Sword of Spirit (Salvation of Solandeus)

by David J. VanBergen Jr.

  “I will make sure he gets better,” Persephonie said. “You focus on finding the helmet, and I will focus on Banji.”

  “I can do that,” Mat said. “Let’s go talk with the rest of the group so they don’t worry about us.”

  Mat and Persephonie rejoined the group around the fire. They talked about the battle and some of the heroics that took place. Mat had shown himself to be a virtually unstoppable swordsman. Persephonie and Banji had been deadly with their arrows and throwing knives. Lucas and Dimitri had been whirling blades of death that were virtually impossible to avoid. Arajin and Michael had proven to be unstoppable forces of destruction. After talking about the heroics, the group actually felt pretty good about the battle and discussed a few changes that might make them more effective next time.

  They also talked about the attack itself. They wondered if the men who attacked them were looking for them specifically or if it was a coincidence. With nobody to interrogate, it was impossible to tell.

  It was possible that Andre and Rhoda sent word as to where they were heading before they tried to kill Mat, and it was also possible that Anton had a spy in Last Hope. In either case, they definitely needed to be more careful and make sure they weren’t ambushed again.

  That night, they decided to start having a watch again to ensure they weren’t taken by surprise.

  Chapter 29

  The following morning, Lucas and Dimitri left early to scout the area. They returned several hours later and said that they found a cave where it looked like their attackers had been staying. It appeared that they had been there for several days so they assumed the attack had been planned as opposed to being a coincidence.

  Other than in the cave, they didn’t find any evidence of enemies. The cave did not look to have been used the previous night, and there weren’t any fresh signs of people.

  Feeling confident that they were now alone in the Valley of Caves, the group set out to search again shortly before midday. Persephonie stayed back in the cave to take care of Banji and to be there if he woke up.

  The rest of the group divided up into two groups and searched caves until it was almost dark. They made good progress but didn’t come across any signs of the cave they were looking for.

  As they returned to their cave camp, Mat walked with a spring in his step, confident that he would be able to talk to Banji again. When he reached the cave mouth, he ran back to the sleeping chamber expecting to see Banji awake and talking.

  When he got there, he found Persephonie kneeling next to him with her hands on his forehead working on healing him. When she heard Mat approach, she looked up and shook her head slightly indicating that Banji had not woke.

  “I was able to get him to drink water,” she said, “but he still hasn’t woke up.”

  Mat nodded and went back into the common area to discuss the day’s search with the rest of the group. It wasn’t the ideal way to end the day, but he was still confident everything would be ok.

  - - - - - - - - - -

  Two weeks later, Banji still had not woken up. Persephonie was able to get him to drink water and soup broth to keep him hydrated, but he was clearly losing weight. Mat was starting to worry that he would never wake up.

  The search for the Helmet of Salvation wasn’t going any better. They had searched a lot of caves but had not found even a sign that they were in the right area. Since Mat had not had any helpful visions to guide them, they had no choice but to keep moving down the valley, searching caves as they went.

  They had progressed far enough down the valley that they were spending more time traveling than searching, so they were going to stay out for a few days on this trip. Persephonie stayed back at the cave to take care of Banji. Lucas and Dimitri stayed behind as well just in case more of Anton’s men showed up.

  Over the last two weeks, Mat was starting to come to terms with the possibility that Banji would not wake up, but he was still hopeful. Michael and Arajin had been instrumental in helping him through that possibility.

  While they walked, Michael and Arajin talked to Mat about different aspects of leadership. Arajin had been the leader of a group of almost 50 people all day, every day for the last five years. He was able to tell Mat about the day-to-day issues a leader faced. Michael had been a military leader for the last 10 years and was able to teach Mat about military leadership.

  Without realizing it, Mat was learning how to become a good leader. He had not thought that far ahead, but Michael and Arajin both knew that Mat would be called upon to lead once they finished their quest. They planned to be there to help him, but in the end, Mat was the one who would be called on to lead men against Anton and the forces of the Northern Kingdom.

  As the day wore on, the sun was starting to warm up the mountainside. Snow was starting to melt which signaled that winter would soon be coming to an end.

  When the sun started going down, they started looking for a cave to spend the night in. As they spotted one up ahead, they heard a loud “WHUMP” followed by a cracking and roaring sound. As they looked up they saw tons of snow rumbling down the mountain right at them.

  - - - - - - - - - -

  Back in the main cave, Banji bolted upright in a panic. “Mat!” he screamed.

  Persephonie ran back to the chamber where Banji had been sleeping to see what was going on.

  “I saw Mat, Michael, and Arajin,” Banji said frantically. “They were walking on a trail, and a huge avalanche was coming down on them. I saw them disappear under the snow! I think it really happened.”

  “I’m sure it was just a dream,” Persephonie said, trying to calm him down. “You have been out for over two weeks. The nightmare was probably a result of being out for so long.”

  “I don’t think it was a dream,” Banji said.

