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A Tale of Jaguars	By : Aline Category: +S through Z > Thundercats Views: 13095 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Thundercats, or any character or event associated to it, and I'm not making any money from this fiction.

Chapter List
- 26
- 27
WARNINGS: This contains Slash, and abuse, as well as mpreg. It is dark and treats themes only for mature audience, such as sex with a minor. Do not read if you don’t like it.

*Disclaimer: I don’t own Thundercats, or any character or event associated to it, and I’m not making any money from this fiction.

CHAPTER 27. Aftermath, and a Prophesy Explained.

Baal huffed in annoyance. This was the second cell drenched in blood that he had witnessed since the Thunderian princes had arrived. Though this time there weren’t entrails and body parts all over the place. Only a lot of blood and a skinned body on the bed. The skin was neatly folded at the side. Jareid had been strangely controlled and precise. He had even ordered to secure the door and made the cell soundproof beforehand. Baal had been surprised when the prison’s commander had informed him about Jareid’s nightly visit. He had been expecting it. What he had not been expecting was for his son to be calm and apparently coherent when it had happened. Well, at least there were no traumatized guards this time. Some of the shamans were already cleaning the mess. The body was going to be burned and the cinders scattered to the wind. Traitors didn’t deserve a burial. Besides, the shamans still had to decide how much dark magic could still be attached to it. She had performed a dark ritual without any training. It had just been one time, but her body could need other means of disposal, just to be sure that she was truly gone. Baal walked out of the cell and joined Xiar. The old shaman was scowling, clearly upset with the situation. Baal shrugged helplessly.

“She was going to be executed anyway.”

“That’s not the point Baal. We still don’t know which ritual she used. Itzamma is not completely fine. Sarai told me what Taira found, and Bengali’s concerns are just as worrisome. We need to know what she did. What kind of force she conjured.”

“We can look into her possessions. The hunters brought back everything that we found in their camp, and you yourself checked the cave. Besides, as far gone as she was, I really doubt she would have been any help.”

Xiar shook his head and sighed. He looked towards the cell again. He too had been expecting Jareid to kill the jaguaress, but… He felt unsettled… baffled…

“This is not how a king should act. And it is dangerously close to what we feared.”

Baal growled lowly. His son was getting better. It had only been a slip. An understandable slip, given the situation.

“We know that the danger has always been there. At least he wasn’t completely senseless this time.”

Xiar’s frown only deepened.

“Somehow that only makes it all the more disturbing.”

Baal raised an eyebrow in incredulity.

“There’s no pleasing you people! What do you want?”

“I’d want for him to not kill anyone. He’s supposed to wait for a formal execution. It’s only civil to do it. What do we have laws for?”

Baal just shook his head. He could see Xiar’s point, but as he saw things, Jareid was able to retain his wits this time. Hopefully they could stop dreading him going feral.

“This discussion is useless. She is dead. Let’s move on. Itzamma-kim is your priority now. He needs to be fine and healthy.”

Xiar groaned. The cub was healthy enough, but ‘fine…’

“This is not going to be easy Baal. There’s still darkness clinging to him. In a way… I fear that he may become another candidate.”

“Well, make it go away. You’re no strange to the dark rituals, you can get rid of it.”

Xiar growled inwardly. If only it were so easy.

&&&&&&&&&

Saixa sighed tiredly as she rocked Itzamma in her arms. The cub wouldn’t stop crying. He had refused to eat and had only slept for a few moments. The other two cubs were distressed because their sibling was, and no one would sleep. Snarf and Lion-O were on the floor matt, trying to distract a grouchy Akbal with a set of balls, while Yeanna moved a rattle over Ixchel. The little girl was whimpering unhappily and batting the toy away. She was still uncomfortable because of the rash, but mercifully getting better. Akbal was throwing the balls angrily at Snarf. Lion-O finally picked him up and sat with him on the rocking chair. He gave the cub a teether which Akbal bit into furiously. Saixa had been close to call Tygra once or twice. Itzamma would stop crying for a few minutes, then called “ma” quietly before sobbing again. The jaguaress didn’t want to disturb Tygra’s training, but Itzamma was clearly still scared and needed his parent’s reassurance. She had just decided to call the tiger when he entered the nursery. Itzamma stopped crying at once and called again for him, extending his little arms desperately. Tygra hurried to take his son from Saixa’s arms.

“Ma! Ma!”

“Shh, come here love. It’s ok.”

“Maaa…”

Itzamma cuddled in Tygra’s arms and held on his clothes tightly. Tygra shushed him and kissed the little head lovingly. Then he looked around to his two other cubs.

“Are all of them awake?”

“Yes, they have been for a while now. Akbal and Ixchel are very upset. They are not used to hear Itzamma crying, and they are resenting his distress. All three are still very nervous. The shock they took was a big one, and Itzamma is taking it worse.”

“Have they eaten?”

“Akbal and Ixchel have, but Itzamma refused. I’m sorry Tygra, I think he’s back to only accept food from you.”

Tygra sighed in worry and gave a bottle of milk to his cub. Itzamma ate quietly, and then yawned as Tygra changed his nappy. The tiger took his son with him to a new puff that he had ordered for the nursery. He lied down on it, with Itzamma cradled to his side. The cub was sleeping in short moments.

Lion-O took Akbal to his brother. The little black cub crawled all over Tygra, until he awkwardly nested himself beside his brother. With a little help, both cubs were soon comfortable at their father’s side. Saixa took Ixchel to the changer to check on her bum and put some more cream. Then she gave the little girl to her father. Tygra took his third cub and put her on his free side. Ixchel played with her toes for a while before yawning and finally falling asleep.

Tygra sighed when all three cubs were finally quiet.

“What am I going to do? I can’t leave him alone if he’s going to be this stressed. He’s too scared.”

“But you can’t drop the training Tygra. You need it.” Said Lion-O worriedly.

“I can always return later. My cub needs me more right now”

Lion-O sighed and caressed Akbal’s head. The cub still had the teether in his mouth and was nibbling it in his sleep.

“Ben and Xiar can fix it, Tygra. Cant’ they?” Asked Yeanna, joining Lion-O at the puff’s side.

“I hope so. They’re going to try and clean Itzamma’s aura this evening. I’m not sure what are they doing, and it’s getting me worried.”

“They’re not going to hurt him. It’s gonna be ok.” Yeanna assured him. Tygra smiled and tried very hard to convince himself that Ben could in fact solve the problem.

The shamans used dark magic, but not really often. Tygra had always associated it with evil, but Ben had explained that it was not always the case. Shamans’ look on dark magic was that it required a high level of skill and a strong will to be able to yield it. The things you could do with it were… different. Challenging. It was overwhelming in a level that few really understood. It was easier to do evil with it, yes, but the price it required was too high. Still, dark energy had no place to be in a cub. Tygra wanted it out of his son, and far away from his family.

He stayed with his cubs for the rest of the day, making sure that Itzamma ate and slept. The kits had to go to their classes soon, and Saixa stayed to help him with Akbal and Ixchel. Jareid joined him in the late afternoon and they waited together for the Shamans’ summons.

When Bengali arrived just after dinner, he found Jareid holding Itzamma, and leading what seemed to be a very serious conversation with the cub. Tygra was looking their way anxiously. Akbal was sitting contently in his crib, throwing a soft ball to Snarf and biting into a teether. Saixa was on the rocking chair, entertaining Ixchel. Tygra practically ran to his tiger friend as soon as he spotted him.

“Ben, is it time?”

“Take it easy Tygra. Everything is ready. We only need to wait ‘till midnight.”

“Why it has to be at midnight? I don’t understand what you’re doing, and I don’t want Itzamma to get hurt.”

“Tygra, please, calm down.” Ben grabbed the young parent by the arms and looked directly at his eyes. Tygra breathed deeply, trying to relax. “Itzamma is going to be fine. You don’t have to fear for him.”

“He’s just a little cub, Ben. He won’t sleep if I’m not with him. He’s still scared.”

Ben sighed and looked towards the jaguar prince and the cub. Itzamma was starting to fuss and turning in his father’s arms. He was already calling “ma!” and Tygra turned to go to his son. Jareid gave Itzamma to his younger parent, and the little cub calmed down immediately. Tygra sighed and turned to Ben once more.

“See? He only accepts Jareid for a while before he’s calling for me again.”

“He’s very shocked.” Said Jareid with worry. “He also recoils from time to time and hides his face. It’s like he’s seeing something.”

“He probably is.” Ben sighed, and Tygra looked at him in mild alarm.

“What do you mean Ben?”

“We should go to your rooms. There are some things I need to explain to you.”

They left Saixa in charge of the other two cubs, who were very much back to normal behaviour. They hurried to their sitting room, and Tygra sat down on the coach nervously. Jareid sat at his side, and put an arm around his waist. Itzamma gurgled a little, and then rested his head on his dad’s shoulder and yawned. Tygra rubbed the tiny back of his son lovingly and was happy that the cub had settled down. Then he looked at Ben, who had taken the armchair in front of the princes.

“We found out the book that Mai took with her. And we believe we know what rite she used. Xiar is… very upset. She could have done a lot more damage and…” He hesitated. What Mai had done had not only been stupid. It had been abysmal. It still had the potential to destroy them. Just one mistake and they all would be as well as doomed. He had decided that he would never try to stop Jareid from killing someone ever again. If Mai would have been dead, this wouldn’t be happening! Tygra started to feel anxious again and Itzamma made an unhappy sound because of it. Jareid clenched his teeth, knowing instinctively that he was not going to like what Ben had to say.

“She’d dead now. You disposed of the remains.”

“Yes, but the ritual she used is still active.”

Jareid frowned in confusion, and Tygra’s eyes widened in sudden fear.

“What?” The tiger breathed, tightening his hold on his cub a little bit.

“What does that mean?” Jareid demanded. “You’re not going to tell me that you needed her still alive, do you?”

“Well, Xiar would have liked it, if only so he could strangle her himself. But no, you can still be happy that you got rid of her. She stopped to be relevant the moment she finished the sacrifice.”

“Then, how are you going to fix what she did?” Asked Tygra. Ben sighed tiredly. Now was the difficult part.

“We can’t fix it. We only can close the ritual. But the repercussions would stay, and they are… unpleasant.”

