Curse of the Moon Mothers
Ching! Ching! Ching!
"Huh...Huh… Dad, you've gotten better." said Cotton as he stabbed his sword into the earth.
"Wizards are truly something. Even in the sword, you're talented." Royal chuckled. "That's enough for today. We have a plane to catch, remember."
'That's because I trained for decades in my past life' Cotton thought in his heart. Ever since he started training with his father, he was holding back his true skill. Mostly because his body was strong enough.
"Ahh, the Hakopa ancestral home." Cotton continued, "Why can't we just leave it be for now?"
"Because you aren't thinking deep enough. Who's the most powerful sorcerer right now?" asked Royal.
"Albus Dumbledore. I'm sure there are a few dragons in deep pounds, but ya know." Cotton replied.
"I'm sure the old man had a mind like yours when he was young. But one thing he had that you didn't was a complete family. Cotton, we are nonmagical. Your mother and I. Everything related to the blood in your veins is in that ancestral home. Taking it and using it to build a foundation for your future as a wizard, is the best you can do. And it can be the difference between you becoming a common wizard and a wizard equal to Dumbledore. Now, during the molding process, is when you should be greedy. You don't want to find something five years from now that could have given you better boons right now." Royal explained.
"We go to the Hakopa Ancestral Home and you will claim everything that is rightfully yours. After that, you choose what you want to do with it. No such thing as too powerful, too educated, or too rich. Those are terms spoken by people who wish they had a fraction of what you have. Come now. We need to clean up."
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Standing before a field in the middle of New Zealand, Cotton stepped before his parents and Agnok with a bloody palm. We then swung his arm as he opened his palm and blood splattered on an invisible wall. Crimson webs formed and then it was like shattering glass as the wards broke and the Ancestral Home of Hakopa appeared.
"It's just a simple Manor." said Cotton, "I guess I was expecting more. Let's go inside."
Approaching the manor, the group trekked through grass three feet tall wild lupine of varying colors. Through this sea of purple, pink, and white, the Hollows and Agnok down a hill into a small hill valley where the manor stood. Stepping onto an old wailing porch, Cotton moved to push open the door when four three feet tall elven beauties appeared. Their hair was like streaming water and they were simple dresses without shoes. Their ears were firm and pointed, their skin fair and youthful with eyes of deep lilac that reminded cotton of the Lupine field he walked through.
Each one of them held out their hand with slender elegant fingers and long manicured nails. In the center of their palms were bluish orbs of magic ready to destroy whatever target that deemed a threat.
"Which one of you is Hakopa?" a voice appeared behind the group.
The group of four turned around to find an older elf with hair that rested on the ground.
"I am." Cotton replied.
"Hmmm, you have your father's eyes and his build." the old elven woman spoke, "Girls, relax. He's Tama's son. I thought we would die before you ever came here."
"What is here?" Cotton asked.
"The only thing that matters to your family. Ta moko and the Cacodemons of Hakopa. This land is sacred, they must go." said the old elf.
"How did Yumbo become slaves of Hakopa. You're kind are nocturnal, agile, and masters of memory tampering. It must have been quite the feat for the Hakopa to catch you all." said Agnok.
"We were not caught. And our place here is none of your business. Now leave or will be removed. Only Hakopa blood is welcomed here. " The old women spoke firmly and the four young girls readied their magic again.
"They're leaving." Cotton spoke.
"Cotton, are you sure?" Vanessa asked.
"I'm sure. Ta moko is a...tattoo. But this Cacodemon. I think it's the guardian of Hakopa that I've read about." Cotton explained, "I'll be fine. I'm curious about what's inside. Hurry and go so that I can find out."
After Agnok and his parents left, the older Yumboe led Cotton inside. There he found not a house, but a liar with beasts in chains and their eggs sealed under complex magical formations. All of it surrounds a single table.
Cotton stopped before one of the raging beasts. He looked on in awe at the small but ferocious things. Their bodies were cuffed in thick metal and with every pull of the chain, runes shimmered and the chains were reinforced. It was a cruel way to enslave something.
Many of the beasts were docile but a young one fought despite the consequences it had on its restraints.
"Cacodemons," one of the young Yumboe girls spoke.
