The NEWS story failed to provide the clarity Hutch was hoping for, stating that a corporate run charity, connected to several other charitable ventures across the city, was responsible for the extravagant donation to the local hospital. It was the name of the corporation though, Cascel Tower, that further tightened the knot in Hutch's stomach.
Even without concrete proof, Hutch was positive that it wasn't a coincidence. He remembered the name with a sickening fondness. It was the name Salvador used when they first met. Although now, it had more meaning; made more sense in the larger scheme of things. Salvador had told him directly that his wife's name was Celina. It didn't take much effort to make the connections or for the pieces to begin falling into place. And more than anyone, Hutch knew how arrogant Salvador could be. He discovered the kind of man he was the first time they met, more than a year after he had arrived on Illimev.
The village had spent near two weeks preparing for the arrival of the King and his guard. Scrambling to finish over the last days, as their quaint home was to be an overnight stop on the royal tour of the country. Baskets of flowers had been hung from the corners of every home. The roof overhangs had been trimmed. The roads had been swept and the ditches cleaned. Fresh dirt and gravel had been spread from one end of the village to the other to smooth the ride of the King's carriage. And yet, regardless of what had to be done, the village had always been well maintained.
The homes were nothing special, built as was common; dug down into the earth, supported by timbers, with stone roofs covered in grasses. The only structure that was built differently was the long house of the chief. It was thrice the size of the other homes, as it served not just as the chief's residence, but as the meeting hall for the people, and Inn for travelers; it was the center of their community. It was here that the king, Casimir Salvador, and his guards would enjoy a feast and spend the night, and where the tributes were piled high and awaiting his arrival under the crushing fear of what he'd do if expectations were not met.
"Kahlala, I will not tell you again, put on that dress!" Ghan'dono ordered, his voice raised beyond what Hutch had heard before.
Kahlala growled, slammed down her foot, and marched back into her room shouting, "This is ridiculous! No one is going to care how I'm dressed!"
"I care!" he shouted back, before taking a deep breath and lowering his voice. "The last thing I need is her drawing attention to herself."
"I can try talking to her. Make her understand why this is necessary," Hutch offered as Ghan'dono continued to fuss with the hat on his head.
"I welcome you to try. I've enough to worry about with your head being so small. I had expected you to start growing once you were fed proper," he replied with a broad grin as he tightened up the drape of fabric beneath Hutch's chin, tucking the excess length beneath the back lip of the hat. Sitting his hand on top of Hutch's head, he gave the hat a good wobble. "Not a perfect fit, but it will stay on. I hope. If you feel it slipping off when you're bowing though, let it fall. It is better to keep your hand down than your hat on your head."
"I still think it's best if both Kahlala and I stay here. It's not like you've given this guy such a ringing endorsement that I just have to see him for myself."
"Like it or not, Casimir Salvador is the king of this country, and as members of this tribe, it is our responsibility to do as the chief asks. It is also our duty to show the king our appreciation…"
"Appreciation?" Kahala interrupted as she stomped back into the main room of their house. "Salvador is a monster! The only thing to be appreciated about him is how long he stays away for."
She looked beautiful in the cream dress with the lavender over robe and it suited her, more than she would care to admit. Seeing Hutch staring in her direction, she turned away, attempting to hide the growing blush on her cheek with the length of her sleeve wrapped over her hand.
Adverting his gaze back to the top of the table, Hutch coughed to clear his throat. "I get that you don't like him, Lala," he began to speak more out an attempt to distract himself than anything else while his brain refocused, "but I don't get why. He doesn't seem to really do all that much aside from hiding away in that castle of his. Isn't a few weeks of inconvenience and some 'tribute' to appease his royal hind ass, a small price to pay to keep him in that castle?"
"You have no idea of the things he has done!" she snapped back at him. "He is a monster, pretending to be a king, and desiring to be a god!"
