A Naichar's Mission

The Naichar swept his black coat closer around itself. It was cold. Darkness ruled and the moon had hidden itself from the evil that haunted the night. The Naichar gripped its reins tightly. The Aviol leaped through the forest. The black horse snarled at the howling wind and the purple flames streamed heavily out of its nostrils. The Naichar knew it was hungry; saliva was dripping around its sharp teeth. They continued to gallop through the dark woods.
Suddenly the Naichar’s blood went hot. It was as if its insides were boiling, an infuriating pain filled it. It clenched its teeth to keep itself from screaming. The Aviol snarled as it felt its rider pressed the spurs in further. The Naichar softened its grip momentarily and then the instructions were blasted into its brain.
“Kill Omidaka. He is planning on uniting Sayto. The Nuyama and Ashima cannot be allowed to unite. Beliar rules with chaos and so chaos must rule the nations. Find Omidaka and assassinate him.”
The Naichar exhaled heavily. The messaged had echoed strongly three times within his head. The Aviol continued to race through the forest. Harena was not far from here. Omidaka would be there to negotiate with the Ashima. If he was killed on this diplomatic trip the Nuyama would believe he had been murdered by the Ashima. Then they would never unite.
A few hours later the peculiar buildings came into view. Their plate roofs were curved like slides on each side, but at the edges began to slant upwards. Each corner also held various animal figures. Some buildings had four different figures, others only one. One building even had seven differing figures. The target, Omidaka, would be in the building with seven figures. The more figures the more special and honoured the building was.
The Naichar and Aviol stood hidden in the forest, camouflaged by darkness. Dismounting, the Naichar led the Aviol to the edge of the woods. Small, purple flames continued to pulsate out of the Aviol’s nostrils, creating a rhythmic beat. The Naichar gazed through the black hood that covered its head and face. It could see out, but no-one could see in. If they did, they were cursed with immediate death. Its face could not stand light. If a ray of sun struck its face the Naichar was burnt into a pile of black ash, just as if it had been killed.
A light burned in the window of the house, it was a short, dying candle. Were they still awake? Or was the candle just burning to make it seem that way?
“Zhast haerg,” the Naichar commanded the Aviol in Beliarthong. It snarled but obeyed. It had seen the last Aviol get pierced with one of the black feathered arrows because it had disobeyed. It also clearly recalled the days as a small foal when the Deirms had battered its brain into understanding the harsh language. Every misunderstanding had resulted in a whiplash. By a triple-braided and burning whip. The Aviol still carried the marks on its back. The worst had been when the Lord of Evil himself had slit open a blood vein and taken some of its blood. For that day of training every disobeyed command had resulted in the dark clad figure stirring the cup with his finger. The pain had been indescribable. The Aviol had writhed in pain and screamed. The mere memory subdued the Aviol to any command said in Beliarthong.
The Naichar let its main soul out. Leaving its own body the silver soul travelled down into the village. The guards did not expect anyone from here. The village did not even have a wall. The weak wall was facing the south. Did they think Beliar would leave them alone? That they only had the Nuyama to fear?
A window was open on the west side of the house. The soul slipped through. There was a great silence. A scent of melted wax filled the room. There was a small shrine room where incense still let out a sweet scent of prayers to the gods that the Ashima praised. The Naichar soul gave it a satisfied look. Beliar had invented those gods himself. Some of the first Diragh had gone and preached their ‘truth’ long ago.
Finally the soul located Omidaka. He was sleeping on a mattress with a pillow shaped like a prism. His two Sayto swords lay next to him. A Nuyama warrior never went without them. One was longer and two-handed, used for fighting. The other was shorter and used to disembowel oneself if one failed in a battle. That way ones family’s name would not be dishonoured. Both swords were slightly curved.
The Naichar quickly flew back to its body. It pulled out its giant, raven-black bow. It swept its black cloak around itself and glided down towards the house. Everyone was asleep. The house was completely still. The air seemed to stand still. The floor did not even creak. It was a perfect night for a Naichar.
The Naichar hovered over the sleeping man. This was it. It turned for a second to look out in the hallway and immense pain filled it. It turned around immediately. The burning pain that had filled it instantly ceased. A Naichar could never turn its back on a mission. The Naichar breathed heavily from the shock of the pain. It had completely forgotten about the obligation that it had to all missions made through the blood channels. It notched an arrow. The man was still peacefully sleeping. The Naichar felt a surge of desire to take out its anger and previous pain on something. It gave the man a small on his foot. Omidaka woke up gaping at the tall, dark figure hovering above it. The Naichar released its arrow before he could scream. Screaming was not unnecessary to feel pain. Although it was always delighting to hear them scream. It gave a sense of achievement. The arrow went straight through the mouth and neck of Omidaka hitting the wall with a thud and a splash of blood. The Naichar pulled two more arrows and released simultaneously. The two arrows hit Omidaka in the chest, puncturing a lung and the intestine system. It was time to get out.
Standing in the doorway the Naichar suddenly remembered. It took out a small, sharp, star-shaped throwing knife. It was the Ashima’s trademark weapon. It went back to stand over the fallen body of Omidaka. The Naichar threw the star straight at the neck. The wooden floor thumped again. A pool of blood had gathered. It was definitely time to leave. The Naichar glided over the wooden floors, sliding as quietly as ever. The dark, vile aura left the house as the Naichar removed its presence. Warmth flooded into the houses in the village as the Naichar rode away on the Aviol. The damage had been done.

Copyright © Danai Gabre, 2009-01-07