The Year of the Lumin

by Andrew Ryan Henke

  Grandel had quickly become adept at finding food for Isis. He had learned that she would eat anything and everything he could find and still desire more. Sometimes a quick image would come through the link of a specific thing that she wanted. Small frogs, baby rodents, and bird eggs were not easy to come by, but he found them or things as similar as possible none-the-less. The simple act of caring for the animal somehow made Grandel feel free.

  Grandel hefted the cloth sling that he hid underneath his cloak to house the young animal and descended down the other side of the hill to where the new town of Talik was supposed to be. He was only a couple miles away, but he could see no sign of the town. As he had taught them, the residents were being careful about structure placement and hiding cooking smoke trails during the day to conceal their location.

  Grandel was anxious to see Luxin Adeel again. He always felt confident and comfortable around her. She was always a friendly ear to confide in when his plans did not go perfectly, or just someone to laugh with when everything around him felt so dangerous and dire. Grandel caught himself smiling pleasantly. Isis chirped and cooed happily in response to his emotions.

  The bushes were sparse on the hills leading to the folded cliff walls, but they were enough for the well-trained scouts of Talik to hide. If protocol had not changed since he was captain, scouts were to patrol the area around town in a circular perimeter at a distance not more than a five minute sprint away.

  Within a few minutes, Grandel was proud when he saw two scouts stand up from behind a bush in leather hawk armor with bows drawn. He recognized them immediately. Heast and Illaus had joined Talik from Tier around two years prior. He knew them and their families well. He painfully remembered that Heast’s wife and son had been killed in the destruction of the first Talik.

  Grandel smiled and called out to them, “Heast! Illaus! Hello friends. It is I, Grandel. I have returned from—“

  “Do not come closer!” Illaus yelled at Grandel with a slightly uneasy waver to his tone. “Stay where you are!”

  A feeling of fear came from Isis at his side. Grandel tried to send comforting feelings through the connection as he said to the two, “Do you have a luxsyedin? I am not sye controlled, but scan me nonetheless.”

  The two scouts looked at each other with confusion. They said a few hushed words that Grandel would not normally have been able to hear, but through his connection with Isis, their words came through amplified. It was not the first time that she had done this for him. When he hunted for her food, she had helped with her enhanced hearing many times.

  Illaus whispered, “There is some trickery here.”

  “This can’t be him. This doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Should we take him back to town?”

  “We can’t. We don’t know what’s going on here. What if…”

  Illaus interrupted, “We can’t just leave him here. And we can’t leave him guarded by only one of us.”

  “Let’s bind him and take him back. This is out of our league. We have to tell Grandel.”

  As the two turned their attention back to Grandel, he worried most about the last sentence. It didn’t make any sense. Heast said to Grandel, “Put your arms behind your back and don’t try anything strange or—“

  Grandel completed his sentence, “Or Illaus will put an arrow in me. I know the protocol; I was the one who taught you it. What’s going on here?”

  “Just put your hands behind your back so I can bind your hands and cover your eyes.”

  Grandel did as the guard asked but said, “Heast, Illaus. I know you know me. You served with me for years. What is this about?”

  Heast looked at Grandel with confusion as he walked around behind him. “Do not ask questions,” he said. “Just do what we ask and we will figure this out when we get back.”

  As Heast bound his hands and prepared the blindfold, Grandel’s mind reeled, trying to figure out what could be happening. Were they being sye controlled by someone? That couldn't be. Their actions were too genuinely confused. Had there been a change of heart in the town about Grandel? Had they decided that he was unwelcome since he could not prevent the destruction of the first Talik? That seemed more likely. But Heast's statement about going back to tell Grandel stood out in his mind like a beacon. He felt that was the key somehow.

  The two had not noticed the cloth slung at his side beneath his cloak, so through the link between him and Isis, Grandel was able to listen in when the two whispered to each other. He tried to interpret what the two said to each other as he stumbled over hidden rocks and bushes, but everything they said was in riddles.

