Chedi Iqari
Mirialan Exile
Sitting in the local cantinas, waiting to pick up my next job, I often run into folks drinking away their sorrows and wondering what mistakes in their lives have lead them here. Alone, penniless and abandoned. I don't have to wonder. I know that fate has karked me over.
As a child, I always thought that fate would have good things in store for me. Perhaps not GREAT things like Luwrak Unduli but good things. After all, I come from a good stock of Mirialan people. The Unduli, though, that was GREAT stock. The Undulis have a long line of ancestors who had done great things for the Mirialan's: Jedis, councilmen, great elders and leaders. Every knows that Unduli are destined for great things and Luwrak was no exception...and he would never let those he thought beneath him forget it.
My first run-in with Luwrak was when I was about 5 years old and was allowed for the first time to play Hunter with the neighborhood kids. It was my turn to be the Hunter and I was able to find Luwrak and his team quickly and won the game. I still remember how proud I was! My twin sister, Leeka, beaming at me as I celebrated my victory. Suddenly, I felt a clod of dirt hit me in the back of my head. I swing around to see Luwrak glaring at me. In a childish fit of rage, I can feel my fists balling up as I prepare to knock him down when my mother calls Leeka and I in for dinner. I try to tell my family what had happened- that Luwrak had thrown a dirt clod at me - but no one would believe me and I am sent to bed without dessert as punishment for lying. An Unduli would never do such a petty thing,
As we grew older, Luwrak grew even crueler and learned to hide his cruelty even better under a mask of congeniality. In school, he was always very popular - elected to the school council without even needing a vote. Who would dream of running against an Unduli? He was able to charm the teachers and administrators so thoroughly that no one recognized that it was he who had been placing rotten fish into my locker. But I knew and he knew that I could not tell because no one would believe me. Amongst his friends, he was quite charming, quick to tell a joke...often at my expense. As a teenager, Luwrak began to use his charisma to try to seduce girls into his bed with promises of love. Once seduced, the unlucky girl can expect to hear malicious gossip about herself spread throughout the school.
The more he was heaped with praise - and tattoos showing his significant contributions to his communities, the more sadistic he would become. By the time we were 18, Luwrak had the most tattoos of significance in school. He had also maliciously seduced the most girls in our town and humiliated those that he considered his rivals with his acts of cruelty, most especially me.
Leeka, fortunately, had been spared from Luwrak's kindness and cruelty as we were growing up. He essentially had ignored her - but by the time she was 18, Luwrak began to turn his eyes towards her. Leeka, you see, had grown into quite a beauty. She had thick, ebony hair that she would wear in long plaits down her back and the most extraordinary golden eyes set against her jade-colored skin. While it was true that we were clearly twins with similar features, no-one would claim that I carried the same level of handsomeness. While her hair was thick and luscious, mine hung limply across my brow, hiding my amber eyes that looked almost muddy compared to hers. My jade-skin looked nearly dull next to her.
Leeka is remarkably smart, self-possessed and frankly, well-aware of Luwrak's true face behind his handsome mask of emerald skin, mahogany hair perfectly coifed and violet eyes. When Luwrak began to make advance towards her, she was quick to rebuff him. This is the first time that Luwrak had been denied something he truly desired and it deeply upset him. Luwrak realized that the way to Leeka was going to have to be through our parents who never had a reason to doubt his angelic exterior with the tattoos to show his good intentions. He would show up at home bringing flowers for my mother and offering to help my father repair his old land transport as my father reminisced about his time fighting in the Omega war. When he asked for permission to take Leeka to one of the local markets for a date, my parents readily gave their consent. When Leeka again rejected his advances, she not only had to contend with his disappointment but also with the disappointment of my parents, something she could not bear. Eventually she relented. Leeka never did tell me exactly what happened that day in the market with Luwrak. All I know is that she had run home sobbing with her dress ripped. The next day, the rumors about Leeka had begun, like they had for every other girl that Luwrak had ever been in contact with. I had learned through the years to withstand any humiliation that Luwrak had meted out to me but Leeka - I could see her spirit was crushed. She stopped eating. She would not leave the house despite my pleading. Something must be done about Luwrak.
