*The following story takes place.*
*3960 BBY*
*3 months after the end of*
*The Mandalorian War*
The pale thing that stood before Xaamtaemash was an ugly thing. But then he supposed most covakals were. It has fur on it’s head and only it’s head, it’s skin was soft and pale like a dead thing. It’s eyes were milky white with the pupil being a round black hole with a circle of brown surrounding it. A nose as large as a fruit grew out of the centre of the creature’s face like a wart and it’s lips were fat and red like a open wound. Xaamtaemash believes it was called a human.
He did not know what the human was named, in truth he did not care. However, this ugly thing lived in a large house with many rooms and Xaamtaemash is in need for a place to rest. The house was nothing like the ones on Kalee. Instead of being made of solid stone, it was made of cold steel. Instead of the natural light of torches, it was the strange, blinding light of something that hangs from the building’s ceiling.
It had barely been a month since Xaamtaemash had been given the task to find the stolen relic he had allow to be stolen. A month since the assembly of the Amsurr gave him a chance to redeem himself both to his people and the gods. In that time, he had managed to come to the first of many worlds that dots the endless field of stars. It was called Ord Thoden and Xaamtaemash hated it.
He hated it more then he had ever hated anything in his life.
“I’m sorry sir.” The human said trying to sound as authoritative as possible as he stares up at the towering kaleesh from behind the inn’s counter. “But we don’t have any spare rooms tonight.”
“I was told.” Xaamtaemsh replies trying to get his tongue to move in the right ways to speak the foreign language. “That this place always has empty rooms.”
“We sometimes do. But not tonight.”
He was lying. Xaamtaemash did not need to draw upon his gift to see that. He could smell the man’s fear, taste the sweat perspiring from his skin and see the dread in his eyes. It was common occurrence. Since landing on Ord Thoden Xaamtaemash has found many of the world’s inhabitants to be fearful of him. Why he could not say. He had tried to be as non-threatening as he was able to be. Even going so far as to learn their language and yet still they look to him in fear.
It was another reason why he hated this place.
Xaamtaemash lets out a long sigh as he lift’s his bone mask up enough to rub his eyes underneath it. The hour is growing late, and he has been awake for too long. He could push the issue if had wanted to. Could even challenge the human for one of the rooms by right of an honour duel. But he knew that covakals have no concept of such things. Let alone the decency to follow through if they had lost.
All covakals were honourless and godless people. It is why only the kaleesh are able to ascend to godhood and walk in the world beyond worlds, while they simply fade away.
“Is there another many rooms house I can go to seek shelter?” he asks as he places his mask back firmly over his face.
The human seems to relax a little when he asked this. Though, not by much. “I don’t know. You could maybe try the Joyful Rest on Crimsonway. They always have rooms.”
That was what the last inn had said.
“My thanks.” Xaamtaemash says as he gave the human a respectful bow before leaving the inn and entering on to the dirty, scent fill streets. A part of him didn’t want to give the human such a polite farewell. But unlike the innkeeper kaleesh were a respectful people who do not allow pettiness to rule them.
He walks the bright streets. Despite night having had fallen hours ago, the city was lit up as if the sun hadn’t fallen. Tall metal tree like structures grew out of the ground with large blubs of light hanging from their single branch. Xaamtaemash had wondered if those blubs could be pluck from the metal trees like fruit, but a covakal wearing bright blue clothing had yelled at him when he had tried.
The streets had grown empty now which Xaamtaemash thanks the gods for. It meant he did not have to bear the worried and mistrustful looks of those he walks with. It was not the looks that bothered, not truly. It was the reminder that he was not on Kalee. That he was not home. That he was the outsider and the covakals were not.
And that was a bitter taste to swallow.
He didn’t know how long he walked. It was hard to see the stars from how bright the city’s light were and the buildings are too tall to track the moon. His body felt heavy, and it slowly became hard for him to concentrate. How long had it been since he slept, since he first set foot on this world perhaps. Either way it was not the last time he rested that was the problem it was where he was going to sleep now.
The human from the inn said there was another one at a place called Crimmsonway. But where was that. How far must he travel. Will they too claim to not have any rooms as well.
Xaamtaemash let out an annoyed growl. He makes a snap decision. He turns down one of the many smaller side streets that sits between the tall buildings. It wasn’t as clean as the main ones, and he could smell the stink of rot, decay and vermin. But at least he wouldn’t have to endure another covakal lying to him.
Placing down the pack he had been carrying on his back, Xaamtaemash pulls out a sleeping roll and places it on the ground. He set himself up behind a large metal box that hid him from the glare of the lights on the main street. The box was the source of the rotting smell, but it did not matter as it would hide his scent from any predators this world may have. Though if he was honest, he would gladly face all the blood thirsty beasts on Kalee then spend a night on this world.