Tygra closed his eyes and kissed his cub’s head desperately. He wanted his cub safe. He could not lose his precious cub to a mad woman’s jealousy. Jareid practically growled.

“What exactly are they?”

Ben nodded almost to himself and took a moment to organize his thoughts. It was important that both parents understood what was going to happen and why. Itzamma was going to need their entire support and the family’s. Ben had to make sure that the princes would not reject their son. It was crucial for Itzamma to have a loving family.

“I have to explain some things about Shamans’ magic first. It is important.”

Both parents frowned and Tygra asked anxiously.

“What does Shamans’ magic have to do with Itzamma?”

“Well, first of all, a Shaman does not learn how to do magic. That’s an ability he’s born with. When a cat has a special sensibility to certain feelings, it’s easier for him or her to develop awareness of the energy that gives substance to our world. This perception appear since the cat is very young. They are usually quiet, observant cubs, that don’t cry often. They are very resilient, and resistant to most common sicknesses. They also heal quite fast.”

Tygra gasped and Jareid scratched Itzamma’s tiny ears carefully.

“You’re telling me, that Itzamma is one of those cubs… that he was born with magic?”

“If we want to be strict, everyone is born with magic as we understand it. Itzamma was also born with the ability to perceive it more clearly than the average cat. In time, that special awareness would have allowed him to harness and control this magic, in the way that the Shamans and the Clerics do.”

Jareid’s frown deepened in concentration. He wanted to connect the facts and understand clearly. If Ben was explaining this to them now, it had to be relevant. Tygra was a bit confused still, but he realized that Ben wouldn’t be telling them this if not for the dark ritual that Mai had performed.

“Why didn’t you tell me this before? I’ve been worried sick about Itzamma!”

“I’m sorry, we thought it best to not tell you, at least not until Itzamma clearly showed his ability. Sometimes it goes away. The cub grows up and suddenly starts to act like every other cub. Besides, you know that we had to perform surgery on Itzamma. We were close to lose him, and we had to use more magic than we had hoped to. We weren’t completely sure if Itzamma’s behaviour was a result of that excess of magic, or if it was himself.”

Tygra grumbled unhappily. He returned to kiss his cub’s head and rub his back. Jareid soon prompted Ben to continue.

“Fine, he has the potential to be a shaman. What does it have to do with what Mai did?”

“When a cub is born with this special sensitivity, he or she is very receptive to magical energy. Doesn’t like changes, reacts stronger to the parents’ emotions, things like that. That’s part of the reason they are very quiet. They can’t process everything they are perceiving. The stronger the ability is in a cub, the quieter the cub gets. They sleep a lot to avoid an overload. When the cub is five years old, his sensitivity settles and goes dormant for a few years. Most cubs start the training to become shamans at 10 years old, if their ability returns. It is said then that their aura has matured and they are ready to train and start control the power they can feel. But while they are untrained, they easily attract the magic around them. Commonly, there are some entities around that can take notice of a magically strong aura. They are usually minor spirits that are not really harmful. If a cub with the potential to be a shaman is exposed to a strong entity, or an overwhelming source of magic, his or her aura suffers from overload. He’s not prepared to process the excess of energy, and his aura changes to better accept the magic that’s invading it. This forces the cub’s aura to mature before time, and his sensitivity increases. It’s very bad for the cub, because physically his brain is not prepared for it. He doesn’t understand what is happening, and his innate magic can go berserk, completely uncontrolled.”

Jareid clenched his teeth again. Tygra was horrified as he understood what Ben was telling them.

“So, what Mai did…”

“She called The Shadows. They are powerful dark spirits that feed on the strongest emotions of people. They need the life of the sacrifice offered to them to cross the planes, but once the ritual has started and they materialize, they don’t simply disappear back into the spiritual realm. The one who conducts the rite has control of The Shadows as long as they are bound by the sacrifice they had accepted. But once the wish that the person asked of them has been fulfilled, they are completely free of any bounds. An experimented shaman knows how to banish them back to the spiritual plane. Mai of course did no such thing. The Shadows she conjured would have scattered and look for something to feed upon. They are made of spiritual energy, and like any other spiritual entity they would have feel attracted to the closer and stronger source of magic they could find.”

Jareid hissed in displeasure while Tygra whimpered.

“Itzamma.”

“Itzamma was in direct contact with The Shadows. His aura was forced to accept the sudden infuse of energy, and it… It now has an enhanced affinity for dark magic.”

Tygra went very pale. He hugged Itzamma and tried to hide him between himself and Jareid.

“No. My cub is not going to be evil!”

“I didn’t mean that. Tygra, Itzamma is a cub. He has nothing evil. His aura is just attuned to dark energy. He would perceive it far easier than any other kind of energy.”

“Can’t you take it away?” He said desperately, almost sobbing.

“No. It doesn’t work that way. Tygra, your cub has not changed. He’s still your cub. He has only acquired an ability much earlier than he would in normal circumstances.”

“But, it would hurt him. You said that the shadows feed on emotions. What if he stops feeling?”

“No. Tygra, listen to me.” Ben stood up and approached the distressed tiger. He crouched in front of the youth and grabbed his shoulders, trying to get him to look at his eyes. “Tygra, dark magic is difficult to control, but it can be done. You don’t have to be evil to do it. You have to be sure of yourself. You learn to distinguish your own feelings from those alien to you. It is overwhelming, yes, I won’t lie to you. But Itzamma is not alone. You’re here, and he would need your help. We, the shamans, can teach him to use his power, but what he becomes would depend only on himself. He has a loving family to rely upon. He’s not going to ever need to grasp onto the darkest emotions that his power would offer.”

Tygra sobbed again. Itzamma lifted his little head and looked up curiously.

“Ma.”

The tiger looked at the tiny face of his son and kissed the small forehead fiercely. He was scared, but he loved his cub and he would be damned if he abandoned his own son.

“I don’t want to lose him.”

“You won’t, Tygra. He’s here. You won’t lose anyone. Your cub is going to be fine.”

Jareid tightened his embrace, and kissed his mate’s head. His other hand went to cover Tygra’s hand on their cub’s back.

“We will protect him, my tiger. He’s going to learn to use the power correctly. He’s our son, and he won’t be alone.”

Tygra nodded and kissed his son’s head once more. Jareid turned to the white tiger again.

“You said that The Shadows are still around. Are my other cubs in danger? Are we in danger?”

Tygra raised his head, concerned for his cubs’ safety.

“Xiar ordered to raise protections as soon as we knew what we were dealing with. He has also spoken with Taira, and we are convinced that The Shadows are following Itzamma. She managed to protect his aura from the worst of their energy, but they are still close. Ending the ritual should banish them.”

“So, that’s what you’re going to do tonight.”

“Yes. Everything is ready in fact. Taira agreed to help, since she started the banishment when she protected Itzamma with her aura.”

“Can I go with him?” Asked Tygra. “He has been very anxious, and he won’t be quiet if I’m not with him.”

“Well, you are like his safety-blanket right now. He feels the safest when he’s with you, because he still remembers your aura all around him.”

“How can he possibly remember that? I mean… that’s unheard of!”

“It’s not that he actually remembers. It’s just a feeling. An instinct telling him that you have always been there.”

Tygra smiled and caressed his cub’s head. He could live with instinct. What he had problem assimilating was the notion that Itzamma could understand far more than he was supposed to. Jareid on the other hand, was perfectly fine with the idea.

“Then, we can be present for this ritual.” Said the jaguar prince. Ben smiled at the way that the question was not asked.

“I’m afraid that your presence could put some people nervous, my prince.”

“That’s not my problem. They’re supposed to be Shamans. If they can’t do their job, they shouldn’t be there.”

Ben shook his head in mild amusement. Truly, he wouldn’t dream of denying Itzamma’s parents to be with their cub. It would be stressing enough for the little babe with all the magic at play. He would need his parents to comfort him. Xiar had been reluctant at first, because Jareid’s aura could very well result attractive to a dark spirit. Even if he was not a Shaman. However, the prince was an adult cat, and given the choice Xiar would prefer to put a grown cat through the stress of a cleaning than a cub. At least the adult would consciously try to repel the foreign energy. Tygra frowned at his mate’s egotistical behaviour.

“We won’t be in the way?”

“No. Don’t worry Tygra, we have prepared everything. Itzamma is going to be very upset, and he will need you.”

“Ok then.”

All three stayed in the rooms, speaking quietly ‘till it was almost midnight. Then, Ben guided them to the palace’s back doors and into the jungle. They walked a short distance to one of the clearings that the Shamans used for rituals. Xiar was already there, along with ten more of the Shamans and Taira. There were runes around the clearing and a stone altar at the centre. Purple candles were surrounding the altar and they emanated a spicy smell that was oddly constricted to the clearing. The table was covered with a white fabric with purple sigils on it, and on top was a bundle of white clothes making a nest.

Tygra gulped seeing the altar, and cradled Itzamma in his arms just a little tighter. He had tried to remain calm, but he couldn’t help to be scared. He didn’t like dark magic. He had grown up being told how evil it was. He had listened tales about disfigurations and the horrible deaths that dark magic users suffered. He didn’t want any of his children suffering that kind of fate. He was cursing Mai and was not resenting Jareid for killing her anymore. He tried to find solace in that Ben had assured him that Itzamma would not change. That they were going to block the dark energy so it wouldn’t harm his little cub. He understood what Ben had explained about Itzamma not transforming immediately into an evil creature. His cub would remain the same. Ben had insisted on the fact that Itzamma did not have to use the dark energy, even if it would be easier for him to sense it. Tygra was hoping that his cub would never feel attracted to any dark power. Ben himself knew how to control dark magic. He used it on occasion and had never allowed it to take control of him. That, more than anything else, gave Tygra hope that his cub could do the same.

He still looked uneasily at the far side of the clearing. Almost directly opposed to where they were standing he could see the entrance of a cave. It was not one of the big ones. It was barely an opening into a small hill, much like a rabbit hole. But Tygra knew the place. One of the first things his tutors had instructed him on was the religious celebrations and the rituals that the general population attended. This clearing, and that particular cave, was considered a door to the spiritual plane. The jaguars met around it once a year to celebrate one of their darkest deities. The one who lorded over the dead. The celebration and prayers guaranteed the deceased’s soul a safe pass through the spiritual plane into their next life. It was not an evil spirit per se, and the rites were pretty harmless, but Tygra was deeply distrustful of a door that could open at any time into the spiritual plane. Who could tell what kind of entity could be waiting at the other side?

