The Heroes Fall -1- When War Calls

by Zy Rykoa

  ‘We will start training tomorrow. This is enough wood,’ he said, and began walking back the way they had come.

  But Jaden didn’t follow.

  Adonis stopped and shone the light back at Jaden. Jaden’s eyes were closed and he was standing completely still in the moon and ring light.

  ‘What troubles you?’ asked Adonis.

  Jaden began to sprint in the opposite direction, his own endobraces now coming alight.

  ‘Where are you going?’ called out Adonis, and quickly ran after him.

  Jaden didn’t turn to answer the questions. He kept on running as fast as he could, dodging through the trees that were lit from the left, then right and then left again his arms moved with his stride. Adonis had trouble keeping up, but always had Jaden in sight, and saw that he had stopped far ahead in a small meadow.

  When Adonis arrived, Jaden was tending to a chestnut horse that had been grazing in the meadow. The horse seemed to be comfortable with him, nuzzling at him playfully as he petted it, and both appeared to be oblivious to Adonis standing just a few yards from them.

  ‘Why did you run?’ asked Adonis.

  ‘This is Elijenda, Alyssa’s horse,’ said Jaden simply.

  Adonis eyed him curiously. ‘How did you find it?’

  Jaden shrugged. ‘I heard it call.’

  ‘I didn’t hear anything,’ said Adonis.

  ‘No,’ said Jaden. ‘I guess I didn’t hear it. I felt it.’

  Adonis cautiously moved around Jaden and the horse to the other side. ‘You found her in the same way,’ he noted aloud. ‘How did you know where they were?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Jaden. ‘Sometimes I sense what’s nearby.’

  ‘How long have you had this ability?’

  ‘Since the attack. Sometimes there are whispers. Other times there are movements. I can’t explain it.’

  Having nothing more to say, Adonis motioned for Jaden to follow him back to camp, Alyssa’s horse following close behind without needing to be led. Once back at camp, Alyssa ran to them when she saw Jaden with Elijenda. As she embraced the horse, Jaden smiled and moved away, giving her some time alone with him. Adonis offered him a chance to light the fire with the endobraces as a test of his ability. He failed several times before his energy pushed the wood out of place. Adonis repositioned it so that he could try again. His next attempt provided the same result, and Adonis thought it time to step in.

  ‘Imagine heat coming through you. The energy responds to how you intend it to. Feel it burn, there will be fire. Feel it freeze, there will be ice.’

  ‘What about the emotion Vennoss taught me about?’ asked Jaden.

  ‘For more advanced users,’ said Adonis bluntly. ‘He expects too much from you. We will start with simple tasks. Feel it burn.’

  Jaden concentrated on feeling fire flow throughout him. He didn’t quite understand what he was meant to do, but imagined heat building in his heart before slowly releasing it through his arms in a steady stream. The endobraces began to glow with orange instead of white as Adonis encouraged him, and then Jaden increased the pressure on the release. His hands felt warm then and burned slightly. When he opened his eyes, smoke was rising from the pile of branches and twigs, and a fire was slowly being born on the side.

  ‘Continue,’ said Adonis. ‘The fire must not go out.’

  Jaden did as he was instructed, and soon the fire was roaring. He looked over his hands as Adonis congratulated him, and then he spun to see Alyssa watching as she hugged Elijenda.

  ‘We should rest,’ said Blair.

  ‘Are we going to eat?’ asked Alyssa.

  ‘Unless you can find food, we will have to wait until tomorrow.’

  ‘I don’t mean to be any trouble but I’m feeling weak,’ she said, and leaned her weight against her horse.

  ‘I will find you something. Wait here,’ said Jaden, and stood up to leave the camp.

  ‘We should all rest, we will not stop tomorrow,’ Blair warned.

  ‘I’m not tired,’ said Jaden, and with a last look at Alyssa, he disappeared from sight.

