CHAPTER 11
Mahnu
"Maybe we rushed it too much."
"She"s just weak! Why"d it have to be a weak b.i.t.c.h!"
"Calm yourself! I already reminded you that it was probably the portal!"
"Weak!"
"Yo man. I like er."
"You like everyone!"
"Yeah..."
"We"ll just wait for her to wake up. I guess we didn"t think of her before we left Mondal."
"Weak b.i.t.c.h! She should be happy to leave Mondal! They all treated her like c.r.a.p anyway."
"Not all of us!"
"Yeah, I like er."
"Shuddup! We"re here now, she can just deal!"
"Fire! I told you to calm down!...Now cook this for her for when she wakes up."
"Oh right, sure."
"Man...You confuse me aye. One minute, Grrr! Then the next minute, "Oh right, sure." So confusing man."
"Yeah, you want to fight!?"
"Both of you are irritating!"
"Haha, so confusing man!"
What you can"t see during each conversation the Elements have, are the shaking heads, rolling eyes and sighs. But they happen frequently, well, they would if they had bodies...
At first, perhaps an hour, they were so happy to be reunited again...After that hour, they got over the formalities and started to bicker, as they had done so before they had gotten punished by their father.
Actually, their brother Arculas seemed to be the only one that could tolerate the Elements for a long period of time...
And they got into such mischief!
This time, they had left their own galaxy to cause mayhem...But they were caught, again, then harshly slapped onto planets and broken up, again!
It was quite a normal routine actually, but this time...It had taken such a long time!
Even Arculas is taking so long...
It was obvious that their father had not let them rejoin themselves before a certain period of time...If there hadn"t been those conditions...Long ago...They would have been reunited!
Then everything went backwards! The Earth Tribe got killed, leaving no one with all five of the powers and they had to wait for someone to get them all back together again!
It had been a true pain! If they had been able to kill everyone they would have done it! But no, father had made it clear that human lives weren"t toys! Humph!
They all knew that the Earth Element had tried very hard to get the people of Mondal to start getting involved with it, but they never seem to do anything but fight amongst themselves! How troublesome!
Their father"s other condition of the hatred, to make it even harder to stay together at the beginning, was the real piece of work! If the hatred hadn"t existed, all they had to do was wait for the time limit he had put on them, because they were already together through the Earth Tribe"s "royal" line.
But no, the total opposite happened! They were all pulled apart and had to wait and depend on the stupid people of Mondal!
It was very lucky that Loralle had been born the way she was! Being abandoned in the cold earth for that short amount of time, was enough, and she had already a secondary line from being approved by water because of her father, which helped tremendously! The fire power was just an extra, but still...They couldn"t communicate!
So, very tiresome!
But, luckily, the Earth Element blocked the hate and things happened the right way! Even though they had to wait a long time!
Finally!
Ah, the freedom!
***
Following Mahnu"s and Richard"s death, five centuries ago, changes has happened to Kralaide. Obviously population advanced, especially in Nowell! From three hundred, Nowell"s population excelled into thirty thousand!
And then there was currently a town that no longer was under the control of the "King of Kralaide"! This town was Bena, in the southern east of Kralaide.
Actually, Bena was totally cut off from everyone and strangely they hadn"t gained much in population in the last five centuries. Within the last fifty years, they had many people go missing and they were never found!
Bena was under the domain of somebody name "Hector" and the King of Kralaide had come to know...There was nothing he could do!
Hector was a G.o.d!
And this G.o.d was responsible for the doctor"s that didn"t do their jobs probably, back when King Richard was still alive!
Hector had finally left Bena about two hundred years before and came back with a chest. This chest, Mahnu herself knew as, "The Chest of the G.o.d"s"!
Following Hector"s return back to Bena, he had gone into solitary confinement and taken into himself the power of the G.o.d"s inside of the chest.
Hector seemed to have the ability to either trap or release. It was indeed, his "trapping" ability that trapped all the G.o.d"s in the first place! He "trapped" Mahnu"s memories of meeting him in Bena before "The Siege". He knew trapping the G.o.d"s would work...As he had already done it himself!
He only had finished releasing and trapping the G.o.d powers and souls inside of the chest and into himself, ten years ago. Not long after that, Bena became his and a barrier was even put into place to prevent anyone from entering or exiting the town.
Food wasn"t a problem, as Bena had been the town that rice was abundant in...But the people became very scared. They tried to revolt, which led to losing a third of Bena"s population, but that was how they found out that Hector was immortal...
In fear, some people had tried to escape, but they had died. The barriers that they had tried to get through...Disintegrates anything or anyone! It was indeed, another kind of "trap"!
In the s.p.a.ce of a year, Bena"s population was drastically reduced. Then, the remaining population couldn"t do anything but accept their fate, by being stuck in a cage.
After the people looked like they had calmed down, Hector searched for the "Box", that held the G.o.d"s Thelmos and Eliza, and finally found which town it was hidden in the year before.
