by Jarod Meyer
When the insect got a good mile or so ahead of William it would stop by a tree or a plant, and buzz around it annoyingly. Then when he got within a hundred feet or so it would zip away. Letting his energy surround him in a continuous fashion, he was healed little by little. Soon his wounds quit throbbing, and bleeding. Though this helped his body, his mind was still exhausted.
His brain screamed at him, telling him that he needed water, rest, and much more oxygen. He kept telling himself that this wasn’t true. He pushed with every ounce of will power to catch the stupid little bug, but he couldn’t. Eventually, the sun crept over the horizon, and William knew that he needed to head to the training grounds to instruct his recruits.
It took him a moment to get his bearings. He had flown hundreds of miles in the night, but apparently the insect had remained close to home. William could see Helios in the distance, shining brightly. He made it back in a few minutes to find his recruits already starting their morning training.
Katrina and Juarez stood over the recruits, who were halfway through their push-up session. William new he looked like hell, because Juarez came over immediately and tried to lay his hands upon him. He shrugged them off.
“William you are hurt, let me heal you, amigo,” Juarez said concerned.
William shook his head. “I have to do it myself,” he mumbled.
“We did not see you in the Guardian wing last night. Did you meditate?” Katrina asked.
William looked at her, but said nothing.
“William. Who did this to you?” Juarez asked, concern straining his voice.
“You guys, I’m fine. Meredox is training me,” William muttered, eyes droopy. His two friends exchanged glances.
“Meredox was stripped of his title and authority, William, he does not have the authority to put you through this kind of training,” Katrina said, and tried to continue, but William waved her off.
“I’ve chosen it. He’s not making me do anything I don’t want to. He’s trying to prepare me for my mission,” William groused.
“Katrina told me, William, that is why I came today,” Juarez said, his eyes narrowing.
“We have decided that we will go with you,” Katrina said.
“You can’t come with me, you guys. I’m the only one with the tainted soul. You would stick out like a sore thumb in Hell. The whole mission would be for nothing. I have to convince them that I am evil,” William sighed.
“Is that why you branded yourself again?” Juarez asked.
William’s armor covered the brands, so Katrina must have told him that too. He shot her a dirty look.
“No, that was for me, but I think it will help,” William replied.
“William, everyone has heard, and they are all talking. They do not like the mark of the traitor, whether it is just a symbol or not,” Juarez whispered, moving in close.
William didn’t care. He never cared about what people thought of him. It was no surprise that word spread so quickly.
“Let them gossip. Half the people in Archonia deserve most of these marks,” William spat.
Juarez looked stung, but remained silent.
“I’m sorry, bud. I’m tired,” William added.
“Come, mi amigo, I must teach you how to heal yourself. Katrina can handle the recruits,” Juarez said.
The rest of the morning Juarez helped William imagine the source of his wounds, and heal them without lifting a finger. It was still very slow, but he was feeling much more invigorated by the time Guardian training came around. This was simple in comparison to his exercises with Meredox, and it passed quickly. They were still working on formations.
Evening came, and William’s body was numb, his mind stretched to the limit. He struggled to think of a term for being beyond exhausted. Meredox stood with his arms crossed, leaning against a massive white pillar. He took off into the sky, and William followed, already surrounding himself with his inner energy.
Tonight he wouldn’t try to attack Meredox. There was no point, he couldn’t hurt him. Instead, he would simply defend.
The barrage started when they were far away from the castle, and William was prepared. For hours he blocked, dodged, and parried attacks. They didn’t seem as harsh this time. He hoped that it was his aura making the difference. Meredox seemed to notice, and eventually increased the ferocity of his attacks. The dance finally came to a halt.
“You are learning. You have not sustained nearly as many injuries this evening, though you are still moving too slow,” the old warrior said.
The firefly shot out of his hand and into the night.
“I can’t,” William sputtered.
Meredox stood emotionless in the night breeze, the cosmic array of lights above casting shadows upon his already dark features.
“Very well, I will tell Achilles that you are not up to the challenge,” he replied, softly and clearly.
“I’m up for it, I just need to rest. My mind is…” but William couldn’t finish.
“Your mind is weak!” Meredox said viciously.
William flinched.
“You must be hard. You must be merciless, or you will fail!”
William didn’t argue, or complain, he just took off into the night after the firefly.
* * *
The rest of the week was a blur, and William didn’t get a moments rest. After four nights he wasn’t any closer to catching the Meredox’s insect. Not only this, but rumor turned to fact, and his fellow soldiers began treating him as an outcast again. He decided this was for the best, in case Luxor had spies in Archonia.
Good news finally reached him, however. William learned that all those injured in the battle were almost completely restored. With that task done, Juarez requested transfer to William’s unit as a healer. He also learned that three more tainted souls were sent to join his ranks.
When they arrived he looked them over, his eyes undoubtedly devoid of energy. The new recruits studied him, no doubt taking in his battered, exhausted condition. They looked nervous.
“Shave them, and get them started. I want them caught up with the others by the end of next week,” William told Katrina.
