Liam had known Aaron Laine since they were nothing but young broods chasing their mothers’ apron strings, and the two of them had grown up together. They were as close as non blood brothers could be. During the early stages of their Warden training they had often traveled together on assignment in Cerendova. Aaron was slightly taller than Liam, and leaner, with hair the color honeycomb that was cropped close to his head. He was dressed in the traditional Warden uniform and preferred a longbow and quill of arrows to a sword any day, and he had such strapped over his shoulder.
“How did you know I was here?” Liam questioned. “And have you seen the others?”
Aaron nodded and placed his hands on his slender waist. In total there were thirteen Imperial Wardens in the one hundred and fifth cadre, although not all of them were out of the country at one time on assignment. That all depended on how the Scales were balancing.
“Aye. Everyone has arrived except for you and Korbin, “Aaron responded. “We’ve set up camp several leagues from here waiting for both of you to return from assignment. Captain prefers for us to travel through the Border together this time. I was just out scouting and felt the Bond of another sorcerer close by, so I decided to follow the trail. Then I saw it was you and couldn’t resist a good wrestling match.” He stopped and scratched at the week’s worth of beard that outlined his face.
“I was worried about your whereabouts when I hadn’t heard from you in so long, but the Captain said he’d received word last month that you were returning to Cerendova. I was heading back home from the Sombi Crater in Wayanee when I received the message requesting early termination of our Zone from Captain Maddox.” He stopped to readjust the bow and arrows on his back.
“That’s strange,” Liam analyzed, wrinkling his forehead in thought. “Captain Maddox has never ended an assignment early and then waited on the Border for all the Wardens to assemble. We usually just gather once back in the city and rested.” Aaron’s face had gone grave as he scanned the swampland around them.
“Something is going on, Brother, such as I have never seen in all my years.” He leaned in closer to Liam. “All the Wardens seem on edge. Just these past couple of days, since we’ve had the chance to gather and discuss the condition of the Zones, all of us reported seeing and experiencing things that are just…odd.”
Liam nodded in understanding. He hadn’t been able to get the image of the bleeding tree out of his mind since that night in the Forest of Mirth. He was eager to meet with Captain Maddox and relay to him what he’d experienced when the invisible web, that was normally secure and impenetrable, was discovered completely gone.
“We must have a sense of urgency when we return to Cerendova and bring our concerns immediately to the Oligarch’s attention,” Aaron added. “From there guidance will be given.” He clasped his hand hard on Liam’s back. “Where is your site? We’ll go retrieve your horse and possessions and make our way back to the others. Come, it will be dark soon.”
Although he was happy to see his friend and heard what Aaron was saying, Liam was only partially listening. The back of his mind was still preoccupied with the events that had transpired with Zora earlier in the day. He was still trying to think of a way to convince her to come to Cerendova, and that took priority over everything else.
“What did you say?” Liam asked stupidly when he realized Aaron had walked a couple of feet ahead of him and was giving him a funny look over his shoulder.
“I asked where you were camped so we could retrieve your things and meet up with the rest of the cadre. We shouldn’t waste time and, you’ve been gone longer than any of us.” Liam suddenly became distressed; as if the thought of going home to Cerendova was the most absurd thing he’d ever heard of.
“Leave? No I can’t leave,” he stated confidently. He couldn’t depart from Zora, not yet. She wasn’t ready to live with the abilities she possessed. Aaron looked at him like he’d just admitted he was a serial murderer.
“Liam, you’re talking nonsense,” Aaron pressed. “You must come home. You’ve been away from Cerendova for almost a year now. That equates to nearly three years in the Commoner Realm! Most of us have been home and back several times during that period, and you’ve extended your assignment far beyond what was originally scheduled.”
“Samaria is at the northern zenith of the Realm,” Liam countered, “and the one furthest from Cerendova. It’s not as easy to travel there and back as it would be if I was assigned another location.”
Aaron crossed his arms in front of his chest. “That’s never stopped you before, Brother. What have you been doing all this time anyway?” His tall posture seemed to grow larger, and his body language became imposing, as if he was about to interrogate the other Warden.
