Capítulo 17: The Golden egg
Everyone present in the temple was stunned. They couldn't believe what had just happened. Typically, monsters found in the depths of the temple were extremely difficult to deal with. Even more so, temples of grand shelters.
More than that, they understood that it had already been a miracle for them to so easily traverse the expanse of the shelter without encountering any monsters. While the aura at the entrance was enough to repel many kinds of beasts that would wander into the cave, there were those it couldn't keep off.
Moreover, there were beasts born from undergrowths that could arise and take charge of a territory. These were the most dangerous threats as they were born of magic. It was no secret that the mayi forefathers were skilled in magic.
Many of the artifacts gave off power even without activation. Such power seeping into nature's life-giving essence could grow creatures of unimaginable shapes and sizes. With enough time, even behemoths would emerge.
Facing such a threat, they had walked all the way in and killed a giant bug as though it was nothing. They had no way of explaining what had happened. Many attributed this to Chege, and they cast gazes of worship at him. Whatever he had done, they knew one thing, it paid to be in overpowered company.
Many had wondered why the High Priestess Menza had chosen them to take on one of the 5 Grand shelters, especially given the weakness in strength. It was no secret that only with large numbers would they take the shelter, and even then, success was not guaranteed. Yet now she wanted them to take such a difficult shelter when their numbers had dwindled so severely? Was she insane?
What was even more surprising was that she had insisted on a few people going. Even at their prime, they would still have sent hundreds of warriors, yet now they sent 30? The looming threat Chege felt at the entry was very real.
The old mayi had kept herself segregated. In her heart, she wondered if her gamble would work. If it didn't, she would have just thrown away the top seeds of the community, those primed to be the leaders of tomorrow. The younger generation looked up to them, and Chege, the icon who was more like a god.
Despite all she stood to lose, Menza still took the gamble. If she was right, and that was a big IF, then what that would mean to her people. She couldn't even begin to fathom the possibilities. She closed her eyes and prayed, hoping against hope that she was correct.
That night, she didn't sleep. She didn't even budge from her position. She lay on the ground supplicating to her gods, praying for it to be true, the fulfillment of prophecy. There was a lot that was off, but there was hope.
"They are coming!"
"Look, look! They are alive, al of them!"
"All of them?"
"Yes, look, by the gods, they live!"
"Momma! Momma! Daddy's back, Daddy's back!"
The crack of dawn came with great news as the warriors returned. They had taken the shelter, it was theirs! There had been a somber mood at the camp, as many even doubted the return of their heroes. Fear and apathy grasped at them, but now, there was hope!
Many couldn't believe it. This was a grand shelter. Even taking a small shelter like the one they'd been in was difficult enough, so how could taking such a big shelter have been so easy. What's more, there were no fatalities, everyone came back. No weapon was damaged. No sign of them having been in battle.
Chege didn't understand their shock. He had been told that they are going to scout. That is what he believed they were doing. Yet somehow the people seemed shocked to see them come back. It was a glorious homecoming like no other.
All this time, Chege had been in a great mood. When he threw his punch, he didn't expect it to be that overpowered. He expected a hard fight, and quite frankly, he was disappointed by the monster's seeming weak frame. He was conflicted though, was he that overpowered, or was the enemy that weak?
The looks of worship being cast his way brought joy to his heart, although he was also apprehensive.
Firstly, something had been weighing on his heart for quite some time. Ever since he was small, he understood one thing, powerful mages would awaken their powers at a very young age. The younger a mage was when they awakened their power, the more powerful they would end up being.
Chege didn't know he had magic powers until he was in the base with the humans. Awakening your abilities at age 12 meant that you had very little to no potential in magic, you might as well give up. Chege had unlocked his abilities at the age of 18, but surprisingly, they were more overpowered than any he'd ever seen.
Chege had seen mages, even royal mages in his city. They were powerful and commanded respect. Their rule was law over their fiefdoms. Those that had been raised to such prominence could rival his current abilities, but to get to such powers needed arduous hours of training and growth. Something Chege had not done. He didn't even understand the extent and power of his abilities.
