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What is Forbidden (for butterfly0408)

A

Alleyway Ravager

Super-Earth
Joined
Aug 17, 2012
Location
Somewhere in the state of New York. If someone cou

Deep in the heart of the jungle lay the lake of Baress, said to be the birthplace of the gods and the source of all life. Its deep, clean waters provided a bounty for the tribe of the same name and whose people prayed daily to the gods for blessing them with their bounty. It had allowed the tribe to grow from a small group of nomads to a powerful tribe that commanded a small army and all the territory around the waters. Absorbing smaller tribes through warfare and marriage.

Stone buildings lined the dirt streets that the people walked and traded in, intricate carvings of past battles, celebrations, and the gods lining the walls. In the streets warriors bearing shields and spears walked beside farmers and craftsmen. In the corners slaves made their way from building to building performing their tasks. Above them all the royal palace stood before the lake and shined magnificently as the sunlight fell upon it. It was truly a home fit for the chief and his family and only rivaled in magnificence by the Temple of Sharok that stood in the center of the city.

The Temple of Sharok, built over ten generations ago by the first priests under the direction of the gods. It was a massive pyramidal stone structure, stones steps leading to the chamber of the gods where the priestesses lit incense and prayed to the gods of the jungle. From there one could travel to the lower reaches of the temple, the chambers of the priests and priestesses, the healing chambers, the library, the astronomers chambers, and many others. It was said there were lower reaches of the temple, ones that went deep into the dark corners of the earth. Most said that was just hearsay and rumor but all agreed that if they did exist you would have to pass by his chamber to get to them.

The chamber was nestled deep in the heart of the temple, buried away from prying eyes that might disturb his work. The room was shrouded in darkness save for the subtle green light that didn't so much shine as it did creep from a bubbling pool in the center. Exactly what it contained was up for speculation. It seemed to be a fog and a liquid at the same time, one's eyes never quite being able to focus on the churning green swirls. Whatever it was you could be assured it was dangerous much like everything else in the witchdoctor's chambers.

Along the circular walls were wooden tables carved specifically to fit against them. Almost every inch of their space was crowded with clay pots and plates, the contents of which ranged from the mundane to the macabre. A bowl of wheat lying next to a the preserved eyes of a traitor. Dried apples kept beside the powdered remains of a dagger wasp, the poison of which could kill ten men when wet. From the ceiling numerous charms and talismans hung all with various uses. Some were simple designs hewn from reeds by the temple priestesses. Others were more intricate and fashioned with gold and precious jewels. The ones that always drew the eye though were the ones that appeared crude and evil, bones belonging to animals and other things and tied with thing leather strips caked in what appeared to be tar. All of these had a purpose, whether they warded spirits or attracted them, and none of them were there for simple decoration.

Many of these items were forbidden or at the least frowned upon but many concessions were made for the tribes witchdoctor.

Tarok stood before the green pool, naked save for brown loincloth and an intricate headdress topped with the skull of a antelope. In one hand he held a bowl filled with a slimy black substance the surface of which was occasionally broken by a small bubble. In the other he held a brush that he would, very slowly, dip in the bowl before he brought it down on his brown skin. For the past hour he had stood there tracing his brown skin with intricate black swirls. His face was a mask of concentration ensuring each stroke of the brush was perfect, the substance drying instantly when coming into contact with his skin.

Behind him a young girl sat against the wall, a slave gained from one of the tribes raids. Her hands and feet where tried with thick ropes and her arms were covered in long cuts where Tarok had bled her for his needs. It was blood magic and it was very forbidden, even for him, but he was sure his ends would justify the means. The girl looked on, terrified of what she had been forced to witness and believing she would soon be sacrificed to some dark god. In reality Tarok was planning nothing of the sort and believed she should be grateful he saved her from the life of a sex slave. Regardless of his intentions he still gagged her, finding her incessant screams and crying annoying.

He was youngest witchdoctor the tribe had known, taking on the mantle after the death of his father who carried the title before him and from where he had learned his craft. Sadly he had not taught him everything he knew before he passed on (the polite way of putting it. They had found his chambers covered more blood than a man could survive without but no body. An unfortunate deal with spirits gone wrong) and Tarok had been forced to look to other methods of learning the art. Scrolls, carvings, experimentation...

Letting out a sign Tarok pushed the girl out of his mind. He had other things to worry about. "You can come out now," he said without looking up. "I know you've been standing there for some time now." Few visited his chambers save the emissaries from the chief of temple workers and even then it was only to summon him to a more hospitable meeting place. There was one, however, that seemed to like his company enough and he in turn.
 
Many people of the tribe thought her to be mad. It was no place for any human being to venture. More than that, it was no place for any living being at all. A sweet, innocent young girl on the verge of her womanhood, slipping down into the bowels of the temple to Tarok's dark sanctum... she had to be possessed by some kind of demon.

That was the slowly increasing whispers. Why else would the young daughter of the high chief go so often to visit with the witch doctor, unless he had her under some kind of spell that caused her to do so? There was simply no other explanation for it. The rumor was rapidly going from a soft whisper between gossiping women to a roar among all.

Kaisa knew she was under no spells. She had to think one would be able to tell when they were under one. Things would feel different, wouldn't they? That was always how she thought it might be like and since everything felt just the same as always, she couldn't possibly be under and spell. That, and she knew with all her heart that Tarok would never perform dark magic against her. There could never be ill will between them for they were the best of friends. People just couldn't seem to understand that. It did not matter to Kaisa who Tarok was or what he did, it was the young man under that facade she saw when she looked upon him. That man was her friend. If not for her having been betrothed since birth, they very well could have been more then that.

