Chapter 20: "The House of Two"

As afternoon came and evening was fast approaching, things had been uneasy. Caseus had insisted he had no idea how he had managed such an impossible feat against such a large Beast, doing his best to dismiss it as a fluke of life or death struggle, or perhaps some random moment of divine intervention. Elkeniah had chimes in that such intervention was not impossible, while Kai had immediately jumped to calling it proof of Caseus's “monstrous self”, in his words. Ibnir again shushed him, though this time, Caseus noticed the man giving him a suspicious look out of the corner of his eye. Arabella, after her brief moment of clarity trying to pull Caseus to safety, had fallen back into her infantile mumbling, drawing odd looks from all strangers.

It was only the condition of their fallen comrade that persuaded the posse to leave, heading out on the priest’s horse to the nearest town, seeking any sort of doctor.

“Do not think we will spare that Beast if we should find him here when we return,” Ibnir had said. He gave Caseus another side-eye as they left. Kai was conspicuously glaring at him, hardly taking his eyes off him.

As they departed, so too did the Carnotaurus, muttering about a headache as it headed off into the cypress forest. Only when the two parties had left did Elkeniah give a sigh of relief.

“Thank the heavens,” he said. “Truly, I do not think I could have handled that situation on my own!”

“Think nothing of it,” Caseus said. He was doing his best to remain nonchalant and collected, but internally, he was dreading the topic of that kick coming back up.

“Well, it will be getting dark before too long, and now I wouldn't consider these roads particularly safe. May I ask that you stay the night?” The priest himself was also remaining cordial and polite, seemingly forgetting the arrow lodged in his forearm.

“We actually were hoping to rest here,” Caseus said, gesturing to his group.

“Oh, truly? I suppose our reputation precedes us then. Well, I am Elkeniah, priest of this tabernacle, and son of Hath. This is Sister Cassiopeia, the finest nun I have ever had the honor of serving with. Welcome, to this House of Two.”

***

The House of Two was one of the predominant churches in the country. Its teachings ran contrary to the founding mythos of Enoménos, and yet was one of the biggest proponents of the co-existence that had defined the society.

Specifically, the House taught that, while the gods had smote all of Creation on the Sixth Day, they neither viewed Humanity nor Beasts as more deserving of their blessing. Both species, it said, would receive a birthright of their own from the gods.

“It seems the crown is now at odds with the House itself,” Psaltria mused.

“Indeed,” Elkeniah concurred, wincing as he sat down, resting his arm on the chair. He had managed to remove the arrow, and done his best to clean and bandage the wound, but now that the adrenaline had worn off, the pain was hard to ignore.

“I never thought I would see such things,” Cassiopeia the Stegosaurus, or “Cassie” as she preferred, said. “Our own countrymen, our flock, turning against each other over any issue, great or small. What would once result in maybe a dispute with courts or a mere discussion, is now just Man against Beast.”

The group had gathered in the main temple entrance, at the foot of the ziggurat. Tapestries depicting the history of the nation, from the First Day to the present, adorned the walls of clay bricks. While they had once been vibrantly colored, with intricately woven patterns, they had since become faded, and were beginning to fray at the edges. Likewise, cracks were beginning to show in the bricks, having gone unrepaired.

“It certainly looks as though this place has seen better days,” Caseus said. He was looking dispassionately at a tapestry depicting his father's coronation, unconsciously clenching his fist.

“Indeed,” Elkeniah sighed. “Fewer craftsmen wish to be seen repairing our church anymore, and with so little attendance and tithes, we can scarcely afford the ones still willing.”

He looked up at the ziggurat. The sun was beginning to sink perfectly behind its peak; the House of Two believed the heavenly bodies and stars were the best way to divine the God’s will, and thus constricted their temples to help measure and observe their movements.

“Well, it will be dark soon. Cassie, wouldst you please show them the guest quarters?”

“Yes, Father.” The group followed her out a side door, large enough for Beasts to use, and down a long cobblestone corridor. Weeds had begun to sprout about along the edges, and yet more cracks could be seen along the walls.

“Honestly, I wish to thank you again for your aid, Harada,” Cassie said.

“Think nothing of it,” Caseus said.

No, truly, It is quite fortunate that you were the Venator that showed up.”

“Oh? What does that mean?” Caseus asked.

“Was there another Venator nearby?” Arabella piped.

Cassie gave a nod and a snort. “Indeed, and a high-ranking one at that. I believe it was… oh what's the bloody term they use? Ermki? Enku?”

“Surely you don't mean an Enkidu-rank?” Shawk asked.

“Ah, yes! That was the one. A quiet fellow, but with a dreadful presence about him.”

Caseus, Shawk and Psaltria exchanged worried glances.

“An Enkidu-rank Venator? There are not many of those, correct?”

Caseus nodded. “There are fewer than 10, when last I heard. Supposedly they are able to mimic the various forms of Beast Magicke.”

Suddenly the other's worry was understandable. The memory of that brachiosaur’s earth-rending magic at the river popped into Arabella's head. The thought of a Venator wielding such power was a frightening prospect.

***

The guest rooms were rather Spartan in their accommodations; simple floor and walls, no decorations, save for some plain beige curtains against the windows. There were plain cots for humans, and a stack of large woven blankets for Beasts.

They were divided by sex, their rooms right next door to each other.

“Dinner will be held at the Father’s quarters in another hour!” Cassie said cheerily, before departing back down the corridor, her spiked tail bobbing with each step.

“She seems awfully cheery,” Caseus said to himself, watching her from the room's doorway.

“Perhaps she's just trying to stay positive,” Arabella said. She startled Caseus when she spoke; he hadn't noticed her approach.

“Perhaps that is something you should try, M’lord,” Shawk remarked from within the room. “Like the man who once hoped to become prince, to fix all the country's ills.”

“Shawk, if this is about earlier-”

“You know it is, M’lord.”

“-then I simply ask to cease. I have made my opinion on the matter clear. I am done with trying to mitigate my father's mistakes. And I have no desire to inherit a divided and degenerating country.”

Caseus gestured to the cracks in the ceiling, the spots where moisture dripped through the ceiling, at the weeds in the corners.

“This place, the vineyard, the Carnotaurus… so much of this country was built on the coexistence between Men and Beasts. When you erode the foundation, you erode all the rest along with it. Vineyards without workers, protectors of herds turned predators, churches and buildings rotting away with no congregations, no inhabitants. How much of the rot and decay in this country has been because of Father's failures?”

Neither could give an answer.

“Honestly, I think it would be better for this festering pile of a nation to burn away. Let something new grow from the ashes.”

“Pardon me for asking, but if you truly feel that way, then why have you continued to be so helpful?” Arabella felt her mouth getting out ahead of her mind, but she couldn’t stop. “You have been so helpful to us and the others Shawk spoke of. Why, if all should burn away?”

Caseus didn’t answer at first. He walked over and looked out the window at the setting sun.

“Perhaps… perhaps I am simply going through the motions. From a time when I cared.”

Arabella felt something, somewhere in her chest, a simultaneous pain, and fluttering. Something she couldn’t describe. She looked to Shawk. The older dinosaur had simply hung his head.

“Well,” Caseus turned back from the window. “I suppose you should run along to dinner. It shall not be long now until the Beast comes out.”

***

Kai could hear the group’s voices coming from the window. He was hiding behind a fallen log, near the rear of the guest quarters. Ibnir crouched next to him. They had sent Samuel and Tarsus on ahead to seek aid for Tarsus’s leg. It had not been easy, it had taken much pleading and insisting, but Kai had finally convinced Ibnir to come back with him.

Finally, they would see the truth.