  Persephonie was grateful to have Banji awake again. He didn’t appear to have any lingering effects from the blow to the head, and he actually remembered everything right up until he got hit. He was weak from being unconscious for two weeks, but other than that he seemed completely fine. She helped him into the other room so he could sit near the fire and eat something to help build his strength up.

  Banji repeated his dream to Dimitri and Lucas. Everybody agreed that there was nothing that could be done that night, however they would go out in the morning and look for Mat, Michael, and Arajin.

  Persephonie spent a long, sleepless night worrying about Mat and the others. She knew that if they truly were trapped by an avalanche, they would suffocate or freeze to death long before anyone could get there to rescue them. Her only hope was that Banji’s dream was only a dream.

  Chapter 30

  Mat slowly opened his eyes, unsure of exactly where he was. It was fairly dark, and he couldn’t see much of anything. His head hurt, and he was cold, very cold. He realized he was half buried in snow, and everything started coming back to him.

  They had been walking along a game trail when the avalanche started. They ran towards a cave, but an avalanche isn’t something that you can easily outrun. They were almost safe when it hit them. The last thing he remembered was the force of tons of snow slamming into him.

  His eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness, and he could see that he was in a cave. The entrance to that cave was completely blocked by the snow that he was buried in.

  While digging himself out of the snow, he looked around frantically for Michael and Arajin. As he freed himself, he saw Arajin by the wall of the cave. He appeared to be unconscious, but he wasn’t buried in snow. He searched the pile of snow blocking the entrance and found Michael almost completely buried and quickly started to dig him out with his bare hands.

  By the time he freed Michael’s upper body from the snow, Mat’s hands were frozen and bloody. Michael was breathing but was still unconscious, and Mat knew he had to get him out of the snow and warmed up or he would freeze to death. He wrapped his arms around Michael’s chest and pulled with all of his might, but he was unable to budge him. He stopped for a
minute to gather his strength before trying again.

  “Let me try,” Arajin said as he came up behind Mat.

  “Oh, good,” Mat said, “You’re ok. I saw that you were out of the snow so I tried to get Michael free first.”

  “You did the right thing,” Arajin replied. “Now, let me see if I we can pull him out.”

  Arajin reached down and wrapped his arms around Michael. As he straightened up and pulled, Michael slowly started to come out of the snow. With one final pull, Michael was free, and Arajin carried him back into the cave away from the snow-blocked entrance.

  “I still have my pack,” Arajin said as he walked back over to where Mat had seen him lying on the ground. “I have flint and steel to light a fire if we can find some wood in this cave. We could use some light, and we definitely need to get Michael warmed up.”

  “I agree,” Mat said, “but it actually feels warm in here already.”

  “I think you’re right,” Arajin said, “but a fire will make it even better.”

  After a quick search, they found a few pieces of wood. That would be enough to start a fire but not enough to make a big one. It was too dark to search most of the cave so they were hopeful that they would find more wood once they had some light.

  They piled the wood near the still unconscious Michael, and Arajin used the flint and steel to start a fire. As the fire flared up and cast light on the walls, Mat forgot all about Michael. The cave walls were covered in paintings of knights and ancient battles. This was the cave they were searching for.

  Mat took a stick from the fire to use as a torch and started examining the cave paintings. The scenes on the walls were familiar to him. Many of them he had seen in his dreams. As he reached the back of the cave, he stopped at a painting that shook him to the core of who he was. He stood there and couldn’t look away.

  “Do you doubt any longer that you are the one chosen to wear the Armor of God?” a familiar voice asked from behind him.

  Mat turned to see Michael looking at him, and past him, at the painting on the back wall. He had some scrapes on his face, but other than that he looked ok.

  “I don’t understand what this means,” Mat said as he turned back to the painting on the back wall.

  On the back wall was a life-sized painting of a young knight. He held a sword in front of him with both hands. The point of the sword rested on the ground, and Mat could see it was the Sword of Spirit. The knight in the painting was also wearing what appeared to be the same bracers he now wore. Mat assumed that the rest of the armor worn by the knight was the Armor of God.

  The part of the painting that Mat didn’t understand was the young knight’s face. As with the rest of the paintings, Mat was familiar with the knight’s face . . . it was his own.

  “I already told you I believed you are the one who is supposed to wear the Armor of God,” Michael said, “and I think this makes it indisputable.”

  “But how is this possible?” Mat asked.

  “It is simple,” Michael said, “God knew you long before you were born, and he knew you were going to be the one to deliver his justice and save the people of Solandeus.”

  “So what do I do now?” Mat asked.

  “That, I don’t know,” Michael answered softly.

  While Mat continued to study the cave paintings, Michael and Arajin worked on digging them out of the cave. It took a couple of hours for them to dig a hole through the snow to the outside. By that point, it was dark, and the small fire they had started was completely burned out.

  Once they were outside, Mat joined them to get some fresh air and clear his head. He had studied the paintings until the fire burned out but still didn’t have any idea where to find the helmet. He also needed to get away for a few minutes because seeing his face on an ancient cave painting overwhelmed him.

