Author's note: This story is the third chapter in the series of Eugenia, Omnipotent Being in Female - No 2.
Chapter 2: Prince Kenai is now King Kenai after the death of his father. The differences in personalities, outlook, and ruling style is stark and immediately recognizable. What the people in the Kingdom saw with the severe and restrictive changes, they did not agree. The prophesy delivered to the former king was dismissed.
~
"It shall be on the day that the rains of autumn push against our shores, rushing into the temple. On that day, the sun will not set, neither will the dawn rise.
Those who banished us shall come by the thousands seeking refuge.
Our help they detest, for they fear us. But our help they will beg, for we are the only salvation of this land. On that day, one shall rise in love's embrace to rule the land that is Kyaco."
~
The mercenary, Jorang, and his group continued to sow the seeds of distrust. It didn't take long to spread throughout. Policies were set in motion that would divide and forever change the Kingdom.
~
The King pressed forward his goal of riches and wealth.
Now, Chapter 2
The Forsaken People
King Kenai of Kyaco sat as tall as he could manage anxiously waiting. In a heightened sense of accomplishment, throne illuminated as brightly as his face. He had managed to initiate what his father was afraid to...move forward into the future.
He congratulated himself. Procurement of the foreign deal that would bring wealth to the Kingdom of Kyaco was a source of pride. He announced to all the expected arrival of his purchase to toil and enrich his land.
Jorang, the head mercenary, smirked as he advised the King it appropriate to greet the new people he'd just purchased near the place where they were to be offloaded. He agreed, partly due to him not wanting the Slaves to enter his magnificent castle.
He agreed.
Mid day on the eastern shore of Kyaco. The breeze waffling through the palm trees would have soothed had it not been for the scorching temperature that rained down steadily due to the dwindling forest, now changed.
The citizens approached cautiously to witness the historic event. They soon retreated several feet as planks from the ships were lowered to the shoreline.
The new people had arrived.
Kyaco grew instantly by 40,000 people. Jorang reported that 10,000 failed to survive the perilous journey. The bottom of the sea was now their home. However, the overseers had a deadline to meet. Mercy was not a luxury.
These tall, dark-skinned people looked completely different from the citizens of Kyaco.
Their hair was matted close to their heads. If grooming had ever been applied, they could not understand where and how.
All smelled of urine and filth.
Oversized clothing was in enormous proportion to the size of their bodies. What little clothing they did have covering their bodies were now torn, with stains of blood mixed with tears of despair covering the entirely of them.
Men's pants bore holes exposing their knees.
Their feet were not afforded the comfort of shoes. Instead, cloth tapered foot ware, a size too large, with no soles were held together with burlap sack string.
Although dirty and worn, women wore strange, colorful head dressings with torn matching coverings around their bodies.
Strange indeed these people.
King Kenai stood, elegantly dressed, at the edge of the shore atop a specially-built platform. To be viewed as dominant and worthy to lead was his mission.
"Foreigners. I know from whence you came. Do not be afraid of me or your new country. You will dwell here with all you need to flourish. You'll find the Kingdom of Kyaco welcoming."
None of the words King Kenai spoke to the people was true. His carefully constructed speech avoided the use of the term "Slaves." The new people wouldn't have understood his meaning as he intended it to apply.
The people were so different from the original citizens. How should they accept them at their table? they wondered.
"Where did your new people come from?" Murmurs from the citizens grew louder.
King Kenai didn't answer, ignoring their questions. He needed laborers. Not just for the harvest, but to rebuild Kyaco. And he needed a considerable number. This initial installment was only the beginning.
His desire was to keep the Slaves separate from the original citizens. The less the citizens knew about the Slaves, the better it would be for the Kingdom, he reasoned.
His goal was complete assimilation. No resistance.
His tactics in achieving this goal were adopted from the foreign countries. Absolute submission and adherence to his rule of law.
Not all the King's citizens resisted such change. Those in favor of his new policies were the people who would be rewarded for their loyalty with raised status and allowed to share in its new wealth. This small group banded together in a secret society. They were the desired citizens and not expected to perform manual labor.