"Cacodemons are powerful demons that can be tamed by wizards to be used as weapons. A young Cacodemon has a similar appearance to that of a salamander made of fire and coal. They start out small, roughly the size of a piece of coal although they are said to be able to grow much bigger as they mature. Like King Caco over there" The girl gesture to a giant sleeping winged beast.
"They can be stored within the bodies of wizards themselves with a spell tattooed across their backs. However, it is known to be an extremely painful process, both the tattooing and insertion of the creature. But that's what I'm told, I don't know for sure." she added.
"What's your name?" Cotton asked.
"Irhi, Chief," she replied.
"Do you know what the table is for?" Cotton was curious.
"It's where you will receive your Ta moko, boy. Irhi, dig up the vessels." the old Yumboe ordered. "Ta moko of the Hakopa is different. Like Irhi said about spelled tattoos. Hakopa practices the same. Hakopa are given four. Two when their training begins and when the Cacodemon is inserted into them. Another after their first kill, and the fourth when they master the magic of the Hakopa."
"So what kind of spells do they hold?"
"A cacodemon seal of course, but the first is to help the body remember. The third is to augment your magic, the fourth is Fury. And when you're old enough, I'll tell you about another. Come, it's time you learn your history from them."
"From who?" asked Cotton.
"The Hakopa before you. The ones who make you who you are." said the older Yumboe, "Girls, it is time to do your duty."
"Yes, Moon Mother." the young Yumboes replied.
Cotton silently followed the young Yumboes as they led him into a second room with carvings of countless stories upon the wall. some battles, other the building of settlements, births, and unions. In Front of the wall, a fire combusted and illuminated the place, intensifying the eerie feeling in the room. Soon, four more Yumboes, five and a half feet tall appeared. They were beautiful and brimming with magic.
Each of them kneels before a younger Yumboe and lifts their heads willingly. A moment later, Cotton watched as the young slit the throats of the older.
"Hmm, boy you've seen death before," said Moon Mother as she watched Cotton watch the sacrifice without shying away.
"More death than you can possibly imagine." Cotton continued, "What is happening?"
"Keep watching."
The blood from the slaughtered was absorbed into the walls and the carvings came to life. Cotton's blood boils and he hits the floor like a sack of flour.
In a few breaths, he was pulled into the past and shown visions of the chiefs that led to his existence. He watched battles and war dances. He saw the power of the spelled Ta moko and the bond of family and tribesmen. He watched as his people conquered New Zealand and watched as they were pushed back. He watched the horrors and beauty of barbarism and the Colonization of New Zealand.
Cotton views the ancient politics of his people and the core of the culture. The enslavement of the cursing of the Yumboe known as Moon Mothers to the Hakopa. He saw the secret of the Moon Mothers and their reason for existing. Then came the appearance of the Cacodemons and their taming. He saw everything until his birth and the death of his parents. The vision warped as if pulled into a blackhole. Finally, he saw it, the beginning of the Hakopa Family.
In the vast darkness of the world shrouded by an eclipse, fire rained from the heavens. Ancients watched in horror as they believed the earth had reached its end. A man then rode to earth in a chariot of fire, placing a boy in the hands of a chief with a forgotten name.
Years passed and the boy grew into his power, taking over the tribe and introducing magic into the population by way of his seed. He was a horny bastard, fucking all he could. Cotton watched as he learned tricks he hadn't even thought of in his past life. Then the day came when a woman with shining green eyes that literally glowed like small lightbulbs appeared wearing a crown made of gold and ivory formed like roses around her head. Behind her were three kings all docile.
She then looked down at the world and her hands gestured in crazy finger formations that became ethereal and radiating more power than Cotton could imagine being mustered by a single person. The energy then searched the world for Cotton's first ancestor. When he was found, he was bound. The queen smiled at the boy and he said one word, Mother.
The vision finally stopped and Cotton came to.
"Do you see where you come from, boy? Power this world would never know," said Moon Mother. "Remember all you saw and act accordingly. With all of your legacy, you will be powerful if you trained diligently. But if you want to go to the world of the Queen Mother, you must become more than what this world thinks is powerful."
"What was she?" Cotton asked.
Even after having witnessed warships split the void and destroy planets in his past life, Cotton was flabbergasted at the thought of that woman's power.
"Search your mind. The answer is there," said Moon Mother.
Cotton did just that and after a moment he muttered, "Master Magician."
