Many of the men displayed similar sentiments. Aadi shuffled his feet nervously. He held up his hands. “Don’t thank me. You all survived on your own. Now let’s go get the rest of our brothers!”
“Yes!” cheered the men.
From atop Dharati, Aadi moved through the cavern, finding the rest of the prisoners. Each time they were met with the same reaction. First there were screams of fear as Dharati came into view. Then there was joy and celebration once Aadi explained what had occurred.
Once they had gotten every prisoner, Aadi led the way to the top. A few times they reached what appeared to be dead ends, but Aadi simply wielded the earth aside and created a path. Every time he did, the men awed, marveling at what had been thought to be a long-lost ability.
Aadi’s heart hammered in his chest as the first ray of light trickled into his line of vision. It had been so long since he had been free. Seconds later, he felt the all too familiar musky air leave him behind as Dharati crawled out into the world.
He closed his eyes, temporarily blinded by the brightness of the sun.
Slowly, he opened his eyes again, allowing them time to adjust. Dharati moved her head down. With body trembling, Aadi stepped foot on the dirt. His bare feet welcomed the warm sand under him. He gazed up at the sky as a flock of birds flew past in a V formation.
He smiled as he thought back to his loving sister. Finally he was free, in more ways than one.
Part III
“Visitor From The Cosmos”
CHAPTER 14
“What’s next?” asked Linius. The rest of the men looked at Aadi, expecting an answer. True, they now stood outside the camp, but they still had to get out.
Aadi remained quiet for a second as he exchanged looks with Arajakata. After gathering his emotions, he spoke loudly. “You are all free to go live your lives. I will lead you out of here. After that, find your loved ones. Just remember that for many of you the life you left behind will no longer be there.” He thought back to what awaited him back in Missea. Had Zoen survived this long? He certainly hoped so. Then there was Ishani. Had she moved on? Probably. She was a beautiful girl. Certainly many suitors had tried to get her attention.
“You were saying?” Arajakata asked expectantly.
Aadi’s wandering mind raced back to the present. The men continued to look at him, hanging on his every word. “As I was saying. If the life you return to is not the same you left, do not fret. Make the best of the gift you have been given. If there are some in your lives who have moved on, cherish their happiness. Do not hold it against them.” I know I won’t.
“But what about you, sir?” asked a voice from the crowd. “What will you do?”
“I am an earth wielder. As such, a tremendous responsibility has befallen me.” He took a breath, thinking of the words. “I shall do my best to bring an end to this scorch and return the land of Va’siel to its former glory.”
“Let us come with you!” called some from the crowd.
“Yes. We will serve you, sir.”
“No!” ordered Aadi. It was not that he didn’t want their help. Many of the men had been prisoners most of their life. Could he now deny them their freedom? “Be free and live your lives.”
“We are living our lives,” called Linius. “And some of us choose to go with you. We’re not being forced. This is a decision of our choosing.”
Aadi thought back to the first day he had met Linius. He felt a source of pride. He had been the most timid of the men, but now he had grown into one of the most courageous. “Whoever wishes to accompany me on my journey is free to do so.”
There was a collection of cheers from the crowd.
“What about them?” asked Arajakata, pointing at the dozen guards who were tied up together. “I say we feed them to the worms.”
Many of the men chimed in.
“Serves them right for the way they treated us.”
“Perhaps we should have them work the mines day and night.”
“Put them in the crusher all night.”
Aadi stepped atop a rock. “No one is killing anyone. There has been enough grief and pain to last a lifetime. It ends here.”
Arajakata turned to Aadi, ready to argue. “But—”
“I said we’re not going to kill them. We will leave them here for the time being. They have plenty of mana to last them a lifetime. There is no way they can escape. Once my mission is done, I will return and take them to the proper authorities.”
“Of course.” Arajakata grumbled. “That sounds like the most sensible thing to do.”
Aadi called Dharati over and hopped up on her head. Standing tall, he looked back at the men, some of whom were still keeping their safe distance from the large worm. “Let’s go, everyone!”
The worm moved slowly over the sand. Aadi closed his eyes and held out his hands, letting the grain-filled air course around him. It had been years since he’d felt such liberation. He was enjoying every second of it.
It took half a day for them to move out of the desert. The suns were close to setting when they finally reached an oasis. Five palm trees provided little shade, but Aadi was fine with it. He was just glad they had some water to drink.
They set up camp and spent the night under the stars.
The next day, they took off on another long march. Along the way, some of the men split ways, following their own path home. Many branched off toward Tenma, the capital of the Suteckh Empire. Others split ways toward Sandoria and Ladria.
When they reached the outskirts of the Missea Empire, only ten men remained with Aadi.
“This is it,” said Arajakata. “I’d say half a day of marching and we’ll be to the capital city.”
“What is the first thing you’ll do?” Linius added.
Aadi quietly took in the rocky scenery. His chest ached with homesickness. He glanced at the rocky grounds that lay before him. A number of tumbleweeds rolled off in the distance. Yellow prickly plants and dead thistles dotted the image before him. Everything looked so strange, yet so familiar.
“I will find some old friends.”