Once the bed roll was properly prepared and the evening prays had been performed Xaamtaemash lay down and closes his eyes for the first time on a new world. He drifted off quickly. His last thought being of home and what he had left behind.
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Xaamtaemash ran up the mountain path, his legs burning in protest due to how long he had been running. He didn’t care. He can see the towering walls of the fortress of his home. It took two weeks for one to travel from the Jeturua mountains to the costal valley the great temple of Shrupak was nestle in. It took two weeks for the message to reach him, and it took another two weeks for him to travel here. He was late.
He rushes past the gates. None of the guards moved to stop him. He was wearing the robes of a priest after all. He could be charging in with a sword, screaming his plans to challenge his father to a fight to the death and none would have stop him. They would merely inform his father that his runt of a son has returned and seeks to challenge him.
He enters the courtyard, it was a large space filled with training warriors, elders passing their stories onto children and the massive palace where his father resides in. Again, he rushes past them all, not sparing any of them a second look. Not even when they curse him when he nearly crashes or bumps into them. This was too important.
Moving behind the palace Xaamtaemash reaches the row of houses carve from the mountain itself. He ducks and dodge his way through them, running down a flight of stairs that drop into the belly of the peak where more houses were hidden. Getting by them and the kaleesh who fill the stairway was tricky, but he manages to do it and reach the bottom. There was an opening there. Light streams it way through it like the doorway to the afterlife.
Xaamtaemash didn’t hesitate as he ran past that doorway and enter onto a cliff large enough for a single stone house. Beyond that house the whole of Kalee was spread before all those who stood on that overhang. It was a view that only the gods could have. But that was not what had captured his attention. She was waiting for him.
She stood there. Dressed in robes of sky blue. Her face was hidden beneath her own bone mask, but he knew she was smiling at him. In her arms she carried a bundle of cloth that wiggles and cries.
A feeling of pure joy spreads itself to every part of Xaamtaemash’s body when he saw it. Words were insignificant to describe what he felt as his wife walked over to him to show what their love had created.
“Xaamtaemash Jal Tyl.” She said as she hands their child over to him to hold. “I wish you to meet your son Byssix Jal Tyl.”
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Xaamtaemash eyes suddenly opens when he heard someone walking towards his resting place. There were quick steps. Ones you would make when you are trying to hurry but did not wish to be seen to. Annoyance enters the kaleesh’s mind as he raised from his bed roll. They wouldn’t have seen him yet. The large, smelly box and the shadows would see to that.
He got to his knees, ready to shoo this intruder so he could return to the pleasant dream he was having when he notices something. It was hidden beneath the stench of the alley, Xaamtaemash almost didn’t detect it at first but after taking in another lung full of air into his nostrils he smelt it.
Fear.
He stays still and listens. There were another set of steps now, three of them. They were heavier than the first one. They too moved quickly but they weren’t trying to hide it. It was a chase, and they were the predators.
“Where you are going honey!” A voice called out, echoing off the walls of the alley.
“We just want to play!” Another said.
The first set of steps quicken their pace and they passed where Xaamtaemash knelt. She was a covakal of course, but one that he did not know. She shares the same shape as that of a human, but her skin was a blueish-green colour, and she had two long tails protruding the back of head. A bag hangs from her shoulder, though she seems to hold it tightly against herself as if it was a shield.
Her hasten steps however only seems to encourage her pursuers. They too passed him by, and they were humans. They were younger than the one from the inn. They had bright hair, wore leather jackets and look like and sound young bloods. Full of aggressive energy, needing to unleash it on something, to be as powerful as they feel. On Kalee such people would be put to training or hunting, but these covakals have no such outlet so now they use it for darker purposes.
One of them manages to grab the woman’s arm, causing her to cry out in fear. She was thrown to the wall cutting off her cry to a pained whimper. They surrounded her like a pack of hungry beast readying to consume their prey. However, it was not the tail headed covakal meat they were interested in. Xaamtaemash could smell their intent and it disgusted him.
“Please!” The woman begs as she tightens her grip on her beg. Pressing it tighter against her chest. “I just want to get home. I got nothing you want.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that sweetheart.” One of the males says. His eyes glinting with impure thoughts as they wander over their cornered prey. “From the looks of things, you got everything we need.”
The other two chuckles maliciously. None of them noticing the looming shadow that was slowly approaching them.
“I…I’ll scream.” She says desperately trying to melt into the alley’s wall.
The man who had spoken suddenly took on a dangerous look as he produces a knife. He shows it’s gleaming edge to her. “That wouldn’t be smart.”
The woman suddenly becomes quiet as she sees the knife. It was a wicked looking thing. Long, sharp, and serrated like the jaw of a shark. This made the man threatening her lose his menacing manner, returning to that nasty smile he had before.
