Cannibal Kings - A Dark Coming of Age Fantasy

NADYA

The doors to Enlightened Everleigh’s chambers are not as grand as the rumors make them out to be, but they’re still more spectacular than anything you’ll ever find in the Ospry Wing. They were specially engraved to depict Enlightened Everleigh during the climax of the Final Day in the Deadlands, the battle that ended the Sixty-Seven Cycle War. She rises above the ground in the engraved mural, harnessing the power of our first Sun, Kirill.

The Enlightened are the only people who have ever recovered from the plague, but only at the price of Death. When they died, if their Soul was Pure enough in life, they were reborn with gifts from the Suns, true gifts, not just something like my fast feet, gifts reserved for the most divinely blessed of our world. Enlightened Everleigh was blessed with a special connection to the Suns, able to harness their light and heat. Enlightened Daniya, the water. And Enlightened Alranath, the wind.

Looking at these doors, with their ornate gold carvings and beautifully done arches, I fantasize what my own door would look like. Enlightened Everleigh’s is all curves and majesty, which is surprising shape symbolism considering how ragged and sharp her personality is often described as. Her face is hardened and her body muscular, masculine from years of fighting the War–not a trace of a curve or a soft line, and yet she still has the most beautiful eyes any man has seen, or so that’s what Kaki says he hears older boys and noblemen say. He thinks it’s disgusting. But older women are often so alluring to decaying men.

I would want my own door to be sharp, piercing, eye-catching. I want people to think twice when they pass it. It’ll have teeth as brazen as the Old Predators and it’ll have a stubby handle that struggles to open. Kaki and I have talked about this quite a bit, actually. He does not care for an adorned door, says they’re too frivolous. I want mine to have a battle scene carved into the front, like Enlightened Everleigh’s, except I’ve never been to battle and I doubt I’d be any good if I were forced to. My Soul is too fractured for that.

Enlightened Everleigh’s door is so finely polished I can see my reflection clearly. We don’t have many mirrors, so it’s rare I get to. A round, dark-skinned face, with curly hair I always keep back in a bun. I’m small, but my arms are skinnier than I want them to be. I could not be like the noble girls with their big sleeves because my shoulders would not allow them to look flattering on me.

But my worst feature, by far, is the burn mark that covers the entire right half of my face. I glance away before it can bother me too much. It takes away from everything–my nose, my cheekbones, my eyes.

I take a second to breathe, my knees already hurting from the walk here. The image of Kaki’s reflection appears beside mine. Walking with Miss Gennadi was particularly awkward, as Kaki kept asking questions she clearly did not want to answer. He only stopped once I gave him a withering glare and mouthed, Shush yourself. Not quite proper, but Miss Gennadi had already cried one today.

“Thank you for coming,” Kaki says. “I really can’t stand her all by myself.”

“I know, Kaki.”

He steps forward and presses the door open.

Inside is not nearly as glamorous. Unlike the other two Enlighteneds, Enlightened Everleigh does not have an affinity towards the riches that being a member of the Court and overseer of the Industries enable her. The Enlighteneds work to own and share the business of the people, to ensure they work fairly and justly. With that, they divide up profits, making themselves a substantial core reason as to why business is smooth in this City. In pay, she gets a little bit of the profit for herself, as well as the blessings paid for her by the Temples for being Purely Enlightened. But she never spends it.

A large stone table sits in the middle of the room. In front of it, eight large stone chairs. On the largest sits Everleigh, holding a cup of warm marrow tea.

She sits with her back completely straight. Her face is a construct of lines sharper than a knife and a nose longer than my thumb. Her eyes are small, predatorial, and her hair is jet-black, like Kaki’s, only she cares for it even less than he does. Even still, there is a touch of grace in the way she pulls it sloppily back with a cheaply made band. Her dress is her only indication of her extremely high class, the Kirill class. It is a dazzling, gold dress of a material I do not know the name of. It sparkles beneath the green shroom lamps and against the bouncing light of the Suns that catch from the windows.

