Chapter 13: History
He looked far older then he should be. Despite having been supplied with ‘food’ he looked thin and malnourished. His scales, though it was hard to tell in the limited light, looked discolored and dull due to being in near complete darkness for so long. The pale lines of scars were all over his body and it was a miracle he was even alive, considering the ‘game’ he suggested Tnossok was subjecting him to. They were wrong that Tnossok was killing the dissenters himself: he was bringing them here and forcing Rissonik to kill them for him, in the hopes they would eventually kill Rissonik. His father had to have been using every single trick in the book to keep himself alive and no doubt that eventually Rissonik would have fallen.
Trazu watched as Rissonik too a couple steps back, the look of pure shock on his face: he didn’t blame him for his reaction.
“Can’t be…” Rissonik said, his voice low and full of disbelief. “He told me he killed all my spawn, spawn that was all female…and that he had the son.”
“Mother knew Tnossok would kill me when he saw me, so she hid me in a rival Clan before he came to inspect the nest.” Trazu explained.
“He knew there was a male hatchling, but he assumed it was of his blood.” Varcanna added. “And he couldn’t question where the hatchling was taken for training since our grandsire was an Elder Counselor.”
Rissonik nodded, then stared hard at Varcanna, who shifted uneasily when she realized she had made a slip. “If Trazu is my only surviving spawn…then you must be of Tnossok’s stock.” He said a bit bitterly.
“She hates him as much as Naosha does.” Trazu said quickly. “In fact…if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t even be here.”
“What do you mean?” Rissonik demanded.
“Well…I would have never succeeded in hatching. Varcanna helped me out of my shell…and protected me from the other hatchlings.”
“I’ve…never heard of that before.”
“Nor has anyone else.” Varcanna said. “There is a unique bond between Trazu and I, one we cannot really explain. If it is of any consolation to you Rissonik, Tnossok’s line ends with me.”
“Yet you live?”
“He does not yet know.”
“I see. But wait…if you two are the only offspring between me and my brother…then…” A look of horror appeared on his face. “Trazu…have you experienced bouts of bloodlust, with blackouts following shortly there after?” Trazu nodded slowly. “Kazuk…that means that blasted spirit found away around my father’s attempts to be rid of it.”
“You must mean the
K’Satizitus….” Trazu said.
Risosnik nodded. “Your grandsire realized that not only was thing starting to become too dangerous to keep, but the entire Clan was becoming too dependent on it’s existence. During the early years of his life, before Tnossok and I were born, he researched our family tree trying to find patterns. He discovered that every generation only had one surviving male offspring by the time the father died. Thinking he had it, he split the line by mating with two different females, resulting in Tnossok and me. To further ensure the spirit didn’t pass itself on from him to us, he made us promise on his death bed not to kill each other. It seemed to have worked…neither of us did get the spirit, but now…now it seems it merely waited to see how we faired with passing on our own genes.”
“And since I am the only surviving male….it took up residence in me…great, just great…” Trazu grumbled. “How do we get rid of it? I certainly don’t want it.”
“I don’t know.” Rissonik said helplessly. “The resulting skip in generation has thrown this mystery onto a new level of complexity. Father was so sure it was a direct genetic link…”
“Meaning there’s a possibility it could just jump to a completely unrelated individual if it so pleased.” Varcanna mused. “But doesn’t…since it likely wants to torment the heirs to the one that killed it.”
“Just where did the
K’Satizitus come from anyway?” Trazu asked.
“No one really knows.” Rissonik admitted. “All that is known is that countless generations ago, before the time of the first hyperdrive, a great beast started attacking our people. It slaughtered many before retreating into the wilderness and despite the warriors best efforts they could not stop it, for it was too fast…too smart. Again and again it attacked, killing all those that opposed it and those that couldn’t hide fast enough. It did so for the shear joy of it, for it never devoured its victims. It was a dark time for our people.
“Then a young male came forward, our ancestor, claiming to have had a vision. A vision that he would slay the beast and end the slaughter. Many laughed at him, for if whole squads of warriors couldn’t stop it, how could a single warrior? Undaunted, he set out on his task and eventually the lair of the beast deep in the wilderness. The details of the fight that followed has been lost, but our ancestor was victorious, returning to the city with the beasts severed head. Soon after, he took the surname ‘K’Satikur’ and founded the K’Satikur Clan, and taught other T’Doshok the fighting methods he had learned from the beast. The Clan quickly became renowned for it’s fighting prowess. However it was soon discovered that the
K’Satizitus was not completely gone.