He tried to get rid of his worries for the moment and waited beside Jareid for Xiar to finish giving instructions. The High Shaman looked upset, but very much in control as he directed his subordinates to their places. Two of the shamans had become a quivering bundle of nerves as soon as Jareid had arrived. Xiar had growled at them in frustration and had dismissed them back to the palace. Really. If they couldn’t deal with the stress of having the prince witnessing a ritual, how could they hope to control a dark spirit? They couldn’t afford any distractions in this. Xiar had to make sure that only reliable cats were present. Only five of them were going to do the ritual anyway. Two of the senior shamans, Ben, Taira and himself. The rest were acting as guards. They’d make sure that nothing unpleasant escaped beyond the clearing. He didn’t want any errant dark entity to escape. Fortunately, it wasn’t long since Mai had summoned The Shadows, and considering Taira’s assessment of the cub’s aura, they had been fixated on him. Xiar could tell that they were still following the tiny prince. He hoped that nothing had strayed away. They’d send them all back to where they belonged and hopefully they won’t have any errant Shadow lurking in the jungle.

He muttered under his breath a last time about idiot women. Any dark spirit would have been bad enough, but Mai had summoned the most powerful entity she could have managed. These Shadows were ancient. The older the spirit, the most powerful it became, and it started to develop conscience. The Shadows Mai had conjured were sentient. It was much more difficult to banish a sentient being than a mere manifestation of energy.

He’d have time to curse Mai’s memory later. They had to concentrate on the deed at hand. Everything was finally ready and Bengali took a sleeping Itzamma from Tygra’s arms. Both parents stayed outside of the rune circle and Tygra watched anxiously as Ben deposited his tiny cub on the nest prepared for him at the altar. Ben’s magic had helped to put Itzamma to sleep, but Tygra knew it would not be enough. He prayed that his son would remain sleeping for as long as possible. Jareid pulled his mate at his side and watched avidly as the four shamans and the lizard around the altar started to chant.

The fire in the candles jumped and became larger. Tygra grasped tightly Jareid’s arm as he saw the runes came to life with an eerie glow. He couldn’t understand what the shamans were chanting. He only hoped that they’d hurry as he could see the bundle of clothe in the altar starting to move. Xiar’s voice raised suddenly in a commanding tone, and before Tygra’s eyes the Shadows raised from the ground all around him and flown into the circle of runes. Suddenly it was icy cold and the runes glowed brighter. Tygra wanted to scream as he saw darkness surrounding the altar where his cub was. He could barely distinguish the cave’s opening starting to glow too. He pressed himself against Jareid, who also held him firmly.

Faster, faster, he prayed like a mantra. In his mind they were taking too long. There was a noise like a distorted laugh and a screech and the chanting of the shamans stopped. The light of the runes became very intense for a second and then Tygra could heard his cub crying. He tried to run to him, but Jareid stopped him. They had to wait. Ben had clearly instructed them to not cross the circle until the runes were gone. They could not afford to interrupt until the banishment was finished. Thankfully, the light of the runes was already fading. They were the longest 10 seconds of Tygra’s life.

As soon as there was no sign of the runes, Tygra ran to the altar and picked up his cub, who latched onto him in desperation. No one stopped him, and the tiger took that to mean that it was ok to take a few steps backwards, away from the stone altar. He kissed his cub’s head and started to soothe him. He barely felt Jareid standing at his side, but he did notice his mate going tense. He risked a look to see what the problem was, and his eyes drifted towards the altar and a stunned Xiar. Tygra got closer to Jareid instinctively. At any other time, he would have thought that the expression of utter befuddlement on Xiar’s face was hilarious. At the moment though, it only made his own anxiousness worse. Jareid put an arm around his back and sneered at the High Shaman. Tygra gulped and looked at the others’ equally shocked faces.

“What happened? Is something wrong?”

He automatically looked towards Bengali who blinked a few times.

“Ummm…”

Jareid growled at his friend’s indecision. He wanted to know what had happened.

“Ben! What is the problem?”

Bengali shook his head and looked at the still stunned Xiar. Taira however had recovered her wits and decided to intervene.

“Oh, it’s really nothing my prince. Only that it seems that your shamans hadn’t seen one with such… great potential in ages. Specially one so young. He’s set to be a very powerful shaman when he learns to control his gift.”

Tygra looked closely at Ben to see if Taira’s words were truth. Jareid frowned at his friend too.

“Ben?”

The white tiger looked relieved when Taira finished her little speech. He nodded and approached the princes to check on the cub.

“Yes. I… well, it was more intense than we had anticipated. Truly, I never expected such a reaction from Itzamma’s aura.”

“But, is he ok? Have the Shadows gone?”

Both Tygra and Jareid focused on Ben as the white tiger checked Itzamma’s aura. They didn’t notice the dark expression on Xiar’s face at Tygra’s last question, or the uneasiness in the other shamans.

“His aura is stabilized. There are no dark spirits close to him now. But his spiritual energy is way stronger than we thought. He would need training much younger than usual.”

Tygra hugged his cub. Itzamma was calming down and sucking his closed fist as he lied with his head pressed to his father’s chest.

“Bengali, escort the princes to their rooms. We are finished here.” Said Xiar, finally recovering his senses. Ben nodded and started the way back to the palace in Tygra and Jareid’s company. The rest of the shamans quietly picked up the artefacts they had used and followed the couple. Xiar grunted and turned to Taira once they were alone. She half smiled to him.

“You’d have quite a powerful king in some decades. Try to not blow it.”

“It’d not be my responsibility. But I’d make sure that everything is set on track.”

Taira nodded and walked away. There was a transport waiting for her in the courtyard. Xiar remained behind for a couple of seconds, still considering the facts that he had witnessed. Finally, he sighed and gave a last look backwards to the cave. He frowned and growled angrily. The portal was closed and quiet now. It had only been opened for a moment. However, Xiar was certain that nothing had gone through it. In either direction.

&&&&&&&&

Bengali entered the Shamans’ building and directed himself to the conference room, sure that Xiar would want to give instructions. They needed to know what they were going to do now. He wasn’t entirely sure of what had happened, but they were going to have a hell of a time in a few years if they couldn’t guide Itzamma properly.

He arrived to the room and entered quickly. He was immediately confronted with a discussion between Xiar and Ketzally, one of the senior Shamans that had been present in the rite. There was only one other shaman with them, Ixcoatl. The ones that had been outside the circle were not present, as they had not really witnessed anything taking place in the rite.

Xiar quickly noticed Bengali’s arrival and stopped his comrade’s tirade.

“Enough Ketzalli. We can do nothing about it. He is the first born, and it won’t be the first time that we have a shaman for a king.”

“But it’d be the first time we’d have someone as powerful. He should stay in the sacred temple from now on. He needs to be raised by us!”

“Neither prince is going to allow that.”

“But his power would only grow if he’s adequately instructed. We can’t allow for it to go to waste!”

“It won’t. his parents are not going to stop us from training him. However, I do think that he’s still too young. You can’t expect a babe, who’s not even one-year-old, to be capable of handling spiritual training! You’re being too ambitious Ketzally.”

The female coloured a bit. She of course had only been thinking about power without considering that Itzamma was still an infant.

“Nonetheless, we should do something to prevent his power from going dormant.”

“I’m more concerned about it getting out of control.” Said the other shaman, who had been content with listening until then. “If it diminishes with time it’d be no great concern really, but it’s more possible that it gets too much and lash out. He is a babe, and we have no idea of how his power would react to a cub’s emotions going wild.”

“More reason to keep him in the temple. It’d be not only his own emotions. He’d be much more sensitive from now on. Jareid’s presence alone could provoke a disaster.”

Ben cringed at the mere idea of someone informing Jareid that he could be a danger for his cubs. The prince was not going to be happy at all. He looked to Xiar, hoping that Ketzally’s words wouldn’t convince him. He personally thought that Itzamma would be better of growing up with his family. Volatile parents or not. Xiar looked as if he was thinking about it for a moment, but then he shook his head and grunted.

“As hazardous as Jareid is, he’s learning to be calm around his cubs. It’d be worse if we isolate Itzamma. He needs his parents’ presence. Tygra’s most prominently.”

“Well, there’d be visits…”

“That’s not enough. Not for a babe. As you just said, he’s going to be much more sensitive. He needs his parents’ love and care close to him as much as possible.”

Xiar then turned to look directly at Ben to ask. “Unless you think that they would reject him. Tygra was raised in Thundera after all. The lions have very low tolerance for the dark. It’d be the worst case scenario if we leave the cub with his parents when he’d always know that he’s not truly wanted.”

“No. Tygra would never reject one of his cubs. He’s worried, and probably there’s danger of him going overprotective with Itzamma, but he loves him.”

Ketzally huffed in annoyance and crossed her arms. Xiar nodded in satisfaction.

“Good. Then we’ll start to plan. The protection he has now would fade with time. He has to have a guide and I’m afraid that no one of us would be more powerful than him. He’s going to surpass his guide at a very young age.”

“We’d be relying heavily on his parents’ authority then. They’d be his role models.” Offered Ixcoatl.

“The High Shaman needs to be his guide.” Ketzally said. “He can’t be High Shaman himself if he’s going to be the king. He would only need to acknowledge his High Shaman’s authority.”

Xiar made a sarcastic smile. “Which only means that my replacement would be starting his duties a bit earlier. Some of them at least.”

“Xiar, you still have a long way before retirement.” Said Ixcoatl. Ketzally only stood straighter.

“I’m however not going to be the High Shaman that puts Itzamma on the throne. No one lasts forever, and I have already served two kings. It’s time for another to continue the work.”

“But, you’re not planning to step aside before time do you?”

“Of course not. Baal still has a few years to go. I might still be the one to crown Jareid. But I’m old myself, and it won’t hurt to start training my replacement.”

Ketzally puffed up. She was the oldest of the shamans after Xiar, and she already had passed the critical point. The shamans seemed to age faster, but if they made it past their fifties, then their magic changed somehow and they could expect to last well past their nineties. Xiar was already around the hundreds, having been already an adult when Baal had been borne. Ixcoatl only nodded his understanding before commenting.

