THE LAST KEEPER

The summons had reached every corner of Thazir before dawn, dragging chiefs from their estates and elders from their beds with a single command from the War General.

Attend immediately.

By the time the council chamber filled, an uneasy tension had already settled over the room. Conversations were short and whispered. No one seemed willing to speak too loudly, as if doing so might invite bad news into existence. The empty seat of the Supreme Chief loomed over the chamber, a constant reminder that Sagiri was absent.

Several council members kept glancing toward it unconsciously. When the great doors finally opened, silence swept through the room instantly. Zifara entered wearing full war armor rather than his ceremonial attire, every step echoing against the stone floor.

The sight alone tightened stomachs.

A Kai only calls for urgent meetings when there is a threat of war.

Behind him followed senior officers of the Southern Army, their expressions grim and unreadable. The atmosphere grew so heavy that breathing felt difficult. Elder Maresha’s fingers stopped tapping. Chiefs who normally argued over every matter sat perfectly still.

Even the wandering members seemed uneasy.

Zifara climbed the steps to the head of the chamber and stopped beside Sagiri’s empty seat. For a long moment, he said nothing, allowing the silence to stretch until it became unbearable. His gaze swept across every face in the room, and whatever they saw in his eyes caused several elders to straighten in alarm.

Something was wrong. Very wrong. The realization spread through the chamber like a sickness before a single word had even been spoken. Zifara allowed the silence to linger for several moments before speaking.

"I called all of you here in a hurry because the Supreme Chief has not returned." The statement struck the chamber like a hammer. Confused murmurs immediately spread through the council. Zifara’s expression remained grim.

"He is not a child. He can come back when he wants to. Besides, it’s not like he has not been doing well since his arrival. No one dares seal my goods at sea anymore, even the islanders of Yokova state." The Prince of Tides said.

"You only care about your stomach. Typical greed." The iron matron shook her head.

"The final rites were expected to take four days. It has now been eleven." Koru said. He was standing beside Zifara. He had requested to go with Sagiri to do the final rites, but Sagiri had waned to do this alone. The murmurs became voices.

"Contact?" one elder asked.

"None," Zifara replied.

"Sightings?" The veiled speaker asked. This further proved that not even his masters of whispers knew what had happened. Of course, they could not dare follow Sagiri around. Not even they were that daring.

"None," Zifara said in a hard voice.

"Zaira?" Elder Maresha. "Surely that beast is too big to just disappear into thin air."

"Gone as well. My men have searched every nook and cranny of the south." That was what truly unsettled the room. The beast had vanished alongside its master. The chamber erupted instantly. The Chiefs rose from their seats. Elders began talking over one another. Some argued there was nothing to worry about. Sagiri possessed powers beyond their understanding.

Perhaps he had entered a deep meditation. Others pointed out that he had disappeared before without warning.

The Tatani chief seat remained empty this round. She might have been given a seat by Sagiri, but even Seya knew she had to earn it, and coming to meetings on her second or third week in the city could only make her life and her people’s difficult. Council affairs continued without a Tatani representative for now.

"There is every reason for alarm." His voice cut through the noise. "I know the Chief." Several members looked unconvinced.

"Do you?" one elder challenged.

"The boy barely tells anyone what he is thinking." Laughter followed. Calling a boy was laughable. Sagiri was not a boy or a child. Zifara ignored it.

"Something is wrong." His eyes hardened. "I felt it the day he left." That caused the room to quiet slightly.

"Felt what?" Elder Maresha asked. Zifara hesitated.

"Obsession." The word hung in the air.

"The Chief went to perform rites." The archivist said. "I am only sad I did not get to witness him perform the rites so I can record every detail.

"And?" The Mazuku chief said to Zifara, ignoring the archivist. Even after his brother died, he still pretended to care about the supreme chief, but everyone knew it was because he could not do anything and he just chose to bite his loss.

"And I believe he found something." More silence followed. Then another elder scoffed.

"You think the Supreme Chief wandered into the desert and lost his mind?" Several council members nodded. Zifara didn’t back down.