However, unexpectedly, Benylon, an outspoken original citizen, shouted, "The Forsaken People" for that's surely what they will become." Others agreed, but dared not speak aloud of their fears. They feared the new people. Their feelings were that, if the new people rejected King Kyaco, they'd turn on him and them in the process.
The King desired that his country admire him for accepting the new people into their Kingdom and showering them with his benevolence.
Instead, word spread rapidly of his deceit.
The Forsaken Humans as they were called. Formerly a free people, they entered into servitude. Brought to that remote land forcibly, they managed to survive.
Thirty years passed.
Silently witnessing the unfair treatment the Slaves received compared to that of the original citizens, the rain forest of Kyaco knew it could not endure forever the pain and misery of forty thousand people suffering under the weight of oppression.
Retribution
It was the year of the sickness.
Some say it was the rain forest's revenge descended upon the Kingdom. A mysterious disease. It began innocently and without incident. A skin rash that resembled one of the arachnids in the forest. Circular in shape and bronze in color, lines spread out from the core, At the end of each were pustules.
The citizens of Kyaco dismissed it as a mere irritation. The forest held many wonders they'd yet to discover. No need for panic.
One by one, the mysterious circular rash infected additional citizens. They visited the healers. Baffled by the odd shape and resulting puss-filled, dark crimson bumps, the healers applied a herbal balm and dismissed them.
It was within the circumstances of this mysterious disease that the Forsaken People suffered. Their harsh labor conditions without compensation in the forest and fields was intense. With bare hands, they toiled. Grueling, many died under the strain.
Benylon, the woodcutter assigned to instruct the Foresaken People in the ways of Kyaco's labor, was a kind, gentle man. He listened to the Slaves. Some spoke his language. They told of their land and their customs.
He learned from the Slaves, as they learned from him about Kyaco and the former day of peace and tranquility.
Word soon spread how hard working these new people were. But the original people still refused to accept them as equal citizens. King Kenai has already labeled them Slaves, and interior.
Saddened and angered, he railed in private. Livid thinking the new people had to work without compensation. To bring foreigners to their land of plenty to toil the vast forest without pay or shelter was horrible and cruel.
His decision made, he set out to rectify the situation if he could. He arranged to meet with the leader of the Forsaken People. His quest was to form a committee to bring about change in their servitude status.
He rose in a cheerful mood. He'd come to respect the new people. Mildly surprised, their ways were different, but he discovered numerous areas of their lives where their beliefs intertwined with the original people of Kyaco.
By the time he reached the leader's small quarters, he felt weak and fell in the road. Several new people carried him to their leader.
He told how, at the onset, he experienced a slight headache and fever. But he paid no attention, nor did he seek treatment.
However, on the road that day, nauseating and vomiting was the least of his worries. Weak from exhaustion, his headache intensified. The leader requested that he disrobe. Worried for his own people, the leader of the Forsaken People ordered all others to leave.
A bronze colored rash had developed. Innocent looking, he had ignored the one small lump on his arm. The look of a brown recluse in design. He scratched it, then scratched his face. Raised lumps, painful to the touch, grew larger.
He screamed, staring at his arms in horror, perspiration beaded near his brow. Blood pounded in his ears as a sudden jolt of fear overtook him. His body change before his eyes. Puss with a foul odor oozed from the bumps.
Workers rushed Benylon to their elected Chief.
Upon seeing his infection friend, he remained calm. From experience, he remembered this type illness. Foreigners brought it to their land.
The Chief pronounced the disease, the "Whispering Forest Plague."
What the chief didn't know was that half the original people of Kyaco was now infected with the disease. It was not until their children fell ill that panic set in. The children had not labored in the forest.
Though the disease spread like wildfire among the original people, the chief knew that not one of the Forsaken People was infected. Knowing Beynlon would spread the disease, the Chief requested that he remain with him and not return among his people to protect them. He agreed.
Word spread of the name the Slave had given the disease.
Word of the Whispering Forest Plague finally reached King Kenai.
For the first time, fearful for his own life, he forbade all people to enter the Castle walls. King Kenai forgot about the wealth. He forgot about the riches. He forgot about his own people. The only concern now was to save his own life from the Whispering Forest Plague.
