The silent words of empty spaces,

  The whispered cries of a sickened dawn,

  The cut tongues of a thousand parched men;

  All await the birth of a some-none

  To lead, to feed, to heal, to kill, and

  Shelter all from the coming of night –

  For this giant who saves you and me is

  The sacrifice for all of us to thrive.

  Twilight unleashed the overwhelming aroma of spices onto the market streets of Orron. While the city walls hid the setting sun, it did nothing to hide the brilliant display of reds, pinks and violets smudged across a dimming sky. Daylight receding signalled the end of workday for many a common worker in the city, driving most out into the streets. The gentle wind there steadily turned towards the river, carrying the rich fragrance of a city comfortably relaxing after a productive day. Being out and about in the city during these hours was not only a circumstance, it was also a leisure enjoyed by most residents regardless of their financial or social standing.

  This was no different for the youthful Jyevodirr, who was now free to do as he pleased for the night. All of his grand ambitions, the rumbustious ideas and interests running rampant within his head, were temporarily put to rest by the sense of serenity permeating into him. It was a good evening.

  Jyevodirr had received his payment today. The amount wasn't lavish, but it was enough to feast for a week at least. The four days that make a week would disappear in the blink of an eye, but eating just the usual meal – an assortment of grains and beans – was not very appealing to the youth’s mind either. So, he had not a shadow of doubt that this night should be a time to throw as much money at food as he wanted. The only question left on this matter was where. Should he go and spend his money at one of the finer eateries of the city, where he never had the opportunity to visit before? Or should he just visit different stalls till he could eat no more? Both ideas were equally as seductive as the other.

  But tonight was not to be a good one for him alone. As fresh entrants into the city, this day had borne witness to the first payout within Orron for both Jyevodirr and his faithful friend, R’vag. Like himself, his friend would also be having his own ideas on entertaining himself. Jyevodirr wanted to hear what those ideas were before settling on any particular idea himself.

  With this in mind, Jyevodirr turned to his old friend, who was busy staring at the streets with a grin on his face.

  “Well? Thinking the same thing as I am?” Jyevodirr asked R’vag with a playful smirk. As R’vag turned to face him, the smugness in R’vag’s eyes almost leapt out at Jyevodirr.

  “I’m sure I’m not,” replied R’vag, “I mean, yeah, you can be one crazy dog sometimes; but theyi, you are seriously as innocent as the day you were suckling on….”

  R’vag’s spicy taunt was cut off with an indignant smack to his head. He laughed at Jyevodirr’s irritated look.

  “Alright, alright!” R'vag raised both his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I won't tease you about that. But I really was not thinking about anything you would think. I was thinking about, you know – should I go and find a ravishing lady looking for some steamy tussle? Or should I eat first?”

  “Ugh!” Jyevodirr scrunched up his face. “I’m sure you only think with your head down below!”

  “Maybe! Nothing wrong with that.”

  Jyevodirr sighed.

  “You know what? Do whatever you want. If you want to go, then go. If you want to eat, come with me. We just got some money, and I can't think of anything other than all the food I could eat.”

  R’vag thoughtfully paused for a moment, then thoughtlessly decided on his course of action, turned to Jyevodirr and laughed.

  “Go ahead and eat, you bleating kid! This man, though, is going to introduce himself to the strongest woman stalking the streets of Orron!”

  Jyevodirr’s face softened to a smile. There was no helping it, he supposed. If R’vag could get stronger in this pursuit of pleasure, then that was simply his way of living.

  “Alright,” Jyevodirr finally relented, “Just make sure to eat something.”

  “Will do!”

  Jyevodirr watched R’vag prance through the streets and eventually disappear around a corner. Being left alone at last, Jyevodirr cast another look at the picturesque city nestling him.

  The sky had dimmed a little more and lamps here and there had flickered to life. It was by no means dark and would not be until another hour or so, but the streets were getting crowded in anticipation of the night.

  Eventually, the young man let his feet carry him away through the narrow streets, passing by many food stalls and taverns. To his own surprise, he did not feel like entering those at the moment.