But she was, and they could not. Exploring the feelings buried just under the surface was forbidden. And yet so was daring to travel to Tarok's chambers, but still she dared.

Kasia had thought herself as silent as a little mouse slipping into his chambers yet it seemed there was no sneaking around with him. She had only just settled herself into one of the dark corners of his room when he spoke to her. A light laugh slipped from her as she stepped into the small bit of light in the room. "How long have you know I was here?" her soft voice asked, laced with a hint of amusement. Before he could answer, she glanced towards the slave girl upon the floor. The girl seemed to find a sudden new life in her as she attempted to reach out for Kasia for help. As if the girl looked for Kasia to save her from a terrible fate. Kasia moved towards the girl and knelt by her side, running her hand over her cheek, "You don't have to be afraid. He is not going to hurt you. He is more bark then his bite and would never cross the line you fear he is ready to."
 
He chuckled, his voice friendlier than one would expect someone in his position to be. "Shortly after you came in. I will admit that from the light steps you made I assumed you were a wisp of a spirit at first." It was a common joke he made about her. He was a good head taller than her and she was not exactly large to begin with, being a young girl still growing into her body. Now he looked up at her, turning slowly and giving her an ample view of the marking on his chest and arms. The black swirls looked like organized chaos, the patterns seemingly random on his skin but she would know him well enough by now to know he never did anything randomly. "But," he said with a smile. "I was happy to find it was only a mischievous imp sneaking around my chambers."

He wanted to say more, of course. Growing up their banter had always been the highlights of his days between learning his art. But now...words were more difficult as when he looked at her he found himself feeling out of place. She was truly his only real friend in this place, the only person beside his father who ever showed him any kindness or affection. He would always be grateful for her, to her, but when he saw the young beauty in his chambers now it made him apprehensive. He didn't like it. Men who dealt with demons could never be apprehensive.

As she comforted the slave he rolled his eyes. It was so typical of her and one of the her qualities he admired. "Perhaps you can finally talk some sense into her. Honestly I've lost my patience." Flashing a toothy grin he added "Oh, did you manage to snare any more children for me to eat? You know how I love devouring the innocent."

Any headway Kaisa had made with the other girl was lost as she let out a gagged shriek, apparently not appreciating his sense of humor.
 
"Tarok!" she scowled, standing up and in a protective way in front of the bound slave girl. Her hands on her hips, she did not seem at all afraid to stand up to the man everyone else here feared as if he was the devil himself. "That's not even funny to joke about. This girl doesn't understand that you joke..." her voice trailed off into a softer voice. Her mood seemed to shift a bit as she went on talking, "Many people here do not realize how you joke. They don't realize that you at not evil as you seem."

She stepped closer to him, having to tilt her head up to be able to look right into his eyes, "I have come to warn you Tarok, you must take care. You don't hear the whispers of the tribe down here in your chambers, but I do. I fear for you more and more every day. People begin to believe that you are making deals with the devil down here. That you mean to cause the tribe harm. It's starting to grow to more then just a whisper. People are truly growing fearful of you more and more every day. And every day I fear they grow more ready to take action against you." She sighed and bowed her head, not able to look him in the eyes as she shared the next bit of information she has come across, "People have come to my father asking for you life..."
 
"Why would I bother making a deal with the devil?" he grinned. "I could craft a much better bargain with the demons of the Jabek Mountains for half the price."

His smile died when she didn't return it. Letting out a sigh he nodded at her because, as usual, she was his voice of reason. He could still remember when he was young, right after his father had died and he was on his own for the first time. His mother had died in childbirth, a slave his father had taken that he never spoke of to him, and he had no one to really guide him in the way of spirits and demons. He had gone to a dark place and almost had taken the turn that the villagers fear of him. Kaisia had, though he had never spoken of it to her, and guided him from that path just by being there for him. She was his moral compass when all was said and done, and he would always be grateful for that.

"I understand what you're saying. But the villagers have been saying those things about me for years. As they did my father and his father before him." He was not worried about the villagers or their rumors but seeing Kaisia upset left him with a sour feeling in his stomach. "And even if they do plan to take my life, which they will not as I provide a valuable service they would be fools to throw away, I'll just use some magic and BAM!" at his command the green pool behind him let out a belch of air, green mist swirling behind him and illuminating the room brightly for a brief moment. "Disappear."

Hoping to get a smile out of her he handed her his brush, the blank pain still wet on the tip. "Come, I'm glad you're here as I could use the help of someone with a gentle touch." He turned his back to her, looking over his shoulder. "I need someone to paint the remaining symbols. It is quite simple, you just need to follow the lines." Though faint she could make out thin swirls that seemed to be etched into his skin. "Unfortunately my only help has a less than steady hand." He looked back at the slave girl who was now looking more confused than scared. Though she was still plenty scared.

"Besides..." he added. "You won't be able to spend your time down here much longer. I expect your betrothed will be eating up your time soon."
 
Kaisa held the paint brush in her hand, glancing at it and how the tip was covered in hints still of the slave girls blood. Glancing towards the girl, she could see the judgement in the poor things eyes. The pleading in them to save her and not to help the beast that was doing her great pain. Kaisa knew that the symbols upon his skin were not meant to harm. He had taught her a tiny bit of his arts and simply knew that they were for the protection of the land, not the destruction of it. But that girl did not understand. No one understood, which made being Tarok's helping hand and friend hard at times.

Reluctantly, she started to follow the lines upon Tarok's back as he had asked of her, her hand not as steady as always yet not were near as shaky as the slave girl's would be. "You are right about that. The vow's ceremony with Calder grows ever closer yet has been slightly delayed all the same. Father is sending Calder and his men out to patrol the western borderland. He fears their may be a coming war with the barbarians over the rights to that land there. Once he stomps out the resistance however, then we are to be joined upon his return. I am afraid after that I will no longer be free to go where I wish when I wish as I am now. Calder certainly will not wish me to be here."
 
