The Wars Within (Servant of Light Book 1)

by Jeremy Finn

  “Well, no,” James admitted, “but I guess sometimes weird things happened and I just kind of explained them away somehow.”

  “That is half your answer,” Arcturas explained. “Part of the reason people do not notice the war is the work of the Dark in influencing their minds and whispering lies in their ears. The rest is purely a subconscious or often conscious decision not to believe what they are seeing or to reason it away somehow. The Dark uses tools to occupy and destroy men. Most often it is fear or greed. Both lead to anger, which leads to hate and eventually violence. They whisper fear and greed in men’s’ ears and revel in the murder and cruelty that springs from these roots.

  The conversation carried on for a little while without anything more of much importance being said and James asked to retire shortly after finishing his satisfying meal. Arcturas laid out a thick pad in a room open to the garden and James fell quickly asleep as he gazed out at the colorful lanterns swaying in the cool night breeze frolicking in the peaceful garden.

  When he woke, it felt as if he had slept for half a day. He was regenerated and relaxed. As he sat up in his blankets, though, he saw the garden was still shrouded in darkness. Little seemed to have changed since he fell asleep. Perhaps he had only been asleep for a short time. Then, he noticed a delightful smell on the breeze and followed it to a tray of food laid beside his bed. A bowl of rice and a bowl of soup were surrounded by small dishes of pickled vegetables, spicy condiments, and a little pile of grilled beef ribs. As he pulled the tray to his lap, he was amazed to find the food was still hot and steaming. He looked all around and could not see any sign of Arcturas. The screens separating the rooms in the little house were open, so he could see the Malakin was not in the house. The garden was empty as well, but James could not quite see to the wall on the farthest end. With a mixture of guilt and enjoyment, he devoured the delicious meal without the company of his host. After finishing, he rose and searched for a sink or something where he could wash the dishes. When he failed to find one, he walked to the porch and called out into the garden for Arcturas. For a moment, nothing happened. Then suddenly the air to his immediate right shimmered and he felt an unmistakable presence – one which he now knew had been there in the back of his head since he woke, but which he had subconsciously dismissed. Arcturas stood just a meter away from him. The unexpected manifestation caused James to drop the tray, but Arcturas moved with lightning speed and caught it before it hit the floor.

  “I see you slept well,” he observed.

  “Well, it feels like it, but by the looks of things, I couldn’t have slept more than a couple hours.”

  “Actually, according to the time standards outside, you slept over twelve hours,” Arcturas corrected. “But don’t worry,” he said as he saw the expression of concern on James’ face. “Remember this place does not abide by such rules. So, now that you are rested and fed, let us begin with training.”

  “What? Right now?” James questioned.

  Arcturas looked surprised, “Of course. If you are not sleeping or eating, you will be training. There is an important task before you.”

  “Right,” James acknowledged, “but I still don’t think this is something I can do. Why can’t you take care of this? You could just appear in the guy’s office, scare him to death and then tell him not to sign the treaty with Joshin.”

  “No,” Arcturas replied patiently, “that is not possible. First of all, Malakin are rarely able to appear to men who are not servants. Additionally, though I am the Mishrathin of Haniang, I have very little power outside this refuge.”

  “What do you mean by the Mishrathin of Haniang and why don’t you have any power,” James queried.

  “Mishrathin are the princes of the cities in this world. We are the guardians charged with promoting the Light and peace within the centers of human civilization. However, there are dark princes as well called Shedhin They strive to unravel the order in their cities and fill the land with darkness and violence. As you have probably noticed by observation, most cities in this age have fallen more to the dark princes. The greater a dark prince’s power and influence become in a city, the weaker the Mishrathin becomes. This city is falling to the Darkness. Hanasan Hold was the last remaining stronghold of the Light here. There are other lesser centers, but they will fall soon with the collapse of Hanasan. My power has been diminished so far that I cannot do much more than travel and observe in my own city.”

