Copyright © 2018 by Jeffrey Ellis
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The Wardens: The Vanguard
The Macedonian lay dying. His skin was pale with his breathing labored and he perspired profusely. The poison was slow acting, and he lingered long in the world of the living as the agony of death slowly overtook him. He was overcome with pain and burning with fever.
He knew not who killed him but was sure why they did. His enemies wanted his death to hurt, to reflect the pain his conquest had caused the world. Still, he had no remorse for his actions. He believed it was the right of the strong to rule the weak and he exercised his right with efficiency. He had conquered the known world and was proud of his actions.
His only regret was that his murderers had not faced him on the battlefield but instead attacked like cowards. He was beaten though and anyone able to defeat him, even by such a disreputable method, was a worthy opponent and he would have liked to have faced them on the battlefield.
Now, as he lay near death with the stupor and delirium of the fever overtaking him, he had a visitor. The aging man walked up to the bed and sat on a stool beside it. The younger man was weak but had a strong enough presence of mind to keep the delirium from fully overtaking him.
“You don’t wear the colors of my soldiers,” he said to the visitor, his voice weak and fading. "Are you my executioner come to gloat?”
“To the contrary young one, I am your salvation,” the old man said in an accent Alexander had heard before but did not have the presence of mind to remember the origin. "You are dying but know this. I can save you. I can purge the poison from your body and return your strength.”
“And what,” he paused to cough, “Is the price of salvation?” asked Alexander.
The old man ignored the question. "I can feel the latent power within you. I can help you cultivate that power. I can elevate you above the mortals around you and show you what true power is, not this childish conquest. What I offer you is the power of magic,” the old man told him.
“And why would you offer this? Only the gods wield magic and they do not share with mortals. You are a trickster, come to torment me as I die. You are likely an agent of my enemy come to torture me with offers of life only to gloat as it further slips away,” Alexander told him.
“You can believe as you wish. Your time draws short and you will be dead by nightfall. You can take my offer and live or you can die,” the man said.
“And what would this offer cost me? Nothing is free. What is the tax you would levy upon me for this boon?” he said, gasping for air.
“The price is your life. Your current life. You must leave it. You have the potential but my world, the world of magic, is not for the eyes of the masses. Your life will be long, but you can no longer have that life in the public. While many know of our existence, we mingle in the affairs of lesser beings only when it is necessary. They are beneath us. I can show you things you thought impossible. Things you thought were fanciful stories of gods and demons. A spark like yours is a rarity and it would be a shame to let it burn out, but I cannot make this choice for you. I could force you, but slaves make poor students,” he told the man as he was fading from the mortal coil.
“You would give me a new life at the cost of my old one. I would have to give up my armies and empire. I have already done this. My life is forfeit and my enemies have won. If you can save me and teach me then do so,” he said as he started coughing blood.
“You are an open book to me, Prince Alexander. You would think to take what I teach you and return stronger and more powerful to hunt down your poisoners and reclaim your kingdom. You would start your conquest again, thinking yourself unstoppable. I would not allow this. You must swear to me you will leave this life behind and if you attempt to regain it then your life will be forfeit and your final death will be infinitely more painful and lingering than this one. I will take that life myself,” the wizard told him, his eyes glowing white as he looked into Alexander's heart.
“Would that I could have time to dwell on this matter and consider it, but my time is slipping to nothingness. I will take your offer. I see no choice. Alexander shall seek conquest no longer. If it is truly within your power to save me and teach me that which you have spoken of, then do so,” he said coughing.
Merlin summoned for a servant and when he arrived, he bid him come closer. He held out his hand, palm facing the servant and the man dropped dead. He cast a spell and the dead servant transformed to look like Alexander. He cast another spell, this time upon Alexander and the color returned to the man’s skin as his breathing eased.
He helped Alexander up from the bed and placed the dead servant in it. He cast another spell and he and Alexander vanished.
#
Merlin and Alexander stood on the bow of a ship as they circled a great maelstrom. The waters spun quickly around the gaping hole in the sea pulling everything towards the center, including their ship.
A vicious storm saturated them with torrential rains and bright arcs of electricity leaped violently from the clouds. The waves were rocking the ship and it was all the captain could do to keep it somewhat steady.
The bow pitched up and down with the waves but the two men standing on the edge did not falter and stood perfectly upon the deck. There was no railing and only inches separated them from the turbulent waters in the raging storm.
“And why are we here, Merlin? Is this to be a lesson in aquatic magic? Elemental forces? Weather control?” asked the golden-haired Macedonian.
“No, Alexander. This is a test. You have come far and learned much, and it is time to test you on it. I will see you back at Camelot if you survive,” Merlin said.
Alexander turned to ask what he meant but Merlin spun his staff at Alexander and impacted him with such force and power that Alexander was thrown far from the ship and into the water then pulled quickly towards the massive whirlpool.
