|| When all roads close to a protagonist.
"Here he goes again," Esi said.
"I was faithfully serving His Majesty until I the most extraordinary servant of His Majesty was banished to this, this Enchanted Forest. Look at me, am I in a position to see the future of a child? Look at me, my bones are protruding from my skin and my eyes are lifeless. Look at me, I am living a worser life than that of an abandoned lover. I am so sorry House of Ebony; I cannot fulfill your request no matter how much you offer!"
Damik was eloquent with words. Always leading people by the nose and making them accept something they themselves did not do.
As previous victims to Damik sly nature, the mistresses were unfazed towards his 'heroic' announcement.
Who would believe a cockroach that believed he was a peacock? Who?
The Mistresses of the House of Ebony were sure it was not them.
"Emperor Pigeon Blood Rubies." Mistress Awola said placing a grown man's fist sized pouch on the table.
Before the people present could blink twice, Damik had already snatched the small pouch from the table and through a small opening confirmed if what Mistress Awola was saying was true.
Pleased with the quality of rubies, Damik agreed to look into Kai's future.
The room where Damik usually received clients was dark and only a single candle was lit. A jar of glowing pearls placed on the table separating Damik and Kesia, who was holding Kai Lulu.
Dark fabric hung over the window for purposes Damik shamelessly explained to be 'for creating atmosphere'.
Damik motioned for Kesia to bring the child closer and he laid one of his hands over her head. "Future is untold but written, the future through the past shall the future be, Future unwritten but told, and which path shall the little one take?"
This power Damik wielded was labeled as an enchantment because it was unexplainably captivating and beautiful that one could not help but be drawn to it.
Even though some people were grateful to receive such power, they did not know neither who to thank nor whom to address. The people could only thank the Supreme Mother, the one who created everything.
Thus Damik was seeking help from the Supreme Mother.
The future Damik was seeing were effect of choices that Kai would make.
At a moment Damik saw someone fighting in the depths of the sea, the sea creatures were mourning, waters stained by blood and the silence and solemnity that somehow persisted. That version of the future was so vivid that Damik felt like a soldier at war. However, why in the depths of the sea?
Few seconds later, Damik saw the Crystal City, home of the High King getting ambushed. Heads rolling. Blood spilling. Death growing.
Within a blink of an eye, Damik saw a shadow fighting with another shadow. Kin against Kin.
All choices made by Kai led to some battle.
Kesia's face turned ash grey as she listened to Damik's words. "So you mean, Kai can make many choices but they all lead to any of the three effects?"
"Kesia, Is this child marked by the High Mother? You should know how dangerous the creatures of the sea are. The whole earth has been explored* but the sea, no. It has such deep depths no human can fathom. It is plausible to say the Mer if on land must return to where they belong. Or else…"
"I cannot return her to sea, Damik. Supreme Mother has brought her to me and I shall then take care of her!"
"Well then, you have sixteen years of her life to yourself. When she hears the call at the height of her seventeenth birthday, you have to let her go." Damik warned.
"Thank you, Damik."
***
Crystal City, Crystal Palace, The High King's Palace.
At the palace, dahlias and geraniums bloomed. Grand Orchids and Jacaranda trees towered over the Crystal Palace, some blue flowers settling over the bricked pathways.
Servants dressed in navy blue walked with graceful steps like the crown of noble men. Carrying baskets of ripe fruits, trays of fine wine and delicacies and laundry baskets of the palace nobles.
The harp was played. A melodious tune was heard. Soul shattering and heartwarming.
The Spirit Beasts of the young princes in the palace were spotted in several places sunbathing underneath the hammering sun.
The High King's three concubines lounged next to the palace's water pool. Dressed scantily in red and blue. Perfumed by the desert flowers. Fans raising to blow cold wind. Faint chatter. Shy smiles.
At the other side of the palace next to the palace's Western Garden, the High King's two wives drunk tea. Veiled threats. Warm smiles. Painted faces. White fabric. Clinking of glasses.
Inside the Main Hall on a raised platform, His Majesty the High King Jalil sat on his throne. His advisors standing below the raised platform. A scholar was raising his latest discoveries to the High King's Court. A thick scroll was raised so that the High King can see it.
"My King, The three North Stars have aligned."
A faint murmur broke out among the people present.
"The North Stars?" Jalil, The High King asked as he tapped his fingers on the armrest of his throne. His tone calm.
"Yes, My King." The Scholar replied opening up the scroll where he wrote down his findings. "In The Ancient Script, it is written that something different something beyond the High King's realm has entered into your territory, Your Majesty."
Jalil looked at the unrolled scroll present to him. Tracing with his eyes the copied positions of the North Stars on the scroll with his eyes.
The High King's Officials were wandering what the scholar meant by beyond the High King. Wasn't the High King the ruler of the whole earth? Was there land not belonging to His Majesty?
"My King the child of the Second Wife was supposed to appease the Supreme Mother, according to my studies, can this be a message from the Supreme Mother?" The scholar asked.
"Deceits," Jalil said calmly. "The Supreme Mother is not warning us. You must be interpreting the stars wrongly."
"But, Your Majesty…"
"Enough, Lord Cyprian. This King is certain."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
A/N: Have a great day!
The whole earth has been explored* - This means that the 'humans' believe that they have explored the whole world and they are masters of it. That there is no earth that has been left unexplored.