From a Far Land

by G David Walker

  “Faster, faster,” he told himself, putting his head down and willing more speed from his aching legs.

  “Jason!”

  He jerked his head up at Lenai’s scream, just in time to see Bodann pull his sword from Jason’s body. No. Reyga looked at Lenai’s tortured face as she watched Jason sink to the ground.

  “Go,” he said, pushing her forward. “Go.”

  She squeezed his arm and then sprinted toward Jason’s still body.

  Bodann had mounted his horse and was riding hard toward the Plains, one hand held out in front of him. He rode at an angle from them, keeping as much distance as possible between him and the approaching warriors. Reyga saw Gatlor and Seerka stop. Gatlor grabbed his bow and pulled an arrow from the quiver. Bodann’s hand flared with dimsai. He turned and threw a bolt of power toward the two warriors. Then it seemed to Reyga like time slowed down.

  Gatlor sent an arrow streaking toward Bodann. Seerka leaped in front of Gatlor into the path of the dimsai blast. The power threw him backwards, knocking Gatlor down in the process. Bodann opened a portal out in front of his racing horse. Just as he reached it, he jerked in his saddle. The arrow had found its mark. Then Bodann was gone, and the portal disappeared.

  Reyga turned back and saw Calador and Lenai kneeling beside Jason. He stopped when he reached them, gasping for air.

  “Jason! Jason, can you hear me?” Lenai said. Blood covered her hands as she pressed them over the wound.

  A weak groan answered her. The knot in Reyga’s stomach eased slightly. At least he was still alive. For now. The blood spreading over the ground cried out that they needed to get him to a healer quickly. Not far away, a bundle of yellow feathers lay on the ground. Crin. He saw one of the wings move.

  “Calador, bring Jason,” he said. “We must get out of the Riftlands so I can open a portal back to the battlefield. Loremaster Seryn will be there.”

  Calador gently picked Jason up as Reyga walked over and scooped up the injured fortunewing. They half walked, half jogged toward the border of the Plains. They met Gatlor, who was carrying Seerka. Wisps of smoke still drifted up from the cat-man’s scorched leathers.

  “Gatlor?” Reyga said.

  “He took an attack meant for me.”

  “Will he live?” Calador asked.

  Gatlor shook his head. “Not much longer.” He said nothing more, but his eyes betrayed his feelings.

  “What happened?” Jason’s voice was a whisper.

  “Jason, you should save your strength,” Lenai said.

  “Tell me.”

  “Seerka has been injured,” Reyga said. “We must get you both to Loremaster Seryn.”

  “Let me see him.”

  “Jason, you are in no condition—”

  “Let me see him.”

  Reyga nodded to Gatlor, who carried Seerka over to where Jason could turn his head and see the Ferrin.

  Jason reached out a shaking hand and laid it on Seerka’s chest. He closed his eyes as his hand began to glow. Then his hand slid off, hanging limply from Calador’s grasp. Reyga hurried to check him. He was still breathing, but faintly. They had to hurry.

  A sudden gasp startled him. He looked over to see Seerka staring up at Gatlor.

  “What happened?” Seerka said. “Why are you carrying me?”

  Reyga could see that Gatlor was struggling to hold his emotions in check. “Because you decided to fall asleep in the middle of a battle,” Gatlor said. “I thought about leaving you out here, but knew I would never hear the end of it.”

  “Well,” Seerka said, looking around at the rest of them. “Do you think you might put me down? This is rather undignified.” As Gatlor put him on his feet, Seerka saw Jason in Calador’s arms. “Does he live?” he asked.

  “For the moment,” Reyga said, opening a portal. “We must find Loremaster Seryn immediately.”

  Then the small group stepped through the portal back to the battlefield.

  *****

  Jason opened his eyes to see a circle of faces looming over him. Seryn, Reyga, Lenai, and behind them, the three warriors.

  “What?” Then he remembered, and clutched at his wound. The pain was gone.

  Reyga smiled. “Bodann nearly killed you, but Seryn was able to heal your wounds.”

