Chapter 129: The Dark Orphan

Fifteen years after she got injured, Rafiyan Hilhusa died. King Rafiya cried so hard over the loss of his only daughter but eventually forgave Bihanzin. He forbade anyone from saying how it happened as he didn't want Bihanzin to be ostracized. As a result, many people were ignorant of how the princess died.

Eleven years after the death of Hilhusa, King Rafiya made Bihanzin the second division commander of his army, which made Bihanzin the most powerful man outside the royal family, only second to the first division commander.

He spent nineteen years in that station, where he became successful in many battles until his name became widely known in the world.

At the end of that year, Ururu had some misunderstanding with King Rafiya, concerning the trade of talismans and runes in the lower worlds' market.

King Rafiya was the major dealer of talismans in all the lower worlds. But, following that misunderstanding, Ururu stopped the trade. In those days when the talisman trade was booming, the Rafiyan kingdom was the chief of the other kingdoms, and it was because of the trade. People even thought that one day, the Rafiyans could rival the Ururu in might. And this was thought to be the reason why the trade was stopped by Ururu.

Whatever the reason, King Rafiya didn't agree to that decree. He continued his trade and ignored the orders of the first world. But his decision brought the wrath of the second world King, King Dul'Ururu, upon the Rafiyans. Dul'Ururu led an army of twenty thousand men to Rafiya.

So the Talisman War began.

It took seven years of war but there was no victor. Bihanzin started wielding the 'perpetual damage' in that war. King Dul'ururu realized he was losing his men and if it went on like that, it would be a disaster to the second world. He decided to look for the one man that had become the greatest obstacle for him, the one man who prevented him from winning the war. That man was Bihanzin.

No one knew how it happened. But King Dul'ururu found a way to negotiate with Bihanzin. He promised to make him a jinzidal King if he would allow a deliberate loss of this war. Bihanzin obliged. And that became the end of Rafiyan's might.

Bihanzin disappeared from the battlefield, which forced King Rafiya to concede and stop the talisman trade. It was said King Rafiya had cursed Bihanzin because of his betrayal, hence the change in his hair color from red to white.

The people of the lower worlds that witnessed the talisman war nicknamed Bihanzin the Dark Orphan. Bihanzin wasn't thrilled with the name, and so he made use of some heinous curse of his own. It was said whoever told the story of the talisman war, or called Bihanzin the Dark Orphan, would dream of a black raven that night, and in the morning, their body would swell and burst. People became afraid and stopped talking about it.

"Time passes slowly and people forget about their history," Ikenga said with a sigh.

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The black-eyed boy said, "You will probably wake up bloated next morning, uncle."

Ikenga and Kàna laughed at this without replying.

After a short while, Kàna pointed to a forest in front of them and said, "I heard that Red Rider and Acid Rain chased Bihanzin the Dark Orphan to that forest."

The boy frowned. "Kana, even you are not afraid of dreaming about the black raven? Don't you know Bihanzin will curse you?"

They roared with laughter.

***

At the same time Ikenga and his companions discussed Bihanzin's and Rafiyan's history, Armad and his team were in Jaljus island. King Han'ibal's deputy had already released Armad in exchange for the royal family, which made Ilias, who was left in charge after Armad had left, exchange the royal family for Armad.

Armad was still not fully conscious, which forced them to find a hideout in an old cave instead of running back to the battlefield. Ilias produced a long chain made of white beads from his bag of holding and hung it on the cave's entrance. It was to keep away Benders from sensing their pol.

Spoon sat down by the side, sweating. When he could no longer take it, he said, "Why didn't we ask for meat in exchange for the royal wives? I am sure that every wife is worth at least fifty camels. But here I am starving to death."

Ilias looked at him and said, "Go out and hunt instead of complaining."

Spoon was startled. The sweat around his face noticeably increased. "Hunting? You must want me dead. Do you even know how many beasts are hiding in this godforsaken fog?"

They started arguing. Spoon wanted Ilias to get them food, while Ilias insisted he would be alright without food for a week. Their ten companions were just laughing because they were used to Spoon and Ilias' arguments. They heard from Armad that only Nusi could stop the duo.

On one side of the cave was Inara sitting beside Armad. Armad's eyes were still closed and his breathing was labored. Soul Substitution had taken its toll on him.

In the midst of that, Ilias heard Armad stuttering, "N..nos..tal..gia… Nos…"

He had to listen carefully to hear what Armad was saying.

***

Meanwhile, in a faraway place, King Han'ibal, dressed in armor, walked. Behind him were his three most trusted commanders. Thick snow fell everywhere around them. They weren't able to see ahead because of it, but the moment the snow touched them, it would melt.

They walked slowly, all of them quiet and attentive. Their pol sense was fully activated, searching for any danger or surprise attacks.

A while later, the group suddenly stopped and reached for their swords.

The darkness that came with the snow faded. Ahead of them, a great wall with seemingly no end emerged. There was no snow on the wall. The greyish stone that made up the wall made a sharp contrast to the huge gate made of red metal and the two pillars by the side of the gate.

As they stood there, alert, one of the pillars moved. It transformed into a black-winged creature with seven pairs of wings and heads. On its hands were a whip and a jinni-made metallic chain. It opened its many mouths and said, "Who are you? What brought you to the Wall of Kisra? Lies here is the wall that separates the jinni realm from that of humans?"

"I am King Han'ibal, son of Han'Harun, I came to fight Hidaya Wilberforce," Han'ibal replied.

The other three people with him also answered, "I ám Han'Adamul Kanzubuk, better known as Bush Flame. I came to fight Hidaya Wilberforce."

"I am Han'Rabilu Duna, better known as Sea Flame, I am here to fight Hidaya Wilberforce."

"I am Han'Inki Ru'az, better known as Ash Flame, I am here to fight Hidaya Wilberforce."

"Hidaya Wilberforce?" The creature repeated the name in a strange tone. He sounded as if he was tasting the name or surprised by it, or both. "You're here to fight Hidaya Wilberforce?"