  “So that’s why the mission falls to me,” James concluded. “Before we start training, though, can you explain to me why I have to convince this politician not to sign the treaty? Why is there such a problem between Joshin and Shinla?”

  “The history is a long, complicated matter,” Arcturas began, “and many see it from different angles. I will attempt a basic explanation. Joshin and Shinla were once a single country called Tongil. It was a united country for over a millennium. Not long ago, there was a conflagration of the Light in this land that had long been held by the Dark. In fact, it became the center of the Light in this part of the world and its capital city of Pungyan served as the seat of authority and training for the Light. Then, the Darkness lashed out against the Light. There is a country across the sea, Toguya, whose populace was consumed by the dark ones. They came to Tongil under the guise of partners and allies. They slowly rooted themselves in Tongil through relationships and business ties. Then, they slowly began to wrest power from the people here. Through trickery and political intrigue, they rose to power and cemented it with a military occupation. Most of the country fell without much violence since it had already been undermined from within. In Pungyan, though, the Nefarin associated with the Toguyans went on a wild rampage destroying the academies and training halls of the Light and murdering countless servants and local inhabitants. Men from your nationality died there as well, since they were the ones who sparked the advent of the Light in this land and many stayed to train the servants in Pungyan. To this day, only ruins exist in the hills surrounding Pungyan.”

  “But there are still servants here,” James interrupted. “The Light must have survived somehow.”

  “It always does, even under the harshest persecution,” Arcturas explained. “It will never be completely crushed as it is destined to overcome. But it did suffer a terrible blow at the hands of the Dark-allied Toguyans. For some time, they ruled through tyranny, then the servants from all the surrounding lands came out of hiding and rallied in a desperate attempt to repel the dark invaders from Toguya. The Light favored the smaller force. War raged for some time, but the people of Tongil had grown tired of dark oppression and hungered for the Light, thus bringing strength to the allied forces of the Light. The Toguyans retreated to their homeland and the remaining pockets of darkness in Tongil seemed on the verge of collapse. Unfortunately, on the eve of victory, a tragedy occurred. A large group of Tongilese who had benefited under the dark rule decided to flee to the north and establish a stronghold there. They would have been defeated nonetheless if not for the entrance of another force from abroad. Dark men from the west joined the dark Tongilese and fought bitterly to offset the power of the Light. The fighting dragged on, but eventually, both sides grew weary and a compromise was born. The north held by the Dark became Joshin while the south held by the Light became Shinla. Of course all of this occurred behind a mask of politics and conventional conflict that obscured the real battle being fought simultaneously in the realm of Light and Darkness. Over the years since then, the Dark has remained in control of Joshin while the Light in Shinla has steadily weakened. Many of us Malakin who have watched and participated in these events fear Tongil may be united once more, but under the power of the Dark. To the world, a united Tongil would seem a trivial power, but under the complete control of the Darkness it could influence the course of global history.”

  “Wow,” James exclaimed. “I always knew there was tension between the two countries, but now I understand the reasons.”

  “I don’t know why the woman y
ou spoke to urged you to dissuade the politician from signing the treaty, but it would not be surprising if there was foul play involved in the agreement,” Arcturas said. “So with your questions answered, are you ready to begin training?”

  “I guess so,” James conceded, “but where do we start?”

  No sooner had he finished the question than a flicker of movement at the edge of his vision caught his eye. He craned his neck around quickly to the location of the movement. On the far side of the garden, the woman who chased him here earlier had just leapt over the wall and landed inside the garden. James shot a panicked look at Arcturas but there was no time to speak, as the woman began running toward James. Her hand was reaching behind her back and closing around an invisible object there. James hesitated and the woman drew her black blade just steps away. He fumbled for his sword and managed to unsheathe it just in time to almost accidentally block a downward slash from the charging woman. The opposing blades clashed and slid apart. James staggered to the side and the woman’s momentum carried her past him. She turned quickly, though, and came at him again, this time raising her blade above her head. James brought his sword to bear with both hands on the hilt and the tip pointing toward the attacker in a defensive stance. He knew she was going to bring her blade down in a swing that would cleave his head in two, so he prepared to deflect her strike. As the dark blade arched straight down toward the top of his head, he drew his upward in an attempt to meet her blade before it met his skull. Just as he expected to hear the sound of colliding blades, the woman’s sword curved outwards in a crescent motion that brought her cut around his attempted deflection and toward his exposed torso. James had brought his blade high in defense, and was too overextended to react to the sudden shift in direction. He looked down and watched as the black, liquid blade slid effortlessly into his rib cage. The sudden jolt was unlike anything he ever experienced. There was a sharp pain that spread through his side and into his spine like a bolt of lightning then suddenly disappeared. His arms still held above his head, James saw the woman suddenly evaporate into the air, and the searing tear in his side was just a strong memory.

