside each seat, ready to
attend to the guest’s needs. The different ambassadors had come with their people. Just as they
were very important in their country, they did not hide that fact as they came to the Kingdom of
Neba.
“Thank you all, for attending my birthday banquet.” The King started.
“I would love it if we introduce ourselves today, not that I do not know who you are, but
just because I am seeing new faces.” A low rumbling passed through the table, and the guests
looked at each other, wondering who would go first. Finally, a man stood up, and the rumbling
ceased immediately. He was dressed in a woollen tunic with loose leather breeches. His attire
was adorned with different kinds of jewellery, which did nothing to hide the pouch he so heavily
carried. He had a mop of blond hair and a sandy blonde beard, and strange scarification was on
his face. It was in the shape of an axe, placed on his left cheek. He smiled at the King, exposing
his gold front tooth.
“My king, allow me to congratulate you on celebrating another year.” One of the guests
heard a small cough, which the man blatantly ignored.
“As you already know, I am Magnus Pan, Northern Duke of the kingdom of Tush. You
were correct in your observation; I did bring with me new people who were not here to celebrate
your last birthday. With me is my first son, Dominic Pan, and his cousin Elvan Rogan Pan, the
third prince of the kingdom of Tush.”
“A prince! Welcome, your highness, to my humble kingdom.” The King of Neba said.
The third prince bowed his head as a greeting to the King.
“Thank you, your majesty, for your humble welcome.” He said. The Prince, unlike his
uncle, had hair the colour of a raven. His skin was pale, and he also wore a woollen tunic
adorned with different jewellery. His scarification was placed on his right cheek, and it was in
the shape of a bird. The King smiled, satisfied with the Prince’s behavior. Then facing the Duke’s
son, he said,
“Dominic Pan, welcome to my humble kingdom.” The young heir bowed his head to the
King.
“Thank you, your majesty.” He replied.
“I do hope you get to enjoy your stay here. Your father has had many… adventures, I
would say.” The King said, looking mischievously at the blushing Duke. The young heir looked
at his father curiously before replying.
“Thank you, your majesty.” He was the younger version of his father, tall and built, with
the same colour of hair and little beards. His scarification was also on his left cheek, and just like
his father, it was in the shape of an axe. The scarification did nothing to hide his handsomeness,
though. It gave the young heir a roughish look, and he probably turned the hearts of girls back at
his kingdom.
After the people from the kingdom of Tush, the King looked at his other guest, and this
time he wasn’t as welcoming. The guest stood up and cleared his throat.
“Birthday wishes, your majesty.” He said. The King nonchalantly nodded his head to
show that he had acknowledged the greeting.
“I am Cotan loki, the Eastern Duke of the Kingdom of Pres. I have come to offer birthday
wishes on behalf of my King. He prays that you would continue to have a long life.” The Duke
announced with his head bowed slightly. The King remained quiet and instead took his time
studying the ambassador from the kingdom of Pres. He was a lanky man, but he could exude a
great sense of authority. He had worn a green robe, held tightly on the waist by a golden sash. On
his head was a ceremonial hat, given only to those who the King of Pres bestowed the highest
honour on. He was part of the closest people to the King of Pres, which automatically added him
to the King of Neba’s hate list.
“You can thank him for me.” The King replied drily. He continued his introduction, not
minding the King’s sudden lack of enthusiasm.
“I brought with me Afang loki, my eldest son, and Beau rage, the Queen’s youngest
niece.” The King raised his brow at that particular introduction.
“Niece?” He asked purposely. What was meant to be a normal introduction immediately
became an uncomfortable topic for the poor Duke. The Queen’s niece had no station in court, so
she was not qualified to be attending the banquet hosted by the King of Neba. But the Queen
insisted on it, and the King had no choice but to agree to his wife’s demands. The Duke cleared
his throat, thinking of a way to disperse the tense atmosphere.
“Birthday wishes, my Lord.” Afang loki stood up and bowed his head, respecting the
King. The King surmised immediately that he was a smart one. He understood what was going
on and tried to help his father by diverting the King’s attention towards him.
“Thank you, young man.” The King finally replied. The young loki, unlike his father, was
heavily built. He had also put on a robe, but of the colour purple, held tightly on the waist by a
golden sash. He didn’t cover his head like his father, so his shoulder-length, dark brown hair
splayed proudly on his broad back and shoulders. The guest took their seat after passing on their
greetings to the King. The King was just about to announce the commencing of the banquet
when a soft voice paused him.
“Birthday wishes, my king.” The King looked at who had greeted him, the niece of the
Queen of the kingdom of Pres. He could not help but look at the Duke and his son who had come
with her; they both looked like they had swallowed something bitter. That was both a curious
and interesting sight for the King. The King waved his hand at her, nonchalantly acknowledging
her greeting.
“I come on behalf of her Majesty the Queen to offer you birthday wishes.” She continued.
The King frowned immediately; he didn’t understand where this was going.
“My Queen also said to pass this unto you, as she was close friends with the late Queen.
She does this as a favour for her friend who would have loved to attend this banquet.” The hall
immediately became silent. Cotan loki and his son suddenly became nervous, wondering what
had prompted the girl to say something like this. Everyone in the kingdom knew that the present
Queen had killed the former Queen. It really would not be a surprise if the King of Neba had
found out what had happened to his daughter. Was the Queen trying to start a war?
The King of Neba folded his hands tightly on his table. If not he had guest, he would
have ordered the girl to be killed immediately. Taking a deep breath, the King calmed and
smiled.
“Tell your Queen that I do not need her favour, and I doubt my daughter would. Also tell
her, that even though she is the Queen of a nation, her name doesn’t qualify to be mentioned at
my table. She is just a low-life prostitute, I wonder what she did to the King of Neba.” He said,
snickering. Beau rage mouth fell open in shock as the Duke from Tush coughed to hide his
laugh.
“I didn’t want to say anything previously, but now that you mention it, I just can’t help it.”
The King stood up from his table and began to walk around.
“Niece? Your King, sent me someone who has no position in court? Just who does he
think I am? And worst of it all, the person he sent has no idea how to act as a delegate. Although
I am not surprised there, what would you say, like aunt like niece?” The King said. The Duke
from Tush burst out laughing, and his son and Prince snickered quietly. Beau Rage’s face burned
red from embarrassment, and she was about to reply to the King when Duke Loki dragged her
down and bowed before the King of Neba.
“My apologies my Lord, I sincerely apologize.” Beau rage looked at the Duke, anger
emanating from her eyes. The King raised his eyes at that action, curious.
“The kingdom of Pres has become a very weak country. I had always suspected, but now,
it’s a known fact. Just look at who they sent. Tch!” He said, shaking his head. Before delivering
his final blow, the King walked back to his seat and sat down comfortably.
“What do you say, Duke of Tush? Should we go to war against the Kingdom of Pres? Let
us be honest, we come here every year to gauge our power, and now that we have found the
weakest, we can’t let this opportunity go like this, can we? After all…” He paused, facing Beau
rage, whose eyes were opened wide in shock and fear.
“After all, weak countries are not allowed to stand. It has been like that for centuries.”
The King said, smiling deviously.