“We’d need to speak with Baal, and Jareid and Tygra, so they’re prepared to deal with the cub.”

Xiar scowled. It’d be difficult. Whatever they decide could very well be the fallout of their kingdom. He was glad that he wasn’t going to have that responsibility.

“I’d be speaking with Baal, but maybe we should keep Itzamma’s parents in the dark for now.”

Ben raised his eyebrows.

“Are you sure Xiar? Jareid already suspects that there’s something we’re not telling him. He’s going to hound me for answers.”

“Then you’d find the best way to calm him down. They don’t need to know that The Shadows didn’t exactly go away. There’s no danger now that they are neutralized, and we don’t want them on constant alert and tense around the cub. If Itzamma’s aura starts to show signs of darkness, then we’d deal with it in the best possible way.”

Ben groaned. He should have expected it really. Jareid had practically become his charge since they had been teenagers. He was the only one that the prince listened to. He felt, however, that Jareid at least should be aware of the darkness that had remained in Itzamma. He agreed that Tygra didn’t need to know that his child was in fact going to be a dark shaman, but Jareid knew what that implied, and would at least try to provide support and be more open to the shamans’ suggestions.

“We won’t have any problems with the prince and his mate, if they agree for the cub to remain in our care.” Said Ketzally offhandedly. Ixcoatl actually snickered and Ben rolled her eyes at her.

“We’re not starting again on this Ketzally. The cub stays with his parents.”

“But…”

“No ‘buts’ on this Ketzally! He’s going to have his guide, and that’d be enough. He’s going to be a king before a shaman, and doesn’t need to be isolated from his kingdom. I know you’re envisioning a powerful shaman who’d bring the ancient practices alive again, but he must learn to put his people’s needs first and foremost. There’s going to be little time for him to actually practice magic.”

Ketzally huffed and crossed her arms again, very disappointed.

“He still can give up the crown and pass it to his brother.”

Ixcoatl raised an eyebrow at her.

“His brother is a black jaguar. The people would never accept it.”

Ketzally actually shuddered at the thought. She had overseen Akbal’s colouring.

“Well, the tiger is still young. He still could have more cubs. Or lady Saixa.”

“I seriously doubt it.” Said Ben. “And I really don’t see the problem with Itzamma’s power going dormant, at least a bit. It’d be easier for him to control it at a manageable level.”

Ketzally looked at Ben murderously.

“He could be one of the greatest shamans ever! With that kind of power, he could even find the way for magic and technology to merge again. He could control the spiritual plane and we’d have knowledge beyond imagination!”

Ben was about to point out that none of them would likely be alive to see that, but Xiar beat him to it.

“You’re going well ahead of yourself Ketzally. He has the potential, yes, that doesn’t mean that he’d achieve full control of that power. He has a long way to go, and many of us aren’t going to be there to see it anyway.”

That took the wind off the woman’s sails. She deflated a bit, but Ben could still see the wistful thinking on her eyes. Ixcoatl shrugged.

“It’s set then. The next High Shaman would be responsible for his training, and we’d do what we can to shield him and help him when he loses control. I hope that he doesn’t inherit Jareid’s temper. The palace would be ruins before he reaches adulthood.”

Everyone actually groaned in despair at that comment. Xiar tensed and huffed, willing for the cub to be more reasonable than his father. His real fear was a deeper one though, but he’d only share it with the one who would see Itzamma to the crown. He hoped it was the right choice.

“We’d made an official announcement once I talk with Baal. From now on, I’d be training my replacement, and everyone else would treat him with the respect according to his stance. I think you both can be dismissed for now, Ketzally, Ixcoatl. I’d see you in the morning. Come Bengali. There is an important thing we need to discuss before I present you to Baal.”

Ben started in surprise. He opened his mouth, unsure of what Xiar was asking of him. Ixcoatl only nodded again and turned to leave, but Ketzally straightened and clenched her fists in outrage.

“What? Him? You can’t be serious, why him?”

“Come on Ketzally, you don’t seriously think for a moment that Jareid would accept anyone else?” Said Ixcoatl, stopping at the door to wait for her. She was not impressed.

“The prince has no say in our hierarchy. Neither the king for that matter. Who becomes High Shaman is only up to the previous High Shaman’s discretion. It’s his decision to make.”

“And I’m deciding that Ben is up for the job. It won’t do to have someone who would constantly be at odds with the king. Jareid won’t accept advice from anyone else anyway.”

“He’d have to acknowledge the High Shaman, whoever he or she is!”

“One of the functions of the High Shaman is to be part of the council. And as such, someone that has the king’s trust. I really consider as part of my obligations to leave in my place someone who’s not only capable to carry on with my spiritual duties, but also to be the king’s confident.”

Ketzally looked at Ben with scorn.

“And you think he would be able to?”

“Bengali already has Jareid’s trust. And he’s perfectly capable to handle more than the duties he’s assigned. He still has some years to work on his skills, and he’d be ready.”

“He’s not even a jaguar!”

“That however is not his fault, is it?”

“I don’t agree with this decision. I’ll challenge you on it!”

“You’re free to do so, of course. But I remind you that you have to get at least half of the shamans backing your challenge for me to consider it.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure I’d have more than half.”

She turned around and stalked angrily out of the room. Ixcoatl sniggered at her back and followed her. Xiar huffed exasperatedly.

“She won’t be a problem. She’s only excited for Itzamma’s recent development, and frustrated because I won’t let her have a more important role in his future education.”

“But she’s right. I’m not a jaguar, and everyone would know that you’re choosing me only because of Jareid.”

“Then you’d only have to disabuse them of that notion. You are very capable of guiding the temple and your power is not inferior to any other’s. Besides, you are in fact the best choice to be Itzamma’s guide. Few remember this nowadays, but of all the cats’ races, the tigers are the ones with most affinity for the dark arts.”

Ben shivered. He already knew that dark rituals came easier for him. He hadn’t wanted to explore that aspect of magic deeper, but now it seemed that he would have to. Xiar sensed his nervousness and smiled. Bengali was still young.

“Don’t worry. You’re quite capable of controlling it. Remember that it is mostly our own ambitions the ones that overwhelm us. Be well prepared, and the darkness won’t find a hold to take you by surprise.”

The white tiger sighed. He could do it. He had been getting used to the idea that he would be the next High Shaman for a while. Only he had not expected to have this responsibility suddenly thrust to him, and for it to become more demanding than he had been prepared to. Technically he would be responsible for the future king’s actions, in a deeper fashion than it would have been for Jareid. He would only be a counsellor for Jareid, but Itzamma would see him as a mentor and guide. And the amount and kind of power that the boy would have at his disposal was nothing less than overwhelming. One mistake had the potential to be disastrous.

“I’m sincerely hoping for it to block itself.” Ben muttered, almost to himself, but Xiar sympathized.

“It’d have been preferable for his ability to follow its natural development and stay at a normal level. Alas, we can’t’ change what happened as much as we want to. We have to deal with it, and be prepared.”

Xiar opened a door to their left and Ben realized that they had arrived to the High Shaman’s private office. They passed a desk that had many papers on it and a computer. Then they entered the library. Ben looked around in wonder. He was not ignorant of the fact that the High Shaman had his own private library. It was considerably smaller than the main library of the Shamans, but not less interesting. After going past some bookcases full of books and manuscripts, Bengali could see another desk. He distinguished the volume that they had found on the camp. Along with other manuscripts and some portable devices the size of a notebook. Ben scowled, looking at the far side of the library. The bookcases there looked like they were storing not books, but small computers. Ben supposed that some of them stored copies of the archives that had been salvaged from… the ship?

Yes, it had been a ship. Ben remembered his history lessons well enough. All the sentient species of animals had arrived to Third Earth on a ship. They all had had technology at their disposal, but the great majority had condemned it and renounced it. The cats amongst them. When the jaguar clan had rejected the lions’ leadership and gone their own way, they had returned to the ship’s wreckage and recovered computers and files, everything that preserved knowledge. However, they could only store it, not having the means to access the data in a computer. It wasn’t until they had gotten their hands on the Techstone that the jaguars finally could restore the ancient computers, though only the King, the High Shaman and the First Councillor had been privy to the information first hand. Now it was the High Shaman who decided who could be trusted with the more delicate information. It was well-known that most of what had been in the ancient archives had been distributed to the general population through news and the school, but some things could have remained secret.

Xiar took one flat screen from the desk and motioned Ben to take a seat on one of the armchairs. Once both were seated, Xiar took a moment to collect his thoughts and finally asked.

“Did you understand what happened to The Shadows in the ritual?”

Ben pressed his lips together. It had been disturbing, mainly because he had been ready to fight the dark energy, contain it long enough for the ritual to finish the job and send the dark entities back to the spiritual plane. Instead, all the ritual seemed to do was reinforce the Shadows’ hold on Itzamma. And the thing had spoken to them. In a language that Ben had understood, but had no idea where he could have learned it.

“The Shadows are somehow bound to Itzamma. They are not feeding from his power though, it’s like the contrary.”

“It’d seem so. Did you understand what the entity said?”

Ben gulped, but answered truthfully. He needed to know what was going on. “Yes. Though I have the impression that I shouldn’t have.”

“And what did they say?”

Ben frowned and made an effort to remember…

The clearing. Itzamma sleeping on the altar. The five of them started to chant. The Shadows came. They joined their energy, making a luminous circle to contain the darkness. Xiar started the words of banishment. Only, The Shadows didn’t attack them as they had been expecting. They retreated. They went and cowered in a circle around Itzamma. Xiar tried to lure them. The portal was open. Its energy should have been calling to the dark spirits. But then, a purplish light came out of the babe. It grew stronger and engulfed The Shadows. It was absorbing them, or so it seemed. And then they heard: “You may think yourself powerful, shaman. But you’re nothing. Nothing! You have no power over us. As long as our new master lives, our will and might will only be his!” Then they had disappeared in a bubble of purple light.

Ben was certain that the raw power had come from Itzamma. He repeated the words he had understood to Xiar and then frowned.

“It is my impression that Itzamma’s aura absorbed The Shadows. But when I left the princes’ side earlier, I could sense no trace of them in him. Though he did feel stronger. Perhaps I was mistaken?”

