Chapter 5

L iana’s eyes fluttered open, her vision coming into focus.

She awoke in a chamber of such grandeur that it seemed to defy reality, its towering walls adorned with tapestries that whispered tales from the depths of history.

She squinted at the bright light filtering through the windows and adjusted to her surroundings.

Her eyes were drawn to the throne she was bound to, a magnificent structure of polished rock that glowed, its rubies pulsating with an inner fire.

The air in the chamber was heavy with the scent of incense and burning candles, adding to the already opulent atmosphere.

Her ears detected the sound of rustling, whispers, her ragged breathing, and the soft crackling of wax tapers.

She sensed a presence, and her mouth went dry, her tongue sticking to its roof.

As Liana tried to move, she realized that she was strapped to the throne with ropes of thick, gilded metal that were digging into her skin.

She sank into the smooth surface of the obsidian, cold against her back.

The air rippled, and a cluster of imposing figures materialized in a semicircle before her, their faces etched with solemnity.

They wore flowing robes of rich silk, cinched at the waist with belts of hammered gold.

Behind them, a phalanx of the same dark-plumed creatures that had captured her stood guard.

Liana jolted.

‘Who are you fokkin’ people?’ she whispered.

The eldest of the group was a woman with platinum hair and piercing amber eyes. She wore a long metallic embossed robe with silver and ebony wings folded rearward.

She stepped forward, lifting a hand in a gesture of peace. ‘We don’t mean you any harm.’

‘Why have you brought me here?’ Liana demanded, her voice ringing out in the cavernous space. ‘Release me at once!’

‘We can’t. But don’t be afraid. You are among your kind now, Liana. We are the Ilki. Those who stand before you comprise the Council of Ilkan, the leadership body that governs our people. My name is K’Lita, Head Elder.’

Liana’s brows creased in confusion, for these were the beings she had caught whispers of during her travels across KoLakainos and the Thousand Mile Lands. ‘My kind? What do you mean?’

The elder’s gaze never wavered. ‘You were born an Ilki but raised in isolation by your father, Kultur.’

Liana’s forehead furrowed. Images flashed in her mind of a lean, ascetic man, of loneliness so deep, of entombment, and a silver eagle flying above her.

‘What was done to me?’ she demanded, her voice a ragged whisper. ‘I remember the ritual. The pain. And then nothing.’

There was so much she’d forgotten, so much she’d lost.

Had the memories of being one of these dark-winged hordes been stripped from her psyche?

The woman with amber eyes went on. ‘You were turned into a kríffin , a creature of immense power containing both Ilki blood and the soul of Khiron the Great Katánian King. Now, your might is needed to save us. Your people.’

Liana sat up. ‘How am I one of you?’

The elder gave her a sad smile. ‘You were taken away as a child by your father because he wanted to instruct you in your path. He encased you in a transparent, glass coffin to harness your abilities. Where you fell into a deep coma within the depths of Mount Karth. Until Kultur, with his kāugur and Shadowing sorcery, used dark kízakan magic to meld you with Khiron, the first ever King of Katánē, a kríffin Ilki, masquerading as a Sāb?r eagle.’

‘Why?’

‘You were the ultimate salvation—the ultimate Ilki Ascendant. You were intended to bring back the age of the Shadowing Ilki, to utilize your abilities to rain hell on Katánē and take over their kingdom. Do you remember any of it?’

Liana shook her head. ‘Not a lot, just flashes from when Killen, the Katánian Kíríga , saved and set me free.

Her mind whirled, a tempest of fragmented memories and unanswered questions.

She strained against the restraints, her strength returning, surging through her veins like molten fire.

The throne creaked and groaned beneath her struggles but held fast.

She sagged back. ‘If I’m so potent, why am I tied up at the moment?’

‘Because you don’t know the extent of your strength yet. Also, we’ve had to use a tremendous amount of íkan to restrain you. Right now, an entire flock of Shadowings surrounds you, their psyches interlinked, concentrating all their íkan on you. But this won’t last long. Your kríffin powers are returning even as we speak, and if you chose to, you could flame us all. We’re hoping we can talk some sense into you before you do.’