His shoulders tensed a bit when she mentioned her betrothed. "Ah, Calder. A fine warrior and provider. I imagine your life with him will be happy." She couldn't be anything but, he surmised. She was the daughter of the chieftain. She was smart and strong. She would live her life, give Calder many children, and be happy. He didn't expect to have any place in her life after she was joined anyway. It wasn't his place to be involved with a life such as that. If he ever did have children it would be with a slave most likely, though preferably one with a stronger stomach that what he had now.

He stepped away from her brush and turned around, hand going to her shoulder and pulling her close to him. "I could do it you know," he whispered in her ear, eye looking to the slave to ensure she couldn't hear him. Rarely did he ever hide what the tribe, at least when asked, but even he was cautious at what he suggested. He would never have offered it to anyone else, just her. Only her. "Calder does not have to return. There are ways. Methods I know to ensure this."
 
Kaisa's eyes went wide, the brush in her hands dropping to the floor. His words have truly shocked her. In all the years she had known him, she knew such things were likely possible but one would need to dabble deep into darkness. A place that other has gone before him and never found the way about again. It was a place she had long hoped he would never dare to travel to and yet here he was, all but telling her that for her he would go beyond the bounds of darkness and dance with death, bending it to his will.

"Tarok... you... you can't go that deep into the darkness. No, I don't want you to go into the darkness like that! You can't take a life Tarok! It's-" her words were cut off as the distant sound of what sounded like fast moving booted feet caught her ears. The sound of angry voices added to it as she realized the sounds came from the hall. Her heart froze as she turned toward the door, realizing that her fears were coming true. "They have come for you..."
 
The look of horror on her face told him everything he needed to know. He had seen that look on the other members of the tribes when they looked at him, he had even reveled in it a bit, but had never wanted to see it on her. Her words filled him with shame though he did not have long to dwell on it as he too heard the steps of guards rapidly approaching. The sound of so many men echoed strangely in the hall. It was if the stone walls had been so unused to that many travelers at once that they had forgotten how to reflect the noise correctly.

Tarok looked to Kaisa, the slave girl, before looking back to Kaisa with a nervous laugh. "Kaisa...make sure that girl made one of the temple slaves and not placed in someone's harem. I promised her as much, though I don't think she beveled me." He wasn't sure why he was asking her that. He would be alright of course. At most he may be whipped but they would never...

The guards stepped into the entrance of his chamber, hesitating at the sight within. Carefully the first of them, large muscular men tanned from the sun and brandishing short spears, stepped into the chamber and began to circle the pair. Tarok stepped between them and Kaisa instinctively, one arm pushing her back behind him.

"Do not touch her!" one of them shouted. On his head lay the skin of a jaguar, a testament to his rank as their leader. "You will not harm her witchdoctor. We have been sent to put a stop to your magic and bring you before the chief for your crimes!"

Tarlok narrowed his eyes at the man, his mind already reaching for a spell that could have burnt away his eyes. "What joke is this? I have done nothing wrong!" That was a lie. He had performed blood magic and other forbidden crafts, but never for evil intent. "If the chief wishes to see me have him send a messenger as it has always been. Not a pack of feral do-!"

He didn't get a chance to complete his insult as one of the guards came up beside him and smashed a club over his head. The witchdoctor's eyes' widened in shock as he stumbled back against Kaisa once before toppling to the ground. The bowl in his hand broke as soon as it hit the stone floor, the black paint spilling around him forming disturbing images upon the stone. The green pit seemed to churn faster from the commotion and the guards moved faster out of fear, gathering Tarok and binding his hands while the captain took charge of Kaisa and the slave girl.
 
Kaisa looked on in shock and fear for this was the moment she had some how always known would arrive. Tarok dabbled in things that no one in this tribe would ever understand and things they could not understand, they feared. Things they feared had to be destroyed. As Tarok pushed her behind him, she moved out of the way, watching the scene before her unfold. Horror filled her and she thought to herself over and over again, 'Please just let him vanish. Flee Tarok. Do as you said you would. Flee with your life.' Yet the thoughts never rose to the surface and with a cry of agony she watched him crumble to the ground. Kaisa lunged out to try and kneel at his side but was grabbed from behind from one of the guards, and held back from him. "No Kaisa! Do no go near to him! He has already tainted your soul with his evil enough! We do this to protect you! Come away milady! Come."

That guard spoke as if he gave her a choice yet at the same time he was pulling her from the room, struggling the whole way to try and go to Tarok's side. She watched as he was bound and dragged from the room behind her. Another guard had untied and ungagged the slave girl, the sounds of her annoyingly high voice and cries filling the air as he helped her along. They were a ways down the hall when she could hear the sounds of glass breaking and things begin destroyed in Tarok's chambers. Even though she could not see it, she knew they were destroying all of Tarok's work. She tried to yell a warning to them, "No! You don't know what you do! You can only do more harm then good now! Leave the room be!" But they did not listen as they let potions be mixed upon the stone floor which didn't seem to be harmful now, but as they left the destroyed lair, locking and bolting the door behind them, there was not telling the backlash that could come from behind that door one day.

The slave girl was left in the temple to be tended by the healers while Tarok and Kaisa were taken through the streets and straight to her home. She knew they would have to stand before her father and while she had no fear for herself, for she was far more valuable to her father alive then dead, she did fear for Tarok. Thoughts raised through her mind on how she could bargen for his life even as they entered into her father's throne room. Tarok was dumped before the powerful leader, while she was held back and off to one side, only able to watch the scene unfold before her.
 