I marched over to his house to confront him. With a fire of rage that I had never experienced before I yelled out: "Luwrak! I stand here on behalf of my sister whom you have grievously wounded. I demand an atonement! I will not leave here until this insult has been addressed!" There was no answer. I don't know what I wanted to happen. I knew that I was no match for him but I could not let what he did go unpunished and I knew that if I did not oppose him, no one would. "Luwrak! I am not leaving here until you answer for what you have done!" I continued to seethe. I began to have fantasies of fighting him, winning and then holding him down while the magistrates finally tattooed the truth on his face - liar, lecher, sadist. I was not leaving until justice had been meted out. I waited...and waited...and waited. Day turned into night and night turned into day. Still nothing. My voice had grown hoarse as I had been yelling out for retribution. I would not move until I saw him. Eventually, after several days outside of his house I received word that he would meet me. The plan was for a duel. Slugthrowers at dawn. I went home to prepare.
Dueling is not generally looked kindly upon amongst my people but there are times when it must be done and this was one of them. I've never been in a duel before but I had heard about them so I sort of knew the rules. You meet at a quiet spot where you will not be disturbed. The weapon is chosen ahead of time - usually slug thrower but sometimes it can be stun batons. The aim is not to kill but to injure. If possible, you would use rubber bullets, nothing that could be fatal.
I fully expected that I would die that next day - I knew what type of man Luwrak was. I said goodbye to my family and asked that they place my first tattoo after I was dead - to indicate that I had died to honor my sister. I hugged my sister and told her that she would need to move on. I told her how I would be with our ancestors guiding her fate, guiding her to show courage and to stand up for what is right. My parents, of course, did not understand why I had to do this. They asked that I not injure Luwrak for surely the rumors about he and Leeka were not true. Lurwrak would never let such a thing happen! At least they accepted that this was something I felt I had to do for Leeka.
At dawn, I was at the dueling site alone, preparing my slugthrower. I had emptied the chamber and placed the blanks. Despite everything, I was not going to hurt Luwrak and planned to aim in the air when the count was called. The blanks would prevent me from injuring him even if I had a last second change of heart - I was not sure that I could contain my rage when it came time. Luwrak arrived later with his second, one of his many lackeys named Zub. I didn't have enough close friends to have a second. My best friend was Leeka and I did not want her to witness this. We placed the guns on the table to be inspected by our seconds and I was given the opportunity to list my grievances, which I did. As I prepared to pick up my slugthrower I felt a gust of wind and a strange sense that fate was pulling at me. This was it.
We counted off the paces and drew our slug throwers. I had planned to aim up but something in my gut told me to go ahead and take aim. So I did. Why not? I didn't even had bullets in my slugthrower. The shots rang out - louder than anything I had ever heard before. I felt no pain, which seemed strange to me. I looked down at my chest - there was no bullet. I didn't understand. I looked at Zub who wasn't looking at me but staring at Luwrak with a look of shock. I followed his gaze - there was Luwrak with a gaping wound in his chest. Blood was gurgling out of his mouth and there was this sickening wheeze of air and blood coming from the wound. What had I done? Zub yelled out "Murderer!" and ran to the magistrate. How could this happen? I placed blanks in the slugthrower - I know it! As I sat on the ground in shock, the magistrate came, examined the body declared he was dead. I was lifted off the ground and taken into town. Zub said that I had demanded satisfaction because my sister had slept with Luwrak and I was unhappy about that. Zub told the magistrate that after he examined the guns I must have replaced the rubber bullets with real ones. He said that Luwrak had not even taken aim when I had shot him. I said nothing. How could I defend myself when I wasn't even sure what had happened. The magistrate let Zub hold me down as they prepared my first tattoo - murderer.
After I had recovered, I prepared to leave Mirial. My parents had disowned me. A black sheep, especially one branded with murder, could be detrimental to our family for generations. Leeka had wanted to say goodbye. I told her that I loved her. She said she planned to write to me but I knew that I would not answer. If she was found to be associating with a known murderer, her reputation on Mirial was ruined. I could not let that happen.