Her skin radiates from both the Suns and the lack of plague. She quite literally glows. Here, she is a goddess amongst mere mortals.

It smells faintly musty and desolate, as compared to the sweet sweat of everywhere else in this tower.

“Bakiyoria,” Enlightened Everleigh says.

I curtsy in front of her, then raise my palm to my head in respect. “Enlightened.”

“Nadya,” she says. She glances at her nephew. It’s an odd glance. Not a single muscle in her face moves, so it feels more like a statue turning around.

I cringe at my own improper thought.

“Bakiyoria,” she says. “How are your studies coming?”

“Well,” he says. “I think.”

“That’s good.”

A long silence stretches.

“Have you begun your Thesis?” she asks.

“No.”

“Mm. You should. The Trials approach quickly.”

“I am not quite fond of them.”

“You have to be, Bakiyoria. You have to be. You have to wear a nice coat…. what is that coat you wear? Why is it that color? You must be better, Bakiyoria, you must have a con….” She trails off. That’s when I notice the two figures standing in the back of the room.

A tall man with growths coming out of his cheeks and a young woman wearing a similarly fancy dress of blue and white. Not quite as extravagant as the Enlightened’s, but she must be a powerful woman.

Kaki fidgets with the hem of his shirt uncomfortably against the silence. Enlightened Everleigh just stares.

Outside, there comes the shouting of voices in the courtyard.

When I dare to adjust my skirt, the rustling of fabric echoes so loudly Kaki glances back at me in surprise.

“Um–” Kaki begins.

Enlightened Everleigh’s eyes are closed. She’s fallen asleep, rigid in her chair.

Kaki awkwardly coughs into his fist. he nods at the two figures in the back. “One moment.” He slowly approaches his aunt and then gently rocks her by the shoulder. “Enlightened. Enlightened. Enl–”

She wakes up just as suddenly as she had slept.

Another agonizing silence.

When Kaki comes to see the Enlightened on his own, there is half a chance that it will end up just like this and half a chance that she will be overly active, her mind racing with endless, nonsensical possibilities. I’m not sure which is worse.

As though nothing had happened, she glances over her shoulder.

“There are two figures here that would like to speak to you and I granted them permission to do so. Alranath will make up for your lesson tomorrow.”

“What?” Kaki says. “I mean–yes. Of course. Certainly.”

The man and woman step forward cordially.

The tall man wears an even taller hat, his silhouette dwarfing Kaki’s. It is a traditional elm’s hat, just an extra extra large one. The sort the highest-division Yevenian priests wear in Mecraentos, and all over the kingdom.

Kaki blanches and his fists tighten into balls. “Hello, Father.”

The woman’s eyes are deeply sunken and she hunches like a crone, but she can’t be more than a few cycles older than me. Kaki bows. “Lightened Ranna.”

I curtsy similarly.

“With Miss Everleigh’s permission,” the Father says, “we would like to take you on a walk, Bakiyoria.”

The informal wording catches me off guard and sends immediate discomfort coursing through me. Who does this man think he is, talking like that? Especially a Father? He should know better.

“A walk?” Kaki repeats.

“So we have the illusion of privacy, if you will,” Lightened Ranna says.

The way she says ‘privacy’ bothers me. It’s like she suddenly obtained a Tanasoran accent just for that one word.

“Um, sure,” Kaki says.

The look he gives me screams, help me, but I am powerless to do anything. I watch as he leads the pair out of the room.

I turn to curtsy before the Enlightened. “Farewell, my–”

“Nadya,” she interrupts, looking over my head which feels more disconcerting than if she were to stare at my nose. “I had to execute a dear friend today.”

That catches me completely off-guard. “I–oh?”

