To Drain a Leviathan: The Stray Walkers, #1

By Cherif Touidjini

In the deepest and darkest pits of chaos, one can find opportunity lurking. So what if a cosmic horror-like entity mentors a hero?

Ken is hell-bent and ready to rob a strange old scholar. Since Ken whose eyes change colors according to whatever emotions he feels has many troubles to resolve.

Swayed by his sleazy, clever, and savage friend Belross, Ken prepares for the raid. The two young men are convinced that their prey came to visit their remote region in search of a treasure. Though robbing the old man is no simple task, since Grepkor marshaled five skilled mercenaries.

The shepherd boy was about to walk into a fatal encounter. Still, it is a chance he cannot let pass. Sure, he hesitated once, but then he never looked back.

Ken's quest to escape his haggard life will lead him to follow the rabbits down a deep hole in the ground. There, he does find something. However, it is not what he expected. There, he discovers an ancient secret that drives him to stride into a journey to rob the worshiped deity of its power - The gargantuan Dragon that like a megastructure hovers in the expanse around the sun of his world Zaffir.

Ken just craved to escape the shackles of the soul-shattering poverty that he and his foster parents lived under, the very shackles that blinded him to move forward and to take risks the right way will meet someone.
Someone who will break Ken's worldview and guide him to acquire the unnatural.

Arabian nights meets Stargate.

 

About this Novel:

Set in a medieval world inspired by Amazigh and Middle Eastern mythology, folklore, and legends, this isekai portal, world hopping, and historical fiction novel is a brilliantly plotted medieval fantasy thriller. A story where mischief, risk, and trickery lurk around a profoundly human journey.
Combining adventure, idols, magic, rich characters, complex world-building, and metaphysical elements to tell a story of cosmic proportion. Mixing slice-of-life with alternate side fantasy and mystery, this novel is perfect for readers who enjoy exploring immense worlds and complex characters.

Warning: This is a dark, character-driven Middle Eastern mythology novel, featuring betrayal and a Dragon, mature themes, and a strong fantasy villain. It has some content that may not be suitable for all audiences.

◆Reader discretion is advised.
◆There is no sex or explicit content.
◆The book contains mild cussing and graphic violence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cherif Touidjini
• Release date: Feb 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215030394

Book preview

1.Prologue

SURVIVE was the only thought that he could perceive clearly in his mind, while his heart was pounding, and all his other thoughts were scattered all over the place. He still needed to keep his emotions from leaking out though. He still needed to keep the appearance of calm and composure conveyed in his gestures and mannerism, as usual, so that the others would not smell his intentions; I did not know why I was thinking about it, but I was! Flashed into his mind.

What was I thinking! Of course, I was thinking about it. Ever since he saw their leader receive the message of a possible traitor hiding amongst them. Well, the captain did not tell him and the others in his squad about it, but he could feel it in his demeanor. He was almost certain that the one who branded him must have confessed. He threatened to have her son killed if she did not do what he wanted her to do, which was that she had to not engrave the real Rikk-Burn on his left shoulder. Thus, the carved markings; ⴶⵈⴰɛⵯⵈⴶ, which he had was just a tattoo. Then with her corporation, he stored that information in the Root-Hub and got a Ddehn Classification because of it. He was careful, so she had to be the one who had spilled out the secret.

Sitting beside them, he kept his head lowered whilst he cocooned himself, as he thought about the marks drawn on his still squadmates’ bodies.

He did not see it since their white uniforms covered those parts, but he knew that three Ciphers; marks that were drawn like black-colored, ring-sized tattoos appeared on the body of a member of his squad. One mark; ⵄ, was drawn on the center of the upper side of his right forearm. The other; ⵖ, was on the center of the upper side of his left forearm. While the third; ⵒ, appeared on the back of his neck.

As another member had the mark; ⴼ, appear on the lower side of his left hand’s wrist.

While all of them, including those two, had fist-sized, black-colored tattoos like marks drawn on the center of all of their chests. His was different from the others though since theirs had the shape; ⵣ. While his own was; ⵢ. Which was natural, since he was an Azara, and they were Samnadi, so naturally they had different-shaped Brands. And naturally the sign; ⵣ, was inscribed on the center of the backs of all their uniforms, even his.