  Maybe he was wrong earlier. Maybe it was not just R’vag who wanted more from this night. Sure, Jyevodirr did not care about getting sweaty with a woman right now, or anytime soon, but that was because he had his own ideas of love and care, woman and passion. It may seem silly to R’vag, but Jyevodirr simply found himself fragile in these matters. He was disappointed too easily, and he found it difficult to rush in. He only wished he would someday find a lady who was so very strong, he would not be able to stop himself from sprinting towards her.

  For now, though, he had no need to rush for anything but his dreams. The world was an unimaginably vast place. There were a lot of sights he wanted to see, novelties he wanted to experience. There were an infinite number of things whose existences were unknown to his tiny mind and meagre knowledge. He wanted them to surprise him with their being. And right now, in this gleaming gateway to the riches of the desert, Jyevodirr wanted to secure a way to taste the finest food and feel the richest aspects of richness that had up to this point in his life been beyond his grasp.

  Emerging from these thoughts, Jyevodirr found himself somewhere in the more lavish streets of Orron – exactly where he wated to be.

  Fixing his eyes straight ahead, Jyevodirr could see an imposing wooden door, carved with fierce forms and varnished to an impressive shine, being guarded by two burly guards. There was an extremely faint aroma of food barely escaping their imprisonment within the door, but Jyevodirr picked up on them. Above the door hung a shining plaque with the words – firresyith. Diner.

  The building to which this ornate door belonged was a large, sand coloured one standing about three stories high. This was a key location for Jyevodirr, since of all the establishments offering food or entertainment, this was the one Rraos Arroxath most frequently visited at this hour of the day.

  As there was no need to hurry for anything other than achieving his dream, Jyevodirr was out here instead of eating. He wanted to meet the older Arroxath youth this evening before doing anything else.

  Jyevodirr, son of Nyivingi and late Raggadirr, was a simple countryside boy with a great ambition. To pronounce as kin, he has a mother still living out her life in a village, toiling through her life with the tightly knit village community. In his name, he had a father too, though in life his father was now dead. In education, Jyevodirr even had the best that could be had in the village he had been born and brought up in, which was frankly not much, since people there did not think higher levels of education to be an irreplaceable necessity.

  But what Jyevodirr did not have – the one thing that most of the people at his village had been blessed with – was satisfaction. He was not satisfied with how things were for him back at the village. He was too powerful to stay there and live out his life. This opinion was not only his, but of the entire village unanimously.

  So Jyevodirr had set out on a journey to be himself and live out what was meant for him. With his strength, he could easily have made a place for himself amidst any of the powerful groups of the empire, but he wanted more. He needed more. More education. More strength. More control over himself. More humility. More recognition. Moreover, he wanted to also give more to this world.

  But Jyevodirr knew himself. There was not a lot he could actually give to the world. He wasn’t smart enough to do that. So, the most the countryside youth could achieve, was find people that did have the capacity to give more to the world. And since he couldn’t do it for the whole world, at least he wanted to do it for his beloved empire. To the rest of the world, he could only give an example.

  Before he could do that, he needed to be the strongest individual in the empire. He needed to be the Kraturr.

  This was the exact reason Jyevodirr was after Rraos Arroxath. Maybe Jyevodirr was na?ve, but this Rraos person was unlike anyone he had met in his life. He was even unlike Rraos’ own ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters’.

  Rraos was strange. He could do much more than he did. He had a far greater capacity of strength than he exercised. In short, the young Arroxath almost appeared to be scum, but he had the capacity to do and be more.

  “Do you have a reservation, or any business at this premise, Qaiz’rra?”

  A guard had walked up to stand in front of Jyevodirr. The man stood nearly twice as tall as Jyevodirr. His question and his actions were befitting of a guard driving away any loiterers.

  The youth understood this well enough, working as security personnel himself during his stay in the city, but that did not mean even like it when he was treated as a loiterer. This was another reason Jyevodirr could not wait to improve his standing in the empire. Being challenged in important matters was understandable, but to be peppered by these inconveniences at any random moment was too much.

  “I am here on business,” Jyevodirr replied, letting loose a meagre portion of his his strength. “I must talk with Qaiz’rra Rraos.”

