Slightly drunk from his heavy wine consumption, Talokta, with his gourd and goblet in hand, excused himself to retire to his personal quarters. His officers stood and saluted with fist across chest. Contrary to custom, he refused an escort. He needed to be alone. His mind was restless and drifted back to that unforgettable night when Kalvich and he were drinking together…
Kalvich, who had been drinking exceptionally heavily, out of the blue, drunkenly told his friend he would never go back to Graffa unless he had to.
Talokta coaxed out the story and though his master did not relay many details. What a story indeed.
Eons earlier Kalvich was visiting his brother, Sidonio who had also left the immortal dimension to marry a mortal Earth woman, a queen.
“Now, immortals mixing with mortals was serious and had extreme consequences. Sidonio was stripped of his powers. The number one rule of the gods was immortals were not allowed to interfere with mortal life whatsoever. My brother didn’t care. He was in love.”
Kalvich was thoroughly going to reprimand his brother’s foolish behavior.
“But when I laid eyes on the queen, I was spellbound.”
He had fallen in love at first sight. It had never happened before, and he knew it would never again. Intellectually, he knew it was more than that, as a voice that had always haunted him since he was a boy to watch for the “sign,” as this would bring powers that would even be greater than his.
“This ‘sign,’ Talokta, I knew was this woman, and the more I got to know her, the more positive I became. She was the gods’ mortal born Chosen One, the third attempt of an ‘experiment’ to see if this queen would lead the gods’ beloved human creations through evolution and grant them immortality, destined to bring greatness and unique powers. But she was innocent; the idiot alchemist had not told her, let alone trained her.
“I taunted Sidonio, that love is for weak fools and my pathetic excuse of a brother was no exception. But I admit to you today, that meeting Queen Leah, my life changed that very second.
“As soon as I saw her, this woman Talokta. The Chosen One. The owner of the blood stones.”
Talokta listened fascinated. Through jealousy and lust Kalvich slew his own brother and claimed Leah for his own. But through his own arrogance, he did not count on Leah’s reaction.
Kalvich’s voice broke, “In the end, she sacrificed herself.”
It was the first and last time Talokta saw his boss and close friend weep. “Cemel cursed her to die, at her request. But I knew the old man and his employers very well. He would somehow revive her sometime in the future, and this time I will not fail. I can finally take the great Trimadian Race and make good the promise I made from the start. Nothing will stop us.”
Talokta initially thought this was a fairytale brought on by the drink. But somehow, when he looked into his master’s eyes, he realized these strictly private and personal details were as real as he was sitting listening to it. Talokta assured him that he would do anything to help him.
A thought had occurred to the Commander why Kalvich had gone a step further and decreed that females of childbearing age were to be segregated in the Necradome City. It was not just a perpetual supply of hosts for the Cathexistome; females had always been held in total disregard in the Trimadian culture, which was of course the case even before Kalvich had shown up. Though, no male warrior complained about the double standard where any off duty warrior could sexually relieve themselves as they saw fit with any female. But any long term relationships were forbidden. Kalvich stated that females were a distraction and Trimadian warriors must always demonstrate strict discipline. Talokta, in his own way, could understand some of the hidden torment Kalvich was going through.
Talokta had quickly dismissed these thoughts. Even in his drunken state, Kalvich may misconstrue matters. For Kalvich was one of the few individuals in the known universe that possessed telepathy. Certainly, mind reading was not common among the Trimadians. Such were the many powers of his master.
Lord Talokta had now discovered a weakness in his master.
Several months after that occasion, Kalvich summoned Talokta and reminded him of the conversation they had.
“I have seen Leah. You must bring her to me.”
Rather taken aback, he asked, “How was this possible, my master?”
Kalvich opened his hand revealing a pulsating bloodstone.