by Troy Dukart
We dueled in the courtyard where my father was executed. I ended up winning the fight, but he shot my left arm to hell. He was more machine than man. Before I ended his life, he told me my mother was still alive and said he wouldn't ask for mercy. He was lured to sell his soul for power.
I thought it was weird that the man would have the change of heart in his last moments, but family is family. He grabbed my arm and I felt a wave of power flood into me as he gave me the Power of Jealousy.
He endowed me with impeccable aim.
I noticed I had the dark green tattoos intertwined with my other two colors. When I looked into my reflection in the small pond of the courtyard, they flashed black, light green and dark green.
It was tough for me, to fight against him. We were like brothers growing up but he was too selfish and it drove me away. A tear fell down my face as I watched the spark which powered his heart fade.
When we had made our way to the Gallery of Kings, Othen was standing with a sword across my mother, Queen Bethany's, throat. “If there is an ounce of love for Yuwheria in you left, you will set her free,” I commanded as I aimed for his head.
“You think I did this because I wanted the crown don't you?” he interjected.
“If not, for what?” I asked.
He looked at my mother and smelled her hair before looking back and said, “I did it because the thought of a queer King successor made my stomach wrench. You are a pansy boy. You. Are. Weak!”
Before anyone could react, my mother grabbed Othen's sword hand and pushed the blade into his gut. He looked into her eyes before he collapsed onto the floor. Blood began to flow over the cold, stone floor.
Othen's reign had come to an end.
We all had to take a moment to process what'd happened. I ran over to my mother, “I missed you mummy!”
“I missed you, everyday my son. I prayed to Serenity that I would see you again,” she assuaged, “You've grown stronger. Not just physically, but emotionally.
We made it out and cleared the Castle before I sat down and briefed her on what had been happening over the past year. She had been locked up in secret chamber in the Gallery of Kings. Everyone thought her for dead. We located the people associated within Othen's reign and put them in jail to await war-crime hearings. The public was made aware that both my mother and I were back to take back the crown and that we would no longer be allies of the Senti.
My mother, Queen Bethany, was to lead the nation. I would help lead Her Majesty's military against the Senti. I told her there were a few friends I needed to get a hold of before we joined the fight.
Chapter 21
Zon
I was so close. While in Crotona, Longwei let his guard down, he showed his weakness. Hanoka had delivered me a letter detailing his location. Longwei had traveled here and thought me for dead after hearing about what happened in Zindaqe. What he failed to realize was breaking his blood oath to defend our clan had made him our number one target. Any living members of the Whisper Warriors were to seek out and destroy this traitor.
On the night before the world leaders were to gather, I decided to sneak into my Prime Minister's hotel room. It was no easy task. I climbed to the top of a nearby building and used some binoculars to pinpoint his location. There were many dignitaries but I couldn't find Prime Minister Itsuna Ojun.
After searching for almost half an hour, I was beginning to think I would have to wait until tomorrow to find him but when a body fell off a terrace to the sidewalk, I looked up to see him with his bodyguards. There was some blood on his suit, which he wiped off before turning around and exiting. When the lights turned off, I spread my arms and flew across.
In our training, we were taught there was an 86% chance of successful entry in breaking into rooms immediately after the host had left. Waiting even ten minutes drastically reduced mission success. I pulled out my Kusarigama and used it to pick the sliding window lock. Nothing was to be disturbed that was not necessary to collect intelligence.
In Shinjin culture, we always kept our property in the bathroom as a way of showing respect as guests. It was our way of expressing our humility. I made my way to the bathroom and searched in the dark for anything he might've left. Through touch, I navigated my way around the tiled, cold floor, around the tub and shower and sink counter. I found nothing until I reached the toilet. Behind the large round bowl I felt something that felt like a brief case. I pulled it out and brought it out to the moonlit terrace.
Inside was a bunch of business papers and photos of his family. One letter written on a purple card caught my eye. I pulled it out slowly to examine it. On the front read,
“To my dear friend Itsuna,
-ZG”
“ZG…Zhanist Ganser?!” I pondered. It was a letter detailing that the Senti had successfully been assassinating Whisper Warriors under the Prime Minister's request. It appeared Ojun didn't trust our clan and wanted us to be executed. All that'd been asked in return was the un-fledging support for Senti actions and in return would be the annihilation of my clan.
We'd been feuding with the government over our rights as protectors of Shinjo in the recent years. Prime Minister Ojun had seen us as a pain in his control for power. He had been campaigning for protection duties to be handled by police and that the Clans of Old should be remembered as a part of our history, not part of our future. Despite support from our Emperor to be protected, Ojun disagreed. It seemed as though he found a way to get his way without bloodying his own hands.
“It is though we had more to fear from the inside, than the outside,” I sighed.
There was the clicking of the door and my heart nearly shot out of my chest. It was too late to return the briefcase, so I closed and tossed it in front of the bathroom door but kept the red card. Killing him now would make him look just in his actions, I would need to bring this letter directly to my Emperor for his consul. I hopped over and glided down to the sidewalk as quickly as possible. I walked around the corner, but I felt a glare from on top the terrace. I looked back up to see Longwei. They would come after us relentlessly now.
