Incorruptible - Prologue - Part 1

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Prologue

With a dull thud, he landed hard on the edge of the snow-covered ledge. Lifting his head, he was momentarily blinded by the sun as it sank lower on the horizon. The piercing rays fell over the rugged mountain terrain that scarred the earth below them. The snow blowing through the valleys moved and flowed as if with a life of its own.

The two warriors were perched high above the world; the evening lights of a massive city nestled between the peaks were visible far below. The sunlight caught each falling snowflake, making the world appear as though it were set alight by a cold fire. The breaths he heaved danced in the wind as they were whisked away from his mouth on the swift currents of the biting winter blizzard. But he wasn't concerned with the beauty.

She had to die.

Grunting, he stood with leaden legs and faced his adversary. Again they clashed, their weapons moving with practiced ease. It was a deadly song as old as time itself, threatening and beautiful to the ears of a seasoned warrior. Their silver-white swords clashed, each time emitting a metallic hiss. His hands stung from the reverberation, even through his padded gloves. Sparks jumped through the thin air and were swept away into the forming blizzard. Another icy gust of wind threatened to knock him off-balance. He reassured his footing and met her blade again with passion and anger.

Both of them knew the penalty for failure. It had been drilled into them in the Academy on occasions too numerous to count. But now, hidden from the protective gaze of their Instructors, the stakes were much higher. Their blades met again and again; each time the energized metal would rebound with the same odd sound. They matched each other move-for-move, striking with determination, attacking with fervor. Their weapons locked and they drew close, their faces mere inches from each other. Frost began to ice his blade in the momentary standstill.

"Why?!"

She had to scream to be heard above the wailing of the growing storm, her voice hoarse.

"Tell me why!"

He disengaged and struck again with renewed fervor, ignoring her demand.

She had to die.

Neither of them was capable of ripping the upper hand from the other. He lunged and she parried the blow. She slashed, leaving him barely enough time to counter with his shield. The wind was picking up, the cold tearing deeper into his core. His gloves were stiff with ice, and the hilt of his blade began to freeze to his palm, but he paid the pain no heed. He had one purpose: to kill her. He had to. She stood against everything he had hoped to accomplish.

Another gust caught him off-guard and he struggled for firm footing on the ice. She took advantage of his unsteadiness and lunged, her blade leveled at his breastplate.

His heart stopped cold.

● ● ●

Twenty years earlier.

Tau awoke shortly before dawn. He sat up slowly, so as not to wake his wife, Tahirah. Stretching silently to get the blood flowing in his veins, he held his place on the bedside next to her for a moment. He reached out and ran his fingers through her long black hair, smiling in affection. There were not many things that Tau held dear in his life, but with Tahirah there was no doubt. In his opinion, he was the luckiest man alive to be able to love and be loved by Tahirah. Still smiling, he slipped out of bed and into the washroom.

Tau was a merchant, chosen at birth for his career. He could not have argued with the choice, nor did he want to. He enjoyed his life as a merchant; he had constant contact with different people and made frequent escapes from the monotony of life in the capital city of Malaki. No, he thought, the Oracle could not have made a better choice.

Even though he was accustomed to early mornings, he was still tired. He took a cold shower to rid himself of his fatigue and began to shave what stubble he had let accumulate over the past few days. Between the strokes of the razor, he saw Tahirah’s reflection in the mirror. She was leaning in the door frame behind him, holding their newborn son.

Tau and Tahirah were a young couple; he was twenty-three and she was twenty-one. They had been married for two short years before their son had been conceived. Nine months later, Tau became a father. The sheer elation that filled Tau's chest could not have been matched in all of Malaki. But unlike then, today Tau felt apprehensive and jittery. Today was the day that he would take his son to the Oracle of Malaki so that he could be read. It would be what determined the course of the rest of the child's life.

"Are you nervous?" Tahirah’s soft voice had a note of curiosity to it.

"Slightly," he replied quietly as he rinsed his face. "Today does decide his future after all.”

He dried his face with a towel and turned to face her.

“I only want the best for him."

The child began to stir. Tahirah looked down at the tiny baby and smiled. Almost as if he sensed her happiness, he opened his eyes and smiled back at her.

"He's quite the charmer," Tau noted.

“It's because he's got your smile," Tahirah chuckled.

Tau watched the child for a moment, then gently lifted him out of the arms of his mother.

"It's a considerable trip to the Oracle. We'd best get started."

Tahirah leaned close and kissed Tau. "Of course."