"Hmm, you have talent after all. Many people can only recall fractions and the recall is slow. Come. It's time to receive your Ta moko of mimicry for awakening magic and starting your training. You must also receive a Ta Moko to take King Cacodemon into you, making him your war demon." said Moon Mother.
"And you can do all of this?"
"It is my duty to ensure that the next Hakopa Chief is properly educated and receives his legacy. I must also ensure the line of the four keepers." Moon Mother referred to the four young Yumboes.
"By having them mate with me?" Cotton asked.
"You saw that too? Good. Less explaining for me."
Cotton looked at Irhi and the three other half-breed yumboes who happened to be his half-sisters. He then looked at Moon Mother who turned out to be his great Aunt, daughter of his Great Grandfather who was chief before his grandfather.
Cotton then remembered the four Yumboes sacrificed and realized that he witnessed the murder of his aunts and mothers of his halfling sisters.
"The curse. Ten generations ago, your first mothers were cursed to only birth girls. You were then enslaved with the Cacodemons to be bred by the sitting chief to ensure the activation of the ancestral mural which requires Hakopa blood. After all, all of you are a part of the Hakopa family. " Cotton explained and the young ones hung their heads.
"You aren't small because you're elves. You're all small because you're young. Irhi is 13, Nana is 12, Mimi and Sabine are 11 like me." Cotton finished.
"This tradition has kept the Hakopa alive for centuries. And you will also fulfill your duty someday. If not, your children may lose their legacy. " said Moon Mother.
Cotton tilted his head as the old woman appeared three feet.
"Why are you so short?" he asked.
Moon Mother smirked and snapped her fingers. She then grew to be six feet tall. "Now, shall we begin? Your guardians are still waiting on you."
"No, I have questions. Can you move this manor?" Cotton asked.
"Of course, the sacred den has been moved three times." she replied, "Would you like to move it?"
"Yes, I have new land now. We will take it there and then I'll receive my Ta moko and the cacodemon."
All mother bowed, then led Cotton back outside. She snapped her fingers and the manor shrunk to a palm-size cube. Cotton then explained everything to his parents. When they snapped out of their stupor, they were joined by his sisters. Moon Mother then took Cotton's arm and everyone disapparated to Godric's Hollow where the Hakopa manor was put on the Hollow estate.
The Hollow Estate itself was centered around the three-story-tall Hollow Manor made of stone and wood. The large circular driveway in front had an elegant fountain in the middle adorn with golden mermaid sculptures. Off to the far right was a four-car garage with two travel vehicles and two buggies to drive around the estate.
Behind the Manor was a large greenhouse for Cotton's herbology and training field for his practice training. All of this was encircled by a treeline that lead into the woods. On the far left of the estate was where the Hakopa manor was placed because the right of the estate was already taken by the livestock. But Hakopa manor was sized reasonably to appear like a guest house.
After hours of pain, Cotton left the Hakopa manor with a tattoo in the center of his back containing the King Cacodemon. He then had another down the right side of his thigh.
"How does it feel?" Royal asked.
"Like there's something alive under my skin." Cotton replied. "Ehh, I'm going to head to bed."
"We'll help you, Chief." Irhi, Nana, Mimi, and Sabine appeared and spoke in unison.
"Here, Chief is called Lord. And help my parents. If you're going to be servants you might as well serve the house in more critical matters."
"Son, they're your…"
"Slaves, father. They're my slaves. Thinking too hard will do us no good. Irhi, clean the house. Nana, tend to the grounds. Mimi, prepare a meal, and Sabine, send Agnok off. There's nothing that needs her attention in the Hakopa Manor. Just remind her that taxes are coming soon and to keep an eye on the vault statements." Cotton then walked off.
Slaves and twisted horrors were something he was accustomed to. He had met lords on planets that killed their sons and humped their daughters to make more daughters. The Moon Mothers weren't shocking in the slightest.
During the next week, Moon Mother began to teach Cotton the magic of the Hakopa Family. Though he had read many of the family's texts, it was different to be taught by someone who knew and understood the knowledge.
Moon Mother began with battle techniques that his Mimicry Ta moko helped with. His body remembered forms the more he practiced, and like his mental arts after receiving the bodhi necklace, his combatant skills grew by leaps and bounds. As for the cacodemon, he got used to the consent movement of the beast living within him.
At the end of the week, Cotton received a visitor while practicing his potion-making with Marcus, his potions and herbology tutor.