“Good girl.” He said. his voice full of the arrogance of those who enjoy inflicting pain on others. “Now, why don’t we have some-
“Leave.” Xaamtaemash said. His voice little more than a low growl.
All three of the man turn to the sudden voice. Surprise by the sudden appearance of the towering kaleesh. They all stare at him for a moment, uncertainty written on their faces. Even the tail headed woman seem unsure of what to make of the strange mask alien, wondering if this was a savour or merely another attacker.
It was the knife wielder who recovered first. His uncertainty turning back to arrogance. He turns away from his would-be victim, keeping his weapon in full view for Xaamtaemash.
“And who is this? A good Samaritan coming to save this twi’lek schutta?” He said.
“Leave.” Xaamtaemash says again.
The human merely chuckles.
“And what if we don’t want to leave.”
“Then you die.”
There was no threatening or change to Xaamtaemash tone when he said this. That was perhaps the reason why the knifeman looked uncertain again. He was not facing an unarmed woman, or a scared shop keep. No, the unknown alien before him was of a different breed.
He looks Xaamtaemash up and down. He was merely wearing robes with the only thing not hidden being his hands and the bone mask he wore over his face. Even in the deem light of the alleyway he could see that Xaamtaemash has no weapons. The only advantage he had over him and his friends was that he was taller than them. Which in his mind simply makes for a bigger target.
“Well, when you put it that way.”
The man suddenly lunges towards Xaamtaemash with the knife. Aiming for where he thought the kaleesh’s heart would be. Only to be met with an open palm slamming into his throat. He drops to the ground. Grasping for air as his air ways threaten to collapse.
The other two humans stood there, shock by how quickly their leader was taken out by the kaleesh. But then, out of loyalty or stupidity they both charge at Xaamtaemash.
He drops into a fighting stance as years of training took over. He lunches a quick kick, connecting with one of the human’s stomach, forcing him to stagger backwards clutching his gut. The other one went into a tackle. Almost catching Xaamtaemash unprepared as he recovers from the kick.
Xaamtaemash stumbles slightly as he is caught. But he manages to regain his footing and quickly turn the tide against his assailant. He pushes the human backwards then uses his strength to heave him off the ground and slam him into the alleyway’s wall. The human drops to the ground, groaning in pain.
Turning around to face the one he had kicked, Xaamtaemash found him rushing towards him wielding something that was buzzing with electricity. He ducks and weave from the human’s attack, making a mockery of him and his skills as a fighter. Reaching out Xaamtaemash manages to catch his arm then lash out with a solid punch into the man’s armpit. There was a satisfying popping sound as he screams out in pain.
The human drop to the ground. Crying like a newborn as he holds his limp arm to his chest. Xaamtaemash ignores him. Setting his eyes on the leader of these poor excuse of men.
He had recovered somewhat. Sitting up, no longer holding his throat and all his arrogance and self-assuredness now gone. There was a new scent of fear in the air and it wasn’t the woman’s. Xaamtaemash move towards him, making him claw backwards away from the kaleesh. He lifts a hand as if it could shield him from what was to come.
“Pl…Please.” He says, his voice creaking from the damage to his throat. “W…we were just pl…playing around. We…we weren’t going to hurt her.”
“You lie.” Xaamtaemash said as he stumps towards him. Fist opening and closing as he prepares for the punishment he is about to deliver. As a kaleesh bless by the gods to carry mavik in his veins Xaamtaemash was not allowed to let the thrill of battle to fill him like other warriors. Those who did risk inviting the power’s darker aspects and if a kaleesh was consume by it then they shall become lesser than beasts.
However, perhaps just this once he will let himself feel it. Why not. He had lost his honour, exiled from his home, force to abandon his wives and son. Why couldn’t he indulge in it, just this once. To share with this covakal the pain and anguish he felt.
“Look out!”
He looks up at the sound of the voice. He had almost forgotten about the tail headed woman. However, looking at her was a mistake. He barely manages to twist out of the way from the human he had slam into the wall. At some point he had managed to pick up his leader’s knife and sought to stab him. When that had failed, he turns towards the kaleesh and wildly slash at him.
Xaamtaemash didn’t have enough time to dodge the attack, he was only able to put his arm between him and the knife. The blade shreds it way through the cloth of his robes and sank deep into the flesh of his arm. He roars in pain, shaking his attacker by how loud and ferocious it was. Anger surge through Xaamtaemash, faster than he could contain it.
His human attacker barely had time to recover from the roar before Xaamtaemash lunges himself at him. He slams the human against the alleys wall again, causing him to drop the knife. Before he could recover Xaamtaemash punches him. He punches him again and again and again. He allows himself to be swept up in his rage. With each punch, with each cracking of bone, he could feel himself slowly becoming consume with the thrill. By the darkness that lives in the soul of all living things, be they kaleesh or covakals.
It was so tempting to let it all go. To let it take him away from the pain and the shame that is his existence.
