The Heroes Fall -1- When War Calls

by Zy Rykoa

  Jaden said nothing, as much from tiredness as not knowing what to do.

  ‘Try once more,’ said Tarsha suddenly.

  ‘It won’t work.’

  ‘Please, once more. This time, make sure everything is perfectly in place, including your hand.’

  ‘I did that last time.’

  ‘Just do it!’

  Jaden reluctantly put his wrist over the symbols, causing the same unlocking sound to come, and just as it seemed that this time the doors would open, suddenly the sphere above them began to emit a cool blue light, as if a cloud had passed in its way.

  ‘What’s happening?’ asked Jaden.

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Tarsha, backing away from the wall. ‘Quick! Take your hand away, now! We may have made a mistake.’

  Jaden did as instructed and moved back with her, but the light above continued to lose its power.

  ‘I thought you said it would last forever,’ Jaden pointed out.

  ‘I assumed it would,’ said Tarsha in disbelief.

  There came a haunted wind in the hollow, whistling through the many stones and rustling the leaves of the trees and plants alike. There was a high-pitched ring, and then all sound dulled as if being devoured with the light. There came a rumble deep beneath them as the ground began to shake.

  ‘You assume a lot,’ said Jaden, trying to keep his balance.

  ‘One must, when dealing with the Daijuar,’ countered Tarsha, hanging onto the railing in front of them. ‘They are an elusive kind.’

  ‘What happens now?’

  ‘Just hang onto something!’

  Jaden grabbed the railing as the rumble continued to gain in strength. The entire mountain was shaking now, and it seemed its very walls would collapse around them. The light dulled even further, leaving them in almost absolute darkness, but no rock could be heard falling, nor did any cracks appear in the ground. The rumble appeared harmless.

  In the distance, a slam of metal could be heard, and as the rumble calmed, there were footsteps, too. As the footsteps neared, the light above began to regain its original colour and brightness, revealing the footsteps to be those of three men all dressed in white, two of whom had finely chiselled features, the one on the right with dark hair, the other on the left with light. They flanked the man in the centre who was three steps in front and had long white hair and a short beard of the same colour.

  ‘Grandfather!’ called out Jaden, racing down the stairway toward the approaching men.

  The men flanking him regarded Vennoss with interest and then looked at one another questioningly, seemingly ignoring Jaden running toward them. Jaden embraced his grandfather as they met, and then his grandfather held him strongly at arm’s length, looking him up and down. Jaden noticed then that he was not smiling, nor was there even a hint of happiness in his grandfather’s eyes.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  Vennoss looked past Jaden to Tarsha, who had walked painfully down to them.

  ‘She’s wounded,’ he said, ‘tend to her.’

  The two men took long strides past Jaden, normal for people of their height, and helped Tarsha back up to the temple again, where they opened the doors easily with nothing more than their hands. When all three had vanished behind the doors, Vennoss looked back to Jaden.

  ‘Where have you been? I told you to come straight here.’

  The tone was harsh, almost of anger, as if Jaden had somehow done wrong.

  Jaden was confused, unsure what to say. ‘I came as soon as I could.’

  Vennoss did not seem to believe him. ‘Where did you get those clothes?’

  Jaden took a moment to think; he wanted to say he found them, but knew he could not hide the truth. He wore an Alliance uniform. There was no way around it. His grandfather would see straight through the lie.

  ‘The fort,’ he conceded.

  ‘What fort?’ asked Vennoss.

  ‘The one in Callibra. The one built over my home.’

  Jaden could not fight back the tear welling in his eye. He could handle being spoken to this way by anyone, but not his grandfather, not the man who had always been kind to him, helped him and made sure that he was well. Seeing the tear, Vennoss released his grip, and it seemed he had returned to his old self. They stood apart from one another, avoiding eye contact the best they could.

  ‘You should not have gone near them,’ said Vennoss, his tone now softer but still strict. ‘It was foolish. Your bravery will lead you to more trouble than it’s worth.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Grandfather,’ said Jaden, lowering his head.

  Vennoss took a deep breath. ‘No,’ he said, ‘I am sorry, child, I do not mean to scold you. It is good that you are alive—let us leave it at that.’ He paused. ‘I guess you would have some questions, then?’

