Sorry for the long delay guys! Had a very busy last year in college so I couldn't do much. I'll try to make better on my progress while I still have time :)

It was morning when the battle of Nkremos began and the Huk had outnumbered the Kaleesh ten-to-one.

By dusk, what paltry few Huk had fled in utter defeat.

Even the Huk's airborne support had gone; either fled or else shot out of the sky by the aging, yet effective plasma ballistae the Kaleesh so favoured.

The kolkpravis and the other members of the Kaleesh tribes who lived about the area leading to Shrupak knew that with such a grievous loss, the Yam'rii won't come calling for some time.

So that evening, the Kaleesh held festivities—a bacchanalian celebration in honor of their victory, their gods, their valiant warriors and of course, their great young khan.

Such a rare time of peace and happiness was prized by the Kaleesh, knowing since the early days of the Huk War that any day would be their last.

The men drank and feasted.

The women danced and sang.

The children played about, re-enacting the glorious battle of their elders.

Bawdy jests and toasts abounded throughout the night.

All in all, it was euphoria for most.

Qymaen Jai Sheelal would have joined in with the same kind of vigor if he could. He felt the same fire inside of him as he watched his people celebrate in his honor.

But he had heavier matters in mind.

So he sat some way apart from the great communal fire that the Kaleesh commune had built, silently indulging on a cask of the finest kra'si, a native alcoholic beverage known for its powerful kick.

He was in the middle of a hearty swig when a gaggle of young Kaleesh women passed by, giggling. He acknowledged them by raising his cask with a small nod.

No, he thought. Not yet.

"Ah, khan Sheelal...setting your eyes upon future wives?" a chuckling voice said.

It belonged to another of his elite, Szgos Dar Ydros. At over forty-seven standard years, he was the oldest of the Izvoshra and a witness to the beginnings of the Huk War roughly thirty standard years ago.

Sheelal laughed, "I believe he stands before me," he gestured to Ydros. "A true vision, I say."

"You will have to fight my wives to the death then!" Ydros jested as he sat beside the young khan.

Sheelal offered the cask of kra'si, and the elder warrior accepted graciously by taking a swig.

"Your victory today ignites our people's hearts," Ydros said as he smacked his lips, "the least you could do is join them."

"Our victory. I did not fight this battle alone. You know full well that such celebration is premature, Old Ydros," inside however the young khan did not fully believe in his own words.

Ydros harrumphed, "I know you, Qymaen Jai Sheelal. Something else bothers you."

Old Ydros knows me too well. Sheelal thought.

The khan spoke after taking a long swig, "My father. My mother. My siblings. I reminisce about what had transpired in their last days."

He then gazed into the crackling fire with hard eyes in spite of his true feelings.

Weakness was not permitted for a khan of the Kaleesh.

Ydros laid a sympathetic hand on his khan's shoulder, knowing full well what was going on in the younger warrior's mind. The veteran warrior had been a father to him in everything but name ever since Sheelal's own birth father perished five years before.

"Your father smiles down upon you, child. You have made Vraxes proud ever since you came into this life," Ydros remarked, "your mother, brothers and sisters are celebrating in the next life for you as well. 'Tis truly an injustice of how they were taken far too soon."

Indeed, an injustice.