Chief Kah sat upon his golden throne as Tarok and his daughter were dragged inside. The witchdoctor was thrown to the ground, barely conscious and moaning in pain. Already a crowd had gathered inside the throne room. They crowded together on the outskirts, the high families and nobles of the tribe, all of them eager to remove this dark stain from their tribes history.

Kah was an imposing figure sitting high above them all on his throne. A proud warrior in his youth his sported a large, broad frame that while having grown fatter from his years as chief still looked powerful enough to kill a man if he needed to. His headdress, a golden helmet decorated with feather from every bird imaginable, sat upon his head regally. Beside him his advisor stepped forward and opened a very long scroll and proceeded to read to the assembled the crimes Tarok was accused of.

Tarok was only just coming to as his charges were being read against him. The words were loud in his head with the advisor's voice sounding like one bird chirping among a thousand others. Slowly he came to his senses and could make out what was being said, the charges of blood magic, consorting with demons, and ensnaring the mind of one of the royal family among the many crimes he was accused of. Frankly he was insulted as only two-thirds of those were true.

"How does the prisoner plead?" the advisor announced before the court.

Tarok shook his head a bit and spat out some of the blood pooling in his mouth. "Tell me Chief Kah," he looked the tribes leader in the eye. "Do you stiff suffer from those nightmares or did the talisman I gave you work?"

Kah's face turned red in rage and embarrassment as a small murmur went through the crowd. "SILENCE!" His voice echoed through the chamber. It was deep, powerful, and cruel. Befitting the chief of their tribe. "For all we know it was YOU who sent those nightmares in the first place! A convenient ruse so you could pluck my youngest right from under our eyes!" His gaze turned to Kaisa but there was no love for her behind them though she did not have to fear a punishment coming upon her. Tarok would suffer enough for the both of them. "I have sought the council of my advisors and we are unanimous in our decision. Tarlok, for the high crimes of which you are accused..."

Tarlok bowed his head and smiled. It was the kind of smile only one who was about to meet his end could have. There was nothing he could do now to stop death from claiming him. He thought back to how he had reassured Kaisa he would just disappear...ha! If only magic were that simple. "This is it..." he thought as the verdict was cast.

The cheif's voice boomed through the chamber "You will be banished from the tribe!"

Now Tarok's eyes were open wide. Any mask of calm he had been wearing before had given way to surprise and fear.

All around the people were talking, some crying out for his blood to be spilt right then and there, while the chief raised his hands to silence them. "We are of the mind that killed the witchdocter on our own lands would bring naught but trouble. Who knows what kind of four demons he bears within him that may be released upon his death? That is why he will be taken across the lake and dragged far from out lands and left in the jungle. It is there death will claim him as it has so many others.

Tarok was visibly shaking, eye darting around as he tried to find a way out of this. "Wait...no!" he thought he would be whipped or tortured. Starved in a cell for months. But being banished...this was his place of power. It was in this city he had forged the protective runes that kept him protected from evil spirits and demons that wished him harm. Though young he had made many enemies in the spirit world and if he were to be taken away from his home..."NO! Anything but that! Please, you have to listen!" he had never begged for anything in his life. Had sworn not to. But now, as the guards came up from behind and grabbed him by the arms he was willing to do anything. Already he could hear voices scratching at the back of his mind, dark promises from things eager to find him in the jungle.

"Kaisa!" he cried out, eyes looking for her in the crowd. "Do something! Stop them!"
 
Kaisa watched in horror just as everyone else did. Everyone about her clearly waiting for the climax to come. They would all rejoice in watching the witch doctor die for all the sins they thought he had committed when Kaisa along knew that it would be the death of an innocent man. Well, maybe not a total innocent but he was not guilty of all they claimed him to be. As the moment drew near, she could feel a commanding presence come up along side her. Turning, she found her betrothed Calder standing at her side suddenly. He looked down upon her, his eyes judging her and while Tarok was facing her father, she was facing Calder in a whispered conversation.

"You have let the man tempt you and taint you with the devil Kaisa."
"You are wrong Calder. Tarok may dabble in dark arts but he would never cause me harm. He would cause no one here harm."
"I will have your silence. I am to be your husband and it is time you are to start obeying me. This is my first command as your future husband. When your father passes his judgement, you are not to say a word in protest," he reached for her and took a firm hold on her arm, squeezing and holding tight to her, threatening to bruise her from touch alone. "And when he is gone, we will purge you of his vile influence at the temple. Only when you are stripped of the darkness he had placed into you will you be fit to be my wife again. Speak a word, and I promise you that you will be punished. Some call you a witch Kaisa. Some call for your life as well. Only our union will save you now."

Kaisa stood strong, staring him down and completely prepare to defy him. Let them call her witch. Let them burn her at the stalk. She would rather die for something she stood for then live a life that is a lie.

She turned her attention back to her father, about to pass judgement upon Tarok. When the word banish left her father's lips, Kaisa gave a sigh of relief. He was not going to die. Tarok would live! She did not realize that this sentence was in fact a fate worse then death for him. All she could see was life instead of a painful death.

As the guards started to drag him away, her heart ached hearing him call out for her. She stared to move, to part her lips to speak for him when Calder's hold on her arm tightened and pulled her back to his chest. He whispered into her hear harshly, "Not a word to him Kaisa. Turn you face away or I will have his sentence changed to death. You know I can have it done."

The girl looked across the room to meet Tarok's gaze. Her eyes filled with a heartbreaking sadness as she held onto his eyes for a moment longer, before she turn her face towards the floor. "Good girl," whispered Calder, who smiled across the way in trumph at the prisoner, holding Kaisa to him and making sure that Tarok saw it. She belonged to him.
 
