"Come in philosopher and take a seat," said the commander with a deep voice.
Garan walked over to another chair that sat nearby.
"We have not been properly introduced. I am Akar, leader of the path of strength in the mountain"
Garan bowed his head in respect. "I was not aware that you would be leading the mission yourself"
"A chance to rid ourselves of the scum that plagues the paths?" Said Akar. "How could I resist the chance"
"It does beg the question as to why you have not done so before," Garan enquired hoping that he had not insulted the warrior. If Akar was offended then he did not show it.
"As strong as the path of strength is, the eradication of the ascended is a big task and their powers can overcome even the greatest of our warriors" replied Akar. "It is something that all paths should unite for"
"I agree," said Garan. "Uniting is not killing my men, though"
"That was regrettable, the men spoil for a fight and can get carried away"
"See that it does not happen again"
"Mind your tongue philosopher or I will cut it out," said Akar sharply. "You are here to help us and I will be the one that makes decisions"
"You need us," said Garan. "You said so yourself"
"Yes and you need us. Did you bring your weapons?" Akar asked.
"Our scientists are ready and the chemicals are at your disposal"
"That is your area, we fight with sword and sweat alone," said Akar with a laugh.
"Very well. May I ask where we are heading?" Garan asked.
"Have you ever heard of Unity?"
Garan shook his head.
"Well, a couple of years back, one of our commanders managed to stumble upon this small colony north of anywhere else"
Garan listened carefully.
"This colony call themselves Unity, a community that followed not one path but a united knowledge from all of them"
"Like how the builders from the past once lived," said Garan.
"Yes. Well this commander had kept the knowledge of this to himself"
"Whatever for and why did he change his mind?" Garan asked.
"The damn fool never did tell me, went and turned into one of those scum and disappeared six months ago. His men had been sworn to secrecy, only telling me because of what had happened to him" replied Akar.
"So what is so important about this community?"
Garan was becoming distracted by one of the women moving. He had done well up until now to avoid looking lest he insults the commander. Garan shifted his eyes back to Akar and the commander laughed.
"No need to avert your eyes philosopher, we are both men and these are my most beautiful playthings. After we are done here you can have your pick. Back to business."
"Yes, what is so important about this community apart from their lack of guidance from a path," Garan was considering the offer of a woman in the back of his mind, they were indeed beautiful.
"It is a sanctuary for the ascended, somewhere they can go and live like humans"
Any thoughts of women quickly left Garan's mind.
"And they allow it?" Garan asked.
"Worse," replied Akar. "They protect them. Turns out this commander almost lost his life to these people"
"You think your commander has gone there?"
Akar nodded. "Only place he can go for now. But when I get my hands upon him, I will crush the life out of the traitor"
Akar's hatred seemed personal, but Garan did not press to find out why.
"What kind of resistance should we expect?" he asked.
"They do have some weapons apparently and the hills surrounding them can be easily defended should they see us coming"
"How much cover is there as we approach these hills," Garan asked.
Akar looked at him curiously.
"You know something about warfare?" Akar questioned.
"There are books within my library that talk of war and strategy. I have read them all"
"But you have not been in battle?"
"There has not been much conflict on these lands in generations," said Garan.
"Alas that is true, there has not been an army that could face us. Slaughter just doesn't have the same satisfaction"
A shiver ran down Garan's spine and he was glad the path of strength took that stance else it was unlikely any of the paths would exist.
"We should rest, a tired mind is a dead mind," said Akar. He clicked his fingers and the women lined up in front of Garan "So which one will it be?"
Garan looked at the woman in turn, each seemed more beautiful than the last. Their bodies glistened with sweat in the firelight and each smiled at him. He could feel the stirring in his loins and a hunger grew within him, the noise from men passing the tent brought him back to his senses.
"Not this time, I must keep my mind focused on the mission. Maybe when we are victorious"
"As you wish, with an abundance of ascended you may even find one of them you like," Akar laughed.
Garan forced out a laugh to join in with the commander.
"We leave at first light, make sure your men are ready"
Garan bid the commander good night and left the tent, he was escorted to the bridge and crossed it into his camp. Immediately he called a meeting with his generals. They spoke long into the night about the mission and whether they were going to be safe working with the path of strength. Garan let his men argue as he sat and thought of the women that were on offer to him and Akar's crude joke about the ascended.
chapter seventeen
The group left the forest and entered onto open grasslands, Rinne was struggling with the weight of a pack that she had taken. Slowed by the injury, their progress was limited but their destination was now in sight and everyone's mood had visibly improved. Mavok pointed the hills out to Rinne.
"Just over those and we will see the lake," he said as they walked.
"A lake?"
"Yes, their settlement surrounds a lake. A bridge leads into the middle of it where a small island holds their elders hall"
"It sounds beautiful already," said Rinne.
"From what I remember, it is"
"Are you sure about this?" Rinne asked.
