by Peter Last
“We are not called to decide which people to tell and which not to tell,” Lemin said. “Our duty is to tell all people, and the result is left to Elohim. If we die, at least we have died in His service, and there is no nobler cause to give your life for than that.”
“But do they deserve to be told about Elohim?” Josiah asked. “They had their chance and turned their backs on Him. Hasn’t He turned His back on them as well? Shouldn’t we treat them as His enemies?”
“Think about this country, Josiah,” Lemin said. “How many of its people still follow Elohim? They have had their chance and turned their backs on Him as well. Are they so much different than the dwarves?”
“No, I guess not,” Josiah conceded finally.
“Then you have your answer,” Lemin said. “There are people of every race and nation who are sinners and do not follow Elohim. Their heritage or the location of their home does not make them any different than anyone else in this world. Elohim created the whole world, and that is the extent of our mission. Not until the whole world has been told about Him is our job finished.”
Josiah and Petra nodded and got to their feet. With absentminded thanks, they turned and headed out of the library. Lemin smiled and retrieved his scroll from where he had placed it. He had given them a lot to think about, but he was sure they would consider it and arrive at the correct conclusion when their thoughts had run their course.
******
The next few days were a blur to Josiah. Saddun was filled past its limit with people from every corner of the country. Politicians from all three counties, as well as many retired and active military personnel, filled every building in the city to overflowing. In fact, there were so many extra mouths to feed that even with food being brought into the city every day there was still a shortage. This problem was solved by feeding the guests as much as they wanted and leaving the rest for the army and other normal inhabitants of the city. There was never enough food to go around, which Josiah found ironic.
“Apparently,” he grumbled to Cirro, “the proper thing to do is congratulate soldiers on how they have heroically saved the country from invasion and at the same time not feed them enough.”
“It’s probably for the best,” Cirro pointed out. “If the politicians find out what it’s like to be short on food, as we often are, they might become disillusioned.”
“Or make sure we have more food,” Josiah countered. Cirro laughed so long and hard that Josiah decided to let the issue go.
Hundreds of additional workmen were also brought to the city to repair its damaged buildings and its wall. They also helped to prepare the city for the fabulous ceremony in which the victorious army was going to be recognized as national heroes. Professional chefs were brought to the city for the occasion, freeing the normal mess hall staff from their duties. During this time, the soldiers and other occupants of the city found that the best way to stay out from under foot of the workmen was often to leave the city altogether. Josiah, Senndra, Cirro, Rita, Petra, Timothy, Vladimir, and Lydia spent a great deal of time hiking in the mountains that surrounded the city. The young people were often accompanied by Lemin, who possessed an incredible amount of knowledge concerning the mountains and the animals that made their homes in them. The elf’s appearance had changed greatly since his arrival at Saddun. Whether he did not have access to a razor or simply chose not to use one was unknown; however, his facial hair grew unchecked, at least for the moment.
It was during these relatively carefree days that Josiah really had a chance to get to know the cadets from the academy in Belvárd. Although Timothy and Vladimir were often found together, they had practically nothing in common. Timothy was a very outgoing young man, whereas Vladimir was rather shy. While Timothy was always willing to participate in a conversation with other people, or at the very least put in his two cents, Vladimir was more reserved and would not usually join in unless he held a very strong belief on the subject being discussed. Since Vladimir did not talk a whole lot, when he did speak everyone listened. What he said was always well thought out and wielded a fair amount of influence.
Both Timothy and Vladimir were open to the idea of playing games like chess, but here again they were very different. Both had excellent minds, with Timothy being the more impulsive of the two. Often times, Josiah was able to bait Timothy into making mistakes. But he found that this was not an option with Vladimir, who carefully thought through each move before he made it and was often the winner in contests of the mind. However, his tentative mindset hindered him in physical competitions. While he was not a bad swordsman, he was much more cautious and defensive than Timothy. And since battles cannot be won solely by defense, no matter how good it is, he was not victorious very often. Another difference between the two boys was that Timothy was a man of action and preferred getting physical, while Vladimir would much prefer to read than debate. Despite all of these differences, the boys were still best friends and were very hard to separate.