Tarok saw her at last as she was turning her back to him. In his eyes he saw none of the pain on her features, just the willing embrace she fell into with Calder. The warrior met the witchdoctor's gaze with an look of supreme arrogance letting him know that he had won. Kaisa was his, now and always, and the Tarok had no place in his life. The betrayel cut worse than any executioner could have and Tarok screamed in rage and frustration, ancient words forming on his tongue before he was suddenly gagged once more and dragged away from the palace.

****

The boat tread quickly over the water as several burly oarsmen heaved their oars in and out of the lake. Tarok had gone still soon into the trip but not out of acceptance. One only had to look into his eyes and they could see the terror that filled them as he looked into clear waters below them. Shapes were moving down there, neither animal nor human, taking one dark form before changing to another. Tarok knew the others couldn't see them, knew that he would be completely alone in what he would soon face in the jungle. And yet he couldn't look away.

When they hit the shoreline his guards lifted him by his arms and proceeded to drag him further into the jungle. The trek was long and hard, Tarok's legs becoming cut and bruised from the rough treatment. He had prayed they would simply kill him when they were out of sight of the city. Unfortunately these men were far to loyal to go against their orders.

Hours later Tarok was dumped in a small clearing, nothing but thick green jungle foliage around him. The canopy blocked most of the sunlight leaving him in a twilight he wasn't sure was real. They cut his bindings and removed his gag, hurrying off before the doctor could curse them with his foul magic. As shadows began to dance amongst the trees cursing his guards was the last thing on his mind. Fear had gripped him, memories of his father's death coming back to him as well as thousands of illustrations of what demons could do to a person. He almost gave up there. Almost fell to the earth and accepted that horrible fate.

Then he thought of her. His friend. Kaisa in the hands of her betrothed. She had turned so quickly on him when things had become hard. Hadn't tried to save him. Had he been nothing but an amusement for her? A place that Calder would now fill for her (and in an image that brought a snarl to his lips he thought of the two lovers as Calder filled her repeatedly)

Fear was gone as he got to his feet and scrambled for the jungle. Now he was angry and angry he could deal with. Anger could keep him alive. Grabbing the sharpest rock he could find he brought it down on the palm of his right hand and cut a line over it. The crude blade hurt but he had felt worse. Making a fist, his own red blood dripping between his fingers, he raised it towards the darkness of the jungle. He was a witchdoctor and held the knowledge of countless numbers of his kind before him.

"Alright," he spoke into the darkness. "Come for me if you dare."
 
After Tarok's banishment, Kaisa found Calder was very true to his promise that she had to be purged of the so called darkness that was within her from Tarok's magic. She had to be purified and her soul saved, given back to the gods and goddesses of the light once more. The process was one that had her wishing instead for death. He was not even man enough to stay by her side through the painful days and nights of her "cleansing" at the temple. Simply left her in the care of the priests and rode off. He promised her that as long as her soul was saved when he returned from his trip, then he would still make her his wife.

That day never came, for Calder never returned home again. The battle for the land along the border was lost to the barbarians and half the warriors lost their lives. The arrogant, overconfident Calder was one of them. When news returned home of his fate, Kaisa could not help but wonder... was it Tarok? He had spoke of willing such an event to come to pass and now it had. It left her without a husband and from after the relationship with Tarok, no man would have her. Even when the priests of the temple declared that her soul was clean, her prospects vanished. There was nothing left of her when it came to hopes of a marriage or a family. The only choice left to her was to enter into the temple and devote the rest of her life to the gods and goddesses now that her body and soul had been delivered up to light.

And so it came to pass, Kaisa gave up her former life and entered into the teachings of the temple. It was a late start, but she found herself to be a fast learning. In time, she no longer felt the same loss for a life she would never truly come to know as when first she entered the temple. Perhaps this had always been the path she was destined to travel. Her life simply took a round about way of getting there.

Still, even as years passed by, she though of Tarok often. Dreamed of him in the night. Wondered over what life had come to pass for him. While no news ever reached her of him him, she knew in her heart that he was not dead. Kaisak just knew that it Tarok was dead, she would feel it in her heart. Knowing he was out there, somewhere, left her feeling as if in some way, the pain she had suffered was worth it.
 
It started slowly. It's insidious nature appearing in increments across the land in every corner and field. No one could place exactly when it started, so subtle was its first movements, but soon enough the entire tribe was gripped in a state of fear as the curse spread its grip over their lives.

The farmers found their crops withering and dying. What was once healthy vegetation would turn grey and sickly. One touch would cause it to collapse into ash, spreading its noxious smell in the wind. Animals, both wild and domestic, seemed to go mad as something gripped their minds. Dogs would attack people in the streets while birds flew into homes and pecked people to death. Even the jungle itself seemed to suffer from this dark force, the people reporting dark figures moving through the jungle at night. Bonfires would seems to glow off in the distance with strange voices echoing from them but when investigated no trace of a fire or the people who made it could be found.

But worse was what happened to the people. Dreams were blood-soaked nightmares that left many screaming themselves awake. Then that were those that grew sick, collapsing in the streets as their body burned from the inside. Nothing like it had ever been seen before, the victims vies would turn black underneath the skin and from every orifice they seemed to bleed a black ooze that burned at the touch. The healing quarters of the temple were soon overrun and now patients were being laid out in anywhere their was room. The scent of sickness was heavy in the air.

It has during this time that Kaisa was summoned back to the royal palace. The golden walls had lost some of their shine in these trying times, the splendor of it all dimming when faced with such horror. Brought to the throne room her father had her standing before him. The very same spot that Tarok had stood when he had been banished.

