Chapter 31: The Truth About Mulka

Rayleigh loosened his grip on Jax’s neck, giving him just about enough room to speak.

"I-I’m sorry I lied to you!" Jax pleaded. "I did what I had to do to save myself!"

Rayleigh’s jaw tightened, and so did his grip on Jax’s neck.

"Not what I asked." His voice was as cold as ice.

Rayleigh’s anger did not stem from the fact that Jax had tried to steal his crystals, or the fact that he had blatantly lied.

He didn’t care about the lie, per se; he cared about how it had nearly jeopardized his current mission.

"There isn’t any fuel, is there?" Rayleigh asked. "You just lied so you could get those crystals from me and get inside the wall."

Jax’s eyes widened.

"You know about the wall? If you know about the wall, then you’d know I hadn’t lied about the fuel!"

"What are you on about? Still lying, are you?" Rayleigh’s grip only got tighter by the second.

"I didn’t lie about the fuel!" Jax pleaded once again. "I only lied about helping you to get it. There is fuel beyond the wall."

"Why should I believe a word you say, Jax? Tell me why I shouldn’t just take you to the nearest beast lair and leave you there?"

"Y-You don’t understand... this planet isn’t what it seems. You never should have come here."

Rayleigh had no idea what Jax meant by that, and he was inclined to doubt what he was saying. After all, one would say just about anything to get themselves out of trouble.

But Rayleigh wanted to hear more.

Finally, Rayleigh let go of Jax, and his body crashed onto the sand.

"Start talking."

Jax slowly raised his head, his eyes staring directly at Rayleigh.

"You never should have come here."

◇◇◇

Rayleigh was never one to feel threatened by cryptic messages or subtle threats, but for some reason, he was wary.

There was so much he barely knew about this planet and its star system, and remembering the system’s warning from earlier, along with Jax’s words, he couldn’t help but wonder.

’What is with this planet exactly?’

"I never lied about the fuel. You can get some of that in the city," Jax explained, his hands massaging his sore throat.

"There is no city. Stop lying," Rayleigh warned aggressively.

"Okay, okay!" Jax raised his hands quickly. "It is not exactly a city. More of a colony, but do they not mean the same thing where you are from?"

Jax had a point, but Rayleigh was not here to get a formal education from an alien.

"Keep talking. What is the Wall?" Rayleigh asked.

Jax started explaining.

"My home planet, Mulka, is nothing but a vast wasteland. It was not always like this, from what I know..."

***

Thousands of years ago, Mulka was simply a rich planet filled with intelligent lifeforms. Billions of Mulkans existed on the planet, and they thrived. They thrived in every aspect of civilization; agriculture, food, music, exploration, and above all, science and technology.

"Okay I’m going to stop you right there." Rayleigh interrupted Jax abruptly. "I don’t care much about your history. I want to know about The Wall."

"Be patient," Jax replied. "I’m getting there."

Rayleigh exhaled, and Jax continued.

"In addition to all of these, magic also existed on Mulka. There were mages, magic bearers, seers, and all of those things. But just as one would expect, dark magic also existed."

"Dark magic?"

"Yes. It was banned by the overlords, but a few people still practiced it in secret." Jax paused for a moment before continuing. "One day, a civil war broke out, and one of the Dark Mages cast a spell that opened portals all over the planet."

"What came through those portals was something no one had ever seen before."

Jax’s expression became serious.

"Beasts." Rayleigh didn’t need Jax to say anything else. He already knew what had happened next.

Jax continued. "The beasts ravaged the entire planet, wiping out more than ninety-five percent of Mulka’s population. We fought back, of course, but the beasts were too strong."

Rayleigh remained silent as he listened.

"About a few decades after the opening of the first portal, the most powerful Mages came together to create a system that could fix the broken world. But first, they needed protection against the beasts."

Jax glanced toward the massive structure in the distance.

"That was how the Wall was formed; magic mixed with technology," Jax explained. "Two forces combined into something so powerful that not even the strongest beast could penetrate it."

"A Celestial Beast..." Rayleigh whispered.

Jax nodded. "Yes. Even a Celestial Beast would have trouble breaking through the Wall... that was how the first Wall was built."

Rayleigh paused for a second. "Wait. Did you just say the first Wall?"

Jax nodded in affirmation. "A total of three Walls exist. The other two were created as a contingency in case the first Wall was ever breached."

Rayleigh looked toward the enormous structure again. This all felt too bizarre for him.

"The first Wall is named Andor. The second is called Veyrion, and the third and final Wall is called Aurelis. History says these Walls were created as a contingency, but that is not the whole truth."

"The Walls were also used to separate the different levels of society." Jax said. Rayliegh noticed the slight change in his expression and his tine overall. He could sense the bitterness underneath all its layer.

"Each Wall has its own city or colony. The first Wall is the City of Andor. Andor is home to the lower-class Mulkans who work to keep the other two cities functioning. Andorians work and toil every day to provide food. They work in the mines, gather resources, and produce many of the things being used by the second and third cities."

Rayleigh’s expression slowly changed. "So they do all the work?"

"Yes." Jax answered.

"And what do the people in the second city do?"

"The second city acts as the overseer of Andor. They make sure the people do not rebel." Jax looked down dejectedly "They enforce these strict rules and protocols to keep the people under control. Rules that make sure the people submit." Jax looked up at Rayleigh.

Rayleigh was not liking where this history lesson was going. "What kind of protocols?" he asked.

Jax tilted his head, glancing in the direction of the settlement.

"Have you never wondered why a few Mulkans live in a settlement where the chances of getting mauled by a beast are so high?"