Merlin turned to face the sails and ordered the captain to get underway. He raised his hands. As he did, the winds shifted, and a strong gale pushed the boat out of the heavy current of the maelstrom and back towards his homeland.
Alexander kicked and thrashed, trying his best to swim against the current with his golden armor and sword weighing him down. He instinctively tried to remove them, then realized to himself this was a test of magic, not swimming.
He calmed himself like he used to do before a battle. He quickly processed a list of his options and settled on one. He rose up above the water, walking on it like it was sand. He had solved the problem of drowning.
Now, he just had to find a way to escape the torrent of the waves rushing him like quicksand towards the vortex and then find a way back to Camelot. He may not be sinking but the current was still swift. It was like trying to walk uphill on marbles. They had sailed for several days to get here and it would be a hard journey back. He had not learned portive magics as Merlin used.
“Well, at least it couldn’t be any worse,” Alexander said to himself as he continued to be drawn towards the whirlpool.
He
circled the outer edge a few times weighing his options to get back when he noticed something as he circled closer. On one side of the whirlpool, just below the surface, he could make out something. It was hard to make out in the murky light of the storm lit only by the occasional lightning strike. It looked like two large eyes sticking out from the edge of the maelstrom.
“Damn. Merlin has outdone himself with this test. Will I drown, be torn apart by the pressures of the maelstrom, killed by a bolt of lightning or eaten by a kraken?” he said to himself.
He cast a spell to augment his physical abilities. "I choose neither,” he said while drawing his sword and shield.
The kraken was fast, but Alexander was faster. Two tentacles launched from the water towards him, the pads on the ends slapping together where just a moment before had stood Alexander. He landed on the other side of the whirlpool facing the beast from the opposite side.
Again, the two tentacles shot towards him and he leaped away. As he landed two more grabbed his legs from below. "Damn, it learns fast,” he said to himself as he sliced one free.
The creature lurched in pain and he felt skin rip on the leg it still had in its grasp. He sliced once more but missed as it yanked him under the water.
He felt water rush into him and he was choking, the salty seawater burning his lungs. The creature rushed towards the bottom of the ocean with him in tow.
“Must...breathe…,” he thought to himself. He tried to relax as best he could and focused his energy. It was difficult with the pain in his leg and lungs and the lack of oxygen quickly making him light-headed. He managed to focus his power into a spell and felt his neck swell and rip as gills formed.
“Much better,” he thought.
As his head cleared with the return of his oxygen supply, he realized several more tentacles had wrapped around him. There was also a trace of ichor in the water from the tentacle he severed and blood from his own leg. He noticed a few sharks at the edge of his vision starting to circle. The kraken was pulling him towards its beak and he was about to be lunch.
He focused another spell, electrifying himself. The kraken thrashed but did not release him. The beast flashed a few different colors but did not relent. A large tiger shark lunged at the kraken and another took a bite at Alexander but missed. The kraken was thrashing far too wildly for the shark to have an easy target.
He managed to work one arm free but could not find his sword. It must have dropped as he was pulled under. He grabbed a tentacle with his already augmented strength and pulled it free. He kept working to release himself but every time he freed himself from one another would replace it.
The sharks were starting to bite at the kraken more ferociously now and more ichor spilled into the water. He looked around and even though it was murky, he had some visibility through his enhanced vision.
The bottom of the ocean was mostly bare except for some small animals. He noticed a rock outcropping and hoped it was enough. He focused his mind on the rocks and broke one free. It rushed towards the kraken as fast as could be propelled through the resistance of the water and contacted the fluke. He pushed down pressing the kraken against the ocean floor and smashing the rock repeatedly into it.
Once he was satisfied it was dead, he turned his attention to the sharks. His first and only lucky break was that they were so focused on the dead squid they hadn’t noticed him.
He reached out and into the mind of one of the large tiger sharks and it turned and swam towards him. He grabbed its fin as it swam past and held tight. It was no horse, but it would get home.
Two days later, he limped into Camelot, having walked the distance from the shore to the castle with his injuries. He could have found a horse in a nearby village but chose not to. He was a warrior at heart and could endure pain of immense proportions. He had been wounded many times on the battlefield and this was no different. The pain reminded him of his mistakes and every wince, every ping of a nerve forced him to rethink the battle to correct his mistakes, so he would not make them again.
Merlin met him in the courtyard and observed Alexander. He had most of his clothing and armor torn away and was covered in the large disc-shaped sucker marks of a giant squid. He had lacerations on his leg and his neck was still red and swollen from the gills.
"So young one, what have you learned from your experience with a kraken?” the old man asked.
Alexander smiled at him. "To never say things could not get any worse.”
#
“Alexander,” said Sebastian.
