It was fifty years before the tragedy at Kingdom Stadium. In the North, the rebellion had just ended. Chief Rundo the Fifth from the Capital District had sent his guards to defeat the rebels who had taken over the North District. The rebels had killed most of the North nobles. Only a few members of the Carvaress family managed to survive the violence. They hid in a cabin in the mountains. Locum Alset and his wife, Tarrina, were the only remaining Alset family members. They escaped the slaughter because they had moved to Carrington City. Locum’s health was poor, and he did not like the cold weather in the North District.

Chief Rundo and his guards had captured the rebels’ base. The few remaining rebels informed them that they kept prisoners in their basement. The guards knocked down the basement door to rescue them. They were met with an overwhelming stench.

‘There are no prisoners down here!’ exclaimed the captain of Rundo’s guards as he looked around the poorly lit basement. ‘Just rotting bodies. What these beasts have done is… beyond unimaginable.’

‘Sir, I think we found a live one,’ called out a guard.

The captain walked over to the guard. He was with a malnourished boy, who was covered in filth. The boy was chained next to a badly decomposed corpse.

‘Get him out of here immediately,’ replied the captain.

The guard carefully picked up the boy and carried him out of the basement. The captain looked down at the decomposed corpse. ‘I’m sorry, you did not deserve this,’ he said softly.

The captain left to talk to the captured rebels. Several guards entered the basement to clear out the bodies.

The captain grabbed one of the rebels. ‘Who’s the boy?’ he shouted at him.

‘A real little crybaby,’ chuckled the rebel.

The captain pulled out his dagger and used it to cut the tip of the rebel’s nose off. The rebel screamed in agony. ‘Was that how he cried?’ asked the captain as he poked the rebel’s ear with his dagger.

‘He was the chief’s son,’ spluttered the rebel.

‘What about the female chained next to him?’ shouted the captain as he started to slowly cut into the rebel’s ear.

‘She was his mother,’ screeched the rebel.

‘You dare violate the wife and child of a chief,’ said the captain as he dragged the tip of his dagger down the rebel’s face. He turned to the guards next to him. ‘Chain this lot up and whip them,’ he shouted to them. ‘Whip them until they scream no more.’

The guards grabbed the remaining rebels and chained them up in a row. They immediately began whipping them with the whips they had found in the basement. The rebels could be heard screaming as the captain approached a carriage that had just arrived. Chief Rundo climbed out of the carriage.

‘I see you have cleared this area,’ said Rundo to the captain as he approached.

‘These monsters tortured Chief Serinan’s wife and boy,’ said the captain. ‘The wife is dead, but miraculously the boy is alive.’

‘An heir remains,’ said Rundo. ‘At least that is something.’

The captain nodded.

The leader of the rebels had retreated into the mines. Another group of guards had pursued him. The leader wanted to fight to the death, but the guards were able to badly injure him without taking his life. He was dragged out of the mine and then tied to a pole outside. Rundo wanted to see him alive.

A few hours later, Rundo arrived at the mine.

‘What did you aim to achieve with all this?’ asked Rundo as he stared down at the rebel leader. ‘Did you think you could just take over and the rest of Sapey would sit back and do nothing?’

‘I wanted you nobles to die and suffer,’ said the rebel leader as he smirked at Rundo. ‘I want you to know this could happen in any district, even your precious Capital.’

‘Then I would like to thank you,’ smiled Rundo. ‘It appears many lessons can be learnt from your little rebellion.’ Rundo turned to his guards. ‘Bring him to the town centre,’ he ordered. ‘I want every traitor to see their heroic leader in action.’

The guards dragged the rebel leader to the town centre. They chained him up and whipped him. The guards forcibly gathered as many residents as possible to assemble in the town centre to watch what Rundo had planned.

Soon afterwards, Rundo and the captain of the guards arrived.

‘I consider all of you traitors,’ shouted Rundo to the crowd. ‘Every one of you deserves to die a horrible death.’

The crowd remained silent.

‘However, I won’t do that,’ continued Rundo as his captain covered the rebel leader’s legs in oil. ‘I need all of you to work in the mines. You will live and die as slaves.’

The captain handed Rundo a wooden torch. ‘Before I send you on your way,’ said Rundo as he made eye contact with the rebel leader. ‘I want all of you to hear the screams of a pathetic coward.’

Rundo threw the torch at the rebel leader’s feet, setting him ablaze. Within seconds, the rebel leader began to scream in agony. The crowd remained silent as they watched their leader die.

‘This is a show of strength they will soon not forget,’ said Rundo as he turned to look at the captain.

Two days later, Locum arrived. He met Rundo in an old but intact building that he was using as a temporary office. Locum sat down opposite Rundo, who was seated behind an old desk.

‘I would like to congratulate and thank you on putting an end to this awful rebellion,’ said Locum as he nodded slightly.

‘I’m so sincerely sorry that you and your family were let down in this way,’ said Rundo in a solemn tone. ‘Serinan was weak. He should have put them all in their place before any of this ever happened.’