In contrast to the many differences between the boys, Senndra and Rita were very similar in most aspects. Both girls enjoyed reading and could spend hours at a time devouring books and scrolls. As a result, both had sharp minds and excelled in debates and other contests of the mind. They were also very accomplished with the sword, Senndra particularly so, though it was very obvious that Timothy’s near defeat by her had been more her good luck than her equality with him concerning sword-fighting skill. Finally, both girls loved nature and enjoyed to hike through the mountains that surrounded Saddun.
It was because of the hiking that one day Josiah found himself high on the slopes of the mountains of the Apathy range. He stopped and looked back at the city, which they had left early that morning. From this distance, the ruined state of the city was not evident. The wall had been the first thing to be repaired, and it could hardly be discerned where the destroyed section had stood. Even the buildings that had been damaged in the fire that broke out during the fighting had been repaired and repainted, and there was new construction occurring in the middle of the city where the ceremony to honor the soldiers was to take place. Workers looked like ants as they scurried around this area.
“Are you coming, Josiah?” Senndra called from further up the mountain. Josiah turned from the city and climbed up the slope to where she stood. Ahead of her, the other cadets and Lemin were still climbing.
“It’s a beautiful view from up here,” Josiah commented as he and Senndra resumed the climb. “Is this anything like the view from a dragon’s back?” he asked a moment later.
“Well, if you forget that you are standing on a mountain and not riding on a dragon…” Senndra began. Josiah waited for her to finish the sentence.
“No, this is nothing like a dragon,” Senndra finally finished. She looked sideways at Josiah and continued. “Dragons normally fly much higher than we are, so the earth appears much smaller. Everything is so small that you can hardly distinguish the people from other features. The sun glints off the rivers as they wind across the ground and finally empty into the sea. You’re so high and the earth moves beneath you so slowly that, if it weren’t for the wind rushing past at incredible speeds, you can forget that you’re moving at all. It’s just…incredible,” Senndra finished and looked at Josiah. She got the feeling that he had no idea what she was talking about.
The two young people caught up to Lemin and the others, who had stopped to rest on an outcropping of rock. Below them, the mountains sloped down to the plain outside of Magessa. From their vantage point, the dwarf fortress, Mt. Nebal, was just a peak rising out of the desert. The Pelé River passed very close to it and extended through a pass in the Apathy Range and out of sight. The Apathy Mountains extended indefinitely to the east and west, with the city of Saddun filling the only visible gap in the range. From the height that Lemin and the young people were, the city looked like an anthill with barely visible humans scurrying around it.
As they were admiring the view, Timothy made a motion to the eas
t. When the others followed the direction of his outstretched hand, they could barely make out a winding line making its way toward the city.
“What is that?” Rita asked. “Surely the dwarves can’t have scraped together another army this quickly.”
“No, it is not dwarves,” Lemin answered. “Nor is it even an army of our enemies. What you see now is the army from the elfin nations to the east. They have traveled as quickly as possible, but even they are restrained by distance and fatigue and are just now arriving.”
“That is the elfin army from the forest across the mountains?” Josiah asked. A look of astonishment covered his face. “How many soldiers are there?”
“I would estimate somewhere between thirty and forty thousand troops,” Vladimir spoke up. “Of course, at this distance, it is hard to be certain.”
“If they were able to get that many troops here in just a few days, the size of their full army must be staggering,” Cirro commented.
“It is not as large as you think,” Lemin corrected. “Elves are quick to organize themselves, so what you see before you is probably around a third of their full strength. What makes them such valuable warriors is not their numbers, but the fact that all of them can use magic to a certain degree, and about ten percent of them can use it proficiently. In the army that is approaching Saddun, there are more than likely between three and four thousand powerful magicians who could have defeated the dwarf army by themselves.”
“You’re being serious?” Cirro asked. When Lemin nodded, he continued, “Then why don’t the elves gather their forces and crush Molkekk?”