“No.” Xiar sighed. “You couldn’t sense anything wrong because the darkness has successfully merged with Itzamma’s aura. It’s part of him now. Today it is hiding, but once it settles the change would be clear. Then, the dark energy would slowly become stronger as he grows. Not many would be able to actually sense it yet, not until he starts to actively use it. However, the most advanced of the shamans would be able to sense the change immediately. Our job would be try to control it as long as we can, but it’d eventually surpass our abilities. By then Itzamma should be prepared to deal with it alone.”

“What did Ketzally and Ixcoatl said?”

“They didn’t understand The Shadow’s words. They only heard gibberish. Both are under the impression that The Shadows were in fact destroyed. Thus Ketzally’s over-enthusiastic reaction. She’s already envisioning a world ruled by the jaguars.”

Ben huffed and shook his head in mild amusement. The world certainly didn’t need the jaguars trying to take over. Then, he frowned.

“If they couldn’t understand the entity’s words. Why could I?”

“It spoke in an ancient language. Only the priests of the evil spirits practiced it. I have been learning it, in order to continue the study of the ancient texts. Our ancestors revered four ancient spirits of evil. They gave Mum-ra, the creature to which all the animals served, his immense power and eternal life. All of us were his slaves, though he put the cats as his guards. The cats were his favourite race, and he used us to keep all the rest of the animals under control. I’ve already told you tigers have a natural affinity for dark magic. Many of the ancient priests were tigers.”

“I thought we had been the best pilots.”

“Ah, that’s also true. But you see, that was later. The previous High Shamans, including my mentor, had a theory. We don’t really know how old Mum-ra actually was, or for how long his ship had been cruising the universe. But at some point, he started to change certain things. He allowed less and less tigers to follow the spiritual path and redirected them to military instead. He started to replace the tigers with other races, especially cheetahs and jaguars.”

“Why would he do that?”

“We, my mentor and I, thought that the tigers were becoming powerful. Too powerful maybe. Also, there was something that we’d discuss later, a file that seemed to be referring to a possible betrayal. Perhaps Mum-ra didn’t feel so confident in his own power and his alliance with the evil spirits. After all, a dark entity would always betray you, the moment it senses a weakness.”

Ben nodded thoughtfully. He knew that the affinity to dark magic was special, and if his ancestors had been in fact serving a dark spirit, their enhanced abilities would have passed on to their descendants. No matter how long they had stayed dormant. They could reactivate at any time. Ben remembered his biological family and his natal town. His father had always told him to not let fools like the ones craving the power of dark magic to convince him to return to the darkest rituals. The evil spirits were not helpful. There was always a price to pay, and it invariably was too high. The darkness should only be used by someone strong-willed enough to not be fooled by it. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and returned to the problem at hand.

“Ok. Then, I have more affinity for the dark magic. I’d be able to guide Itzamma if I myself am successful in controlling it. However, it’s still a lot of power. I don’t know how we managed to contain it, but I’m sure that it could surge at the minor provocation. Sooner or later, the entire clan is going to realize what kind of power their future king has.”

Xiar sighed ruefully.

“Sadly, yes. And it is also a possibility that such power would end up corrupting him. If The Shadows have in fact recognized Itzamma as their ‘master,’ the child would have a very powerful and unstable entity at his disposal. Such power could be too attractive. We must do what we can to prevent him from actually use those ‘servants.’ If his power goes out of control, the darkness could easily consume him. He’d only live for the power then, and everything it promises.”

“That is in fact seriously worrying me. Apparently we can’t get rid of those spirits, but it is impossible that they just bonded with Itzamma so quickly. Mai surely did something in her ritual to allow this to happen.”

“Unfortunately we’d never know. Whatever she did is irrelevant now. Just focus on the problem at hand. There is still the very real possibility of total destruction here. I pray to all the deities that Itzamma doesn’t inherit Jareid’s temper.”

Ben shuddered involuntary. As much as he cared for the prince he was the first to say that Jareid’s volatile nature would be the death of him.

“You also have to keep in mind that Ketzally won’t be the only cat that would wish for the boy to use his power more actively. There are many like her. They dream of violence and glory, of power beyond imagination. Fools that don’t realize that such power would eventually destroy them. I’m very thankful that Jareid, as violent as he can be, doesn’t have such ambitions. He’s quite satisfied having the jungle as his domain and is not interested in other forms of power.”

Ben was silent for a moment, digesting all the information he had. Then, his eyes looked at the device in Xiar’s hands and he frowned again.

“There’s something else, isn’t it? In all the years I have lived here, I’ve always been reminded of the fact that we are belligerent creatures. The jaguars had already destroyed Avista once before, and are only tolerant with the other tribes that populate the jungle because we see them as inferiors. Easily destroyed if the king wishes it, and convenient to have around for the sake of trading and maybe entertainment. As you just said, many would think like Ketzally and believe that it’d be time for the jaguars to rule more than just the jungle. If Itzamma succeeds in controlling his power, this might even be possible. Why would you be worried about?”

Ben didn’t believe for a minute that Xiar was against the clan becoming more powerful. The old jaguar also had ambitions, and was as proud of his heritage as any other. The tiger had already witnessed the entire clan celebrating and bragging their victory over Thundera. If Baal would have wanted, Ix-Maal would have already been the cats’ council’s new home. They were now the top clan, and everyone was very aware of this fact. Ben also remembered every history lesson he had attended. The jaguars had been much more violent in the past. They had lived in constant war with the rest of the animals that had wanted to intrude in their territory. Much like Thundera. Bengali had once spent some time in the Kan-meech village, and had learned that the lizards’ ancestors had lived in the jungle as casts outs. Hiding from the cats and unable to really form a town of their own. When the jaguars had stolen the Techstone from Avista, causing its downfall, the lizards had believed themselves as good as extinct. But curiously, since their victory over the birds, the jaguars had just calmed down. It had been confusing, and this apparent quietness had prompted the monkeys to try their luck and initiate a war. It hadn’t been a long war. The jaguars now had had technology on their side, turning them deadlier than they had already been. However, the monkeys were a sly species, and had managed to inflict severe damage to the city. It had been then that the lizards had decided to take a side. They knew that the cats were going to win. The cats always won. And in an effort to prevent the clan from returning to their old behaviour and destroy the entire jungle, they had decided to survive. They had offered alliance to the cats. As little help as they could offer, they had been excellent spies, and the war had been over that much sooner. From then on, the jungle had lived in peace. It wasn’t until the recent attack to Avista’s ruins that the jaguars had used the army anywhere close to their home.

Xiar sighed and lifted the device minutely. “This is part of it.” He touched some icons on the portable screen and then extended his arm to Ben for the tiger to have a look. Bengali took the offered flat screen and scowled. There were several files on display, ready to be opened. Xiar put his finger on one icon and the small screen displayed what looked like a message. Ben read it quickly and lifted his eyes to look in question at the High Shaman.

“What is this?”

“This, is the prophesy about the Black King. The original one. Well, the transcript of the original, we should say.”

Ben’s eyes widened incredulously.

“That prophesy is real?” He exclaimed, and returned to read the few sentences more carefully.

“Indeed. Though, as you can see, the wording is very different from what the clan had believed for ages.”

The end will come from one of the dark. Born from two noble lineages, king he’d be. The power to reshape the world will rest in his claws. He’d bring triumphs and great riches to his own, or unleash the evil and destroy them all at a mere thought. At his feet, the realms must bow or perish, for no entity could ever hope to oppose his might.

“How do you know that this is the original?”

“Look at it more carefully.”

Ben did so. At first, he didn’t notice what was he supposed to see. Finally, after some minutes of contemplation he realized what he was reading, or rather the characters written.

“This… is the same language that The Shadows spoke.”

“Yes. This was part of the files that our clan recovered when we abandoned Thundera. It is millennia old. We could only read it when we took possession of the Techstone.”

“But, how do you know that this is the same prophesy of the Black King that the jaguars believe in? There is no indication that it refers to a specific clan, or to the cats at all!”

“This store device contains all the information that three generations of High Shamans have researched on this. You know, same as everyone, that we returned to look for the ancient ship once we got the Techstone. But very few know exactly what we found.

‘The team was expecting to find very little, and everyone were awed to find the ship buried under tons of sand, but technically untouched. The shamans and the warriors sent started to explore the place, and they found out that it was not quite empty.”

Xiar started to show Ben another file. In there was a transcript of what the exploration team had done and found in the ancient ship. Ben scanned it and stopped at a point that made his eyes widen again. He raised his sight and looked at Xiar in near panic.

“It can’t be.”

“I’m afraid it is. The creature is still very much alive. At least it was when our troops found it, but I doubt its situation has changed since then.”

Ben looked at the screen again. He read the paragraph that had interested him more calmly. It was part of a recount of the exploration given by the then High Shaman, Ashtur.

It talked to us. I swear it did. It had done so the entire time. Telling us where certain things were or what to do to turn the machines on. I had to stop the warriors from getting closer to the main chamber. I could understand and felt it better than the others. The power it promised was petrifying. It’s no doubt a dark entity, but I couldn’t describe its status. It’s not a spirit, though his power could certainly surpass the weaker ones. It’s not alive, yet not exactly dead. It’s an entity of power and evil. Two of my shamans and myself found the entrance and the statues of the evil spirits were towering over us. They felt dormant, but the evil energy still fed the thing sealed in the big sarcophagus. I don’t know what stopped me from opening it. I suppose it was fear. I certainly wasn’t coherent enough to fully comprehend the words it was saying directly to my head. Words that still repeat themselves clearly in my memory, and that now I’m able to translate.

‘So, it won’t be the tigers after all. Nor the lions it seems. I misunderstood the meaning, but I hardly thought your race had such potential.’

I forced myself to turn away. I practically dragged out the two that were with me. This evil is the thing that once enslaved our race. It’d destroy us given the chance. I could clearly feel it. It laughed as I was railing the soldiers out. Thank the spirits that we are a hierarchical race and that is practically wired in our genes to obey the orders of the highest ranked individual, or I fear that at least one of us would have been tempted to let such evil loose. But still, it laughed.

