Freeday, 17th of Maia, 470th Year of the Fifth Era

It had been five days since the combined delegation of Goria and Hutangali had departed from the mountain village. King Tagam had joined the trek down to Goria with a total of two hundred people. Besides his immediate family including both of his wives, he had brought along with him several prominent members of his clan and their respective families along with the family of the Lord of Simarhosa. Besides them were also his many retainers and soldiers who acted as guards.

The rule and administration of Hutangali were left in the hands of a council led by his mother, the wife of the late king of Hutangali. Along with her, King Tagam had left a council of many of the more neutral-leaning elders to help in the stewardship of the realm.

They had crossed the Gorian-Hutangali border just a day prior and were now only about a week or so away from Goria proper. As always, the King and Lord Parulian were at the front of the entourage while the rest of the warriors were following behind. Many of the young Gorian warriors trailed a little bit behind the main entourage, serving as its rearguard.

As the afternoon slowly turned to evening, the entourage had decided to set up camp around the village of Lumban Rapmasari, the ancestral seat of power of the Rapmasari clan. To this end, Hesekiel had joined his father and grandmother as they acted as hosts to the entourage and led the feast within the village's great hall.

As the main branch of the Rapmasari clan - along with the other great clans of Goria - resided in Goria proper, the proxy rule of the village was entrusted to the Rapmasari Najonok clan, a junior cadet branch founded by a brother of Elder Rihar's great-grandfather. In total, that would mean the clan was at least seven times removed from Hesekiel. But regardless, the Rapmasari and the Najonok clan were still considered to be part of the same clan and they would always defer authority to the head of the Rapmasari clan in general or his representative.

The representative in this case being the apparent heir to Elder Rihar, Lord Hasudungan. Hesekiel - being Lord Hasudungan's primary heir - in turn also gave him rights as a lord of the Rapmasari. For his own part, Hesekiel had indeed spent quite a lot of time in the village as did all the young heirs of the other clans in their own respective ancestral seats.

After the obligatory welcoming feast to receive the King of Hutangali, he and his personal retinue along with that of the other Gorian Lords were given permission to lodge within several prominent buildings in the village. The rest of the entourage encamped themselves not far from the village. Hesekiel along with his father and grandmother were naturally granted the right to reside within the village's great hall.

It was within the late hours of the night did everyone finally return to their respective lodges to rest before they had to resume their journey the next day. Well, everyone except the few core members of the Rapmasari clan who were still up within the Great hall having a very clandestine meeting.

"...What you're telling us now is proving to be quite the headache, Holong." Ompung Ester had a difficult expression as she took a huff from her smoking pipe. "But it's impressive how you've managed to keep this under wraps. Are you positive none of this has leaked?"

"Unless abang Rihar had decided to tell anyone the contents of the letter I had sent, I am sure." The elder of the village spoke.

"Bujjang…" Lord Hasudungan spat out as he shook his head.

"Language, you fool." Ompung Ester didn't waste a second smacking her son with her pipe as he blurted that out. Despite that, the air in the room was still tense.

Hesekiel could feel that his brow was still creased as he sat with his arms folded. Elder Holong's report of what had transpired within the village in the time since they had last visited.

About a week before, several mutilated corpses had been discovered about two hours away from the village. What was troubling about the corpses was that they belonged to Elder Benget and a few of his family members and servants. They were discovered around an old burial site for warriors that had long been left in disrepair. It was the burial site of some long-extinct vassal clan of the Rapmasari's, hence the neglect.

Elder Holong had recounted how the excommunicated members of the Rapmasari clan had decided to isolate themselves near the village. They were a blot to the clan's reputation as the most zealous warriors of Christ. Everyone in Goria knew Elder Rihar in his glorious zeal and fire for the church. Thus, when it was discovered that the Elder's own youngest brother had betrayed the church in such a way to embrace the old pagan ways, it was a considerable shame and a heavy blow to the Rapmasari's pride.

Hesekiel thought it was folly to keep the disgraces within Rapmasari land. If the king could exile his own son, why couldn't his grandfather do the same to his younger brother? It was an ineffectively sentimental choice and from what Elder Holong was describing, it had grave consequences.

