by Zy Rykoa
As the woman bade Sayva goodbye, they left for the Gates of Callibra in the far west. They had to walk almost the entire width of the village, and although it took close to an hour, Jaden allowed little conversation between them on the way. He had been troubled by the tone in which Vennoss had spoken. It made him afraid to think of what he might soon learn. It was a tone he had heard only once before, when talks had not gone well with the neighbouring nations. Those fears had proved false at the time, but there was always the possibility things could turn against their favour and leave them defenceless.
Jaden’s nerves calmed a little as he saw Vennoss standing on a hill, looking to the west. There, five enormous pillars of rock could be seen, each two hundred feet in height and fifty in width, marking the only entrance to the valley. These were the Gates of Callibra. Jaden always felt insignificant as he walked near these great structures of earth, but admired them for their natural beauty. Evidently they impressed the woman, as she had failed to notice Jaden run up ahead to meet with Vennoss without her.
‘I have it,’ said Jaden, but Vennoss gave no reply, now staring at the woman who was walking toward them with mouth agape and eyes set on the very tops of the Gates. ‘She said she wanted to meet you. She won’t stay,’ Jaden explained.
Vennoss raised a hand for Jaden to say no more, and his and the woman’s eyes soon met.
‘Noviahn,’ said the woman.
‘Tarsha,’ said Vennoss in acknowledgement.
‘I thought I recognised that wristlet. So this is where you have been hiding away?’
Vennoss nodded. ‘Jaden, I would like you to meet a dear old friend of mine, Tarsha Esgra of Raikanon. Tarsha, you have no doubt met Jaden?’
‘Yes, we’ve spoken,’ said Tarsha with a grin. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I feel I should be asking you the same.’
‘Raikanon is ruled by the Alliance. I’ve been on the run for as long as I can remember.’
‘Yes, I’ve heard. I had wondered if you made it out alive.’
Tarsha chuckled and then sighed. ‘Ah, you know me, always in the wrong place at the right time and the right place at the wrong time. It would take more than an army to change my luck.’
Vennoss smiled knowingly.
‘What of my dreams, Grandfather?’ asked Jaden, becoming impatient and hoping Tarsha would take the hint to leave.
But she did not move. ‘Dreams?’ she asked.
Vennoss nodded to her. ‘He describes milayiss, but I can’t be certain. However, I have suspected it before. It is why I have called him here. Tarsha, I’m glad you have come also, I have been meaning to speak with you.’
‘If this is about the jewel,’ said Tarsha, suddenly defensive, ‘I haven’t been back to get it yet!’
‘No,’ said Vennoss calmly. ‘I mean there is trouble in Hawan and Lassah.’
‘Oh,’ said Tarsha. She almost seemed confused, eyeing the ground a moment. ‘Because I have every intention of getting that jewel back, you know.’
‘Yes, there is no doubt of that,’ agreed Vennoss in slight agitation, ‘but there are more pressing matters.’
Tarsha finally seemed to believe that he wasn’t interested in the jewel and asked, ‘What is the situation?’
‘They have not returned communication with the Resistance. There are no reports of an attack, so we fear the worst. The Resistance may soon be facing a new war with them. I will explain later, but first, Jaden’s dreams. You describe milayiss,’ Vennoss turned to Jaden.
‘What is milayiss?’
‘I will not frighten you with the details until I am sure of it, but I want you to wear the loh-korah from now on. It will help. If you are indeed experiencing milayiss and Callibra is called to war, I don’t want you to follow your friends or family.’
‘But, I can’t …’ Jaden tried to protest.
‘Please, listen,’ Vennoss hushed and his voice became strained, as if it were the hardest thing he had ever had to say. ‘Northeast of here is a mountain. You will know it by following a direct path toward the two highest peaks. Track the stream north and you should find your way. Once there, you will know what to do. I will not tell you exactly, but know that water is good, and bathing where the stream ends will help cleanse old wounds.’
‘Do I have a disease?’ asked Jaden.
