by Mario Routi
“And you, Bull, why do you fight on our side in support of such an injustice? Especially since the Flame has no relevance to you?”
“I just found myself on this side. I had to belong somewhere. I like what I do. I don’t fight. The Creator decided that there should be no female Minotaurs and that I should not have children. That left me free to take care of the souls and minds of other children. What I do now is the best - the most interesting thing to do. Children are our hope. That’s the only answer I can give to your question.”
After a few more miles of galloping in thoughtful silence, Rebecca spoke again. “I should tell you, Bull, that when I knew I was seeing the world for the last time, I lost my courage. In that final moment, when I saw the sword coming towards me, I felt fear for the first time, as well as an intense longing for life. Maybe it was because of the sounds of birds and the warmth of the sun. I soon pulled myself together, but it was frightening. Maybe it was the hand of Fate that caused the delay of a few seconds and enabled you to save me. Have you ever been afraid in your life, Bull?”
“I’m not an Orizon,” he said. “I haven’t taken the Flame since it has no effect on mythical creatures, so yes, I lost my nerve once, thousands of years ago. It’s a long story. I may tell it to you one day, if you want. Don’t let it worry you though, that you were frightened. Remember that you’re human. There are weaknesses that are dealt with by the Flame when it first makes you an Orizon, but all the stress you’ve been through has weakened the Flame in you a little. As you grow up, you use up a lot of energy and almost exhaust the reserves of the Flame in you. That’s why you all need a second dose at this age when you become adults. This second dose usually lasts forever but if anyone ever expends a great deal of energy or, after many years, sees the necessity, he can get topped up. It’s like recharging a battery.”
***
It was almost noon when they reached Rebecca’s house. As soon as they heard the approaching hooves, her family rushed outside, overwhelmed by joy at the sight of Rebecca leaping down from the horse. Bull galloped away with no more than a simple ‘goodbye’ and a wave of his hand. He wanted to leave the family alone and he also knew that their inevitable gratitude would embarrass him.
Rebecca was almost suffocated in their embraces as they crowded around her but was overwhelmed by their joyful tears. Her mother wouldn’t let go of her as they steered her back inside.
Not long afterwards, the siren went off and Felicia appeared in the three-dimensional projector to announce the good news to the people of Utopia. She also informed them that the Ceremony of the Flame for Rebecca would take place the following day at six and that a big celebration would follow.
The inhabitants of Utopia poured out of their farms and made their way to the Fortress, thronging the streets. Some were on horseback and others on foot, yet all cheered at the news that Rebecca had killed one Sharkan general and disabled another and that Bull had slain three Porth generals. They saw it as a great victory for the forces of Good against Evil.
The family were summoned to the Princess’ house, where Felicia embraced and kissed Rebecca and they talked for several hours, especially about Turgoth’s breaking of the rules. On the return journey, Rebecca was cheered and applauded as a heroine by everyone she passed. Once they were back home, she told her family more about her adventures and asked a serious question:
“Please, can you tell me, Grandpa,” she asked, “why you went to Field Marshal Foster’s on the day of my abduction and why we didn’t all leave the house together?”
“Foster asked me to go and pick him up,” Tony replied, “so that we could go to Claudia’s house together. Her energy system was malfunctioning and she’d asked for his help. Foster knows a bit about it but not as much as I do. He’d tried to do a temporary repair job, but had made it much worse. Claudia was angry because she couldn’t use her house to prepare for the Ceremony. We went there together and I found that the problem was indeed serious, but not too serious for me, and it didn’t take me long to fix it. Then we all left for the Ceremony.”
Rebecca listened in silence. “Was it a coincidence that the family were called away just as her kidnappers were due to arrive,” she wondered, “and if not, was Field Marshal Foster involved?”
***
Later on, alone in her room, Rebecca had time to reflect on everything she had learned. She was pleased to think that she would never grow old and that the face she saw in the mirror would remain as it was forever. She would never have any wrinkles and her strength would never fail. This was all incredible, but comprehensible, unlike the idea of living forever unless she was killed, which was a concept that she was still finding hard to absorb.
She became lost in her thoughts, walking familiar routes past the school she had attended when she was little and other places that brought back childhood memories from England. She thought of the woods where she and her school friends used to play, one of her favourite spots - the refuge and the hideout of magical, carefree years. That was where the first stirrings of adulthood had begun - the secret crush on a friend from school or the neighbourhood - yeast to leaven lessons, games and parties. Waiting anxiously for a sign! The search and the child’s interpretation of a glance, a smile, a conversation, a movement.
“He looked at me...” “Did he smile at me?” “He spoke to me!”
The doubt! The loss of appetite... The drawing from a secret admirer left on the pencil case, exciting the imagination. The love letter from a mysterious stranger with the handwriting deliberately disguised. The triumphant entrance into adolescence. Flirtation. Kissing! The bell ringing happily. The colourful blossoms of love, so sweetly scented.