This is not the first time I’ve accompanied Kaki and been left to deal with Enlightened Everleigh on my own. Normally, she offers tea, asks me to dust the windows or something, and rambles about stories on the battlefield or of politics I do not understand, maybe of readings I cannot see. One time, she spoke of a lover I am not sure was real. Each time, a glimpse into her mind has left me ashamedly disturbed, for there are great moments, when you hear the genius behind the woman who ended the Sixty Seven Cycle War.

“Yes,” she says. “It was tragic.”

The light in the room dims. The sunlight that filters in the room funnels into a singular point, towards her outstretched hand. “I loved her, as did many others.” She raises her head, showing off her neck. There is blood on it. “This would be the equivalent of a kiss.”

I’m not sure what to say.

“Nadya, my nephew… he has been sneaking around Mecraentos City, hasn’t he?”

I gulp. I can’t lie to an Enlightened, can I?

She nods, my silence her answer. “I do not know what he is doing. He knows nothing of the real world. Neither of you do. Nadya, write this down so I do not forget.”

“I can’t write, Enlightened. I’m of Ospry–”

“When was the last time you had your Soul checked?”

“Three moons ago.”

She beckons me over. “Come. Sit at my feet.” When I do, she undoes my bun and runs her hands through my frizzy hair, sending tingling sensations up and down my spine. My heart seems to stop. I do not understand why she is always so kind to me, so open. “I must remember this. Bakiyoria will accompany me to visit the Slaughter Houses tonight, after Father Kenshi and Ranna are done speaking with him. Tonight, there will be a Feast, but my nephew won’t be happy during it. He won’t. He never is, no matter what I do.”

“He may,” I try.

“He will not be. He does not believe… he cannot think….”

It feels like she is talking to the wall behind me more than myself.

“I must remember this. I cannot forget,” she mutters. “I must remember this. I must explain to him. I must explain to him.”

“I will try my best to remind you at the Feast,” I tell her.

Every week, all the nobles of the Gerasim and Kirill classes–the Enlighteneds and the near perfectly Pure–and their youth have a Feast, a dinner, together. It is a high class event considering those classes consist of only ten families. The adults talk politics and Court-matters I cannot understand while the children prepare for the day they have to.

“I am going to send Bakiyoria to the high-castle Du with Alranath, so he can meet the young princess of the Cratic… yes, that’s a wonderful idea. Continue studies in history….”

My jaw hangs open for a second. Kaki? In the Cratic? The ice country hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of legs from here?

“He will not like that. He’s fond of you. Or will I? I don’t know. I must ask Iolanda. Oh, oh, oh.” She makes a groaning noise. She is losing it.

I know the name Iolanda, but I can’t put a face to it. One of her servants?

“Enlightened,” I say tentatively. “Would you like me to fetch one of your personal servants?”

“Yes.” She groans again. “No. I want to be alone.”

I take that at face-value and venture to leave as quickly as I can.

***

I don’t see Kaki until the Feast, so I don’t know what happened during that walk of his. I would have gone to tend to him but, when I came back to my chamber, Missus Yarna berated me over hiding during the storm and gave me three huge baskets of wet laundry and rags to hand-wash. I did so in silence, waiting for Kaki to sneak up behind me, but he never did. Yarna always tries to prevent him from entering our Wing if he does not explicitly come with me. Sometimes he manages a way but, if he was distracted by whatever was discussed on that walk, there’s a high chance he might have snuck back into the Tyn Tower to read his wordless books.

I stand in the First Kitchen beside Missus Yarna, putting the meat pies on trays I’ve washed countless times.

I am Kaki’s personal maid but that does not exempt me from certain General Duties.

My stomach grumbles at the smell. Us servants eat last and there are only a specific number of pounds of meat we are expended, divided up into rations that are delivered to our floors. Other than that, we fast for Purity.