To get it, he killed whomever was in Havlish at that time and put a barrier up around it also. At least half of the King"s Loyal Knights had been stationed there, as well as their families. They had lost at least sixty thousand people...The event was quite a downfall to Kralaide, as the King couldn"t seem to touch Hector and help tie up the revenge that the Loyal Knights had. The Knights could not fight back and felt like they were lost with nowhere to go.
The ones who weren"t at Havlish at that time, were very sad and they could only gather together, quietly.
Even Bena"s problem hadn"t effected Kralaide as the loss of Havlish did. As the soldiers who keep Kralaide safe, they fell into a mess and many disbanded from their so called duties. Which left the King with half the amount of guards and soldiers in Conrella that he did before Havlish had been touched by Hector.
It started to become quite scary, as the King became somewhat defenceless...In a time of peril, the King was offered help from a greedy governor...Within a couple of months, the "royal" line within Conrella had been killed in high treason, shaking up the entire land of Kralaide even more!
Towns started to live by their own rules, even one of them brought back slavery, making the poor do the rich man"s bidding. Costs of trade went up and they no longer all went to the capital, keeping it for themselves...It was a mess!
Yet, while this pandemic of the towns and people was happening, Hector continued, not in the least bit guilty or remorseful.
Taking up most of a year, digging up everywhere and getting the box trapped yet again, Hector finally had it in his hands.
And, eight days ago, it was opened...
A light had escaped from his clutches and he was unable to catch it in time. It hadn"t happened with "The Chest of the G.o.d"s" and he didn"t know how it should be explained.
After Hector consumes the rest of the G.o.d"s powers and souls, he finds out...He was still incomplete...That light that had escaped a week ago, he needed it! Whatever it was, it was something that would help complete him!
...Actually, Arculas, who had been separated just like the Elements all this time, wanted to become one!
At first, he could only display the thought in Hector"s head. But as Hector "trapped" more and more G.o.d power and souls inside of him, Arculas was able to provoke the need to complete more easily.
Now, Hector had to find out where this light went!
***
The light that had disappeared flew straight towards Nowell, at a very fast speed, it lands into a body, making it...Complete.
As the light starts to disappear, dormant thoughts and memories of the past become known. Immortality, G.o.d powers and sufferings also connect to this body, making this person have to bear unimaginable pain...
This person, was a direct descendant of Mahnu, "The Betrayer of G.o.d"s and Saviour of Mankind" also part of the "royal" line that hadn"t been discovered. A replica of her dormant thoughts and memories had been pa.s.sed down the generations, but had played no part in their lives. Because they are something that couldn"t be destroyed and were incomplete, they had replicated into each child of Mahnu, then into their children, and going down the generations...
As the agonizing pain continues inside of Mahnu and the light disappears, she becomes the reincarnation of Mahnu.
Her body reverts to how Mahnu had looked like over five centuries ago, making her unrecognizable to the people who knew the descendant.
Screaming to the pain and ripping at her clothes, she fell to the floor in complete, utter torment! The pain was so unbearable, Mahnu was unable to stay conscious, falling into a deep painful sleep, as she relived her past through her dreams.
(Note from Author: If you haven"t and want to read "Mahnu, Her Journey", now is a good time.)
When Mahnu awakens, hearing hushed voices not far away, she sighs sadly in her heart.
She felt totally sympathetic to the life she had just stolen. Her descendant was having a happy mortal life, ready to travel and follow her dream with her teacher, as she wanted to study and become a teacher herself. But, Mahnu had ripped that future away from her!
Why!? Why has she returned!?
Being quite emotionally unstable, Mahnu didn"t know whether to laugh or cry at her miserable existence.
She was sure that no one would want to swap their life for hers...How could anyone want to live forever and watch the people they love die? How could anyone want to watch as the world changes and you don"t? How could anyone not be scared of you if they knew the truth? How could anyone do the same thing over and over again as the time goes on and on!? How could anyone tolerate the continued sufferings of the people flowing through you?
Even the child she had replaced gave her suffering because her family didn"t know her whereabouts...If only she"d had a choice!
...Her Richard was gone...
...Her beautiful family...Gone...
The agonizing pain on having become Mahnu again had gone, but...Another pain had come.
This pain made her want to cry in sorrow, made her angry in rage and made it hard, very hard, to find any reason to continue. Even if she couldn"t die, how could she continue!?
She felt somewhat...Empty.
Living to an old age and seeing her grandchildren, Mahnu started to cry. Her life with Richard had been very good...Very fulfilling!
Their five children had stayed with Richard and her in Nowell. Building roads and bridges, houses and farms. Their work brought in other people, who ended up also residing in Nowell...After several years, not only had they been able to stop the transport of goods from the King, but start a trade from Nowell themselves!
By the time she was old and grey, Nowell was flourishing! She had also looked ahead, towards her grandchildren, and made sure there was a school there...
But, coming here...Now...She felt like she"d lost everything! It was all gone!
Letting out a small chuckle, she shook her head, who could be so cruel!? She wanted to scream and then scream some more to her inner turmoil!
