The Children of Calm

by Smith, J Michael

  “Who is it?” Selenor finally asked.

  “Come and you will see,” Altan said. “But you must stay with me for now, for you are all more exhausted than you can possibly imagine. I am doing all I can to aid you the best I know how. Let us walk together and see whether or not we can deduce what happened.”

  The three found they could now stand, and Altan led them by Rylek who was still motionless. As he approached him, Altan laid his hand on his shoulder. “Come, Rylek,” he said. “Do not allow emotion to overturn what needs to be done.”

  Lana placed her arm around Rylek’s and led him away. He seemed to her to be in a stupor, with eyes seeing things not there. “I need you, big brother,” she said softly to him.

  “I’ve failed,” he said in a voice so cold that chills ran down her spine. “I’ve failed once again, and I don’t deserve the honor. I wish it were me that was…” His voice trailed off.

  Horrified at what he was saying, Lana did not respond with words but with tears.

  ***

  After they descended down the path, they walked past the village cemetery. Tresten glanced into it and let out an exclamation, then ran past the gate. Selenor followed him as the others stopped to see what had caught his attention. He was standing in front of Retessa’s headstone. With a start, Lana realized someone had removed her from her grave.

  “Where is she?” he yelled at the top of his lungs as he drew Silran. “What happened to her?”

  Suddenly a few tombstones fell over, all in a circular pattern radiating out from him.

  Lana looked to Altan who appeared to be considering something. Then that something must have clicked, because his face tensed even more.

  Selenor collapsed to her knees behind her brother, her face buried in her hands. But Lana looked around and saw another grave had been desecrated.

  “Look!” she pointed. “Elder Caenar’s daughter’s been taken, too.”

  The others saw that, not ten yards from Retessa’s grave, Amilla Tocelen’s headstone was also marking a freshly dug hole in the ground.

  “I don’t understand,” Lana said.

  “Truth will out,” Rylek suddenly said.

  Lana looked at him and saw he was staring blankly at some unfixed point.

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  Altan was studying Rylek and seemed to make a quick decision.

  “We mustn’t tarry here,” he said gravely as he turned towards the village proper. “Follow me, and perhaps soon we shall have answers.”

  On they walked, and Lana began to feel as though she were in a living nightmare. Selenor was reduced to tears as Tresten supported her. Lana wondered why Rylek seemed so detached from the situation – especially from Selenor. Hopelessness was tightening its icy grip on her heart, but she fought back the urge to give in to it.

  Now’s not the time, now’s not the time, she kept repeating to herself.

  The streets were completely empty. All that was not metal or stone was consumed by the fire. Her eyes burned, but she could not decide whether it was from the last remaining columns of smoke or from her tears.

  Probably both, she concluded.

  “Nothing matters anymore,” Rylek abruptly said in a cold unattached voice. “All is vain and for naught. Soon I will join him…”

  She looked into his eyes and saw something there that she had never before seen. It seemed to her that someone had replaced his eyes with another person’s. There was also a look about them that sent chills down her spine. She could not explain it, but it reminded her of how the eyes of the Empress Keona looked.

  “Rylek!” she said quietly but forcefully as she shook him. “Rylek, stop it!”

  “See?” he said, pointing forward. “We shall all soon join him.”

  Lana looked up and saw they were in front of what used to be the Hall of Knowledge. The statue of Kael was still there, though all the gold plating had been melted down; all that remained was the bronze base. But that was not what drew her eye. An elderly man’s body had been driven through the spade that was in the statue’s hand. It was limp and lifeless.

  Selenor screamed and collapsed.

  “No, no, no!” Lana exclaimed, falling to her knees.

  Tresten stood speechless, too shocked to know what to do or say.

  “Tresten, Rylek, give me a hand,” Altan said.