  The guard standing in front of Jyevodirr was steady, unflinching.

  “I’m afraid you’re in the wrong place, Qaiz’rra,” he responded. “If your meeting were to be here, you would have referred the reservation to me. This establishment belongs to the Arroxath family, yes, but business is conducted in the estate. The estate is where you should be. And I believe you have the time wrong as well. Dealings are had during the daytime, assuming you have no private dealings.”

  Jyevodirr frowned, as the heat within him slowly rose. Would he need to do something drastic right here and now? Against the Arroxatha? But making a move on them right here meant that his entire plan in the city would have to change. Was such a drastic measure really worth it right here and now?

  Jyevodirr forced a smile out of him, deciding it would be a smarter choice to back off and wander around the area. He was not extremely proficient in lies anyway. The chance of getting caught was higher and stupider.

  “I’ll be back with the reservation,” Jyevodirr promised. It was a lie within the bounds of what he could get away with. “And when I am, I will be allowed in, I hope?”

  “Of course,” the guard replied with a smile.

  Jyevodirr was unsure what that smile was supposed to mean.

  “The estate is down south, around five farsteps away from the city. I look forward to seeing you here again.”

  With this, the smiling guard bid Jyevodirr farewell.

  Jyevodirr’s slunk away slowly, glancing back to see where the guard was. As he expected, the guard stood right where Jyevodirr had left him, looking at the youth with hawk eyes.

  Jyevodirr knew he had no choice but to give this place a wider berth and approach Rraos Arroxath in a completely different manner.

  Right on the verge of leaving the diner’s premises, he heard someone address him.

  “You! Aren’t you one of the guards of Qai Vaong'rr? What are you doing here?”

  Jyevodirr recognized this voice!

  The youth’s mood instantly lifted, then a realization filled him – luck was favouring him! His perseverance had paid off too!

  There was no way he would let go of this turn of events.

  “Qaiz’rra Rraos,” Jyevodirr acknowledged, tilting his face up to look the older youth in his eyes, “I was hungry and wanted to see what your place has to offer.”

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  “And why did you think you would be able to eat at our place, having nothing to do with us?” The young man of interest probed, unaware of the joy he was causing Jyevodirr by having this conversation.

  “Having nothing to do with the Arroxatha?” Jyevodirr responded with a grin. “Maybe. But having nothing to do with you? Don't be too quick judging that. I may have something you want to hear.”

  In response to Jyevodirr’s answer, the corners of Rraos’ mouth twitched into what would very likely have been a sneer, had Rraos not possessed enough control over himself.

  “We are the Arroxatha,” Rraos retorted, “What makes you think you would have anything of value for people of our strength and standing?”

  Jyevodirr’s grin widened. This pot of broth was getting thicker. Be it caused by coincidence or his own efforts, things were working out well for him.

  So, without wasting any time, Jyevodirr confidently stepped closer to Rraos. The cold sensation of metal kissed his neck, but that didn’t matter. He had stopped, and so had the blade.

  “I thought you were more than just an Arroxath heir? Was I wrong?” Jyevodirr whispered.

  The atmosphere immediately turned oppressive with resentment, so Jyevodirr stepped back a bit and away from the blade, then continued on loudly before Rraos could respond. “I could help you out, you know. You could even have something you’d never think of otherwise! Who knows what you could get from just listening to me?”

  The heat emanated from Jyevodirr’s chest and tried seeping into his brain. It wanted him to take action. It wanted him to use violence and force the world to his whims. Jyevodirr did not indulge in it, as that was not true strength. Talking and taking things slowly was better.

  This moment was supposed to get him a friend, a companion to his cause, not overpower anyone and anything in his way. This empire was all about strength, and strength was more than a mere show of brute force.

  Calming down his racing heart, Jyevodirr watched little expressions of conflicting emotions race through Rraos’ visage. Jyevodirr had managed to get to Rraos' curiosity.

  Now Jyevodirr turned his attention to the figure accompanying Rraos, who was shrouded from head to toe. The clothes hid everything about him, from his identity to his subtle movements. This was the man who had pressed a blade against Jyevodirr’s throat.

  A loqerron who walked out in the open? – That raised Jyevodirr’s eyebrows.

