14 The Five Pillars

Theta was bandaged poorly, but it was the least of her concern. Her chapped hands soaked the bloodstained rags after she cleaned the silver armor plates of Chehin Mariyah. Though her head was throbbing, she kept on kneeling before a tattered armor as her gaze remained solely focused on her task. Amid the discussion of her 'family' inside the tent, Theta was treated as a shadow.

No one paid Theta an ounce of attention. No bullying from her siblings and no hint of concern from her blood-related father. They were all transfixed by the doctor's words after the latter checked Chehin's condition.

The middle-aged doctor who was clad in black and white garb took off his hand from Chehin's bandaged forehead. The glow from the connection diminished as he drew back his healing powers. With a solemn look, he addressed the teary Madam Rea who was holding Chehin's right hand the entire time. "The Third Young Master will wake up. The medicine is the one making him sleep longer."

"Thank goodness! My son!" Madam Rea hugged Chehin's right arm – the only part of Chehin that was bandaged aside from his face.

"See, Mother? Chehin will be fine. He is a tough warrior like Father," cajoled Axue. Her voice was comparable to a saint, offering hope to her family.

Lexin visibly relaxed upon hearing the doctor's words. His gaze toward his youngest brother softened.

Through Theta's peripheral vision, she saw how Madam Rea sags her olden body to Axue who was holding her like a filial daughter. Theta saw the hope brewing in Madam Rea's eyes as she kissed Chehin's knuckles repeatedly.

A malicious glint flashed beneath Theta's amethyst eyes as she watched the show from the sidelines. This was the real show compared to the attack of the wolves. In fact, the wolves coming here was only a stepping stone for a bigger show. And this moment, Theta was watching it from the front seat with a gleeful feeling.

But it was General Ronin who interrupted the burst of happiness from his family. "But what?"

'As expected, General Ronin deserves his title for being perceptive.' The doctor thought before he spoke the real deal about Chehin's situation. "The General is right. What I am about to say is the Third Young Master's long-term situation."

"W-What do you mean?" Madam Rea cried with dread upon feeling the incoming bad news.

General Ronin placed his big, calloused hand at the back of his wife's heaving shoulder. Like the others who were plunged into silence, he waited for the doctor's next words.

"The wolf's attack caused severe internal injury to the Third Young Master. His meridians are severed when I got here and the nerves had already perished before I could ever reconnect them." The doctor looked at General Ronin intently, eyes conveying what he meant from his words – there was no hope for Chehin Mariyah anymore. The doctor continued, "I will continue with my healing technique and medicine to stabilize his body from the external injuries. But for his internal injuries… I apologize, there is nothing more that I can do to the Third Young Master."

"Explain the long-term prognosis of my brother," said Rufiant. His tone was demanding and his gaze threatening. A hand stopped him from scaring the doctor – it was his father, who was also sporting a grim expression.

"The Third Young Master's ability to move his limbs, even his ability to speak, has been lost, Second Young Master."

"What?" Axue did not truly like any of her siblings. She was only there to let her father see how filial she was. But she did not hate them as much as she hated Theta. She admitted that she was glad that Chehin was the one who sacrificed or it would be her lying on the bed instead! Better Chehin than her! But this was too much! Axue was yet to fully utilize Chehin for her gains! She had practically wasted an entire childhood of efforts to make him dote on her!

Sobs wracked Madam Rea as she curled to the side of the bed. Her mind was filled with the last image of her son standing proud and strong amid the flames. If she had known that it would cost him so much to protect her, she would have gladly become the bait and let Axue and Chehin leave instead! "No! My son will recover!"

Lexin was the one who first recovered from the initial shock. "We are from the Mariyah Clan. There is no such thing that we cannot offer. Tell me, doctor, what can we do to save my brother?"

Madam Rea saw hope upon hearing her eldest son's words. She held the doctor's hand with her clammy ones. In a desperate yet futile attempt, she pleaded for Chehin's case. "Save my boy, doctor. I beg of you! My son has so much ahead of him! He cannot be like this!"

General Ronin, who did not show his lamentation over a loss of talent in his army, spoke – stopping his wife's useless rumblings. "We understand, doctor. We will leave my son's health care to you."

The family of five drowned in the abyss of misery that Theta staged for them, the first of the many shows that Theta had instilled for them. Before they could pour their anger on her, she wisely left the tent with a satisfied grin on her face.

THETA STOOD AT the top of a cliff. Clad in a large tattered black-colored cloak, she walked among the shadow of the night. The harsh cold wind swayed the torn edges of her black dress like dried leaves on a harsh winter night.

A pair of amethyst eyes gleamed under the moonlight sheen as she focused her gaze on the group of tents below the cliff. She eyed the four flagships that symbolized the other four pillars of the Amina Kingdom.

"To think that they are here as a team, this only means that the four pillars have yet to accept the new entry of the Mariyah Clan to the higher echelon," said Theta. Her voice was devoid of any emotion as she stared at the camp of the top most clan among the five pillars.

A fully armored night with a glowing sword in front of him, this was the emblem embedded majestically on a deep blue satin flag of the Karjah Clan – the leading clan among the five pillars. Knights geared with their silver and blue armor with a carven emblem at their backs patrolled the parameters of their camp. Theta saw a figure walking out of the center tent. It was Arc Karjah, the heir of the Karjah Clan and the leading general of his family's army.

Theta's gaze shifted to the three other camps.

The Oseran Clan's campsite which owned the violet-colored flagship decorated with their Wisteria Tree emblem. If the Karjah Clan was the royal knights of the Amina Kingdom, then the Oseran Clan was the frontier of medicine development in the Amina Kingdom. They were here not for the treasure but for the herbs located inside the inheritance.

At the center of the Karjah Clan's campsite and the Oseran Clan's campsite was the Zenakth Clan's campsite. The Zenakth Clan's campsite which owned the black-colored flagship decorated with their crow and scythe emblem. Among the five pillars, they were the most secretive. Though most of the citizens did not know why they were among the five pillars, Theta learned from Ruka that the reclusive Zenakth Clan was a family with the biggest network in the criminal world aside from the Viper Organization of the Lykus Empire. They mostly deal with things through underhanded methods and the royal family often made use of them to deal with the officials. According to Ruka, the Zenakth Clan was here as the eyes of the royal family.

"They are practically the loyal dogs of the Amina Kingdom's royal family. This means that I will have to deal with them in the near future," muttered Theta in deep contemplation. Her wandering gaze shifted to the Otaru Clan. The Otaru Clan's campsite which owned the green-colored flagship decorated with their Laurel leaf emblem. Since they were the family that was second to the royal family in terms of gold possession, Theta knew that they were here for the antiques that they could auction to their Urato Auction House.

"Ruka," whispered Theta.

On cue, a golden-haired young boy appeared behind Theta. His eyes were gray and they reflected the savageness of the wild – a mark of a beast tamer.

"You called? I thought that you are still having fun with that son of a bitch?" He was referring to Chehin.

Theta nudged her chin to the bustling cluster of campsites below them. "There is a bigger show brewing here. And the Mariyah Clan is about to enter at the eye of the storm."

Ruka understood Theta. After all, he grasped where her plan was heading to. He could only think of one thing: Theta was a vengeful one with the cruelest yet smartest method. "Shall I intercept with the envoy?"

"No. Let them play for a while."