That had been well and good when it came to magic, but now, he understood that his fists had the power to tear down a monster in half. Seeing the thing obliterate like that scared him the most, as he didn't understand where all that power came from. What was happening to him?
This, along with the other mysteries surrounding his life, weighed down on him hard. He was not sure whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, but one thing he did do was miss the canyon he had slept in that fateful night. He also wondered how he ended up on a cliff, which was the start of his woes. Was he equipped to deal with such trials?
The second matter was his dealings with the mayi people. It was obvious now that they were not be trusted. They had withheld information which was vital to his survival. It seemed like a test, despite all he had done for them.
Chege may have been a kid but he had raised himself since he was a child. With his parents giving up on life, he had no one to look after him, so he looked after himself. He could tell well when someone was trying to use him, which was what he felt the mayi were trying to do. It was like they didn't mind the freak as long as it did its part, and if it fell, well, too bad. The same care that was given to a dog on a hunting trip was what was being accorded to him.
He had been fortunate so far, but who knew when his luck would run out. All in all, he needed to change the dynamics of this relationship. But that would have to wait, for something magical had happened to him.
Back at the temple, when he had slain the monster, they had seen a golden egg laid on the main altar of the temple. According to the Mayi custom, by crushing the egg, they claimed the shelter to themselves.
However, Chege didn't know of this custom, so his eyes glowed when he saw the egg. He too knew of such an egg, something very rarely seen, and quite the treasure. He almost squealed when he saw Kassam move to crush the egg, quickly snapping and protecting the egg. Since then, he had not stopped cradling the egg, much to the other's surprise.
However, the instructions of the mother were quite clear. He was in charge of the mission, even without knowing it. They were to do whatever he commanded, and that was why Oyoo tagged along, so she could translate his orders if he issued any. This one didn't need translating though.
The golden egg, a hunter's trophy. There were very few times when one find such a treasure. Even then, being in a position to take it was another matter since they were almost always surrounded by powerful monsters.
Back in his hometown, only powerful mages who commanded large battalions could even get close, and they wouldn't dream of crushing the egg, not for the promise of what was within. A treasure that could start wars across countries.
As a child, one such nest had been discovered in their area. Not even their city lord was powerful enough to go against the monsters that lay around that area, and he eventually had to retreat. The nest ended up under another city lord's command.
The moment that city lord got the treasure, everyone came to entreat with him. All the would-be enemies in the area gave in to his demand, showing that his treasure was the real deal.
Common folk like Chege never got to learn what he got from the nest, but whatever it was, it was enough to change the political climate of the area. There were many myths and legends about what was contained, but no one knew for sure. There were even those that said that the egg never hatched, but all that was just rumors.
By the time Chege went missing, that city lord remained the overlord of the area, and that was largely due to the influence he commanded from his egg.
Once the warriors came back, the entire community began the process of resettling, it would take many days and long arduous work for the shelter to become habitable long time. Most of that Chege would just be a spectator.
These were happy days indeed. The threat that had almost torn apart their race and eradicated them seemed to be a thing of the past. They focused on rebuilding their shelter and rebuilding their lives.
In the great temple, the high priestess paced back and forth. Last she had been in such a shelter she was just a priestess, young and restless. She had no access though, mostly just limited to serving the higher-ups. Now here she was, at the helm, free to go wherever she was. There were much much fewer than they were back then, but the spirit pressed on.
She had one task though, and that was the hardest part. She had got her confirmation, time to give him his. There was a reason she had insisted on taking this shelter. It wasn't all because of how close it was to them.
She had been kneeling in front of the altar for an entire day. After her hours of prayer, she stood up and walked to Chege's chambers. He still was where he was supposed to be, cradling his egg. He was trying to figure out how to get it to hatch. Under no circumstance was he going to crack it before it was ready.
When she entered, she bid him follow her, which he complied with. It was a long trek, through winding paths. Though curious where they were going, he still kept to himself, not asking anything.
Finally, they came upon another door. The high priestess led him into the door, and the view blew Chege's mind away.
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