‘I can’t say,’ said Vennoss. ‘Please, just go there when the time comes. You will be safe. Can you do this … for me?’
Jaden thought hard, fighting back all the questions he wanted to ask of why he could not remain with his family, and then nodded finally.
‘Thank you, Jaden,’ said Vennoss, and he turned back to Tarsha. ‘As for the island of Hawan, I need to see it firsthand. I will be leaving for there tonight.’
‘You’re leaving already?’ asked Jaden.
‘I’m afraid so. I cannot wait any longer. The air is troubled. I can feel something is not right.’
‘Yes,’ said Tarsha, ‘you feel it too! I have had an inkling in the back of my neck for some time. It is why I have come this way.’
‘And why I have returned early.’
‘I will go with you,’ said Tarsha.
‘Why do you have to go?’ asked Jaden, ignoring Tarsha.
‘So that you can live on, my child,’ said Vennoss, ‘and be proud of what we have here. This is Callibra, the closest you will find to paradise on Earth, especially in these times. Someday, when I am gone, you will do the same for this place. You will give up a life of leisure to be on the road, knowing that by your efforts, others may enjoy what you once did.’
Jaden looked to the ground; he didn’t want to accept what was being said, but looked back up again at Vennoss, the Daiyus way of showing strength in times of uncertainty. Vennoss gave a weak smile to him but then looked suddenly at the centre of the village.
‘What is it, Grandfather?’
‘It appears an audience is forming on the field.’
When Jaden turned he saw that Vennoss was right. Almost everyone in Callibra was now massing in the centre of the tennagen field.
‘We should join them,’ said Vennoss.
‘But what about the loh-korah, what is it?’ asked Jaden.
‘That would require a day’s study to truly understand. I will explain in time, for now, let us walk and join the others. If I am not mistaken, your father’s friend Kobin might be making an announcement I will not be supporting.’
Jaden followed Vennoss with Tarsha to the tennagen field. All three remained silent, as if hoping to hear what was being said in the gathering, but it was too far away. Vennoss had begun to jog, as he did not wish to miss what was being said, and in much less time than Jaden would have believed, they had all made it to the field. Jaden took a moment to catch his breath as Tarsha caught up, but only he seemed to be wondering why Vennoss had not even broken a sweat. For a man easily three times Jaden’s age, Vennoss seemed fitter than even the best athletes in the village. Travelling so far over the previous decades must have done very good things for his body, Jaden thought.
As they made their way through the audience, Jaden could hear Kobin speaking loudly at the centre, but could barely see him.
‘They will aid us in our time of need, so long as we make a sufficient contribution to their military personnel,’ said Kobin, his voice carrying easily over the silent crowd.
‘What’s he talking about?’ asked Jaden.
‘Hush,’ said Vennoss, ‘we need to hear this.’
‘Who do we send?’ asked a man in the audience.
‘Our population is not great in size,’ said Kobin, ‘and many do not have the strength to fight, so we will only send a percentage that might be useful. I propose that we use tennagen as the means of determining who goes and who stays.’
The villagers all whispered amongst themselves at this prospect. The sport had been used to decide so much in Callibrian history. Could it now be used to send young lives into battle, potentially to their deaths? A slim hope
of glory would be all that accompanied them if they were lucky enough to survive. Many eyes turned to Jaden, as if expecting him to protest, but Jaden was busy trying to get a glimpse at Kobin through the audience. He was only able to see a line of heavily armoured soldiers standing near where he could hear Kobin speaking, and guessed this was why so many in the village seemed so willing to accept his word. Even his grandfather did not seem to wish to speak, instead, remaining very calm, taking in every word uttered around him.
‘This is madness! We can’t send our youth to war! They are our future!’ shouted a man.
‘Would you go in their place?’ asked Kobin, mockingly.
‘If we absolutely must agree to this ridiculous notion of war, then yes! How about you join me?’ the man retorted.