‘I’d wait… he’d come sooner or later… I’d wait for your black king…’

“It seems like… this creature was talking about the jaguars’ prophesy. If I remember correctly, our prophesy says that a black king would be the ruin of the kingdom.”

“That’s the way we know it now. The High Shaman and his most trusted assistants started to research everything they could about these prophesies. They analysed the information and put it in order. The majority of what they found was in files so ancient that they should have been destroyed and become dust long ago. But the Techstone made miracles. It restored even the faded videos that had been hidden. You’d have time to analyse it all, but our predecessors concluded that the prophesy we had known for ages wasn’t originally intended for us at all.”

“Figures.” Ben sighed. Xiar almost smiled.

“The original prophesy was intended for Mum-ra. We even believe that what we have now, was also altered in some way. Apparently, he concluded that one of his priests was set to betray him. He thought that, since the priests were the only animals in direct contact with the evil spirits, one of them would eventually find the way to make a deal, and become more powerful.”

“But, there had never been black tigers.”

“No, but they were called ‘Dark Priests’ or ‘Black Mages’ on occasion.”

“Oh. So, he didn’t like the idea of competition?”

“Mum-ra weeded the tigers out of the priests’ ranks, and put the races that he thought had the less affinity to dark spiritual energy. Since the dark priests had only partial access to the files stored in the ship, over time they came to believe that a prophesy had been made about their particular clan. Mum-ra might even have allowed the rumour to focus on the black jaguars, to diminish the danger of some of his slaves thinking about trying to overthrow him. The wording of said prophesy changed as generations passed by. When eventually, the lions betrayed the creature and set us all free, the context had changed enough for the original prophesy to be forgotten. After that, the clan found its own way, and it has been thousands of years since. The prophesy that we grew up knowing is now more like a deep belief feeding a life-long prejudice. When Ashtur’s expedition found the ship, it regained importance again.”

“Why? It’s clear that it doesn’t necessarily apply to the clan. And it could be any cat it talks about,
not just a black one.”

“That may be, but it’s still difficult to change the mind-set of people. The prophesy has been a learned truth for ages. And to top it off, the creature did say that it’d wait for our black king. The High Shaman continued with speculation, and the one after him, my mentor, too. It’s all in the files. They concluded that the creature envisioned one of our kings freeing it, and thus condemning us all to decimation and slavery again. The then king, along with the most trusted shamans, took the steps they thought would help to minimize the chance for that scenario to come true. They started to reshape our way of life, using technology as a convenient distraction. The dark rituals that we still celebrated started to fall in disuse more and more. We started to be more intellectual in a whole. The educational system put more attention in ancient history, taking care to drill into everyone’s heads that no one wants to be a slave again. No creature has any right to rule over our lives.

‘Of course, change culture takes time. The High Shaman has the responsibility to make peace more attractive, but we are predators after all. And we can’t help one bit if other tribes decide to engage in war with us, as happened with the monkeys. Though, we have make progress in making alliances with the rest of the animals. Sadly, we are still very much encased in prejudices and old beliefs. Baal-or, Baal’s father, was entirely more fanatic, and the information that the confidential files gave him provoked his paranoia to increase. He fixated on the black jaguar prophesy, and he totally freaked out when Baal presented Xilara as his intended.”

“Didn’t you explain to him that it wasn’t about colour?”

“Of course I did, and of course he didn’t listen. When a person is so set in their beliefs, they hardly listen to anything that says otherwise. I even told him my reasoning to believe that there was no possible way for the prophesy to come true. Not in our clan at least.”

“And why was that?”

“Well, there are some things that the prophesy apparently needs to fulfil itself. One of them is a king. As proud as the jaguars are, no matter how long we have isolated ourselves from the rest of the cats, we are still part of them. We are but one clan. And as much as we like to think otherwise, there had never actually been a jaguar king.”

Ben blinked and was confused for a moment. Then, understanding became clear in his face.

“Of course. No jaguar had ever claimed Thundera’s throne before.”

“Exactly. The clan accepted the very first lion king along with everyone else when our freedom had been finally obtained. After some years we decided that we weren’t fit for the lives the lions wanted us to follow, so we defected. Some jaguars though, stayed behind and continued being part of Thundera’s society. Our clan stablished itself elsewhere and made its own rules and our Heads called themselves kings, but never had any real power outside the clan. No Head ever truly rejected the lion king. All we did was ignore his existence as long as it didn’t interfere with our dealings.”

“But now that Baal has actually conquered Thundera, and has in fact won a challenge over Claudus…”

“Baal is the first jaguar king that has ever existed.”

Ben loaded the prophesy again and tried to look for clues. Xiar continued.

“At first, Baal was not acting king. He had the prophesy in mind when he orchestrated the treaty. I was there to remind him that we had to be careful. At the moment I was thinking that if Jareid got a taste of power, he would become bloodthirsty. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. Baal refused to use the Sword in front of the council, and thus he didn’t officially accept the title of ‘Lord of the Thundercats’. He would have been able to return the Sword of Omens to Lion-O once Claudus had passed and continue as we had been. But now that he has actually used the Sword, and it has recognized him, it would be impossible to just return it. For all that our research shows that the Sword would work for any cat, it’d obey better to the strongest. If the council notices that the Sword don’t display the expected power when wielded by Lion-O, they’d simply declare that their magical weapon doesn’t want him as king. The Sword has to be conquered again, and Lion-O would have to issue a formal challenge if he wants it back.”

“Somehow I doubt he’d do it. The Thunderian nobles have make a nice job of alienating their rightful heir. The moment Lion-O realizes that he no longer has any obligation to become a king, he’s going to jump of happiness.”

“Which means that Jareid is going to eventually inherit the Sword and the throne. We have cleanly instated ourselves as the leading clan of the cats.”

“But this hasn’t been a problem until now…”

Ben gave a bit more thought to the facts. He focused on other things that the prophesy might need, and then looked at Xiar in befuddlement.

“Baal had knowledge of all of this, same as you. And you still invaded Thundera and got Tygra to mate with Jareid. You… you want this prophesy to happen, don’t you?”

Xiar sighed and clasped his hands in front of his chest.

“When Baal declared his intentions to mate with Xilara, his father showed him the prophesy and part of the research that had been done, hoping to convince him to find another mate. Baal however considered that a prophesy that was at least millions of years old should not have any say on what he decided to do with his own life. He promised his father that he won’t have a black cub as his first born to appease him, but he considered all prophesy talk utter bullshit. That was, until Jareid started to have random episodes of uncontrolled rage. He insisted then on studying the files more carefully. After a while, he decided that it wouldn’t matter anyway. There was no way to know if the prophesy was being fulfilled or how. Besides, he thought I was right. There needed to be an actual jaguar king for us to be in real danger. Then, he pointed out that there were two possible outcomes if it did happen to come true, and that a real prophesy would fulfil itself whether we wanted it to or not. So, he proposed an alternate path of action. We’d continue with our lives, and if we noticed that the requirements of the prophesy might be coming to existence, then we’d try to redirect the course of events in such a way that the best possible outcome could be achieved. The prophesy marks two paths for the hypothetic dark king to follow. Either he leads us to glory, or he destroys us. I would rather have the first choice myself. Mum-ra seemed to believe that somehow the outcome would have something to do with him, and the original prophesy may have a clearer hint to it. However, we are working only with what we have.”

“But, how could you know if you are doing it one way or the other? For all we know, any of the other clans could be preparing a big betrayal and we’d have a snow leopard as king next.”

“We can’t, I agree on this. But we can do everything within our knowledge to avoid utter destruction. Baal’s raising of Jareid had many faults, but he tried to instil in his son love for his family. A family that would never betray him, and would back him up no matter what. Then, he chose a mate, from another clan, that had the potential to control him. The hard part was to ensure that Tygra would stay here, under our control. Baal never believed that Jareid could become the dark king, neither did I after I had studied the prophesy my entire life, but he had the potential to raise one. I confess that I was worried when Tygra’s twins were born, as I had dismissed the possibility of any of Tygra’s progeny to actually present black fur. I did everything in my power to not lose Itzamma. Akbal would have taken a lot of resentment if he had been the heir. Many of the nobles would have raised their voices, and Jareid would have ended up killing a few. All of that were possibilities of a dark king in the making. Of course, we only thought that we were being cautious, just in case that Lion-O wouldn’t want the title of king. Then, Mai went and did the one most stupid thing she could have done!”

Ben couldn’t help a sarcastic chuckle. Baal was right after all. If a prophesy was real, there was no stopping it, and controlling it… Well, it was most improbable.

“Still, we have no way to be sure that this prophesy has any truth to it. It is ancient.”

“Prophesy or not, we’d be fools to deny the danger that Itzamma now presents. You can’t close your eyes to the fact that he will be a dark shaman, and a dark king.”

Ben groaned. That was truth. There was no denying that Itzamma would grow to be a practitioner of the dark arts. He’d have to or his power would just blow up when he could no longer contain it.

“There is no blocking it now.” Xiar continued. “You must find the way to make sure that he’d use it for our own benefit.”

“The best possible outcome.” Somehow, Ben was asking himself if controlling a prophesy was possible after all.

&&&&&&&

Itzamma was back to normal soon. It took only two days of sleeping in Tygra’s arms before he could be lied down in the crib again without him waking up. He accepted the bottle from Saixa and was sleeping through the night. Tygra happily returned to his other responsibilities and spent part of the evenings playing with his three cubs. After a week, everything that had happened seemed like a bad dream.

Akbal’s first tooth was already in full display, and he was now crawling everywhere easily. Tygra was upset that his cub had started to move more freely while experiencing a traumatic event. Thank the gods that Akbal didn’t seem to remember their awful adventure. He had returned to be the happy cub they all loved.

Ixchel had been more restless for a while, but she calmed down at last. She remained awake longer and was starting to push herself up on her little arms.

Itzamma went back to be quiet, though he stayed alert when Tygra was holding him. He liked to sit on Tygra’s lap, biting furiously on a toy and looking at his brother doing mayhem around him. He didn’t spoke any other word but “ma” and Tygra was starting to worry again.