It was the day of rest, but for Guardian initiates, it was just another day of hell.
“I will take care of things here. Go meditate,” Katrina said.
“Thanks, Kat, but I’m not allowed to meditate yet. I’m going to go see Angelica before training tonight.
Katrina shook her head, a scowl pursing her lips.
“Alright, you piles of shit!” she shouted at the recruits, and William took off into the air.
When he reached the Garden of Medina, he spotted Angelica sitting under the shade of a tall tree. He landed softly. William healed himself as best he could to hide his exhaustion, but there was only so much he could do.
He wore a sleeveless shirt, not thinking to make sure his new marks were showing. She stood up when she saw him, and he moved to embrace her, but she backed away, closing off her posture.
“So, it is true,” she said, head shaking.
William’s arms were still held out to embrace her. His smile turned to a frown.
“Do you have any idea what those marks mean?” Angelica asked.
William let his arms flop to his sides, and rolled his eyes.
“They symbolize my past, Angelica. I’m wearing them as an example to others. Now come here,” he said, but Angelica backed away again.
“No, William, the meanings have changed since the old times. Now they’re the worst shame one can have,” she responded, pausing. “And I…..I can’t be seen with you anymore.” She refused to meet his gaze, and shifted weight uneasily between feet.
He felt a horrible pinch in his chest, and he tried everything he could to stifle the anguish that was washing over him.
William hung on to sanity by a thread, thanks to his training schedule, no meditation time, and the daunting task of entering Dichonia.
Anger flooded into him. She was “in love wit
h him” after the battle, when he was the hero, and yet now when he was being completely honest with the world, she couldn’t be seen with him? This was too much for him to bear. He exploded.
“Half the goddamn people in Archonia deserve these!” he shouted, ripping his shirt off like tissue paper, and exposing all of his marks of shame.
“You most of all. Following all your petty religions, and beliefs! You religious types are the most pretentious people I’ve ever seen. Thinking you’re so high and mighty, and better than everybody else! How many sins have you committed, Angelica?” William barked.
He advanced upon her until she was up against the tree, and they were face to face. He immediately regretted what he said, and backed away.
Angelica stood in silence, the wind making her long black hair float and ripple.
“I won’t hide what I’ve done. I won’t sweep it under the rug, and let people think I’m a saint. These remind me of the mistakes that I’ve made, and will help me make sure I don’t repeat them. If you can’t handle that, then I guess you lied when you said that you loved me,” William finished, bitterly.
A long silence ensued, and William turned away. He could feel her small aura of energy in the meadow behind him. Then he felt it slowly disappear.
He was alone. His mind raced, and his heart ached like it was pierced by a searing arrow. He shut his eyes and slowly clenched his fist. His blood began to surge and broil, as if it had been replaced by hot magma. His entire body began to shake, and when he couldn’t hold it in any longer, it all came pouring out.
CHAPTER SIX
STEP INTO DARKNESS
William drowned in an ocean of fury. Energy pushed through every pore of his body scorching the lush grass beneath his feet, and boiling the moisture in the air. His muscles twitched as his mind fought against the rage building within. His anger won, and he lashed out to the nearest thing he could find. An enormous tree trunk shattered into tinder as his fist impacted. His vision blurred as the emotions took over. Kicking, punching and hurling energy balls around the garden in his fit, the whole area was soon a smoldering ruin. All the beautiful flowers and plants that he and Angelica spent so much time together making, were now gone.
William no longer felt tired, but his heart ached.
His vision blurred as he yelled at the top of his lungs to the sky. He wanted to find something to break. He saw a plateau breaking up the monotony of the sparse plains. Pure stone shot from the ground. With his vision blurred by rage he didn’t see the shrine on the top of it. He collided with the rocky shelf with the force of an earthquake, shooting through the stone like a bullet through flesh. The stone was nothing compared to his strength, and it crumbled.
The stone pillar collapsed, William taking great chunks and flinging them about like a child in a fit of rage. After his anger burned off he staggered, finally settling on a pile of gravel, his head hung. He could hear stone continuing to rain down around him as his chest heaved.
“That was quite the display of anger,” said a voice.
William snapped his head up in surprise. A man of average height and weight stood amidst the rubble, not a dozen paces away. He was the closest thing to perfect that William could imagine. Wavy blonde hair fell like flowing water around his perfectly cut facial features. Pure white eyes made him seem alien in a way, and his smile was brighter than the sun itself. “Gabriel.” William whispered, stupefied.
“Please, my friend, call me Gabe. I much prefer the modern sound of that,” the Archon replied with a smile.
“Gabe. I’m sorry you saw that. This isn’t the first time my anger has gotten the best of me,” William said, indicating the mark of wrath upon his right arm.
“Ah, yes, the six signets of Hangaku. She was a mighty warrior, one of the few who knew the true meaning of those symbols. I find it a shame that those marks have become misinterpreted by this world.”
William nodded in recognition.
“I do not begrudge you your rage, William. Heartbreak is a powerful emotion,” Gabriel offered.