  Jaden looked up to see a hint of playfulness had returned to his grandfather. ‘A few,’ he said with his best attempt at a grin.

  ‘Well, then, it is time you learned. Come, come, walk with me.’

  The two left the centre of the hollow and ascended into the gardens, taking no particular route as they weaved their way through the many fruit trees. Vennoss picked a ripe peach and gave it to Jaden, who ate it immediately.

  ‘What about my illness, Grandfather?’ he asked between bites.

  Vennoss did not turn, instead making sure their way was clear by pushing the many branches to the side. ‘That is part of what I wish to talk to you about,’ he said. ‘I have been looking for you, so where have you been?’

  ‘Trying to find the waters that would heal me,’ said Jaden.

  ‘No water will heal you, child. I said that the water was good. Remember your training. You were simply to find where the stream ended.’

  ‘I found a waterfall, was that it?’

  ‘You should know. You are here. What did you find at the waterfall?’

  ‘Nothing,’ said Jaden, remembering his fall. ‘I swam downstream and climbed out.’

  Vennoss stopped, this time turning back to him. ‘What?’ he asked.

  ‘I wanted to try to get back up the waterfall, I had to get out.’

  ‘No, no,’ Vennoss cut him short, waving his hand for silence. ‘How did you get in here?’

  Jaden was puzzled. ‘By a passage over there,’ he pointed to the other side of the hollow.

  Vennoss followed the direction with his eyes. ‘Impossible,’ he said. ‘That entrance has been sealed for centuries.’

  ‘It’s open now,’ said Jaden.

  ‘Yes, but how?’

  ‘Lightning, I guess,’ Jaden shrugged.

  Vennoss was silent. ‘No,’ he said, and then with a swift motion of his hand, he grabbed at something around Jaden’s neck and held it up so that he could examine it closely. ‘You have been guided here by someone. Who have you met?’

  ‘A Daijuarn woman,’ said Jaden, ‘but I lost her when I went over the waterfall.’

  ‘And you survived,’ said Vennoss bluntly, as if expecting the response.

  Jaden nodded.

  ‘You are not immortal yet, child. You are alive because of her, and she has guided you here. Why and how she has done this, I cannot say. She should not know this exists.’

  ‘You don’t know her?’ said Jaden.

  Vennoss shook his head. ‘There are no Daijuar that would have sought you out in this land other than Adonis and Blair, the two men who came with me, but I had to go looking for them. What is this? Did she give it to you?’

  Jaden took hold of the silver chain, studying it carefully. ‘I don’t know what it’s called. She said it would let me see whatever I wanted to see.’

  ‘And what have you seen?’

  ‘My home. It is harmless, Grandfather,’ Jaden assured him.

  Vennoss was sceptical, but said no more as he continued on the way up. Jaden followed, wondering how his grandfather hadn’t known who Raquel was. Perhaps she wasn’t Daijuarn. That could have been why she hadn’t answered his questions. Maybe it wasn’t because she didn�
�t want to tell him the answers; it was because she didn’t know them. But why hadn’t she told him that? She was wise beyond her years. She may have simply given him a chance to vent his frustrations. The crystal had been a gift to help ease his mind. He now realised everything she had done had been to comfort him. But why? What did she want in return?

  Jaden felt confused. Nothing seemed to make sense, but there was something more important for now. Vennoss believed she held power of some sort that had saved his life and guided him into the hollow, but she had let him fall. He could have died. He chose not to believe like his grandfather, but suddenly grew concerned for him. He did not seem himself, a shell of the man he had once been. He had been quick to anger and slow to compassion, and now he seemed to believe that Raquel was somehow a threat to Jaden and this place. He almost appeared paranoid. Something was not right with Vennoss anymore. He had changed.

  Jaden decided he would not mention anything about Raquel again, nor would he speak of anything that had happened after the attack. He would speak freely, as they used to, when he was sure the wound his grandfather had suffered from the attack was healed.

  After a few minutes of walking, they soon reached a rectangular area of smoothly carved stones and tiles. There was a wall of polished brown, dark gray veins throughout it, that Jaden could see his reflection in, accompanied by four small benches, two at each end, made of the same strange stone. The floor was tiled in the same manner, and in the centre was a circle of black marble with a seven-foot Daijuarn symbol made of amethyst within it. Vennoss walked to the left before turning around, leaving Jaden to study what was around them for a moment.