Cheetara was completely recovered by the end of the month, and was anxious and completely heartbroken at her failure to protect the cubs. Both Lion-O and Tygra did their best to comfort her, assuring her that there hadn’t been anything she could have done. She had acted bravely and no one blamed her for the cubs’ kidnapping, not even Jareid. The jaguar prince even assured her that he knew she’d done the best she could. He had taken care of the real responsible party and his anger had been quelled already. Nevertheless, Cheetara felt utterly unprepared to be a good guardian. Xiar offered to include her in the apprentices’ lessons on offensive techniques and she accepted once she stomped away her guilt. She was not supposed to deviate from the Cleric’s path, but she needed to know how to defend her charges. Lion-O was happy that she was starting to accept the jaguars’ help and encouraged her to learn more about biotechnology. It had saved her life after all, and she could now see its advantages.

She however was horrified when she was told what exactly had kidnapped the cubs. And even more when Lion-O told her about the rite the shamans had done to clean Itzamma’s aura. When she saw the cubs again, she immediately scanned their auras. Akbal’s and Ixchel’s felt normal, but Itzamma’s had changed. She could feel that it was way stronger, and had started to develop darkness. It wasn’t too exposed, if you weren’t looking for it you could have missed it completely. Which only meant that it was already part of the child’s aura. There were remnants of other’s energy too. It was some kind of blockage that Xiar had put to stop the cub’s energy from overflowing. She couldn’t feel any remnant of dark energy that may meant that a dark spirit had stayed at least, but it was small consolation.

She was very troubled, and demanded to know every detail. Ben explained to her what Mai had done and how it may have affected Itzamma’s aura, as well as what had happened at the ritual. He didn’t tell her, however, what had really happened to The Shadows. If the rest of the shamans believed that they had been destroyed, the cleric had no reason to know the truth.

Cheetara understood that Itzamma now had his path practically made up for him. He’d had to learn to work with dark magic. It infuriated her. More so when she realized that some of the shamans were pretty excited about it and couldn’t wait for the cub to start showing up his power. Cheetara thought they were all mad. Couldn’t they see that it was a dark power? If it developed as strong as she perceived it was going to be, then they’d have an evil king set on the destruction of all of them. Xiar assured her that there was nothing inherently evil in the dark energy, but Cheetara didn’t believe that. Her cleric background had taught her that dark magic always degenerated in evilness. Always. There had to be a way to save Itzamma from such fate. The shamans were adamant that it had been impossible to completely purify Itzamma’s aura, but she was distrustful of them, seeing how many of their ranks were almost giddy over the prospect of having a dark shaman to teach. She didn’t doubt for a second that no one was really interested in fixing the problem.

She went to talk to Tygra. The tiger was not attuned to the spiritual plane, but he would understand the danger. She had tried to point out the change in his cub when she first had known about it, but had been shocked when he had only frowned and had told her that he had been aware. She hadn’t known what to say then, as there wasn’t really any trace of an evil spirit in the cub. But now that she had talked with the shamans, she had a better grasp of the situation and she imagined how they had been able to convince Tygra to let things as they were. She was not going to stand for it, not on this. The cub was the jaguars’ heir and he could be a real danger for the rest of the clans if the darkness in him was allowed to grow.

She found Ben in the nursery, making Tygra company. She growled at the shaman’s presence. The white tiger was only seeing to his own convenience. He was misleading Tygra. Cheetara had to do something to make her friend see reason. She looked towards the crib where Tygra was just laying down a sleeping Ixchel. Akbal was on the floor, playing with Snarf and with some toys. A few more minutes and he’d be ready for a nap. Ben was sitting on the brand new rocking chair, with a scowling Itzamma. The cub looked focused on a play panel that Ben was holding in front of him. It had different buttons and shapes that the cub could push to hear different sounds and see lights all over the toy. At the moment, Itzamma was repeatedly pushing a bird-like shape that sounded like a hawk. Akbal had a teether plush in his mouth and was rattling a turtle-shaped activity ball, making all the little balls inside change colours. Snarf was close by, looking ready to dodge whatever the cub decided to throw at him. Tygra looked up from the crib and smiled Cheetara’s way.

“Chee. Came to say hi?”

“I was hoping we could talk before dinner.”

“And before Jareid is around?” Tygra smirked. Cheetara still didn’t like his relationship with the jaguar prince. It was unlikely that she ever fully accepted it.

“Yes. I don’t think he’d like what I want to tell you.”

She looked towards Ben resentfully. She knew that the shaman wasn’t going to go away if Tygra didn’t directly dismiss him. At the moment, the young tiger didn’t see the need to get rid of his friend.

“Ok. We can talk here if you want. Akbal would be sleeping shortly.”

Cheetara gave a cursory look to the black cub. He had lied down, but still persisted on shaking his turtle toy viciously. Snarf was starting to carry the rest of the toys to a nearby chest. She looked pointedly to Bengali again, but the shaman had no intention to leave. He continued encouraging the babe on his lap to try different buttons on his panel. Cheetara clenched her teeth and looked to Tygra again.

“I’d like to talk to you alone.”

Tygra sighed. He had known it was coming. He understood Cheetara’s concerns. He had his own worries. He was very conscious of the fact that he was starting to put more attention on what Itzamma was doing. But his son seemed perfectly normal. There had not been any further disturbances to his cubs’ lives, and there hadn’t been any shadows around. Itzamma was still a quiet cub, though now he remained awake for longer periods of time. Tygra had also noticed that his cub clung to him with more tenacity than before, but that was expected. After the awful experience his son had gone through, Tygra really was only grateful that his behaviour was not worse.

“If it’s about Itzamma, Ben can listen to it. He knows better than me how his aura has changed.”

“And he’s done nothing about it! Tygra, this is serious. You very well know that darkness taints your spirit. It has to go!”

Ben sighed and stood up to give Itzamma to his father. The little cub smiled happily and clung to Tygra’s neck. Bengali looked at the other two cubs and frowned. This discussion could get loud rather quickly. He sighed in resignation, and directed Cheetara as far away from the crib as possible. Tygra also sighed and took his son to the changer while Bengali spoke with the cleric again.

“The darkness you’re perceiving is part of him Cheetara. It can’t be taken away, we already tried to clean his aura, but it has just accepted the dark energy. It’s part of what Itzamma is. The shadows are gone, everything that remains is from him.”

“The spirits could be gone, but they forced him to mature. He’s not supposed to show such power so early, and it’s leaning to the dark. That is tainting the cub’s aura and it’s only going to grow!”

“Please, calm down. Itzamma is in no danger…”

“How could you say that? It shows great potential, but it is still dark and it’s going to overwhelm him as soon as he tries to use it.”

Tygra turned around then. He held his cub tightly to his chest and listened to his babbling. Itzamma had always liked to be held close to his body.

“There had been no change in him, Chee. He’s behaving as he always has.”

“He could be a danger for your other cubs Tygra. That darkness…”

“He’s not a danger to his siblings. Akbal and Ixchel are both sleeping in the same crib, and nothing out of the ordinary has happened.”

“Tygra, I know that you can’t feel it, but it is there. And it is powerful, it’s only waiting for your cub to be strong enough so it can take over.”

Tygra bit his lips. Cheetara didn’t know that he could in fact feel it. A little bit at least. He had totally freaked out the very next morning following the ritual, when he had sensed something wrong in his cub. Ben had explained to him what it was and why he could feel it. Tygra had not been happy to learn that his ancestors had once been dark priests. He was not going to tell his family about that particular fact, ever.

Bengali only sighed and thanked the spirits that he had realized on time that Tygra was going to be as perceptive to dark energy as he was. The young tiger had been utterly anxious and had not really noticed the dark power in his cub because he had been overwhelmed himself. But once he’d calmed down, he’d noticed the change. Ben and Xiar had been considering what to tell the princes, or even if it was wise to tell them anything, but they had reasoned that Tygra had needed to know. He was going to sense Itzamma sooner or later and they couldn’t have him rejecting his cub. Then they had remembered Cheetara. It had been pure luck, they had honestly forgotten about her and the fact that she was a cleric. She was going to tell Tygra all the bad things that could happen. Tygra had needed to be informed by them before Cheetara would have a chance to see the cubs. Now the problem was how to deal with her.

“You’re talking about the dark as if it was a sentient being. But it is not so.”

“How could you know?! The Shadows that took him away were sentient beings. What if something is just encapsulated inside the cub’s aura and we can’t feel it?”

“We took the necessary precautions. Xiar and Taira both used their own power to protect Itzamma. His power would be contained. He’d learn how to control it.”

“The dark can’t be controlled. You may believe it can, but that’s not so. And do you really think that your High Shaman is going to tell you the truth about the cub’s power when he’s so greedily looking for it?”

Tygra bit his lips. At first he hadn’t known whether to believe that Xiar had in fact Itzamma’s well-being as a priority. He had been more reassured when Bengali had announced the High Shaman’s decision to start training him as a replacement. And even more when Xiar had talked with both him and Jareid about the need for Itzamma to have a trusted mentor, and that it was going to be Ben. They had even talked about the prophesy, which Jareid had deemed to be pure nonsense. Tygra had just understood one thing: his cub did have the potential to do great damage, but he also had the potential to be a great king. It’d depend completely on what Itzamma would choose to do.

Tygra had decided that he would do everything in his power for his cub to grow up into a loving and reasonable man. He would not allow his child to become evil, in spite of whatever dark power he could have. He believed Ben when the tiger said that Itzamma could learn to control the dark and not use it for evil purposes. Besides, no one really wanted an evil king. Xiar was as anxious about that as Cheetara was. She only couldn’t see it. Both Baal and Xiar were perfectly aware that an evil dark shaman would be the end of the entire species. They were doing everything they could think of to prevent that very scenario from happening. Tygra was in fact a bit awed that they were telling him the truth, and couldn’t help but feel grateful for it.

Of course he couldn’t say that he had accepted it easily. He had freaked out. He had cried. He had even spent some time looking directly into Itzamma’s eyes, trying to catch any shadow lurking behind. Jareid had pointed out that he had been ridiculous, and he had yelled at his mate and very nearly challenged him again. Jareid had quickly immobilized him and had forced reason into him. Itzamma was their cub. He needed them. Whatever he’d become, they would have a large part in creating it. The same was for Akbal and Ixchel. They were raising them. Tygra was not going to simply abandon one of his cubs.

He kissed Itzamma and put him down with his brother and Snarf. He moved them closer to the crib, praying that Cheetara continued hissing her pointed arguments. Then he walked towards his long-time friend.