"I think he went to bury the dead and found a reason to avenge them instead." The chamber exploded again. Half the council immediately rejected the notion. The other half looked troubled.

"Impossible." The hawkeye judge said. "The Chief is disciplined. He would never abandon the South. He knows his responsibilities."

"He is not some reckless child." The beast warden said. Beast doesn’t listen to reckless people.

"The N’folu massacre happened years ago." The arguments crashed into one another from every direction. Zifara slammed a hand onto the table. The sound echoed through the chamber.

"You didn’t see him." Silence followed. "You didn’t see the look in his eyes before he returned to Nkara." His gaze swept across the room. "The Chief has carried too much pain for too long. The relics. The Archive. His tribe. His parents. The betrayal." His voice lowered. "And now he has disappeared into the place where all of it began." Even those who disagreed fell silent. Elder Maresha slowly rose from his seat. His expression was troubled. "Then what exactly are you suggesting, General?" Zifara looked toward Sagiri’s empty chair.

"I am suggesting that the most powerful man in the South has vanished." The room became deathly quiet. "And I fear he may have decided that revenge is more important than ruling."

The chamber fell silent for a heartbeat before one of the older chiefs frowned.

"And what exactly is the problem?" Several heads turned toward him. The chief spread his hands. "If the Supreme Chief has discovered the truth behind the destruction of his people and intends to seek justice, why should that concern us?" A murmur of agreement swept through portions of the council. Another chief rose.

"The Nfolu were part of the South. Their blood is our blood. If they were betrayed, then the South was betrayed." More voices joined in.

"Exactly." The Tavhiri chief was the loudest

"The Supreme Chief has every right. More than a right. An obligation to avenge his ancestors and clan." The Azuvai chief added.

Zifara remained standing, his expression unchanged.

"You are missing the point."

"No, General," Elder Maresha interrupted quietly. "Perhaps you are." The old man slowly rose to his feet. The chamber immediately quieted. "The issue is not whether Sagiri seeks revenge." His eyes swept across the gathered chiefs and elders. "The issue is whether we stand beside him when he does."

Silence followed.

Nobody liked that question. It was easy to support revenge from the safety of a council chamber. Much harder when armies began marching. One of the merchant elders cleared his throat.

"Perhaps we should first determine who the enemy is." Several people nodded eagerly.

Another added, "And whether war is necessary." That sparked immediate outrage from some of the chiefs.

"Necessary?" one barked. "If someone slaughtered an entire tribe, what more necessity do you need?" The argument erupted again. Voices rose. Accusations followed. Some urged caution. Others demanded action.

Then Elder Maresha slammed his staff against the floor. The crack echoed through the chamber.

"Enough." The room fell silent. The old man’s gaze hardened. "The South knelt before Sagiri. That included every tribe, every city, and every council member." His eyes moved from face to face. "We accepted him as Supreme Chief because we believed he would protect us. Now the question before us is whether we will protect him or cower like fools again.

"If our Chief marches to war alone while we sit safely behind these walls, then we are cowards." The word stung. Several chiefs looked away. "If he uncovers the truth and we hide because we fear the consequences, then we never deserved to call him Supreme Chief." The chamber remained deathly still.

"The General is right to worry," Maresha continued. "Not because Sagiri seeks revenge. Any son would seek revenge. Any Chief would seek revenge." His gaze settled on Sagiri’s empty seat. "The danger is that he may believe he must carry it alone." For the first time since the meeting began, nobody argued.

They simply stared at the empty chair where their Supreme Chief should have been, and wondered whether, at that very moment, he was preparing for a war that could set the entire continent ablaze.

"So then you called us here to prepare for a possible war." The veiled speaker said, finally.

"We are already at war, I believe. The boy was sent away by the north. Yet they still hold his parents." Zifara said.

"If the North took our silence sixteen years ago for weakness, then they are wrong. They kill the man’s tribe and now taunt him. Perhaps they should feel the wrath of the South."Koru snarled.