Ghan'dono set his hand on her shoulder, pulling her to his side. "Yes, Hutch, it is a small price to pay, and one we pay willingly. But make no mistake, regardless of how he appears, he is as much of a monster today as he has ever been. And it started when he murdered our King and took the throne for himself." Sitting Kahlala down in the seat next to Hutch, he sat down across the table from them. "Kahlala would have been a priestess of Vuxsyphel by now. The color of her hair should have solidified her future as a potential avatar of the night goddess. Had she completed the rites and been chosen; it would have meant everything to our tribe."
"It used to be an honor simply to serve in the name of Vuxsyphel. To be chosen as her avatar on Illimev… I can't even imagine how many I could have helped. Not to mention the wealth it would have provided to our tribe. But thanks to Salvador, that will never happen," Kahlala remarked with a sneer.
"Shortly after Salvador stole the throne, three tribes were rounded up and irradicated," Ghan'dono spoke with a heavy heart. "One of those tribes was the Zoyat. What used to be their lands stretched along the southwest border of the country, between the dales of Kort, to the north bank of lake Moegat, their eastern boundary being the swamp Tovgan. The Zoyat were the keepers of Vuxsyphel's temple. Salvador had all the priests and priestess executed before he razed the village to the ground. It burned for three weeks. We are told we are allowed to pray to whatever god we choose, but we can do so without temples and shrines. They are dead. They are not here. They do not speak. We are not to waste our time on rituals that do nothing. He outlawed the practices, but not the belief. It doesn't matter how many years have passed. No one will forget the cruelty that he and his men are capable of."
"Cruelty sounds like a bit of an understatement," Hutch commented as Kahlala leaned her head against his shoulder.
"And the Zoyat where just the first. Pojhe, who kept the temple of Buwandu, and Lamudaz, who kept the temple of Folanola, were the others," she explained to him, as Ghan'dono retrieved a small book from the shelf near the table.
"And they would not be the last." Opening the book, Ghan'dono showed him a handwritten list he was unable to read, although even to him it was obvious that anything with an X beside it, probably meant it no longer existed. "This is a list of all the tribes that used to exist within this country. It started with Zoyat, Pojhe, and Lamudaz. He made an example out of them. Slaughtered everyone, and burned the temples and villages until nothing was left. Then the laws came. A book given to each chief of each tribe. Out of fear, most of us agreed to live under Salvador's laws, and we saw what happened to those who did not. For minor things there were penalties. Stories reached us from Latilash in the north where half their children were taken after they failed to make the quota of grain that was to be delivered to the Qor'ropi storehouses, and that following winter, their rations were halved as well. Eugnew in the west were forced from their lands and relocated to the south onto the former lands of the Pojhe, after they continued to refuse growing the crops Salvador demanded of them. And Rochpawa, the tribe that now resides on Lamudaz lands, was split from the Rochpanyoi for similar reasons. Xugalt, Oztraz, and Othnat, all vanished around the same time that the Decgar river changed. It used to be a massive river with a strong current, now it is less than half of what it was, and there isn't anyone amongst the villages that doesn't think Salvador is responsible for that as well."
"They did not vanish. They are dead."
"We don't know that for certain Kahlala."
"Given what he's done, why have the tribes not gathered and taken him out?"
"There were attempts, but each was thwarted with ease. The ones responsible, as well as their families, were executed for dissent. When the tribes stopped trying to resist and began to live as he required, the worst of his barbaric behavior ceased. There are still rumors of missing families, tribes vanishing and then new ones seemingly appearing out of nowhere. We were fortunate that our Chief could see what was best for us and we of the Moahaba adapted to what was required and we've lived relatively undisturbed because of it," Ghan'dono said, before turning and looking out the window to the sound of a bell ringing. "It's time. Let no one hear you speak ill of the King. Living quietly is preferable to not living at all."
"Right," Hutch huffed, "No point in being brave if it costs you everything."
"Precisely."
Together, Ghan'dono, Hutch, and Kahlala, made the short walk to the village center; a large open space in front of the Chief's longhouse. No one seemed pleased about the impending visit. There was no chatter or laughter. Eyes were on the ground for elder and child alike. Despite the sun, heat, and welcomed breeze, the air was thick with a sense of oppression as the sounds of hooves and wagon wheels drew ever closer to the village.