"I do sincerely hope you are not leaving already." Sage said, slightly turning his head in Crinnan's direction but never making visual contact. He stood before a stove in a kitchen, the skillet before him sizzling and popping. The fork he was using to flip the bacon strip scraped against the iron sending a chill down Crinnan's spine.
"I hope you like bacon." He continued, returning his eyes to the the iron skillet. "I should say it would be near a tragedy to waste such a delicacy." Crinnan scaled the two steps and waved his hand dismissively at the Elf.
"Thank you for whatever you did for me." He muttered, not bothering the being with a glance. "But I have not the time for such things." He approached the wooden table with no intention of stopping until he was reunited with his squad at the Izla'Axi caverns. Sage turned around, wiping his bacon grease splashed hands off with a towel and cocked his head. Crinnan, feeling the Elf's eyes on him, stopped and returned the look.
"I told you not to bother with thanks." Sage said, tossing the towel in the sink in front of him. He strutted around the side of the breakfast bar and stopped at the table, placing both palms down on it and leaning forward toward Crinnan. "Tell me, Crinnan, where is your squad?"
"I will not." Crinnan said, averting his eyes from Sage's gaze. Sage hummed and waved a finger at Crinnan.
"I understand." He said with a grin. "I should say if my ignorance, or your perception of my ignorance, makes you comfortable then I will oblige." He stood erect and rubbed his hands together. "However I would insist that you eat. Belhaas is no place to wander aimlessly with an empty stomach... eat and leave, you will need the energy."
Crinnan stared at Sage's deep blue eyes in silence for a moment and finally, begrudgingly perhaps, pulled one of the wooden chairs from the table and sat down. He did not know how long it had been since he had last eaten, he recalled eating on his transport to the Belhaasi Weald but to him that was an entire day removed.
"Tell me dear Crinnan." Sage said, stepping back into the kitchen. "Does your name have any significance or was it merely plucked from the air from your parents?" Crinnan's eyes moved to Sage's position but his head continued to face the table. He pondered the question for a moment and decided there was no harm in answering the Elf.
"My name..." He said with a torpid tone, "It was my father's before me." Sage nodded his head as he prepared Crinnan's plate.
"Your father was called Crinnan then?" Sage asked. "Your father was a Black Knight named Crinnan?"
"Yes." Crinnan said, turning his eyes toward the wood of the table.
"And how many years have blessed this planet of ours with your presence?" Sage asked, rounding the corner with Crinnan's meal.
"Twenty-three." Crinnan replied, moving his hands so that Sage had room to put the plate down. Sage took a seat across from Crinnan and disregarded his own plate.
"Twenty-three." Sage repeated, shaking his head humorously. "What a wonderful age..." He paused and examined the soldier with his eyes, snickering quietly to himself. "Twenty-three then. So you must have been conceived during the Exgrane Liberation War?" Crinnan blinked and pursed his lips together. He thought that was a bit of an awkwardly worded question but eventually he nodded at Sage.
"I believe I am.. or I should say I believe I was once acquainted with your father." Sage said after receiving Crinnan's affirmation. "Are you of the Jamiso family?" Another silent, careful nod from Crinnan left Sage grinning.
"The Fyres tattoo on your lip helped me piece it all together." Sage said, "I... remember your parents. Your mother had the same tattoo. I would be correct in assuming your mother must be of Fyres blood?"
"She is." Crinnan replied.
"Fyres and Jamiso then." Sage said, gazing at the being across from him. He thought to himself for a moment and then after taking a sip from the glass cup before him shifted in his seat. He waited to see if Crinnan would initiate any type of conversation but the boy (as Sage saw him) seemed a bit sullen and did not appear to be interested in talking. Sage pursed his lips together and leaned forward on the table.
"Your father was something of a swordsman I should say." Sage said, pointing at the boy. "He gave me this in Exgrane." Sage moved aside his jacket revealing his pale chest. A long, pink scar stretched from the base of his neck down to just below his bottom rib. Sage shook his head at it and let his jacket fall back down. He leaned back in his chair and waited for a response from his guest. Crinnan, between bites of bacon, nodded his head in affirmation.