The people he purchased willingly and commanded ships built to bring them to his Kingdom.
He wished he'd never taken the advice of the foreigners. But it was too late.
He would not consider his own people as the source of the plague. He was too proud. To save face, the Forsaken people was an easy target to shoulder the blame.
Officially, King Kenai was forced to declare that the ungodly Forsaken People was source of the Whispering Forest Plague. He didn't want to admit he made a mistake bringing the new people to Kyaco, but for different reasons.
Immediate orders were written to rid his Kingdom of the Forsaken People.
The Banishment
It was in the thirty-first year of the Forsaken People's enslavement. The Whispering Forest Plague still was upon them. King Kenai was livid his finest healers were unable to find a cure.
His orders were clear. "Find them. Hunt everyone of them down and destroy them. You told me to bring them here. If you don't, I'll have your heads this instant."
The original citizens became rebellious. Sick and dying, they needed an explanation and someone to blame for this calamity. Tens of thousands of lives were lost. Those who managed to survive endured a horrendous fate. Disfigurement. Their shamans didn't know how to cure it.
The original people of Kyaco began to whisper. Why didn't these foreign people become infected with the disease? They became incensed. Rumors spread that the Forsaken People were the origin of the plague. They brought it to their shore. They were the ones that caused the disease in the land.
Those Forsaken People must go else we will all perish. The sentiment spread across the Kingdom.
The original people's shaman had spoken. They could do without these strange people and their strange ways. They wanted nothing else to do with them in case they intertwined. No telling what become of both races of people mixing their blood. Never.
Homes burned to the ground. The original people took to the roads. Nowhere to go, they gathered at the bottom of Kyaco's Castle.
"Stay back. Don't bring this plague upon the King."
"But we have nowhere else to turn. Help us."* Their cries went unanswered as the guards stood steadfast, ready to release their weapons.
As predicted during the reign of King Kenai, hatred stirred deep into the hearts of men. Skillful mercenaries were now free to roam the rain forest. They sowed a calculated and relentless hatred for The Forsaken Humans that stirred deep in the hearts of men.
The original citizens believed the Chief had cursed their Kingdom for his Forsaken People's unfair treatment by the King. Afraid complete destruction of their Kingdom was near, they blamed the King for bringing these unclean people to their land.
Those ungodly and ugly people brought this upon us. Send them away.
Through the backdrop of the Whispering Forest Plague, the Forsaken People continued to toil daily.
But their time had come to an end.
King Kenai stood at the balcony of his Castle. "I hereby banish the Forsaken People from my Kingdom. They are known as Slaves. Any original citizen has my permission to slay them up on sight."
Numerous hunting parties consisting of people not already infected set out on a mission. They had orders from the King.
However, the Forsaken People had already left. Benylon, grateful for the Chief's medicine that cured him, warned them of the decree and banishment. The Chief took heed and rounded up his people.
By the thousands, the Forsaken People fled in the night.
They fled while the original people were gathered at the Castle begging for help from their King.
The hunting parties tracked the Slaves as far as they could.
Returning empty-handed, their mission failed. Neither could they locate the Slaves in the Kingdom. Evil spirits had surrounded their camp. By morning, any member of the hunting party left to tell what happened could not speak of it for their eyes and tongues no longer worked.
Guided back to the rain forest by the few who did survive, those men, with eyes glistening, and speaking in foreign tongues, bowed down and praised the name Eugenia, saying in unison,
and the night's moon shall not rise,
they who banished her people shall surrender,
and she who has a heart shall cause the place where you dwell to plummet
and bring forth a new nation to as a guide to all countries.
Those wishing not to perish, come. I will receive you."
King Kenai remembered the vague words brought to his father, King Sebastian.
Although livid, he laughed haughty and loud, then tapered off to a sneer. His narrow and corrupt mind have sunken the rain forest and its people into despair.
"Everyone who lives has a heart. What nonsense is this? You speak nonsense. Who is this person and what does those words mean? Who are "her people"? No one can provide protection to the people of the rain forest, except me. I'm in power. I need answers, Now! No one dictates to me? Any of you repeat what has been said this night shall perish. Your families shall perish."
