Worshippers

Julius

After the auction, Julius was loaded into a cage, again, brought out of the mountain lair and dumped in what looked like a horse's carriage. Except that it wasn't pulled by a horse but by a six-legged mammoth of a creature that fashioned a shining blue fur. Despite its humongous physique, the outline of its body was rather graceful, its furs flamboyant even. Still, its mere height inspired awe in Julius's eyes.

For a moment, he forgot the indignation of being treated like a monkey. He was so powerless, yet here he was, caged.

In the cabin, the one who won him met him in person. The old man, or alien rather, possessed a skin tinted in blue like the color of an open empty sky. His ears pointed up sharply like an elf's. His eyes though were no less human than Julius's.

He mumbled something in his foreign tongue, his eyes gleaming in wonder. Was he just appreciating me just now? Julius shot him a murderous glare.

The old man took a step nearer to him, much to the disinterest of his guards who stood post at a distance. They appeared to underestimate Julius too much. A frail boy, they must be thinking. Yet, Julius simulated the scenario in his head. How strong could an aged man be? Will he be stronger than me when I topple him over?

Yet there was this sense of calm about the old man that somehow made Julius feel uneasy.

Being close didn't seem enough so the old man reached past the bars and touched Julius's cheek. He shoved the hand away and retreated farther. "Don't touch me!"

And as though it still did not satisfy his perversion, he blabbered something to his guards who undid the locks and opened the cage for him.

Julius had the urge to dash out, tackle the old pervert down and maybe outrun the guards if he was lucky. If only Anya was here then it would have been easier. Heck she could wrestle these bastards and set him free.

Before he could make any move, the old man had stepped into the cage, blocking his one and only path. Hag, Julius angrily thought.

The pervert touched Julius's chin and tipped it up side to side, studying him as though he was a piece of jewelry to be scrutinized. He uttered with admiration, "Dafulmuji..."

He constantly wrung his face away from the old man's wrinkly fingers.

Julius would have been so glad that someone could appreciate his body to this degree if he was not being harassed. The old man's calloused hand gently flittered to his arms and chest, and climbed up to caress his neck before lightly combing Julius's hair.

The gesture sent shivers through his body. He never thought he'd end up a sex slave, and to an old man. He cursed his fate so badly. He promised wordlessly he would kill himself before submitting to the perversions of this devil.

The old man peered at him and said, "Do I disgust you?"

Julius's head perked up instantly upon hearing the old man speak a familiar tongue.

"Oh don't be so surprised. The Earthen Tongue is a lingua franca in this region. You will hear Earthen Tongue here more often than their native languages."

"How?" Julius could not ponder the circumstances at all that could have led to this man to be speaking English before him and at a fluent way to top it off.

"Let me give you something, child, as my welcome gift. Since you will be living amongst us..." He shouted to his back, "Sojam sol."

A blue-skinned woman brought up a wooden box which she opened. Inside was nestled a worm that seemed to be beating. The old man scooped it up gently and offered it to him.

"This is ukruije. A knowledge-bearer," the old man explained. "Eat it."

"No!" Whatever it was, he was never putting it into his mouth.

"It's for your own good," he insisted, holding his palm out openly.

In his anger, Julius brandished his hand to flick it away. He was surprised though when the man reacted in time, saving the worm from turning into crushed jelly on the floor. His skin and voice might make him appear senile but he was not senile at all. He moved so fast that Julius's jaw gaped. A primordial instinct of wariness bubbled up inside him. This man was a predator and Julius was prey.

The old man smiled. "I told you this is for your own good," then to his guards, "Filgus!"

The guards who were just a moment ago simply watching entered the spacious cage too. One took the worm from the old man's hand while another two held Julius's limbs. A hand pried his lips open and as he struggled, someone shoved the worm into his mouth.

"No! No!"

The old man soothingly spoke, "Please do chew on it. It's not poisonous. We bought you for two soul stones. No one in their right mind here would harm you."

A guard forced his mouth shut while another pointed a dagger from beneath his chin.

Julius with reluctance chew and swallowed the worm. It felt squishy like jelly. It wriggled inside his mouth as he bit it with resolve. It was still warm too since it was alive. He felt some of its juice trickling down his lips. To say the least, it tasted rather well.

A few seconds passed while they all watched him, waiting for something. Julius suddenly doubled over, a great throe of pain erupting in his abdomen. The pain crawled up his body. He feared his heart would stop as another jolt of pain assaulted him in the chest. He writhed in extreme suffering as the heat reached his neck and he could not breathe. It travelled further up to his head, under his skull where it bore deep into his brain. There was no way to enunciate such pain.

"AAHAHHHRRRGGG!" He could only scream. He screamed until the voice left his throat. He could but pant in submission in the end. A minute more then it was over.