Jaden couldn’t hold back his smile. Even with armed guards standing either side Kobin could not get the respect he often demanded. From what Jaden had learned; Kobin was a troubled youth, often outcast and laughed at for his warped ideals and strange visions of the future. He often spoke about ruling the world, which just made Jaden wonder at why his father seemed so fond of him. Kobin was insane. Tyral was a good man and a great father. Was it out of sympathy that Tyral supported Kobin?
It made very little sense.
The crowd silenced as the soldiers standing either side of Kobin began to reposition their weapons, possibly a warning that no disrespect would be tolerated.
‘Volunteers will also be accepted,’ Kobin went on, ‘but there will be no substitutions. If you are chosen to go, then you will be escorted, wilfully or not.’
There was an audible grumble in the crowd as Kobin’s mood darkened. This was not a request for the village to join a nation in battle, but a demand, and Kobin was dictating the terms to them.
‘We don’t need help!’ shouted a woman.
‘No one would attack us!’ shouted another.
People were becoming restless as the realisation that their sons, daughters, sisters or brothers could potentially be sent away. It was not right. It was not the Callibrian way. How could Kobin, one of their own, be so cold as to even suggest that their young should fight in battles that hadn’t even come near them? The Callibrians trained daily to be ready for all of life’s challenges, but they had become so safe in their valley that their training had simply been used for daily difficulties, nothing as serious as war. There was nothing in their training that could have prepared them for it.
‘Your confidence is unfounded,’ said Kobin. ‘As we speak, entire forces are on their way.’
At that moment, a tomato flew from the audience straight into Kobin’s shoulder, splattering its juices all over his maroon robe and the guard next to him. All except the soldiers and Kobin began to laugh and point their fingers, while Jaden readied to throw another. He had finally found a spot in the crowd from which he could view Kobin, right next to someone who had just been working in a field and had plenty of tomatoes in a basket. Before he could line up the next, someone else had thrown an apple, which was shot out of the air, showering those beneath it with its shattered pulp, and then in a blink of an eye a man fell backward, a tranquiliser dart firmly in his chest. One of the guards had shot straight through the tomato being held by a man near Jaden with the dart, hitting the man behind them.
‘Do not test my patience!’ yelled Kobin, making no attempt to clean the tomato off. Kobin’s long golden brown hair had fallen forward, now slightly covering his face and making his shadowed eyes seem even more piercing as he continued to shout, ‘The forces that come here will not be kind. They will not offer allegiance. They will simply conquer. Do you wish to be conquered? Do you wish to be enslaved? I have spent years on the road for you, all of you, knowing this day would come. I do not expect appreciation from such simple minds, so I will not even attempt to ask, but know this, without me, this village would not have a chance.’
The audience erupted into jeers at Kobin’s well-known and expected arrogance, many shouting taunts and insults at the man they had only disliked, perhaps pitied, but now despised with every cell in their body. They were silenced with gunfire from the soldiers and Vennoss spoke loudly to be heard by all.
‘Please, calm yourselves,’ he said. ‘There is no need for anyone to be hurt this day.’
Kobin stared at Vennoss suspiciously, not saying a word or taking his eyes off him as he made his way through the crowd. Many stepped aside to allow Vennoss an easy passage, and soon he had reached the centre, walking past the guards without fear or concern.
‘I do not recognise the uniforms these soldiers wear,’ said Vennoss to Kobin, ‘from what nation have you brought them?’
Kobin stared for a moment, as if weighing his options on whether he should reply or not. ‘Hawan in the west,’ he said.
‘That is a long journey for a few soldiers, is it not?’ asked Vennoss.
Kobin seemed irritated but attempted to hide it as he spoke with clenched teeth.
‘They are already on their way east, I simply convinced them to stop here as they passed, so that we could gain their protection.’
‘Yes, yes,’ said Vennoss, now looking more closely at the uniforms they wore. ‘For the price of a few young lives, the village will be protected from an evil that may or may not even come here. Quite a bargain.’
‘And you have better?’ asked Kobin.
‘I will not claim as such, but I believe even a man of your mental capabilities would have better sense than bringing armed military personnel to a defenceless village. Who do you think will attack us here? The Alliance? The Resistance? Dragons?’