  After a few minutes, Grandel heard the familiar sounds of a town finishing their work for the day. Grandel felt a hand on his chest to stop him from walking, then he heard Illaus a few feet away say in a whisper not meant for his ears, “We need to bring this guy to Captain Grandel, but with how he looks, we can't just walk him through town.”

  “I was thinking much the same,” Heast replied. “I'll empty my things here and come back for them later. We can use the sack to cover his head.”

  Grandel heard a clatter of things being dropped onto the ground. Then a moment later, Heast said, “I'm sorry, sir. We cannot allow your face to be seen in town.” Then Grandel felt cloth being quickly pulled over his head. It reached down to his elbows snugly.

  Grandel barely controlled the anger in his voice. “What are you doing with me? Where are you taking me? I demand an answer!”

  As Grandel expected, neither man responded. They were trained to not tell more than they had to. It did not matter. If he was going to be walked through town, another plan was forming in his mind.

  A nudge from behind spurred Grandel onward toward the sounds. The familiar clang of metal on metal came to Grandel and he thought about Gonn, the town's blacksmith. He also heard other voices that he recognized as he was walked through town. Surely his people would recognize him if he could show them his face, or at least his voice.

  He knew Illaus and Heast would be on fierce guard with him walking through town, and he knew he would have steel through his gut if he did too much. So Grandel simply stopped in his tracks and called out in as loud a voice as he could, “I am Grandel of Talik, your captain for years. Whatever trickery is abound here, know that I have returned to--”