With care, Tau placed the child in a sling and slid it over his shoulder, drawing the soft fabric snugly against his torso. He made his way through the darkened apartment and opened the door with a hiss. Pausing in the doorway, he took a deep breath and then stepped out onto the street.

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The streets of Malaki were not full of their usual bustle this early in the morning. Fog drifted above the packed dirt streets and Tau’s breath hung in the crisp morning air as he made his way along. Far above, the rising sun was beginning to gleam off the sides of the towering glass spire that stretched into the sky from the far side of Malaki, painting the clouds wonderful, warm colors. Tau marveled at the sight, as many often did. He was glad he lived in a place where he could see the sky.

The nearest Oracle's dwelling was located in the deeper levels of Malaki, a considerable distance from Tau's home in one of the larger market districts of Yatôn, in the crown of the city. Tau didn’t mind the distance, however. It was a widely held tradition for fathers from around Malaki to bring their children to the Oracles so that they could be destined when the children were between four and six weeks old, and Tau was a man of tradition.

The Oracles were feared and respected. Their only purpose was to determine a child's future profession so that the child's parents could place them in the right learning environment. The Oracles themselves were an odd remnant of a time before the End War where religion had bound itself to technology. The strange practices and unusual processes used by the Oracles lent skepticism to their reputation, and there were many who doubted the Oracles’ predictions. But despite this, the vast majority still trusted them with their children, and if their predictions were incorrect, no one was the wiser.

As Tau made his way towards the central Vertical Transit System, the announcement holoboards that populated the streets of Malaki caught his eye– one image in particular. The new Emperor was being sworn in this afternoon, replacing Empress Dendera. His name, Tarik, scrolled along the bottom of the screen, accompanied by his portrait. Tau studied him closely. He was a brilliant figure of a man, his bronze tinted face was defined by high cheekbones and a set jaw. His facial hair was neatly trimmed; a well groomed, jet-black mustache perched upon his upper lip. He had an air of authority and kindness.

Tau approved of the people’s choice. Though Tau had chosen not to cast his own vote, Tarik would have been the first on his list. Tau was sure that the new Emperor would make a strong leader and that the people of Malaki would approve. Dendera, on the other hand, had not been supportive and sympathetic of the people. She had begun her reign well, but had lost focus and interest in the latter half of her twenty year term. This left jurisdiction to fall upon the weak shoulders of local governments. With the regional political systems a bureaucratic nightmare at times, little had been done that was requested. Tau was glad to see her finally go.

As he drew closer to the rim of the gaping central shaft where the vertical transit system was located, the streets began to fill. The quiet busyness of the street vendors permeated the morning as they prepared for the coming day. The child stirred in his sleep as Tau stepped into the elevator. The doors closed with a hiss and then the silver capsule began its descent into the heart of Malaki. Tau observed the varying districts as it fell.

Malaki’s scale was impressive, a testament to the power of the humanity of old. The city was built to be an Ark, a stronghold in war that would be able to weather any storm. It burrowed deep into the mantle and its levels reached out like roots, far into the surrounding mountains. Heavily armed outposts ringed the perimeter of the city, but now after the End War none remained beyond the outskirts who could threaten its towering walls. Instead, with much of Earth destroyed and uninhabitable, Malaki now stood as the last bastion of Humanity.

Sunlight only reached sparse areas along the inner ring, and by the time the elevator slowed its descent the sky was only a small circle of blue overhead. Smoke from the foundries deep in the city created an oppressing sense of claustrophobia in the lower levels of Malaki, causing Tau to shiver instinctively. The streets were lit by pre-war lighting, casting a dim and unreliable light on the narrow walkways between the buildings. Tau checked his navigator to make sure he knew his path and then began to weave his way through the bustling streets.

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Hello steemians!

I fully messed up and posted this in the wrong section which is not what I want to do for the first release of my book! So this is a re-post, sorry about that.

But here it is, I've been talking it up but I've decided to finally start releasing my book in increments of about 2000 words. At the time of this post, I'm sitting at about 7 chapters, 33000 words and a whole lot to go, so these posts will be likely once a week to make sure that I don't catch up to myself.

I welcome feedback, criticism, questions, exclamations of the exclamatory nature, anything that comes to mind while you're reading. I'd like to say this is final product but the reality is that it yet may face changes in late editing.

So, without further ado, welcome to Malaki, welcome to the world after the End War.

Welcome to Incorruptible!

Catch you on the flipside,

~ Mako