Eventually, Leeka's letters did find me. She said that after I had gone, there had been further investigation into Luwrak's death. When the guns were examined, it did look like Luwrak had used his gun but that there were blanks in the chamber. "How odd!" she wrote. That's when I knew that fate had just kraked me royally.
As a child, I always thought that fate would have good things in store for me. Perhaps not GREAT things like Luwrak Unduli but good things. After all, I come from a good stock of Mirialan people. The Unduli, though, that was GREAT stock. The Undulis have a long line of ancestors who had done great things for the Mirialan's: Jedis, councilmen, great elders and leaders. Every knows that Unduli are destined for great things and Luwrak was no exception...and he would never let those he thought beneath him forget it.
My first run-in with Luwrak was when I was about 5 years old and was allowed for the first time to play Hunter with the neighborhood kids. It was my turn to be the Hunter and I was able to find Luwrak and his team quickly and won the game. I still remember how proud I was! My twin sister, Leeka, beaming at me as I celebrated my victory. Suddenly, I felt a clod of dirt hit me in the back of my head. I swing around to see Luwrak glaring at me. In a childish fit of rage, I can feel my fists balling up as I prepare to knock him down when my mother calls Leeka and I in for dinner. I try to tell my family what had happened- that Luwrak had thrown a dirt clod at me - but no one would believe me and I am sent to bed without dessert as punishment for lying. An Unduli would never do such a petty thing,
As we grew older, Luwrak grew even crueler and learned to hide his cruelty even better under a mask of congeniality. In school, he was always very popular - elected to the school council without even needing a vote. Who would dream of running against an Unduli? He was able to charm the teachers and administrators so thoroughly that no one recognized that it was he who had been placing rotten fish into my locker. But I knew and he knew that I could not tell because no one would believe me. Amongst his friends, he was quite charming, quick to tell a joke...often at my expense. As a teenager, Luwrak began to use his charisma to try to seduce girls into his bed with promises of love. Once seduced, the unlucky girl can expect to hear malicious gossip about herself spread throughout the school.
The more he was heaped with praise - and tattoos showing his significant contributions to his communities, the more sadistic he would become. By the time we were 18, Luwrak had the most tattoos of significance in school. He had also maliciously seduced the most girls in our town and humiliated those that he considered his rivals with his acts of cruelty, most especially me.
Leeka, fortunately, had been spared from Luwrak's kindness and cruelty as we were growing up. He essentially had ignored her - but by the time she was 18, Luwrak began to turn his eyes towards her. Leeka, you see, had grown into quite a beauty. She had thick, ebony hair that she would wear in long plaits down her back and the most extraordinary golden eyes set against her jade-colored skin. While it was true that we were clearly twins with similar features, no-one would claim that I carried the same level of handsomeness. While her hair was thick and luscious, mine hung limply across my brow, hiding my amber eyes that looked almost muddy compared to hers. My jade-skin looked nearly dull next to her.
Leeka is remarkably smart, self-possessed and frankly, well-aware of Luwrak's true face behind his handsome mask of emerald skin, mahogany hair perfectly coifed and violet eyes. When Luwrak began to make advance towards her, she was quick to rebuff him. This is the first time that Luwrak had been denied something he truly desired and it deeply upset him. Luwrak realized that the way to Leeka was going to have to be through our parents who never had a reason to doubt his angelic exterior with the tattoos to show his good intentions. He would show up at home bringing flowers for my mother and offering to help my father repair his old land transport as my father reminisced about his time fighting in the Omega war. When he asked for permission to take Leeka to one of the local markets for a date, my parents readily gave their consent. When Leeka again rejected his advances, she not only had to contend with his disappointment but also with the disappointment of my parents, something she could not bear. Eventually she relented. Leeka never did tell me exactly what happened that day in the market with Luwrak. All I know is that she had run home sobbing with her dress ripped. The next day, the rumors about Leeka had begun, like they had for every other girl that Luwrak had ever been in contact with. I had learned through the years to withstand any humiliation that Luwrak had meted out to me but Leeka - I could see her spirit was crushed. She stopped eating. She would not leave the house despite my pleading. Something must be done about Luwrak.