  Heast bludgeoned his prisoner with the hilt of his sword and Grandel fell to the ground limply.

  ~~~

  Grandel coughed and tried to open his eyes. The area around him was lit dimly, but he could not make anything out past the black flickering specks floating around his vision. His tongue felt numb and the metallic taste of blood lingered in his mouth. Then he noticed the absence of Isis's consciousness amongst his own. He panicked and searched out for her. He did not understand how, but he searched via the threads that still connected them. A small longing response greeted him. She seemed frightened and confused, but safe.

  Grandel lifted his head slowly but replaced it when a sharp pain shot from the base of his skull. The guards had incapacitated him to perfection just as he had taught them.

  The sounds of voices nearby came to him and Grandel struggled through the pain to make sense of what was said. “Thank you, Illaus. Nothing else is required of you.”

  He heard Illaus respond with restrained frustration in his voice. “Captain Grandel, sir. Please tell me what comes of this. The resemblance is... shocking.”

  Captain Grandel? Who was Illaus talking to? “I will, Illaus. Thank you for your service.” Grandel thought his mind was playing tricks on him, but the voice sounded almost exactly like his own. “Stand guard outside. Life without freedom is death.” He had said those words thousands of times. The tone inflection was not that of his own and sounded vaguely familiar.

  Illaus repeated the creed of Talik, “Life without freedom is death.” Then his boots made soft shuffling sounds as he exited the room.

  Grandel strained again to see the room around him. His vision cleared enough to see
a set of boots approaching him. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his chest and Grandel gasped as one of his ribs snapped and pierced into his left lung.

  “So stupid!” a voice said above him. “Or maybe smart, depending on how you look at it. Welcome home, General Grandel. Grandel the Merciless!”

  Kit. Violent anger bubbled up from Grandel's core as he realized the situation.

  Kit must have noticed the twisting of Grandel's face. “Are you angry?” he mocked. “Oh, if you only knew.”

  Grandel spat out hatred with every word. “I'll kill you if you do anything to this town, Kit! Our past is between us, not these people!”

  “Blah, blah, blah. Screeches from a wounded hawk lost of its ability to fly. I don't want to hurt these people. They are now my people. Your glory is my glory, Grandel.”

  “What drivel do you speak of?”

  Kit laughed and knelt down close to Grandel. For the first time, Grandel saw that Kit's face was a perfect likeness of his own. “Oh, now interested, are we? I am now you. Everything you have worked for is now mine. And you know the best part? I am a better leader of these people than you ever were! I witnessed all of your pathetic efforts to run this town for years. I saw the wrongs you did and heard the complaints of the people about you. I am better than you, Grandel, and it's beautiful.”

  Grandel ignored the pain creeping through his entire body and lashed out at the kneeling visage of himself. He connected with a wall of hardened air and was rewarded only with a gleeful laugh. “You have nothing to harm me with and I have everything to harm you with.” Kit stood up from where he knelt and drew out a spiked ball and chain from his belt. “My good sir, I am so glad you came back.” He raised it behind his head and looked down at Grandel. “I have more glorious plans for you other than simply killing you now. But I can't resist entirely.” Then the ball swung up in a large arc and came down on Grandel's legs. Grandel felt his lower left leg crushed and the bone snap. He started to cry out in pain but hardened air in his lungs prevented it. Three more blows came in nearly the same spot, crushing the limb to pieces. Grandel could feel Isis panicking. He tried desperately to send images of her staying back. Keep hidden. Keep safe.

  Kit said with a smirk, “Oh, that looks bad. Does it hurt? I'm glad we have a Luxin around to heal you up.” Grandel was held in place by hardened air as Kit hastily healed his broken leg. He felt the pieces slowly grow back together. He also healed the broken rib that he had kicked in. Grandel had been healed many times by Adeel, Kit, and other Luxins in his past, but Kit did not do it with the usual delicacy. The pieces snapped back into place and were sealed roughly.

  Kit stood up and Grandel's leg was back to its original form, though it felt less sturdy and rearranged. Then it happened again. Kit wailed on Grandel's legs with a horrifying ferocity. They were crushed beyond regard and Grandel nearly passed out from the pain. Then, Kit hastily healed the broken pieces together again, though Grandel could tell the seal on his bones would not be strong enough to walk on.

  “Enough playing around. I need to save some chakra for the main show.”

  Kit held out his hand toward Grandel and he felt his skin slowly tingle. Then, the skin started to move. All over his body, flesh moved and soon excruciating pain enveloped him all over as bones and muscles changed shape. Noir had described the process that Kit had gone through to change his appearance to that of Noir's, but they had not experienced it themselves to know the unforgettable pain that came with it.

  For minutes, Grandel felt his body slowly change and morph. The controlled air in his lungs allowed for only slight breathing. Finally, Kit stopped and studied what he had done. “Perfect. An exact likeness of Illaus. Just one final touch so you can't tell anyone about this in your cell.” Kit raised his boot and stomped on Grandel's jaw as hard as he could. His jaw snapped and fell to the side. The pain was overwhelming. Grandel screamed internally. Tears and blood fell to the dirt floor making it clump in dark circles.