"Daughter," the chief gave her a nod as befitting one of his children though there was little affection behind it. After Calder's death she had lost her one point of usefulness for him. No other male wanted her leaving him with a black stain on his bloodline that he couldn't remove. He had left her to her temple duties since then, pretending she didn't exist. The fact that he had summoned her at all was a great shock.

"The priests tell me that our people grow worse every day," he brow knitted in anger. He was used to enemies he could fight with strength of arms. It was no secret that the other tribes were mobilizing and could renew a war any day now. "That none of your prayers or sessions have done anything to stem the curse that blights our land."

He leaned forward and she could see how much older he looked now. Time and his rule taking its toll. "My advisors...have suggest that Tarok be allowed to return."

Now her reason for being brought before him were clear. She was the only person who had known Tarok, the only one who he had ever really trusted. "Allowing" him to return was only way to save face from saying "Beg him" to return. She was the only one who might know how to convince him to come back.
 
Kaisa had been forced to sit by for years now and watch the people around her suffer from this curse. Due to the ritual that had "cleansed" her, it seemed to have left her protected from the effects of the curse now. All she could do was stand by and watch person after person overcome by the darkness that Tarok had been trying to hold back. She saw now better then ever that Tarok's work had indeed been for the good of the tribe. Others still did not see it that way. Many said this was from the wrath of Tarok whom still plagued them even from a distance. Kaisa knew though that he people brought this upon themselves. The few times she had dared to slip into the bowels of the temple and visit the door to Tarok's old chambers, she could feel the darkness radiating from within. The magical seal placed upon the door was the only thing likely keeping the land from imploding upon itself now.

When she found herself summoned by her father, Kaisa already knew what would be the topic of conversation and he certainly started right into it as she arrived to stand before him. Listening to all that he had to say, she sighed and shook her head, "What father? No welcome to your daughter? No friendly greeting to catch up with one another? It's been 5 years since we have last spoken to one another. Since the day you banished me to the temple." She knew such statements would only anger her and so she just continued onward with the answers her sought from her. "You don't need me for this. You already know the answer and just wish that I can give you another option to keep you from having to humble yourself. The only way to convince Tarok to return, IF you can even find it, is to get down upon your hands and knees and beg for him to return. You humiliated him and made him an outcast when he was only trying to protect this land and this people. My best suggestion to you, dear father, is to prepare to beg and fulfill any and all demands he may make of you."
 
Her father was on his feet instantly and looking down on her with all the rage he could muster. "INSOLENT! I would have your tongue cut our for such remarks if you weren't of my flesh! But do not think I would not have you flogged and shackled in the pits until the next full moon!" He stood there, breathing heavily and slowly gaining control of himself. "But you are lucky. As it is I finally have a use for you 'daughter'."

Slowly he moved back to his throne, twin servant girls quickly moving to his side to fan him. You have misunderstood why I have asked for you. I am not looking for your advice on the matter for you see I already am catering to his demands by summoning you here." He waved one of his large hands forward indicating for one of his servants to approach with a small box. "We have been keeping tabs on him. When the curse first became apparent I sent warriors after him. They did not return." As the servant knelt in front of him the chief opened the box and removed a strip of tree bark from its contents. "I sent two more small parties. Only one returned from the second with a message. "I warned you." So, earlier this week I sent a messenger asking him to return. I was given this." He held up the bark for her to see. It was covered in small, messy letters that was so typical of Tarok's handwriting. "He has already agreed to come before us, provided that you are here when we speak."

He turned the bark around to read it again, eyes looking over the letters carefully. "That is his only demand other than we provide a boat for him to cross the lake. You are not to speak to him when he arrives and are to stand by me while we negotiate." He quirked an eyebrow at her. "What do you make of this, daughter?"
 
Kaisa looked genuinely shocked by this news. She stood up and came forth to look at the message closer, not waiting for he father to grant her the permission to do so. She reached out and ran her fingers over the three bark, letting her fingers feel the carved letters. She shook her head as she stepped back once again, "I don't know what to make of it. Tarok was always a mystery, even to me at times. There was a bond between us, but.... things have altered over they 5 years. You know that just as well as I. Banishment can change a person and there is no telling how he has been altered by this. The man I use to know then could very well not exist anymore because of you."

She held her head high though, "But I will be here at your side as he requests if that is what is needed to save our land and our people."
 
The boat carrying Tarok arrived within the hour, a company of guard escorting him to the palace being as much protection for him as from him. Kaisa was made to stand by her father's side amongst his slaves and advisors, crammed next to the fan girls he so enjoyed. The high-ranking families were convened in the throne room, watching the golden entrance with fear as the man they had thrown to wolves returned.

This man was very different from the younger Tarok that had been dragged out of the city five years ago. His clothing consisted of only a ragged loincloth, fashioned by himself out of the hide of some rabid animal, and the tattoos that now graced his chest and arms. A circle inked in red lay emblazoned on his chest filled with ancient symbols that few knew the meaning off, a kind of last-ditch protection against the spirit world for one abandoned to the darkness. He was covered in dirt, grime, sweat, and one could also make out specks of blood here and there. His hair was longer now and wild and his eyes darted back and forth around the room as if he expected an attack at any moment.

A crude stone knife was tied to his waist and in his hand he carried a long walking stick of gnarled wood, a old human skull topping it. Just looking into the empty sockets made one uncomfortable, as if something was watching back.

He stopped, barefoot, on the same spot he had stood when he had been sentenced five years ago. His gaze only flickered to Kaisa for a moment, his expression unreadable save for anger at everything around him.

All was quite as he regarded the chief, the two men exchanging heated glares until Tarok broke the silence.

"I have four demands." His voice echoed through the chamber and the onlookers breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The chief raised his hand towards him, just as eager as Tarok to skip the pleasantries. "Name them."