Other servants are lined up beside me. Chi-Chi, Walas, and Ponnie, the young servants to different noble children. They venture between the Kitchen and the Hall to set the dishes and wash wooden utensils as chatter from beyond the walls bleeds through. The young noble children are between ten and sixteen–the age of adulthood–chatter in small groups as they wait to be seated. There are fifteen children born to ten Court families.

The Kitchen is separated by a thin wall with a curtain opening for ventilation. I crouch and peer through it, searching for Kaki. Instead, I see a glamorous room with long, thin windows every leg. Chandeliers hang from the ceiling, bright red carpets line the floor, and the stone walls are painted white. The place illuminates. It smells fresh and clean. The nobles and their children stand around in ornate cloaks and frocks and tall hats. Special belts and buckles, tall boots that reach up to the knees. But, of course, Kaki is not there.

“Nadya,” Missus Yarna snaps.

“Sorry, Missus.”

“She’s looking for her lover,” Walas teases. He is a spindly boy with brown hair and small eyes.

I glare at him. “He is my friend.”

“He is not your friend or–Suns forbid–your lover,” Missus Yarna says, handing me a rag to wipe my hands with. “You are his servant. Do not disillusion yourself so, Nadya. Walas, do not say things like that.”

“Sorry, Missus,” we say in unison.

Missus Yarna is an old woman, in her late-twenties, covered in plague. Her legs do not work right and she has spasms in her right arm. She used to work for Enlightened Daniya, but has been rendered useless as her sickness catches up to her. The black veins on her face make it so that her skin is both brown and black weaved together. Her teeth are sharp and there are warts on her neck. So she was given the task of teaching this new generation of servants.

Mister Oan, another older servant, rings a bell in the Dining Hall, indicating that the Feast has begun.

The Hall is divided down the middle with one of those red carpets. The side which I am able to see from the kitchen is reserved for the youth. One singular table made of black wood, with expensively woven table mats made of huge white leaves that can only be found in the Cratic. The nobles take their seats on the floor–an indication of their youth and Purity that they do not need special seating accommodations because of any plague symptoms–as their Purity keeps the plague away from them for longer. My knees hurt just from looking at the deep squat they all perform with ease and grace.

Chi-Chi, Walas, Ponnie, and I walk out with the first course, serving first the three Enlighteneds, then the Lightened adults, then the youth.

Both the men and women have their hair up in elaborate braids or buns. After I set down their plates, I touch my own bun, highly aware of its messiness.

When I come to the table of youths–Kaki still not present–my eyes are immediately drawn to Lightened Roe.

Lightened Roe is one of the oldest noble children. She’s tall too, taller than any of the guys, with a hawkish face and dark blue veins that curl up from her arms to her face. The plague is most visible around her nose and mouth–black teeth and black spots on her skin–but she doesn’t try to cover it up. She dresses flashier than the other girls, her dress more sheer. The boys glance at her provocatively, vying for her attention and future marriage–she will be eligible in a cycle. She smiles, almost entertaining them, but when she looks towards Chrysan, another noble girl, she just rolls her eyes. They are completely oblivious. What I note, though, is the fact that her lips are chapped. They are always chapped.

Lightened Roe and Kaki aren’t friends. He is not friends with anyone at that table and, by extension, that means I do not get to see them often, or to know much about them.

Unlike what Missus Yarna believes, I have no desire to be friends with the other nobles. I am not so disillusioned.

But, one night, I had been punished for either taking too long with the dishes or for being late or because I had snuck around with Kaki, I was forced to clean the sewers in the courtyard. It is the worst, having to smell everyone excrements and trash. I had run across the yard, looking for a suitable bush to puke behind.

Lightened Roe had been playing in the yard, sat on a crate, her pipe elegant, her song even more so.

She saw me and said, “Little girl, are you alright?”

Hearing that melody, my nausea faded away. I was mesmerized by her song.

She smiled. “This song is called Turning Wind.”