  “Unfortunately, I need to dispose of the real Illaus now. He attacked me in a fit of rage after I, the great Captain Grandel, found out he was the cause for the previous Talik's location being discovered. Thus, I had to have him thrown in jail. The whole town will not be able to contain their anger toward him, I mean you.” He laughed deep in his throat.

  Kit walked to the door of the clay room and called for Illaus. Within a few moments, he appeared in the door and bowed. When he stood back up, he looked over to where Grandel lay and saw himself with a broken jaw. When he looked back at who he thought was Grandel, he was suddenly frozen with hardened air. Kit spoke without attempting to disguise his voice as he drew out his flail. “Do not be sad. One life lost for the cause is not a life lost at all.” Kit brought his flail to the side of Illaus's head.

  Chapter 37

  False Simplicity

  The three knights who had been released of their titles and armor stayed with the Syeters for the next day. They were scanned and questioned relentlessly. Mende and Keel, the two remaining Azurite Knights, had been stationed just inside the main hall doors. The servants of the tower had reported that all of the other former knights had left with their belongings. Many of the servants had agreed to have their minds connected to the sye circle until things were safer. That way, if anything happened in the rest of the tower, the Syeters would immediately know.

  Godo summoned Ratt, Noir, Steven, and Asiada that very next day. Apparently the tower’s social upheaval had not distracted Godo from his work. Ratt led the other three through the tower toward the enchanter’s workshop but did not speak.

  Steven was going on about how historic these events were when Noir interrupted him with something that had been on his mind. “Sorry to interrupt, Uncle, but I’ve been thinking. With all that has been happening, you never have told me what happened to you when we first arrived.”

  Steven brushed his blue hood back and looked at his nephew. “What do you mean?”

  “Grandel said you and Aimee were captured by bandits. What actually happened?”

  “Well, it doesn’t make for much of a story, really. I don’t remember most of it.”

  As Ratt led them down a curved marble staircase, Noir asked, “How could you not remember?”

  “Because I was blindfolded for the first couple days. I didn't fight because I didn't know what was going on. They walked, talked about things that I didn’t understand, and eventually led me to Aldine, a southern Chiron town. A merchant bought me and quickly put one of those slave collars on me. After that, I can remember tiny bits and pieces, but it’s mostly foggy.”

  Noir was astonished. “You had one of those things on?”

  Steven replied plainly, “For a while, yeah. Like I said, it was foggy and I don't remember it.”

  Noir looked at his uncle with surprise “How could you be so... whatever about it? Those things are awful.”

  Steven replied hurriedly, as if he was uncomfortable about the topic, “Well, it's just how things are here. I don't like it either.” He quickly continued on so Noir let it go. “Anyway, after all that, I ended up here. One of the Syeters apparently found out about me being strong with sye and purchased me from a slave trader in the capitol. After that, I studied and trained here with Jotunar and the others.”

  Noir gave a sad laugh, “Compared to what I went through, that’s a walk in the park.”

  Ratt stopped in front of one of the doors in the hall and turned to the others. “Man, he isn’t lying. But he’ll have to tell you about it some other time. We’re here.”

  The three spent the rest of the day crafting Ratt's armor. The process was complicated and frustrating. If one of the three made one tiny mistake in the weaving of their vigor, the delicate process would come crashing to a halt. Oddly, Asiada made almost no mistakes. She seemed to grasp the process quicker than Noir and even Steven. However, she seemed the most exhausted by the extended use of her chakra.

  During the procedure, Ratt was surprisingly not needed. Supposedly
he was vital for the physical crafting of the armor. His choices of how it would look and function were made in the days before the other three arrived.

  Noir noticed that while they worked on the armor, Ratt was not his normal, enthusiastic self. He seemed distant and irritable. It concerned Noir, but he could not spare much thought away from the work.

  By the end of the day, all were tired and hungry. They had completed the breastplate and one of the gauntlets when Asiada's complaining convinced them to retire to their quarters for the night.

  On their way back, Noir’s pace was slow. Noir longed to relax in his room, but dreaded the multiple flights of stairs between him and his floor. Thus, he tiredly drug his feet. Asiada was obviously impatient and grumpy. She wanted food and her bed, and Steven longed to be back with the sye circle. Therefore, she and Steven went on ahead.

  Ratt and Noir leisurely walked together through the tower. After a lull in their conversation, Noir brought up what had been bothering him for a large part of the day. “Is everything alright with you, Ratt?”

  He responded, “What do you mean? Why?”

  “You've just seemed distant and upset or something.”

  “Have I? I don't know why.” He smiled unconvincingly. “I'm fine. Nothing wrong here.”

  “Come on, what's going on? You're usually not like this.”

  Ratt sighed and looked at the ground for a moment. “Why are you all making this armor for me?”

  Noir was confused. “What do you mean? Remember what Jotunar said? He wants you to be prepared so we can go search for Aimee.”

  Ratt looked up at a blue-robed Syeter walking past and waited silently until he was gone before saying, “Yeah, I know. But what I mean is...” he paused as if searching for the correct words. “Why me? Why should I go with you to Tier?”

  Noir interrupted, “Who said Tier? We're not sure where she is.”

  Ratt continued as if he did not hear. “All of you are making this powerful armor for me... and I'm just me. Just some guy. You know?”