Muur Chronicles

EPISODE - 3

 Immediately Steve left her, he decided to go and check out the two locations she gave him. He was very familiar with one of them, being a spot he regularly visits to blow out while in school, but the other one was quite obscured. This made him conclude it will be the right place. He took a tour of the mountain on reaching there, especially the innermost parts. He observed how the terrains where laid and upon a more careful venturing inside, the contour of the environment has been nicely layered and newly cut without really giving it away. It was the place and she was right, he said to himself.

At this point, Linagu crossed his mind, and he hoped to meet him again sooner rather than later. The last meeting didn't go so well. He was still in this thought when the anani Linagu gave him vibrated and brightened up. He was a bit shaken and at alert as he didn't know what could have caused such. Not far from where he was, a blue colored cloud formed, making him even more alert. Then the cloud started dissipating slowly and from there, Linagu emerged, to his surprise.

Steve still stood where he was, unhindered as his anani mellowed down. Seeing him, Linagu conjured up a force field and hurled it with full force at Steve. His anani immediately stepped up and created a shield which effectively blocked off the resultant blast to Steve's surprise.

"You have not been training and practicing?" Linagu asked immediately as he asported off from where he stood and appeared right next to Steve.

"That's a fabulous way to make an entrance!"  Steve mocked.

"I could teach you!" Linagu replied.

"It was a mock! Just letting you know you were showing off!" Steve replied.

"I could still teach you!" he answered back.

"Have you been following me?  Is that why you gave me this amulet, so that you could track my movements?"

"Is that what you call it, amulet?" Linagu asked back without answering his question.

"Yes!"

"It's not an amulet. We call it Anani. I personally designed that one for you alongside my sister." he said.

"To track me?"

"Is that the only thing you have noticed about it?"

"Just answer the question!" Steve retorted.

At this, Linagu left his side and asported off, reappearing a few meters farther than where Steve stood. Surprised at his sudden move, Steve was immediately taken unawares and didn't realise when Linagu engulfed him in a force field, raised it up with him inside and unleashed a flurry of energy blasts at him. Steve's anani put up protective barriers to shield Steve from the blasts, but it wasn't enough as the force from the surge of the blast sent Steve crashing and bouncing round the envelope created by the force field till Linagu released it, sending Steve crashing to the ground.

Before he could stand up, Linagu was already on him and gave him a heavy punch which forces again was cushioned by the anani but wasn't enough to prevent Steve from flying off, hitting and crashing into tree branches as he crash landed. Immediately he stood up, Linagu was there again and wanted to hit him hard with a Unerg powered ballistic shotgun called R-To.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Steve yelled out.

"Yes?"

"Lesson learnt" Steve said out immediately.

"Good!" Linagu replied and teleported them back to where they previously stood before the little lesson.

"Did I just...?"

"No, you didn't. I did!" Linagu said.

"You need to start training."

"Training?" He asked Linagu.

"Yes…And, very fast."

"How?  What for?" Steve questioned.

"I would like to tell you, but I'm very busy at the moment. I will send someone else who will guide you!"

"I see the disgust in your face, but not to worry. I'm sure you would prefer the person I'm sending to me!" Linagu reassured him.

"The person is more powerful and charming than you?" Steve inquired.

"We are all powerful and charming."

"You are very funny." Steve retorted.

"So, what's your game here?" Linagu asked.

"My game? Nah, just visiting an old spot" Steve replied.

"Don't lie to me" Linagu cautioned.

"What's your game?" he asked again.

"A personal vendetta"

"Hmmm. Okay" Linagu simply whiffed but didn't bother trying to inquire further.

"You are not going to stop me?"

"It's not my business!" Linagu quickly replied him and tried to leave.

"You are carrying a heavy responsibility now though!"

"I have a question i want to ask before you go!"

"Go on" he said.

"All I have done ever since it’s from impulse and guts. What is the best way to manifest whatever I want to actualize with all this power and energy flowing through me? For a beginners course level... you get the point I'm making?"

