by T. Sae-Low
The morning was grey, washed out like a rock beaten by the crashing waves of the ocean. Drops of dew still wet with perspiration that only the start of a new day could bring.
Raden arrived at the main gate an hour before the scheduled time. He always needed the extra time to mentally prepare himself for a mission, especially one as significant as this. He stuck to the same routine: find a tall tree, heavily shaded, and climb up to the first branch where he would sit and stare into everything and nothing all at once. He tried visualizing the mission in his head, moving from one point to the other along his imaginary map. When he’d reached the final point, indicating the mission was complete, and his return home had come, Raden’s heart felt at ease because he knew he had kept his promise to Kimi once again.
He had told Kimi last night that he would be going on another mission. He left out the details and told her he would return as soon as possible. She never asked why or pestered him about more information. She was so mature in that way. She simply gave him a big hug, told him to become a hero, and to come back home safely, where she and Lulu would have a big bowl of hot porridge with pickled vegetables waiting for him. He held her tightly before leaving her and Lulu with their neighbor, Mrs. Keo.
On this morning, he found his favorite tree; a large white oak that sat between the crevices of three large boulders whose natural formation led people to dub it the Great Trident. He sat on the branch, back leaning against the trunk, comforting him like an old broken-in chair, right leg extended out while his left arm rested upon his left knee. He reached for his silver necklace, holding the sun-shaped medallion between his fingers. Raden stroked the pendant softly, feeling every detail of the engraved image of a sunflower on the backside. As he visualized the mission, Raden cracked his knuckles, wrist, neck, and back. A bad habit he had developed when he was a child, perhaps the sensation of cracking equated to a release, or an escape from his difficult childhood, he wondered.
The sound of the flowing river brought back a flood of memories. He remembered struggling to hold Kimi afloat while the rushing water carried them downstream like a paper boat. He tried grabbing a hold of oncoming branches that jutted out into the river, but his every attempt ended with an empty handful of doubt. Doubt that he could make it to the next village alive. He resolved that if only one of them were to survive, he would do everything within his power to make sure it was Kimi. She was still too innocent to be tainted by the hardships and horrors of war. She was the one that deserved to live. At his lowest point, when his body seemed to fail him, his head bobbing between gulps of water and gasps of air, Raden suddenly felt the rush of the water pushing him downstream at a rapid pace. The water carried the two of them swiftly down the River Fate, somehow expertly navigating the winding turns, and delivering them at the foot of the next village. Was it pure coincidence that they had made it to their destination, or something more profound? Raden still struggled with the answer to that question.
The memory faded and Raden watched the morning mist softly rise off the earth and evaporate into nothing, visually bringing into focus the beautiful snow-capped peaks of Mount Iwai in the far distance. The sounds of the streaming river nearby, the rustling of leaves, and the morning call of hidden animals made this hour Raden’s favorite time of day, a calm before the storm that a new day always brought with it. But this morning felt different. Perhaps it was the strange sensation that his future mornings were not going to bring him such peace anymore.
Kara arrived exactly at 0600, punctual to a Tee; Raden knew she’d be ready to go. He had known her since she they were children, befriending her while in elementary school. Unfairly ostracized by the other students simply for her unique appearance, Raden was the one person to offer her any kind of friendship, himself shunned by his classmates for his odd behavior. Other students had nicknamed him Ghostface because he was always staring blankly at a tree or rock. Little did they understand the confusion that he was going through, and over time he began to care less about their opinions.
In Kara, though, he found someone whom he could empathize with. That friendship had blossomed into something more over the years, and now here she was, all grown up. A beautiful young woman who could make heads turn everywhere she went. Shoulder length blonde hair matched by her unique golden eyes. Her soft and delicate features beautifully proportioned. Kara was never one to seek the attention of boys, or participate in frivolous relationships; she was much too focused on her career in the military. But there was one person who did manage to make his way into her heart.
Raden glanced at the sunflower image on his necklace before locking eyes with Kara. She stared back intently, communicating a world of emotions without uttering a single word. The moment was quickly ruined, though, by the arrival of the other members of their group.
“You’re late, Kara.”
Kara didn’t even bother reacting to Gama. Gama on the other hand loved to poke fun at her expense. He laughed his high-pitched giggle and dropped his gear onto the ground with a thud.
“Where’s your mutt?” asked Kara.
“She saw a squirrel and decided to chase it. Something about small furry animals wanting to chase smaller furry animals always fascinated me. She’ll be here soon.”
At that moment, Oli came running through the bushes at the bottom of the Great Trident. A tiny dog, Oli weighed no more than seven pounds. Black fur with a white face and undercoat, the sight of Oli always made Raden laugh. Big Gama and his tiny companion were the least threatening sight in all of the Renzai Empire.
“So what’s the plan, boss?” asked Gama while chewing on half a rice cake.
“Once we reach the outer gates beyond Tayo, we’ll head towards Muye and find out if any of the villagers there have heard anything.”
It took less time than Raden initially thought it would to reach the outer limits of the Renzai territories. They rode their horses silently for the first few hours. The members of this secret mission, lost in thought about the possibility of a true life Candidate. It was Kara who finally broke the silence.
“So what if we find this Candidate? Do we save it if it’s real? Should we eliminate it then and there, if it’s false?”
“No. Those aren’t our orders, and besides, if we find it, the three of us wouldn’t stand a chance anyways,” replied Raden.
Gama snorted. “I wonder if it’ll be anything like the myths we learned as kids. You know, unparalleled power that could destroy armies in one fell swoop. Bringing an end to the war, and really uniting all of Eos into one.”
“Only an idiot would believe in such fairy tales,” retorted Kara.