  He looked at Seryn. “You keep saving my life,” he said. “Thanks. I guess this is another one I owe you.”

  Seryn shook her head. “No, Jason, it is we who are in your debt. Your actions today saved thousands of lives. Any feelings of gratitude are ours.”

  “What about Bothan?”

  “He managed to escape,” Reyga said. “But not before Gatlor put an arrow into him.”

  “Is he dead?”

  “We do not know. For now, what is important is that his army is destroyed. Lore’s Haven and the people of Teleria are safe.”

  “And you live,” Lenai added.

  He closed his eyes. Yeah, everything was fine for now. But if Bothan was still alive, he would try again. He remembered the hate in his ancestor’s eyes. Hate that wasn’t just directed at him, but at the Circle as well. And there was still Regor. He might have had to sit out the final showdown, but that didn’t mean he was out of the picture for good.

  “Jason.”

  He grinned as he heard Crin’s voice in his head. Crin, are you okay? He looked up and saw the bird soaring overhead.

  “Yes. The Loremaster healed my injuries as well. I am pleased that you are well once more.”

  Do you know where Bothan went?

  “No.”

  So, he really had gotten away. If Gatlor’s arrow didn’t finish him, it would just be a matter of time before they heard from him again. He started to get up.

  “Jason, you should rest,” Seryn said. “You lost a great deal of blood.” But she didn’t make any other effort to stop him.

  “I’m okay,” he said. Lenai held his arm to steady him. When the world stopped spinning, he looked out over the battlefield. Bodies littered the earth, turning what had been dust into a blood soaked quagmire. Men and women from Lore’s Haven made their way through the fallen, looking for any others that were still alive. Here and there he could see people kneeling on the ground, mourning over a fallen friend. Many might have been saved, like Seryn said, but many had died as well.

  Looking at the mourners, his thoughts flashed back to the scene in the training yards. He knew how the ones out on the field felt. He wished there was something he could do to help them, but it was too late.

  But the body Chon left behind hadn’t been human. They still didn’t know what had happened to his dad. Didn’t know if he was alive or dead.

  He went over his time in this world. So much had happened in such a short time. The training with Nyala in Teleria’s past. His experience in the meeting of the Altered. Bothan’s attack on his father. His wild swings of emotion and confusion until Lenai helped him see clearly in the Shanthi ritual. Wait. Bothan’s attack. Something…there was something about that. His eyes went wide.

  “Jason?” Lenai asked. “What is it?”

  He looked at her, a small glimmer of hope coming to life inside of him. “I think I know where my dad is,” he said.

  “Jason?” Reyga said.

  He grinned at Reyga and began running toward the battlefield.

  Surprise

  “But I thought Nyala told you the past could not be changed,” Reyga said.

  “That’s just it,” Jason said. “I didn’t change the past, because what we thought happened didn’t really happen.”

  “Well, all I know is that I thought I was a dead man,” Bruce Bennett said. He was sitting at the table with Tal, Reyga, Seryn, and Lenai, with Jason standing behind him, his hands on his father’s shoulders. “I looked up and saw the dagger start down. Then everything stopped and I saw Jason standing there with…with me.”

  “Let me make certain I understand,” the High One said. “You took a body from the battlefield, altered it to look like your father, and
then went into the past to exchange it so that Bodann, disguised as Chon, would think he had killed your father?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “When I was looking at the bodies on the ground, I started thinking about all of the stuff that had happened since I’d been here. Then it hit me: If Nyala could go fourteen hundred years into the past, maybe I could at least go back a few days.”

  “So, the reason the body I examined wasn’t human, was because you had exchanged it,” Seryn said.

  Jason nodded. “I didn’t bother with anything on the inside because it just needed to convince Bothan that he’d killed my dad.”