“The magic of the elves may be strong, but the divination of Molkekk is even stronger,” Lemin answered. “Though the whole power of the elves, ogres, and humans attacked the cursed city, it is doubtful whether they would succeed in destroying it. Of course, you must understand that the rifts between the nations are great. It is unlikely that they would be put aside, even for the purpose of destroying Molkekk.”
“If Molkekk is actually that powerful, are you saying that it isn’t possible to destroy him?” Timothy asked. “I thought you said before that with Elohim anything is possible. If that is true, and magicians use the power of Elohim, how is it that they are not powerful enough to overcome him?”
“You are correct; I have said that with Elohim anything is possible,” Lemin answered. “However, I still believe that all of the magicians combined may not be able to overcome Molkekk. This is not as contradictory as it may seem, and there is a rather simple explanation. Magicians do use the power of Elohim; however, this power is limited by their experience, and more importantly by their faith. I have seen the most awesome works done by new magicians who had great faith. As they grew older, however, they grew more cynical and were not able to perform as many great works.”
“Then there is no hope for the defeat of the enemy,” Timothy said. “If all of the magicians of the elves, ogres, and humans put together cannot defeat him, then there is no way to stand against him.”
“First of all, I only said that victory would be doubtful; I did not say that it would be impossible,” Lemin corrected. “Second, Elohim can choose whoever He wishes to defeat His enemies, and when He decides that Molkekk’s time has run its course, He will raise up someone who can defeat him. Finally, it does not matter whether or not we can successfully defy Molkekk; Elohim simply asks that we stand against His enemies. And if we do that to the best of our abilities, there is nothing more that we can do, and He is pleased with us no matter the outcome.”
“So you are saying that our ability to overcome the enemies of Elohim does not enter into the equation?” Senndra asked. “As long as we fight for Him and to the best of our abilities, He will be pleased?”
“That is correct,” Lemin answered. “The act of obedience, not our success, is the only thing that matters.”
“Well that certainly makes it easier to be brave,” Josiah said. “Since Elohim is pleased with us as long as we are doing what He wants us to do, the outcome is only of secondary importance. That means we can do what needs to be done without worrying about what other people think about us or whether or not we will succeed.”
“Correct,” Lemin agreed. “But enough of this heavy handed talk. The reason that we came up here was to enjoy the exercise and fresh air.”
“And we have,” Petra said. “Can you keep going, sir, or has your age finally caught up to you?”
Petra had shown a humorous side of late, and Lemin appreciated it. It was amazing how different people were when they were not fighting for their lives.
“I do think that I’ll take a while to rest,” Lemin said with a twinkle in his eye. “Don’t let me slow you down, though. Go off and play patty cake or whatever you young people find fun.”
The young people ran off laughing leaving Timothy and Senndra alone with Lemin. The cadets looked at their instructor, but he ignored them as he lay back on the ground and closed his eyes.
“Should we join them?” Timothy asked as he watched his friends romp together.
“I’m not really in the mood,” Senndra answered. “Do you want to walk?”
“I guess,” Timothy answered.
Senndra sighed inwardly as they began to stroll. Ever since facing Timothy in the sword fight competition she had begun to develop feelings for him. At first it had just been friendship, but it had quickly turned into something more. Besides being attractive, he was also strong, kind, and intelligent. He had even shown interest in her several times over the last few days, but whenever she thought he was indicating something more than friendship, he would say something to make her wonder again. ‘I guess’ wasn’t exactly something that set her heart fluttering. Senndra was so deep in thought that she almost missed Timothy’s question.
“Josiah’s fine,” she answered. “You probably know him better than I do, though.”
“Really?” Timothy asked, surprised. “I thought you might be interested in him, you know, romantically.”
“Not by a long shot,” Senndra said.
“Well, that’s good to know,” Timothy said. “Is there someone else or is everyone too scared of the dragon riding woman who can kick their butt in a sword fight?”
“Scared, probably,” Senndra answered with a smile. “I guess they’re just afraid that I can keep them in line.”
