Chapter 10
The Toen war marched on with vicious intent towards its 18th year. What once was an uprising had become a revolution. Another 7 million lives had become dust, bringing the casualty count to 10 million. Both sides had passed the point of surrender. There are too many crippled Kaa families for them to give in and far too many Vindijans lost for their mercy to ever enter the conversation. The 21st commandment in the book of Yealik stated,” Wars are for winning.” Oma Vev knew it and knew it all too well. The Kaa knew it now and the Vindijan’s knew it once again. The Toen war had spilt over from the battlefield and out into the streets.
Dr. Atorn had sent out a message that every Kaa has to be actively fighting the Vindijan Line. He said that any Kaa who broke bread with a Vindijan is betraying himself and his fellow Kaa. The Vindijan Line became increasingly more distrustful of their Kaa servants and did away with them all together. Now it was Vindijan’s serving themselves and it caused them to become close knit.
The T sun has also changed, its’ solar flares have become even more powerful. This greatly amplifies the Vindijan’s powers. They can levitate 50 feet in the air and fly for over half a mile before they need to land.
They also added a few new powers. They can centralize the radiation into a ball in their hand. Then punch it through their knuckles at an attacker, shattering their skulls in a burst of bone and flesh. They call this the Mormo Technique and use it without hesitation.
They also developed the Coreto Eye, a technique which gives them the ability to see through walls. It also enables them to look inside a Kaa’s beating heart and burst it with the blink of their eye. Many Kaa have had their lives cut short with the blink of a Vindijan’s eye.
Peastro’s powers have gotten especially strong. He has all the new powers, the Mormo Technique and the Coreto Eye, but also a few others including his floating arm clench, the F.A.C. He doesn’t have to move to attack at all. He can use the F.A.C. enabling him to crush someone simply by visualizing it in his mind. He can now feel the strength of his mind growing daily.
Peastro is nearing 14 years passed and his thoughts are of Veveld, Carnag, and the agreed upon 8th. He has prepared himself mentally for the day they will arrive. He is eagerly awaiting their arrival.
The war has taken a toll on Peastro and he dreams of the tranquility of Goldva. He longs for a break from the brutality of Sras Oblique and a new reality. Morn also looks forward to a new start with Peastro, a chance for their love to blossom anew.
Coup meanwhile is becoming a beaten man. The Toen war has humbled him and it is starting to show.
“Can I get ah…ah cup of coffee?” asks Coup softly.
“Darling, you already have two cups in front of you. Would you like a third?” asks Mela as she looks intently at Coup.
“Maybe some Vin or Pent…something though…I feel cold. This winter has been especially harsh, when will it end I fear not soon,” said Coup as he curled up into the fetal position on the edge of the bed.
“You will have whatever you desire I will see to it,” said Mela nervously then she motioned to their servant to bring the Vin, Pent, and another cup of coffee. She embraced Coup and whispered,” My Love and passion for life is here, with you right now. The Builder will aid us it is a certainty my love. Take the pressure off your shoulders and set it aside for as long as you need to,” said Mela reassuringly as she rubbed Coup’s shoulder and played with his hair. “Your power is greater now than a thousand armies. Remember the Line and the greatness of a thousand generations. They are all here with us now, they never left.”
Coup nods and takes her hand in his firmly and whispers,” Mela, your strength doubles mine. I forget that sometimes and I know I shouldn’t. Remember the Line…I feel I’m letting them down and it hurts. It tears this Vindijan’s heart to pieces.”
Mela’s eyes start to well up and she says softly,” A foolish man over thinks his failures and you are the bravest man I know. You honor the Line with every breath. This war can be won and you will be the victor.”
“You’re right…I know it, but I still needed to hear it one more time. Maybe even one more another T sun,” said Coup softly as he turns to face Mela.
“I’ll say it a thousand times,” said Mela as she cried and then continued,” And a thousand more if that is our task. Together we are a bridge to the future as well as the past.”
Coup feels his strength coming back to him. He looks deep into Mela’s eyes and kisses her passionately. He smiles and says,” Vindijan’s succeed because we don’t believe in failure. We need to out will these Kaa! Every Vindijan needs to regain their Warrior’s Pei, I will see to it.”