"First," he raised his finger, "I want a full pardon for all crimes I was accused of." The chief nodded, expecting as such. "Second," another finger. "Any and all tools and ingredients I ask for will be given to me. No questions. No arguments." Again, the chief relented. There was little they could stand to lose at this point. "Third," three fingers now. "I will have any area of my choosing in the temple. There are plenty in the deeper quarters, provided you haven't sealed them as well."

As the chief once against nodded Tarlok held up the fourth and last finger. "Fourth," his eyes looked at Kaisa, teeth clenching as he remembered the sight of her falling into the arms of her lover. "I want Kaisa stripped of her rank and title. I want you to disown her completely as your daughter. I want her," he took a deep breath. "to be made my slave, to be done with as I so choose as is our custom."

The silence in the room was deafening and the chief raised his eyebrow, surprised but not shocked by the request. The nobles in the room were whispering to another, buzzing like insects as they looked fro Tarlok to Kaisa, wondering what would happen.

"Done," the chief relented. This had been a far cheaper exchange than he had expected and he was, on the whole, pleased.
 
Kaisa felt her heart rise and fall all in the same heartbeat as Tarok made his grand entrance back into her life and the lives of the whole tribe. One look at him and emotions that she had long ago buried rose back to the surface. Things she did not even realize she had felt for him rose again. Back then, she knew there was a bond, and attraction between them, but she had never allowed herself to explore. Having been betrothed to Calder, she never allowed herself to really explore what could be with Tarok. Yet now? Seeing him walk into the room, for a moment she realized this was a second chance to her. For them. A gentle smile rose up to her lips as she say him.

That smile slipped away seconds later as she took in the full sight of him and how he had changed. It was not only her that time had changed. The man that came walking into the room looked like her Tarok but behind his eyes, she could see he was not the same man. Not by a long shot.

Fulfilling her promise to not speak, Kaisa stood in silence, listening along with the rest of the tribe in attendance to this ground breaking event. The first three demands were no shock to her. They were all that he deserved after all.

Then the fourth demand was spoken. Their eyes had locked for just a second before the words slipped from his lips and all hope she had for them died for she could see his burning hate for her within his eyes.

Time seemed to slow to a stand still as he spoke of the final demand. What he asked was like a death sentence to her. Once lowered to the level of a slave, she could never hope to be anything more then that again until the day she died. In becoming a slave, she lost all the basic rights of humanity and could never gain them back again. She would never again be free to walk down a street or go where she pleased, do what she pleased. It was a terribly demeaning request for him to make. To wish it upon her... he truly did hate her, didn't he? Even more so then her father who gladly fulfilled the request.

In the blink of an eye, the deed was done. No more had to be said. With just one word, a simple 'done,' she was now a slave. Kaisa stood where she was, still staring across the space that separated them, her eyes shining with the betrayal and hurt she felt for what he had just done to her. All those around her instantly started to look at her differently. Those once her equals now allowed their chins to raise up and look down upon her while those that were once lower now dared to look upon her as an equal for that was exactly what she was now.
 
"Would you have her delivered to your future quarters?" the Chief asked, not looking his daughter in the eyes.

Tarlok shifted his gaze towards her once again, trying to see her as he would a slave. He could remember using them in the past, resources to be used as he needed, a source for ingredients. Looking at her now he could almost see Calder standing beside her, wrapping his arms around her while she hid in his embrace. The image darkened his already dirty features. "I would have her brought to me now, bound and kneeling."

Her father raised one hand and she was suddenly flanked by two guards, one of whom had 'rescued' her from Tarlok all those years ago. While before he had shown concern now he was rough and demanding, eager to join in the humiliation of one who was once royal blood. A long, strong rope was brought out before her as they grabbed her wrists, binding them together roughly. The rope bit into her skin, unused the rough treatment, as the knot was tightened as she was dragged from her fathers side and to her future.

"And...you will release us from this curse?" the chief inquired of him while his daughter, no, while a slave was dragged from his side. He showed not the least bit of care for her predicament, her free-spirited nature a constant thorn in his side. He had other children, other daughters, and if need be he could always make more.

Tarlok didn't respond, simply watching as she was led down the steps to his level and shoved to the ground before him. Her knees landed on the polished stone of the royal chambers, head forced down towards the floor by the guard. For a moment he simply stared at her before he reached his staff out and tipped her chin up to look at him. He was stern and cold, years in the jungle hardening his features and building his body's strength. Gone was the laid back young man who was always looking to see her smile. Now he only wanted to see her as she was: on her knees.

"Where is your husband, Kaisa?" he asked, ignoring the questions from the chief.
 
Why was he doing this? Had life in the jungles changed him this much that the man that once could be the only one to make her heart sore and feel accepted... was now the one that was ripping that very same heart from her breast? The one making her feel alone in the world? For many years, while alone in the temple to be left to kneel and pray she often though of reuniting with Tarok. This was far from the reunion she dreamed of.

As the guards acted upon their given orders, Kaisa was left with nothing to do but accept it. She wiggled only a little as they pulled her along. It seemed to her thought when they bound her wrists that when she flinched a bit from how tight they tied her, the only then tightened it just a little more. What else could she do? It was not as if she had any choice in the matter. Not even a free spirit could help her now. If anything, a free spirit within a slave could only get her killed.

Before long, she was humiliated to be forced onto her knees with a loud banging. There was a small gasp from the people around them watching, whispered erupting from them all. Some things about the master finally returning for the servant.