“None of the Brothers have heard a peep from you, except when mandatory check-ins are due. And to be honest, the Captain was getting quite suspicious of how long you were gone. Luckily we didn’t need you for anything sooner or you’d be hard pressed to find an excuse. You better have a detailed report to present to the Captain to justify it.” Aaron stopped and narrowed his eyes at him. “Why the reluctance to return home? I’ve never seen you act like this before.”
The responsibility and duties of being a Warden suddenly felt like a heavy burden to Liam. He wished he could give Aaron a complete answer that would halt his probing questions and satisfy his suspicions, but the Warden’s Oath was the code he lived by. ‘Seek what is true’.
“Fine,” Liam grumbled. “I’ll tell you what I’ve been doing, but you cannot repeat this to anyone!” He jabbed his finger into Aaron’s chest.
“I’ve known you my whole life,” Aaron assured him. “You’re like a brother to me, Liam. Whatever is ailing you, you can tell me.”
“I know,” Liam replied, and he believed it.
He gestured Aaron over to a cluster of large protruding tree roots that would make temporary seats. Both men sat down quietly. The air in the forest was unmoving, and the dampness of it clung to their cloths and hair like a wet towel. Liam intentionally waited to start his confession to Aaron as he tried to figure out the most appropriate way to explain Zora to his best friend. He listened intently as a team of black-billed magpies yakked and called out to each other through the saplings.
“I came across a mixed-blood while in Samaria,” Liam finally admitted. “And a powerful one at that. So talented that I fear leaving them in the Commoner Realm would prove unwise. Someone would realize what they were, and the proof that we still exist would cause fear and unrest. Then a massive witch hunt would commence and genocide would follow, just like after the Border went up.” Aaron had his mouth open a little in surprise.
“Really?” he asked skeptically. “I didn’t think Chimeras really existed.”
Chimera was a slang term that sorcerers used for Commoners who showed the skill of sorcery when their parents did not. Its origin was derived from the fire-breathing mythical creature that had a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail.
“Seems like any mixed blood would be weakened after so many generations,” Aaron added while he thought. “But I guess I agree with your course of action. We must do everything possible to preserve the peace that the Great Severance instilled.” Aaron’s eyes suddenly brightened.
“Have you told this Chimera the history of our people? Do you want to bring him back to Cerendova to meet with the Oligarchs? Is that why he was interested in leaving Samaria, to learn how to flow? Do you think he’s got potential?”
Liam could tell Aaron was getting excited about the rarity of a Commoner whose blood and abilities proved that in the beginning, the lands were all united. After the Great Severance, the Commoners went through decades of hunting down, torturing, and murdering those who were accused of being Slythos. Although much subsided, to this day such practices were still in tact, especially in the southern countries closet to the Border.
“Well yes…and no,” Liam answered quickly. “There is one minute detail that complicates ma
tters.” He stopped. The words were on the edge of his tongue, but he didn’t want to speak them. Aaron waited impatiently, his golden hazel eyes alive with interest.
“The he is actually a she,” Liam disclosed, watching for Aaron’s reaction.
“Oh,” he replied in disappointment. Liam could tell Aaron was processing this information, and his immediate interest in a potential Chimera abruptly diminished.
“Then why concern yourself?” Aaron asked nonchalantly. “She can’t possibly be a strong enough sorcerer to do anything that would bring unwanted attention to her. She should be perfectly safe in her own lands. You seriously spent three years fretting over this?” Liam fervently shook his head, becoming impatient with Aaron’s biased assumptions about Zora.
“No, Aaron, she’s powerful.” He emphasized each word to make the other man understand what he was saying. “Undeniably equal to me, at least. And I’m an Imperial Warden!” Aaron just barked a comical laugh.
“You’re mad, my friend! The Creator made woman from man. Thus we are the stronger beings and they the weaker. Never in the history of our race has a woman been able to channel Ithillium with such skill as a man. That’s the way it has been since Genesis.” Aaron’s smile faded when he realized that Liam found no humor in the situation.
