by S. K. Ng
Then one of the Sollenthars asked him why Master Shay did not send the assassins to steal the manuscript after he had found out that Ray had it. Ray could only speculate that after 15 years, The Benefactor was perhaps no longer interested in the manuscript so it was pointless for the Grand Elementhar to steal it. When asked about the identity of this mysterious character, Ray and Clover both admitted that they had no idea. Then Ray clarified that the decision to massacre the Fire Elementhars was Master Shay’s alone, and that it began with him and had ended with him. It was midnight when the briefing finally ended.
The next morning, Dawn woke up just a few moments after Higher Recipient Truthkeeper finished his whispering chants. She seemed more alert and aware of her surroundings. The Receiver excused himself as soon as he was done and left Dawn to Eclipse’s care. Eclipse fed Dawn a bowl of hot broth and told her of all that had happened after she became unconscious. She told her of how Ray had radiated his soul energy to purge the dark energy that had contaminated Dawn’s soul and of how Clanmaster Collart had met his demise. Eclipse had also told her of Serene’s decision to ask for Higher Recipient Truthkeeper’s help when Ray and Clover were preoccupied with ‘the other business’.
Dawn sat silent after the meal, trying to make sense of all that had transpired since she became unconscious. There was one thing that she did not understand. Why did Ray try to save her? She was an assassin, and although she had not partaken in the massacre of the Fire Elementhars, she was still of the kind that Ray hated. Throughout her career, she had killed countless numbers of innocent people and soldiers, some of whom had served under Ray. Why did he not just let her die? Surely he had wanted some sort of revenge on her? There was no tactical advantage in Ray’s decision either. She was worthless to him, since by that time, The Lair had been breached and the clanmaster had already been defeated. And by choosing to help her, he allowed the clanmaster to be killed by Silk. She was sure that Ray had wanted to interrogate him so that he could find out more about Baron Chessmaster. Yet he chose to save her instead! Why?
Meanwhile, Ray, Clover and Serene stood at attention before King Patrum in the throne room. Ray had just finished giving a verbal report of what had transpired at the raid on The Lair and at Monune Grand. A written report had earlier been submitted to Prince Patrum. But the king had wanted to hear the details of the events from them personally.
“So, Grand Elementhar Shay was the one responsible for the massacre of the Fire Elementhars. But who was responsible for hiring the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan to try to kill my son?” asked the king.
“Unknown _ his identity remains of this, Your Highness! Dead _ Clanmaster Collart was of this before I could ask him any more questions,” answered Ray.
The king sat silently in deep thought. Then after a long while, he signalled for a suvian to approach him. In the suvian’s hand was a folder containing several documents. The suvian approached the king, bowed and handed the folder to the king. The king signed the documents and handed them back to the suvian. The suvian moved to a table by the side and furled the documents into neat, tube-like rolls and secured them with sealed ribbons. When he was done, he placed the document rolls onto a silver tray, approached the king, bowed again and stood beside him.
The king got off his throne and approached Ray, Clover and Serene.
“Congratulations to all of you! You have managed to rid us of a very dangerous and evil element in our society. The Shadow Deathmerchant Clan could have risen to full rebellion if you three had not managed to stop them. And since the formation of the Royal Elementhar Pond, the number of demon attacks in Free Falls has reduced significantly. I have seen it fit to promote the three of you, as well as Convian Rod Sayson, for your efforts and sacrifices. And I have also seen it fit to expand the Royal Elementhar Pond into the Royal Elementhar Lake and to commission a fort here in Fallsene City to serve as its base,” said King Patrum.
King Patrum handed out the relevant document roll to Ray.
“Congratulations, Orgavian Ray Iddell!” he said.
Ray bowed, to which the king bowed in response, and then Ray accepted the document roll with both hands, and they exchanged bows again. The whole process was repeated with Clover and Serene, who both now held the rank of orgavians as well. And while Ray’s expression was neutral, Clover and Serene were smiling from ear to ear. Being from a military family, they appreciated the honour and glory of achieving the rank of orgavian at the young age of 22. This meant that they were now equal in rank to Serene’s father. This would make the Genox family extremely proud and happy.