  While they were outside, they gathered some firewood to light the cave and keep them warm. The avalanche had knocked over almost every tree and broke them to pieces so firewood was easy to find. If they had not made it to the cave, it would have broken them to pieces too.

  Back inside the cave with a roaring fire going, Mat, Michael, and Arajin studied the cave paintings and searched the cave for a hiding place where the Helmet of Salvation might be stashed. They searched the cave for hours but didn’t find anything, so they gave up for the night and tried to get some sleep. After the day’s events they all needed some rest.

  When Michael and Arajin woke in the morning, they found Mat standing in front of the painting of the knight that was his lookalike. When he heard them stirring, he returned to the fire and told them he had been staring at the panting for hours but still didn’t know what he was supposed to do.

  “The only feeling I have is that the sword is important,” Mat said. “When I look at the painting, the sword seems to stand out and draw my attention in. I have traced it with my finger, pushed on it, and inspected it over and over again, but nothing happens or changes.”

  “Have you tried putting the real sword up against the painted sword?” Arajin asked.

  The moment Arajin said it, Mat knew that was the answer. He drew the sword as he walked toward the painting. The blade began glowing, and the closer he got to the painting, the more it glowed.

  As Mat held the sword point down and brought it near the painting, it was drawn to it like iron to a magnet. As the real Sword of Spirit touched the painted one, it clicked into place and was held there. The glowing intensified until it was too bright to even look at, then it quickly went dark.

  Once the glowing ceased, the sword was released and fell to the ground. At the same time, a compartment above the knight’s head opened with a click. Mat reached inside and slowly pulled out a simple, yet magnificent helmet. There was no doubt that it was the Helmet of Salvation; it matched the one in the painting perfectly.

  The helmet looked to be made of polished steel. It had a simple rounded top and was completely open in the front, while it extended down to protect the sides and back of the head and neck. An intricately etched gold circle ran around the helmet above the opening; it almost looked like a crown.

  Mat raised the helmet and slid it onto his head. It fit perfectly. It was so lightweight and well-fitting that he knew he could easily forget that he was wearing it.

  “Do you feel anything?” Michael asked. “The Helmet of Salvation is supposed to bless the wearer with wisdom and intelligence.”

  “I don’t feel different,” Mat said, “but I’m not thinking about anything that requires intelligence or wisdom right now. Just like the bracers and sword, the helmet feels like I have had it for years. It just feels right sitting on my head.”

  Arajin was tall enough to see inside the compartment. “I think there is something else inside,” he said, reaching in and withdrawing a rolled parchment. He handed it to Mat, and they walked over to the fire to get a look at it.

  When they were back at the fire for better light, Mat and Arajin unrolled the parchment. It wanted to curl back up on itself, so they worked together to hold it open.

  Michael joined them. “It appears to be a map to something in the Northern Kingdom,” he said.

  “I know that region,” Arajin said. “It is very isolated. I didn’t even know there was anything there.”

  “It looks like our next stop is in enemy territory,” Mat stated.

  Chapter 31

  On the way back to the main cave, Mat, Michael, and Arajin met Dimitri and Persephonie who had gone out searching for them. They learned that Banji had awakened the previous night about the same time that they were caught by the avalanche. He was weak from being unconscious for weeks, but other than that he was unharmed.

  Upon their return to the main cave, there was a joyous reunion. Mat told them about the cave and how they survived an avalanche to find it. They talked about the map they found with the helmet and what they would have to do next.

  With the snow starting to melt there was a risk of more avalanches, so they decided to stay
in the mountains for a few weeks until travel would be safer. This would give Banji time to regain some of his strength and give the group some much needed rest.

  The expedition into the Northern Kingdom was going to be dangerous, and they didn’t know what they were even looking for. They had to trust that the map with the Helmet of Salvation wouldn’t steer them wrong. It would be a long journey, but they had faith that by the time summer was over they would have retrieved the next piece of the Armor of God and be one step closer to defeating Anton.

  Epilogue

  Anton and his advisors stood at a table full of maps. Northern Kingdom troops were marked on the maps, and there were notes detailing the defenses in Solandeus. There was also a miniature gold sword in the mountains of the Great Divide.

  “Our troops are ready to move as soon as the snow thaws,” Marat, Anton’s lead general said. “We have troops in position to eliminate all resistance at the Wall of Salvation and will have free access to Solandeus once that happens.”

  “Based on our intelligence reports, there is a one-month troop rotation at the Wall of Salvation,” said Vitaly, Anton’s new Minister of Intelligence. “If we time our attack after that rotation, it will be a month before anyone knows we have breached the wall.”

  “We will split our forces and simultaneously attack the capital city of Westport and the largest trading port, Port Ludenberg,” said Marat. “Solandeus has known peace for 300 years and is not prepared to defend against an invasion.”

  “According to our contacts throughout Solandeus,” Vitaly added, “they have no idea an attack is coming.”

  “We should control all major cities by the end of summer,” said Marat.

  “What about the Basilican Knights?” Anton asked. “We should not underestimate that group.”