  “You had better be worth my time,” Rraos’ words snapped Jyevodirr out of his scrutiny. He glanced back at Rraos, who beckoned him to walk ahead into the diner. Jyevodirr complied.

  The guard of the establishment that had turned Jyevodirr away must have seen this exchange. Jyevodirr knew this, and he grinned from afar at that man. The man nodded with his fist at his chest, then left.

  “Have a good day, Qaiz’rradula,” one of the two guard at the front door to the establishment said. Both guards were standing at attention.

  “Thank you!” Jyevodirr replied to the guards, the same grin from earlier still stretching his lips. Then he promptly walked in through the doorway.

  “We’ll be sitting at the common tables,” the command from Rraos arrived before Jyevodirr could stray too far inside the tastefully lit room. The urge to choose a table for himself struck Jyevodirr hard, but he fought it down immediately. He was not bereft of tact.

  Rraos swept past Jyevodirr without a delay and chose a brightly lit corner to sit at. An attendant came rushing forward, but Rraos dismissed him with an offhand wave. He followed up that movement fluidly with a few wiggles of his pointer and index at Jyevodirr, indicating he was being summoned. Jyevodirr did as he was directed and took a seat opposite to Rraos. Having taken a seat, he did not immediately start talking.

  Jyevodirr looked around, trying to sponge up the atmosphere in the room. It was a much nicer place than anywhere he had ever been to, except that one place he had visited half a month ago as a guard, accompanying his former employer, Vaong’rr. No surprises there, since that was another establishment owned by the Arroxatha.

  Just like that establishment, the first thing here that popped out was the air that carried an assortment of exquisite scents belonging to delicious food. The air was so pleasing – not only to smell, but also to feel – that it felt like the inside of the room had to be cooler than the outside. The air maintained such a cool, comfortable and stable temperature, it could not have been anything but artificially maintained.

  The lighting in the room was also artfully placed. The larger, brighter lights were beautifully crafted and fitted in glass shells, each attached some distance apart from the next upon the walls. Between them were much dimmer lights that glowed from within their glass casings but cast no significant light around them. The last lights on the ceiling were much more numerous, though the individual glass shells that contained them were twisted and fused together into much larger, spiralling designs. These magnificent chandeliers were of different forms and sizes, being spaced far apart from one another to fill up the ceiling in an even more complex, interconnected design.

  The dark walls of the room glowed with this tapestry of brightness and darkness woven by the masterfully positioned lights. The floor too seemed to participate in this artwork, being made of dense slabs of volcanic rocks that were polished to an exotic shine, reflecting the lights above like a calm lake reflecting the starry sky.

  In totality, the character of luxury here was not something Jyevodirr could have ever imagined without having experienced it himself.

  “Did you come here to gawk around?” Rraos’ scathing remark forced Jyevodirr's attention back. “I don't have time to be dawdling around with you. If you don't have any good information for me, I’ll have you thrown out of the city.”

  Rraos’ attitude was annoying, but it was nothing Jyevodirr couldn't put up with. What concerned him more was the absent personal guard who was clearly concealing himself nearby. During the meeting between Rraos and Jyevodirr’s former employer, the personal guards who had been attending the meeting with Rraos were different. So, in the short opportunity Jyevodirr had to focus his attention on the killer, he wasn’t able to glean much off. Jyevodirr needed to be cautious about this situation.

  But before being careful, he needed to engage Rraos as directly and honestly as he could.

  “You're not exactly intending to be the Arroxath heir, are you?” Jyevodirr whispered conspiratorially.

  Rraos’ reaction to Jyevodirr’s question was as expected. His breathing became shallow, pupils dilated and fists bunched up.

  Jyevodirr needed to diffuse the tension immediately, so he hurriedly started talking again.

  “Don't worry. I’m not here to rat you out or to threaten you at all. I’m actually rather refreshed to have found someone like you. You are quite interesting, you know. But just as you are more than what you seem to be, so am I.”

  Rraos, instead of being placated, grew progressively angrier with Jyevodirr’s ramblings, till at the end of it, he glared at Jyevodirr with furious eyes.

