Seeing that she was finished, her mother spoke up.
“And...” she began, hesitatingly. “When did you begin to speak again?”
“On the way here. Glaide helped me get over everything that had happened.” Her parents looked at their guest as though they were seeing him for the first time, and gratitude filled their eyes yet again. In that moment, Glaide realized that Mehrika didn’t need to explain in detail what she’d experienced; her parents understood, and they knew exactly what kind of strength of character and willpower it had taken for their daughter to speak again, and to prove that she had left her past behind her.
The adolescent realized then, too, that she’d made no mention of his being the Destroyer. He knew that she was aware of it, but it seemed that it didn’t really matter to her.
“Could it be that she sees me just as I am?” thought the young man. “That in her eyes, I am important because I’m Glaide, the person who helped her, and it has nothing to do with me being the Destroyer?” That idea brought on a wave of gratitude, because he knew that in the months to come, his own character would be seen by very few, instead being overshadowed by the symbolic image of the Destroyer.
“Now,” continued the young woman, “tell me why all this happened. I already have an idea, but I want to know for sure.” At those words, the adolescent turned his attention to his two hosts. He was finally about to get some answers. It was the man who eventually spoke up. Though his face was somber, his voice was strong.
“Baras wanted him, and that’s why...” Glaide impatiently waited for what was to come, but it didn’t come at all. He realized that, apart from him, everyone at the table seemed to know exactly who the father meant. However, just as he was about to ask who “he” was, the man continued.
“I don’t know how, but our enemy discovered where he was. I wasn’t sure he was safe any longer, so I decided it would be better to go and get him, so I could hide him myself. Of course, that didn’t go unnoticed by Baras, but we’re protected here. When he realized he wasn’t going to be able to find him there anymore, he came looking for him, but he was too late; we’d already returned. So, he took you, to try to force us to act.” Glaide felt like he was about to learn something terribly important, but he had no idea what the man was talking about. The woman and her daughter, however, seemed to understand everything.
“I figured as much,” the young woman murmured. “It’s just like him to do something like that.” The young man noticed then that the father was clenching his hands so tightly the joints were turning white. He seemed to be fighting for control, but he couldn’t hold in his tears, and his voice broke when he choked out his next words.
“I... I decided... Not to give him to Baras. It was a trap... He wanted to catch me. What kind of a father am I? Putting the life of my daughter second... I have no excuse. Forgive me, please... Forgive me...” Mehrika drew closer to him, and hugged her father gently. Glaide knew that that decision had been heartbreaking, though he couldn’t imagine who could possibly be more important than the man’s own daughter... Feeling ill at ease, he decided not to ask any questions. Instead, he stood up.
“If you would excuse me please... I’m rather tired, and I’d like to head to bed.”
“Of course, of course,” replied the woman as her daughter and husband finished their hug. “Rest as long as you’d like.”
“Thanks so much. I’ll see you all tomorrow.” Mehrika gave him a nod and a smile, then the young man headed up the stairs to bed. As he undressed, he promised himself that he would ask some of his questions the next day. He’d thought the meal would bring him all the answers he was looking for, but the opposite had been true! However, he knew that Mehrika’s kidnapping had happened because of someone who was apparently quite important, and he desperately wanted to satisfy his curiosity about who exactly that was...
Chapter 19
GLAIDE slept well and, as was often the case when he’d been travelling, upon awakening, it took him a few moments to remember what had happened the day before, and where he was. The bed was a comfortable one, and for a moment, he thought he was back at the dojo. When he opened his eyes, would he see the familiar decor of the place that had been his home for so many months? No, definitely not. But he also felt no regret at that thought. Time passed, and it was important to be okay with that. Anyway, the bed he was on was a much larger one—and here, there was no risk of being attacked in the middle of the night, so perhaps it was a change for the better! Glaide smiled a bit as he opened his eyes. The house was almost silent, but he could make out the subdued tones of conversation down below. He got up, took a moment to stretch, then dressed in his clothes from the day before. He had no idea what time it might be, but when he stepped into the main room, light was already streaming in through the windows.
“Good morning,” he sang out cheerfully as he stepped into the dining area.
“Good morning Glaide,” replied the man.
“Enjoy,” added his wife, motioning to the table.
The young man saw that the table was covered in all sorts of foods, both sweet and savory. He also noticed a light caramel scent that quickly woke his appetite. He took a chair and settled in, then, without losing a moment, started his breakfast.
“Mehrika wanted to wake you,” the woman continued, “but we convinced her to let you sleep in a bit. In the end, she decided to go for a walk in the village, and meet up with some of her friends to chat. She didn’t really have enough time to catch up with everyone yesterday.”
Glaide, his mouth full, simply acknowledged the comment with a nod. The young woman’s father sat down next to Glaide then. He looked at Glaide for a moment, then spoke. “Yesterday, my wife and I didn’t really understand just what a debt we owed you.” The young man raised an eyebrow in question, and worked to choke down his food so he could speak. Before he managed the task, though, the man continued, “Yes, you brought our girl back to us, and for that we were already grateful, but more than that, you helped her to heal. We had shed many tears about that; we knew what had been in store for her.” The man sighed. “That she is back among us is already far more than we dared hope for, but that she is also well, and sound of mind... That is a miracle. There is no way she could have traveled with Baras’ disciples all the way to Zakorth and remained unscathed. And yet, she has...”