"You're blowing my mind right now," Timothy said. "As pretty and talented as you are, I thought you would have a hundred guys after you."
"Nope, I'm as free as a bird," Senndra said. What did it take for this guy to get a clue? "I'm not interested in anyone which means I'm free if someone was interested and just hasn't said anything yet."
"Well, that's too bad," Timothy said. "Some guy is really missing out. Hopefully he'll catch on one of these days."
Senndra wanted to scream, but just smiled as they continued to walk. Timothy changed the subject, but she couldn't forget it. Was he interested in her or not? All of the questions about her romantic involvement would suggest that he was, but then he had just blown the whole thing off. Was he actually too scared to express interest? That seemed unlikely; after all, this was Timothy, the fearless magician. Was it possible that he had simply not noticed her interest? That was practically impossible, she decided. With as obvious as she had been, it would take an idiot not to notice. He was confusing, frustrating, and impossible to figure out.
Though she tried not to show it, the thoughts kept bothering Senndra for the rest of the day. All of the way back to the city, through dinner, and even as she climbed into her bed, she kept wondering: What is going on behind Timothy's inscrutable, red eyes?
******
It was well past noon the next day, and Josiah was glad to break formation and watch his men disperse. He had lost more than half of his men in the battle with the dwarves, but in his mind, the ones that remained were the best of the best. They had just stood in formation for two hours through an extremely boring ceremony in which the soldiers that fought agai
nst the dwarves were praised for their valor. Josiah found all of the formalities to be extremely dull, especially since they took place under the blazing midday sun. He also had to struggle to hold his tongue when the elders of Gatlon took credit for sending the reinforcements to Saddun. They all wore the silver cross of Elohim and couldn't appear more patriotic.
The ceremony finally ended and all that remained was a feast to celebrate the victory. Then perhaps life could get back to normal. Josiah saw that workmen were already beginning to set up tables all over the drill field for the feast. He got out of the way and allowed the men to do their job. In next to no time, the task was completed and people began to quickly fill the tables. Looking at the mass of bodies occupying the field, Josiah was seriously considering the idea of leaving and not attending the feast; however, he decided to stay for two reasons. The first was that this was going to be the only dinner that he would receive that day. The second reason was that just as he was deciding what to do, an elder of Gatlon captured his attention.
“Commander,” the old man began, “though it was not recognized in the ceremony, we have heard that it was your leadership that facilitated the survival of the army when it was attacked by the dwarves.”
“Thank you for the recognition,” Josiah said and bowed slightly in respect for the man. “However, I only did what was my duty.”
“No, you went beyond the call of duty,” the man said. “What you did was a great accomplishment. In fact, you are the hero of the entire war, and I would like to personally invite you to share the table of the council.”
“Sir, the offer is very generous,” Josiah said trying to make himself sound sincere. “However, considering the circumstances of the invitation, I don’t think that I deserve this honor.”
“Nonsense,” the elder said. “You shall dine with us today.”
At those words, Josiah’s mood dropped considerably, though he did not let it show on his face. Had he chosen to remain at the feast, he would have much rather spent it in the company of his own men, where loud talking and joking would be accepted. Instead, he found himself at the table of the elders of Gatlon, where the conversation threatened to be dull and full of formalities. With a sigh, he followed the elder toward an area where several tables were set up on a platform. After all, how could he turn down an elder, especially when they seemed to think that their invitation was very generous? Josiah stepped up onto the platform and was directed to a seat at the far left of the table. He sat down and watched as servants brought out hundreds of dishes and placed them on the table. He was completely famished, but rather than immediately start to eat, he watched the people at the tables around him to see how he was supposed to eat politely. He carefully mimicked the motions of the man that sat beside him, even to the detail of where he placed his cup when he was not drinking out of it. To make matters worse, the man sitting beside him felt that it was his duty to ask the most pointless and dull questions of Josiah, and of course Josiah felt obligated to answer them. He sat at the table like that for close to an hour, trying to eat in a polite way, but knowing that he was failing miserably.