Her memories drifted into dreams as tiredness crept up to capture her. She could feel hot sands beneath her feet and around her were Bedouin tents, their colours bleached by a sun so bright she could see nothing clearly through the heat haze. It all seemed disconcertingly familiar and she found herself awake again, thinking of King Turgoth. He was a tough, yet sensitive child of the romantic desert, the sky, and nature. He favoured knowledge and reflection and was a profound analyst of life with original ideas and a subversive moral code of his own devising. He was a banner-bearer for the young - an implacable enemy of the diseased status quo and of rusty, outmoded ideas. She had to admit he was impressive, partly because of his dramatic voice that resonated experience and wisdom. He was wise and tough, inelegant but true.
She found herself imagining his face, his warm eyes, his well-built figure. The way he touched her...
“It must have been hard work for God to sculpt such a perfect man...” she said to herself as she drifted into a confused, but happy, sleep.
23
In the amphitheatre, Rebecca’s family looked on with glowing pride as Felicia held the lantern high.
“And so, Rebecca,” Lord Life announced as she took the Flame, “you are now an immortal Orizon and are ready to join in the last and most rigorous part of your training. But first, you must celebrate!”
Rebecca’s family closed in and hugged her tightly, their relief at her safe return released in tears of joy.
***
Over the following weeks, the training moved up a level and all of the trainee military exercises became more complex and more arduous. In Claudia’s classes they now had to learn how to avoid arrows or use their shields to deflect them. They began to use their bows, spears and javelins while on horseback, riding with speed.
Field Marshal Foster’s classes were the most dangerous because they were about single combat. The students learned how to dodge lethal blows and how to manoeuvre and attack precisely, methodically and effectively. Foster used experienced Orizons as his assistants and they fought almost as fiercely as they did in the Lomani.
Because the Lomani was usually waged around the Fortress and in certain parts of Domus Forest, they often trained in the
woods. It was difficult, but challenging and interesting. They learned how to use trees and bushes for camouflage, how to set traps and how to avoid them, as well as how to set and hide from ambushes. They participated fully in the exercises that were arranged for all the combatants of Utopia. Following Rebecca’s abduction, these collective exercises had become more frequent and more intense. Everyone was at their most alert.
Felicia was worried that Turgoth might start a war at any moment. Her main concern was that, with Rebecca’s abduction, he had violated all the ancient rules and treaties. This meant they could no longer predict how he might behave, what his next move might be and whether he would strike again in a similarly devious manner. She was also afraid that this time he would ignore the fundamental rules of war and attack with his whole army without issuing any forewarning. They had to be prepared at every moment of every day.
The weeks went by and no attack came, but the danger still loomed over them.
In addition to her regular training, Rebecca had begged Bull to show her how to use the dagger skilfully. She had been impressed by its potential as a lethal weapon and wanted to become as expert with it as Bull, himself.
He spent several afternoons giving her systematic instruction but she soon realised it would take many months - if not years - to acquire the skills that she craved.
One afternoon, she confided to Bull her worries that Field Marshal Foster might be a traitor, but he was obviously sceptical.
“Foster is one of the most praiseworthy Orizons in the history of the Land of the White Sun,” he said. “He’s absolutely dedicated to his duties. He’s a decent man, fearless, good at what he does, and brave. If you saw how he fights in the Lomani you wouldn’t believe your eyes. He’s always at the front. He lost his wife in combat and then his only son, who was an outstanding soldier. Even though he’s a charming man and has had many marriage proposals, he has remained faithful to his wife’s memory for hundreds of years. It is said that Claudia has been in love with him for a very long time. Perhaps they have broached the subject between them, but Foster has kept to his decision to live without a wife and not have any more children. Rebecca, I firmly believe that Foster is above suspicion, so please put this idea out of your mind!”
***
Two weeks later, on the armoury training ground, Field Marshal Foster walked up the row of fifteen young Orizons - ten boys and five girls. Rebecca, Samantha, and Tamina were among the girls and Bill and Sergei were among the boys. They were all armed with swords, shields, spears, bows and arrows, as well as special survival packs.
“So,” he barked. “This is what you’ve all been waiting for: The War Games! Enjoy yourselves but make sure that you reach your objective - Lord Life’s house - in time. Make me proud!”
They left the Fortress on foot and entered Domus Forest. Finding the first appointed location, they read their orders carefully.
“We have to cover a considerable distance today,” Sergei said. “We’ll be going deep into the forest, which will be fascinating. We may even see a dinosaur, if we’re lucky.”
“At some point, we separate, and then each of us has a different path to follow,” Bill continued as he read through the schedules. “We all meet up again for the night. We’ll have to be really careful when we enter the denser parts of the jungle. It may seem like fun at first, but a jungle always conceals great dangers. We must be extra careful not to get lost or have an accident while we are separated, because who knows how long it would be before we could be found.”
“It might have been better,” Samantha said doubtfully, “if in our first ever exercise without an instructor we had been told to stay in pairs. But I guess our instructors must know what they’re doing. So, let’s get on with it.”
The exercise began with them climbing the enormous trees and fighting a mock battle high among the branches and hanging fibres, keeping only their swords and leaving the rest of their equipment on the ground.
