THE LAST KEEPER

It was as if he was sitting on moving wheels, his body bobbing sideways repeatedly but not roughly. It felt as if the motion was happening so far away and as if he was buried under stacks and stacks of weight. He was pulled under but felt himself a while later. When Sagiri stirred again, the first thing his eyes met was the sun. He squinted at the big glowing light before he shut them and groaned. When he opened them again, he made sure not to look directly at the sun. He felt cold even with the glaring sun, and he was covered in a heavy, long material, a coat.

The events that had conspired before he fell unconscious flooded his mind, and even what had happened while he was asleep. It seemed the archive, just like when it had absorbed a whole book in the library, this time, it had recounted the idea that conspired right after he went unconscious, before it finally went dark.

sagiri carried him away after he collapsed, and Yavaga fed him the antidote. Salka squeezed as much poison as he could before he tied his upper hand. He also bandaged his left bicep, and when Yavaga lit a fire, he pulled out a full-on burning stick and placed it on top of his scorpion scorch. He flinched at the image, but in the archive’s memory, he had not even stirred. He had not stirred. Even Salka and his team cooled the alpha scorpion that he had maimed. It was a big beast, so they just ate two of its limbs.

These northerners eat everything.

Even the archive had gone dark sooner after, perhaps as he fell deeper into unconsciousness.

He tried to move anything besides his eyes, but he couldn’t.

”You were paralyzed with the muddy scorpion’s poison. You won’t be able to move for a while. It is a wonder you have woken up,” Salka said. He was sitting on the opposite chair, Yavaga steered the horses, and the two other men were walking beside the carriage.

”I-I...” Sagiri tried to speak, but instead coughed. His throat was so dry it hurt.

”You are awake.” Yavaga turned around and jumped back, leaving his post. Salka looked like he could scold him, but let it go. Yavaga put a flask’s mouth to sagiri’s mouth and fed him water just like he fed him the vial of antidote. ”I was so worried you were going to die and leave me alone in this world with these people,” Yavaga whined, and Salka ignored him yet again. Yavaga and lotaga were a pain in Salka’s neck, adding senraki as the icing to the cake. It was a wonder the guy had not killed himself surrounded by morons.

Sagiri swallowed the water before he tried to speak again, but Salka cut him off.

”You disobeyed an order,” Salka said, his eyes narrowed.

”The scorpions were waiting for you,” sagiri said.

”And I would still have bested them. Yavaga had already told me that there were scorpions in the water. He might be stupid, but he is a protege in silent communication,” Salka said, and sagiri felt stupid. Of course, someone like Salka and his team were just too competent.

”I promised....” Sagiri must have still been delirious. He stopped himself right on time from saying something stupid.

”You and Lotaga are going to the suspension chamber when we get back,” Salka said, and sagiri wondered how he knew, but just then images from the echo memory filled his mind. Turns out he had told Salka himself about his vow to protect Squad Salka.

”Yes captain.” sagiri could only accept his verdict.

”Come on, captain. You oughta reward the boy for his honour in keeping his word and his attribute to self-sacrifice. This is the second time he has saved your life,” Yavaga said, trying to appear sincere.

”There is a thin line between honour and stupidity. This was not saving lives. This was suicide, and I’m going to kill Lotaga this time or send him to a border in the west for a year.” Salka said.

”but captain,” Yavaga whined.

”If you feel so touched, you can join them. There is plenty of space in the suspension chamber.” Salka said, and Yavaga’s eyes widened.

”I would never dare to question you captain. you are always right,” he saluted and jumped back to steer the horses.

”It is not Lotaga’s fault; he fought to protect me even though he knew he’d lose. I’d do the same for him,”Sagiri defended. He did not want Lotaga to suffer anymore because of him.

”The boy has too much honour salka.” Matasi cheered.

”It was careless. He could have died,” Kolu said. He seemed to share the same sentiment as Salka. Salka sighed and closed his eyes. It was as if he was trying to think where he went wrong or where he failed as a captain.

The journey was silent after, and sagiri must have fallen back to sleep because when he woke up, the sun was already dipping, and they were past the Galka War Academy outer nonagon gates. He could move his body now, and with a few groans, he managed to sit up.

”You sleep a lot, boy,” Matasi said. The men must have been walking for a long time since the carriage could not go fast with him sleeping, yet they did not look tired. When Sagiri sat up, Kolu and Matasi finally jumped into the carriage. sagiri could still feel the stiffness in his body. If it had been more than just a scratch, he might have actually died this time. Salka might have been right in labeling his act careless. N’varu could punch him too and beat him to a pulp.

”So recruit, what is this weapon?” It was Kolu who asked. He was holding a sagiri weapon in his hands as if he had been holding it for a long time. He was also the one who had been the most curious about his oru-seals, and he seemed very curious about his weapon.

”Kolu, our best spy here loves to know everything, but in this case, I want to know too,” Matasi said, looking at the weapon too. It seems the men had asked for it from salka and they had been trying to figure it out, but couldn’t. They were all looking at him with expectation, even Yavaga. It was only Salka who was keeping his eyes shut, but sagiri knew he was listening to everything.

”I don’t know. It was the only thing left on me. that is what my adoptive parents said,”Sagiri said, and Kolu looked even more curious.

”Where did your parents find you? Do you bear any tribal mark?” Kolu asked.

”My stepfather says they found me by the door,” sagiri answered the first question but ignored the second.

”How does the weapon work? How do you trigger the retractable blades?” Matasi was the one who asked this time and Kolu looked like he wanted to hear the secret the most.

”I don’t know, it just happened on instinct,” sagiri said. It was true he did not know how to activate the blades and it frustrated him.

”How strange. Have been to almost all countries bordering Tagayia as a spy and have never seen such,” Kolu said, looking at the blade with admiration.

”I have heard of tribes who used to bound their weapons by blood using their secret art so that the weapon only responds to people who share blood. You might be a descendant of such a clan.” Kolu said and sagiri’s curiosity piqued.

”Are such clans still there?” sagiri asked with curiosity.

”Perhaps being a spy has made you mad. Don’t plant your madness in his head.” Salka finally opened his eyes. ”If your parents left you at a stranger’s door, it might mean they were just desperate and wanted to protect you. going to look for them might be the opposite of their wish,” Salka explained. What he said made so much sense, and sagiri almost wanted to let it go, but a seed of doubt had been planted in his head, and he wanted now more than ever to know what his clan was, even if it had become extinct.

”What makes a clan go extinct?” the question tumbled out of his mouth.

”Mostly war, especially the northern extinct tribes, others because of famine or just forced out of their homes and they merge into other tribes. Another very rare reason could be that they were eliminated....”

”Stop lying to the boy. There is no eat or be eaten rule of survival. If the boy goes mad because you can’t shut up, I will send you to Lanka for a year to fight in the pits for the mad king’s entertainment,” Salka threatened, and Kolu zipped his mouth.

The wheels turning in sagiri’s mind rolled even longer after Kolu had stopped talking and handed back the shadow blade spine. What could have happened to his clan? Had they been wiped out by war or famine or... but Salka had said the third speculation was not a thing.

So what happened to my clan?