  “Remarkable,” Reyga said. “Truly remar—”

  ~~~

  Jason was surrounded by an expanse of white. A dark haired woman smiled at him. He smiled back.

  “Nyala.”

  “Jason, I wanted to thank you. You saved the people of my world from a dark future.”

  “Well, I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “I only showed you how to use your power. You chose the ways in which to use it.”

  “You did more than that,” Jason said. “You saved my life a couple of times. If Regor would’ve had his way, I wouldn’t be here now.”

  “Then we helped each other,” she said. “If you like, I may be able to help you again.”

  “How?”

  “I think I can help you get back home.”

  “What?” Her words almost made him dizzy. Home? He could go home? “You can send me home?”

  “I can’t,” she said. “My power is not strong enough. But if we were to join our power, I believe that, between the two of us, we could open a portal back to your world. Of course, it would have to be to a time after both you and your father came to Teleria. Otherwise the effects on the timeline would be unpredictable, perhaps even disastrous.”

  His thoughts were a confusing blur. For some reason, the idea of going home didn’t excite him as much as he thought it would. He had been through so much here, met so many good people. Here, with his powers, he could actually make a difference. But he had friends back home. And after all, it was home. He needed time to think.

  “Nyala…”

  “I know,” she said. “Teleria has its appeal.” She smiled at him again and laid a gentle hand on his cheek. “Give it some thought, Jason. When you decide, think of me and I will come.”

  ~~~

  “—kable,” Reyga said. “Jason, I know you are happy to have your father back, but I am equally pleased to have my friend back. You are truly an extraordinary young man.”

  “Yes, he is,” his dad said, laying a hand over Jason’s. Jason’s mind was racing as he thought about what Nyala had said. He almost didn’t notice his father’s touch.

  Reyga turned to Lenai. “And what of Baruun? I have not seen him since before the battle.”

  “Baruun was injured, but will recover,” she said. “He has returned to our telosh.”

  “I am pleased to hear that,” Reyga said. “Please give him my regards the next time you speak with him.”

  “And also our thanks for the aid from your people,” Tal added.

  “I will relay your words to him,” she said.

  Jason’s thoughts had turned back to the battle. He looked at Tal. “I’m sorry I didn’t remember my power sooner. I saw Brin fall into the pit.”

  “Actually,” Tal said, “Loremaster Brin is in the healing area.”

  “What? How?”

  Tal shook his head with a smile. “That man astonishes me sometimes. After he jumped off the ledge, he opened a portal back to the Haven as he fell. He was still severely injured when he flew through the primary portal and crashed into the opposite wall, but the healers were able to treat him in time.”

  “That’s amazing,” Jason said.