As he lifted her chin to look up at him, something would suddenly be noticeable that the distance from across the room would have hidden. It was scar right neat the corner of her right eye. The remains of someone carving into the skin with a fine tool. The design was in finely detailed and a pattern of swirls from the temple whose's true meaning could only be known to those that studied the magic of light. But others knew it's meaning. It was the make she bore as one who had suffered the process of being purified in the temple. It was a secret ritual only known to those that performed it and had suffered it. At the spot where it was, there was no way the carver of the scar could have avoided her cheek bone while carving it. One had to wonder what other scars she might bare as well.

Kaisa looked up at him no longer with the same spark her eyes once held. If he hoped to find joy in extinguished the light once in her soul, it seemed he would not have the joy. It appeared someone had already gotten rid of it. "I have no husband," she told him, her voice not the same cheerful tone as when she once spoke to him. "I never have and never will. Calder is long dead. Died but a month after you were banished. Your hope to humiliate me is, I am afraid, not as powerful as you hope. I have long been disowned by my father in action. You have only now given him the reason to make it in name as well."
 
He did recognize that scar. He had seen it several times upon slaves he had once used for his rituals, at least upon the women. The priests never lost an opportunity to scar a young girl through their purification rites, be they slave or royal. He had not thought they would have subjected her to such a torture, assuming Calder would have protected what belonged to him. And to hear that he had been dead all this time when all these years he had imagined the look on his face as his wife was dragged away to slavery. Her own look of anguish when she learned she would never see her precious Calder again.

A moments doubt crossed his features, but it was only a moment. The flames of vengeance soon burnt away any pity he might have had for her or her situation. He had suffered for five years in the jungle and was owed much by her and her people. Now he would collect.

A loud smack echoed through the chambers ushering a gasp from many of the onlookers as Tarok slapped her face. Never would he have laid a hand on her in their youth but now it was all he could think of. "I asked you a single question slave," he said, voice laced with venom. "I did not ask for your opinion on the subject."

Unable to look at her any longer he stepped forward, leaving her on the floor behind him with her reddened cheek. "I can remove the curse that blights your land," he announced. Their land. Not his. "But it will take time and it will take sacrifice. I only question your resolve when my earlier methods upset you so easily."

"Hold you're tongue, devil!" One of the priests suddenly shouted only to be shoved back by a quick guard.

Chief Kah tightened his grip on his throne, his slaves fanning faster as the sensed his anger. "Do not question our resolve Witchdoctor. Have I not given up my own daughter to save our people?" Already he was using her enslavement to his advantage. No doubt when this story was told around the bonfires the storytellers would speak of his anguish over his loss and the love of his people.

Tarlok smirked though there was little mirth behind it. "So you have." With nothing more to say he turned to leave, taking the robe that bound her wrists with him. He pulled it tight and gave her little time to get to her feet to follow him, intent on humiliating her further with the display. Flanked by guards he dragged her through the halls of the royal palace that had once been so brightly lit but were not steeped in near darkness. Coming to a small alcove he stopped, pulling her towards him and looking at the guards. "Leave."

The guards hesitated for a moment, unsure of whether or not they were to follow orders from the likes of him. The banging of his staff answered them and they bowed, in fear and forced respect, before moving to other halls.

Alone now for the first time in five years he looked at her, eyes taking in her body. She had changed...more than he had expected and in different way. "You are the slave to a witchdoctor now," he told her. "Do you know what that means?" She had seen him use other slaves before, cutting their hair, bleeding them, testing rituals, though never to their permanent harm. She would be so lucky.
 
The blow came so quickly and so unexpected from him, it instantly brought tears to her eyes. Both from the blow itself and from the realization that it was Tarok that had given it to her. As he stepped beyond her and started to speak with her father, all attention went to them expect for hers. Kaisa remained frozen with her hand on her cheek, feeling the heat from it still. What happened to him? What had happened to her Tarok? Tarok would never have hit her. Back then that is. This reunion between them was far from the joyful occasion she had hoped for.

She was swift to get to her feet as he pulled her along, before she suffered to much of a scraping of her legs against the ground. Following behind him, her head down like a proper slave, she did everything she knew she was expected to. Said nothing. Looked at no one, even though she knew everyone was looking at her and whispered about her humiliation. Eyes upon her of scorn upon her. No pity to be seen by anyone.

When alone with him at last, she did not dare to look up at him as he spoke to her. What was the point? All she could see there in his eyes would be a person she no loner knew. It would only hurt to look into his eyes and no longer know him. She knew what being his slave meant. At least she knew what it once meet. He did what he did for the greater good. He only pushed his slaves so far. Something in his voice now though felt more like a death sentence. It was different now, "I know what being your slave once meant, but... I feel it means something different to you now." Still keeping her head down, she dared to ask, already bracing herself to be hit once more, "Do you plan to stop before it takes my life? Or do you not care to?"
 
Again he struck in her anger, marking other cheek this time. The way she spoke, as if she had expected him to be the same man that would have welcomed her with open arms before, infuriated him. "Do not talk about how things were! You sat her in your luxury for fives years while I suffered, and you 'feel' it means something different?" He scoffed. "I will use you for whatever need suits me at the time, whenever it suits me. And do not think I would ever grant you the reprieve of death! You were not so merciful then so I see no reason to be now."

His gaze caught her scar again. The odd swirl scratching at a part of his mind he hadn't look back on in years. Before he could focus on it his eyes suddenly rolled back, a shine of blackness overtaking them for a brief moment as he fell against the wall clutching at the tattoo on his chest. The sight of him would bring to mind the words of the priests of the tremble, harking back on her training. The signs of someone who is possessed by evil spirits. It lasted only a moment but it left him sweating and breathing hard, the witchdoctor pulling himself back up and acting like nothing happened.

"You...did not marry Calder?" he suddenly asked. "Then what have you been doing all this time?"
 
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