"Rinne, by now I had hoped that you would trust me," said Mavok.
Rinne looked to the grass and just shrugged. She found it hard to trust anyone, ever since her ascension. The incident with Father and the tower had reinforced her perception that no-one could be trusted and evil lurked around every corner.
"When we get to Unity you will see what I mean about the freedom and hopefully lower those defences"
'Maybe, if it is all true' she thought.
They continued their march, the sun climbed high into the sky and they reached the hill. It was a steep climb and it would take them some time to reach the summit so the group took a short rest.
"Should someone go ahead and check the area?" asked Cala. The naturist had grown more nervous since they had left the forest.
"They will know we are approaching, there are watchers all along the hills," said Mavok.
"No welcoming party to help us?"
"They will not travel past the hills," said Mavok. "It is defensible up there"
Cala snorted.
"Come on and we can make it by evening," said Mavok.
Rinne shifted the pack on her back and followed Mavok as he began to climb the hill.
Rinne's clothes stuck to her body and she panted as they crested the hill. The sun had beaten down upon them the whole way and their water had quickly run out with so many mouths. As they made the top they were greeted by a small host of men, each holding weapons pointed at them.
'So much for our freedom' thought Rinne.
"We have come in peace and are looking for sanctuary. We have heard your community welcomes our kind," said Mavok, though Rinne noticed his hand rested upon the hilt of his sword. One of the men approached.
"My name is Alan, the ascended are welcome here"
"Then may I ask why your weapons are trained upon us?" Mavok questioned Alan.
"There are a great number of you, it is unusual to see so many make their way here at once," said Alan. "We had to make sure of your intentions"
"They are just intentions. My name is Mavok"
Rinne saw one of them shift uncomfortably and wondered why.
"They follow us to the community, our elders will be eager to meet you and hear your story," said Alan.
Escorted by the men who still held their weapons ready, they walked to the other side of the hill and Rinne had her first look upon Unity.
It was all and more that Rinne could ever imagine. With the lowering sun; the lake that stretched across a basin sparkled blue. It was as Mavok had said, the island in the center was connected by a bridge and the building upon it was made of thick stone walls, giving it the look of a fortress. Smaller hills dotted around the lake held buildings with a host of houses and more that sat upon the level ground. Everything looked fresh and new as if it had been built recently.
"Welcome to Unity," said Alan who had noticed her look of fascination.
Jon gasped beside her then gave a yelp of joy and took off running down the hill.
"Wait, Jon!" Rinne called after him.
"He is fine, no harm will come to the boy," said Alan.
Disregarding the man's words, Rinne took off after him. Jon picked up speed and even downhill Rinne struggled to keep up with him.
The buildings came up quickly, people began to appear watching the two running towards their community and Rinne could see that a few had weapons.
"Jon stop," Rinne called.
Just before he ran into them Jon stopped with Rinne almost running into the boy.
"Get behind me," she said to him. Jon's happiness had vanished and he quickly got behind her as men with weapons approached them.
"Hold your weapons" called a voice from the back of the men. Weapons lowered and they parted to let an ascended walk through. "These young ones mean us no harm"
He looked at Rinne and smiled.
"Let the power go, you are safe here"
Rinne pulled the power back in and sighed. Jon came out from behind her.
"Look, Rinne, an ascended and he is with the humans," he said excitedly "Mavok was right"
"Yes he was," said Rinne.
"Welcome to Unity young ones, my name is Zalon. I am an elder of this community. Please follow me," said Zalon.
Rinne was almost dragged by Jon as they began to walk through the buildings.
"As you can see, we are free here and it has always been this way at Unity," Zalon said as they walked.
They made it through the few buildings and it opened out onto the lake. The first thing that Rinne saw was the mixture of humans and ascended. They were working together and talking as though it was the most natural thing to do. It was alien to her.
"How is this possible?" asked Rinne.
"There is nothing preventing humans and ascended from coexisting upon these lands. It is only prejudice that gets in the way"
"But all the paths regard the elves as abominations" Rinne pointed out.
"What did you call us?" Zalon asked.
"Elves, it is what the path of nature has begun to call us," replied Rinne.
"I like it," said Zalon. "The paths were always stuck in their ways, it is something that we regrettably did not foresee"
"What do you mean foresee?" asked Rinne. "I thought the paths came before ascension."
"That is so, but those that built this land and journeyed here were the first to ascend into elves"
The new name seemed to have been adopted quickly, Rinne was still unsure about what Zalon was saying.
"So the first ascensions happened here. You said we?"
"He is a builder," said a voice from behind her. Rinne turned to see that Mavok had joined them.
"But the builders left centuries ago, we are the descendants of those that created the paths," said Rinne. "You cannot be one of the builders"
"Your histories are incomplete and incorrect," said Zalon. "I am indeed one of the builders. Ascending to this form; an elve as you call it, we not only gain access to our power, but we also live a much-extended life"
"How extended?" Mavok asked.
