Julius
KABOOM!
Julius met the hard ground with a loud thud. But before he could even get up, he heard the wind whistling.
Shit! He muttered. A knife reached for the side of his belly and he barely dodged it, rolling away.
"Not bad!" Akisil remarked before poising for a follow-up strike. She drew a graceful arc in the air, both knives swishing in a deadly circle.
"Wait! Wait! I give up!" Julius shrieked.
Akisil only sneered as she swung for the kill, "No more breaks for you!"
"Shiiiit!" Julius was certain his throat would be ripped in two. But the blade did not descend and his throat was unwounded. He opened his eyes to peer at the tall figure of Akisil looking down at him.
She spat, "You're pathetic."
He tried to sit up only to be pinned down. "Ugh." Akisil has her foot on his chest, he could smell the impossibly sweet scent of her toes. "That's unfair. I've never fought anyone like this before."
"Agouie gave you yet another knowledge-bearing worm. It contained the art and essence of wind combat."
"And you expect me to be as good as you?"
"I expect you to not be this pathetic. I expect you to have a little mettle in yourself. Training's over." Then she left.
Two servants ran to his side at once, helping him up on his feet. One gave him water and the other dusted his shirt off. The servant called Dali spoke, "The Siluer wishes to speak to you, my Savior."
Not every wind worshipper spoke the earthen language. Only those who could afford an ukruije or those that had the leisure to study it. But no matter, Julius could speak the Nilehofulji now. He told them in their tongue, "I'll be there shortly."
Dali muttered something,"Huekboro mi ful." Julius knew the meaning of it. 'The woman's a degrace.' But he was yet to understand its profundity for this people. Huekboro was a term only given to the worst of them. But Akisil seemed to easily deserve it.
They were deep in the wind tunnels in the Tihar mountains. You would expect the Siluyins to be living up in trees or airships but no, they burrowed in caverns they dug out. It was a safety precaution. Their whereabouts must not be known for their population was low and their combat force had been left thinner and thinner as they fought their way around Ijbel. They were like nomads. Fleeing where they'd be safe, even just for a while.
The wind tunnels weren't that bad. They stuck luminescent moss all over the ceilings so it was easy to find his way around.
Agouie-the Wind Incarnate- was already waiting for him. "How is your training? I hope Akisil has been teaching you well. Here, drink this revitalizing juice. It isn't very aggreable to the tongue but it does its job."
"Well, she hadn't killed me yet." The juice actually tasted awesome. A new flavor but it's sweet-and-sour taste reminded him of lemons.
Agouie cackled, "She's quite the fierce warrior. She never took from her mother." He looked suddenly wistful. "I presume you have a thousand questions."
"Uh-huh. That I do?" Julius had learned to let his guard down in the presence of Agouie. Not that he trusted him with all his heart. He simply trusted his worth to them. He was valuable that two soul stones were actually exchanged for him. He had two servants all to himself. Nobody would dare harm him, save for Akisil that is.
"I'll answer them all to the best of my ability. But I don't want to tell you anything that would instead confuse you. Ask away, Julius the Human."
Julius pondered for a second and then he spoke. "I don't really know where to begin."
"Well, what's bugging you the most?"
"What's been bugging me? I still don't know the reason what need you have of me. I know I am not like any other color in this world and that my being human is my value but why? For what end? Why do I have to train? Why do I have to learn? Why buy me?"
Agouie seemed to have been waiting for that. He lit up. He must already have an answer prepared. "Let me tell you a tale, child." He took a seat and leaned back on his chair. "We are the Siluyin born from the breath of the Formless Beast of the Wind, the Great Siluri. He was the Second of the Gods to come to be and the First Offspring of the Light. Ever since the Six Gods began to fight for dominance, Ijbel has been thrown into war. Our last success was from a thousand years ago. That time we seized victory. We have been powerful but we lost terribly during the next war and we have never won again. We don't pale in combat. No it's not the reason. Our soldiers are as good as anybody else's. But we lacked something. I don't know what exactly. In my opinion, it was versatility. The power to deal with different kinds of enemy. You see this war is unpredictable, the ujus are unpredictable and the enemies are always growing stronger. Meanwhile, the Siluyins grow weak and small. You are our versatile card but without power, you are still just another creature, no different from us."
"But why can't you do it yourselves? What's preventing you from being versatile?"
"You see, blue and green people, dark and gray people, red and orange people, you might think our color is the only thing that sets us apart. No. We are completely different species the way a miraf and a worm are different species. To learn all craft and magic, though may not be impossible, is almost worse than death in itself."
Julius stared dumbfounded. He pretended to understand even by just a little bit. "Why?"
"It's the law of Ijbel. To obtain a power that isn't yours, you should pay a price."
"And what is this price?"
"The future, Julius, our future. Our body, our dreams, our lives. If we ever desire to grow beyond our heritage, the gods will punish us."
"And me?"
"No, my boy, you are not like us. You are not part of the wind, not anchored to the ground, not a speck of light, not bonded to the water, not a drop of blood and not hidden under the shadow. You are a human without a heritage that binds you. Your potential is limitless."
"Is that so?"
"I need your flesh, I need your blood, I need your very soul. Actually, I called you here because of a favor I must ask of you. Will you help us?"
"I'm still not sure what I can do but anything to repay your kindness, I'm willing to do it."
Agouie smiled.
He was led to the Breeze Rooms.
Julius was more than anxious. He was freaking out. If not for the cold earth in this mountain tunnels, he would have been sweating an ocean.
What Agouie asked of him - it was out of his expectations. He had never done it before. He was still a virgin.
Though it did not mean he was ignorant to it, knowing was one thing and doing was another. Agouie said it must be done. The human blood was priceless. A hybrid of a wind worshipper and a human being would have great potential for growth.
It was truly for the sake of power, of victory. But he could not help feel uneasy and nervous.
"Here you are, someone is already waiting for you," Agouie told him.
He stared at the door, not daring to announce his presence yet. Turned out he was right. They bought him to turn him into a slave, to a breeding hog no less.
However to say that he was not excited would be untrue.
He urged him on, " I will send the other women after you are finished with her."
Julius paled.
"You are really lucky cause you are human. You can learn the art of blood magic without a cost. If we did, the gods would take away our fertility, our right to have children of our own."