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Chapter 40 - Fertilizer
Metheus
The people of Prozeus started training not because they wanted to but because they were afraid. I had to admit my people needed a little more than a nudge when convincing them to prepare for any battle.
After all, they felt more like my father’s people, not mine. He would rather stay in the confines of his home, although he never, for once, neglected his people. He was good with business. The coffers were always full. With his death resulting in chaos, I wondered if the people of Prozeus somehow suspected that everything was my fault.
I surveyed the grounds, hearing the clashes of swords more than seeing them. They were a blur to me. We did not have knights in Arrowspear, but Prozeus did have a lot of guards. Even in the time of peace, you needed more, considering how open the palace was to intruders.
The guards were doing an excellent job training the regular citizens. At least we did not have to start with toughening their bodies. The people of Arrowspear were used to hard work: the toil of the land, the endless walking, and the constant carrying of crops from end to end. Razuku and our friends have begun young. It was a source of pride for me then, as a prince of twelve years, to join the peasants in the fields.
“Your Majesty, we are strong. However, what is our human strength compared to witches and gods?” asked Leevar, who walked alongside me.
He was right. What were we to do if it was the full force of the Ninurta and the Touch that came attacking?
“We have the Prozeus Coven and what remains of the Seers to help us,” I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt.
I remembered the burning flesh in the Seers’ Villages. They should have seen what was about to happen, yet they were still blindsided. Could someone have changed a vision? Aruna said visions could be changed. Someone powerful enough to block the visions could have rendered the poor witches helpless and unprepared.
“Will they be here soon?” Leevar asked tentatively.
His eyes darted to me a little shyly. The expression was almost laughable on such a large man.
“You want to know if Samara will be here soon?” I teased.
“Oh, I am glad that she has survived, although she may be suffering from the trauma caused by her fellow witches’ death.”
“Yes, you are right. It is good to see that we still have some witches left, but the older and wiser ones have died, except for Aruna.”
“The Seers are no longer safe where they are.”
He was right, of course. However, when I left the village, Aruna wanted time to regroup. Then, and only then, would she and her remaining Seers come to Prozeus.
“They will be here soon,” I assured him and myself.
The Coven was not too far. Sora was in a panic when we told her about what happened to the Seers. She had more witches and would be more comfortable in their home. However, she found a way to help me with my people directly. She came to the palace with Lucia.
“I will leave Lucia with you, Your Majesty. She is good at finding innate powers in people who think themselves, mere mortals.”
“We are in Prozeus,” I reminded her. “Not Rama.”
Rama, with its demigods, would have more possibilities. Should I have gone to my relatives there first? No. I did the right thing. I needed to protect my people first. I could not leave them feeling helpless and unaware while trying to go after something I was not sure I would find.
“Yes. However, think about, Your Majesty. Mogochislenia has powers spread all over its continent. Do you think Arrowspear only has a small center? We are more well-known for intermarriages between races, ethnicities, and even species. No matter how small, Powers should have dispersed to the various kingdoms.”
She made sense. Hopefully, then, we could find some powers within Prozeus. Powers. Energy. Would that not be dangerous too? Too much of it.
“Sora, but would that not be dangerous? The Ninurta has something to absorb. It is greedy, and it will take our powers. Then, he will use them against us.”
“At least, he cannot get yours. Void cannot take void.”
“He made me weak during the storm. I could not take the cold.”
“You need your wife here,” Sora said with a warm smile.
“I do not want her here. It is not safe.”
“Have you not thought about how the Ninurta almost took everything from Mogochislenia? Powers. Moisture. But it cannot take anything of hers.”