"Focus on what you want, your expectations and not on the impossibility or otherwise of your expectations being manifested. That said, stick to your guts and impulse for now, and stay out of trouble. There is a lot going on right now, especially with your little debacle in that place the other night!" Linagu informed and asported off before Steve could utter another word. He left the mountain soon afterwards and headed back to his sister's place around 3pm.

***

"What were you thinking?" a furious Neerudi asked Linagu immediately he finished recounting his recent visit to Steve.

"What was I thinking?  What I have always done, thinking ahead!" he replied.

"You nearly killed him!"

"He doesn't know that, and i had to speed up the process!"

"We have to stop that nonsense he wants to do!" Neerudi alerted his brother.

"We cannot get involved Neerie, it's his Ngammu!" he replied.

"Which you started by the way!" she quickly retorted.

"I didn't start anything, it was his choice!" Linagu reminded her.

"Moreover, it's another opportunity to see how fast he is progressing!"

"You are jeopardizing everything, creating unnecessary attention, leaving Muur prints all over Duria. Someone is going to find out soon enough."

"Let's hope he is ready before then" he replied. "So, why not go and train him, get to know and work him better. It's what you always wanted, and you could minimize whatever damage and imprints of Muur we may have left all over Duria!" Linagu pushed indirectly.

"You are supposed to do that, he is your making! You performed the Ami nri"

"There is too much work to be done here, I'm always in the public eye and my disappearances are more noticeable."

"You just put me on the spot Añia... I don't like this." she said mildly.

"Please!"

"Alright, I will do it!"

"Thank you Neerie. I love you" he said and hugged her, before vanishing and leaving her embracing herself.

"So incorrigible!" she uttered and whiffed amusingly!

"I heard that!" Linagu whispered from the walls of the hall she stood, and she smiled before walking away!

     Linagu has already started massive preparations underground on a need to know basis only as he didn't want to create any unnecessary attention and panic among the populace. Top among his policy makers and confidants were his sister Neerudi and Eledu. Despite several calls from Eledu to get the Muur Supreme Council up to speed with events, Linagu didn't think it necessary.

However, he scheduled to meet with the head of the Muur Supreme Council, or Ba Akamali as he is called after getting concrete evidence, the artefact recovered by Steve. As he left his sister, he went straight to the Muur Supreme Council Headquarters at Barialu, the second Muurdom.

"What brings my lord to the Quarters today?" Akaliu asked as soon as he met Linagu. He met him while he was entering the gigantic MSC Tower in Adinlam, Barialu.  Akaliu is the Chief Guard of the Muur Supreme Council Headquarters and part of the Royal Squad which Linagu chairs by virtue of his position.

"The usual"

"If my lord does not mind, please walk with me!" Akaliu requested.

"You seem pretty pleased to see me Akaliu?" Linagu observed as he led him to his own official office.

"My lord is very correct in his observation!" Akaliu admitted.

      They walked the rest of the short distance in silence, before finally arriving in his office, a very spacious room with huge mappings, special structures and a lot of thin projected screens. There were custom Muurian weapons, fixtures and fittings, and fashionably designed chairs used in giving the office a luxurious decoration befitting of the Chief Guard status in the Muur Supreme Council building.

"I know that if I can see it, then I am presuming my lord is pretty much aware of it." Akaliu stated.

"Aware of what?" Linagu enquired.

"The strange things manifesting slowly. My lord, we both knows what it is about, what it has always been about!"

"Akaliu?" Linagu called out.

"My lord!" he replied.

"Speak plainly"

"In the space of two days, we have caught two of our people trying to sneak into the head of the Muur Supreme Council's quarters within this building. But, it's easy to just see that they were being manipulated. Few days before that, we caught a Nolnadian who was lost somewhere in the mountains near the Barialu River from the North!"

"Why are you repeating things i am already privy to? What's your point Akaliu?" Linagu demanded.