Wiping her tears, Mahnu didn"t want to think about it...It hurt too much!
Trying not to think at all, she left the house that people had taken her too when she had been found unconscious, and didn"t care to even leave something behind as a thank you.
Mahnu didn"t want to care about anything...She was barely holding herself together as it was...
But...She came across her old home and memories came flooding back to her mind...
The swing that she had pushed her girls on, the picnic area that they all had spent a lot of time eating and playing, the sun room where she had told her stories, the main bedroom with Richard, the children"s rooms, William"s and Jaclyn"s room...
That was all it took for her to fall to her knees and cry like she had never cried before. It was like she was making up for all the times that she hadn"t cried in her entire existence. Her heart was severely shattered, cut up into little tiny pieces. This kind of pain for a mortal surely would have gave them trouble breathing, giving them a want to end their own life...
But, Mahnu was immortal, how could she deal with this kind of sadness and heart break?
Unexpectedly, she saw more things that gave her memories and total, utter despair filled her entire being. Unknowingly, she had made somewhat of a spectacle in Nowell, as people watched on as an unknown girl ripped at her hair, screamed and cried their eyes out.
Her memories of meeting Richard, being with Richard, being a family, had been so fulfilling...But, as the pain was so huge, she wished she hadn"t lived so happily, because it would have been easier to endure now! But how could she regret those most precious memories!
Mahnu was utterly torn!
She had loved her life in the end, happily admitted it had been all worth it...Now, it was just too much...
Mahnu, over the time of an entire day, slowly became a lifeless corpse. She crawled into a ball in a corner of the house and didn"t respond to anybody or anything.
The owners of the house were actually the family members of the young girl"s body that she had taken. They wouldn"t know that they were related to Mahnu, her looks were totally different. But, with their sweet, young daughter missing, they hadn"t given Mahnu much attention, as they had nearly everyone out searching...
And as they searched for someone that will never return, Mahnu"s eyes held no focus and finally she was able to sink back into the state of oblivion that she was in, a long time ago, in the hut. Unthinking, unmoving and unfeeling...
***
Days went by and people didn"t know how to react to Mahnu. They had tried to move her, but she wouldn"t budge, even with five of them trying. They tried to give her food and water but she never touched it.
They all felt hopeless as they thought that she had already pa.s.sed away in soul, just not in body. As they thought that she would perish one day soon, she had actually disappeared instead.
Not knowing who she was, they were unsure where to look for her and with her despair, that they"d seen or hear about, they figured that she had no family left and would kill herself...
In a small way, each person was sort of glad that she had gone. Her behaviour had scared not just children but a good few of the adults as well...
It was at this time that not only Hector, but the Elements were on their way to Mahnu, in Nowell.
The portal that the Elements used to transport themselves and Loralle here, had disappeared about an hour beforehand. They had originally gone towards Havlish, but now had to change directions, as Hector was moving towards Mahnu.
They ended up having to have to fly over some of Conrella because of the change of directions. It was only a small spectacle, as only one person had seen them, and by the time that they had tried to show someone else, the Elements had gone out of sight.
Mahnu hadn"t left Nowell, but she had found a place that no people saw her. She was up a tree, still lifeless and defeated.
Hector, unable to pin point her exact location, put up another barrier around Nowell, so that she couldn"t escape.
With his crazy and strange personality, he searched and killed anyone in his way. There was no remorse and there was no time for anyone to react. The G.o.d did as he pleased, as he continued to look for his objective, his mind only filled with one mission...To be complete! Nothing else mattered or entered his mind...He hardly knew what he was doing as he savagely went from house to house.
Mahnu, who could feel the suffering of Hector"s victims still didn"t move. Even though she knew those people died because he was searching for her, she didn"t move because she no longer cared.
Nothing phased her out of her lifeless state...Even when Hector showed up beneath the tree that she was in.
Looking up to see Mahnu, he jumped up to be next to where she was and without a second delay, he grabbed her by the neck and proceeded to swallow her powers and soul.
Hector muttered quick words, linking his mind to those who he calls "slaves" back in Bena. Having a few of them fall, drained of everything, including blood, a corpse laid there looking it had been dead for many, many years.
There was no fight against him, as Mahnu hung limply from his hand. In fact, once she realized she was being drained, she welcomed it.
Closing her eyes, she let herself think of Richard once more.
This time, she didn"t feel so much pain and she smiled, as everything to her started to turn foggy and blurry as she started to disappear.
A white light went out all over Kralaide, much like it did over Mondal when the Elements become one. People stared at it in wonder but covering their eyes because of the brightness!
The three barriers around Nowell, Havlish and Bena disappeared, to form three little lights that raced towards where Hector and Mahnu had been.
Then, the light disappeared, to show that somebody else had jumped lightly to the ground from the tree.
This person wasn"t Mahnu or Hector. He was quite angelic looking, with a white gown and with long, white hair that flowed to his knees. Bare foot and blue eyed, he turned to a certain location and sighed.
***