  As Tresten started to walk forward, Rylek spoke again in an emotionless distant voice. Everyone stopped and looked at him. “One down, two to go; one is taken, one is hidden, and one is here. But where shall I find the one? Only time will tell, and then I will finally be free. But free to do what? To die the death of a coward. For where there is great fear and loathing…”

  “ENOUGH!” Altan commanded, stretching out his arm towards Rylek. “Cease and be gone!”

  As though struck by an invisible blow, Rylek flew backward and landed on his back.

  The girls raced over and knelt beside him, but he was soon enough sitting up again, rubbing the back of his head. “What in the name of Mira is wrong with me?” he asked. “I fear I’ve been talking like quite the frass.”

  “The seed was deep and its roots were strong,” Altan said. “Hopefully you are finally free. Now come lend us your aid.”

  “Okay,” Rylek said as he stood.

  Lana looked into his eyes and saw they looked normal again. They were filled with a storm of emotions, but they were certainly Rylek’s eyes once more.

  By standing on the base they were able to lift the man’s body off the spade and then they laid it on the ground. Altan tore off a piece of his robe and wrapped it around the bloodied and grievous wound, and then placed his hand on the body’s forehead. Lana ran her fingers through his hair and closed his eyes. Selenor knelt down and held the man’s hand, softly stroking his palm as though the sensation could awaken him, while voicelessly her lips kept forming the words Elder Caenar.

  ***

  After a few minutes of silence broken only by the crying of the girls, Tresten began pacing. “What is all this then?” he asked, his voice rising. “Who would do this? Who could do something like this? Where is everyone else?”

  “Altan, can’t you bring him back like you brought me back?” Selenor asked faintly.

  Altan remained silent with his hand on Caenar’s forehead.

  “And what is going on with you?” Tresten asked Rylek. “Those were not exactly children’s rhymes you were just producing.”

  Rylek shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said softly, watching Altan. “There was something inside of me that suddenly felt dead and it just…took me.”

  “Whatever,” Tresten said, turning his back on him.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Rylek asked, frustration getting the best of him. “If you had any idea what I’ve…”

  But he stopped dead in his tracks when the Oathbinder flashed before his eyes. He cast a quick glance at Selenor.

  “What you’ve what?” Tresten asked. “Go on – finish your thought. I would love to know what it is. You’ve been acting oddly for days now. Are you keeping something from us we should know?”

  “Stop it, both of you!” Lana cried. “Things are bad enough without the two of you mucking things up even worse.” She looked at Altan. “What do we do now, Altan?”

  He was quiet for a few more moments, and then he took his hand off Caenar’s forehead. Slowly he stood up and looked to the sky. “No, dear Selenor,” he said in a low voice, “I cannot bring him back. His soul fell asleep many hours ago. And as for what we are to do now, Lana, you must first hear what I have to tell you - or, rather, what Caenar has to tell you.”

  “Excuse me?” Lana asked.

  “Something unique to the Aedaar is our ability to commune. That is, we fellowship together for the purpose of intimacy and unity by sharing our minds with each other. It is not possible for us to do the same with a living Aenosh…” Altan briefly trailed off, and Rylek saw a shadow of sorrow cross his face. “But we can commune
with the mind of a deceased Aenosh. Though of course it is really only a one-way communion. But I have been communing with Caenar’s mind for the last few minutes, picking through his final thoughts, and piecing together what has happened.” He paused and looked at each of them. “You are not going to like what I am about to say.”

  “We need to know,” Lana said.

  “The situation is more dangerous than I had previously realized. It appears that four days ago an Imperial Dreadnaught Xephyr landed in the fields to the north of the village, and Imperial soldiers took all the villagers aboard the vessel to imprison them in an isolation camp.”

  “But why?” Lana asked.

  “Allow me to finish,” Altan said. “A man with a long scar on his face and a man named Celek seemed to be in charge.”

  “Celek!” Tresten said, his grip tightening on Silran.

  Knots formed deep within Rylek’s stomach.