"You... seem very much unlike your father." Sage said, eyeing the boy. "He and I enjoyed a night of drinking before we met in battle the next day. He was a lively fellow, sociable and likable. Spoke highly of his children... though if you were conceived in Exgrane I do not believe he spoke anything of you."
"My brother takes after him." Crinnan said, not looking up from his plate. He stuffed another piece of blackened bacon into his mouth and washed it down with a drink of his water.
"Your brother?" Sage asked, "Your older brother?"
"Same age." Crinnan said, his mouth once again full. "Twin."
"Twin brother?" Sage repeated. Crinnan nodded and Sage hummed. "Interesting." He said.
"Your father is a good man." Sage said, nodding and staring at the glass of water in his hand. "The night he and I spent together, the drinks we shared... decided the outcome of the Exgrane Liberation War." Crinnan glanced up at Sage and then quickly looked away. He swallowed his bacon and grabbed another piece. Sage felt he had gained the boy's attention and so he continued.
"I was employed by the Govian army." He said. "I had never experienced the front lines of war from the perspective of a soldier and... well I should say I thought that considering the world we live in and how long I have lived in it without having experiencing combat... it was an itch I wanted to scratch. They shipped me off to Exgrane under the command of General Hralsta." Sage snickered and rubbed his chin. "The girl had so much repressed anger, so much emotion inside... it all came out in the bedroom. She was quite good... anyway, the night your father and I spoke was the night that General Hralsta breathed her last breath. I unfortunately happened to be in the same room as she was when your father and his squad raided her compound. Your father struck me first, giving me this scar and then knocking me out. I awoke in a pile of dead bodies outside the city with a note in my pocket saying "You owe me."."
Crinnan set down his glass and wiped the excess water from his lips. He nodded at Sage and pushed away from the table. "Good job." He said, standing. Sage looked up at him and smiled. The boy was a brick wall, stubborn and calloused. Nothing at all like his father.
"Well, Crinnan." Sage said, standing. "I thank you for your company and I wish you good health." Crinnan nodded at the Elf and walked toward the door. "If you have but a moment more I have an old sword in the back that may serve you better than it has me... I have never really needed weapons."
"I could use a sword." Crinnan said, looking over at the Elf. Sage nodded and walked past him, lightly patting his shoulder as he walked by. Crinnan watched the Elf walk up the two stairs that led to the hallway and then take a right. While Sage was gone, Crinnan could not help but think of his parents.
Crinnan was among the "Half Bloods", a mixture of races that was strictly forbidden by Govian law. His father was Humaan, a race of people who came from the stars. They arrived on Duraan nearly two thousand years prior and brought with them amazing technology which they shared in exchange for permission to establish colonies on the planet. Initially they were not able to reproduce with the planet's natives despite being nearly identical genetically speaking. The Humaan people expected that, however, and brought with them the technology to modify their own genes so that they could reproduce with the races of Duraan.
Crinnan's mother was pure-blood Elf. Crinnan felt he had inherited more from her than he had from his father as she, though loving, was just as serious and seemingly despondent as he was while his twin brother was playful and excitable like their father. Cr
innan recalled being referred, on more than one occasion, as the "evil twin" by his brother. He snickered at that thought.
As he leaned against the edge of the table and waited for Sage, Crinnan could not help but think he could hear some kind of commotion going on outside. As he listened closer he felt as if he was hearing footsteps, rustling of some type. He heard the sound of heavy boots on aged wood, the undeniable creaking. As he listened for but a moment more he heard something tap the front of the wooden door, not a knock but more like something was being leaned up against it.
Crinnan looked over at the door and listened one final time. He heard a high pitched whirring noise and knew exactly what was about to happen. Shortly after he had pulled his revolvers from their holsters a loud explosion erupted, blasting the door off it's hinges and rocketing it past him. He heard the sound of voices shouting outside and then watched a grenade fly through the hole that was once the door. Crinnan looked down at it and swore, hurrying to find cover.