I marched over to his house to confront him. With a fire of rage that I had never experienced before I yelled out: "Luwrak! I stand here on behalf of my sister whom you have grievously wounded. I demand an atonement! I will not leave here until this insult has been addressed!" There was no answer. I don't know what I wanted to happen. I knew that I was no match for him but I could not let what he did go unpunished and I knew that if I did not oppose him, no one would. "Luwrak! I am not leaving here until you answer for what you have done!" I continued to seethe. I began to have fantasies of fighting him, winning and then holding him down while the magistrates finally tattooed the truth on his face - liar, lecher, sadist. I was not leaving until justice had been meted out. I waited...and waited...and waited. Day turned into night and night turned into day. Still nothing. My voice had grown hoarse as I had been yelling out for retribution. I would not move until I saw him. Eventually, after several days outside of his house I received word that he would meet me. The plan was for a duel. Slugthrowers at dawn. I went home to prepare.
Dueling is not generally looked kindly upon amongst my people but there are times when it must be done and this was one of them. I've never been in a duel before but I had heard about them so I sort of knew the rules. You meet at a quiet spot where you will not be disturbed. The weapon is chosen ahead of time - usually slug thrower but sometimes it can be stun batons. The aim is not to kill but to injure. If possible, you would use rubber bullets, nothing that could be fatal.
I fully expected that I would die that next day - I knew what type of man Luwrak was. I said goodbye to my family and asked that they place my first tattoo after I was dead - to indicate that I had died to honor my sister. I hugged my sister and told her that she would need to move on. I told her how I would be with our ancestors guiding her fate, guiding her to show courage and to stand up for what is right. My parents, of course, did not understand why I had to do this. They asked that I not injure Luwrak for surely the rumors about he and Leeka were not true. Lurwrak would never let such a thing happen! At least they accepted that this was something I felt I had to do for Leeka.
At dawn, I was at the dueling site alone, preparing my slugthrower. I had emptied the chamber and placed the blanks. Despite everything, I was not going to hurt Luwrak and planned to aim in the air when the count was called. The blanks would prevent me from injuring him even if I had a last second change of heart - I was not sure that I could contain my rage when it came time. Luwrak arrived later with his second, one of his many lackeys named Zub. I didn't have enough close friends to have a second. My best friend was Leeka and I did not want her to witness this. We placed the guns on the table to be inspected by our seconds and I was given the opportunity to list my grievances, which I did. As I prepared to pick up my slugthrower I felt a gust of wind and a strange sense that fate was pulling at me. This was it.
We counted off the paces and drew our slug throwers. I had planned to aim up but something in my gut told me to go ahead and take aim. So I did. Why not? I didn't even had bullets in my slugthrower. The shots rang out - louder than anything I had ever heard before. I felt no pain, which seemed strange to me. I looked down at my chest - there was no bullet. I didn't understand. I looked at Zub who wasn't looking at me but staring at Luwrak with a look of shock. I followed his gaze - there was Luwrak with a gaping wound in his chest. Blood was gurgling out of his mouth and there was this sickening wheeze of air and blood coming from the wound. What had I done? Zub yelled out "Murderer!" and ran to the magistrate. How could this happen? I placed blanks in the slugthrower - I know it! As I sat on the ground in shock, the magistrate came, examined the body declared he was dead. I was lifted off the ground and taken into town. Zub said that I had demanded satisfaction because my sister had slept with Luwrak and I was unhappy about that. Zub told the magistrate that after he examined the guns I must have replaced the rubber bullets with real ones. He said that Luwrak had not even taken aim when I had shot him. I said nothing. How could I defend myself when I wasn't even sure what had happened. The magistrate let Zub hold me down as they prepared my first tattoo - murderer.
After I had recovered, I prepared to leave Mirial. My parents had disowned me. A black sheep, especially one branded with murder, could be detrimental to our family for generations. Leeka had wanted to say goodbye. I told her that I loved her. She said she planned to write to me but I knew that I would not answer. If she was found to be associating with a known murderer, her reputation on Mirial was ruined. I could not let that happen.
Eventually, Leeka's letters did find me. She said that after I had gone, there had been further investigation into Luwrak's death. When the guns were examined, it did look like Luwrak had used his gun but that there were blanks in the chamber. "How odd!" she wrote. That's when I knew that fate had just kraked me royally.