The foliage of the tallest trees was tightly intertwined, creating a dense green canopy that blocked out nearly the entire sky. The children swung from one tree to another, like Tarzan, fighting a simulated, mid-air sword battle. At certain points, they would jump down to the ground and continue their pretend swordplay there. While they were high up, they had to hang from the fibre ropes, having been ordered to make no attempts to fly.
They presented a wonderful spectacle as their crystal swords flashed between the shadows in the few bright rays of sunlight that filtered through the thick foliage. They looked like exotic blue and white birds in their uniforms as they leaped, fit and agile, from branch to branch. They were acrobat warriors, fighting an invisible enemy in an imaginary war.
After an hour’s ‘battle’ they picked up their equipment and carried on with their journey, encountering many species of animals and birds that they had never seen before.
The moment then arrived for them to separate and follow different paths. In three hours’ time they were to meet up at the location where they would camp for the night.
Rebecca followed the map showing her designated route and, in a short while, she came to the banks of a river. Her orders stated that she was not to try to swim across weighed down by her uniform and equipment, as the waters were deep and turbulent. She had to find another way across.
Looking around her, the only solution that she could think of was to build a small raft from whatever materials she could find in the forest. Putting down her equipment, she ran back into the trees, using her sword to cut some fibres and sturdy branches. She carried them back to the river-bank as fast as she could, repeating the trip three times.
She used the thicker branches to construct the raft’s main frame and the smaller ones to fill the spaces in between. An hour later, the raft was ready. She carefully secured all her gear onto it and placed her clothes and boots in her upturned shield. Then, she pushed the raft into the water and, holding on to it with one hand, she began to swim across the river.
The strong current pulled at the raft, dragging her down river. Rebecca kept kicking with all her might, eventually managing to steer the raft diagonally across to the opposite bank. She pulled it out and dressed quickly. Then, she tried to pinpoint her exact location on the map, but she couldn’t be sure how far downstream she had drifted. She had also lost a lot of valuable time and had only one hour left to reach the meeting point.
The sky above filled with warm colours - a melancholy beauty saluting the day that was now passing and warning that the night would soon be painting the heavens a uniform black. Rebecca watched the setting sun with a sense of devotion as it made its escape from the sky, exchanging silent promises with it that they would be together again the following day. The mountains lay slumbering as the departing light blanketed them in deep purple. A few clouds filled with grey and white down scudded past as if trying to escape the approaching blackness. The birds sang a victorious anthem for Rebecca, urging her on, while the river blushed with reflected, fading sunlight, as if in embarrassment at having been defeated by the young Orizon.
As the birds swooped down to take their last sips of water for the day, they bade Rebecca farewell, congratulating her once again on her victory before flying into the trees to give their last concert of the day before going to sleep. They would try to dream of God - to ask Him if they had done their duty that day, too, and if He was happy with them.
Guided by her map once more, Rebecca turned away from the water’s edge and entered a dense part of the forest filled with enormous trees of a species she had never encountered before. Their soft trunks were green with moss and they were shaped like huge umbrellas. She wondered if this might be the area where the dinosaurs roamed. There was certainly room for them beneath the high canopy and the ends of some of the long branches reached low enough - sometimes almost touching the ground - for herbivorous creatures to graze comfortably.
&nb
sp; She was the first to reach the meeting point and night had already fallen. The same large trees and thick vegetation surrounded the spot where they would be spending the night. Soon, the other girls arrived, bubbling with excitement and talking about the adventures they had encountered along the way.
Their programme instructed them to choose sleeping plots that were neither too close together nor too far apart. Having selected their spots and left their equipment, they gathered again to talk. They were proud of what they had achieved and exhausted by their efforts.
“Ha! We beat the boys!” Samantha said proudly.
“The War Games must have worn them out!” Rebecca laughed.
“So, should we get some sleep, or what?” asked Samantha.
“Well, yes, but it’s so dark - it’s creepy,” said Tamina.
Laughing a little nervously, the girls pulled out sleeping bags and set up lamps, creating more shadows and casting an eerie light over the trees.
“I know it’s crazy,” Tamina said, “but I feel like I’m being watched.”
“Yeah - it’s us! Hot on your tail!” Bill shouted, jumping out from behind a tree.
The girls laughed to cover their embarrassment as the Orizon boys clattered into the clearing, joking and laughing.
“So, you finally made it,” Samantha said, looking at Bill.
“You wouldn’t go to Lord Life without us now, would you?” Bill asked mischievously. The other boys made noises that caused Samantha to blush and Bill to move away.
“Well,” Sergei said, “whatever. I’m whacked out!”
“Yes,” Rebecca agreed, “let’s sleep, otherwise we won’t be going anywhere fast.”
Just as the boys were pulling out their sleeping bags, the normal nighttime sounds of the forest were drowned in an ocean of hideous screams. The startled young Orizons drew their swords and prepared to defend themselves, staring out into the darkness and trying to ascertain where the attack was coming from.