  “So, you are direct when it comes to others’ matters, but like to beat around the bush when it comes to your own?” Rraos hissed.

  Jyevodirr sighed. He didn’t realize he was being indirect. He had hoped to get Rraos to listen to him calmly, but that was now just as likely as a frog swallowing the whole city right this instant.

  “I thought I was being absolutely direct with you,” Jyevodirr spoke without hesitation, “So listen, but please also take me seriously.”

  He paused for a few breaths before laying the most important fact before Rraos.

  “I am going to fight to be the next Kraturr.”

  Rraos’ face twisted into an angrier mask than before.

  “And what has that got to do with me, you brainless buffoon?”

  Before Rraos could seethe any more, Jyevodirr resumed speaking.

  “It really is important. I know you don't believe me, but that is not a problem.”

  Jyevodirr paused again, all the while keeping Rraos pinned by a serious gaze. Directness was over, so now it was time for caution.

  For the first time since arriving at the city, Jyevodirr purposedly drew on his strength deep enough to leave a notch on the world.

  “Be limited,” he muttered under his breath.

  Having put into place his precautions, Jyevodirr leaned across the table and thrust out his face at Rraos, who suddenly looked out of his depth.

  “You may think I am one of the mayya, but I am not. I belong to no one but myself. Whether you believe this or not is up to you,” Jyevodirr whispered. “What you must believe is that you are going to get into trouble very soon. It has not been long since I was myself sure of this information. I can also explain why I know this, but you wouldn't believe me. To you, I’m just a stranger who has nothing to do with you. I’m not sure if even this warning will do you any good. But be assured – when you run into trouble, I’ll help you out. I’ll be your xamos when the time comes; a time will definitely come need one. Until then, I’ll be waiting around in the city.”

  Rraos had recoiled early on with a livid expression after having gotten over his discomposure. Now, though, an undercurrent of fear marred his expression. To his credit, he did not shout or lash out. Rraos was still an Arroxath; he had his nerves about him.

  Within these few moments, some of the workers at the diner noticed something was amiss. They were now moving closer to their table, ready to take action at a moment’s notice.

  “Who put you up to this?” Rraos asked, his voice louder than he had intended, and his hands shaking with a mixture of rage and anxiousness. “Do you think this is funny?”

  “I have not asked anything from you,” Jyevodirr replied, raising his arms in surrender. He loosened his grip on the strength coiling within him, then settled back down on his chair again. Despite that, his expression did not cease being serious. “I did not say anything harmful or threatening in any way.

  Well, I did give you a new worry, maybe. But it’s better to be worried and prepared that relaxed and caught off guard, no?

  And listen, I also offered you my aid, so you can be sure what I just said is not a threat. I would not joke about something like this, risking my standing and my occupation. Why would I pull a stunt like this where the only reward would be to get thrown out of the city?”

  “To manipulate me?” Rraos snapped.

  This gave Jyevodirr a pause. He had not even thought about that.

  “I think you’ll just have to risk it?” Jyevodirr’s seriousness dissolved away with sheepishness.

  “Fine,” Rraos allowed, this time unable to smoothen the sneer out of his face. “Let us suppose that you genuinely want to help me. What is the profit in all of this for you? What price are you going to exact from me for your oh-so-noble assistance?”

  Jyevodirr had been waiting for this question. This would be his surest, clearest answer yet.

  “Your friendship.”

  Fear and anger morphed to incredulity, then to suspicion. Finally, it gave way to consideration and introspection. Silence settled ponderously on the table between the two young adults.

  The men and women on alert, who had gotten exceedingly close, soon relaxed their nerves and dispersed like clouds after a strong gust of wind. A constant string of wary glances at the table still lingered, however.

  Despite this release of tension, or perhaps the true reason for this release in tension, the shrouded man had arrived at their table a while ago and did not leave. He showed no signs of being on edge either. The only dead giveaway of his taut focus was his continued uninvited presence beside Rraos.

  Jyevodirr was feeling cheeky at this point, so he graced the shrouded man with a sly smirk. The man noticed Jyevodirr’s impudence, as did Rraos, though no one commented on it. Rraos was too deeply immersed within his own thoughts, and the shrouded man most likely never would care. Getting no reaction out of anyone, Jyevodirr settled down and made himself comfortable.