"We do not know, the builders left have all lived this long and there seems to be no end in sight," replied Zalon.
"Why do we not know about this?"
"We survive by keeping our existence a secret, when other humans began ascending we did travel the lands in search of them. Many died at the hands of humans that didn't understand and refused to listen to us so we stayed here"
"How do other ascended find their way here?" Rinne asked.
"There are humans born here that leave to join the paths and help ascended make their way here"
Rinne suddenly wondered if Father was one of those people sent to help them, but he never mentioned Unity to her or the others.
"We have only been discovered by the paths once and that was the last time you came here," Zalon said to Mavok.
"How do you recognise me?" Mavok asked.
"I recognise the sword at your belt," replied Zalon. "You had promised to never return here"
"As a human," said Mavok "I no longer follow that path"
"No, you now follow all paths in the way that all people of this land should live," said Zalon. "Now that you are all here we must meet with the elders. New arrivals must meet us all and learn what it is to be part of Unity. Now follow me"
chapter eighteen
The group walked along the bridge, the water was crystal clear and Rinne watched the fish swim around in circles. As they approached the elder's hall, Rinne could see the majesty of the building. Its intricate designs were carved into the stone, something that she had only seen once and that was in the grand library. Zalon led the way and they entered the hall. Rinne's eyes were drawn to the walls inside, also covered in designs that depicted animals like bears and birds but also some that she had not seen before.
Upon entering a large hall, she saw several people were sat at a long table. Some were human and the others were ascended, Zalon asked the group to wait and he took his place in the center of the table. He talked to the other elders for a moment and then they turned to the group.
"Another welcome to our new arrivals. I have said it many times, but it is exciting to see so many in one go, please tell us the story of how this came to be," said Zalon.
Mavok stepped forward and began to recount his story since the time he had ascended. How he had been in hiding, trying to survive and come to terms with his ascension. Then his encounter with a naturist from Nature's Bounty who helped him and spoke of the ascended living in the community and their need to be free. Mavok took them, heading for the monastery of the clerics and his success at collecting a good number of them. After that was their trek to the city of philosophers, Rinne distracted herself with the pictures on the walls. She knew this part of the story and wanted to keep her thoughts from Father and of what happened after. Zalon began speaking and drew back Rinne's attention.
"Well that is a fascinating story, you have come far since we last met you," he said with a smile. "There are some things we must discuss. Living within Unity is open to all that wish it, as is the freedom that is offered but there are rules. This community is a sanctuary of peace, such is the way that our powers must only be used for the betterment of those we live with. Should this be broken then you will be removed from this place forever"
It seemed harsh to Rinne, but she didn't want to use her powers again.
"Also, all are expected to help, include themselves in the production of food, building and maintaining houses and to care for each other"
Rinne couldn't help but glance at Mavok briefly.
"That seems acceptable," said Mavok.
"Then it is settled, you are now all part of Unity," said Zalon. The elders each banged on their table once, the group cheere
d and embraced each other.
A bell began to toll and at first Rinne assumed that it was a celebration for their adoption into the community. But the look on the elder's faces quickly shattered that thought.
"Were more of you coming?" asked Zalon in an urgent tone.
"No," replied Mavok. "What is wrong?"
"The warning bell tells us that the watchers have seen someone approaching"
"More ascended?" Mavok asked.
"Possibly, we should go and see. As part of our community do you wish to join us?"
Mavok nodded.
"I will have someone come and show the others to their new accommodations," said Zalon.
"I wish to go with you," said Rinne.
"You should rest," Mavok said to her.
"I am fine and I wish to see"
"Very well,” said Mavok.
They left the hall and walked across the bridge with the bell still tolling, Zalon increased his speed and they were quickly moving through the community. Humans and ascended were moving around quickly, urgent whispers and comments passed them by with Rinne beginning to get nervous. Cala ran up to them.
"What is happening?" she asked the pair.
"It seems there are more coming," said Rinne.
"More elves?" said Cala. "Well the world is full of your kind now isn't it"
"Come and see with us," said Rinne.
Making their way up the hill, they were met by Alan.
"Elder Zalon," the man panted.
"Report. Is it more ascended?"
"No sir, a large host approaches. They are flying the banners of strength and philosophy"
Mavok and Rinne looked at each other, both were alarmed by this news and Zalon turned to them.
"What do you know of this?" he asked Mavok.
"Nothing, I never spoke of this place to the path of strength"
"And philosophy, why are they here?" he asked Rinne.
A lump formed in her throat she looked at the floor and then to Cala who nodded at her.
"What is it Rinne, what have you done?" asked Mavok.
Rinne still could not speak, she wanted to run away.
"You told them of Unity," Zalon accused. Rinne looked at the elder and shook her head. "Then speak"
The Ascension Trilogy Page 6