Atushi helped me get back to Shinjo. I knew the others would be okay. This was what I had set out to accomplish, finding those responsible for the murder of my clan.
We made it back to our capital, Naryo, and found it engulfed with Senti military members. We moved incognito. Fortunately, some of the other surviving Whisper Warriors arranged a secret meeting with our Emperor in his rock garden. We would have to pretend to be gardeners and speak to him through wind gusts.
Atsushi and I donned Empirical gardening gear and got in place for the Emperor to meet us. Although power had switched over to the Prime Minister, public opinion would often depend on relations with the Emperor. If the Prime Minister didn't perform well, the Emperor would usually ask him to resign. This hadn't happened for over twenty years.
On cue, Emperor Danja entered into the garden. Atsushi was cleaning the pond and I was raking the stone garden. To look the Emperor in the eye was very frowned on in our culture, but Emperor Danja had made himself more approachable and wanted to be closer to his people, so he began to change some of these customs. Slowly he walked by and stood to admire the garden. We were back to back; he took a breath and said, “Through the Whispers, I find friends, and slay my enemies.”
Our secret phrase, I replied, “Some enemies are within arm's reach.”
Emperor Danja bent down to tie his shoe and I slipped the red letter by his feet. There were always eyes on the Emperor, and we had no idea who to trust. If we were caught, it would almost certainly mean our execution, the Emperor would have little power to stop it. Smoothly, he tucked the envelope into the inside pocket of his jacket. Before he turned away, he whispered to me, “I will do what is in my power to find the truth in all this. You must return to Miega, I fear for your safety here. I am so sorry that you had to suffer in this magnitude.”
And as quickly as he entered, he had left. We set down our equipment, esc
aped the castle and set for my village of Miega immediately.
Chapter 22
Roya
Barely escaping with my life, I fled back to the Zindaqean refugee center in Crotona and we returned home. Many of the people spoke against returning, as their emotional wounds of the falling islands had not yet healed. Ultimately, Zindaqe was the safest place we could go.
About fifty other people and I set sail on an abandoned Crotonan vessel. It was a civilian boat, for fishing actually, but big enough for a large crew. Luckily, there was enough food for us to make the journey back across the Metagean Sea. Fishing would be for fun. As the night called the sun away, I became exhausted. Running away from my hunter, fighting so much and all this drama had taken its toll on me. I needed rest. In the Captain's Quarters, I laid my head down on a spring mattress. Blinks of my eyes made me sleepy until my eyes stay closed. Dreams followed.
Bright lights shined down on me. I was laying against a palm tree in the shade near a beach. Nearby was the remains of the Fallen Dream Islands. There was a sense of peace. Something caught my eye and I saw a man, with his shirt off, back to me, looking towards the ruins of our islands in the sea.
Familiar scars and tattoos all over his skin confirmed it was Faiz, the one I fought in that cursed tower. I grabbed the Balis and was ready to attack. Slowly, I moved in. “Faiz!” I yelled, “I have no bit of time for you. I need to help my people!”
Without flinching, he replied, “Roya…I am, so sorry,” before he fell to his knees and wept, head in his lap.
This caught me by surprise, he was always so aggressive. My guard was on high alert. “Sorry does not cut it for you! I don't know if you're alive or dead but I will end this with you, now if I must to save Zindaqe,” I stated.
“You, you have every right to hate me Roya,” Faiz said as he stood, “But despite what I have done to you, I cannot live with the guilt after seeing the islands destroyed. Our history has been lost, and if only I hadn't been so selfish in pursuit to catch you, maybe they still would be in the sky. I let my lust for power get to me.”
He turned towards me. His blue eyes and bald head shined in the sun as the waves splashed on his ankles. There was chagrin in his face. He was telling the truth.
“Roya, selfishness flooded my heart when I stabbed you and killed your child. Ambition to rule tainted my mind. Jealousy clouded my soul when I helped kill Falco, your lover. All of the reasons I did this was to serve our tribe but men are not gods. We cannot control destiny, we can only react to it,” Faiz detailed as he looked at the ruins. I sat and listened. “Roya,” his voice was raspy, “It pains my heart to have done this to a girl like you. You are the living embodiment of all that is good about Zindaqeans, and when you defeated me in the tower, the light was brought to my eyes. While I cannot give you back Falco, I ask you for forgiveness.”
There was a lump in my throat. This selfish bastard, was, after so long, finally doing the right thing. “You are forgiven. Falco always preached forgiveness as the way to salvation” I replied.
Faiz nodded his head, but pointed a finger at me, “I ask one thing of you Roya-Sah.”
“What?”
“You must stop Ganser from releasing Nian, the evil God. I am afraid they are way above the Senti's level of understanding. Little do they know that Nian was designed to cleanse the world of all life. That is why it was sealed away so long ago. When you go to the dimension where it is held, you must fight with Guardian to stop Nian. It is the only way,” he explained as he held his arms out.
“I also wish to save our brothers and sisters from destruction. You can take solace in the fact that they will be safe,” I told him.