Finally satisfied, the old man uttered, "Teojaju dan."

It was werid. The old man did not speak English yet Julius could understand him. Did he just say to release me?

The guards let go of him and stepped aside.

The old man smirked triumphantly like a child upon seeing Julius's reaction. "That is the power of the light-worm, the knowledge bearer." The old man had spoken in an alien tongue but Julius somehow knew the meaning of every sound and every pause. It was as though he had been speaking the language since he was a child which he did not.

"What did you do?" Julius said, still in English. He felt that he could already speak the old man's language but hesitated on it.

The man pffed, "Oh, nothing out of the ordinary. But don't be so over yourself now. One light worm could contain only one language. The language you had just learned is the common tongue in this planet - Nilehofulji, the language of the light. The rest of the dialects, you must learn on your own. So what is your name, lad?"

Julius saw no reason not to use his real name. "Julius."

"Julius," the old man tried it on his tongue. "I'm Agouie - an incarnate. Come, this cage does not suit you."

Julius did not budge from his position because he did not believe the old man at all. The man looked back at him. "Hm?"

"Is this a test?" Julius had to ask. He spoke it in Nilehofulji. He was surprised at how suddenly adept he was at it.

The old man chuckled. "Oh, this is not a test. It's okay to step out now. No one will harm you. I'm sorry you had to go through what you just had suffered. You see, this planet is a warzone. Everyone is at war with everyone. Life is just as easy as it can get."

"I want to go back to Bruthenim."

"Oh, you must take this the wrong way. But I just saved you from being sold to devious men. I must promise that you will have the freedom I can afford to give in my power. But freedom has its limitations. And what is Bruthenim anyway?"

"The mountain with the blue birds?" He answered, unsure. He never really got to know since there was no one to understand him verbally until now.

"Oh which reminds me, you did have a miraf's feather in your possession, yes?"

He nodded.

Agouie said, "But lad, there is no such place as Bruthenim. Must be what the mirafs call the mountain back in the Moir. Bruthenim, what a strange name. Even so, I cannot let you go. I do not want to say that you are my possession now just because I bought you but please do make my two soul stones worth it."

"Why did you buy me anyway? To save me, huh? If you were truly this kind, then you would have bought every prisoner in that auction." Julius was the only one he bade for.

The guards bolted for an attack after hearing his direspect towards their master but the old man stopped them with a cool hand in the air.

The man seemed to ponder for a second before speaking in his tongue, "As I've told you before, this whole planet of Ijbel is a warzone. Six races always at one another's throats. You are not blue nor gray nor green nor orange nor yellow. Not even purple. You are brown and you are valuable. I saved you because you have something that I need. If you help me win this war, then I'll give you everything you want. Power, magic, wives. You can have the whole Ijbel."

Julius did not believe a single thing he said.

The servant asked, "Is this alright, my Lord? To tell him that?"

"Well, if he would not know, how could he be useful." Then he turned back at Julius, "I guess I cannot give you the feather back yet. I cannot afford you leaving before everything is done."

So he did have Anya's feather. Julius cautiously walked out of the cage, his feet itching to escape. Not yet, he told himself. The perfect opportunity, it would come soon. But not now, not yet.

From the back of the carriage which was meant for goods and supplies, Julius was led to the cabin that boasted a fanciful door. He was finally out in open air with no bars around him.

Before he could follow Agouie's steps, however, he froze dead on his tracks.

It was just a breeze. He swore it was just a breeze. But when he looked down, there was already a gleaming blade aimed at his neck just a hair's breadth away from his skin that if he gulped now, his adam's apple would contact its sharp edge.

The weapon was held by a gloved hand that trailed to an arm of a turquoise blue lady whose eyes could kill Julius with a stare. What the heck? He never heard her coming. She mouthed in her language, "Do not even try anything stupid."

Julius could not help swallowing a lump in his throat so his skin did contact the blade. He felt a cold thin line graze him there. But he did not show fear now. Why should he? He had been bought with two soul stones whatever a soul stone was. No one was supposed to harm him.

"Akisil!" Agouie's coarse voice boomed. "Put the blade down."

The lady called Akisil hesitantly withdrew her weapon and Julius was able to breathe normally again.

"I was just trying to warn him," Akisil rebutted, without any hint of remorse in her voice.

"Forgive me, Julius," Agouie rushed to him with a slight limp characteristic of a pained knee. "My daughter tends to show off sometimes. Come, let's have a meal. I am sure you are famished." He opened the cabin door for him.

Julius threw Akisil a furtive glance. She returned his glance with a cold deadly glare. Her mouth moved soundlessly to form a word that Julius failed to catch. Whatever, she could do nothing to him.