The Warrior’s Pei is a state of fighting without rage, only reflex. It was taught originally by Pei Fo, a master of the body’s inner capacities. Pei Fo believed great fighting could only be achieved when you were on the verge of laughter. A great many Vindijan soldiers have mastered the technique, much to the humiliation of the Kaa. Vindijan soldiers will often break out in laughter in the middle of hand to hand combat. The Kaa soldiers call it the horrible har har. The Kaa generals don’t know what to make of it. They encourage their soldiers to laugh back, but few did feeling embarrassed at the thought of it.
“Your power will feed their power. Be the Emperor, embrace your divinity my love!” shouted Mela.
“I shall and so shall the Line. We’ve got something they haven’t, the Builder’s ear and we’re starting to whisper,” said Coup triumphantly as he stood up and spread his arms.
He walks over to the balcony and soaks in the T sun’s rays as he hums,” Remember the Line,” as he once did. Then he levitates a few feet off the ground and shouts,” We’;; wait no more for your surrender! You’ll bow or be broken you troublesome Kaa!!”
A meeting of the Vindijan hierarchy is summoned. They all arrive at Whitkus Blo at 3rd T sun. Whitkus Blo is an underground castle buried 2 miles beneath the surface of Sras Oblique. It is a worst case scenario fortress that is built in case the Builder asks for the check.
It is far larger and more extravagant than any castle above ground. It is nearly a hundred miles long and is in a constant state of expansion. Construction had started on Whitkus Blo nearly a thousand years prior.
It has enough space and supplies to last the Vindijan elite over a century underground without missing a beat. It also has something else, secrecy only the Vindijan’s inner sanctum knows of its existence.
It is a world onto itself with an entire forest being nurtured inside its walls. It has every species of animal grazing in the underground Eden. All of the Vindijan’s and stolen Kaa sciences are hidden behind its 10 foot thick walls.
Many famous Vindijans thought to have passed by the Kaa are comfortably residing at Whitkus Blo. They take great satisfaction in their hidden reality, and laugh to themselves at their apparent passing. Micta Vindijan, a cruel and vicious Vindijan general, was reported to have died 44 years passed, but he has been relaxing comfortably for 3 years passed at Whitkus Blo. He took great joy in ordering the occasional morning air strike.
Messi Ors, a famous artist and beloved tunesmith, has been enjoying the last 4 years passed beneath the surface of Sras Oblique.
Once you learn of Whitkus Blo and are sworn to secrecy, arrangements can be made at anytime for your arrival. All who walk its halls are stunned at the opulence. All of the Vindijan’s prized possessions are on display and ready to be enjoyed. That said most came and stayed for the precision. It is an entirely different documented history than above ground. Each inhabitant contributes to the story that will never be told or even mentioned above ground.
The Kaa are oblivious to the comings and goings of a society right below their feet. It is one more final blow from the Vindijan Line.
As Peastro walks into the Vsep room he is greeted with a wink from Coup, who is lying facing the hologram. The room is light green and in the shape of a circle with a large circular bed. There are 36 segments of the bed filled with all of the Vindijan hierarchy, who are all lying flat on their backs. The bed is white and in the center there is a hologram that changes to whoever is speaking at the time. Peastro lays down in his segment of the bed and rests his head on the community headrest.
“I woke today with an ache so fierce my memories were of failures. I couldn’t relive a moment of joy and I’d lost my joyous heart entirely. I lay there with Mela and was lost in a somber wave. Then…” said Coup softly as he looked at the faces around the bed,” then a pure thought grabbed my reason and I was reminded of our divinity. We are losing this war because of focus, not strategy.”
“Yes, yes that is it,” shouted Ambassador Voon.
“You have captured it,” bellowed Cleric Cortel.
Coup put his hand on his chest and said,” We forgot ourselves and became lazy in our execution! Musebots are not divine and certainly cannot ascend! We must use our powers old and new and make an enormous push to destroy and cripple the Kaa’s will once and forever! Every soldier in the field, every captain, every general must take the field of battle with destruction on their brow!”