“She isn’t unscathed,” Glaide murmured. “I saw the horrible nightmares she had, and how haunted she was by her memories, and how fearful she was of everything. Even the mere sight of a weapon left her petrified...”
“But she has conquered all of that.” The father’s voice trembled as he spoke, but he managed to hold the adolescent’s gaze. “She conquered everything thanks to you. What would we have done if she had returned to us, more dead than alive? Hopeless, and unable to live in the present? What if the only way for her suffering to end would have been for her life to end? But that isn’t the case. You brought our daughter back to us, and she is just like she always was. Stronger, without a doubt, more fragile at the same time, perhaps, but above all, living. Truly living.” He smiled in thanks.
Glaide was happy to have been able to help, but at the same time, he thought to himself that Mehrika, contrary to her father’s opinion, was a very different girl to the one her parents had known before. After everything she’d experienced, how could she not be? Perhaps those changes were hard to see, and perhaps some would only show themselves later, but she had certainly changed. “But certainly for the better,” the boy thought. “In overcoming her sadness, she learned how to use her experiences to truly fight for her life.”
Whatever the case, this display of gratitude left him feeling ill at ease, and he grabbed a piece of fruit to bite into, to give himself a moment to gain his composure. Out of the corner of his eye, the adolescent noticed the man exchanging looks with his wife, as though he was waiting for her to say something. Glaide turned to look at her, and he saw her nod slightly at her husband. Apparently, they both agreed o
n something, though what, he didn’t know. He didn’t have long to wait, however, as it was only a moment before the man began to speak again.
“We can think of nothing we could offer you to repay the debt we owe you. Nothing could ever be enough to cover that. However...” He hesitated for a moment, then blurted out the rest. “But if you agree, we’d like to offer you Mehrika’s hand, in marriage.”
The apple went down the wrong way.
The boy stood up, coughing violently, his face tinting deeply red before he finally managed to choke out a reply.
“Wh... Wh... What? But...” He felt breathless, partly from the apple, and partly due to the unexpected and completely shocking offer. He finally recovered physically, though he remained stupefied. He sat back down, trying to process the statement all the while, but the offer, given as naturally and calmly as it had been, left him at a loss. The idea of marriage seemed so distant, and completely unrealistic, but as he crossed the gazes of his friend’s parents, he realized that the idea was a perfectly customary one to them. “They’re serious,” he thought to himself, repeating the thought over and over in his mind. “They really want me to marry Mehrika.”
The man and his wife seemed to misinterpret his silence, and his wife spoke up in reply to it.
“I know that our daughter has a great deal of affection for you, and I’m sure she will accept with joy.” Glaide was tempted to exclaim that that wasn’t the question at all, but he managed to hold it in until he was once again master of his emotions. Finally, he spoke, his voice filled with both calm and control.
“I’m honored by the offer, but I’m afraid I must decline...” His hosts’ disappointment showed on their faces, but he continued anyway. “I’m happy to have been able to help, but you owe me nothing. And too, though I’m very fond of Mehrika as well, I cannot stay here. As she mentioned, I must find my friends; I can’t abandon them. And there are far too many things that I must do for me to simply withdraw from the rest of the Known Lands...”
He had barely spoken the words when a deep sadness filled the young man. The future they were offering was tempting. So very tempting. He’d always considered Mehrika a friend, his traveling companion. But he didn’t doubt that, if given a bit of time, he’d wind up falling in love.
“But that can’t happen,” he thought sadly. “I can’t let it.” He could see exactly what he was losing, but at the same time, he had no idea what he might—or might not—gain from giving it up. “I’m refusing all of this, in order to continue to search for my friends,” he thought to himself. “Finding them will be like finding a needle in a haystack, and even if I find them, there’s no telling if they’ll even welcome me back...”
Truth be told, that was his greatest fear. He hoped to find Jeremy, Gwenn, and Emily the same as he’d left them, but that was very unlikely. “Everyone changes, after all. And they’ll have changed too, especially in this world...” And what if he never found them? Or what if he didn’t have the courage to face them?
“Would I be capable of fighting this battle alone?” he wondered to himself.
The present was considerably more tempting than that future; staying here, safe, without having to wonder about the days to come, simply enjoying the life they were offering him... No more fighting, no more tears, no more horrors... Just peace and calm... Tranquility.
“That’s what I want my life to be when all is said and done,” he thought to himself. But it wasn’t. Not yet. Once again, Kezthrem’s words sounded in his mind.
“Every story has an end. Yours will, just like all others do. Some ends we wish for, and others we fear.”
In that moment, there was one thing Glaide was sure of: this was not yet the time to rest.
He heard a sound in the entryway then, and after a few moments, Mehrika stepped calmly into the silent room.
“Glaide, you’re up! You never slept in so long while we were on the road!”