“Hello Arthur, it’s been a long time,” replied Alexander.
“It’s Sebastian. Arthur was another man in another life,” he replied.
“And I am known as Julius now,” replied Alexander.
“I wasn’t aware you two knew each other,” said the president.
“Allow me to introduce him,” replied Sebastian. "President Neala Yassim, meet Alexander the Great.”
“Is this for real?” asked one of the president's aids.
“It is,” replied Julius.
The president stood staring. Her expression remained static and she didn’t miss a beat. "Hello, Alexander, nice to meet you. I didn’t realize the head of MM was a Master and the among the greatest generals the world has ever known at that,” she replied offering her hand.
“President Yassim, I’m still Julius. I left that life a long time ago and I’m just a businessman now. The only thing I conquer are the markets and I plan to stay out of the business of the Wardens and GloCom unless I’m selling them something,” he replied suavely.
One of the aids seemed unconvinced. “Madame President, you can't believe this farce.”
She smiled. “With everything that has happened recently, belief in the impossible is much easier than it once was.”
General Morrison approached Julius and shook his hand. "Prince Alexander III of Macedonia or Alexander the Great as most history books refer to you, it is an honor. We still teach your strategies in GloCom’s command academies. You’re a living legend. I have a personal fondness for your battles against the Persians,” he told him.
“I’m honored and pleased to meet a fellow general of renown. I have been told you are responsible for the victory at Syracuse and even fought in the battle personally,” Julius replied.
“Nonsense. GloCom was there but you have Coordinator Sebastian and Facilitator Chelsea to thank for that victory. It did feel good to fight again, I will concede that point,” the General replied.
“Alexander...Julius...I’m sure you’re aware of what is happening in the world. Can we count on you to rejoin the Masters and help us bring this to a stop?” asked Chelsea.
“Why Guinevere, you are as beautiful as ever. To answer your question though, yes and no. My days of a warrior are long behind me. I run a boardroom now and my contribution to your war effort will be limited to providing the fine folks at GloCom and your Wardens, should you choose to give me your business, the best military hardware your money can buy. Macedon Machines has a new design of our already impressive hover tanks I was planning on demonstrating to the military. I can secure an invite to that demonstration for the Wardens. I am sure after Syracuse that security clearance can be granted for you,” he said smiling and nodded at the General.
“Alexander, how did you survive?” asked Chelsea.
He smiled at Chelsea, “It was actually quite difficult. My chamber was damaged in an earthquake some years after the Seal and two of the four crystals were destroyed. I awoke and was dying without access to the Weave. I managed to draw energy slowly from the remaining two and that barely kept me alive though greatly weakened. The Wardens helped me for a time until my body once again adapted to the lack of magic. I limped through the centuries, remaining a recluse and used my knowledge to gain a foothold in the business market since I was no longer physically able to fight. It was painful at times and until the Seal shattered, I was a broken man. Fortunately, I am back to normal now and no longer need to hide, so th
is time when President Yassim asked for a meeting I was happy to accept.”
“On that note, if you’ll excuse us, we have business to discuss so that the General and the brave men and women of GloCom have the hardware to save the world. Sebastian, you should talk to your leaders about switching the Warden’s manufacturing contracts to MM. I can offer you a great price over your current supplier,” he said still smiling.
“He is correct. Master or not, Alexander or Julius, he has an appointment and I must keep that appointment. The safety of our citizens is of primary concern to me and re-equipping our military is an important step in that direction. Now, if you’ll excuse us,” she said.
“Alexander, you must come by Camelot and see what we’ve done with the place. I think you’ll love it,” said Chelsea with an obviously fake smile.
“My dearest Guinevere, nothing would please me more. I’ll have my assistant contact the Wardens to set up an appointment,” he said and turned back to the General and President.
As they left General Morrison stopped Sebastian. "I have my people focused on the ALF. We'll find out how the ALF is getting this equipment and where they're based out of and when we do, we're going after them together. Have your people ready at a moment’s notice because when we find them, we’ll move fast. Can’t have anyone getting a heads up on our actions,” he told him.
“You got it, General. We’ll be ready,” Sebastian replied.
“Ready for what?” asked Julius overhearing the tail end of the discussion.
“Warden business. We’ll let you know if we need to buy that tank,” Sebastian said and walked out the door.
#
Sebastian and Chelsea headed towards the shuttle bays. Sebastian heard Chelsea’s voice over their internal communicator. "Do you think he’s telling the truth?” she asked.
“Which one? Merlin about a traitor or Alexander about everything?” he asked.
“Both,” she said. "Merlin left before we could ask any questions. I’m beginning to doubt his usefulness to our fight. Alexander is hiding something, but I don’t know what. His story sounds like a lot of bullshit and I can’t help feeling all of that was a pretense,” she told him.
The Vanguard Page 1