Perhaps it was the force of habit. The habit he honed to observe and assess his surroundings, and evidently his targets, which he had to do if he had to survive in his line of work. But considering his current state, perhaps his anxiety drove his mind into thinking about doing something reckless, which was not something he usually did. However, considering the intel he acquired during the mission they were going home from, he had to consider doing something stupid for once. Since the intel that he acquired pointed towards the location of a Twernadin Relic.

Well, all that worry, all that anguish, all that precise observation happened while they still strode in that Root, right before they exited the Grid. Right before a white light glowing sphere that had a black orb in its midst appeared out of thin air in the clear blue sky.

Out of it, they came.

A hair-thin spherical transparent barrier engulfed a group of five. The shield that rivaled the size of the white sphere from which they appeared. The white light glowing sphere disappeared the moment they exited it, naturally, as it always did. In that split of a moment, he noticed that they breached out not far from floating rocks that were so massive that they had cities built on them. He only took a glimpse at them, and another at something else, and glimpses were all he needed.

The second, they were out though, all of the smaller marks vanished from the bodies of his teammates. He did not see it, but he knew it. Since the marks around all their chests shrunk to become as small as rings. At that moment, the shield that surrounded them disappeared, and they began falling, head first to the still far away ground, whilst the sound of the wind caused by the fall was all he could hear, while gravity rapidly continued pulling him down, along the rest, to the green ground.

None of them screamed. None of them said a word during their fall.

He was just looking at the ground, the ground that housed a paradise, an Eden of lush lands, and diverse flora in which Ruins of an old civilization were scattered everywhere. Their architectural structures resembled that of those on the floating rocks that he first glimpsed. That scenery was so beautiful that it distracted his mind for a second and almost made him forget that he was still falling.

But reality pulled his mind back, while they still fell, which they did for a while since they breached out high in the sky. He first looked around to assess his squad’s status, looking right and left, he saw the expression three of them had, which did not surprise him, since they wore the expression, which he knew they would have before he looked at them. He was sure the fourth member, who was falling behind him had the same one the others had.

They all looked fazed like he first was, but he knew them well, they were good, so they knew what to do next. And he had to do what they expected him to do, which was helping anyone who needed his help regardless of what his mind was hatching at that time. Besides, he still needed them to think that he was following one of the directives imposed on him by the Rikk-Burn, I still need them to think that.

He knew what had happened the moment the shield vanished since it was not that hard to deduce. We breached on a Zilch-Ground. He did not know whether he should be happy or angry about it. Still, he would most certainly include it in his assessments. But first things first, he needed to survive that fall, and do what was expected of him because it was too soon to decide on anything yet.

They all had pendants that had black stones on them. Those black stones; the Ivrik-Azru began glowing, as a black haze of dust sprung out of them, after which his Brand and those of the others expanded, to become fist-sized again, since they began pulling Hax out of the Ivrik-Azru, into their bodies through them.

Then, the mark; ⴳ, appeared at the center of the upper side of his right forearm. While the mark; ⴴ, appeared at the center of the upper side of his left forearm. He and the rest had triggered the Ciphers that would save their lives at that moment.

After triggering them, they began slowly falling. They were not stupid, since they needed to break the momentum of the fall without harming their bodies by exposing them to a fast deceleration. Besides, they did not need to trigger the other Ciphers for something as trivial as that since they all were aware that they needed to conserve Hax as much as possible. Their Ivrik-Azru were almost depleted after completing the mission they were going home from. I should have recharged my Ivrik-Azru during the Stride, was what he thought. Nevertheless, what was bad for all of them then, and seemed to have resulted in something he could exploit.

As they slowly descended to the forest, they corrected their hovering, and began floating a foot above the ground, right before they deactivated their Ciphers, after which their Brands shrunk again, this time willingly, and all of the other marks dissipated. They safely landed on the ground, on their feet; all five of them. At that very moment, four of them, he included, looked at the one who brought them to that Zilch-Ground. While they looked at the brown-skinned, dark-haired, and brown-eyed companion, they all shared the same idea. Although he looked at him slightly differently. Even the brunet, the leader of their squad had the same thought, except the one who they were looking at since he looked back at them with an oblivious expression drawn on his face.