The rest of the trek was a blur. Aadi replayed in his head the many scenarios that might play out. Would they even recognize him? Would he recognize them? Lost inside his own mind, he did not say much.
Finally, when the stars had come out to display their glow, the large gates came into view off in the distance.
“That’s it!” Arajakata cried excitedly. “Missea.”
Aadi gulped. He certainly hadn’t expected to be this nervous. “Set up camp here. I will return soon.” He grabbed a ragged dark scarf and threw it over his head. He then turned his attention to Dharati. “Go rest, girl. I’ll call you when I need you.”
Dharati wailed and dove into the ground, lifting an eruption of rocks as she disappeared into the hard surface.
“See you all soon.” As he trudged away, he didn’t volunteer any more information, and no one asked for more. It was as if they knew that this was something he had to do alone.
He slowly made his way into the open gates.
“You’re fortunate, beggar,” called one of the guards who stood watch. “We were about to close the gates.”
Aadi nodded, but refrained from speaking. It was as if the words had been stolen from his mouth. The city looked the same as the day he had last set eyes on it. There were still rows after rows of battered cottages. Off in the distant horizon, the earth palace decorated the skyline.
Crickets sang their eerie melody as he moved through the poor part of town and into the noble section.
He turned the corner and there it was. A lone red-bricked, four-story building. Despite being on the noble side of town, there was an aura of abandonment around it. The many windows throughout the building were hosts to families of spider webs. Wooden panels barely hung in place by a single hinge. Some had fallen and crashed to the stone ground below. Bird droppings littered the rim of the roof, and dust had settled over every inch of brick. The old si
gn atop the door read: Royal Grand Library of Missea.
He would no doubt get the information he needed here.
The door creaked softly as he pushed it open. As he had expected, the library was completely empty, save a hunched figure that stood behind an old wooden counter. He wore the hooded red robe that all master record keepers wore, but this couldn’t be Frode. He was much too short.
The figure continued to work under the glow of a single wax candle, seemingly unaware of Aadi’s presence. With his right hand he held a large scroll, and with his other hand, he wrote in some type of ancient text. At least that’s what Aadi thought it was. It certainly wasn’t Missean language.
“You must be lost if you came in here,” said the voice under the hood. As Aadi had suspected, it was a male. “No one comes seeking knowledge anymore.” But the voice certainly did not belong to the old record keeper.
Aadi coughed, as he waved away the wax scent that roamed around him. He strained to look at the man’s face, but the weak source of light and the fact the man refused to look up at him, meant he could only make out his chin and lips.
“I come in search for an old friend. His name is Frode.”
The man’s lips parted ever so slightly. But a second later he was back to writing. “You must be mistaken, sir. In his time alive, Frode only had two friends. One of them died years ago. I’m the only one who remains.”
Aadi’s blood ran cold. Yes, he could see it now. It was him! The nervousness he’d felt until now disappeared, replaced by a sense of joy.
He collected his breath and tossed his robe aside. “I’m quite certain that they both still live.”
The man’s gritted his teeth in anger. “Don’t you dare mock me, sir. Or I shall have you expelled from this place of learning.”
“I’m not mocking you. I speak the truth. My friend and I spent many days and nights here with Frode. We helped him clean and organize. My friend, Zoen, even translated texts.”
The man’s scribbles subsided. His hands trembled as he placed the feather back into the ink sack. His hands reached for the crimson robe and he pulled it back. For the first time in six years they stood before each other.
Tears dripped from Zoen’s eyes as he glared at Aadi. He looked ghostly pale, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“It is good to see you again, old friend,” said Aadi. He walked over to his frozen friend and embraced him in a hug.
All of a sudden, Zoen burst in a fit of loud cries. He returned his hug as he sobbed uncontrollably.
“It’s okay,” said Aadi, patting his friend’s back. He took in a deep breath, trying to stifle the threat of oncoming tears. “I’m back.”
Chapter 15
Aadi willed the dirt, which until moments ago had rested inside the ceramic pot, toward him.
Zoen watched in awe as the dust encircled his friend’s body. Aadi then ordered all the dirt to condense on the palm of his hand.
“How?” asked Zoen, obviously still in shock. He looked a bit taller than the last time he’d seen him. The hunch on his back had also grown in size. His kind face and features remained near identical, though.
“I’m not sure,” admitted Aadi. “I think it’s always been with me. It’s just that part of me suppressed it deep inside. But if it wasn’t for it, I would never have escaped the prison.”
“Prison?” Zoen asked confused.
“Yes.” Aadi proceeded to tell him what had transpired in the last six years. He told him everything, from his capture, to his time in the prison, and finally to his miraculous escape.
“That sounds terrible,” said Zoen once Aadi had finished relaying his story. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. It made me a better person. I wouldn’t have traded those years for anything.”
“But you lost so much.”
“Feeling sorry for myself is not going to make the time I spent at Kilead Keep go away. Best to be glad for the positive that came out of it.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Zoen said, though he didn’t look too convinced. “Besides, what’s important is that you’re back. After you disappeared, we searched everywhere for you.”
“We?”