  For a moment there was silence, then Arcturas spoke, “At least you did something. I didn’t expect you to even react.”

  “So that was a test, then?” James asked though he was gasping for air.

  “It is the beginning of your training,” Arcturas replied.

  “Then I guess you are going to teach me what I should have done and then bring her back again for another go at it, right?” James guessed.

  “No,” Arcturas replied bluntly. “That would be an exercise in futility. You would continue to make the same mistakes.”

  “Then what do I need to do?” James queried. “What were my mistakes?”

  “You are concentrating too much on the fight.” the guardian began. “You are trying to predict your enemy’s moves and plan your reactions to those moves. Such unnecessary focus causes you to be rigid, doubtful, and overcommitted. As you planned to meet the woman’s overhead attack, your arms became rigid while you attempted to control your muscles absolutely in order to make just the right move at just the right time to deflect her blade. Also, although you thought you knew she was going to strike your head, there will always be doubt in the mind of one who predicts the moves of his enemy and places all his attention on that prediction. Your doubt caused some hesitation and further stiffened your body. Finally, once you conceive a plan of defense or attack in your mind, you will find yourself committing to it, regardless of hints or subtle movements from the enemy that might tell you the situation has changed. Thus you commit too far into a defense or attack to be able to alter your movement once it becomes obvious your opponent is not acting the way you expected. I am sure you know what I have said is true in your case.”

  James pondered Arcturas’ words for a moment and conceded, “Right, I suppose that is about what happened now that I think about it. How can I get around that, though? Do I need to learn some moves or practice reacting quickly to surprises?”

  “Learned movement is valuable, but worthless compared to understanding.” Arcturas explained. “As for reacting quickly, practice helps but is not the way to truly master the fight. When you enter a battle, you have very little at your disposal as a human that can stand against the powers of darkness. Your only hope in fighting such powers is to turn to the Light and allow it to guide you. Every servant is gifted with a rhema. It is the heart and soul of the Light endowed to those who choose to serve the Light. It is not just a powerful weapon, but a living entity that connects with your spirit if you allow it.”

  “So this is alive?” James asked as he lifted his rhema to examine it.

  “In a sense,” Arcturas replied. “Not in the way that you are alive, but it can commune with you and lead you. I believe that is why you are here. Your rhema led you here. Granted, you probably didn’t open yourself to its leading, but that does not mean it will not lead you in times of great distress. It will always serve you more effectively, though, if you consciously open yourself to its leading.”

  “Then this is how I should fight?” James asked skeptically. “By just giving up control of my body to this weapon?”

  “Not to that extent.” Arcturas corrected. “While you do allow the Light to guide you, you must still consciously make choices and be aware of what is going on around you. It is difficult to explain and is better to be experienced.”

  “So how can I experience it?” James questioned. “Should I try now?”

  Arcturas shook his head, “This will take contemplation and focus. I will leave you to dwell on what we have just discussed. Meditate on it and prepare yourself. Your next exercise will begin once you have reached a point in your understanding where you are ready to take the next step. I will leave you in peace.”

