Chapter 8: Sporge - the great hunter of honor

Sporge stood behind the door.

"It is the hunter of honor!"

"Sporge?"

"What is happening?"

"Why is he here now?"

"The monster!"

The furor continued as Sporge - the hunter of honor entered the hall carrying Princess in his arms.  He stood before the great lord general and took the bow.  Great lord general Zandy put low his head in response. Then he stood like he waited for approval from the great lord general before he left his presence.

"Quiet! Quiet all of you. Why the cacophony? When did you become unfamiliar with Sporge - the great hunter of honor, the husband of the spirits and darkness? Why the reckless upheaval?"

Great lord raised his voice in outrage to calm the members of the court. Then the hall fell  quite dead.

"Huh huh!"

Lord Dido coughed and shattered the stillness.  He walked to the presence of lord general Zandy and took the bow, did the same thing before Sporge - the hunter honor of and the honored men of Nutusel, then he spoke.

"The great lord general of Nutusel, may your regime be told by mothers to their sons and daughters,  and by their daughters to their grandsons and granddaughters."

"Mmm"

Members of the court responded as they crossed their hands towards great lord general Zandy, who responded by moving his head in satisfaction.

The hall was fully calm for a little while, then the great lord general adjusted himself on his silver throne.

"Speak, Lord Dido."

"My great lord general, we are just so shocked to see Sporge - the great hunter of honor - rather than Batard Depinn."

"Yes!"

The crowd responded in unison. They began to grumble. Then the noise died off.

"And we might be familiar with Sporge the hunter of honor, but we are not familiar with this grotesque he parades in the land of Nutusel."

Lord Dido walked to his seat gentlemanly.

"Sporge!"

"My great lord general!"

He responded in his peaceful voice.

"Explain yourself. Why are you here and where is Batard Depinn?"

"My great lord, Batard the great son of Depinn and..."

"Who made him great? Do not tell us whose son he is, the question is, where is Batard Depinn?"

Papa Nouriza Nouriza interrupted him, sitting relaxed in her recliner chair. The hall was silent until she ended her speech.

No member of the court spoke when any papa of the court of Nutusel spoke except the great lord general, the servant of Kabril, and the great hunter of honor.

"My papa, let him speak. He remains Sporge - the great hunter of honor of Nutusel and in line with the doctrines, he should be treated accordingly."

Lord Bright - the eldest lord of the court, stood staggeringly from the top right side of the table. Lord Bright, was the eldest man in Nutusel, and by customs was entitled to the court. He was popularly perceived as the calmest lord in Nutusel for he spoke occasionally and just a few phrases.

"Yes, lord Bright. If we must quote the doctrines, that same doctrine states that the hunter of honor of Nutusel sits beside the great lord general of Nutusel. Now, I do not see the great hunter of honor of Nutusel in this court. We are all looking at nobody but Sporge - the sentinel of monsters."

Papa Nouriza Nouriza argued, and the hall was filled with uproar again, murmuring took charge of the air space.

The murmuring continued until papa Zooba Zooba sat upright on her recliner, everyone became quiet knowing that she wanted to speak.

"Papa Nouriza, the Sporge of whom you belittle remains the second seater of this court and the third seater of the inner court of Nutusel."

"No! Not today, papa Zooba."

She argued.

"Then we only ask of you that you let him speak in sentences."

Sporge stood in chagrin and repulsion. He never for once thought of a day like that day in his life. His title and position in the court and the inner court were merited. He had earned them by being the most honest man of Nutusel and the World beyond.

It was reckoned in Nutusel that the most honest hunters of Nutusel are gifted with direct relationships with the dwellers of the fourth wall which was implied to be the abode of the great Kabril and as such, addressed as the Paradise.

"Is this of your will, Japeek?"

He mumbled to himself.

"The great hunter of honor, please speak."

Sporge did not respond, he stood lost as he stared deep into the floor.

"The great hunter of honor, please speak."

The great lord general echoed in his quick voice.

"My great lord general, may your time on the throne be praised by men and spirits."

"Mmm!"

The members of the court responded as usual.

"I am Sporge - the hunter of honor, the closest to the heart of the spirits and the definition of truth. I do not deserve to stand here  and be belittled by men that I do not bow to. I have only come here before scheduled out of honest reasoning as Baartd Depinn has refused to honor the call of the query by this court."

"Oh! He will not come?"

Lord Dido intruded as he stood.

"So he will not honor the court that is high above him?"

He sat slowly as he watched Princess with animosity.

"Who does he understand that he is?"

Lord Sideme endorsed lord Dido as he stood before the chair beside Lord Bright. He returned to sitting as Lord bright stood up.  Lord Sideme was adored as the youngest lord of the court by merit. He was loved mostly by the ladies for his good looks. As the youngest lord of the court, it was his right to sit beside lord Bright in any court assembly. Since lord Dido was inducted into the court in his father's plea at a younger age, it was also his right to sit beside the eldest man of Nutusel in every court gathering.

"The richest man in Nutusel, of course."

Uttered papa Nouriza Nouriza.

"Batard Depinn, we can not see, Sporge- the hunter of honor we see. Shall we attend to him so we all might get some rest?"

Suggested lord Bright, and he sat again.

"You are correct, lord Bright - the hunter of honor, what do you have to say concerning the creature you brought into Nutusel?"

"My great lord general, call it by its inscription. A monster."

Papa Roseline Roseline corrected. She was second to the eldest honored man of Nutusel. She was in her early 80s, white-skinned and small in size.

"This is the Princess of the Spirit World. She was entrusted to me by Japeek - the Duchess of the supernatural realms..."

"Lies! Lies! All lies. We can not believe this mysterious anecdote."

Papa Kenda Kenda objected in her cracked voice. She was second to the youngest honored man of Nutusel. She was a few years older than papa Zooba Zooba. She sat by the left-hand side of the eldest papa of Nutusel, while papa Zooba Zooba sat by the right-hand side.

"My papa, you believe me when I returned from the midnight hunts with your demanded cacas. You believe me when I ask you to demand any animal of your preferences. Did you believe me when I returned with every one of them?"

Sporge - the hunter gazed at their faces, expected responses but he got none.

"If you..."

"We did believe you, we believe in the spirits, but..."

Lord Philip cut in.

"But you do not believe in the acts of the spirits."

That was a critical question that dismissed the court in disarray, and had the query adjoined.

HUNTING IS A RELIC KF THE BARBARISM THAT ONCE THIRSTED FOR HUMAN BLOODED, BUT IS NOW CONTENT WITH THE BLOOD OF ANIMALS.

CHRISTIAN NESTELL BOVEE