“But I’m a Guardian. I should be able to control these feelings,” William responded. He didn’t ask how the Archon new of his heartbreak. He simply assumed that Gabriel could do things that other Archonians couldn’t.
“All humans succumb to emotion, young William. You will need this passion on your journey,” Gabe said.
“Do you know everything?”
The Archon chuckled. “I do my best to keep on top of things. I have asked Achilles to keep me informed. He has one of his spies visit me every few days,” Gabe replied.
William’s heart sank again, and he picked up a rock, and chucked it at his companion. It went right through him, like he was a hologram in old sci-fi movies. “You’re still on Earth then,” William said, shaking his head.
“Unfortunately, yes. I’m the one that is responsible for picking your new recruits. How are they?” he asked.
“They all have a bloated sense of entitlement. They are selfish, and don’t know the meaning of discipline,” William scoffed.
Gabriel burst into laughter.
“What? What is so funny?” William asked.
“I thought the same thing about you when you first came to Archonia,” Gabe said, still chuckling.
Despite his anger, William couldn’t help but smile, and he chucked another rock through his illusionary friend. They both became silent again, and Gabriel continued.
“Each of them has something special to offer. Train them hard. Don’t train them to die, but to find what they need…as you have done.”
William merely nodded in understanding.
“What advice can you offer me about my task?” William asked.
“You will be stepping into darkness. It will be important for you to have small pieces of light that you can hold on to,” Gabe said, staring straight into Williams eyes.
This seemed like a rather enigmatic bit of advice to William, but he was pretty certain that it meant his friends.
“I will,” William responded.
A long moment of silence ensued. Gabriel appeared content to wait until William asked his next question.
“Can you help me?” He asked, more pleadingly than he first intended.
“You have all the tools you need, my friend. Meredox is a great warrior, and he has seen the atrocities of Dichonia first hand,” Gabe replied.
“Have you been there?”
“Only once.” But he didn’t elaborate, and simply said, “I must go now, William, but my strength and hope go with you.”
William jumped up to beg him to stay, but the great Archon had already faded away. William was alone again. He stood on a pile of rubble that he made out of anger. His heart ached even more having seen Gabriel, who’d saved him from the desolate world of Valchonia, and allowed him to ultimately find his Redemption.
William spent the rest of the day trying to find his friends, but they must have been off enjoying their day of rest. Eventually he gave up, and sat on the steps near the entrance to the training grounds, brooding and alone. It wasn’t long before Meredox showed up.
“A scout reported seeing a plateau shrine crumbling from many miles away today. The dark energy emanating from the wreckage frightened him away,” Meredox said with a smirk.
“I suppose you are going to lecture me on anger, and tell me to keep it under control,” William said, sardonically.
“On the contrary, my friend. You will need that rage if you are to survive the underworld.”
William’s head snapped up, he couldn’t believe what he just heard.
“It has been ten days and nights since your last meditation. How are you feeling?” Meredox asked.
“I feel fine,” William said, spitting in the dirt. It was true; he hadn’t felt nearly as tired since his bout of anger.
“I must admit, I didn’t think you would make it this far,” Meredox said.
“Yeah, well, sorry to disappoint,” William responded, standing up.
“So…what are we doing tonight? William asked, without facing Meredox. He didn’t care anymore if the ancient warrior attacked him.
“We shall see if you have earned the right to meditate,” Meredox said quietly. The firefly shot out of his hand, and William watched it go. “I doubt you can, tainted one,” Meredox said spitefully.
William glared at his teacher, hatred swelling inside him. He hadn’t heard that in quite a while, and it stung. The coy smile on Meredox’s face made William’s skin crawl, but he knew what his old adversary was trying to do.
A cloud of energy burst forth from William’s body. The grey energy surged in waves, his body rocketing off the ground and after the tiny bug. It shimmered in the fading light, a bright green smudge set against the flaring color of the Archonian sunset.
A trail of energy followed William, streaking across the sky. He completely let himself go, all his pain and anguish, his exhausted body and his weakened mind. The rage gave him new vigor.
William caught up with the bug in seconds. He could see the tiny wings fluttering in slow motion. His hand closed around it with great force, crushing it with every ounce of anger inside of him. Then it was over.
Meredox was there in front of him, as if he hadn’t been left behind. “Your rage is a powerful ally,” Meredox said. “It will also help complete your disguise. You will need to make sure my brother sees it.”
William looked down at his hand, and let it relax. The crushed firefly inside disappeared.
“Achilles has forbidden me from using my anger,” William responded.
“The commander of the Guardian Corps fears his own anger. It almost cost him his place in this world many centuries ago. You will use your rage in the underworld, but you must know where to draw the line. If you do not, you will succumb to darkness. Now, go meditate. I will allow you six hours,” Meredox said.
William flew back to the castle. He walked up to the Guardian wing, People he encountered still staring at his signets. He did his best to ignore them, but was forced to stop when a group of sentinels blocked his way. He looked up at them slowly.