COTN House of Karen Part 5

A mother's love

Kiring sat there in the Hall looking at the once beautiful place where many people used to congregate here. There were the long tables at the sides with the layout fitted for a King, with the many chairs and small table near it which one can indulge in the layout offerings. There is the central high backed chair which the Head of Council sits whereas the back of it is the hidden doorway to the alcove which the Head of Council can rest. Beneath the flooring is the hatch to the tunnel that leads to the lake.

That chair still sits there but its empty of anyone sitting there. There across the left is the spiral staircase which leads to the next level above. Its the private level of the High Council for resting. There are times, that person may need to remain her for days and the private level served as personal chamber. It was here where Kiring finds her mother's remains, as she has been partially consumed by the serpent who held her there; Pipa.

Kiring knelt down to the flooring watching her mother's remain including her intact head with the braided hair on it. She looked to be in shock and there is the bitten off neck wound which could be the fatal wound. Kiring bowed her head to the ground to ease on the pain that is coursing through her body now. She screamed out loud in the Tower.

"Kiring, you may come out now. I know you are hiding in the chest there." Kiring crawled out and smiled at her mother.

"You been away for two weeks now. I missed you." She ran to hug her mother. Orina also missed her very much but this task as Head Council requires her to focus on her task than family.

"Ouch, that hurts." Kiring points to the hilt of one of the four daggers at her waist belt. The mother was alarmed and she checked for any wounds on the young child, but Kiring laughed at her.

"I was just kidding. There are no cuts." That gave the mother relieved and she pulled her daughter to the sitting bench nearby. Before she sits, she removed the belt with the dagger and placed them next to her. Orina turned to her daughter and stoke her hair.

"Do you want me to re-do your braids?" The mother needed no reply as she undo the strings that held the braids. Her daughter moved slightly to turn her back to the Mother. She likes it when her mother pampered her with such love. Today, she is more than her usual self. She removed the small serpent from her pouch and showed it to her Mother.

"Mother, I found this in the chest. Is it yours?"

The mother reaction was quick in grabbing the small serpent and throwing it out the wall opening into the lake below.

"Why did you do that, Mother? I would had kept it as a pet." Kiring was starting to cry when her mother once more cuddled her.

"That was a dark eye serpent. Its dangerous and if you are bitten, you would had died." Orina held her daughter closer.

"Mother, it did not bite me. It did crawled up my hand and onto my face but it did not bite me." The mother refused to let go of the daughter for some time, and soon she was re-braiding the hair again. She told the daughter a caution to remember.

"Not all serpents are deadly although their kind are known to be one. To you, and also me, they could be our friends, but you need to know who is their mother. If the serpent' mother do not like you, then the serpent would bite you." The mother reached down and bit her daughter in the shoulder causing her to giggle and squirm below the mother' bite. "So be careful who you pick as your friend."

"There is one other thing." Orina continued. "These daggers were given to me by your father for my safety. They were given to him by a great wizard to protect himself. It points are deadly to all."

Kiring looked at the small daggers and then backed at her mother.

"Hush, my child. There are more. Your father has many enemies as well as friends. He feared those who claim to be friends when they are enemies. Once day you would know. I would leave it in the wall for you the truth. It would be on a side panel that only you know. Come with me." Orina pulled her daughter to the wall beneath the sunlight that evening. "See this marking".

Its not a marking but more of a wall crack line that resemble a serpent coiled up.

"It can only be seen when the sunlight heats up the wall surface. Push it hard." Kiring was asked to pushed with her hand. It open to show a small compartment. "When I no more with you, seek your truth here."

Kiring wanted to asked more but they heard footsteps on the spiral ladder. Orina closed back the wall panel and carried her child to the bench. She placed her finger on her lips to tell Kiring to keep silence.

"Jarek, would you be kind to take Kiring back to her chamber. She sneaked in again as usual." Orina lead her daughter to Jarek. That was the last day, Kiring get to see her daughter before they executed her as she was told then.