“We can destroy them it is a certainty!” shouted Peastro.
“Your fire will be our fire from now on!” shouted General Coses.
“I feel the Vindijan heart beating once again! Today the message will be sent out to all of our armies. Once received we will coordinate all of our attacks to deliver one magnanimous shot across the bow!” thundered Coup as he grinned and hit the table 3 times hard. “Tomorrow the Line will deliver our most vicious attack! The Kaa will remember for a thousand generations the final lesson, of the Vindijan Line!” thundered Coup as he crushed his glass in his hand.
The message was sent to every battalion and strike force in the Vindijan army. It declared that on the 659th day of the year of the Kanett every soldier would fight as if it were their last. That meant very ship, soldier, and every Vindijan under the T sun prepared for battle. Everyone slept that night with a sense of purpose. Careful not to let their passion inhibit their sleep, they needed to be rested and they all knew it.
In the hour before the T sun came up all of the battleships prepared for battle. Every gun and grenade was checked and readied for what was called,” The Great Push,” by the Vindijan Line. They all visualized the effort it would take to pummel the Kaa into submission, and were ready and willing to give it. Wars are won or lost on a single day, Coup knew it. Peastro knew it also and as far as he could surmise the Kaa were about to.
The Kaa on the other hand were fast asleep and dreaming of another day as free men. They felt comfortable that they were winning the war and had broken the Line’s spirit. They awoke and felt an extra rush of glee.
Coup and Peastro sat inside Coup’s Venebon battleship as the T sun was just creeping over the horizon. The first wave of the T sun’s rays is particularly thrilling for a Vindijan. Euphoria will wash over them as they fill with power and strength. Today was no different and Coup and Peastro’s eyes glowed and their skin was warm.
Coup looked at General Coses and gave a gentle wave of his hand, signaling the first strike. All the Venebon battleships in the entire flee fired in unison on the unsuspecting Kaa armies. 8 million Kaa soldiers were burnt to a crisp in the first few seconds. Most of which were still preparing to take the battlefield. It had been a millennia’s old rule of battle that there would be no fighting until the second wave of the T sun had started. The Vindijan’s had enacted the law to keep troops to a civilized form of warfare. Now they had just broken it and caught the Kaa completely by surprise. Most of the Kaa generals were at home watching holograms of the day’s news when the destruction started.
The Poro Cruisers weaved in and out of every city street and fired on any Kaa in sight. Women and children were being treated like soldiers and killed without a moment’s pause.
While this was happening 70 Venebon battleships descended on the Veeres region and scorched everything in sight. Every man made structure, including hospitals, was decimated. The Vindijan’s net of carnage no longer had even the smallest hole in it. Even schools are targeted for destruction.
It was no longer a war, but a Kaa cleansing. The Moors Rep Tower, the Kaa’s place of worship, was blown into a million pieces of ash, as unsuspecting Kaa were caught on their knees.
The Kaa soldiers who were up and ready to fight didn’t stand a chance. The Vindijan’s new bounty of powers made them unstoppable. When one Kaa soldier ran at a Humpacca, the Humpacca punched radiation through his knuckles using the Mormo technique. This burnt the Kaa soldier’s skull until it exploded.
Another Kaa soldier attacked a Vindijan captain, but the captain used his Coreto Eye and looked into his chest and burst his heart with a blink of his eye. These weren’t the passionless merciful Vindijan’s the Kaa were used to fighting, far from it.
All across Sras Oblique Vindijan’s could be seen levitating in the air and chasing down frantic Kaa. No one was excluded, Kaa’s from every walk of life ran for their lives.
For the first 2 waves of the T sun the readjustment, as it would later be called, continued. What once were beautiful Kaa cities,, were now piles of bodies and rubble. The smelled of death and smoke plumes littered the countryside. Nowhere or no one was excluded. The Musebots that had kept the Kaa fighting strong were too little too late and did little to stem the carnage.
At the beginning of the T sun’s third wave Coup gave a gentle wave and the Vindijan forces ceased their destruction. All told the bulk of the Kaa armies and half of the Kaa population were no more.