Chapter 2: The Birth of Kharl Axiel

Batard entered the sitting and the door was shut behind him.

Kharl Sterg laid helplessly on the floor gasping for air. Batard stood in confusion for a second, a lot of things went through his mind. Firstly, he could not believe he saw Kharl Sterg again; secondly, seeing her in this state is something he never thought of; thirdly, he did not know exactly what to do to help her; and lastly, he wondered who the father of the unborn child might have been.

He moved closer to her and placed his right arm on her chest. He tried to grab her right hand but Kharl Sterg grabbed his first. Then she opened her eyes slowly and starred into Batard's face.

"Kharl, who is the father?"

Batard was eager to know the man who Kharl Sterg had allowed to see her nakedness. She had sworn that no man born of a woman would ever see her nakedness, that's after the death of Nadu - her lover.

Nadu was a great hunter of honor. He was the most handsome and blessed hunter in Nutusel. According to Nadu, his biggest blessing was Kharl Sterg. Hence, he refused to give her away to the great lord general Zandy for marriage. One night, the great lord general Zandy sent two watchmen of Nutusel to ambush and assassinate him in the Words. Since that night, Kharl Sterg was never found until this day.

She tried to say something to Batard but no words escaped her lips.

"Save your strength Kharl. Just tell me who the father is. Nadu?"

She shook her head in disagreement.

"Who?"

"Kharl Axiel..."

Her lips got sealed up immediately and she stopped breathing. Batard placed his left arm on her chest, and it frigid. He touched her hand again and his fingers fell into her skin. His eyes stayed still. Tears rolled down Bartard's eyes and dropped on her chest. Slowly, he wiped his eyes with his palm as he stood and walked to the door.

The door opened slowly and, the duchess and her sister sat on the floor before the door holding hands in prayer. They stood quickly at the sight of Batard. Everybody stood starring at the floor in silence until the duchess spoke.

"Batard!"

"My duchess, the woman is no longer with us. Forgive me for failing you."

Abeti was dumbfounded and lost as she watched Khark Sterg big stomach dissolve and something rolled down from her waist to the edge of her gown. Then a mild cry.

"What was that?"

"My duchess, that is a newborn."

Abeti replied fidgeting.

"My newborn?"

Batard asked in a muddle.

"No. Kharl Sterg's."

"Kharl Sterg's?"

"Yes. Batard go in; quick."

Batard ran into the sitting room and they shut the door again.

Sporge arrived in the village after spending a whole night in the woods. He zoomed into distances searching for villagers; he saw nobody and heard no voice of humans. He heard nothing but the beats of the goats and floats sheep the quacks of ducks, the crow of roosters, and the shrieks of birds. Sporge understood what that moment meant in Nutusel. He began to walk to the Tower of Nutusel with rapidity.

Batard went down on his knees, he took out his shears from his waist bag. He pulled off his shirt and spread it wide on the floor.  Then he carried the newborn and laid it on the shirt. He scratched his shears against the cemented floor to sharpen them.  The baby starred into his eyes.

"Wah wah wah!"

The newborn wailed.

Batard put the newborn's umbilical cord in between his left thumb and index fingers and pinned it tightly, very close to his navel. Then he clipped the umbilical cord just above his fingers.

Sporge entered the Tower of Nutusel. The surroundings of the Tower looked so desolated and faint. The Only sound he heard was that of flurry of leaves. He walked to the big wooden door and pushed it open. All the men in the court turned and watched him as he matched to his sitting position carrying the strange creature.

"Sporge, the great hunter of honor."

The Tower of Nutusel announcer announced his presence.

The job of the Tower of Nutusel announcer was to notify the people of Nutusel of the presence of a prominent person in any gathering or event.

Sporge sat on his seat and placed the arranged creature on his lap.

"Is that Batard's newborn?"

"What is that?"

"He is carrying a monster."

"A monster?"

"Why is sporge carrying a monster?"

Men in the court murmured.

Lord general Zandy stood from his wood-carved throne.  He wore a well-embellished tunic with goldwork thread, a surcoat over it to depict the emblem of the kings and his family.

"Silent everyone - Quit the murmuring and mumbles. Two is a number, three is a discussion. We have a third person in our midst, we would like to know why, and who it is."

"Yes!"

The crowd cheered him.  He continued after calm was restored.

"Sporge - the great hunter of honor, where are you coming from? Why do you have this strange creature with you?"

"Creature? Great lord general, that is a monster."

That was the voice of lord Dido, an honorable member of the court. He wore a red linen tunic, a pair of leather sandals, and a hat.

They murmured among themselves.

"My people, this is not a good day for so much drama. I have directed my questions to Sporge - the great hunter of honor, let him speak for himself."

There was absolute silence in the court as they listened to Sporge.

"Greetings to you the great lord general zandy, the kindest of his kinds. May your Kabril make your days longer than the expectations of your enemies."

"Mmm!"

The crowd responded. Then Sporge continued.

"I do not impugn this to be a monster but it is not the kind of monster you all think it is. This is the Princess of the woods."

"Princess?"

"Really?"

"Is he serious now?"

So many questions came from the crowd.

"Listen to me people of Nutusel. The Spirit of the woods and the World beyond gave her to me as a blessing, to every one of you, to the land of Nutusel."

"Huh?"

The crowd responded in dismay.

"Great lord general, he might be saying the truth. I had a mysterious dream last night before the bong of the big bell summoned me to the World of reality. In that dream, I saw three angelic creatures come down onto Nutusel in a time of distress. I came face to face with one of the creatures, it looked scary but pretend not to be afraid because I am kibba the loyal servant of Kabril. This dream has begun to make a lot of real sense now. The people of Nutusel, let us listen to Sporge, we all remember he is the great hunter of honor; the man closer to the spirits, the one who speaks directly to the spirits of the woods."

Kiba was the servant of Kabril - the god of the unseen, the god of Nutusel. Kibba communicated with Kabril through a broken mirror passed onto him from his ancestors.

The old man walked from where he seated towards Sporge as he spoke. He unwrapped the monster, carried her above his head showing her to the crowd.

'DO NOT SAY A LITTLE IN MANY WORDS BUT A GREAT DEAL IN A FEW'

Pythagoras