I was lucky!

He knew him well, as did the others. He knew him better than he knew himself as he knew all of them since they were teammates for almost ten years then. Hani the one they were looking at was a good man, a faithful, light-spirited, and a kind-hearted man, whose obtuse laughter he fancied. Still, he was a strong warrior, perhaps the strongest amongst them all, and even though he excelled in strength and battle experience, he was lacking in finesse, hence, naturally, in activities involving acute intellectual faculties. He enjoyed his company since he could relax around him without being afraid of exposing himself since Hani could never doubt him, never, he would never have a shred of doubt towards him. Besides, he was the only one amongst them who did not care much about his origin. His eyes never even hinted that he saw him as someone other than a friend. Yet there he was, looking at him with a look that made him want to barf his guts out while he imagined himself wearing it. Because of Hani’s nature, when he had him guard his back, he never once faced an enemy and looked behind. He always knew that no matter whom they were facing, Hani would protect him no matter the cost.

Going through so many good and bad times together, and having shared a bond of brotherhood that he never once shared with any other man, made his heart waver for a second. He was about to prevent what was about to happen.

But he could not.

He could not afford to, his loyalty was not him, nor the others, nor to the Samnadi or their nation Diwan, nor anyone or anything else but the Aggregate.

He had to accomplish his mission. He needed to go back to the Aggregate. I wanted to go back home.

The captain then first looked at Iyad with his brown eyes. The pale-skinned, green-eyed average-built member of their team, who was standing the closest to Hani. Then looked right where Hani stood. Then the leader looked at him, straight into his green eyes, after which he slightly nodded. Then looked at Deming; the pale-skinned, dark-eyed, and black-haired member of their team; hinting at what they should do. They all understood their leader except for Hani who still did not figure it out yet. Iyad walked three steps towards him. Then went behind him, and waited for them to come closer, since the others, including him, also began walking towards Hani.

Hani looked at them with his innocent eyes, Nadji! Captain! Why are you looking at me like that?! He wondered.

Hani did not notice that that Ground did not look like the Ground where they were supposed to breach out in.

Their captain seemed convinced that he had found out whom he should be wary of, Ameria is not a Zilch-Ground. The leader replied to Hani.

So! Hani almost shouted. At that moment, Iyad hit him in the back of his head, knocking him unconscious. Hani instantly fell to the ground.

They all shared the same thought; since Hani was the one who chose the Grid-Root they strode in, and he was the one who used the Breach Cipher; ⵙ, to bring them there, he had to have done it intentionally, thus them being there must have been intentional. If it were not the case, then it would be an unprecedented occurrence, which was also a supposition they could have thought of as a possibility, even though it was not. But it was something only he had thought of, the rest were not fond of flexible thinking, especially their leader Feng.

Besides he was the only one who knew something the others did not, they were wrong. Hani was innocent. He was convinced of it. He knew that that day would come one day, but; I did not know that it was today. Therefore, he had to make the best of his situation even though he knew what was about to happen next.

Since they had no one amongst them who could generate a Knot-Code. And since they were short on Hax stored in their collective Ivrik-Azru’s, it consequently made it harder to safely contain Hani. And since they had to minimize the risk of an all-out brawl relying on their abilities that could lead to the death of one of them, and since they were unable to safely extract information from Hani to either confirm or deny their suspicions; they were left with only one choice and one choice only. The logical choice that none of them could go against, since the one who dared to oppose it, would be branded as more than suspicious.

We were all aware of it.

His assessments were rarely wrong, or else he would not be standing then, and there. I knew what was about to happen next. At that long second, that he felt was an eternity while they waited for Feng to utter those words, he just wished for one thing; I did not want to do it.

Hani was a traitor! Feng declared, with a tone that hinted that he needed them to confirm his statement.

Please do not say more! That thought flashed into his mind. Yet he could not say it aloud, he needed to keep his calm, he needed to show them that he was calm and that he agreed to that.

They all nodded again. I nodded again.

Iyad! Break his neck. Feng ordered the most ruthless member of their team. Breaking his neck while he was unconscious, while he was not triggering his Ciphers would kill his friend; since right then and there, Hani was a Dweller.

Iyad just replied with a slight nod.