  Before James could object, the figure of light dissolved before his eyes, and he was alone in the dark garden once again. For a while, he sat by the edge of a little pond where large orange and white fish were drifting lazily through the still water. He ran over the guardian’s words again and again in his mind trying to make sure he understood all the points he made. When nothing happened for what seemed like several hours (he had no way of telling time since his watch stopped working after he landed in this timeless garden) he took a stroll around the grounds and explored the little house. After a meal of rice and a brown, tofu laden soup he had discovered steaming on a small stove in one of the rooms, James sat on the porch and set his mind on Arcturas’ words once more. Again, hours seemed to pass and not a thing had changed. The sky was just as black as it had been since he arrived and the only sound came from the continuous melody produced by crickets somewhere in the garden.

  Frustration came to a peak and James decided to call Arcturas back for help. After several calls, though, Arcturas had failed to materialize. Either he was away from the garden, or he was choosing to ignore his calls. James sat for a while longer. His mind was beginning to drift toward other thoughts, like what he was going to do without a job once this immediate crisis was over, or how his folks were doing back home since he had not called them in almost a month now. His thoughts even started to wander back toward Hyuk and his kind daughter. What were they doing now? Did they suffer any abuse as a result of helping him on his mission? As his thoughts continued along these lines and farther from his discussion with Arcturas, James’ eyes grew heavy and he soon slumped back against a wall and fell asleep.

  Sometime later, James woke with a chill from sleeping exposed. His back and neck were stiff and tight, and he groaned as he got slowly to his feet. For all he knew, he had been mulling over what Arcturas said for possibly an entire day now, and nothing was happening. He was getting quite frustrated and tried to walk it off with another stroll around the garden. When he reached the far end of the garden where the trees became thicker, he stopped and pulled out his rhema. The dazzling glow lit his face and cast a comforting light on the trees around him. He dropped down
onto his knees and held the shimmering blade before him with both hands. Closing his eyes, James felt for the blade with his mind and spoke aloud, “What am I supposed to do? Can’t you show me?”

  Nothing happened. With a sigh, he sheathed the shining blade and pondered returning to the house for another meal of rice and soup. Before he took a step toward the house, though, a thought struck him. He had been wandering around this garden forever and never thought about going back through the trees to see how far the garden stretched. Though there was nothing that would ordinarily be very intriguing about finding the far wall of a garden, James was extremely bored, and the idea was strangely exciting enough to overcome his hunger pains.

  With some little effort, he pushed aside the boughs blocking his passage deeper into the garden and progressed slowly onward. After a short while, he noticed the trees had become thick enough that he could not see the walls to the left or right any longer. Looking back, he could just make out the lights from the house and the lanterns dangling from the trees through the branches reaching out behind him. A little longer through the trees and James was wondering just how much land Arcturas occupied. Perhaps the whole time difference applied to space as well. A pale light fell on the ground before him and he looked up to see a full moon overhead. Funny, he thought, he had not noticed the moon before. This time, as he glanced back, the trees completely obscured the light from the front of the garden. The branches he pushed aside were more often pine boughs now, and the ground was carpeted in fallen pine needles. A sudden coolness touched his legs, and the ghostly beginnings of a light fog swirled around his feet as he strode through the odd garden.

  Then, without any warning, James pushed aside yet another pinecone-laden branch and found himself in a forest with large, branchless trees shooting straight into the darkness above. The ground was bare except for the carpet of pine needles covered with a blanket of fog about a meter deep. The full moon was not visible through the canopy above, but its pale light still seemed to infuse the misty air, which obstructed any attempt to see deeper into the forest in any direction. James stood in the middle of the eerie scene and wondered if he should run back in the direction from which he had come. There was obviously something more to this garden then he had thought. In fact, he did not even appear to be in the city any longer. The skyscrapers and lighted skyline visible over the walls of the garden were completely lost in the mist and towering trees. He glanced back over his shoulder, though, and saw the direction from which he had come was now identical to all other directions around him – dark and shrouded in flowing mist. In fact, the night air was circulating between the trees so unpredictably that he started imagining he was seeing movement. Fear began to emerge deep in his chest, and a sudden impulse caused him to draw his rhema.