  ‘How are you faring?’ he asked.

  Jaden said nothing, his eyes locking onto his grandfather’s, as if he were asking the same question in return.

  ‘I’m alive,’ Jaden said coldly.

  Vennoss nodded. ‘That is all I could have hoped,’ he said slowly, ‘after I failed you.’ He raised a hand so that Jaden wouldn’t speak. ‘I will not ask to be forgiven. What happened is unforgivable, it should never have been. The Alliance has found a way into these lands, and now they will move on to Corsec. If they manage a victory there, it will be the end of the Resistance.’

  Vennoss sat down on one of the benches away from the wall. ‘I wanted you to come here for two reasons,’ he said. ‘First, to heal milayiss, the sickness that is not a sickness, but a change in one’s body and mind. I want to offer you a cure to it. If left untreated, it can lead to one’s death. If it is mastered, it can lead to prolonged life beyond ordinary years.’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ said Jaden.

  ‘All in time. All in time,’ said Vennoss. ‘For now, I want you to try to understand the Daijuar if you can. They are a race by ideal, not by blood, and they live for reasons neither you nor I can guess. However, they do share a common goal. They wish to protect the innocent with their power. For this reason, they have developed a code over the centuries, much of which is centred on the belief that they should never use their power to harm anyone. No soldier or civilian has ever been harmed by them. In battles, they have defended and nothing more.

  ‘I need not tell you their power is great. A single Daijuarn sentinel could have defeated the force that was sent to our home if they wished to kill. That is why it is so important that no matter how much hate they have, no matter how much they yearn to end another’s life, they will never use what they have for anything more than defence. Do you understand this?’

  ‘It is simple enough,’ said Jaden.

  ‘Good,’ said Vennoss. ‘I have talked it over with Adonis and Blair; they have agreed to take you in their care and help you master milayiss. In time; you will walk with them, go where they go, do as they do. You will be one of them. You will be Daijuarn.’

  Although Jaden did not look at him, he could tell that his grandfather was smiling widely.

  Jaden shook his head slowly. ‘I don’t want to be of the Daijuar anymore.’

  He looked up to see the smile fade from his grandfather’s lips.

  ‘Has it not been your dream?’

  ‘When I was younger,’ said Jaden, walking to sit on the bench next to the one Vennoss sat upon, ‘but not anymore.’

  ‘You will have to enlighten me on your reasoning, child. This is the last thing I would have expected to hear from you.’

  ‘They failed me, Grandfather. They failed us. I can forgive you for your mistakes, you have always watched over us, but the Daijuar were not there when we needed them. I know you are a friend of theirs, but they are not friends of mine. There was only one shield, and it did nothing to help us. Our home is lost. I don’t know if I can ever accept that.’

  ‘I see,’ said Vennoss. ‘You have lost more than your heart could afford, and I know that it wishes to place blame, but the Daijuar are not at fault. The shield was in desperation, but you are right, it was too late.’

  ‘With their power, they should have brought the Alliance to justice.’

  ‘It is not in their code,’ corrected Vennoss.

  ‘Then the code needs to be changed.’ Jaden stood up and paced to the edge of the tiles. ‘I don’t want to be a part of a race that would let the innocent die as they did.’

  ‘The Daijuar did what they could,’ Vennoss defended. ‘You cannot blame them.’

  ‘They could have done more,’ said Jaden sharply, and he began to cough violently as the memories began to flash before his eyes. The coughing stopped and he managed to speak again. ‘I could ask them a thousand questions. Why didn’t they come earlier? Why didn’t they save us? Why didn’t the shield last for hours as they do in the stories?’ Jaden could see the shock and pain his words were causing his grandfather, but couldn’t hold back anymore. ‘Why were they weak when we needed their strength?’

  Vennoss did his best to keep his voice calm. ‘No matter what they wish, they will never risk their own death. None of the Daijuar has ever been killed in battle.’

  ‘Then they are cowards! They will see hundreds die just to save themselves.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Vennoss, raising his voice with Jaden’s. ‘So that they may save thousands later! Do not hate them, child, they do what they must!’