After he heard the order, he kept his composure as he tried to convince his heart that his mind was right. For a moment, he tricked his heart that he was not saddened by Feng’s words, but rather he felt relieved that he did not give him that order, and at the same time he felt thrilled since then he had a mark that he could relieve his anger at after the deed was done. He had nothing against Iyad, he also knew him well. When it came to battle, he was good, not as good as Hani but he was skilled. He was not much of a talker, but he knew enough of his personal life to say that he was a good son and a bachelor with a bad habit. And it was also true that he did not fancy Iyad’s company much, even though Iyad only was uncomfortable towards him in his first days, that was it. With time, he was someone he could trust in battle, besides he got things done efficiently. And as someone who liked efficacy, he fancied him for that. Still, he was happy that he could avenge the death of the man who guarded his life countless times, and he was happy it was Iyad since he would do the same to him the same way he was about to do it to him. If my plan worked of course!

Then, he knew what he needed to do. Then, he decided on what to do.

Iyad then leaned down to grab Hani’s head with both of his hands. He first pulled off his pendant, then instantly twisted it. He broke his neck. He was quick. His eyes looked dead when he did it, as Hani’s head hit the ground after he instantly let loose of it. His quick act seemed effortless, which was what Nadji expected of him, as was his expression remorseless, which Nadji did not expect. Nor did he expect that the loud cracking sound that he heard after Iyad snapped Hani’s neck would break his focus.

The trick Nadji played on his heart was instantly gone when he heard that cracking sound. He would never forget that sound. That damned sound that would haunt him for the rest of his life. While looking for a place in his mind where he could hide so that he could recollect his thoughts, and finish plotting his plan. Alas, he still could not shake the flood of thoughts that swept his mind. He still could not keep his heart from plunging into the deep and pitch-black pit of sorrow in which it drowned.

Burn it, Feng ordered again from Iyad.

After which, Iyad triggered the Generate Cipher; ⴼ, that appeared on the lower side of his left-hand wrist. Whilst he held Hani’s pendant in his right hand, he pointed his left hand towards Hani’s cadaver, as blue intense flames came out of it, engulfing his friend’s body, turning it to ashes. It was necessary since Feng had to keep the secrets Hani’s remains held from leaking. He needed to guard the secrets of The Samnadi; Hani, from being extracted by a potential enemy. It was his duty as the leader to contain information from leaking. And Feng took duty and honor extremely seriously.

First, it was that cracking sound. And then it was the smell of that burning flesh. Both would haunt Nadji. He clenched his teeth as the rest watched Hani turn to ash rapidly in a matter of a handful of seconds. Iyad then deactivated Generate.

While the flames that consumed whatever remained of Hani dissipated after Iyad deactivated Generate, Nadji snapped out of his trance, and sorrow became anger as he hatched the final plot to his plan of escape. All he needed then was the chance to counsel Feng, which he was certain that he would ask him for. He had to. Nadji knew that no matter what Feng planned to do next relied on him. Although Feng did not seem to have perceived how shaken his reasoning was, his decisions at that time relied on habit more than rational thinking. Naturally, they would. Especially then, ever since they made their unbelievable and extremely auspicious discovery, they were all afraid and confused, doubting whether they were living that reality or not. Besides, then, when some doubts that could have been directed towards Nadji have somewhat burnt away along with Hani’s remains. Add to that the fact that Feng had to make quick decisions since he had to factor in the possibility of them being found by the group Hani sold them out to, especially if they had fully charged Ivrik-Azru, along with a well-planned ambush. Feng could be thinking that the fact they did not assault them the moment they exited the Breach meant that the enemy still did not know where they were, so it was only a matter of time until they tracked them down to capture them. Or so Nadji assumed what Feng was thinking. What he was worried about was wrong. So of course, Feng’s mind was clouded, and his judgment shrouded in paranoia and self-doubt, thus he would make the wrong decisions.

Which was another fortunate factor Nadji could exploit.

Nadji! Feng asked as he looked at him, do we have enough Hax to Breach out of here?!

Unfortunately, no. He replied. I did not lie; they really did not have enough of it to Breach. But we have enough of it to enable one of us to leave this Ground’s atmosphere to seek Hax access outside of it. He added. That time I lied.

