Absolute Chaos
Chapter 12.

It was early afternoon when Raijen left Amaunet for the second time that day. He needed to speak with Lykus, he knew he could trust his dearest, oldest friend and he knew without a doubt he would help him.

Lykus and Raijen were the same age, been twenty four years. The boys had been born only two days apart, Lykus been the elder of the two.

Lykus’s father, Ziyad, had been in Araphel’s army, until his death about a year ago. Ziyad had worshiped Araphel and his ways, he was one of the cruel ones just like Araphel.

Raijen and Lykus had grown into men together, both boys fathers were very much alike, however Raijen and Lykus were the complete opposite to them. They both loathed their fathers cruelty, the torture of Otamia’s people, the murders and the rapes.

Reaching the mountains springs, Raijen found Lykus near one of the smaller pools mixing a concoction together. He noticed the remnants of poppy flower and blue water lily next to his friend on the rocks, a handful of goats and gazelle had joined him in the afternoon shade for a cool drink.

“As Salaam Alykum, my dear friend.” Bowing as he approached him, Lykus laughing and embracing Raijen.

“Always so serious, I was just clearing my thoughts Raijen, it has been an eventful few days.”

“That it has my friend. And what may I ask are you making this time Lykus?.” Lykus had practiced alchemy for some time now, he would always replace him grinding some sort of flowers or leaves, tasting and mixing as he went.

Lykus wasn’t aware of Araphel’s early return, he had been at the temple all morning. The temple was on the other side of the mountain, it was a strange ancient pyramid made of granite and limestone, standing at least 280 royal cubits high.

The sun God Temu had built the pyramid thousands of years before, his story been passed down through each elder, to each generation.

The people of Otamia worshipped the fierce sun God, Araphel would sacrifice both animal and human to him on the sacred days of the sun.

The two friends settled beneath an old fig tree, Raijen confided with his best friend of what Amaunet had remembered, he told him of the Gods Shesmu and Am-heh, of how they had hurt her.

Lykus listened with rapt attention as he described the strange rib Amaunet held inside her, his eyes sparkled in sheer amazement.

The two men now set out across the grassy plains to the Eastern boarders of Otamia. Raijen knew of the caves that Rakim spoke of where they had spotted the two strangers, they needed to replace Maia, Rakim and the girls.

***

Kaija, Kaiya, and Kaydir were triplets. Kaydir was at home in his little mud brick hut at the base of the mountain, his job, to keep watch over the herds that graced the fields between the city and the huge mountain range.

Araphel had hundreds of goat, bison and gazelle that grazed the vast grasslands of Otamia. Kaydir would also attend to the army’s steeds, the horses would roam the fields with the herds of cattle.

The girls Kaija and Kaiya were born a few minutes before their brother, always letting him know he was the youngest of the triplets.

Raijen knew Kaydir had always been quietly in awe of Maia, he had always tried to hide his true feelings from her, nevertheless he could see straight through him.

He had once confronted Kaydir about his feelings towards Maia, he instantly confessed his undying love for her, telling Raijen how he suffers each day as she does not even see him.

Raijen knew Maia well, she was a stunning woman, a fierce, passionate warrior, yet she had always been very erratic. Maia moods were like the ocean, calm and serene one moment, wild and hectic the next.

She had never liked a boy more than a few weeks at a time before moving onto then next. Raijen was never sure if he could trust her, even though she had never betrayed him or anyone else for that matter, he had always been wary of her though.

***

Kaydir’s two sisters were guarding the entrance to the small cavern that held the strangers on their lands, they were with their good friend Rakim, standing a fair distance away from the caves mouth, all three of them visibly on edge.

As Raijen and Lykus approached, he noticed right away that Maia was not with them.

“As Salaam Alykum, where is Maia.?” Raijen was straight to the point.

Rakim answered, bowing his head low, hating when his friends treated him like his father, although he quickly brushed it aside.

“Maia was summoned by your father Raijen. I thought that you knew.” Rakim replied.

Fear swum before him, Raijen’s thoughts hammered into his skull. He had no idea what Araphel would want with Maia, he feared that his father knew something was amiss.

As his mind raced inside his panic, Kaiya’s smooth voice broke his swelling thoughts.

“Look Raijen,” She gripped at his forearm too hard, pointing through the trees at the caves mouth.

It was now just after twilight, two tall, well built men emerged from the caves opening. Raijen stood at about 6’6 and they were both at least a head taller than he. One of the men had dark skin like the Otamian’s, the other was fair like Amaunet, yet his hair and eyes were dark pools of sin.

“Rakim, Kaiya and Kaija, see if you can replace out what my father wants with Maia. Lykus and I will keep an eye on these two.” Raijen nodded towards the strangers, quietly whispering to his friends.

Rakim and the two women quickly nodded without question and disappeared into the quiet shadows.

***

Creeping closer to the caves mouth, Raijen and Lykus watched silently as the two strange Gods stood to their full height and took in their surroundings. Then both Gods shattered their huge wings into existence, startling the two friends.

.

They could hear their strange words, speaking in tongues neither Raijen nor Lykus had ever heard of before, not having a clue what the foul creatures were saying.

Both strangers then dropped to their knees and started to dig outside of the caves mouth. There was nothing special to this spot, or so Raijen had thought, but the two huge Gods seemed to know different. There was something under where they stood, something they were desperate to replace. Raijen was sure of this as he watched them rip deeper into the harsh Earth searching for an unknown treasure.