'I have returned.' El-Vador stated as way of gaining the man's attentions.
'Back so soon, eh? I trust that you had an enjoyable walk? Are you ready to begin our lessons?'
The man's attitude hadn't changed any, but somewhere under that geniality the Elf knew that Brother John was entirely aware of what was happening.
'I am ready. Where is it that you will take me?'
The man continued to smile and clapped twice, his eyes not breaking contact with El-Vador's.
A rumbling sounded through the earth, cracks fractured across the thin grass in a vaguely rectangular pattern, which in turn gave way to a shaft of rock that stretched upward and out into the sky. A single door stood etched in this impenetrable wall that had risen, Brother John walked toward it unperturbedly and opened it. 'If you'll follow me please.' the cloaked man said in a polite tone.
El-Vador wordlessly followed.
XLVIII
Every action, every word and every sentence through which cohesion forms my existence is integral in its nature, for a misspoken word here or a false inflection could have changed the course of history. My time with Brother John taught me this to a greater degree than any other lecture.
The stone monument shot down immediately after El-Vador had set foot within the door of the structure, burying him deep within the earth once again and out of sight of the sun's cold rays.
They arrived shortly afterwards, the strange structure opening its doors once again to an ancient-looking corridor dimly lit and overlooking a vast stone valley. The cool air sent a shiver up El-Vador's spine, but after the depths of the Orcish burrow he had grown accustomed to such places.
From this high point he could see a series of cowled figures making their way in a line across the floor of the valley in the distance. He knew not their purpose or reason but they seemed driven in their footsteps. Even at this distance he could perceive the eroded rock and crumbling stone of the giant cave that housed them. Age had not been kind to this withdrawn and secluded place.
A second hooded figure greeted them as they stepped clear of the monument. The figure inclined its head slightly at Brother John and then continued to walk in the direction of the valley.
Silently he was led down a flight of rough-cut stone steps and onto the floor of the valley itself. It took multiple descents to reach the ground below, with each landing presenting multiple passageways to traverse that were not taken. El-Vador's keen ears could hear snippets of sound and conversation echoing from deep within them, though he could never quite tell what was being said.
When they reached the bottom of the building, Brother John nodded his head at the hooded figure as if some kind of ceremony was being observed, then continued to lead the way down a final flight of stairs. Without a word their previous guide handed him a torch and then stepped aside.
They made their way down the stairs even further, he couldn’t recall how much deeper he went, it was several minutes before they reached the bottom, only for El-Vador to find a long hallway stretching out before him. Beyond that lay the doors to a single room, Brother John led them there.
The room was dark and filled with shadow. There were no torches here and El-Vador was somewhat hesitant in reigniting his sight lest such a display of power cause a disturbance in his guide.
Brother John made his way into the room and then finally turned to face the Elf.
'Come forward.' the man said, his voice sounding nothing like before.
He felt a chill, though the room was far from cold. The air itself was electric, filled with a power he could actually feel. He felt an urge to soak it all up, to imbibe it thoroughly and then strike out against his enemies.
'As you are aware, I am Brother John of the Scarlet Brotherhood,' he said. El-Vador remained silent at the reintroduction.
'I alone will determine your usefulness to us,' Brother John explained, his voice showing no signs of the joviality from before. 'Should the power you have displayed against the Orcs be of no use to us, I shall dispose of you.'
El-Vador said nothing, he knew that the stakes would be something along these lines the minute he realised he was trapped in this strange land.
The man fixed his eyes on El-Vador. 'You are no friend of the Orcs, that is clear.'
It wasn’t a question, but El-Vador felt compelled to answer anyway. 'They butchered my family, I will destroy them.'
Brother John nodded, as if the Elf had been describing what he had eaten. 'It will not be Orcs that you will be fighting with the Brotherhood.' he paused. 'Does that bother you?'
'That depends upon who it is you wish me to fight.' El-Vador said. He wasn't entirely sure that he liked where this was going, but he knew there was little he could do about it currently.
'Why did you declare war on all of the Orcish race? Would not the ones that attacked you have been enough to sate your vengeance?'
'The Orcs that hewed my family to pieces were ordered to do so by others,' El-Vador replied sharply, forgetting his position for a time.
Brother John remained silent, as if he waited for a further explanation.
'Killing those who massacred my village would only bring more of them upon us in retaliation,' El-Vador continued, trying to make the man respond. 'I needed to take more definitive action, to end the threat to my people once and for all.'
'My sources indicate that there was a huge explosion in the mountains,' Brother John said. 'People from many places heard a sound like a thunderclap from the north. We know of the Elves though, they are a relatively peaceful people and incapable of generating such force.'
El-Vador could feel the words slowly drawing him out. 'Your sources speak truly,' he replied.
'I have no doubt that they do.' Brother John either hadn’t noticed or didn’t care about the tone of El-Vador’s reply. 'That is why you have been brought here, young Elf.'
El-Vador was beginning to realize that his observations of the smiling man from before had been far more accurate than he had anticipated. 'You know that I have power and you seek to use it.'