‘You dare mock me, old man?’ asked Kobin over the laughter around him.
Kobin walked menacingly toward Vennoss, who also began walking forward, showing that he was without fear.
‘I didn’t become old by being lucky,’ Vennoss scolded. ‘I have travelled farther than you have even dreamed, and yet you stand here, the wise conqueror, as if anything you have to say is of any worth. You are as stubborn and as arrogant as you were as a boy, and still you refuse to learn.’
The soldiers standing near Kobin and Vennoss armed their guns as they saw tempers rise in both men, but Kobin waved his hand for them to stand down.
‘Labelling others arrogant as always, even when they have tried to help,’ said Kobin calmly. ‘It seems wisdom does not come with age or long journeys. You and I both know that this was an inevitable conclusion. War will come. This land is a prime location for resources and reconnaissance. If the Alliance gets hold of it, they will have a base from which they can attack all in this continent, without detection and in complete safety. We need the help of other nations. We need it now. Are you going to stand in the way of what can save this village?’
All could see the rage building in Vennoss, his face becoming redder with every word Kobin uttered. But Kobin was right. Vennoss had travelled and spoken to the other nations, just as Kobin had, and this was the logical conclusion to Callibra’s fate. He had little other choice but to concede the point.
‘He may not be our brightest or most heroic,’ said Vennoss to the crowd as he walked away from Kobin, ‘or even a man you’d want breathing, but I have spoken to friends elsewhere and it is true, we are in danger here. The wars are not far away, so we will all be faced with a choice. This man will have you join a nation’s army, with whom we have had very little communication. You may do so if that is your choice. But I have been offered safe passage to the great city of Waikor, an ally of Callibra for many years. I know it is possibly too much to ask you all to leave your homes and join me in going there, but I urge you to consider this grim future that awaits us here and make the right decision. The Waikorian people are proud, but they will accept us as brothers and sisters.’
‘Only those not selected may have the choice,’ said Kobin.
Vennoss spun on his feet. ‘You do not have that right!’
All weapons of the soldiers were quickly aimed at Vennoss.
‘But in truth,’
said Kobin slowly, glancing at the guns, ‘I do.’
Vennoss did not flinch, but began to back away.
‘Restrain him from any further interference,’ Kobin ordered, and then announced to the crowd as Vennoss was taken away, ‘the matches will begin now. I know you all have your teams. We do not have time for full matches or for many games. You will each be represented by your best. Prepare the field for tennagen, now!’
As the remaining soldiers aimed their weapons at those that stood defiantly, the people of Callibra became ready for their sporting matches. Possibly the last ever witnessed for many of them. Jaden quickly found Bo, Corey, Dion and Konnor and even those from generations before them that were part of the same social clan. But it became evident early that none believed they were above the current team’s skill and fitness level, so it was accepted that Jaden’s Dynasty would play as they had.
‘Are we ready?’ asked Jaden.
‘As ready as we’ll ever be,’ said Konnor.
‘I still can’t believe this is happening,’ said Bo.
‘It’s that snake Kobin’s fault,’ Dion muttered.
‘Either way, we don’t have a choice,’ said Jaden. ‘This is the match we can’t lose.’
‘Right, so strategy,’ said Bo, ‘no matter what, we keep it pure. Everyone will be nervous, so all we need to do is play hard and fast.’
‘If we win, we’re essentially sending them to war,’ said Corey. ‘Even on the opposite team, they are our friends. Can we play in good conscience?’
The boys were silent for a moment. Corey was right, as usual.
‘It’s either us or them,’ said Konnor. ‘I don’t want them to go to war, but I don’t want to go to war either. What else can we do?’
‘We just have to do our best,’ said Jaden. ‘It’s not our friends that we have to think of right now. It’s our families. If we throw the matches, we are saying to our families that they will not see us again.’
All turned to Corey as if to check on whether or not Jaden’s answer was acceptable. Corey was thoughtful, and then inclined his head and nodded, acknowledging Jaden’s point as a good one.