"And then this happened just before your arrival." Akaliu stated, and dragged the projections from one of the screens to display someone, a Nolnadian who somehow manipulated his way through, stunned a guard unexpectedly with a shock blast and entered one of the Council member’s quarters but was overpowered by him and subsequently captured. There was little to no surprise displayed by Linagu.

"That's a second consecutive unauthorized Nolnadian in Muurland within a very short space my lord." he stated in a concerned manner.

"When were you going to report this to me?" Linagu queried.

"I was instructed not to report it!"

"By who?" Linagu inquired further.

"The Head of the Council himself. He was embarrassed by it!"

"You do know who your allegiance is to right?" Linagu asked.

"There is no doubt about that my lord."

"Good. Never forget that at all times, you serve the people Akaliu. Subduing vital information like this because Ba Akamali told you to is against your oath to serve your people." Linagu advised.

"I regret my act my lord, it won't happen again!"

"Good. The Royal Squad meeting has been brought forward then. You will hear from me soon through Eledu." Linagu stated. "Now, i must meet with your boss!"

"Very well my lord!" Akaliu replied, and they left his zone.

     The Muur Supreme Council works as the legislative organ of the Muurians, though their functions far exceed making laws and deriving the right policies for the people. They also control a very important and remarkable aspect of the Muurians, the Amarandubi. Amarandubi is the top Muurian spy agency. They're also responsible for making sure that nothing about the Muur is ever known to any other race, nation, colony or world that the Muurdom didn't permit. Normally, there was little to no squeamish between the Buamada's and The Muur Supreme Council until the creation of the Amarandubi. This is the reason why Linagu was non-forthcoming with meeting the Head of the Muur Supreme Council.

The creation of the Amarandubi was deemed as an indirect plot to reduce the powers of The Buamada's as the rulers of the Muur by reducing the type of Executive Security Powers wielded by them. This issue led to the Muur General Assembly being called to deliberate and vote on the matter at the time, the first of its kind.  The General Assembly consisted of the heads of each family in the whole Muurdom; more than twenty-five million family units in total. Though the decision taken ended in favor of the Buamada's, the Amarandubi was created nonetheless but with more defined functions, operational limits, checks and a way of constant appraisals by the office of Head of Muur Security when needed.

The main reason for this resolution is the fact that the Amarandubi has the potential to be a very powerful tool of subversion of order if left unchecked. So, while the management and everything is being undertaken by the Muur Supreme Council, the General Assembly and the Buamada's retain some control powers over it's operations in areas they deem appropriate. This is the reason why Linagu has been hesitant in meeting with the Head of the Muur Supreme Council so as not to be seen crossing or interfering with jurisdictional boundaries and not appear imposing despite having the powers. This is the reason why Linagu chose Eledu, a highly renowned operative of the Amarandubi as a key member of his inner Security circle. Little wonder Neerudi didn't know about him until recently. The Amarandubi is also the reason why Neerudi constantly warns Linagu to avoid leaving Muur imprints when he visits Steve, because the Amarandubi are actually pretty good at their work.

However, the fact that a lot of incidences related to their duties are sprouting up constantly at the moment, the meeting was inevitable. The door opened immediately he approached Ba Akamali's Quarters, who walked out majestically to welcome him, and hug him as he usually does.

"I have been expecting you Añia!" he said after leaving his embrace and kissing Linagu on the forehead as is now customary of Pa Akamali.

"I know!"

"Even though I have been expecting you, I'm still left wondering what brought you to the Quarters today!" Ba Akamali questioned, and Linagu smiled.

"Well then, come. I have something i want to show you!" he said and moved while Linagu followed him immediately.

"How is your mother?" he asked as they left his Chambers and headed to a more fortified and foreclosed area of the Council building.

"Still a Buamada as usual." he said and they both laughed enthusiastically.

"Your mother is one of a kind and a blessing to our people!" He continued.

"That's a great praise coming from you Ba Akamali!"

"A Muurian must always tell the truth!" he advised.

"Rightly spoken, Ba Akamali."

"How much do you know about the Odena, what it means to our people and what it protects?" Ba Akamali asked Linagu as he stopped abruptly in his walk.