Zoen’s voice lowered to a hushed whisper. “Yes. Ishani and I. She looked everywhere. Even Princess Latiha helped. We finally tracked you down to some peasants. They said they saw you being taken by that mad man, Doctor Narciss. The princess put all her resources into locating his whereabouts. And sure enough, a few weeks later we located his base. He was put to the sword. But….” Sweat dripped down his hair. “There were no bodies found, well, no complete bodies. We only found pieces here and there.”
“He was a sick man,” said Aadi, cringing.
“Yes he was.”
“So….” Aadi gripped his robe, not sure he wanted to know the answer to his next question. “Do you know what became of Ishani?”
“Once we thought you had died, I lost contact with her. I suppose seeing me reminded her too much of you.” His friend took a seat on the cushioned chair. The same one Frode had used years ago.
“So how about you?” asked Aadi, hoping to change the conversation before the pain hit him. “It looks like you’ve been through quite some changes.” He pointed at his new wardrobe.
“That I have.” He gazed down at his robe sadly. “After Frode fell ill and succumbed to his sickness, there was no one who wished to take up the mantle of master record keeper.” He remained silent for a moment. “Everyone is so pre-occupied with staying alive that the preservation of knowledge has mostly been forgotten. Seeing that no one wanted the post, I took it. The princess sent the necessary scrolls for me to sign and make it official.”
“That’s great,” said Aadi. “I’m sure Frode would have been proud to have you as his successor.”
“Thank you,” Zoen said. “But that’s not the only thing that changed.”
“What do you mean?”
Zoen pulled back the robe from his hands, revealing a dark glove with a purple emblem on the top of his hand.
“No!” Aadi could hardly believe it. “You’re a mind wielder? But how?”
“Do you recall the scroll that spoke about the creature that steals the elements?”
Aadi grimaced. “How could I forget?”
“Well, Frode and I discovered that that same creature has created an anomaly that is throwing all wielding energy out of sync. Which is why my mind wielding ability did not manifest itself until a few years ago, rather than at birth, as is most common.”
“That’s interesting,” said Aadi, still a bit in shock. It was fitting that Zoen had become a mind wielder. It fit him perfectly. With his cunning, he was certain he would make a powerful mind wielder. That was, if they didn’t die first.
“What are you thinking about?” asked Zoen.
“The creature. I need to find it and put a stop to it.”
Zoen nodded solemnly. “Things are getting worse, every day. Water wielding is now almost non-existent, just like earth. There are reports from Belwebb that fire and lightning wielders are also experiencing difficulty wielding.” He looked up at Aadi with a solemn smile. “But now that you’re here, we can do something about it.”
“We need to find its location. That’s where you come in. I need you to keep in contact with the record keepers of other capital cities. Obtain as much information as you can on this creature.”
“I’ll get on it right now!” Zoen stood.
Aadi raised his hand. “No.” Zoen twisted his mouth in confusion. “Tonight I simply want to spend a calm night conversing with my friend. Let us enjoy this calm before the storm.”
“You’re right,” said Zoen, sitting back down.
And the rest of the night they spent telling stories of their years apart. Aadi laughed harder than he had in ages. Zoen, too, seemed to have found a happiness that had eluded him for many years.
When the candle burnt out, they lit another one and continued with their tales. Two o
ld friends, together once more.
~~~
Dust danced in the rays of light that filtered through the window above. Aadi lifted his head from the cold floor where he had fallen asleep. Zoen was gone. No doubt he was already busy sending out messenger hawks, which was good. He needed to take care of his own business as well.
Beside him, Zoen had left a nicely folded set of clothes. He recalled a shower room being in the library’s attic. He headed up the stairs. Sure enough, he found the buckets of water. The same gray scrubbing rock from years ago still rested atop the wooden block. Once undressed, he grabbed two buckets and used them to wash himself. He shivered as the cold water ran down his body, taking grime and dirt down with it. When the last drop had been used, he felt like a new man. His skin looked cleaner than ever before.
He slipped on the brown tunic and black pants and marched outside. Unlike the night before, the city was now alive with bustle and commotion.
“Get your water here before it’s all gone!” yelled a vendor.
“Pick up a flint rock,” called another vendor. “Create your own fire anywhere. No need for the soon obsolete fire wielders!”
Aadi strode through the crowd and down to the noble street. He turned the corner and moved around a man selling horses. Ignoring the stench of fresh dung, he continued on his walk. He now stood directly in front of the same home he had six years ago: Neko’s mansion.
As luck would have it, the man himself was outside in the front yard, ordering a pair of servants who were working on the garden.
“Faster, you lowly idiots!” he yelled, hitting the youngest servant, a young boy, across his face.
“You shouldn’t treat people like that,” Aadi called from behind the dark gates. “One day someone you mistreat might come back and make you regret your actions.”
“Quiet.” Neko’s large figure moved toward Aadi. “I’m a former commander of Missea.” He pointed at the ribbons and medals on his chest. “Do you see these? They signify my superiority over peasants. I’ll treat them as I see fit.” He returned to hitting the boy, who cowered to the ground, trying to protect his face.
Legacy Of The Golden Wielder: A Novella Prequel to the Void Wielder Trilogy Page 9