  “But – but that can’t be!” Selenor said. “He would never do something like this.”

  “It’s not a question of who did it,” Tresten said. “To me the question is Why?”

  “Caenar’s final thought was literally, ‘Celek has betrayed us all,’” Altan said. “There is more: they are searching for the four of you.”

  “Well, if that’s the case, let’s find them and maybe we can get this all sorted out,” Selenor said.

  “Don’t be so naïve, Selenor,” Tresten said.

  “His final thoughts and memories are jumbled, which comes as no surprise knowing he was under such heightened distress,” Altan continued. “From what I can piece together, it seems to me that Celek drove Caenar through the statue, and said to him, ‘This is for denying me what you knew was rightfully mine.’”

  The four stood silently for a moment, exchanging glances.

  “But this still makes no sense,” Lana said. “On what grounds does the Imperial army have the right to do all of this? What have we done to deserve this?”

  Selenor looked at Rylek. “You’ve been so quiet,” she said. “What do you think?”

  When Altan mentioned Celek and the man with the scar, Rylek felt as though someone had punched him in the stomach. On that night he had walked by himself around Calm – it seemed like a lifetime ago – he had secretly seen and heard part of their conversation. But the part he had overheard gave no hint to actions of this magnitude. Clearly neither his father nor Caenar had suspected Celek of doing anything like this, or they would have mentioned it to him. Now he found himself in the precarious position of having been unwillingly dragged into something he had previously not felt entirely connected to in a personal way.

  But now things had become personal.

  He drew Faldrahil and looked again at the inscription:

  for the children of Calm

  “I think we have family and friends to rescue,” he said truthfully.

  “That would be where you are mistaken,” Altan said. “It would be folly for the four of you to attempt standing against the Imperial forces.”

  “But with you on our side, surely we stand a chance,” Tresten said. “Look what just the three of us did in Khragzul.”

  “There is more than what you can see going on,” Altan said. “Your path does not lie in that direction at this time. Perhaps later. But for now you must return to Perdeisolen, where Andulibar and his people will be able to watch over you until I return.”

  “But where are you going?” Lana asked.

  “I have an errand I must run, and I must use all the speed that I possess. In fact, I will delay no longer.” He stood to his feet. “Rylek and Tresten, you must bury your elder, and then the four of you make posthaste to Perdeisolen. Eat and drink now, then sleep for a few hours some distance away from here. After I am gone, your exhaustion will return.” He then started walking towards Lake Calm. “You will hopefully see me again soon. Look for me in a week’s time.”

  “But…” Selenor started.

  “There is nothing to fear but the consequences of foolish decisions!” he called out to them as he walked away. “It is often better to retreat for a day in order to strategize rather than to rush into certain death. Be well, my children!”

  Then much to their surprise, Altan simply disappeared from their sight.

  ***

  “He just comes and goes as he pleases, doesn’t he?” Tresten said.

  “Help me figure out how and where to bury Elder Caenar,” Rylek replied, already feeling the fatigue settling back into his bones.

  After searching through some of the buildings’ remains, Tresten found an old shovel. They then decided it would be best to make a grave for him under The Sentinel. As they carried his body to the ancient oak, something caught Rylek’s eye: he detected a faint glimmer in Caenar’s right ear. Keeping silent, he awaited an opportunity to secretly remove the clear spherical object. His chance came several minutes later when the girls left to search out the rest of the village and Tresten was busying himself with making the first digs into the grave. Quickly Rylek pocketed the crystalline article next to the one he had taken from the hidden cave in Perdeisolen.

  Some time later Caenar was laid to rest in the grave, and the four stood solemnly over it.

  “He was certainly a bit of a frass at times…” Tresten started.

  “Seriously?!” Lana exclaimed between her tears.

  “…but I cannot deny he loved this village and the people in it,” he continued. “I am sure he died protecting what he cared for most.”