Kiring looked to the sky and see its almost evening when the wall on side of the tower gets heated up. She ran to it and saw the fading image of the serpent on the wall. She pressed at it and the panel slowly gave way. She reached in with her right hand and retrieved a leather pouch. Inside the pouch was a scroll and the waist belt with the four daggers.

Its mother' gift to her.

The scroll reads as here.

My daughter Kiring, if you are reading this then I am already dead. I am not sure how I would die but it would not be my own people, the Karen but by your father' friends. His name is Ricken and he is also known as Set.

Set is the King of the Serpents, and he reigns wisely with them. He evaded many wars with the others but of late, there has been many attempts to usurp his position. There is one young pretender to the reign; his name is Malent. He has been pitting his skills against Ricken' associates. Malent wants more than the reign, he also wants to reign over all the others including our own kind; the Karen. When I was writing this scroll, you father have died during the war partially by poison and later slay by Man. He tried to avert the war but someone started it and he failed to end it.

Malent soon took over the reign as King of Serpent. He may also be your lover now; as we are all pre-destined to be Set' bride. 

Bear with me, please. I know how you feel now. If you are still with him, then prepare to leave. If you are estranged from him, beware of your safety. Once a person takes over the reign, his personality is taken over by Set. They displayed most of his qualities; anger and untrusting to anyone, including his own lovers. Just as he coupled with you, his influences have overcome yours. You are becoming his version but if you stay apart from him, you may revert back to your real self.

My biggest fear is not Set but his other brides. He has no less than three at any one time. They would destroyed each other for his affection. Its the way of the serpents. I was once like you, and I removed one of his other bride by deceit. She was flayed alive and her skin as a rug at his feet next to his throne seat. After her death, I distanced myself from your father although he came often to see me. I made him break the bond between us and I engineered my ascent to be the Head Council of the House of Karen. He is now almost my equal or so I thought it was until he died. I also lose my previous serpent powers although I could still communicate with them.

More to it, the bride I destroyed, was Lord Netsu' cousin and once his lover too. I never met Lord Netsu but I was told he is vicious too. He tried to kill me in an ambush, but I was saved by a creature who flies. I did not know why and who was the master of the creature but it saved my life. It was also my first view of a Gryphon then.

I fought the war as a Karen but I did not expect the price to be so high.

After that war ended with Set, I received this gift from a stranger who appear before me in the chamber. He gave me the daggers and he told me it was from my love, Ricken.

Ricken had him made those daggers for me. He showed me how to use the daggers and said that I am wear it at all times. The toll on the war soon caught up with me. The House condemned me to death and I did not defend those charges. My love is dead and I would be too.

Since my execution as announced to all in the House of Karen, I was actually rescued by Jarek who hid me in his tower. He loves me too and he did not want to see me die. He kept me alive against my will. When I was told they were going to banish you, I collaborated with Jarek for your exile. I saw you leave that day with Malech as it was my wish you joined the Spellbinder. Jarek argued for your exile and he won that argument with some help of mine in producing some embarrassing facts to the Council. One which only I would know. The Council agreed to your exile and raise Jarek to be Head Council.

I could not avert the destruction of the House later in the next war. Lord Netsu was too powerful with his Man army and he had helped from the new Set. The attack was swift and soon all was destroyed or left scattered. Jarek was injured in the fight and I brought him here to recuperate in solitude.

The rest you probably know by now. Take care, my daughter. Seek your own destiny.

Love, mother.

Kiring looked at the mini daggers on the waist belt. She took them out of the small scabbard, and placed them on her palm. The daggers moved by itself an attached to her four fingers like an extension of it but these ones have a length blade that juts out by double her finger length. She thrust her hand on the floor and the blade sink into the flooring with ease. Then she noticed the area where she sank the blade; it became a dark circle of her hand size and then cracked into dust.

"Thank you, mother. Set would never come back again. They would all be dead when I reigned over the Serpents with my children."