I ran back to the sewers as fast as I could, too scared to say anything. She doesn’t remember me, of course, but I watch her sometimes. I appreciate that she talks back to the noble boys when they make snide comments about girls like Ponnie, who is small and girlish. Kaki tells me she often argues with her parents, but no one knows what about. Only that she is known for her temper, for never being satisfied. Yet, to me, she looks so sure of herself. I often wonder how such girls can be.

I catch myself staring and turn away.

I pick up a new tray of delicacies, stepping through the curtains, when the doors to the Hall fly open, sending the front edge of the carpet flying.

Conversations halt as abruptly as they had started. Stumbling with his shirt unbuttoned, his hair a complete mess, and one pant leg rolled up higher than the other is my dearest friend, Kaki.

I wish I were in the Kitchen.

“Nadya!” he says, a grin breaking out on his face. He doesn’t yell the word–in fact, he whispers it–but he might as well have yelled against the silence. He should have walked over to the Enlighteneds, at least Enlightened Daniya and Alranath, to pay his respects and thank the noble adults for blessing him with the opportunity for this dinner. Then he should have immediately, and loudly, thanked Kirill and Gerasim for such blessings. Most do so in their head but, for arriving so late, it would be seen as rude to just barge in without any appreciation for the troubles that everyone else went through to be on time.

Kaki’s Soul my be Pure, but that does not exempt him from basic etiquette.

Instead, he says my name. I cringe. “Lightened,” I say stiffly, hoping he realizes how horrible he looks right now.

He approaches me and doesn’t even let me curtsy before leaning in closer than is proper and whispering softly, so no one can hear, “Nadya, I have discovered something very–”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Walas smirk and a few noble children turning their heads, murmuring amongst themselves. I do not even want to glance at the adult table.

“Kaki,” I hiss. “Stop. Not now. You are at a Feast.”

He seems irritated. “So? I don’t care what people think of me.”

Normally, he cares at least a little bit. Suns, he is infuriating. “Kaki. You have an image to keep up.”

“Nadya, you know that doesn’t matter to me.”

Ever since he had decided that he gave absolutely zero care about the Trials, he’s become more careless. This seems irregular, however. There is an unusual wildness in his eyes.

“Go sit down and I will bring you a plate or I will personally drag you there myself, you ungrateful–” I start.

There is a tap on my shoulder. Walas, passing by with a stack of empty plates, nods his head for me to follow.

I paster a smile to my face. “Sit down, Lightened. Please.”

“As you wish, ma’am,” Kaki mutters.

“Ma’am,” one of the nobles mutters with a smirk. I walk away as fast as I can with my head down.

When I am back in the kitchen, Missus Yarna gives me a withering glare. “Nadya, you—”

“I didn’t know he would do that!” I say. I cover my mouth, reminding myself to keep a quiet volume. “Missus. I’m sorry, really.”

She tuts and hands me another rag.

The only window in the Kitchen is above the wash bin. Outside, I see Miss Gennadi with a small child on her back, followed by two other servants. They are crouched on the ground in front of an open vent. They are working to fix a leak. Miss Gennadi, dirt on her hands and knees. When she glances up, she makes eye contact with me, allowing herself a weak smile. I smile back. It grounds me.

I am then directed to serve the adults instead of the youth, to keep away from mKaki, who cannot sit still for the life of him. He fidgets with the table cloth and does not even attempt to make small talk with the other kids, just taps his spoon over and over and over until it feels like he’s trying to imitate an alarm.

I know what sort of small talk they would have made with him anyways. ‘Soulless, was it you that brought the storm from earlier?’ ‘Soulless, what happens when you pray?’ ‘Soulless, what would happen if a knife were stabbed through your heart? Would you be reborn?’ ‘Soulless, how are your visions doing?’ ‘What visions, I don’t have visions!’ ‘But it’s rumored you do.’

Kaki claims that if the conversation is not about his being Pure but not Enlightened–Soulless–or abusing our religion, the conversation switches to his relationship with Enlightened Everleigh–by far the most popular of the Enlighteneds. ‘What was it like to grow up with someone like her, Lightened?’ or ‘What is it like to grow up without the plague?’