“Look,” he began again in a stern tone. “Say by some impossible chance that she was as gifted as any of us. She’s better off staying here, in the Commoner Realm, where she belongs. With her own people and their narrow-minded ideals.”
“But she’ll die!” Liam yelled in outrage. “And there is nothing I can do to stop that!”
“People die all the time from causes that are out of our control, Liam. She’s just a Commoner. What is it to you anyway?” Aaron abruptly stopped as a look of enlightenment came over his young face.
“Blast!” he swore sharply. “Why didn’t I realize it? You love her! Don’t you?”
Liam couldn’t deny it. There was no point in denying it. His face would betray the truth, despite the words that came out of his mouth.
Aaron continued, “Liam, you cannot contradict the Oath we made when we were sworn in as Imperial Wardens! Do not get involved with the Commoners! They can never know that we exist, why we exist, and why we cross the Border!”
“She’s not a Commoner!” Liam shot back, weekly defending both himself and Zora.
“She is! She’s a mixed-blood at the most!” The two friends were arguing heatedly now. “She didn’t grow up in Cerendova! She wasn’t raised by the same truths and doctrine as we were. You’re blinded by your affections for her.” Aaron’s voice had taken on a parental tone. “You have to end whatever it is that you’ve started. Now! It’s better for all of us that way. Anyone at home would have your head on a platter if they realized what you’ve done.”
Aaron must have picked up on the conflict that was raging within Liam’s conscience because in a milder tone he said, “Do you remember the day of our inauguration? We were what…sixteen years old then?” Liam nodded, remembering it as if it was yesterday.
“In front of the entire capitol, the Oligarchs, and the high Priests we swore our oaths to place the welfare of the people in front of our own,” Aaron reminded him. “Our duty is to serve them. You chasing this Chimera will only lead you further from the path of fulfilling your duty as a Warden. It’s a dangerous game to chase the darkness.”
Liam sighed with a heavy heart. He knew Aaron was right, like normal. He was always the more rational, even-tempered one and he constantly had to bring Liam back in line, even as children.
You should listen to him, Liam told himself. He knew that training Zora would be risky. The reasons why were innumerable. Her very existence was an anomaly, and it contradicted the very doctrine that he had grown up learning. It was the same doctrine that Cerendova was founded on and governed by. His friend Fae had warned him to stay away from Zora. She’d tried to explain that bringing her to Cerendova was a mistake, despite the amount of influence he thought he had with the lawmakers, but he’d shut her down. Now, Aaron was doing the same thing. Two people that meant the world to him were delivering the same admonition, yet his heart was being dragged in the opposite direction. Even Sariel had warned him of this. He’d warned him of the painful repercussions resulting from making promises you couldn’t keep.
Liar, Zora had accused Liam. Maybe she knew something about him that even he couldn’t see.
That day in Mizra’s gardens, Liam had assured Zora he’d accompany her to Montanisto, and so he had. But he had also, in a moment of weakness caused by love, vowed that he would never leave her side. As a Warden, Liam knew that wasn’t a promise he could keep, and now he had to break that promise. He had to return to Cerendova to fulfill his duties or he would be abandoning the very morals he lived by. Liam was suddenly angry with himself for being so reckless and self absorbed. That wasn’t who he wanted to be.
You should have listened to the Guardian, Liam reprimanded himself. That’s why they are eternally bound to you. To provide counsel and moral direction when your human judgment is impaired. To help you see beyond your own self interest. Now you are forced to hurt someone you care about because you’re unable to fulfill empty promises.
But through all the Warden’s tangled thoughts, somehow they circumvented back to that night in his chamber when a frightened Zora came to him when there was no one else she could turn to. The fear in her eyes had bordered on hysteria as she confided her deepest fears to him. Just remembering the grotesque scar branded on Zora’s midsection caused unnatural goose bumps to form on his flesh. He had made another promise to her that night as well, a promise to help her find the source of such visions and how the scar had come to be.