Sage was nowhere to be seen.
Chapter 2: Part Two
The President I
22nd of Ramlia - 346 AG
08:00 - Township of Lithaan
The Govian-protected town of Lithaan, which was once nothing more than just another of the Agra Triangle Corporation's archaeological sites, had stood safe from the woes of the world within its reinforced concrete walls for nearly two centuries. Over the course of those two hundred years Lithaan, which was situated on the Canrom side of the Canrom-Izla'Axi border, had grown from a mere and simple point of interest to the Agra Triangle Corporation to a self-sustained community populated by plain-folk of varying levels of simple-mindedness.
While the simple thatched roofs of the shops and houses did not stretch to the skies like those of the great structures of Canrom City or Cidroska did and while the cobbled streets were not designed to accommodate any great deal of automotive traffic, what made Lithaan unique was despite their two centuries of failure, The Point of Reclamation of the Agra Triangle Corporation still had its eye upon the town. In the two hundred years that had passed since the Agra Triangle first got word of the potential relic that may have rested beneath the ground, they had ultimately not yet found what they had been searching for. Despite that fact, however, a garrison of reclusive Agra archaeologists and their guards remained and they were under direct command of President Cade himself.
Despite the recent clash between himself and his two associates, Presidents Trabiaa and Deliing, President Cade's spirits had remained positive. While he had not achieved his intended goal of succeeding President Karna following her untimely death, he had at least been able to maintain his position of President of The Point of Reclamation. His perhaps overzealous actions had not only financially weakened the Point of Reclamation itself, he also found that his own influence in the corporation had diminished as well. Cade felt that he only needed to be patient and it would all eventually blow over.
He sat in his transport and gazed out the window to his right. Lithaan was in view for only a few moments before his pilot Nida had flown their craft past the town. Sighing, President Cade raised a gloved hand and rubbed an itch on the left side of his face which had only recently healed from a severe burn wound. He scratched his beard which wrapped around three fourths of head, barely making it all the way up his jaw, and thought of the circumstances that had disfigured him, of the crazed Ancient he and his men were forced to dispatch... and ultimately the remorse he felt for having done so.
Cade shook the thoughts from his mind and turned his head to find the being sitting across the aisle from him. His name was Ebren and he was in command of the Agra garrison at Lithaan. He was a fat, expensively dressed, balding Humaan who at the time was slouching in his seat and fast asleep with half of his meal still resting on his belly. Cade raised his good eyebrow at the sight of the man and shook his head, audibly groaning with disgust at the state of his company. He did not like Ebren, neither the way his tongue slightly poked out between his lips, nor the way he handled the management of the Lithaan dig. Everything about him was simply irritating.
On an occasion or two, Cade had considered relieving Ebren of his position in Lithaan. More oft than that, he had considered relieving him of his life... He however could not bring himself to do either for Ebren was the nephew of the late President Karna, the woman who had mentored and essentially mothered Cade since she found him when he was but a teenager.
As the craft descended to land, Cade could not help but think of Karna. He thought of how he had grown to love her more than his own mother, how truly wonderful their relationship had been... he missed her terribly and since she was Humaan and he a half blood, he knew he would never see her again in any form of consciousness. Another sigh escaped his lungs as the craft touched down and he got to his feet. Ebren jerked in his seat, tossing the remnants of his meal into the air above him and smacking his lips together just letting out a large yawn.
"My, now that was quick!" Ebren bellowed with a gruff, cheerful voice as he wiggled himself up out of his seat. He looked down at the food and drink he had spilled onto the floor and chuckled lightly. "I suppose you must have somebody to take care of that for us, do you not?" He smacked his lips together again and Cade looked away, scratching the back of his neck.
"Never mind it all." Cade said, his voice so deep and clear that you would expect an echo to follow. Cade reached into the compartment above his seat and grabbed his sword belt and then his rifle, a nameless weapon he had reclaimed from an archaeological dig in South Barus. It was a ancient magazine fed long gun with a high powered digital scope and no makers mark or identifier of any sort. It had taken him no time to restore it as it was primarily made of "Humaan's Alloy" a variation of steel that they had not been able to replicate. Humaan's alloy was virtually corrosion resistant and in Cade's experience had a formidable chance of lasting at least a thousand years without degrading.