The king spoke to the three of them again. His tone was as serious as ever.
“There is still an evil schemer out there who is trying to destroy our kingdom. He must be found! We need to know why he is trying to kill my son and how this helps him to accomplish his intentions, whatever they are. It is your mission to unravel his identity and apprehend him. It that understood!?” ordered the king.
“Understand _ we do of this, Your Highness!” they replied in unison.
“Good! You may carry on,” said King Patrum.
The three newly-promoted orgavians bowed, turned and left the throne room.
Ray unfurled the document roll that he held in his hand. It consisted of three pieces of document. The first document stated that he held the rank of orgavian. The second document stated that the Royal Elementhar Pond was expanded to the Royal Elementhar Lake and that he was designated as its commander. The third piece of document stated that Fort Stormwatch was renamed Fort Elementhar and was designated as the base for the Royal Elementhar Lake. Clover and Serene unfurled their document rolls, which only stated their new ranks and nothing else. But they were so filled with ecstasy that Ray looked at them in bewilderment. He guessed that there were things about them he could never understand. For the Genoxes, the awarding of rank was a reward and a form of recognition, but for any Elementhar, especially Ray, it meant just an increase of duty and responsibility and nothing else. So, he wondered, what was there to celebrate?
A few hours later, Minvian Rod Sayson met Serene at the palace dungeons. They bowed to each other and congratulated each other on their promotions. Then together, they entered the cell where Minvian Thorn Sayvion was held. They bowed to each other in greeting. The contrast in their appearances could not be more obvious. Serene was in her clean, neatly pressed Royal Guard uniform. Her hair was tied neatly in a bun. Rod was in a casual cotton shirt and baggy pants, which covered the cast on his injured leg. He was clean shaven, his hair neatly combed. But Thorn, on the other hand, looked worse than a beggar. His hair was long and un-kept. His beard and moustache had grown wild. His clothes were in tatters. His eyes were sunken with dark rings around them.
“Forgive my appearance, a dead man has no need for looks,” said Thorn rather unapologetically.
“Over _ it is not of this, for it is not too late to appeal your case,” said Serene.
“Right _ she is of this, so please; for all our sakes, swallow your pride for once and save your life, damn it!” added Rod.
“No” said Thorn with a wry smile.
Then they all broke into laughter.
“Answer _ we knew what yours of this would be, but we had to try anyway,” said Rod.
“Of course,” responded Thorn.
“Look _ yours of this is like a corpse. Die _ if you must do of this, then please do so looking like a soldier of the Provincial Guards and a hero of Free Falls. Remember _ let those who watch you hang do of this of your bravery and tactical brilliance and your golden heart. Die _ do not do of this as a broken man, Minvian Sayvion,” commented Serene.
“You are right, Minvian Genox. I had almost forgotten why I am doing this,” admitted Thorn.
“News _ we have of this for you and this is why we are here,” informed Rod.
“What is it?” asked Thorn eagerly.
“Success _ Retired Orgavian Lidell has met with some of this, for he has raided three mines thus far and
liberated about 150 Fallsians, whom he had sent home with guarded escorts. Success _ his of this is so encouraging that there are ‘sponsors’ who would like to assemble another group to do the same. Answer _ although we already know yours of this, but we still have to ask, would you be interested?” said Serene.
“No,” said Thorn casually.
All three of them were silent. Serene and Rod had really hoped that Thorn would change his mind. He was their friend, and Serene’s mentor. They did not want him to die. But Thorn seemed insistent. He was fighting a battle with the Fallsian Military. It was an abstract battle. It was a battle of the mind, not of fists or swords or shields. It was a silent protest to the death. But can Thorn truly accomplish anything by dying?