“I don’t entirely trust Xiar, but I trust myself Chee. My cub is not evil, and he’d never be. I’d be the one raising him, I’d not allow anyone to teach him to use his power incorrectly.”

“But Tygra, the dark can’t be controlled. It takes over and changes the soul. There had not been cats that had successfully master dark magic without fallen into madness!”

“There had been.” Said Bengali at once. Cheetara looked baffled at him.

“What?”

“There had been dark shamans. Fourteen to be precise. One of them was in fact the older brother of king Theera. He passed the crown to his younger brother because he preferred to take the mantle of High Shaman. None of them succumbed to madness, or went evil. Only two died an early death because of a ritual gone wrong. Dark shamans are very rare because of the difficulty in controlling the dark magic, but a powerful shaman is very capable of harness it without being overwhelmed.”

Cheetara was speechless for a second.

“You… the jaguars had been dealing with dark magic? For how long?”

“Since the beginning. The majority know how to do minor dark rites, though not many actually use dark energy much. There hadn’t been a true dark shaman in about three centuries or so, that’s why everyone is so excited about Itzamma’s power. A true dark shaman is very powerful, and can destroy dark spirits easier. Also, the dark rituals would be much more effective and with minimal repercussions.”

“But, it’d destroy the soul.”

“So far that hadn’t happened. We do use dark magic on occasion. Well, only the ones of us that have enough will-power to control it.”

Cheetara pressed her lips in a tight line. How could it be possible that the jaguars had been working with dark magic for centuries and yet continue to flourish? More so, why was the jungle still intact? The only reason the jaguars had invaded Thundera had been because some treacherous nobles had made it happen. And they had not completely annihilated the city, though they could have done so easily.

She shook her head. It was not the same. Not really. Maybe they could perform some rituals and do minor magic, but what Itzamma would be able to do was more terrifying. If Itzamma was allowed to practice dark magic it would be disastrous.

“Maybe no one has used the magic’s full potential. Itzamma could be capable to do it. If he falls into the darkness he could be unstoppable. How are you going to control him?”

“No one is going to control him. He’s going to learn to control himself. He has to grow up sure of himself and with a good environment. His values are going to be essential for him to make the adequate choices.”

“That’s crazy. You can’t possibly be sure that he’s going to have good values. Not with darkness inside him already!”

“Of course we can be sure. I’d be teaching him.” Said Tygra, a little hurt that his friend apparently thought that knowledge and values were going to come to his cub all by themselves. “He has his family. He’d distinguish very well between good and bad. I’m not going to simply let anyone teach him.”

“Tygra please. The point is not if he would know what’s good or bad. It’s that he’d prefer to do the bad. It would be much more appealing to him.”

“Just because he’s going to be able to sense it better doesn’t automatically make it more appealing. There’s going to be love and joy in his life. He’s not going to stop feeling good emotions.”

“It’s possible that he does exactly that!”

“Chee.” Tygra got closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “I know that you’ve learned all the bad things that can happen. But there really are no proof of that.”

“No proof? Tygra… the ancient scrolls say how horrible dark magic is.”

“I know. We have strict laws, and because of them no cleric has ever tried to harness it. No one actually had dared to do it. The shamans had. They had been doing it for ages, in fact, and civilization has not ended yet.”

“Perhaps there hasn’t been a shaman powerful enough…”

“Or maybe it is possible to control one’s own urges.”

Cheetara huffed in desperation. She took her hands to her head and groaned, trying to think.

“The laws are there to protect us. They are absolute. The evil spirits are still around, just waiting for an opportunity.”

“There’s not going to be an opportunity. Itzamma is going to learn to keep his power under control. No evil spirit is going to be called, ever.”

The cleric looked towards the cubs. Itzamma had lied down besides his twin, and both of them seemed to have drifted off to sleep. There was really no sign of any alien aura in the cub. The power she could perceive had great potential. She wouldn’t be anxious about it if there wasn’t the taint of dark energy that was now part of the cub’s soul.

“At least let Jaga check him up.”

“Jaga?” Ben asked. Tygra frowned at his friend.

“Yes. He’d be able to tell if the darkness is corrupting the cub’s soul. Maybe he can figure a way to dispose of it, so Itzamma’s aura would be clean again. He’d do what the shamans maybe don’t want to do.”

Ben cocked his head to the side, considering it. Itzamma’s aura couldn’t be cleaned. There was nothing to dispose of. His energy had simply changed. But maybe the cleric could block some of the wild power that Itzamma possessed. It would be a great help.

“It couldn’t hurt.” He started. Cheetara looked at him in surprise. She had been expecting him to deny any help from the Head of the Clerics. Tygra, however, clenched his fists and growled.

“No.”

Cheetara turned her head towards the younger tiger again. She opened her mouth in shock.

“What? Why not? Jaga can help Tygra…”

“No Chee. You know very well what Jaga would do. He wouldn’t care about Itzamma’s well-being. He’d only see a danger for the kingdom!”

“But, Tygra, what if he is a danger?”

“He’s a cub! None of you would understand that fact. You’re only seeing dark magic, and screaming bloody murder. Jaga is going to be the same. He’s going to follow the letter of the law, and I won’t stand by it!”

“What do you mean?” Asked Ben curiously. Tygra sighed.

“The law of Thundera declares all kinds of dark magic illegal. Every dark artefact is to be destroyed on sight. Any one surprised practicing it, is to be executed immediately. It’s the only crime that grants execution, in fact. If someone is found with the taint of dark energy, the cat is questioned and exiled after cleaning their aura, only if they’re deemed as unwilling participants. If not, they’re also executed. There are no exemptions.”

“Jaga would find the way to clean Itzamma’s aura.”

“And what’s he going to do when he convinces himself that it can’t be done? He’s going to try, and hurt my son in the process. He won’t care that he’s a cub! The taint won’t go away entirely Chee. It’s his own aura now. It’s part of him.”

“Jaga knows how to remove the taint, even if it has begun to change the soul. He’d remove that part.”

Ben’s eyes widened at that comment, as Tygra growled under his breath.

“But that can cause severe damage. It’d mutilate the soul. An adult would suffer greatly. I wouldn’t dare to do that to a cub. His capacity to interact with the world would be practically destroyed. It would be like having a doll.”

“It won’t be like that. I’m sure that Jaga can do it with minimum damage. And even if Itzamma ends up being much more quiet, it certainly would be better than him going dark.”

“No.” Said Tygra with finality. Cheetara opened her mouth again, but Tygra had heard enough. “Forget about it Cheetara. Jaga is not going to put a finger on my cub. You’re not going to get close to him as long as you insist on treating him as if he were a thing!”

Cheetara’s eyes widened. She shook her head in denial and tried to approach the young tiger.

“Tygra… I… I only want to protect you…”

“I don’t need protection against my own cub! I’d be protecting him from you and the rest of the Thunderians. No one is going to judge him, or talk bullshit about him, just because he has a very powerful aura.”

“But… the dark…”

“I don’t care if it’s dark! My cub is just a babe. He doesn’t know anything about rituals or evil spirits. He’s going to have a happy life, and he’s never going to need any dark entities!”

Cheetara clenched her fists. This could not be happening. Tygra was supposed to listen to her! The jaguars had made the darkness look so innocent, it was unbelievable. She tried to think of what to say, when a little voice interrupted them.

“Ma!”

Tygra immediately turned around. Itzamma was sitting beside his brother, rubbing his sleepy eyes. The tiger went to pick up his son, who lifted his little arms as soon as he noticed his parent close by.

“Ma.”

“Come here love. Did we wake you up? I’m sorry.”

Tygra held the little cub lovingly, letting him get comfortable. Itzamma rested his head on his father’s shoulder and yawned.

“I think there’s nothing more to say Cheetara. If you excuse me, Jareid would be here any minute now.” He said rather coldly, and without turning to see the cheetah.

Cheetara was very confused. She couldn’t understand why Tygra didn’t want Jaga to try to heal his son. Or why he would risk his other cubs’ safety. The shamans had blocked Itzamma’s power for the moment, but that was no guarantee that the evil spirits would ignore it. The cub was like a magnet. He was going to attract bad things even without meaning to. He needed to be stopped now that he was a cub, before he truly understood the amount of power he had.

Bengali sighed and approached the cleric gingerly. She was taking the situation worse than both Tygra and Lion-O. In a way he was grateful that it was her the one reacting badly to the cub’s change and not Tygra. But still, she could cause problems. Her influence needed to be neutralized.

“Perhaps it’d be best to not alienate your friend.”

Cheetara glared at him. Ben shrugged.

“He’s only protecting his child.”

“It’s wrong! The cub is now a danger; he has to be stopped!”

“Stopped from doing what exactly? Growing up? He’s going to be raised with love. We are going to teach him how to adequately use his power. He’d know the dangers of summoning dark spirits.”

“You very well know that it’s not going to matter. As soon as he tastes the dark there’s not going to be anything else.”

Ben frowned.

“Is that really what you think? That no matter what his parents would do, he’s going to simply ditch everything and become a mindless, evil force?”

“The dark is that destructive, yes. If we don’t remove it now, he’s going to be the end of every one of us.”

Ben got distracted when he listened to Tygra attempting to put Itzamma in the crib. The little cub wriggled unhappily and pointed insistently to his brother. Akbal was still on the floor, over the matt that usually served as playing ground.

“Do you want your twin in the crib first? You’re such a good brother, love.”

“Ma!” Itzamma insisted, leaning a bit over Tygra’s arms.

Ben looked sideways at Cheetara.

“I don’t believe that. I’ve seen enough cats practice the dark rites without turning against their families or their principles. Itzamma is no different. He only has more… possibilities.”

“That’s…”

“Not of your concern. Not as long as he lives here. Remember that.”

Ben approached the young tiger to help him pick up Akbal. Once the black cub was sleeping in the crib, Itzamma calmed down and let Tygra lie him down too. Snarf climbed into the crib as usual.

Cheetara bit her lips. She wanted to say more, but she had to leave when Tygra practically growled at her. She needed to think of a better way to get Tygra to listen. She had to change her strategy. She didn’t want to see the little cub being corrupted. The darkness had to go.
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A Tale of Jaguars