Brother John gave him a smile, but it was cold and calculated. 'Yes, Elf. You have power, and we wish to gauge just how much.
'You have seen many battles but you have not experienced the true war that is being waged unseen. While Orcs and Elves and men and others seek to dominate each other by strength of arms alone, the hidden powers of this world fight an ongoing struggle for true dominance over all.' He paused for a time, letting his words sink in before continuing. 'You are a pawn in this hidden struggle, El-Vador. You have been watched since your descent from the mountains, we believe that you wield power enough to join our ranks in time. I am aware that we have only scratched the surface of your gift, it will take much tutelage in order to determine the full extent of your potential.'
He didn’t speak again for several seconds, but he studied El-Vador intently with his piercing gaze. The Elf did not ask how Brother John knew his name, the man clearly had his ways.
'You have touched upon your power in the past,' he said, 'but only through us can you truly learn to unleash it.'
El-Vador felt his head slowly tightening, as if forcing assent. The voice was not explicit in its demands but he could feel it silently pressuring him into agreeing with the unspoken offer that Brother John was providing. Somehow this detour from the Orcish lands was paramount, he just wish he knew why. 'I accept your offer, Brother John, I wish to learn under the Scarlet Brotherhood. Teach me your ways.'
'Our ways are a harsh path to take for any of your kin,' he warned. 'Your choice binds you to the Brotherhood and all of the consequences therein.'
El-Vador was certain now that he had said that, more so than anything else, this was a decision he had to make. 'I live with the consequences of my actions, Brother John. This is simply another action for me to live through.'
Brother John nodded, almost as if appreciative at the words. 'You must forget your petty feud with the Orcs for a time, there are greater matters to at
tend to in this life. After a time you may come back and deal with your former nemesis, though by then they would hardly be a concern for you.'
El-Vador had no desire to abandon his sworn vengeance upon the race that had murdered his family, nor did he think that he would ever consider them beyond concern. The man before him clearly didn't understand the depths of his desire for retribution. Nevertheless, he needed to play along with the man's words, lest he be called out for his lack of commitment to whatever cause the man was espousing. 'My feud with the Orcs will be forgotten in time. My focus will be upon my studies.'
Brother John nodded approvingly at the lie. 'Then I welcome you to the Sanctuary of the Scarlet Brotherhood, El-Vador of the mountains.'
XLIX
My time amongst the Brotherhood is one that must be briefly touched upon through sense of necessity, for through their teachings the basis of my current power was formed. It took many years to unlearn the lessons that they had taught so ineffectively compared to the finesse I now possess.
Brother John had departed some time before, to where El-Vador knew not. Apparently his presence was required and from what little he knew, the man was embroiled once more in the struggle against an invisible enemy. El-Vador had remained behind at the Brotherhood Sanctuary beneath the earth to learn the ways of the Brotherhood at the hands of others, but he couldn't help but ponder how Brother John could render judgement upon him if he was never there to observe. His first lesson began the next morning, at the feet of Brother Manilus himself.
'The origin of the Brotherhood is as old as time itself,' the Brother of the Sanctuary explained to his newest apprentice. 'In order to fully wield the power within you, a complete understanding of our history is necessary.'
In the absence of Brother John, Brother Manilus had taken over teaching duties. The man wore the typical loose-fitting crimson robe, his hood drawn back to reveal a bland and unremarkable face. It bothered El-Vador that such a powerful man could so easily be lost in a crowd. Had he been tracked by such a figure all this time?
El-Vador knelt before him, still clad in an identical robe that Brother John had bestowed upon him.
'Brother John tells me you come to us as a raw recruit,' Manilus noted. 'He says all that you know of power has been self taught.'
'I have done this alone,' El-Vador lied.
'Yes, it is impressive that you caught Brother John's attentions so swiftly through your actions.'
The Elf remained silent, did the man know he had been told a falsehood?
'What have your studies told you of this Sanctuary?' Manilus finally asked.
'The Brotherhood recruits gifted individuals in order to utilise their power against the ongoing threat from the other side.'
'Correct,' Manilus replied. 'Though somewhat lacking in historical context. There is no other Sanctuary like this, so persons selected for such study as we offer are rare indeed. This Sanctuary is both the living embodiment of the Brotherhood and our ancestral home,' Manilus explained. 'So secluded are we from the world outside that none have yet discovered our location, there has been no need for any other base of operations.' He paused and slowly extended his arm, waving it about him as if demanding that El-Vador gaze upon the stone walls and glean some hither-to-unseen knowledge from their surface.
'This structure is a focal point for all of our power, as it has been for many thousands of years. Few now living will ever attain complete mastery over the depths of energy that can be tapped from it.' he pointed a bony finger at the Elf now, jabbing his robe as if in challenge. 'Do you feel that you could be one of those people? Can you not feel the energies around you longing to quench your thirst for greater power?' The man paused and let out a shuddering sigh. 'Great things are expected of those we introduce into the Brotherhood, do not fall short of our estimation.'
