Heavy sleet poured down on us upon our arrival to the Ma'iingan camp. The sombering feel of people gathering into a crowd along with the gloomy weather made my heart sink as if something was horribly wrong.
"What is it?" I asked, my voice loud and coarse, weary from the journey.
"Alpha!" the Maa'ingan began shouting and crying.
"Alpha is back."
"Alpha is here."
"MOVE!" Xui shouted, pushing people aside and making her command loud and clear. "MAKE WAY!"
Slowly, the crowd dispersed backwards, moving out of the way to create a pathway for me. The path led directly to the infirmary. Step by step, my heavy feet paced itself into the ground, and with each step the earth seemed to tug at my foot, not wanting me to move further. I didn't want to see what it could be that I was about to see. The ominous feeling gnaws on my skin like fleas.
I swipe the hide blocking the entrance of the infirmary out of my way and the first thing I see is Giken. In his arms, were the lifeless bodies of our babies.
I sink onto my knees, my legs flacid.
"What happened?" Xui shouted. "Who did this to the Alpha babies?"
Tears stream down Giken's face, creating two wet streaks down his cheeks. His voice trembled as he managed to say, "Alpha, you were gone for six days. The wetnurse, became ill. She couldn't feed our children. I found another wetnurse, but she couldn't produce enough for the three babies. She fed them until her nip bled. She tried her best. Look, our babies, they just need you, Alpha. Our babies~"
I quickly crawl my way up to Giken, "I'm so so sorry. I'm so sorry." Giken hands me our three babies, all swaddled up and lifeless. I take out my breasts and attempt to feed them, but they don't budge. They just kept sleeping.
I let out a loud wailing cry. I cry out my pain, my sorrow, my hurt. I cry out for my babies, for their shut eyes, their no longer breathing bodies, their quiet and stillness. I cried and I cried until my voice could no longer make a sound.
My tears dropped onto Ishkode's little face and I reached down to wipe it off.
Warmth.
"They aren't cold." I murmured, snapping my head up at Giken. "They aren't cold!"
Mooji hurried to my side and touched the babies' skin. "You are right, Alpha. They are still warm."
"That means that they're still alive, right? That means, they're not dead, right?" I can hear my voice breaking as the words stutter off my lips.
Mooji and her followers begin their healing, but to no avail nothing seems to be working.
"Alpha… Sereen, I will go to Shaman Shao and see what he has to say about our little dragon-pups." Xui says. "You see," Xui begins to explain, "in the realm of Zaa, we are given tasks or expectations. You need to know this, because you need to know how things work as a Zaa."
I just gazed at Xui with my waxy eyes, "what about my babies?"
"Let me explain, please. Sereen, in the Zaa Realm, we don't age. We are immortal beings that hold higher power than humans and other skin-changers. After the plate tectonics shifted the Earth, our ability to shapeshift into any species was lost. The Zaa clan created a sense of control for the chaos, by crowning our dragon stars or what you would call an alpha. Unlike royalty, Alphas aren't always bloodlinked. Your grandmother was murdered because she was supposed to be the dragon star of her time. After her death no stars appeared again. It was after your mother had you that the dragon star shone itself again. You are supposed to be dead…but you live. These expectations I talk about are what we call 'trials'. With each trial, you gain more power. So what I'm trying to say is… I believe your children's state of wellness is another trial for you to overcome. I will go to Shaman Shao to investigate this further." Xui bows her head and begins to leave.
"Xui, please, I will do anything. Please. Help me."
"Anything for my Empress." Xui replies and leaves.
*
"I know why you've come, Xui, but this is out of my power and my control." Shaman Shao said upon Xui's arrival. "I cannot interfere with what the universe has in written for Sereen."
"Shaman Shao, she is our Empress… we have to help her and her~"
"Our current Empress is still on the throne. To speak ill of her is treason! But like I've said, I cannot interfere."
"Don't give me that royal spew of bullshit. We both know Empress Bi inherited the throne because of Empress Dowager who hunted all those chosen by the dragon star!"
Shaman Shao frowns at Xui with no remarks. Trying to work best for the realm, Shaman Shao said hastily, "Fine!"
They approach a small fountain and Shaman Shao gazes down upon it. The solution inside reflected light like liquid mercury stuck in a continuous ripple.
