Sulphur & Lightning Chapter 15: 014 - Leonine

Read chapter 15 of Sulphur & Lightning by anaugustauthor on NovelPedia.

After listening to this narrative, Danjuma looked down at the golden manilla that he and many other noble scions wore on their wrists as a sign of their positions and wondered how much of this twaddle he could credit. No doubt that Chukwu did create all things, but what about this talk of the blood of a god being the source of Gold? It was without a doubt the most amazing of the three classes of metals (Earth and Moon being the other two), but he also knew the habit of these so-called priests of devoting themselves to endless genealogies and myths and not the stewardship of God. Regardless, he saw the man off with respectful farewells before turning back to the reason of his visit. Contrary to expectations, what followed was the most pointless of small talk; their separate travels, gossip of the local and harmless scandals among the nobility and even, briefly, on the many beautiful young mistresses both within and outside the clan. Garo, as the oldest by a significant margin, an important member of the Dari clan’s hierarchy and (if his faction were to be believed) the true heir apparent of the clan, was already in courtships for a first wife. The Elves, like most of the population of Reigina, were quite open to polygamy, as it aided in the begetting of suitable offspring. In fact, Garo and the younger pair were only half brothers, accounting for the almost decade of difference between the oldest and his immediate younger brother. This wasn’t seen as an overly important fact, though, as even third cousins often saw each other as brothers while simultaneously observing the necessary class differences between main and branch families. It was a scenario that seemed contradictory, but, as was often the case in this land, still occurred. Soon, the talk drifted to the immediate business, and Danjuma related the exact events of his trip. Garo expressed no feigned shock about this but instead admitted that he was aware of it. More than that, he pulled a few pieces of parchment and threw them onto the table. Observing them cursorily, Danjuma saw that they were strategic maps. To be precise, they were strategic maps that detailed the threat levels and migration patterns of the beasts on the routes he and his entourage had used for their hunt. Most importantly, they were different from the ones he had received before setting out for the journey. Rather than denying cognisance of the event, he was throwing the evidence of his own meddling out at the slightest prompt. The younger brother, despite knowing of his elder’s bluntness and disregard for guile, was properly shocked at this level of boldness. After all, this could easily be interpreted as making a move on elders of the Dari clan. The warm yet determined amber eyes stared back at him without any indication of fear or guilt. Danjuma, a young master armed with many gifts, including his silver tongue, found himself stymied by this boldness. All his plans to eke out information from him through subtlety and cunning had gone out the window with this fearless action of his. As expected, he thought resentfully, he is far more deserving of the name Lion. The second young master leaned back into the plush material of the chair and let himself feel at ease in what could only be described as an over-comfortable posture. All the refinement and poise he had been displaying earlier had evaporated faster than drops of water on a heated pan. “Aciyau and Afiri both perished.” The words were nearly sighed out. “I’m truly sorry.” “Brother,” he said, his voice reflecting the tiredness of his posture like a mirror, “why don’t we put an end to this already?” Garo listened to his words attentively, as though eager to hear what his brother planned. “For now, it is servants, but it won’t be long till we have no choice but to shed the blood of our own brothers. I’ve never grudged you the right to be clan lord or envied our father’s seat, and I promise not to be an obstacle on your path… there’s still time to