Liana stared at the speaker, using her íkan to dip into the assembled minds.

Their fear of her roared and washed over her, and she slow-blinked. ‘I see.’

One of the elders, a wizened man with a face like weathered stone, stepped forward. ‘You were purposed, Liana. Chosen to become the vessel for Khiron, to wield the mighty eagle’s power in defense of our people. We’re anticipating you’ll listen to our plight and come to our aid.’

‘But why me?’ she whispered, her voice tinged with desperation. ‘I’m not sure I can help.’

The elder’s expression softened, a flicker of sympathy in her eyes. ‘My name is Nakan. I’ve lived for decades, and I say that you can. Your destiny was foretold. While Kultur butchered his approach, his intent was well-placed. Your destiny is intertwined with the fate of our people. You are the key to our salvation or our destruction. You are a one-of-a-kind child. Born of transmuter and non-transmuter blood, you possess a unique affinity for ancient magic. And now, with the kríffin spirit within you, you are more powerful than any of us could ever hope to be.’

Liana’s mind reeled, and she inhaled to stem her panic.

‘Why do you -,’ eyes canting to the elder called K’Lita in human form, ‘appear so different to them?’

Liana moved her gaze to aim at the dark-feathered, long-plumed, red-eyed specters in avian appearance hovering in the background.

The female senior figure tightened her lips. ‘Our people are divided into two factions - two tribes. Those who embrace the ancient art of transmutation to humaniform, the Silkanth. And those who reject it, believing it to be an abomination, the Shadowings, who always choose to keep their avian configuration. While the rift between us has run deep for centuries, we have had to unite for the sake of our people. For Ilkan is in immense danger. Which is why we need you.’

Transmutation? Factions? None of this made any sense.

Liana had always believed herself to be unique and of singular power and purpose.

Yet here she was, confronted by a hidden truth threatening to upend everything she thought she knew.

She shook her head, disbelief etched across her features. ‘I don’t want this. I was held captive for most of my life. What I desire more than anything now is my liberty, not another span of servitude.’

K’Lita’s eyes narrowed. ‘It is not a matter of want but of need. Our enemies gather at our borders, their forces growing stronger daily. Without you, we will fall.’

Liana closed her eyes, tears of frustration and fear leaking from beneath her lashes. She sensed the power thrumming within her, a siren song of freedom and rebirth. The last thing she wanted was to serve a new master for an indefinite time, and she rebelled in her heart at the injustice.

‘Perhaps if you see what we’re up against?’

Liana opened her eyes and used an indecipherable íkan tendril to slip once more into their minds.

They meant well, she deduced. With a sigh, she decided to give them a chance to explain their logic.

With a slight jerk of a chin, she acquiesced to their plea.

K’Lita twisted to the dark-winged silhouettes at the fringe of the sovereign circle, and they dropped their upraised wings.

Their kízakan sorcery manacles snapped, and the shackles holding her to the throne seat fell away.

Liana rubbed her aching wrists and let K’Lita help her to her feet.

The Council as one turned to exit.

With K’Lita flanking her, Liana followed, awe-struck in wonder, as they led her out of the monarchical chamber into a subdued hall. The air was thick with the scent of incense and ancient magic, lingering from whatever rituals had taken place in the chamber before her arrival.

Underneath it all, a faint metallic tang lingered, almost like blood.

At the center of the room stood a massive obsidian basin, its dark aqua surface shimmering with an otherworldly gleaming.

‘Behold, Kwen? -In-Waiting,’ one of the oldest elders in the room intoned, his voice deep and resonant. ‘The Crying Pool of Ilkan. Through its waters, we may glimpse the fate of our people.’

Liana stepped forward, her heart pounding as she peered into the swirling depths.

At first, she saw only her reflection, her unusual plumage glinting in the eerie light.

But then, the liquid expanse altered and changed, revealing a scene of unimaginable horror.

Ilki children, their faces streaked with tears and blood, ran screaming through the streets of a burning village.