Shaman Shao peered into the fountain. "I see, it's another trial. But because she owns the dragon star, she must obtain the dragon's blood to feed her babies, as it is a task all chosen ones must pass. We both know that dragon's blood can only be obtained by~"
"Entering Black Flame Cavern…" Xui finished Shaman Shao's sentence. "But no one has been there for thousands of years. How would we know that it even exists?
"If she is the true owner of the Dragon Star, then she will be able to obtain the dragon's blood. After obtaining the dragon's blood, she will be considered Empress of Zaa Clan and everyone will have to bow down to her reign and dethrone Empress Bi. However, there is a warning we must not tell her… "
*
Xui returns with the news of the new trial and the retrieval of dragon's blood. I stand there numb and unable to imagine the task I am to do.
"I don't completely understand what you are saying to me, Xui. Please, enlighten me with more tales of this Black Flame Cavern." I said sarcastically, mocking the gods and their life plummeting trials that they hand off so lightly to me.
"Sereen, no one in my lifetime has ever been to Black Flame Cavern. It is just legends and myths in my eyes, but Shaman Shao is a vessel utilized by the many gods pointing us in the right direction. He claims it is true and it is a real place."
"This will save my babies?" I asked.
"A trial offers more than one thing for a person. You may get more than you need, for this trial is very very dangerous."
"If this can save my babies then I will do it.."
"You can't. If it's as dangerous as Xui says, then you may die." Giken disagreed.
"Then I will die knowing I did everything in my power to save my babies."
The room turns somber as Mooji and her followers begin to heal me instead of my babies.
"Your womb is still healing. We will help speed the process." Mooji says.
"You and you," Giken pointed at two Ma'iingan, "Go boil some water, for Alpha." Giken commanded, "It may be her last warm bath in a long while."
The steam surrounded me in its aroma, as many fragrance of earth all came together as one. Wild flower petals were placed into my bath to drown out the herby aroma, but to me the lavender and eucalyptus were a perfect pair.
Mooji and her followers continued to heal me as Xui stood guard. I turn my attention back to Xui, "How long do you think it is going to take me to get there?"
"Maybe a few weeks to a few months. If all of your Zaa abilities are there, then underwater is the fastest. Can you breathe fire? You will need it. I will train you to control your powers along the way."
"Will my babies be okay until then?"
Xui reassures Sereen, "Shaman Shao is sending a chamber made of arctic ice; this will help the babies. If they are anything like you, Sereen, then their immortality will prevent death. You must trust the Zaa in you."
"Alright. When do we start?"
"We start now."
*
We trained for the next three days working on learning to breathe underwater to sustaining homeostasis in ice cold waters. Once the chamber for my babies arrived, I placed them inside the bed and kissed them good-bye for now.
That night Gikan and I made love as if it were our last. We weeped in eachothers arms and prayed to the ancestors for guidance and protection. We head out to Gich-Ziibi and are met with more Maa'ingan and Waabigwan, awaiting our departure.
They all bow their heads in prayer in their most holy form. Wolves of many colors all in one place, brothers and sisters.
"I am proud to be a Maa'ingan, but I am also Zaa. I must live my life to protect Maa'ingan and I must live my life with trials as a Zaa. I am most happy for you all. I will try my best to get back here. For now, Beta will lead in my stead. Please show him the same honor as you had shown me. I thank you all from the deepest of my heart."
Xui and I began walking deeper into the river. She nods to me and we both transfigure.
Xui, a red fire dragon.
I, a translucent glas-like, dragon.
The winter skies part its clouds letting a little sunlight to glimmer down on us. My scale reflects and refracts its light, and all around me are spectrums of rainbows.
The crowd awed in all of my glory.
Xui and I entered the deep waters of the river and began our journey south.
The plan is to ride with the tides of Gichi-Ziibi. It will guide us all the way south towards the southern ocean. From there, we'd go east in deep water towards Bermuda, and that is where things will get a little tricky.
[But I am Maa'ingan, I am Zaa, I am Vio in the flesh, and I am not afraid of what is to come. Watch me take on a new journey to save my children.]
*
"Sssso I heard that the Zaa Clan is about to crash and burn. Itsssss about time we rise up to the occassionssss and evolve. Don't you agree with me Boa?"