“Since for once I had a real bed to take advantage of, I wanted to enjoy as much sleep as I could get on it,” the young man exclaimed with a smile. Mehrika took a seat, munching distractedly on a few bits of food while enthusiastically recounting everything that had happened during the morning. Her arrival put an end to the previous conversation, and since the atmosphere of the room quickly became a relaxed one yet again, Glaide decided this would be a good chance to learn more about whoever it was they’d been talking about the evening before. He remembered every word of the conversation clearly, and still he’d been unable to figure out the mystery of why Mehrika had been captured, and why her parents had decided to give her up as lost.
“So, tell me...” he began, “Yesterday, you made a reference to someone related to why exactly Mehrika had been captured. I don't want to be nosy, but who were you talking about?” Glaide wondered to himself if his hosts had intentionally avoided using a name, because they didn’t want him to know too much. Their reaction, however, immediately proved him wrong. Surprise painted its way across the three faces, proof enough that they’d had no intention of hiding anything from him. Honestly, they seemed surprised that the adolescent hadn’t understood.
“You had no idea what we were talking about?” exclaimed the man.
“Umm... Well, no...”
“Really?” The whole family burst into laughter then. “You must not have gotten much of anything out of the story, then,” the woman noted.
“I guess it seemed so obvious that we never even thought to explain,” Mehrika added.
“Well, then,” declared her father. “We’ll show you what we were talking about—what, because it is actually an object, and not a person.” He got up then, and Glaide hurried to follow suit. He remembered the man mentioning that he’d gone to look for “him”, to hide “him” in the village, and apparently “he” was an object that the man was keeping here, in his own home. The four left the main room by the door to the entryway, and as Glaide had noticed the day before, the wooden stairs didn’t take up all of the space. Behind them, a narrow hallway led to a single pair of sliding panels. Mehrika’s father approached them, and there he stopped.
“In this room, you will find our heritage, or more accurately, that of my wife: an heirloom from centuries ago.”
“But,” the woman in question added, “it is also the most powerful object that has ever been seen in the Known Lands. Our goal has always been to keep it out of Baras’ reach, because it is a weapon that is capable of destroying a god.”
At those words, Glaide felt his heart skip a beat. His breathing grew faster as a single idea forcefully took over his thoughts. Could it be...
The man abruptly slid aside one of the panels, revealing a small room lit by two candles set in iron wall sconces. The ceiling was low, just barely high enough for a man to stand upright, and the light there was weak. Suddenly, the eyes of the young man fell on the one object present in the room besides the candles. Against the wall in the back of the room, a black lacquered wooden structure presented a striking contrast with the red sheath of the weapon it held up. Glaide began to tremble, his legs suddenly like jelly, so that he had to lean on one of the walls for support. He couldn’t take his eyes off the katana.
“It can’t be...” he choked out, his throat tight. “I... I found it...” His conversations with Ralon and Koeris, the two monks, flashed before him. Hadn’t they described Dzen’s weapon as a katana in a dark red sheath, with a guard made of gold? The katana before him looked exactly like that. The temple had protected that weapon for years, right up until a descendant of Novak—the man Dzen had given his weapon to so long ago—had returned to claim the object. “This sword...” the young man began, before choking up from the emotion.
“Is the one that destroyed Baras five hundred years ago,” finished Mehrika with a smile. “Yes, Glaide. My mother and I are the descendants of Novak, also known as Bren.” At that, the adolescent had to sit down. His thoughts were spinning in his head... Thoughts about why the girl had been taken, everything the tave
rn keeper in Zakorth had said, Ralon’s announcement that the weapon had been returned to its true owners...
The boy tried to sort through everything, and bit by bit, it all became clear to him. Everything had begun when Mehrika’s father, the husband of Novak the Liberator’s descendant, had learned that Baras hoped to get the weapon of the first Destroyer, taking the greatest asset humanity had away from them. The man had been faster, however. Sometime before the young man and his master had arrived, he had come to get the weapon, knowing that Baras wouldn’t hesitate to lay siege to the place. Even if he wasn’t a direct descendant of Novak himself, he knew enough about the precious artifact for the monks to give it to him. He’d then returned to hide it in his village, knowing that they couldn’t let the weapon fall into the wrong hands. Baras was a cunning one, though, and had taken his daughter. Perhaps he’d caught wind of the man’s trick, and had decided to capture her before she learned of the danger. It was entirely possible that by the time the father arrived in the village, Mehrika had already been taken.
The words of the tavern keeper came to mind, then. He’d said that Baras knew the object he was seeking was no longer at the temple, but that it would soon be brought there. So, then, Baras had intended to trade the young woman’s life for the weapon. Glaide understood, too, the words of his host, spoken the night before: that, painful as it might be, he’d decided not to hand over the weapon, no matter the cost, even if that cost was the life of his own daughter.
“Good Lord,” Glaide thought. “I helped Mehrika completely on the spur of the moment; she looked lost, and I was being chased. I didn’t have the foggiest idea what lucky circumstances those were...” The weapon he’d sought had already been safe, and the only currency his enemy had had to buy it with had escaped.
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