  You are more correct than you can know, Rylek thought to himself. He glanced at the girls, who were both sobbing and quivering. The clouds had begun to part, and the soon-to-be-setting sun was peeking through, casting a golden hue on the village. Even after his brief bizarre behavior had been stopped by Altan, another seed of hopelessness had remained in his heart. But now, there was something about feeling the warmth of the sun on the side of his face that seemed to melt that away, and a flame stoked within his belly. He was suddenly reminded of the vision he had seen on The Balcony not more than an hour previously.

  “He would want us to go, I think,” he said slowly. “Not to Perdeisolen, but to look for everyone. I can’t help but think he knew this was coming, and sent us all away for this purpose.”

  “What do you mean?” Tresten asked.

  “It’s hard to explain - just a gut feeling.” He looked at each of the others till they were all returning his gaze. “We do need to eat and sleep, but then we have to track down the Xephyr as best as we can.”

  “But what about what Altan said?” Selenor asked. “He said it’s too dangerous for us alone, or even if he went with us.”

  “We’re prepared now,” Rylek said.

  “I don’t feel very prepared,” Lana said. “I feel torn. It seems foolish to disobey Altan, yet coldhearted to not try and free everyone. At least if we fail, we’ll be with our families.”

  “Or dead,” Tresten said matter-of-factly. “But I agree. We can’t simply turn our backs on everyone. We need to find out what happened to make the Empire strike here, and why they’re looking for us. And to get some answers from Celek.” His fists clenched as he said this.

  “Yeah, remember?” Selenor said. “They’re looking for us! How in Mira are we going to be able to succeed when they’re looking for us anyway? And I refuse to believe this story about Celek being in charge of all this.”

  “That certainly doesn’t seem right, does it?” Lana said. “Maybe it’s someone else named Celek?”

  Rylek drew Faldrahil out again and ran his finger across the blade’s engraving. “I can’t explain it,” he said, directing their attention away from Celek, “but I’ve never been more confident in my life that this is what we have to do. Even if I am the only one, I need to go.”

  There was an authority in his voice that the others had never before heard. Lana hooked her arm around his.

  “I’ll follow you, brother,” she said.

  “We do this together,” Tresten said.
>
  Rylek looked into Selenor’s eyes, and held her there. He saw storms of fear and uncertainty darken her face. “I need you, Selenor,” he said softly but boldly to her.

  Slowly the shadows lifted from her face, and determination replaced them, as though she were feeding herself off Rylek’s sudden limitless supply. “Okay, Rylek,” she said. “I trust you.”

  Rylek’s heart skipped a beat, but he quickly quelled the feeling. “Thank you,” he said.

  “Now the first thing we need to do is scour the village and take anything that might be useful,” he continued.

  “You’re getting ahead of yourself, mister,” Lana said. “We need to finish burying Elder Caenar.”

  “Oh – yes,” he said. “Of course.”

  ***

  They split up eventually to look for items they could take on their journey. Part of Rylek’s motivation for going on the hunt was to look for the Oathbinder. He was desperate to know whether he could destroy it or not, so he searched through the remains of Caenar’s office in the Hall of Knowledge. There was nothing but soot and stone, and he did not have the faintest idea where else it could have been.

  After some time had passed he found Lana rummaging through some rocks. “Find anything?” he asked.

  “Nothing at all,” she said, covered in ash.

  “Me neither. Any idea where the others are?”

  “Nope.”

  “Let’s go find them.”

  It did not take long for them to locate where they were. By now the sun had set behind the mountains, and Selenor and Tresten were standing by Retessa’s grave, hand in hand.

  “I swear we’ll find out what happened,” Rylek said.

  They turned to face him. Tresten nodded, and Selenor smiled. “I know,” she said, squeezing Rylek’s hand.

  “We need to eat and get some sleep,” he said. “I want to make for Arcenoth before the sun rises. Maybe we can find out some clues from someone there.”