"I know what my mother tells me, what my position permits but I'm sure not as much as you know Ba Akamali!" Linagu said, and Ba Akamali continued in his walk while Linagu followed suit.

"You know, the Odena is us and we are the Odena." he said.

"I know!" Linagu replied.

"How well do you know the Revised Mantacles of Muuragi?" he asked Linagu.

"Not much!" Linagu said, but he lied.

"You know, i take you as a son Ania, so i am going to be straight forward with you!" Ba Akamali stated and stopped, while looking at Linagu sternly.

"I secretly investigated you through the Amarandubi because of a recent event we observed!"

"Why would you do that?" Linagu asked.

"I know your mother gave you access to the inner chamber of the Odena!" he simply stated.

"And?" Linagu queried.

"Just wanted to make sure you were not a threat in whatever guise. But that's not the point." he stated.

"What's the point then?" Linagu asked.

"Not everyone knows about the Modernized Revised Edition of the Mantacles of Muuragi, it's full inherent powers, except just a few select of our people. Your father, Your Mother, Zanak, me, you and three other members of the Council are the people that actually knows of its existence, it's actual existence." he said and they continued their walk.

"One of the people privy to this knowledge was attacked by a Nolnadian prior to your arrival; a Nolnadian who somehow knew how to use the Mantacles of Muuragi to gain access to one of the few people who know about it." Ba Akamali stated.

"Where is this person?" Linagu inquired.

"That's who we are going to see now!" Ba Akamali said as they reached a door which gave way to reveal an Ibuda, the usual circular and well designed exquisite transport mode used by high ranking officials within the buildings. It wasn't long before they arrived at where the Nolnadian was being held, with a clover designed to emit severe pains placed at one side of the holding room.

"He has refused to speak to us. He is yours if you please!" Ba Akamali stated, patted him on the shoulder and turned to leave!

"Wait, you are not staying?" Linagu asked him immediately.

"You are now involved, that means the Muur Security Council is also involved by extension, we can't interfere again. Our Laws were very clear on that!" Ba Akamali stated.

"Alright!" Linagu said. But before he left, Linagu told him he still have something to discuss with him, something very important to which Ba Akamali said he looks forward to.

He turned immediately to face the Nolnadian who was hooked up in bracelets designed to perpetually keep him weakened and impossible to remove. Any attempt to remove it infuriates the clover which emits heightened pain and feeling of worthlessness.

"You Nolnads don't give up, do you?"  Linagu asked rhetorically, but the Nolnadian neither moved nor said anything.

"Left to me, I will release you immediately. I have no quarrel with you nor your Kingdom!" he said.

"But, we have a quarrel with your people, one that is going to destroy your Kingdom and be sang in our halls of great conquest while our warriors drink from the skulls of Muur ruins!" the Nolnadian replied him.

"And you would like to kill me too?" Linagu asked him.

"We know of your exploits, but rest assured that no Nolnadian is afraid of

you." he answered.

"Trust me, I'm the least of your problems!" Linagu assured him, much to the confusion of the prisoner.

"I'm just flattered though how very good you and your people are becoming despite limited resources! I'm happy for your people!" Linagu stated.

"You are happy for my people?" the Nolnadian asked.

"Yes, I am truly. But, you are channeling it to the wrong cause!" Linagu told him.

"Channeling it to the wrong cause? It’s easy for you to say sitting here high and in might, while we forage the universe. And to think the Muur have three functional Unerg and has refused to share, when even half is enough to last you till infinity!" The prisoner expressed with pain and disgust in his voice.

  Most people didn't know that the Odena housed three complete Unerg, not even the Muurians. The Odena is a mystery and has been kept that way for centuries, but for this Nolnadian to have knowledge of the exact number of Unerg, then he is privy to someone's inner circle, a Muurian nonetheless. This information alerted Linagu to a doubt he has been harboring in his mind since the incident at the Odena where some group of people were mind twisted into trying to fight him immediately he came out of the inner part of the Odena. His mind went to Zanak and his father, but with what he saw about him, he didn't believe Zanak will be capable of using the Mantacles of Muuragi against his own people despite being banished.