‘When the boy comes of age, he will be chief,’ said Locum.

‘Who will lead until then?’ asked Rundo.

‘I will,’ replied Locum. ‘I will teach him to be a smart and strong leader.’

Rundo nodded.

‘I will need the captain and the guards,’ added Locum. ‘We still need a strong presence.’

‘They are yours to command,’ replied Rundo. ‘After all, you fund them.’

The boy moved in with Locum and his wife. They stayed in a small property on the Alset estate while the family house was rebuilt.

The boy began to recover physically, but mentally he remained in a bad state. He refused to speak to anyone, and every night he would scream in his sleep. However, Locum persisted to help him. He spoke to him every day, but the boy refused to even make eye contact with him.

Two years passed, and the boy remained mute and unresponsive. One day, Tarrina was walking in the garden. She was singing a song. The boy heard her singing. He came out of the house to listen to her. Tarrina soon noticed him watching her.

‘Have you heard this song before?’ Tarrina asked him.

The boy nodded.

Tarrina walked over to the boy. This was the most responsive he had been so far. The boy stared at her. Tears began to well up in his eyes.

‘It’s okay,’ she said to him.

‘No, no,’ replied the boy as he started to breathe heavily. He turned to run back into the house, but he saw Locum standing in the doorway. He turned back to look at Tarrina. A few tears began to roll down his cheeks.

Tarrina slowly placed her hand on his shoulder as she softly began to sing. The boy dropped to his knees. Using his walking frame, Locum slowly made his way over to them.

It was not for another three days before the boy spoke again. The three of them were about to eat pancakes for breakfast.

‘I like lemon,’ said the boy as he looked at Locum.

‘Woah, he likes lemon!’ exclaimed Locum as he looked across at Tarinna, who was holding a large bottle of syrup.

‘Lemon, it’ll be,’ replied Tarinna as she put the bottle down and grabbed a lemon from a small basket in the centre of the table.

‘You can have lemon pancakes every day if you want,’ said Locum with a smile as Tarinna squirted the lemon juice on the boy’s pancakes. ‘It’ll be healthier than the big dose of sugar we’ve been giving you.’

‘Thank you,’ replied the boy as he tucked into the small stack of pancakes in front of him.

Every day, the boy spoke a few more words. However, Locum still did not know his name. All traces of his and his family’s existence had been destroyed, and Locum had left the North before he was born. Locum decided it was time to ask the boy.

The boy was seated at the table attempting to solve a jigsaw puzzle. Locum sat down opposite him.

‘You only started ten minutes ago,’ said Locum, sounding proud. ‘Already the picture is taking shape.’

‘It is not so difficult,’ replied the boy as he added another piece to the puzzle.

‘I’m embarrassed to ask,’ said Locum. ‘You are the son of a chief.’

‘My name is Sanguine,’ said the boy as he looked up at Locum.

‘Smart boy,’ replied Locum. ‘So observant and perceptive.’

‘Not knowing the name of the son of the chief of your own district is so embarrassing,’ said Sanguine as he looked up at Locum with a slight smile.

‘It is,’ said Locum, nodding. ‘I hope you forgive me.’

‘I heard you are the smartest Linap in all of Sapey,’ said Sanguine as he placed several pieces in the puzzle.’

‘I’m an inventor,’ replied Locum. ‘I see what is and also what can be. It is not so different from how you rapidly solve this puzzle as well as how you anticipated my question.’

Sanguine smiled as he continued to solve the puzzle at an astonishing rate.

Locum dedicated several hours a day to teaching Sanguine various skills. Sanguine learnt very quickly. He was dedicated to mastering everything Locum taught him. At the same time, Sanguine had become very close to Locum. He had become a father figure to him. However, Locum’s health continued to deteriorate. He could barely walk at all, and the cold weather was making him feel worse.

Sanguine wanted to learn how to fight. Locum was in no condition to teach him. He asked the captain of the guards to train him. Every day Sanguine met the captain at the guard complex to learn how to fight.

One day, he was on his way home when he heard shouting. Out of a forested area ran a girl. She was being chased by two boys who were throwing stones at her.

‘Leave her alone,’ shouted Sanguine as he ran towards them.

The boys did not listen. One of them grabbed the girl and tackled her to the ground.

Sanguine shoved the boy off her. The other boy started to punch Sanguine. Sanguine bravely fought back. He used the techniques just taught to him by the captain. He spun him around and slammed his head into the ground. The first boy tried to attack Sanguine, but his effort was blocked, and he was aggressively knocked to the ground. The two boys panicked and scrambled away from Sanguine.

Sanguine turned to look at the girl. She was sitting on the ground. Her nose was bleeding, and she had a cut on the forehead.

‘You’re hurt,’ said Sanguine. ‘I’ll take you back to my home. We’ll fix you up.’

The girl nervously nodded, and Sanguine gently helped her to her feet.

‘Please tell me your name,’ requested Sanguine as the two headed off towards the Alset house.

‘My name is Erin,’ said the girl. ‘I know who you are. You’re the son of the chief.’