  “Indeed,” Tal agreed. “I could not have said it better myself.”

  ~~~

  The small group sat around the table for another hour, talking about the events of the last few days, and discussing the future now that the war was over. Eventually, everyone began saying their good nights until only Jason, his dad, and Lenai were left.

  “Well,” Bruce said, standing up and stretching, “I think I’ll retire too. These old bones need their rest.”

  “Wait,” Jason said. “Dad, Nyala told me she thinks she can help us get back home. I thought I would be more excited than I am at the thought of going back. What do you think?”

  His dad took a deep breath. “Home. Funny how the meaning of that word can change. I’ve been here for thirty years. There’s nothing left for me back on Earth.” He laid a hand on Jason’s shoulder. “This is my home now, and I’ve come to love this place, but if you want to go back, I will go with you.”

  He didn’t answer as he pondered his dad’s words. If they went back to just after his dad left, like Nyala had said, all of Jason’s friends would be almost forty years old. They could always move somewhere else, and he could make new friends, but…

  “I know there’s a lot more on Earth for you than there is for me,” his dad said. “Why don’t you sleep on it? Whatever you decide, I’m with you. Good night, son.” His dad hugged him and kissed his cheek before shuffling out of the room.

  He watched his dad leave, and then turned and looked at Lenai.

  “What would you do?” he asked her.

  She shook her head. “Only you can answer that, Jason, for only you know where your heart truly lies.”

  “Yeah.” He only wished it were that simple. Right now, he didn’t know where his heart wanted to be. He stared blankly at the table. He had friends back home even if they would be twenty years older, but he’d made friends here too. And what about Crin?

  “Yes, what about Crin?” Jason smiled as he heard the fortunewing.

  “What is it?” Lenai asked him.

  “Oh, Crin is just giving me his opinion.”

  “Ah.” Lenai stroked the tabletop. “Jason.”

  “Hmm?”

  She seemed hesitant. “Jason, I do not wish to make your decision any more difficult than it already is, but there is something I must tell you.”

  He waited for her to continue.

  “When we performed Sho tu Ishta, something happened.”

  “What happened?” he asked. “Did I become ch'tasa like Reyga? If that’s it, Lenai, you don’t have to worry. I won’t ask you to tell me anything you don’t want to.”

  “No,” she said, “you are not ch'tasa.”

  “Oh.” He felt an odd tinge of disappointment. “Well,” he said, trying to make light of it. “Whew! That was close.” He forced himself to chuckle.

  “You are not ch'tasa,” she repeated. “But when you restored that part of me which is Shanthi to me…when you restored myself to me, my soul…you became ch'nai.”

  “Ch'nai? What does that mean? Is it good or bad?”

  “That is for you to decide,” she said. She stared at the table top. “I am bound to you, Jason. Or rather, my soul is bound to yours.” Her words came pouring out as she looked up and saw his stunned expression. “Jason, I am sorry. I never intended this to happen. If I could change it I would, but Chai na, the Bonding, cannot be broken.” Her gaze dropped back to the table. “If you are angry with me, I will understand.”

  “What do you mean, your soul is bound to mine?”

  She didn’t look up. “It means that where you are, I must be there as well. It means that if anything were to happen to you, I could not survive.” She looked at him finally, her eyes heavy with threatening tears. “It means that I would give my life for you.”

  He gaped at her. She was bound to him? Nothing like throwing a new wrinkle into the mix. If she was bound to him…

  “Lenai, what will happen to you if I go home?”

  She looked down again. “As long as you are well,” she said, “I will be also.”

  He didn’t believe her. “Tell me the truth.”

  Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I do not know.”
/>   He looked around the room as he tried to bring his whirling thoughts in order. How could he go back if there was a possibility that Lenai might die if he did? Could they take her with them to Earth? No, even if she agreed to go, that wouldn’t work. Aside from the occasional shifting of the color of her skin, bound to draw the wrong kind of attention, he didn’t think her warrior’s sense of honor would be able to handle some of the things in his world. Besides, his dad didn’t really want to go back either. And there was Crin. Plus, they didn’t know if Bothan was really gone or not. He took a deep breath. Well. That was it then.

  “Well then,” he said, “I guess I’ll have to stay a while.”

  Her head jerked up. He saw a tiny glimmer of hope in her eyes.

  “Jason,” she said, “do not stay if it is only because of me. What happened is not your fault. You should not have to sacrifice your world because of that.”

  “I’m not,” he said. “Look, if I can go back now, I can go back later. So, for now anyway, I’ll stick around. Bothan may still be out there, and there’s a lot of Teleria that I haven’t seen yet. Maybe you could show it to me?”

  She smiled at him, her eyes shining. “Yes, I can show you.”

  He smiled back. He could think of a lot worse things than being bound to someone like her. Besides, she was prettier than Tracy Jacobson anyway.

  Epilogue

  In a dimly lit room, a small circle of men and women sat around a table.

  “Bodann was a fool,” one said.

  “So what do we do now?”

  “The only thing we can do. Now that the Circle has destroyed so many of our forces, we must rebuild. Fortunately, most of our saiken were able to escape the battlefield.”

  “Even with the saiken, it will take time.”

  “We have no choice.”

  “Bodann was a fool,” the first speaker repeated.

  A dark shadow stepped out of the corner.

  “Bodann was not a fool,” the shadow said. “He was over confident. But even that is better than sitting around a table endlessly making plans you do not have the courage to carry out. At least Bodann acted on his plans.”