"I will make you an offer!" Linagu told him.

"I doubt i will be interested!" the prisoner said.

"But before i tell you what the offer is, I will tell you a simple truth. Your people are being deceived into thinking you have a chance against us. In the past, your people have tried but never succeeded and mercy was shown to your people. However, this time around, you will just be giving us an excuse to wipe your race out of the universe for good. And i want you to believe this because it is coming from me!" Linagu ended while looking at him, watching him feels unease.

"Now, my offer to you is this: You, your family and a few relations will be given safe passage into the Muur and set up, including a Muurian citizenship if you can answer this question for me." Linagu told him. The Nolnadian, whose name is Bromari, was lost in speech and his facial demeanor expressed same. The offer looks too good to be true. He and everyone else also know that Linagu is always true to his word, but his offer has questioned and brought his loyalty to the fore.

"What is the question?" Bromari asked, though undecided as to what to expect.

"For you to enter here undetected at first, you must have had access to the Muuragi. How?" Linagu asked him, making the question appear open-ended so as not to suggest answers for him should he choose to answer it.

"It bothers you, doesn't it?" Bromari asked without answering, but Linagu didn't reply.

"The offer expires in two minutes!" he said afterwards and stepped back a bit away from Bromari while observing the Nolnadian.

"I cannot betray my people to save my family alone!" Bromari answered.

"Well, your time is still running, in case you decide to change your mind!" Linagu told him from where he stood, not least perturbed by his earlier answer. "My decision is already made!" Bromari replied with a tone of finality in his voice.

"And your time is up!" Linagu notified.

"Have you seen a Leviathan, an actual one?" Linagu inquired, but, in mockery unknown to Bromari though.

"I'm looking at one!" Bromari replied.

"I will take you to the Marrialu River from its confluence point just north of the Marrialu Sea. Agumi, a Leviathan guides a free asportation port and a route to a lot of places outside the Muur from that point, including Nolnad. If you can manipulate your way through Agumi and scale past it, you are free to go back to your people. If you can't, I can't help you anymore than that!" Linagu told him.

      Agumi is Jack the Ripper of the underwater world. Despite its weight and body mass, there are just a few things that are faster than Agumi underwater. It kills its prey in the most spine-chilling and gruesome way possible. It impales its prey on a sharp object like a thorn on its side which makes it easier for it to devour the victim bit by bit if it wishes. On stronger and larger living things like people, it induces paralysis by shrieking out waves from its mouth which paralyses its victims. Agumi will vigorously shake the immobilized victim violently under water afterwards so as to snap the vertebrae of the victim prior to impaling it on a thorn on its body.

"Wait, you are releasing me?  Just like that? "Bromari questioned.

"I already told you I have no quarrel with you!" Linagu assured him.

"I don't believe you!" Bromari replied.

"Your choice; But if I am in your shoes, I will take my chances. You really won't like the alternative here!" Linagu assured him.

  With a wave of his hand, Bromari's bracelets were off, and before Bromari could blink they were already at the Barialu River. Linagu gave him a direction and wished him "Good luck!" as he left, still finding it hard to believe that Linagu just allowed him to leave like its okay. Bromari though figured that his survival now lay in his own hands that his fate has been handed down to him by Linagu. He didn't show gratitude as he left anyway, but Linagu just smiled. On his part, Linagu knew exactly what he was doing. As someone well versed in the knowledge of the Muuragi, all he needed to detect a particular maverick of the Mantacles was to observe its imprints. And what better way than when the imprints are genuinely made in an honest but important escape and run for one's life, he reasoned! But, it was over before it even began for Bromari as Agumi tore him to pieces the moment he used a speed boat at the dock to make a run for it. He didn't really get to see Bromari do much, how could he. He was still looking at the situation when Agumi gently swam up to him and spit out something which he picked up. It was a star-like amulet Bromari was wearing, which he had concealed while he was locked up.

**