As the carriage jerked into motion, Julius was astonished at how fast they were moving. He peeked through the window to check that it was still the huge creature pulling them.

"It's a royif," Agouie said beside him with pride. "Amazing huh?"

By the size of its legs, it looked like it was made for running over long distances. They were slender yet huge. Julius had long learned that in order to be fast, you need to be lighter. And if a thing was huge, it also meant it was slow. Yet the royif defied such notion.

"It's a creature of the wind," the old man explained, as if it was enough of an explanation.

They traveled for more than a day. They made camp under the stars at nightfall. Julius never saw a village. If he was right to suspect, they were actually avoiding contact with others. The paths they took were narrow and comprised mostly of the forest undergrowth. Because of that, they encountered wild beasts. They mostly avoided them but they also put up a fight when there no easier options left.

During such times, they were keen to protect him. Three guards were stationed next to the carriage.

And in those times, he got to learn too. All the people in this party harnessed the power of the wind. Akisil was specially skillful. Their second encounter with a wild beast, she took it down by herself. The arcs she drew in the air and the way she leapt about to evade attacks, it was as if she was the wind itself. Sometimes, Julius thought she was only dancing.

They were wind worshippers, Agouie had said. They put the Wind god above all. It was this god who gave them these crazy magical abilities in the first place.

The first beast they encountered jumped on then from the trees. The royif gave off a startled squeal, nearly making the carriage turn over on its wheels.

What Julius laid eyes upon made his knees buckle when he attempted to bolt for safety. If it wasn't for Agouie's astounding composure and the firm hand he placed on his shoulder to stop him, Julius would have run out in panic. The cabin felt cramped and its wooden walls promised little security. Turned out, they did not need secure walls at all. The wind worshippers gauranteed their safety. They struck down the purple beast with a flurry of arrows. And as it tried to flee, a swordsman chopped off its head.

The shadow beast, garres- as Agouie referred to it - looked akin to an ape. It was double the size of normal gorillas, with four arms instead of two. Its long claws gleamed sharply. Well, there was no use for them now.

"Retrieve the fur and fangs. It will fetch a good price. Leave the rest for ululs to naw," the captain of the party instructed. After a half-hour of gathering their loots, they continued their journey.

The second beast to dare strike upon them was a blood beast - an opjid - that was most comparable to a snake. It wasn't bulky if size was to be considered. Yet it was unbelievably long. Julius never got to see the end of its tail as Akisil knifed it into several pieces. Its scale was skinned off and kept in a jar filled with potion to preserve it.

"We're lucky to not encounter a herd," Agouie commented.

A day on Ijbel was almost twice as long as a day on earth. And it put such a huge toll on Julius who could not cope fast enough. Their mealtimes did not match up with his accustomed culture too. At least now, he was provided with descent food. Coked foo. Their silver-white sun finally made its descent after some time, leaving in its place a grandiose splendor of gold feather clouds. Another speck of light remained in the far horizon, though.

Sensing his curiosity, Agouie filled him up on it, "The galfulwison, dark star. It will be our brighter star in half the cycle. For now, the beyrfulwison is our brighter star. It's the silver star."

"Two moons and now two stars?"

"Oh, who told you we have but two moons? We have four. Just you wait for the third flisair when you could see all of them."

"What's a flisair?"

"Oh, each cycle is partitioned into six flisairs. We are on the first flisair since we just have entered into the cycle of Mafel."

Too much information. Julius found it hard to absorb everything.

It was on the early morning that they finally arrived. As Julius stepped out, an elderly woman lumbered up to him in huge bouncing strides - a stern expression written on her blue face. She regarded him from head to toe with more regret than disgust before turning to Agouie who was already gesturing to calm her down.

"Two stones! Two stones for this earthshit!" Her voice resounded with such a degree of irritation that made even the best warriors of the party flinch, even Agouie who was apparently an important figure. Before the old man could open his mouth to defend, she went on on her blabbering.

"I don't understand. Do you know how hard it is to obtain a soul stone? We could have used it on our best soldiers. But you stupidly wasted it on this weakling!"

She was spitting the Nilehofulji with fire, probably ignorant to the fact that Julius had already munched on the knowledge-bearing worm whatever they called it. Each word was a knife through Julius's young heart.

"He-he can understand you." Agouie put up two palms up in defeat.

"And you wasted an ukruije on this pathetic excuse of a creature too! Well, there's no bringing back the stones now, is there? His limbs would not do. His body would not do. Look how spindly he is."

Julius was not muscular, yes, but he was not spindly.

More calmly, Agouie aquisced, "We'll train him. He'll be strong and ready. In fact, Akisil will personally take care of him."

Julius felt the curtain of death ever growing closer. Turned out, there was no avoiding it at all.