  ‘But it isn’t enough! With that power, they could change the world!’

  Both fell silent as neither found they could say anymore. It had been the first time they had raised their voices to one another in an argument, and the innocence they had both held onto fondly felt lost. The next moments gave birth to an awkwardness that was new to them as the sacred connection was lost. Jaden sat down where he was as his grandfather turned to the wall, refusing to look at him, but he was the first to break the silence.

  ‘I am afraid,’ he started slowly, ‘that you may not have a choice.’

  Jaden took his time before saying anything in return. ‘Why not?’

  ‘The Daijuar may be your only hope to survive.’

  Jaden paused again in thought. ‘Then I will die.’

  ‘Come now, child,’ said Vennoss warmly, ‘you cannot mean that. You are young and your wounds are fresh. Do not be so quick to judge. Besides, I have another solution.’

  Jaden looked up as his grandfather walked to him and offered him a helping hand.

  ‘Let us go to the temple. I will explain on the way.’

  Jaden stared at the hand for some time, thinking of what his grandfather had in mind. When he could not think of anything, he took the hand and stood up, and they began their walk back down the slope.

  ‘Do you like it here?’ asked Vennoss, pushing the trees aside again.

  ‘It is not Callibra,’ said Jaden.

  ‘No,’ said Vennoss, ‘but do you like it?’

  Jaden shrugged. ‘It’s peaceful.’

  ‘How would you like to stay here for two, maybe three years? There is plenty of food and water, and you will be sheltered from the wars and elements.’

  ‘I’m going to join the Resistance,’ said Jaden simply.
/>   Vennoss chuckled. ‘The Resistance, or someone else fighting the Alliance, will be there in the years to come. Another soldier is not going to make much difference, and you will not do them much good with your illness.’

  ‘Then what do you want me to do, Grandfather?’

  ‘I want you to get better. Accept the help of the Daijuar, and I will see if I can request that you remain here for some years while you recover.’

  Jaden said nothing. Despite his decision to stay clear of the Daijuar, it seemed an attractive offer, and his grandfather was right, he wouldn’t be much help to the Resistance if he were at the mercy of the sickness. It had subsided a little since being inside the hollow, but he could remember clearly how he had felt when he was trying to keep up with Raquel. When he was unable to rest, it felt as if his entire body was failing, just as it would during battle. He would die a pointless death, not even fighting those who had taken his home, and so there would be no use in him being there. He would be a hindrance, not an asset.

  His grandfather seemed to have guessed the answer, as without turning, he entered the temple doors with Jaden close behind him. They followed a small corridor leading to a brightly lit hexagonal room. There were stands in each corner, holding small spheres in their tops that were miniature versions of the one out in the hollow. The floor was tiled with the same stone as there had been at the benches, and in the centre was a highly decorated stone block of three layers, Daijuarn symbols inscribed on its base. Tarsha was lying upon it with Adonis and Blair standing on either side of her. As Jaden approached, he could see a light shining between Blair and Tarsha’s injured side. It was a white glow, accented with golden flares as they sparked from Blair’s hand in a steady rhythm and floated gradually into Tarsha’s wound.

  Jaden was captivated by what he saw and almost hadn’t heard his grandfather call out next to him.

  ‘Adonis, he has agreed.’

  Adonis nodded calmly and signalled for Jaden to follow him into one of the two separate doors behind him. Jaden looked once more to his grandfather for reassurance, and then followed the tall, dark-featured man into the next corridor. The corridor led to a tight stairway that descended deep into the mountain, winding around a single column with no more than a faint blue glow in the rocks to light their way. When the stairway did not seem that it would end, Jaden began to think more about the situation than where he was going, and he suddenly realised that he was walking behind an actual Daijuarn being. This could have perhaps been his first encounter, if Raquel was not Daijuarn. Strangely, he felt no different to normal. While this man was most likely very powerful, it had little to no effect on Jaden, unlike his encounter with Raquel. She may not have had any power at all, and yet she somehow seemed more powerful than this Daijuarn man. Whatever the case, it was nothing like he had expected, and he concluded that he may have had the Daijuar all wrong. Perhaps now he could get some answers.