‘I once was, but now I am the son of Locum and Tarrina Alset,’ replied Sanguine.

When they arrived at the Alset house, Tarrina tended to Erin’s cuts.

‘You’ll be fine now,’ said Tarrina. ‘The cut was not so deep.’

‘I should go home,’ said Erin, sounding worried. ‘My family will be worried.’

‘I’ll walk you home,’ said Sanguine. ‘We don’t want you running into those mean boys again.’

‘Thank you,’ said Erin as she nodded.

Sanguine and Erin became close friends, and as they grew older, their friendship blossomed into romance.

Locum’s health continued to deteriorate, and Tarrina was deeply concerned that he would not survive the next winter. She pleaded with him to hand leadership of the district over to Sanguine. Locum was at first a little reluctant. Then Tarrina told Locum she was pregnant. She did not want to raise a child alone in the North District. Locum understood her concerns and decided it was in their best interest to move back to Carrington. Despite his age, Locum was confident Sanguine would make a good leader.

At breakfast the next day, Locum raised the matter with Sanguine.

‘Son, you have grown to be a remarkable young adult,’ said Locum to Sanguine.

‘All thanks to you, Father,’ replied Sanguine as he eagerly started to tuck into the large stack of pancakes in front of him.

‘I want you to take your rightful place as chief of the North,’ said Locum as he reached out and touched Sanguine’s hand.

‘Does that mean you’re going to leave me?’ asked Sanguine with sadness in his voice.

‘I’m afraid I will not last another winter here,’ said Locum. ‘As you know, I can no longer walk, and I struggle to breathe in the cold air.’

‘I know, I’m sorry,’ said Sanguine. ‘I should not be selfish. You must take care of yourself.’

‘You’ll make a good chief,’ said Locum with a smile. ‘You are smart, strong, kind, and you are growing wiser by the day.’

‘I want to make you proud,’ said Sanguine.

‘You will, I know you will,’ said Locum. Then he paused and looked across at Tarrina, who was standing at the kitchen counter, and then he turned to look at Sanguine. ‘I want to ask you if you can forgive.’

Sanguine looked at Locum and frowned.

‘I sense you know what I’m about to ask of you,’ said Locum in a harsher tone.

‘You want me to forgive the traitors, the slaves,’ replied Sanguine. ‘How can I? After what they did to my family and to your family.’

‘Not all residents of the North are guilty,’ replied Locum. ‘The worst perpetrators were killed by the guards. The slaves are their family members and some were not involved in anyway.’

‘Erin is a slave, and she has done nothing to deserve this treatment,’ sighed Sanguine. ‘She would be the only reason I could even consider your request. I fear I am selfish and will not be such a good leader.’

‘We are all moved by matters of the heart,’ replied Locum. ‘However, you have the wisdom to recognise how these feelings may affect your judgement. Hence, making you a good leader.’

‘I will make it my first announcement when I become chief,’ said Sanguine as he nodded.

Tarrina walked over to Sanguine and hugged him.

A few days later, Locum announced he was relinquishing his stewardship of the North and that he was handing over leadership to Sanguine, who would become the new chief. After a brief official handover period, Sanguine became chief.

A small stage was erected in the town centre. From here, he would address the residents of the North.

Sanguine walked up on stage. He looked at the residents that had been forced to attend. The guards stood behind them with their swords drawn in case any of them misbehaved or wanted to escape.

‘Our district has been through the darkest of days,’ said Sanguine as he looked across at Erin, who was standing with our parents. ‘The rebellion was incredibly cruel to me and my family. It remains incredibly cruel to many others who were not guilty of any atrocities. I want us to heal. I want the North to heal. For as long as we have slavery, we will never be able to heal.’

There was a slight murmur from the crowd of residents. The captain had a concerned look on his face.

‘From this day onwards, we will have no more slavery in this district,’ called out Sanguine. ‘Guards! Sheath your weapons and stand down.’

The guards sheathed their weapons; this was followed by a brief silence, and then the residents began to cheer.

The captain stormed off in anger. Sanguine walked off the stage and let the residents celebrate.

Sanguine arrived back at the Alset house. Locum and Tarrina were packed and ready to leave.

‘It’s over,’ said Sanguine as he walked over to Locum. ‘We have ended slavery in this district.’

‘A new chief, a new era,’ replied Locum as he smiled.

‘Shouldn’t you be celebrating with Erin?’ asked Tarrina.

‘I feel it is wise to keep a little distance for now,’ replied Sanguine. ‘I don’t want this decision to be judged as weakness.’

End of Part One. Continue the story in Part Two.

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Images were created with the help of Bing Image Creator

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Sapien Loop Short Stories

Sapien Loop short stories explore the adventures of some of the characters from the Sapien Loop series. These stories are intended to reveal more about individual characters and the events that have helped shape them.

Currently, two books from the series have been published on Amazon; see links below:

• Sapien Loop: End of an Era
• Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time

All individual chapters can be found on my @captainhive account.

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