“It was our ancestor’s son, Desik, that discovered it. There had been mysterious slayings during the night and during the investigation he realized the killer was him, under control of the
K’Satizitus. But rather then find out how to banish it completely, he sought to control it, so he had himself chained to the floor of his room for three days and nights and engaged in a mental battle of wills with the beast’s spirit. He won and with the spirits powers at his command, used them to expand his influence over our people until his own death by the hands of his son.”
“And the pattern continued…until our grandsire realized it would be better for all if the thing was gotten rid of completely.” Trazu said.
Rissonik nodded. “The odds are against us now, for the amount of time that has passed since the
K’Satizitus physical body was defeated means there is little evidence to research how to get rid of it. The fact that details have been lost even though our family has taken care to pass the story along from father to son religiously over the generations works against us as well.”
“There has to be a way…” Trazu growled. “I don’t want this thing…and I sure as ziss don’t want any future sons of mine to suffer under it as well.”
“Let us deal with one problem at a time brother.” Varcanna said. “We need to get Rissonik out of here and back into his proper place as
Sha’tor.”
“How?” Rissonik asked. “I may be able to defend myself against those he sends down here…but I am in no condition to challenge Tnossok for control of the Clan. Even if I was…there is still the matter of the promise I made to my sire on his death bed.”
“We hide you until you are ready to challenge him.” Trazu said.
“No…I will not hide.” Rissonik said firmly. “You did not come all the way here to pull me out of one dark place to just put me in another. I am done being stuck in dark places with no light, I want to see and experience the outside world again. When Tnossok finds out I am free, I have you to champion for me.”
Trazu felt the blood drain from his face. “The only way I will be likely be able to defeat him is by calling on the
K’Satizitus…” He said. “Which I don’t want. Besides…I want nothing to do with leading anything…”
Rissonik snorted. “You cannot always have what you want my son.” He said. “Nor can you always avoid the responsibilities that are your birthright.”
As much as he didn’t like it, Trazu realized his father was right so he dropped the issue. Also knowing that the longer they lingered here the greater the chance they would be discovered snooping around, the group started making their way out of the ruins. They were silent at first, only the sound of their footfalls echoing down the halls of the ruins, but then Rissonik started asking questions, questions about what Trazu did during his life mostly. Trazu couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable telling him everything, especially about his encounters with Zista. In part it was because he knew male Trandoshans were more likely to stigmatize another male when an act of shame or dishonor had been committed upon them. Even their deity, the Scorekeeper, was believed to erase any points a male has gained should an act of shame befall him, thus Trazu feared his father would judge him harshly for that event.
“I can tell by your tone that you fear I would judge you harshly for what had happened to you.” Rissonik stated at one point. “Don’t. The emotion you showed in telling is proof enough for me to know you did everything in your power to prevent it, thus the shame falls upon her for committing such an act of dishonor, not you. Besides…I fear more about what the
K’Satizitus would do to your soul if we do not find a way to get rid of it…”
Trazu simply nodded, breathing a sigh of relief. He was starting to see why the Clan liked his father so much: he took into considering all possible revenues of information before making a decision or casting judgment upon someone. This made him wise, fair, and a good leader and Trazu was already feeling proud to have him as his father.
Soon enough they reached the main entrance and it was there for the first time Rissonik showed signs of doubt. Trazu watched as he hesitated at the door, glancing briefly at the corpse of his last victim with an expression of regret, and staring out the door to the world beyond, the fear evident on his face. He could only imagine how his father felt, finally getting the chance to leave the prison that had been his ‘home’ for nearly twenty rotations. So much had likely changed on Trandosha since he was first imprisoned, thus Rissonik no doubt had a lot of catching up to do.
Finally Rissonik took his first steps outside. He gave a brief cry of pain as the sun assaulted his eyes, those red orbs no longer used to sunlight, and was forced to shield them with his arm. For a moment Rissonik looked as if he was going to dash back into the ruins, but he stood firm, forcing his eyes to adjust to the brightness. He then just stood there, arms outstretched, head back and eyes closed, soaking up the sun he had been denied for so long.
“I had forgotten how warm it felt…” Rissonik said softly, almost dreamily.
Trazu smiled and was content to let his father soak up his newly found freedom, but Varcanna suddenly gave a cry of warning.
In the distance there was the growing silhouette of a vehicle that was heading their way…
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