Serene and Rod gave up trying to convince Thorn to save himself. They spent a whole afternoon chatting away and reminiscing their days together at Fort Eastguard.
Meanwhile, Ray and Clover were busy supervising the move to Fort Elementhar. As Ray was busy packing up in his office, Dawn entered. Her presence caught Ray by surprise. He though she would still be in the infirmary for at least a few more days.
“May I speak with you, Ray Iddell,” requested Dawn.
“Yes! Sit _ please do of this,” invited Ray as he pointed to a chair across his desk.
“Why did you save my life?” asked Dawn.
“What!?” uttered Ray in confusion.
“Back at The Lair, when I was contaminated by dark energy, why did you save my life? Why didn’t you just let me die? I was of no further use to you at that point. Why did you do it?” said Dawn, clarifying her question.
A long silence ensued. Ray was surprised by her question. Then he realised that being an assassin, Dawn thought in an entirely different way than how he did.
“Sacred _ an innocent’s life is of this, and that was why I chose to save your life,” answered Ray.
“I don’t understand,” said Dawn.
Ray nodded his head while being immersed in deep thought. He had anticipated this problem. She had not been raised with the knowledge of Reception, he realised. Therefore, basic morality was absent in her.
Leaning forward, Ray took in a deep breath before forming an answer.
“Beginning _ when it was of this of time, we living beings had no knowledge of anything, except that we knew we wanted to keep on living; as such, two choices became available to us. Choices _ of these, one was to kill to live, but as a consequence, we too would be killed by others so that they could live; and this is known as the ‘kill and/or be killed’ choice; and the second choice was to live and not kill, then hopefully others too would choose not to kill us to live, and this is known as the ‘live and let live’ choice. Choice _ the ‘kill and/or be killed’ of this is destructive and is therefore deemed to be evil whereas the other one is constructive and deemed to be good. Knowledge _ as time went on, we have acquired new ones of these, and we now know that we are all sinful beings and that we are given time to repent and to clean our souls of our sins; for this is the purpose of life; in essence, life is time given to clean up our sins and rid our souls of evilness, and not for the purpose of seeking happiness or other such rubbish. Sacred _ life has become of this, for life is time given for every soul to salvage itself; and killing is the stealing of the time this was granted. Just _ thus, it is not of this if we kill. Innocent _ those lives are of this if they choose not to kill, and non-innocent are they who choose to kill. Remember _ you must do of this that life is sacred; and other beings’ right to live, including that of the animals, are sacred as well. Sacred _ since innocent life is of this, I chose to save your life so that you may have the chance to repent and cleanse your soul of evilness,” answered Ray.
Dawn was very confused. She had never heard of such a thing before.
“But if life is sacred, why do you kill!?” asked Dawn.
“Choice _ of this, every living being is given such but is accountable for it as well; therefore, those who choose to kill deserve to be killed whereas those who choose not to kill do not deserve to be killed; therefore, it is the application of the ‘kill and/or be killed’ and the ‘live and let live’ choices. Kill _ I do of this only in necessity to achieve justice and nothing else and I do it in accordance with the law of these two choices, and this law is known as the Law of Cause and Effect, Law of Choice and Consequence, Law of Retribution and other such names,” answered Ray.
“So you judge them, then. You judge the people whom you kill!” asked Dawn.
“Yes,” was Ray’s simple reply.
“What right have you to judge them?” asked Dawn.
“Judge _ I have the right to do of this to them because I do of this to myself as well, therefore I shall judge and be judge, and it is still fair and it is just and it is in perfect harmony with the Law of Retribution,” explained Ray.
Ray’s answer confused Dawn even further.
“But I have killed! Why then did you save me? Why did you see me as an innocent? You should have killed me instead!” argued Dawn.
“Killed _ you have done of this, but your life was in danger when you were trying to save the innocent members of your clan, therefore at that moment, you were saving and not killing; and therefore, you deserved to be saved and not killed!” answered Ray.