Mothers clutched their babes to their breasts, trying to shield them from the merciless blades of the foreign warriors.

The air was filled with the stench of smoke and death, the ground slick with the gore of the innocent.

‘ Nada ,’ Liana whispered, her utterance breaking with anguish. ‘This cannot be.’

The visions shifted again, showing her the full extent of the devastation.

Entire towns lay in ruins, their once-proud buildings reduced to rubble and ash.

Fields of golden wheat, the lifeblood of the Ilki people, trampled beneath the claws of raging enemy combatants, the crops left to rot in the sun.

‘You see now the true face of our enemy,’ Elder K’Lita said, her tone heavy with sorrow. ‘They will stop at nothing to destroy us, to wipe our people from the face of Ilkan.’

Liana tore her eyes from the horrific view. ‘Who are they? The marauders?’

‘They are Katánian,’ a new voice hissed with disdain.

It came from one of the dark-winged, plumed Shadowings, its red eyes boring down at her.

‘They are the fallen army who lost the civil war battle against the current Kíríga of Katánē. Chased from their empire for their treachery, they now attack our border, hoping to take over our rich farmlands for themselves because their troops are starving. They also have no home and seek to invade us. It’s diabolical.’

‘And who might you be?’ Liana asked the enigmatic feathered form.

It glowered at her as its vocalization descended into enraged hisses and clicks.

Liana flinched, recalling the creature from her capture, and inhaled a shaky breath.

She turned back to the human-formed Ilki elders. ‘What do you think I can do for you?’

K’Lita’s expression was a grim mask. ‘We need you to please embrace your destiny, Liana. Become the weapon we hope you’ll be. Defend your people, and strike down our foes with the fury of the Crimson Phoenix. Our army is too small and not equipped to defend against the might of the K?str?ls. Don’t forget that even though they’ve broken away from the main Katánian army, they still retain their ruthlessness.’

Liana’s heart raced, her mind in a whirl with conflicting emotions.

If what the elders said was true, Ilki needed a healing hand.

Nonetheless, her doubts remained. She had never wanted to be a pawn in a war or bear the weight of an entire kingdom on her shoulders.

She whirled around. ‘I’m not sure I can do this.’

K’Lita nodded. ‘You need time to think it through.’

‘I do,’ Liana said, hesitating. ‘One more more thing, one of you called me ‘ Kwen? ’? Why?’

The councilors exchanged glances.

K’Lita spoke up after a beat. ’Because if you choose to take up this mantle, you will become our Queen. Besides the Council, the Ilki have been without a single unifying ruler for years. We require you as a monarch for reasons beyond your lineage or title. The land is fractured, and our people are weary from years of relentless battles, invasions, and internal strife. In these bleak times, we require a leader who embodies both strength and compassion, who can inspire hope and command respect on the battlefield.’

Liana scoffed. ‘I don’t have that; I’ve not ever ventured to war or held a sword against a sworn enemy, apart from you friends over there,’ she said, waving at the glowering Shadowings.

Elder K’Lita shook her head. ‘You’re wrong. You have the essence of Khiron in you, and we know that the majestic Eagle fought alongside our soldiers in days long gone. Your presence on the front line will be more than symbolic—it will be empowering. If our armed forces know that their queen, imbued with the spirit of the greatest warrior in history, is willing to risk her life for them, they will have something greater to fight for.’

Liana took another shaky breath, her eyes fixed on the pool, still rippling with images of utter and abject distress. Her heart twisted with compassion. ‘I’ll need time, please,’ she whispered.

‘May we ask that you do your thinking here, inside the city of Ilkan?’ The female head councilor murmured. ‘The Ilkanisa, this palace within which we stand, is yours. Stay awhile until you have made your mind up.’

Liana hesitated, then gazing at the beseeching faces before her, she assented. ‘As long as I can return to my k?lajan in the wilds and retrieve my belongings—they’re meager but mine—then I will give this all some thought.’

The elder exchanged glances with her fellow council members and then nodded. ‘We can agree to that. Just don’t draw out your decision.’