Cade slung his weapon over his shoulder and buckled his sword belt around his waist. Ebren squeezed past him, slightly bumping him with his large belly in doing so. Cade closed his eyes in disgust while Eben seemed completely oblivious of his intrusion. The two made their way to the hatch in the center of the craft which was only a few steps away just in time for Nida, their pilot, to emerge from the cockpit.
"Well if it isn't the lovely bird herself!" Ebren said, holding his arms out in delight. He approached the petite, short brown haired pilot and grabbed her hand. "Floating above all Duraan with the majesty and beauty of an eagle. Perhaps she would honor her company with a bird's song?" He kissed Nida's hand and with a nod, excused himself from the craft. Nida shook her head and looked to Cade.
"I hate that guy." She said, wiping his saliva off on her pant leg. Her outfit was plain, a pair of brown pants and knee high boots and a white long sleeved v-neck shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She had a pair of polarized goggles hanging from her neck so that she could see through Sym's light while she flew. "His lips felt like two slugs trying to fuck my hand."
Cade checked to make sure Ebren was gone and approached Nida. "What about mine?" He asked as he reached out an arm and pulled the female Elf toward him. He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. She closed her eyes and for a split second went limp in his arms.
"Ok." She said, pushing him away. "I've got work to do! Plus you would never live it down if anyone saw us." Cade snickered and let Nida go. She walked over to where Ebren was sitting and knelt down to clean up the mess of food he had left behind. Cade stood and watched her for a moment before she turned around and glared at him.
"Stop looking at my ass and go do your job!" She snapped, pointing a finger at the door. Cade smiled and waved at her as he walked away from her toward the hatch.
"Be good." He said, turning the disfigured side of his face toward her as he stopped in the entrance.
"I am always good." She replied, shooing him once again.
President Cade walked down the metal grate stairs, the heel
s of his heavy boots producing a metallic thump with every step, and found himself standing on the orange and brown dry cracked ground. Sym's light shone from the heavens, gently caressing Cade's skin. He permitted himself a brief moment of peace and closed his eyes as he took in the pleasant warmth that only the sun could provide.
"Are we ready Mister President?" Ebren asked impatiently. Cade opened his eyes and formed them into a glare.
"Lead the way then." Cade snapped, directing himself toward his portly subordinate. Ebren nodded and turned to lead Cade onward.
Before the duo was a mound rising from the otherwise flat landscape. The mound stood nearly twice as tall as Cade who was just over six feet tall, well above average among his Elvish and Half-Blood kin. As they got closer to the mound, the ground beneath them went from being the typical dried up orangish-brown, as was the norm for most of the country of Canrom, to a lush green grass covered scape that made a perfect circle nearly twenty yards around the mound. As Cade and Ebren approached the base of the mound, Cade briefly looked up at the giant tree, or "The Lithaani Sentinel" as it was called, that arose from the top of the mound. The great tree's trunk was composed of a rich chocolate colored bark and a beautiful plume of green leaves decorated the top of it.
Ebren approached a thick steel doored entrance with concrete walls that jutted from the base of the mound. He stood before the door and licked his lips as he produced a thin metal card from a satchel at his side. He reached his hand out and tapped the door with the top edge of the card. The door produced the sound of a mechanical lock being released and then proceeded to open outwardly. Ebren looked to Cade and gestured for him to enter.
"After you my lord." Ebren said licking his lips afterward. Cade stepped past the large steel doors and into a small dimly lit room with narrow concrete walls on each side of him. Opposite the door he had just walked through was a large electric elevator that had enough room on it to lift a dozen people or so. To his right sat a sleeping guard and to his left, leaning against the wall was the guards rifle. Cade scowled at this sight and kicked the guard in his foot.
Black Knight_Awakening [Part One] Page 4