It was at this pivotal moment recounting these events that Liam Rose realized he could not, under any circumstances in the Commoner Realm or his own, forsake Zora in a world full of so many uncertainties. As a Warden, his job was to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves, and Zora was one of those people, at least for now. There was no reason why he couldn’t stay true to at least some of the commitments he’d made to her.
Liam slowly recited the Warden’s Oath silently to himself. With each phrase he spoke he felt more confident about his decision.
Flee all that’s evil, do all that’s good, seek what is true, pursue only peace, love unconditionally.
Finally, he met Aaron’s patient yet concerned gaze. Liam rolled the words he wanted to speak around in his head for a way to deliver them that wasn’t entirely false. Wardens were always honest and open with each other. The Guardians made sure of that. Additionally, the one hundred and fifth cadre was an extremely close-knit group of comrades, and Liam knew that Aaron was only looking out for the group’s best interest. Everyone would be affected if he did something foolish. Such a thought made Liam feel slightly guilty, but that feeling disappeared when his thoughts returned to Zora.
“You’re right, Brother,” Liam admitted halfheartedly. “I was putting my own desires in front of what I’ve sworn to do. There are more crucial matters in this world than just my own wants, and I have pledged myself to attend to them. What was I thinking?” Aaron gave him a half smile, no longer agitated now that his friend was speaking lucidly.
“It happens to the best of us, Liam. We are only human after all. Now come, let’s get going. It’ll be dark soon and there is still the Border to pass through.” Liam immediately stopped him.
“Do you think I could go say goodbye to her?” he asked, knowing his friend would concede. “I’ve spent three years with this woman, and she is still a dear friend if anything. It wouldn’t be right if I disappeared without giving her some sort of explanation.”
“Of course,” Aaron replied thoughtfully. “That’s only fair.”
“You don’t have to wait here for me,” Liam added. “Just send the coordinates of the group’s location, and I will be there before nightfall.”
“Aye, Brother. It should take you no more than a day at
a canter. We won’t continue with you unaccounted for.”
He gave Liam another smile then disappeared off into the shade of the brush. Liam watched as he pulled his bow from his back and loaded an arrow, just to be cautious. Then his form faded into the shadow of the trees until only a human shape illuminated by a subtle glow remained. Liam brought his hands to his face to rub the stress from his eyes. He turned around and redirected himself back to the trail that would lead to Spencer’s camp. There he would meet Zora back at her tent like he’d promised her he would.
Chapter 17
When Zora turned around one last time to look at Liam, he was already gone from her sight. In all the years she’d known him, Zora had never seen her friend so upset with her. In truth, she didn’t like it. The anger that was on Liam’s face when she refused to go with him to Cerendova was entirely genuine. In fact, it was almost scary.
Zora just shook her head as she walked and felt a little bit dizzy. Everything in her life was happening too fast, with no cause or reason to explain any of it. For sixteen years she had been nothing more than an illegitimate child, then the exiled heir to the Samarian throne. Now, she was about to inherit partial rule of the Montanisto Township in a foreign country she knew nothing about. On top of all that, she was just beginning to scratch the surface of learning her abilities as a sorcerer, which was more terrifying than the other two combined.
I can’t handle all of this at once, Zora thought anxiously. I feel like I’m being pulled down multiple paths with no clear direction on which one to follow. Eventually I’m going to loose control of my own life.
She stalked back to Spencer’s camp through the wet mud, her shoes sinking low into the slosh making it difficult to hike. She was slowed down even further by a sharp pain above her hip that radiated throughout her entire body. She clenched her side helplessly and curled her fingers around the throbbing scar, but kept walking.
Zora sighed in relief when the familiar orange and yellow tents of Spencer’s temporary camp came into view. Misou slaves carried about outside, washing laundry in large wooden barrels and hanging them up to dry on wash lines staked into the ground. They were still garbed in their black uniforms and veils. Zora frowned to herself, wondering how they tolerated the debilitating heat covered head to toe in such uniforms.
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