King Kenai had no answer to his people for the Prophesy. And he had no cure for the Whispering Forest Plague.
The people of the rain forest shrunk from their leader and returned to their homes without hope...only the Plague ravishing their lives.
Suddenly, the sky darkened. From the North came a red cloud of dust that lit up the night at sunset.
Mizoh, Chief of the Forsaken People, was safe he assured his wife. Salada held his hand tightly and issued repeated thanks. Although in the end, nothing was left to salvage. Fleeing with only the sparse clothes on their backs, they were thankful to be gone from the rain forest of Kyaco.
Mizoh went out to survey the land for their long journey. He must ensure the remainder of his people were safe. Different groups led by his trusted people were nearby.
The sun was sinking behind the mountains of the rain forest. Only the desolate desert region lay ahead. This barren land was nothing foreign to the Forsaken People. Mizoh looked upward as the bronze apparition hurled across the sky. It's glow cast a strange shadow over the cave. He smiled.
Looking backward, Mizoh gasped as the cave glowed inside. He scurried down the hill.
Immediately, he heard a whimper, then a loud cry. Lying on dirty cloths as blankets, his daughter Eugenia was born.
My Fractal Art Project
In approaching my current stable diffusion project, my second series dealing with powerful women I titled: "Omnipotent Being in Female". My second female in this series is Eugenia. In creating Eugenia, I wanted to portray a beautiful African princess. Her story is one who rises to power to defeat an oppressive dictator ruling in a beautiful land. In order to tell her story, I first had to tell the history of the kingdom she knew nothing about.
Eugenia is a multi-part story.
Part 1: depicted the land of Kyaco, a beautiful rain forest.
Part 2: told of the decline of the kingdom after the King's death.
Part 3: above tells of the decision that brought the slaves to the kingdom.
Please stay tuned for Part 4 and beyond as Eugenia comes into her own in a land desperately requiring the gifts she has to offer.
To accompany my story, I included in this Part 3 three of my beautiful pure fractals I created in an advanced version of the open-sourced, free fractal rendering program, Apophysis 7X. I rendered the images on black backgrounds so that the intricate details could be seen.
Thanks for taking the time to view my post. I hope you like my fractal art project.
SOURCES:
a) JustClickindiva's Footer created in Canva utilizing its free background and images used with permission from discord admins.
b) Unless otherwise noted, all photos taken by me with my (i) Samsung Galaxy 10" Tablet, (ii) Samsung Phone, & (iii) FUJI FinePix S3380 - 14 Mega Pixels Digital Camera
c) Purple Butterfly part of purchased set of Spiritual Clip Art for my Personal Use
d) All Community logos, banners, page dividers used with permission of Discord Channel admins.
e) Ladies of Hive banner used with permission of and in accordance with the admin's guidelines
f) Thumbnail Image created by me in Canva.
g) "Flames." What is Apophysis 2.09. https://flam3.com/
Awww, this is damn good! Gonna have to go read the other ones 😍 and why was I not following you, what the heck, thought I was. Been doing that, about a dozen people now that I thought I was following that for some reason am not 😠
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Hello. Thanks for stopping by. I know you're busy, so it's a treat to hear from you. So pleased you found this short story interesting. Couple more chapters, and its finished. I'm usually in Alien Art Hive contriving something dark and dramatic. Then I head over to Freewriters.
Stay tuned!
You were following me for the past 2 years. Don't know what happened. Anyway, I'm happy to support The Alliance, and appreciate your support.
BTW...found some interesting liquidity combinations in the Pimp channel. Headed on over to Tribaldex, and luv the liquid/token distributions they yielded. TYVM for the tips.
Take care.
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BEER.Happy Easter to Prince kanai aswell 😉
Thanks for stopping by. He's now King Kenai. His father passed away.
Take care.
Well a king was a prince once and you know who I mean 😉 hope your Easter was great
Sometimes one can fall out of favor and find himself disinherited and someone else chosen. I hope you liked my fractal art, especially the one for the mysterious disease that affected the Kingdom.
Take care.