How foolish could the old git have been? Instead of reflecting upon his heathenry like the mercy that he was given entailed, he had instead doubled down upon his deviancy. And to what end was it all? His own untimely death. A stupid death. A death of his own making.

Elder Holong continued to explain the details surrounding the discovery of the corpses. The five mutilated corpses all had the markings of a beast attack. Claw marks on their bodies. Bite wounds on their extremities. Those features on their own in other places were the hallmarks of a Homang ape-beast attack. But some things didn't quite add up for that to be the case.

Homang beasts usually keep to their territories deep within the jungles or around one of the many dungeon-portals where they would spill out. Besides cases of dungeon breaks, the Homang rarely initiate an attack. And regardless of all that, the forests surrounding Lumban Rapmasari were not known to be the domain of any Homang.

"When we found the bodies, we also found the carcasses of a few animals, mainly goats. The animals weren't torn by beasts though…" Elder Holong continued his report "Bang Benget's corpse was holding an old sacrificial dagger and… we also found one of the old pustaha grimoires in his possession."

"...The idiot was conducting another ritual sacrifice…" Ompung Ester had blown out the smoke from her nostrils as she rubbed her temples frustratedly "Do we have any clue what rituals were being conducted?"

"...Lately we've had two women among our number who've experienced stillbirths…" Elder Holong said gravely. "...They died very shortly after they were born and… and our priests did not yet have the time to baptise them before they gave up the ghost."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Dear God…" Hesekiel saw his father make the sign of the cross when he heard Elder Holong report that. "Then that could only mean…"

"They were summoning a Begu ganjang (lit. 'Long Ghost' or 'Long Demon')." Ompung Ester had come to the conclusion.

Hesekiel felt his eyes had widened on their own. Could it truly be what they thought it was? The terrifying demon that was universally feared by all in the Halaklands. A demon whose stories were used by mothers to terrify misbehaving children. A demon said to form from the binding of the corrupted souls of those stillborn infants.

Hesekiel had only heard stories of the Begu ganjang but had yet to personally see one. And if he were being honest with himself, he wasn't very keen on rectifying that status. The Begu ganjang was said to be one of the spirits most frequently contracted and used by the great datu (shamans) of old. They were bloodthirsty beings, requiring fresh blood sacrifice offered by its contractor to sustain its presence and do its master's bidding. But if the one who summoned the beast was killed by it… This was a black omen.

Why would anyone in their right mind even think of bringing such a demon to Banuatonga (the mortal realm)? Truly the minds of those who cling to the old ways must be filled with nothing but rot. There could be no other reason for such stupidity to occur. A bloodthirsty demon unleashed with a thirst unlike any other.

"Have we had any reports regarding the possible whereabouts of the creature?" Lord Hasudungan asked the elder.

"We've had some reports of livestock going missing in some of our vassal hamlets not long after the initial discovery." Elder Holong answered "But we've lost track of any substantial trail since a few days ago. I was hesitant in forming a dedicated hunting party because I didn't know how powerful the demon we were dealing with truly was. Bang Benget, despite all that, was a fourth-circle shaman and the others who've died were also at least either third-circles or second star warriors."

"This situation threatens to ruin us. Both the safety of our ancestral lands as well as the integrity of our clan is at stake here." Lord Hasudungan frustratedly banged his hand to the wooden plank floor of the great hall. "Mother, I don't think we have a choice but to report this to Lae Ruli. If this goes on, it might turn into something bigger and threaten to blow up in our faces."

Ompung Ester took another huff from her pipe before slowly nodding, agreeing with her son. "I think we should stay here for the time being to settle this issue… Holong, I need you to write down a report detailing the events to the minutia. I need it done by today because at the strike of dawn, I expect that report to reach Ruli's hands so he can take it with him to the king."

"It will be as you say, akkang (elder sister-in-law)." Elder Holong said as he bowed.

"I'll go first to inform bang Ruli of this. It would do well if he were notified first before he receives the official letter." Hesekiel saw his father getting up to leave before turning towards him to speak once more. "Bang* (elder brother), I know I probably don't need to tell you this but for now, all of this stays between us here. Because you're participating in the Gotilon tournament, I am specifically instructing you to continue to accompany the main entourage to Goria and to Matanitao after that."