With a smile, he nodded at me and closed his eyes. I threw the Balis at him from three different directions and collided where he stood. They began to spin in a circle and I saw sparkles dissipate from the collision area. They floated upward and sprinkled his ashes around the islands before vanishing.
I felt a hand on my shoulder, one that I would never forget. Turning to my right, I felt weak in my knees, it was Falco. I jumped into his arms and wanted to stay here forever. He pulled me away enough to look in my face before I woke up and said, “Finish the fight. I will be here, waiting for you.”
Chapter 23
Strafe
Never had I ever been this scared. I didn't know if I'd be able to free my brother and save the world at the same time. Many people were going to die. This planet was no stranger to a history of violence, just like Earth was. It seemed like the violence would continue unless we found the courage to stop it.
Yessa always carried The Word with her and told me to read it. I'd never been a believer but after all that had happened, I needed answers to my questions. After reading the Word front to back, I talked about it with Yessa. She told me that God had brought us here for a reason, and that he always had a plan for us. I found that so comforting because it helped me understand why we go through hardship. It was so we truly enjoy the great times and cherish them. It was also to shape us into becoming good people because adversity makes us stronger. All that mattered in life was the small things.
Before I left for Soria's Aero Force Officer Training School, I asked Yessa if I could hang onto the Bible she had, she said yes. There were many lessons I continued to learn from it, one of them being that until the second coming, there would always be conflict. There would always be evil but there will also always be good to counter it. If we won this war, and settled all of this, I wanted to serve the rest of my life in peace. It would be two months of training before I would return.
The two grueling and spiritually challenging months passed, and I was now a part of the Sorian Military, an Officer in the Aero Force. I asked myself earlier, “Why must we kill to gain peace?” What I learned was we weren't fighting to kill others, we were fighting to protect those we love, the things we cherish and our way of life. I wasn't a Sorian but they were the flag I fought for now. My only request was that I was allowed to wear an American Flag on my right arm on the Sorian Aero Force uniform. They made an authorized exception.
Graduating with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant, I was assigned to the air and space division of the Military. They sent me out to help lead and support our troops in the battle. I would be piloting with the 633th Wing Group and would leave for war after graduation. Yessa would be with me, as she was already flying missions against them as a pilot. I was proud of her decision and was glad to have her by my side. Brutus was granted an honorary 2nd Lieutenant rank as well for his valor and combat ability. It was funny to see the troops salute him. He would bow his head to salute back.
After graduation, I was granted one week of vacation before deploying. I returned back to Mylintus to rest before I rode 200 miles back on a government Mag-Ship with Brutus; he refused to leave my side.
I couldn't even recognize it.
Mylintus looked like the dream I had, barren, cloudy and destroyed. Workers inhabited the city, repairing what they could, trying to get it back to what it was. Some of the people we saved had made it back here, but many were still gone. The Senti have taken almost everything from me. Are we to do the same to them to end this?
The thought of a world-war was irking. I went into my father's old house. Something in my heart was telling me there would be a useful item for me here. If someone were to ask me how or why I knew, I felt in my heart that I needed to come here. Sometimes the heart is the only one who knows why.
I dug around in empty drawers scattered across the house for hours before almost giving up. I must've been in my brother's room when I sat down on the floor and noticed I cracked the floor board. When I pulled the floorboard up, I saw something shiny sparkling in the dark. I reached inside and I found a necklace that looked exactly like mine that my father gave to me. On the back in black print read,
“For Zixin, from Dad.”
Maybe this could help me get my brother back. Brutus kissed my face as I sat down and laid against the wall, “Looks j
ust like yours. Smells like you too.”
“I can't believe he's alive Brutus. I still can't believe it. I felt for so long that a part of my soul died and I would never get it back. Now we have a chance to bring him home,” I said as I rubbed his side.
“I'll be right next to you Strafe, until the end,” Brutus confessed.
I gave him a big and long hug. We rocked back and forth for a while. My eyes gazed into the electric pink colored emerald of the necklace as I rubbed his head for a while. Underneath my shirt I pulled out my necklace to compare. They accidentally clinked and they began to glow pink and red, our favorite colors as children. Clenched tightly in my hands, I looked out the window while holding the necklaces. If it was the last thing I would do on this planet, I would free him.
Chapter 24
Strafe
Soldiers and civilians rushed through the streets, preparing for war. Giant Sky-Ships hovered in the distance. This was our final chapter.
All I wanted was to go home with my friends but we had to save this world first. The burden of this mission was almost over.
I grouped up with some fellow Aeromen in my squadron on the military base before we took off. Brutus loved the attention, as everyone wanted to pet him, but they also had to salute him too. I was given some battle armor that shined bright with the Sorian national colors. The helmets were the coolest; they had a line of blue horse hair straight down the middle to the back and a visor that displayed pertinent battle information. It could tell the temperature and wind speed, where all of our troops were and provided communication to any troop on the battlefield.
I led my Aeromen onto a smaller Mag-Ship that would take us up to our mothership, the Distant Ventium. Some of troops were tense, others calm and collect. We needed everyone one of them to beat the Senti. We all clicked into the seats on the sides of the hull and I lifted us off toward the ship.