Over the inestimable time that surged on, El-Vador devoted himself entirely to learning and knowledge so that he may better utilise the power within him. He discovered that his fellow initiates had been scouted for many years prior to their acceptance within the Sanctuary of the Brotherhood.
At first El-Vador found this troubling, that he had been selected so swiftly indicated that there was something different about him and left him open to both targeting and lofty expectations. After a time he discovered that it wasn't such a disadvantage after all.
Of all the recruits he had spoken to, none of them had ever given indication of being guided by some other voice. Their thoughts were their own and their manifestations of power were weak in comparison to his. He had assumed that they would all be similar to him, now he found that he was unique in ways that the others couldn't begin to fathom.
For the first time he was being taught to truly use his abilities rather than simply be a clueless vessel for the voice inside him. He didn’t have to worry about any of the other recruits, with the right training he would soon surpass all of them.
Most of his general knowledge of power came from the teachings of Manilus, though some of the other Brothers gave more specific lessons. Of Brother John there was still no sign. Usually these lessons were done alone, as El-Vador's exponential rate of learning was hampered in a group scenario. Recruits were encouraged to learn at their own pace, driven by the knowledge that to fall behind their peers would be a grave error indeed.
In order to receive training from a Brother it was required that he solicit their attentions. Over the last few weeks he had been able to build up an effective working relationship with Brother Manilus and a number of the other Brothers simply because of his level of improvement. Every Brother wanted to be associated with his rise and take credit for his learning. Little did they realise that in his heart he owed them and this Brotherhood nothing for his abduction.
The increasing proficiency with his power did garner detractors amongst the other recruits, but they were beneath El-Vador's attentions, so focused was he on his goal of accumulating enough power and knowledge to destroy the Orcs utterly.
When he wasn’t learning from the Brothers, he was studying the ancient records that they kept within their archives, gleaning as much information as he could from the dusty tomes and scrolls on the history of the Brotherhood and the utilisation of their power.
Many of these scrolls were historical records recounting ancient battles or glorifying the deeds of ancient Brotherhood attacks against the unnamed others. By itself the information had little practical use, but he could see each individual work for what it actually represented: a tiny piece of a much larger puzzle, a clue to a much greater understanding.
The archives supplemented what he learned from the Brothers. It gave context to abstract lessons. El-Vador felt that, in time, the ancient knowledge would be the key to unlocking his full potential. Though silent since he had arrived in the Sanctuary, he felt the presence of the voice agreeing with his assessment.
He practised his meditations and exercises daily, often under the watchful eye of Manilus. After only a few weeks he had surpassed roughly two thirds of the recruits in his mastery of the power. Though he was still wary of being susceptible to attacks from any and all who would be jealous of his new-found abilities.
For all his training and all his skill, El-Vador knew that the power did not come from within him, that it was the voice allowing him this in order to complete some unknown goal. For all the mastery and control he exhibited, his destiny remained entirely out of his hands.
L
There were times when my skills were tasked, there were other times when they were not. It was the latter that was far more important when the former came about.
El-Vador's power continued to grow as the ensuing months passed under the tutelage of the Brothers. It was not only his mind that he exercised, his body felt better than it ever had before thanks to his morning training regimen that other recruits scoffed at. He knew that the corporeal mattered little in the ongoing war between the Brotherhood and their enemies, but that wasn't what he was training for.
In his mind this interlude was an opportunity, a chance to harness the wild power that sporadically arrived upon the voice's command. His ability to summon a limited degree of said power had manifested itself thanks to the teachings of the Brothers. He was left constantly wondering whether it was because of his own capabilities or if the voice decreed he should display as much for the sake of his training.
At times the power coursed through him, and he could sense every being within this subterranean domain, other times it offered him entirely different capabilities that he had yet to exploit. It was as if the voice was displaying the potential and the Brothers were examining that through each lesson that his power grew.
As a result of the intensity of Sanctuary life and the constant scrutiny he was under, El-Vador found he had less time to consult the archives. He cursed that there were only so many hours in the day, but he knew that it was better to be well-trained in the usage of power than have an in-depth knowledge of a place he cared little for. What little information about power he had already gleaned from his reading seemed to be the height of the knowledge contained within.
Out of necessity more than desire he found himself spending more time with his fellow recruits, and began to notice the subtle undercurrent of competition that pervaded their attitudes. The Brothers did nothing about this, apparently having the recruits strive against each other improved their training.
El-Vador’s fast progress had brought him on a par with many of the students in terms of ability, and it appeared that they were beginning to take notice of this new recruit and speculate not quite silently enough about just how far this strange young creature would go.
It was through such eavesdropping that he discovered the duelling pit. A huge bowl-like structure he had yet to see in which the recruits challenged each other with their mastery of the power until submission.
Few of the students spoke openly about the place, perhaps there was an exclusivity to it that El-Vador was unaware of, or perhaps only the most foolhardy and confident of recruits risked a potential mishap against a competitor.
El-Vador's Travels Page 34