Gaining Acceptance

As Johan knelt he recalled what Kwan had said about how showing the seal to the Mongolians would grant him safe passage in Genghis Khan's domain. Johan quickly inserted his perception into the ring and retrieved the seal and took it out of his inter-spatial ring. The seal was circular, blood red, and composed of a steel like material.

Johan grasped it in his hand. He hadn't thought to take it out earlier, but seeing Genghis reminded him of it.

BADUM!

BOOM!

BADUM!

BOOM!

The drums beat heavily in the background, mirroring the beat of his heart.

Suddenly the drum beats came to a stop.

Everything seemed to go silent, even the chirping of birds in the distance.

Genghis Khan and his men got off of their horses and walked to the center of the opening near Johan.

Genghis's men made a tight circle around Khan and behind the prisoners.

Genghis then stared down the crowd in silence, slowly casting his gaze fearlessly from left to right. Carefully, taking in the details of everyone who stood in front of him. His stare gave the feeling that he was gazing deep into one's soul.

Johan knew, that there would seldom be opportunities for him to be this close to Genghis Khan. If he was going to act and show the seal, now was the moment.

Garnering his courage, in the spur of the moment, Johan stood up.

Simultaneously, the man next to him also stood up and screamed, "DEMON KHAN! YOU KILLED MY FAMILY AND DESTROYED MY VILLAGE! AND NOW I'LL KILL YOU!"

The man leaped forward over the captive who knelt down in front of him with his sword raised.

Johan grabbed the back of his shirt instinctively stopping him mid-charge, causing him to fall backwards onto the ground.

He stared up at Johan surprised.

"HA! HA! HA!," Genghis Khan let out a mighty laugh and said, "GOOD BOY! NOW FINISH HIM!"

Johan stared down at the man blankly unsure of what to do. He didn't want to get his hands dirty. Gazing down at the shocked man on the floor, he felt that he had much in common with the man lying on the floor than Genghis. Genghis had done to this man, what Armyka had done to Johan.

Johan held up the seal and showed it to Genghis Khan and said, "I am a friend of Kwan. He told me to show this to you in order to gain your guidance."

The crowd saw the seal and started whispering among themselves quietly. It seemed to be a big deal.

"HA! HA! HA! WHAT A GREAT DAY!," laughed Genghis, "YOU STOPPED AN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AND WERE SENT BY MY GOOD FRIEND!"

The man on the floor let out a enraged roar.

He slashed out with his sword at Johan's feet with his sword.

Johan leaped into the air backward barely avoiding the slash, falling on his buttocks.

The man then leaped up and charged at Genghis Khan.

One of the Mongolian men who stood near Genghis slashed out mercilessly decapitating the man mid-charge.

The head flew back towards Johan and the body collapsed.

The head rolled to a stop at Johan's feet and caused the captive kneeling in front of him to start sobbing even harder.

Johan stared into the decapitated man's eyes, and saw the life in it slowly seep away. It was filled with anger and disappointment ... and then ... nothing.

[That could have been me,] thought Johan, [if I attacked Armyka without thinking and without adequate preparation.]

Johan felt a gust of wind and saw a shadow flicker out the corner of his eye. The captive who had been kneeling in front of him crying suddenly stopped. Johan looked off to see the man's head fell off. Johan jaw dropped surprised. He glanced in the direction he had seen the shadow move to be met by a familiar face.

"Neil!?," whispered Johan.

Johan blinked and Neil was gone.

What was he doing here?.

Did he imagine it?

No, those eyes were the same eyes had seen continuously for ten years while he had been in the pit. He would never forget them. But something had changed. Those eyes were colder, the warmth in them that he remembered seemed to have disappeared.

What happened? Furthermore, Neil wasn't a killer. Yet, Johan had just witnessed him kill without missing a heart beat.

What confused Johan even more was that no one else in the crowd seemed to have noticed him.

Johan expanded his perception in an attempt to find Neil. But Neil had disappeared.

"HA! HA! HA! HA!," boomed Genghis taking notice of the dead man in front of Johan, "You missed your chance to kill the assassin and eagerly made up for it by killing the captive. GOOD! Loyalty and initiative! Join me at my table for dinner tonight! Potential warriors, take this boy's actions as an example! Here I reward skill and character! Not blood relations! I myself was once a slave and came from nothing! Your humble beginnings do not limit you if you are a part of my tribe! Tonight, we celebrate our family being together and tomorrow, I will tell you why I called you all here!"

The other soldiers slashed out beheading the captives who stood in front of them.

However, Johan was to confused about what he had just seen to even be disgusted by or attempt to stop the other men from killing. Johan continued to look for Neil with his eyes and his perception without luck.

How had he disappeared so quickly?

Neil had been quiet for almost a year now. How did he get here of all places?

Was that really Neil he had seen?

Why had Neil ruthlessly killed this man? The Neil that Johan remembered was not a ruthless killer.

"NOW!," yelled Genghis Khan snapping Johan out of his thoughts, "POST UP THE BODIES OF THESE MEN OUTSIDE OUR CAMP SIGHT AS A WARNING TO THOSE WHO INSULT OUR GREAT PEOPLE! UNWED WOMEN, STEP FORTH! PERHAPS TODAY YOU WILL BE CHOSEN AS A WIFE!"

Johan looked around him and realized all the captives had been decapitated. He felt sick recalling how moments before, the man in front of him had been begging for his life. Some men ran forth from the crowd and carried the carcasses away.

The women who were not wearing head dresses, ranging from 13 to 50s in age stepped forward and lined up in front of Johan and the men who had just killed the captives in the center of the crowd. The men eyed the women with leery lecherous adult eyes. Half the women wore furs, the other half did not and were led by men who had them tied up with ropes. The women were a variety of nationalities, sizes and shapes. Some burly, some skinny, some european, some asian, some arab and many others.

"Now choose two, one of my tribe and one who must be tamed and be proud!," boomed Genghis Khan.

Johan felt a sense of guilt as images of Luisa flashed through his mind. He decided that he would simply choose two random girl out of obligation to not cause a stir in front of the crowd. Then he would talk to Genghis Khan at dinner tonight and then get out of here.

The men ran forth excitedly towards the women leaving Johan behind.

"STOP!," boomed Genghis Khan holding out his hand, "the boy who saved my life gets first pick!"

The men stopped prior to reaching the women, looks of disappointment spread across their faces.

"Lucky bastard," muttered one of the men.

Johan felt the entire crowds eyes focus on him.

"Luisa," whispered Johan, "please don't hate me for this. I only love you."

The world of Genghis Khan was as foreign to him as the Looking Glass Realm had been when he first went there.

Johan stepped forward towards the girls.