The three of them glared at him. They all thought the same thing; you want us to give you what remained of Hax, hence leave this place and us behind. Nadji almost forgot the pain that reigned in his chest, since he almost grinned as he looked back at them, for they wore the expression he was expecting. He only had one chance. And he knew that they would be against it, so he knew what he would say next. I recommend that Deming would be the one to do it. And we should only keep enough of it for two triggerings of Root-Access, to increase his chances to reach a Hax zone. He should Stride home to deliver the intel, and get us help, while we could contact Diwan for help ourselves, or use it to get knowledge about tech to leave this Ground in case Deming fails. So, we try two tactics of survival instead of relying on just one, while we disperse into different directions, lay low and mingle with this Ground’s Dwellers confusing whoever could be targeting us until we leave. He added.

They all knew that this Ground had Dwellers living in it since the ruins did not build themselves.

Normally he would be the logical choice since he was an Azara, the only one who could charge Ivrik-Azru. He could go outside the atmosphere, reach an area in the vicinity of that Ground where Hax was not scarce in, charge his Ivrik-Azru, then come back to Breach into the Grid, saving them all. But they were dubious of one another, and naturally him. Since they knew Hani far longer than they knew him, yet he turned out to be a traitor, or so they thought. They would not leave their fates into his hands even though they still thought that his Rikk-Burn was effective. So, he could not risk recommending himself for that mission, which was one reason he proposed that plan of action.

This plan is flawed, Iyad said.

He was distrusting me. He was right to do so, as they all should have.

Captain! I can do it if you want me to, Deming said.

I was glad he said those words.

We have more urgent things to think about, Feng replied, hinting that whomever Hani was working for would try to capture them. Not to expose the Intel we have; was the only thing he was concerned about at that time; Nadji presumed. We do it that way, Feng added. Fully aware of the risks that he thought were looming.

They all nodded in agreement.

After which, Nadji and Iyad walked towards Deming while they took their pendants out of their necks and handed them to him upon arrival. Iyad also gave him Hani’s pendant. Deming wore them around his neck, then he and Nadji walked towards Feng. Upon arrival, Nadji held the Captain’s pendant in his left hand, while he held one of Deming’s pendants into his right hand while both of them still wore them. After which, Nadji triggered his Brand and drew Hax out of Feng’s Ivrik-Azru, and instantly triggered his Yan Cipher that appeared on the back of his neck. Transferring the Hax stored from that Ivrik-Azru onto Deming’s. It only took him a second to do that.

After he was done, he deactivated his Ciphers. Then it was their turn.

Feng believed that they had to be fast after Nadji charged Deming’s Ivrik-Azru with the Hax stored from his own since after using Ciphers they could have just given away their position to their ambushers if they were in the vicinity of their reach. The moment Nadji was done, Deming looked up, closed his eyes, then only triggered Hide; ⵄ, which appeared at the center of the upper side of his right forearm. And Leap; ⴽ, which appeared at the center of the upper side of his left forearm, while he jumped up, and was nowhere to be seen, leaving only a blur behind. He leapt without triggering the other Ciphers he usually would have triggered.

He did it to conserve as much Hax as possible.

While at the same point in time on the center of Feng’s forehead the Root-Access Cipher; ⴲ, appeared for several second, only to dissipate. Feng did what Nadji proposed, who only left Hax enough for two usages of Root-Access. Then after Feng used one, all that remained was the usage of one. Nadji had to do it that way; he had to keep his words and actions aligned. He had to stick to the plan. He had to do it right. I had to be the one who would use the second triggering.

Captain! Did you get hold of Diwan! Iyad asked.

Feng seemed frozen in his stead, as he glanced at them for a split moment. He was silent as he replied with a slight nod. Nadji thought it was odd, but he believed that Feng was given new orders that he had to keep for himself for then. RUN! Feng then ordered.

Which they did. The three of them then quickly ran in different directions. Dispersed, they ran far away from where they landed.

Nadji ran westwards, while he marked the direction Feng and Iyad chose to run towards. I will track them the old way. As the thought that then he only had to worry about two was clear in his mind. Since Deming leapt to his death. The loyal husband and loving father of two daughters died in silence held by the void of space. Which was the other reason why Nadji did not