  After all this excitement, Jyevodirr was feeling hungry again. He wished he could order something and eat. Thinking about all the delicacies they must serve here made his mouth water. Jyevodirr did know well, though, that wishing for something and actually getting that wish granted were two different things, both separated from each other by the enormous valley of dedicated effort. If he wanted to eat well, he needed to put in even more effort.

  That was why Jyevodirr was satisfied. He had taken the first steps to crossing the valley to good food, and the valley to his dreams, right here and now. This was indeed a very good evening.

  Jyevodirr’s introspection ended when Rraos suddenly sighed and shifted like a desert snake shuffling to wakefulness. Rraos blinked and nodded at the shrouded man, who refused to move. The young Arroxath frowned, but he did not push the matter.

  “I’m hungry,” Rraos abruptly declared to no one. “You have given me quite a lot to think about, Qai….”

  “Jyevodirr.”

  “Yes. Qai Jyevodirr. I shall remember your name.”

  This matter was beautifully concluded. Jyevodirr wondered if he could push his luck.

  As if reading his mind, Rraos offered Jyevodirr the politest smile afforded to mankind before continuing onwards with his words.

  “Unfortunately, Qai Jyevodirr, I am hungry and must now ask you to leave. I don't want to see your face until your promised time. I assume you understand why?”

  What a petty, sweaty, smelly goat this Rraos Arroxath was! But he did not know Jyevodirr could also be petty!

  “Can't you let me eat something here? As a gratitude? You know, for the novelty I have offered to you this evening?” Jyevodirr tried. As soon as he finished, he knew he wouldn't be eating here tonight. ‘Oh well’ – he thought.

  “I seem to recall that you wanted something entirely different in exchange, did you not?” Rraos gleefully rang the death knell to Jyevodirr’s gluttony with the same benevolent smile. “In the world of trade, Qai Jyevodirr, you do not get anything for free. You knew what to expect the moment you decided to walk in here, no?”

  Jyevodirr could refute that he honestly did not know what to expect because he was not of a very high standing, but to continue the argument felt so silly that it would not make him feel any better. Jyevodirr was not sure about this too, but it was better to leave when he was still feeling victorious.

  Being stubborn to the point of making things harder for himself would be foolishness.

  “Thank you for the evening, Qaiz’rra Rraos,” Jyevodirr whined out with difficulty, nodding with his fist on his chest. Rraos nodded back at him.

  Jyevodirr got up after that and walked out of the front door. He did not forget to nod at the guards guarding the door. One of them also greeted him as he left, but Jyevodirr did not reply. It had taken too much energy from Jyevodirr to get over Rraos Arroxath’s last, spiteful move.

  Jyevodirr shambled down the streets with a somewhat damp mood, but his troubles did not last long. The miniscule vexation melted away when the odour of familiar food greeted him like an old friend. The breeze had carried the mouthwatering scents to him on its way to the river. The aroma drove Jyevodirr to reach the food stalls as quickly as he could, and so he increased his walking pace. It didn’t take him long after that to burst out of the luxurious streets onto the bustling ones that were filled to the brim with the uproarious glee of people.

  Jyevodirr stood there for a moment, appreciating the vibrance surrounding him.

  The sun had set by now and darkness had taken over most of the sky. Some glimmers of purples and pinks though were still lingering at the western edge like a love song upon a lovestruck person’s lips. The lights of the streets, nothing like the artful lights of the diner, were blazing out vibrant colours all over the streets without any careful composition. The dull rocky streets were covered in their perpetual film of dust, testament to a thousand visits by the living and the forces of nature alike.

  This place was swimming with life, and Jyevodirr was a part of it.

  Today, he had finished his job here, gotten paid, and even furthered his ambitions. He had enjoyed an evening in Orron that was not completely dominated by leisure. Now, the evening had left, the night arrived, and he still was here.

  He was happy.

  Humming a countryside tune from his village, Jyevodirr skipped like a child into one of the food stalls eagerly awaiting anyone who wanted to go in and eat.