  Jaden was not sure where he would find food of any sort, but did not want Alyssa to feel hungry. He didn’t feel the need to eat much anymore. There always seemed to be enough energy available to him. When he thought about it, he decided he felt well enough without it. He wondered if it had anything to do with the Daijuar. They did not eat either, even though they had walked away looking for food from time to time. They were strange. But everything seemed strange to him lately, but for the first time since the attack, things were beginning to feel right.

  He breathed in the cool night air, thinking of what had happened over the previous weeks. The sickness had all but disappeared once he had left the Daijuarn Monastery, and the dreams of the dark-haired boy no longer plagued his sleep. It was almost as if simply knowing Alyssa was still alive was enough to cure all of his illnesses and make his life seem right again. That was why he felt he had to take care of her, he thought, and why he had run to find food as soon as she had said she wanted some.

  He smiled to himself, almost unable to believe that after all the chances he had missed talking to her because of Ardim or her riding away somewhere in the mountains, he now had the rest of his life to be with her. It did not take away the pain of losing his family and friends, but he had found a little piece of light in an otherwise dark and unforgiving world.

  As he came to a stop, he looked about him. He had run all the way to the meadow where Elijenda had been grazing. He hadn’t noticed, so lost he had been in his own thoughts. Remembering why he had come, he began to search for food of any kind, lighting the way with the endobraces. But he shut the light off as soon as it had come alive. Adonis and Blair had used low levels of light because of Alliance scouts potentially lurking nearby. It occurred to him then that he probably shouldn’t have run off so quickly without one of them to protect him. He was alone under the cold blue light of the rings above, out in the open of the grassy meadow. It was as empty as the forest had been thick, and it ran directly alongside their path. The Daijuar must have chosen to move through the forest to avoid prying eyes, but Jaden now no longer had the luxury of such safety.

  Carefully, he began to walk forward, alert to each sound as if it were an approaching scout, each piece of dirt that fell underneath his feet as if it were an Alliance landmine. Fear of the unknown in the darkness made him want to turn and run back to camp, but the need to find food for Alyssa kept him in the meadow, completely alert to all that was nearby.

  A moment later he froze. He had sensed something nearby, moving toward him. It was not a horse this time, or any other inhuman animal. It was a being on two feet, moving swiftly across the meadow. He could see nothing, but knew that it was getting closer. He would have fled if not for the noise he would have made. Although there was a hint of danger to the presence, running now would have meant certain capture.

  Jaden lowered himself to the ground and held his position. The white of his Daijuarn lower garments was all he needed to conceal, as without the vest his skin reflected only a little of the light from above. He took a breath as he guessed the being was now changing direction. He could barely sense it anymore, and decided it must have been moving away. What it truly was, he couldn’t guess. It did not seem human, but it walked almost as if it were.

  Relaxing slightly, he remained on one knee and turned to his left, where he thought he had felt something like a shadow next to him, mimicking his every movement. As he turned, he saw a woman crouched on one knee as he was, staring in the same direction as if hunting the very same thing he was.

  Jaden yelped as he jumped away from the woman kneeling beside him, catching himself on his hands as he fell backward, his heart racing as the shock sent adrenaline through his veins. When he had a chance to breathe again, the woman stood up and smiled at him, then walked straight past.

  ‘Raquel?’ he asked.

  The woman gave no reply. Jaden quickly hopped u
p and chased after her.

  ‘Raquel, wait!’ he called out. ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘I am going north.’

  ‘I know, but … where have you been? I thought I lost you.’

  ‘You did.’

  Jaden took a moment to regain composure. He had found Raquel again, or she had found him, and now that she was here, he didn’t know what to say.

  ‘I am training to become of the Daijuar. See?’ he asked, displaying his wrists to her.

  Raquel paid no attention to what she was being shown. ‘Your path is long,’ she said.

  ‘What do you mean? Raquel, please stop,’ Jaden tried to reason with her as he continually fell behind her step. ‘I can’t go too far, I am with some people. They have made a camp not far from here. You can come join us if you want to … we are going north as well.’