Oli growled at Kara, gnarling her teeth.
“Idiot dogs, too.”
“Just think about it, no more war. What would everyone do if we didn’t have to fight anymore? I know what I’d do for sure,” continued Gama.
“Marry the girl in the kitchen, have six kids, and open the best noodle house in all of the empire? Sound about right?” asked Raden.
“You know me too well my friend— too well indeed.”
“If the Vicedonians have a Candidate in their power, then we might not be alive to see what your peaceful world looks like, Gama,” spoke Kara bluntly. “There’s no doubt they’d use that power to wipe us out. We have been bitter enemies since the First Great War, or have you forgotten?”
“Yeah, I know, Kara. I’m just saying hypothetically,” replied Gama.
“Well, don’t.” Kara glared at Gama.
Gama threw up his hands in feigned surrender, “Fine… no more hypotheticals.”
Raden laughed softly, while Gama found a new topic to discuss.
“Hey, Rad, there was something I was wondering: Did the Prophet ever say why he chose you specifically? I mean, no offense, but why not Major Brok or Captain Symin, or even one of the generals for this mission?”
“Gama, you’re such an idiot!” retorted Kara angrily.
“It’s okay, Kara.” Raden thought about telling them
about the visions. About how his ability to see strange, glowing patterns would help them track down the Candidate. It still sounded strange to him, so he decided against it for now. “ The Prophet said he had a vision of me… a vision of me going on this mission. That was it.” Raden looked out towards his left, unable to look his companions in their faces.
“Wow, when is the Prophet going to have a vision of me? It’ll probably be of me destroying some Vicedonian army, or something awesome like that.”
“You’re so full of yourself, Gama,” said Kara.
“Don’t be jealous of me, Kara,” answered Gama sarcastically.
She glared at him, and that seemed to put a period on the conversation.
It took another forty minutes before they reached Muye, a small little fishing village that made its sustenance off the nearby river. Muye only had about fifty or so residents, mostly simple-life families who had miraculously managed to find an escape from the fighting that surrounded them.
A small feeling of envy crept into Raden’s thoughts as he watched them go about their business. A simple and peaceful life for my family, just like before, he thought. But then his attention turned back to the mission, and he knew that if the Candidate existed, this small peaceful village could become collateral damage.
They slowly approached an older man pulling in the daily catch with his young son. The small child pulled with all his might until his small fingers slipped from the net and he found himself sitting deep in the mud. The father laughed at his son’s folly, but his moment of joy turned serious as he caught the group making their approach.
“Excuse me, sir, we are from the Renzai Empire, and are seeking news of any strange occurrences regarding the Vicedonians. Do you know of anything?” asked Raden.
“Strange occurrences? What would you mean by that?” he replied.
“Anything and everything… has something particular caught your eye?”
The man mulled over it a moment, appearing to genuinely consider the question, or perhaps feigning thought so the group would quickly move on.
“The dogs, Dad,” the child uttered softly while tugging on his father’s pants.
“Oh, right son… the only thing that seems strange of late is that some of the village dogs haven’t been around lately. They usually hang about the village begging for scraps, but the past few days nobody’s seen them.”
“That’s it?” interjected Kara indignantly.
“Yeah, can’t really think of anything else. Now, if you please, I’ve got work to do with my son here.”
The trio continued on into the village, trekking down the small dirt path that served as the main road. Not but a dozen houses made up the entirety of the community, and every direction they looked they could see suspicious eyes staring back at them from behind closed doors and shuttered windows.
“Welcoming group aren’t they?” Gama asked.
“We’re Renzai soldiers, of course they’d be suspicious of us here, Gama,” replied Raden.
Raden halted the group in the center of the village where a makeshift memorial to the One had been constructed, most likely used for village prayers and ceremonies. Raden took a deep breath, looked around at the villagers and spoke. “We are from the Renzai Empire, and are seeking any information regarding strange tidings about the Vicedonians. If anyone has seen or heard anything, come forward with your information!”
Silence.
“Anyone with information?”
Silence.
“Real subtle, Raden,” whispered Kara.
“What? I’m just trying to get some information?”
Kara shook her head disapprovingly. “This is a waste of time, Raden, let’s move on to the next village.”
“Give them a moment, they just need time to realize we won’t harm them,” Raden whispered back.
At that moment, a small child poked his head out the crack of a window and pointed west towards the river. “My doggy is gone, can you find him?” pleaded the child.
“Again with the dogs?” wondered Gama. “Maybe Oli can tell us something.” Gama pulled Oli out of the pouch that hung beside his horse and plopped her on the ground.
Immediately, Oli caught a scent, sniffing the ground while heading in the same direction that the child had pointed to. Before Gama knew it, Oli had bolted off into the high grass that bordered the village, the trio close behind her. They chased Oli for a brief period before they heard her barking loudly up ahead. They found her sitting by the remains of a fire—with a pile of bones in it, charred to a crisp.
Kara dismounted her horse, kneeled down to examine the bones, and knew sure enough where the village dogs had disappeared.
“This campfire is still fresh, and only ten minutes’ ride outside the village. Roaming marauders, I’d imagine. With some skills too, if they were able to catch all the dogs and cook them.”
The trio examined the ground for any clues. Nothing was out of the ordinary until Kara noticed something odd about the bones. The bottom tips of some of the ribs had been sliced off; only a few fully intact ribs remained. She grabbed a carcass and showed it to the other two.
“Guys, look at this.”
At that moment, both Raden and Gama knew who had been here, and immediately reached for their weapons. Oli jumped up into her pouch. Kara mounted up, and unsheathed her sword.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Raden said. “What are Gokstads doing all the way out here?”
Chapter 10