Chapter 33

"Convey my thanks to your master," Kaelarys said as he watched the captured slaves from Sothoryos kneeling before him.

It had taken weeks for Lord Thalyn to deliver them, but here they were at last. From the wild and untamed jungle to the most glorious city the world has ever seen and ever will see. A swift rise, but one they likely wouldn't remember, at least not if everything went according to his plan.

He sat in momentary silence, watching the last of Lord Thalny's men go their merry way with the promised gold.

The air was icy, and the place he found himself in was grim. The only light that pierced the gloom came from flickering torches, casting dancing shadows on the stone walls as the muffled screams of his captives echoed softly in the room.

He now cast his gaze onto his captives, the Sothoryi. The Sothoryi were tall and powerfully built, their skin a dark, almost ebony hue. They had coarse black hair, long arms, sloped foreheads, huge square teeth, heavy jaws, and flat noses. Their hair was wild and matted, adorned with beads and bones.

Their deep-set and fierce eyes glared defiantly despite their bound hands and feet. The Sothoryi wore minimal clothing, just enough to cover themselves, made from the hides of exotic beasts from their native jungles.

They were warriors, marked by tattoos and scars from battles with neighboring clans.

"Yes, you will do just fine," he whispered, more to himself than to them. He doubted they could even understand him.

He turned and made his way to a wooden door. The door creaked as it was opened for the first time in centuries. Inside the room were red lines, glowing menacingly. Within them were engraved symbols and runes. The lines spread from the circle in the centre to the four cardinal points, where they disappeared into the walls, leaving no clue as to their purpose.

"Hmm," he hummed as he touched the runes. Or rather, felt them. They were powerful, but not as powerful as they could be. He intended to have them changed, for his very first ritual should have only the absolute best.

The grandeur of his ambitions knew no bounds and he strived for the best for his own creations.

Kaelarys began by carefully removing them. They were old, and while not as powerful as they had been in their heyday, removing them without knowing how could result in massive setbacks.

He started with the lines that ran up the walls and worked his way to the circle. What would have taken others days took him a few hours at most. After all, it was hard to measure time in a place like this.

When he was finished, he began engraving new ones. He waited patiently while a Harkonnen soldier slit the wrists of a slave he had brought with him. Using fresh blood was the best way to make powerful runes. The life force in their blood will make them stronger.

The magic he will bring to the Sothoryi will be powerful, complex and must be handled with care or all the hard work will be for naught.

"It is done," he whispered under his breath, his eyes on his work of art. The circle remained as before, but the lines pulsed and glowed even stronger, but darker.

Just by looking at it, he knew that this was it, that this was what he was trying to achieve. He faced the Harkonnen guard, the corpse of the slave still lying at his side, "Bring one of them in here."

A brief silence followed before the guard returned, the door creaking as he entered with the struggling Sothoryi. His new 'project' tried in vain to resist. The guard had this time returned with 4 other Harkonnen guards to keep his new slave in check.

At first he wanted to deprive them of any food, but he needed them at full strength for the ritual to go as he had intended.

"Put him in the circle and chain him up," he ordered, watching as they did as they were told. 4 Heavy chains were attached to prevent him from moving. They were stretched to restrict his movement as much as possible. One even chained him from underneath his back so that he would remain lying down during the ritual.

The Sothyori knocked one of the guards onto his back before he could be chained.

As the Harkonnen stepped back, he waved them away. They understood the order and left the room wordlessly, while his eyes never left the Sothoyri.

"So," he began as he walked towards the chained man/animal, "I don't think you can understand me, but that's OK. I just want you to know that you will be the first of many to come. You will be glorious," he smiled wickedly as his eyes burned brightly.

The Sothroyi's eyes widened in shock and he struggled in fear.

He sat cross-legged outside the circle and closed his eyes as he focussed on the ritual. When he felt that the time was right he began.

"Sȳndor se mōris, gevives iā arlī."

"Perzys iā doru-bendys, ūndegon se gevives."

"Lo perzys, iā se brōzi ūndegon bormī."

"Sȳndor se mōris, gevives iā arlī."

He chanted over and over as the runes lit up, and abruptly the Sothoyi's body arched as he rose, but was held back by the chains.

He tried to scream, but only muffled sounds came out as his mouth was covered with a cloth. His body twisted and contorted as it began to change. Bones were breaking and blood was pouring from every angle. 

Slowly but surely the colour of his body began to change from its former ebony hue to a very unhealthy pale. His eyes widened as wide as they could as the pain forced him to begin to grow cold as anger replaced any resemblance of pain he had had before.

His height increased by a few centimetres and his already bulging muscles grew even more. His formerly deformed and ugly appearance changed to a normal one, not handsome by any standards, but good enough to keep you from throwing up just by looking at him. His hair grew back and grew until it reached the ground. Were he to stand, it would probably extend beyond his shoulders.

His transformation changed him until he looked more demonic than human.

"Sȳndor se mōris, gevives iā arlī."

"Perzys iā doru-bendys, ūndegon se gevives."

"Lo perzys, iā se brōzi ūndegon bormī."

"Sȳndor se mōris, gevives iā arlī."

And with the last word spoken, Kaelarys broke the spell and the body collapsed to the ground with a loud thud.

Silence reigned the chamber once more before Kaelarys opened his eyes, now a deep red before they returned to their former blue, and he shook his head as he looked at the body lying in front of him.

He slowly rose to his feet and took a few steps before stopping and looking, expectation clearly etched into his face.

"Rise and present yourself to your master," he commanded.

And he rose. He struggled as almost all his strength was drained from him, but he didn't perform this ritual just to strengthen him. He did it to have loyal soldiers who wouldn't refuse to die for him. A fanatical legion that would go into battle without question, kill without remorse, and die on command. 

But they weren't mindless, far from it. They were capable of human speech and clear thought. Not as much as any other free human, but enough not to be just another living offshoot of battle droids in the flesh.

He was tall, taller than him, not that he was surprised, he wasn't very old to begin with and still had some growing to do. Still, he was more than taller than the average man.

He dropped to his knees and answered, "I hear your call, Master. What is your will?"

"Nothing for the time being," Kaelarys said as he looked at the miracle he had created before walking to the door and opening it, "Bring the next one."

As the next Sothoryi was brought into the room, it stared at his new creation and no words needed to be spoken as its eyes told Kaelarys all he ever needed to know. 

They don't say the eyes are the door to the soul for nothing.

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Hey, I was kind of stopped from writing by a crazy Karen.

Anyway, I think I will just keep Ruby as people have made a good point about it ruining the immersion in the FF. The most I could do is something like Rubīna, which apparently means something like Ruby. 

Don't ask me, I don't know High Vaylrian.