I know that this is true, but I also know that Kaki does not put in the effort to let everyone else know about his passions, nor does he try to ask about the passions of his peers. Some are envious of his Purity, sure, but not all. These children know to be civil.

I catch the glares the other boys give him. One of the youngest, Lightened Hun, says, quiet, “What, are you restless without your girl at your side, Yoria? Do you need her to fix your hair?”

Lightened Angelo elbows Lightened Hun in the ribs. “Knock it off. Sorry, Yoria.”

Kaki ignores them both, keeps eating and not talking and being entertained by whatever goes on in that strange mind of his. They call him Yoria because it is feminine. Kaki actually liked the nickname more than Kaki, which he says sounds childish, until they began to tease him with it. He hates Bakiyoria even more.

“Yoria, do you enjoy playing Picket Ball? A few of the others boys will be playing later, after the Feast if you would like to join.”

Kaki doesn’t even look at him.

Then comes the ‘main course’ of the Feast.

Two of the adults on the other side of the room approach the youth’s side. They are not typically at the Feasts, I recognize. Us servants are issued away, but I can still hear the words being said through the thin walls.

“Lighteneds,” says one of the voices. Gravelly and deep, but a woman’s. “I am Lightened Kattalina, and this is Sherava. We are here to present to you a wondrous opportunity, one that has not been available to the generations before you. It is called the Sen-Fair. It is a retreat that has been in the works–design and build–for multiple Cycles, to provide better Purifying techniques to help you better yourselves and achieve your goal of ascending into Enlightenedhood. To moving one step closer towards beating the plague. We have already spoken to your parents. While the retreat is voluntary, it is highly recommended by us and the Enlighteneds who have approved it.”

“It is also a form of bonding with your peers, as well as a sort of self-discovery program. If you are under the age of ten, the retreat will not be open to you, unfortunately, but I do not believe that applies to any of you. There will be games and lectures. Meditations and work,” Lightened Sherava announces.

“Even if you do not find the solace we hope you do,” Lightened Kattalina continues, “this may be a well-deserved break in your personal studies, before the Trials.”

The Trials. A grand test of knowledge that all of the nobles are subjected to around the end of the Cycle--which is just a little over a Peaking away. Each noble has their own set of personal tutors, attaining a specific realm of political, historical, and medical knowledge as well as having a focus in a certain subject that would better the greater good of the people in order to be deemed worthy of a seat in the Court, a group of nobles chosen to rule alongside the Enlighteneds.

Kaki believes the Trials to be contrived and stupid.

When the Feast is over, the noble children go to speak to the adults, to better discuss their new opportunities. Us servants have to clean up after them. They slowly filter out of the Dining Hall. Enlightened Everleigh gestures for Kaki to stay back. I realize I forgot to remind the Enlightened of our earlier conversation. I doubt it was very important, if she were to forget. I do not even know if what she was rambling about had any real or substantial thought process behind it.

Besides, if it is about sending Kaki to the Cratic….

I know I should be better, following the Enlightened’s wishes. But I do not want Kaki taken away from me.

They speak softly. I cannot hear them. I would move closer, but Miss Yarna says warningly, “Nadya.”

“Yes, Missus.”

As I am putting away the white-woven place mats, I notice something glimmering beneath one. I pick it up.

It’s a necklace. A pearl necklace, delicate and gorgeous in my hand. It must be the most expensive, elegant thing I have ever touched. the distinct roundness of the pearls is incredible, so perfectly… carved. How is this done? I’ll have to ask Kaki. Why was it left here?

I realize who left it, a distinct memory of the neck whom it was tied around. Lightened Roe.

I should give it to Missus Yarna or Kaki to return. I know I should.

Instead, I palm the beautiful necklace in the pocket of my dress.