“Xaamtaemash!” A voice suddenly cut through the fog.
He stops. The human’s face now little more than a broken mass of gore. He was still alive, though he might now be unrecognisable to those who knew him. Xaamtaemash drops him and turns to look out into the gloom. Trying to find the familiar voice that had prevented him from falling into darkness. But the only one who was there was the woman with the tails.
“Did…you say my name?” Xaamtaemash asks. Already knowing the answer.
She shook her head, obviously frightened to be the centre of the kaleesh’s attention. He had at first thought that she might be lying. After all, covakals often did, it was the one thing that seems to be a constant with them. But such a thought only lived for a few moments before he discarded it. He knew who’s voice he had heard, and the knowledge that even the vast spaces between the stars could not keep them apart brought some measure of peace to his soul.
He looks at the humans who lay scattered across the alleyway. The leader had taken his chance to escape, perhaps doing the one wise thing he will ever do in his miserable life. His partners were not so fortunate. One of them lay against the wall, his face a broken mess and covered in blood. The other was still on the ground whimpering with is dislocated arm held tightly against his chest.
If this world’s law was anything like that of Kalee, then he could kill them. It was clear what they had planned to do to the woman and even if she was not of blood or tribe, such vileness could not go unanswered. However, he fears that if he did this it could very well reawaken that darker aspect of himself.
So, he thought of something else.
Picking up the knife from the ground, he stalks his way to the whimpering human. The human pales when he saw him coming. He begs for mercy as he tries to pick himself up, failing with each panic attempts. Xaamtaemash grabs a hold of his leather jacket and lifted him up with one hand while pressing the knife under his chin. Applying enough pressure so that only a single drop of blood ran down it’s sharp edge.
“Listen.” He says, his voice now taking on a threatening tone that made the man whimper in uncontrollable fear. “You are to leave this place. You are to leave this life behind. If you do not or if I discover that you have harm another as you had planned to do tonight. I will find you and your death will not be an easy one.”
The human didn’t say anything, didn’t make even the slightest move as he stares fearfully into the kaleesh eyes. A new stench came into the air and Xaamtaemash threw him away with a disgusted snarl. He didn’t make a noise when he landed on the ground, even though it was his dislocated shoulder that met the cold earth first. He just laid there in his own filth, staring up to the night sky.
Xaamtaemash wondered if perhaps he had killed him by accident but then decided he did not care and walks past him towards his bedroll. He will not be sleeping here tonight now. While he doubts the humans will have the courage to try to attack him while he sleeps, he was also wise enough to not take that chance. The woman with the strange tails growing out of her head was still there. Watching him as he packs up his things.
There was still the scent of fear about her. No doubt she had become more afraid of him then she was of her attackers. Covakals were strange like that. He had saved her from a terribly fate and now she will probably fear him as if he was some demon. Which is why he was so surprised when she walked up to him. Cautiously, of course.
“Um…Thank you.” She said. her voice still having a small silver of fear behind it.
“You are welcome.” Xaamtaemash says in return as he ties rope around his bedroll. Keeping her just within his vision.
“Do…do you often sleep on the streets?” she asks.
“Only when I am forced to.”
Which happens to most of the time if he was completely honest.
“My apartment is not too far from here.” Her voice becoming quieter as she speaks. “You could…spend the night there if you want.”
Xaamtaemash turns to her then, being surprised by the generous offer.
“Why?”
“Well, I mean. You did just save me, and that cut looks really bad. I have a first aid kit there that you could use.”
“Do you not fear me?”
“Um…If I’m completely honest then yeah. I do.” She says. Surprising the kaleesh the second time that night. An honest covakal who would have thought. “But like I said you saved me. So, you can’t be a bad guy, right?”
Xaamtaemash simply stares at her, trying to see and hint of deception of some sign that this was some kind of trick. He reaches out with his gift and found nothing but relief and gratefulness. It was strange to sense such things from a covakal. Especially when they are directed towards him.
“No.” He says as he stood up. Towering over her, but she did not pull away or show any sign of fear. Instead, she seems to look at him in a different way now. One that he had not seen from an Covakal before. “I am not a bad guy.”
They left the alleyway shortly after. Along the way the woman talks and ask questions about himself, his people and how he had was so capable of a fighter. Xaamtaemash was at first a bit apprehensive to speak of these things but in short time the woman had him talking openly about his home. He found that it eases his pain somewhat. Made him miss Kalee and his family a little bit less.
And perhaps the most surprisingly thing of all. He found that he enjoys the woman’s company. Perhaps not all covakals were dishonest and godless. Perhaps there were those he will come to like on this journey of redemption. He may even come to call some friend.
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Glossary
*Amsurr-* A leader of a kaleesh temple
*Covakal-* A Outsider/Not of the Gods
*Mavik-* Kaleesh term for the Force.