  Raquel paused, turning to him as if only to give him a small chance to speak.

  ‘I don’t know who you are or where you are from,’ Jaden began, ‘but I know I want to speak with you.’

  ‘What would you speak about?’

  ‘I don’t know. No, please wait!’ he called out again as she continued on her way.

  Jaden tried to think back to all that he had learned of her in the short time they had together. She had not answered a lot of his questions, but she had always seemed to understand him better than he understood himself. She would speak in riddles as much as she spoke directly and in plain fact. And for all the care and compassion she held in her eyes, she was equally as free from her own and others’ emotions. He had to search for a way to make her stay with him; if she would not travel with them, he could at least hold her company for a little while longer.

  ‘Wait!’ he called. ‘I want to learn more about this!’

  He ran toward her holding the chain she had given him out in front, the crystal dangling at its end.

  Raquel stopped and nodded as she took the crystal from his hands and placed it between his eyes. In an instant he was sent spiralling into the emptiness before landing heavily on the same smooth stone ledge of the crumbling tower as the first time. He stood slowly, nursing his ribs. The fall had slightly winded him. The sky was as gray and haunted as ever and he stared at the city of ruins before him, stretching as far as he could see.

  Raquel walked from the single door behind him to stand next to him.

  ‘What is this place?’ he asked.

  ‘Your mind,’ she said.

  ‘There’s nothing but ruins here,’ Jaden observed.

  ‘Each holds a part that must be healed. You may heal them with the jewel.’

  Jaden scanned over all of the buildings ahead.

  ‘That would take thousands of years,’ he said, and Raquel did not seem to disagree. ‘How do I heal?’

  Raquel turned to walk back to the single door behind them and Jaden followed her down a staircase to the left he had not seen before. She led him into another door at the bottom of the staircase and entered a room where there was no light, but their footsteps had echoed for miles in all directions.

  ‘They have fought since their awakening,’ came Raquel’s voice from a few steps ahead, but he could not see her.

  In the emptiness, a whole array of strange life had formed almost instantly, with animals and plants covering the now-scenic landscape. There were dark mountains in the distance, entire forests covering them and the land below, while the sun hid behind the clouds above but kept the sky blue. There were dark shapes moving about in the sky, birds of some kind, and ahead, a two-legged reptile chased down and killed a baby reptile with four legs. Both disappeared and were replaced by four-legged mammals hunting down other mammals with four legs, in the same manner as the first. They were soon replaced by men in uniform hiding from one another, guns held ready as aircraft replaced the birds in the sky.

  ‘In the name of life, they cry for death,’ Raquel continued. She was now standing beside him, as they both watched.

  Gunfire erupted as a group of soldiers spotted some fleeing people, many of whom were now dying at their hands. The soldiers continued their ruthless fire as they shot one after the other, without thought or regret for what they were doing.

  ‘Strength will see survival, until one more powerful rises.’

  As Raquel’s words sounded, energy shields were erected around the battlefield, people dressed in Daijuarn garments now protecting those that fled.

  ‘Power grows, balance comes,’ continued Raquel, and then all except the landscape disappeared. The animals no longer chased or fled. The soldiers no longer attacked the people running away. And all but the plants had gone.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ said Jaden. ‘What does this have to do with the crystal?’

  ‘All paths are long when lived by chance. Paths are shorter when lived on purpose.’

  ‘Then the crystal gives purpose? How? What is my path?’

  Raquel turned to him as the sky became black with cloud, the many breaks in its blanket shining brightly with blue from the rings above. All else disappeared as the animals did, leaving only the dark mountains around them.

  ‘One life or a thousand, the path is lost to those who walk it.’

  ‘Then how do I find my path?’ asked Jaden.

  ‘No matter the world, there is always a choice,’ she said, her eyes staring at him intensely while her expression remained relaxed.

  ‘My thoughts, my own,’ said Jaden.

  Raquel bowed slowly.