Hesekiel hesitated for a bit before he finally nodded his head at his father's statement. As the primary heir of the Rapmasari clan, it didn't feel right for him to sit a problem like this one out. If something was threatening his ancestral homeland, he wanted to do everything he could to try and deal with it. But he also understood in ambiguous situations like this, he couldn't do much but nod his head and be the dutiful son he always had been.

Hesekiel had a frown on his face as he laid himself down upon the cushioned mat on the floor which was his room. He rolled to the side to close his eyes but his mind was roaring, a messy jumble of thoughts that weren't quieting down. Why was he so useless and left behind compared to his friends?

Of course, he realised no one had told him that outright. He realised a lot of it was most probably his own mind echoing worries that he buried deep inside him. Growing up, Hesekiel had always buried himself in the various books and tomes that his grandfather and the missionaries had gifted him. It helped him take his mind off all sorts of worries. In the world of books and legends, he could immerse himself in a world where he could comfortably be the observer.

But the real world wasn't like his books. No, his life had expectations of him. Expectations that he found far too much of an inconvenience to him.

Hesekiel never liked to be at the center of attention for anything. He found dealing with people to be mostly tiresome. It wasn't to say that he hated interacting with people outright, but to him there was a difference between being left alone and being by himself. Growing up in a loud family like his own, he enjoyed being in the presence of others. But much like his books, he would prefer it if he were to be left alone to just be an observer.

However, despite his personal predisposition to being a loner and finding expectations tiresome, eventually he had come to have expectations of himself as well. His grandfather had expected him to be born with the affinity of being a mage, but instead he had his father's inheritance of being a warrior. Regardless, his grandfather had praised him to no end when he found out that he was able to read tomes and books by the age of three. Tomes that were hard to process even for many older adults.

His own parents never forced any sort of expectations on him, though. His mother had a difficult pregnancy when it came to him and had even experienced seizures just before he was born. Him just being born was reason enough for his mother to dote on him. Even after a few years, his many younger siblings had been born, his mother and father still doted on him.

But for the past year or so, Hesekiel had been caught in a rut. Besides Josias, he was the fastest to gain his second star in aura compared to peers his age. It had now been years since that time and his other friends who had awakened much later than him had already attained the third star of a warrior while he was left at the second star level.

As an aura warrior, he was on the same level as Sadrach. However, unlike Sadrach, he didn't have the talent to also wield raw magic along with the warrior's aura. He was stagnating and he felt it. Such thoughts had been occupying his mind for the past few weeks, which started when Johannes had ascended to the third star. It grew a little worse when Mateus had attained his.

If he were perhaps more powerful, he could at least help his clan's current situation. What was the best way to attain a way out of his current bottleneck?

Hesekiel could only breathe out loudly as he sat up from his bed. His mind was far too noisy right now. He felt restless. Itching in random spots of his body, the palpable heartbeats. All the telltale signs of panic.

Eventually, Hesekiel had managed to calm himself down somewhat by holding his hands out and wiggling his fingers as if he were playing a piano visible only in his mind. It was one of the ways he used to calm himself. He had refrained from doing such things in front of his friend, but Safira had caught him doing it one time and found it adorable. She started following him to play an invisible violin for some reason.

Hesekiel could only smile to himself as he was thinking of his fiance. He tried his best to maintain his neutral face every time he was around her but the beautiful woman only ever made it difficult for him. He didn't have to pretend to be expressionless when anyone else was involved, but Safira just had that something in her that managed to disarm his guarded persona.

Just as he was happily playing his favourite hymn on his invisible piano while the music was playing in his head, an idea had emerged in his head. He had doubts whether or not it was a good idea. Well, more than that, it was a foolhardy idea especially for someone like him. At this point though, if it could lead to at least the smallest clue to help in tracking down the demon, he was willing to try it.

And so with that in mine, Hesekiel had completely gotten up from his bed as he quietly went out the great hall with his sabre and his spear. He said a silent prayer in his heart, hoping that all would go well.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.