Dawn did not understand Ray’s logic. Is there a difference between killing to kill and killing to save? How does justice come into the equation? Why is justice so important anyway?
“Thank you for your answer… and for saving my life,” said Dawn as she stood up, bowed, turned and walked away.
“Welcome _ you are of this,” said Ray as he returned the bow.
The next morning, Serene and Rod approached Ray in his office. Clover came in as well, curious as to what her cousin was up to.
“Element _ Orgavian Iddell, what is it of this of the human bone?” asked Serene.
“Earth,” answered Ray.
“Element _ if the human bone is of the earth one of this, then you can use you skills to heal Minvian Sayson, can you not?” asked Serene again.
“Mean – you do of this that I should manipulate the earth element in Rod’s shin bone to make it rejoin? Thought _ I had never done of this to do this before,” said Ray.
“Done _ can it be of this, master?” asked Clover.
“Maybe,” answered Ray.
Ray asked Rod to sit on a chair and rest his right leg on another chair in front of him. Closing his eyes and focussing his mind, Ray ran his hands above and over the cast that wrapped Rod’s shin. It took him a few tries, but finally, Ray managed to sense Rod’s shin and the point where it was severed. The bone was already beginning to heal, but only slightly. Using his soul energy, Ray manipulated the earth element of Rod’s shin to make it mend and fuse, so that the bone was one whole piece again. Rod let out a controlled groan as he withstood the pain. A few moments later, it was done. The pain was gone and Rod’s shin bone was one whole piece again. Rod had wanted to remove the cast, but Ray forbade it. He told Serene to take Rod to the infirmary and ask for the healers to evaluate the state of the bone. Serene and Rod got up and left almost immediately. Clover went with them, more out of curiosity rather than concern.
Half an hour later, Serene, Rod and Clover returned to Ray’s office. Rod’s cast had been removed. There was still some pain when he walked, but only mildly. Ray could not believe it. He could not believe that he had done it. And further more, he could not believe that he had not thought of it in the first place. Then the four of them went off for breakfast together.
It was an extremely busy morning on the 10th Day of Sixth Month of Dry Season as Ray and the Sollenthars helped Minvian Sky Proest and 3rd Pond, 3rd Lake, 1st Ocean relocate the former clansmen of the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan to their new home. Eclipse Menox organised her followers, which comprised mostly of women, children and a few old folks, into groups based on their respective villages of origin. They then loaded whatever little belongings they had onto horse-drawn carts that would
be driven by Sky’s subordinates. The Sollenthars would tag along as security escorts.
As they were preparing to leave, Dawn walked up to Ray, bowed and extended her hand forward. In her hand was a furled-up document. Ray took the document, removed the ribbon and unfurled it. The contents were so unexpected that Ray had to read it twice just to be sure. The document stated that Dawn had been given a full and unconditional pardon by King Patrum, and that she had been given the rank of suvian and that she had been assigned to the Royal Elementhar Lake under Ray’s command. Clover, who was standing beside him, gasped in surprise when he showed it to her.
“How? Why?” asked Ray.
“I asked the king for it. I convinced him that the Fallsian Military needed to develop the skills and knowledge of assassination as a tool of war. And I offered to teach these skills, for a price. I wanted to be assigned to you, Ray,” answered Dawn.
“Reason _ what is it of this that you chose to be assigned to me?” asked Ray, still confused.
“Because you saved my life, and you’re the only one I trust,” answered Dawn.
Clover’s curiosity was sparked.
“Reason _ but what is it of this that made you choose to convince the king in the first place?” she asked.
“I wanted my skills to be used for goodness, for a change. And now that the Ten Betrayed Villages have reintegrated back into Fallsian society, the safety and security of Free Falls will affect us as well. The Serpentians are a real threat to us. The Aridytes are a nuisance, but a deadly one just the same. The Fallsian Military needs to have its own assassins if we are to stand a chance to survive. But I’ll not serve under anyone else. I don’t trust them. I only trust you!” explained Dawn.