  ‘I want to be as powerful as the Daijuar. How do I make my path shorter?’

  ‘See what is there. The answers lie before you,’ she said, and as her hand waved over what was in front of them, the world came alive again but remained shadowed by the cloud above. All was dark blue, but this time Jaden noticed that everything around him was moving. From the tallest mountain to the smallest grain of dust, there was movement, as if all he saw was buzzing with life.

  ‘Once you have seen, you may learn. Once you have learned, you may use.’

  Jaden looked down at his wrists where the endobraces remained underneath his skin. He began to feel the energy drawn to him as he imagined giant waterfalls all about him. As Raquel had said, his visions became a reality inside the crystal’s realm, and with the energy he had mustered, he began to push the water left and right, throwing it around him with the power of the endobraces. He could feel it all, the energy and power at his calling. With each push and pull he felt he was gaining strength.

  He recalled what Adonis had told him of feeling and began to feel the energy cool. The water turned to ice with his energy and then melted again as he let them burn.

  Suddenly the giant waterfalls were gone, replaced by an image of war below him. He was standing in the heart of Callibra as the approaching army unleashed its attack. It seemed as real as it had when he had been there, and the crushing feelings of helplessness were threatening to overcome him again. He fought back, using his anger to rid himself of them as he felt his rage burn throughout him. Each bullet sent at him was vaporised in the intense heat, and wave after wave of energy was sent flying at the oncoming soldiers. But they were endless. They seemed to just keep coming and coming; no matter how many died at his hands, more would rise. There was an infinite source of them. He began to feel weak as his power faltered and a stray bullet made its way into his chest. He fell backward with the impact and closed his eyes as death reached out with its cold embrace.

  ‘Emotion may leave one’s path in darkness,’ said Raquel, leaning over him. ‘The jewel allows you to see what may come of actions before they are acted.’

  Meditation, he thought. That’s how the crystal allowed him to shorten his path. He was to use it to mediate, to see what the world would become before he acted on his emotions. It was his final thought he remembered before losing consciousness.

  * * *

  Jaden woke from the realm of the crystal. It was still night in the real world, but Raquel was nowhere to be seen. He felt his chest. There was no
pain or wound where the bullet had hit him, but his head throbbed from being in the crystal’s realm for so long.

  He stood up and dusted himself off, and as soon as the pain died away, he began to run to the edge of the meadow. He somehow held the memory of there being peach trees there, loaded with fruit. When he arrived, he quickly picked as many as he could and hurried back to the camp. More time had passed than he realised, as when he got back, everyone was asleep, including Alyssa. For a moment he felt he had failed her, knowing that she had fallen asleep without having anything to eat, but did not wish to wake her. He set the peaches down next to where she slept and then lay down on the other side of her, putting his arm across her to hold her hand. In her sleep, she took the offering and held him close, and with a last thought of feeling at peace, Jaden drifted off to a contented sleep.

  Chapter Twenty

  How far must we travel before all is right?

  February 5, 997 R.E.

  As Adonis had said, Jaden’s training started the very next day. They did exercises as they walked, creating light and fire to begin with, and then moving currents of air like the wind and pushing large boulders around later. They allowed him a chance to help them heal Alyssa’s wounds, including softening the hurt she felt over losing her father. The shock had begun to wear off, and now she had started to feel the full scope of grief for what had happened. It had made Jaden nervous to use the essence on her, as he did not want to harm her, so he allowed Adonis to do most of the work. Jaden was learning quickly with the help of the crystal given to him by Raquel, but he did not tell either of the Daijuar what it was. He now knew they conversed regularly about him, so he was careful what he told them and allowed them to come to their own conclusions on his successes and failures.

  He had joined in conversations between Tarsha and Alyssa, and was surprised to hear what Tarsha had learned while eavesdropping on the Daijuar. He felt resentment for some of the things they had said about him. He questioned what had really happened with the flood, how it had happened at all, but decided as long as they were now helping him and no one was seriously injured, all could be forgiven.