‘The other half of the population were left at the valley to protect all outside from the growing menace within.’ Thaddrick said.
‘You are talking of the Bleak and the wall; you are talking of the Guardians.’ Varan said in a hushed tone.
‘Yes,’ the old man replied. ‘I am.’
Chapter 29
Boys Become Men
Young Jed soon caught his friend up and the pair walked on in silence as they moved away from the hall, they crossed green and yellow fields each bursting with life, the new growth of small trees already showing promise of the great and diverse forest this would one day become. They continued to walk until, at last both hot and bothered they came across the silver river they had seen from the hill and the few trees that were older than saplings. They followed the course of the winding water in silence and before long came to a point of land they thought they both recognised. The river bent and spread here creating a large pool just right for the valley children to fish and play almost exactly as they did in their own time and as children themselves they had fished for hours attempting to make sense of the world they lived in, vowing to make it better.
‘D’yer remember the time when we went off fishing on our own an’ left May at home?’ Jed asked his friend as they sat down on the soft grass, a smile playing around the corners of his tired face; sleep had eluded him for the last few nights, so much so that Lemba had spoken to Mayan about it and dearly wished she had kept a few of her sisters herbs.
‘Do You remember?’ Gideon replied, with a stern look, imitating Thaddrick and the annoying way he had.
‘Ner ner ner ner ner,’ Jed sang the schoolboy song and both boys burst into unexpected laughter, easing the tension that had been building all morning.
‘What am I gonna do Jed?’ Gideon asked as they relaxed on the bank. He looked up at the cloudless blue sky and squinted against the suns glare.
‘Jus’ think, it’s still winter at ‘ome,’ Jed replied, revelling in the warmth and knowing his friend didn’t expect an answer.
‘Hey, come swim,’ called Jonus their little friend from the previous evening as he swam up past them splashing them from the silver water.
‘C’mon,’ grinned Jed, as he began to remove his clothing, before long, he was nearly naked and had thrown himself into the icy cold water. Gideon smiled as he watched the pair splashing about and at last agreed to join them. In his haste to undress he tried to take his leggings off over his shoes so there was no surprise when they got stuck and he was left hopping semi-naked around on the bank as he tried to extricate himself from his unruly clothing. Finally and with much laughter coming from the water, he managed it and threw himself headlong into the cold depths to join his friend and Jonus.
A while later, exhausted, the two young men and Jonus clambered out of the river and fell onto the grass laughing. Jonus looked at them both inquisitively.
‘Which of you is the one’?’ He asked conversationally.
‘What is the one, what’s ‘e s’posed ter do?’ Gideon replied, quietly watching Jonus from beneath his lashes.
‘Thaddrick says, when he comes, we can go home once more,’ Jonus answered, his persona still that of a young boy but with a depth of character in his eyes that had not been apparent before.
‘What d’yer mean?’ Jed asked, puzzled.
‘We’re held here, when the colony split, we came here for our safety, Thaddrick is the only one who moves around in the outside world and we wait for the one who will save us and both our worlds.’ Jonus answered, grinning once more like the child he was.
‘It’s not so bad, when Thaddrick is not here we kind of sleep,’ he added as Gideon looked on open mouthed. ‘Actually we sleep a lot,’ he added wryly.
‘What d’yer mean, save the worlds?’ Jed asked, looking meaningfully at Gideon.
‘Jonus…’ his mother called from the roadway, Gideon looked over at the young woman who did not look much older than he was himself.
‘The gateway needs to be closed,’ said Jonus jumping to his feet to answer his mother’s call, ‘but Thaddrick says it has to be closed from the Arotian side as it was opened from there. There’s a hole, like a leak, and life, the life from both our planets is seeping into the void; it’s slowly killing both our worlds. Thaddrick believes there must be an area like the Bleak on Arotia too. That’s why the Bleak keeps expanding, because the life is being sucked out. Didn’t you know?’ Said Jonas grinning, he turned toward his mother and ran to her call across the grassland only stopping briefly to turn and wave.
‘So that’s what I’m supposed to do, what I was born for, ter save the world.’ Gideon began to grin insanely, ‘no,’ he corrected himself, ‘I’m supposed ter save two worlds.’
Jed looked at his friend, slightly cold and still damp from their impromptu swim. Unnoticed by Gideon his speech had begun to change just the way Jed’s own had when he had joined the army. We’re both becoming something different, he thought and mentally shook himself. He opened his hand and ran his finger along the old palm scar. We’re still brothers, he reminded himself fiercely.
‘Hey bro,’ he said, smiling at Gideon, ‘we’ll save the worlds together jus’ like we planned when we were kids, Jed the Dark and his trusty side kick,’ he said standing up and flexing his muscles, pretending to be the hero of their childhood. As he laughed at himself, Gideon joined in and also stood, pushing Jed out of the way and racing for the water once more, screaming as he went, still laughing, Jed ran quickly after him.
The young men swam and played like children pulling and pushing, ducking each other under the clear water and swimming for the bottom, they played hard trying to forget who they were and that they were no longer children.
Eventually, tired of the games Jed swam lazily for the shoreline leaving Gideon floating on his back his ears covered by the cold water, floating in his own silent world with the crystal clear depths below him and the warm sun above. There he began to think more deeply on how his life had changed, from a woodsman’s son, which was all he had ever wanted to be, to a King’s son, with a line of magicians behind him as far as he could imagine. Magic blood, all it’s done so far is kill, he thought, thinking of the deaths of the soldiers he’d killed when Toby had raped Mayan. If I’m supposed ter be this saviour of worlds aren’t I supposed ter think like one, shouldn’t I know what to do? He asked himself.
‘You ok Gid?’ Jed called from the riverbank as he pulled his discarded clothes toward him.
‘Yer, I’ve ‘ad enough now.’ Gideon replied as he swam slowly over to join his friend. From the water he watched as Jed dressed, his stomach rippled with muscle and his arms bulged, he looked toned and strong all over. Reaching the shore himself, he climbed onto the grassy bank and sat drying in the sunlight subconsciously comparing himself to Jed. He was as fair as Jed was dark and his arms were almost, if not as full as his friends were, years of working in the forest had given him his father’s strong, manly physique and he had slight blonde hairs on his chest and full thick thighs just as Jed did.
‘Jed, when did we grow up…?’ He asked, as he realised he had up until now played at being a man. His father had always told him that being a man held responsibilities; he had thought that meant taking care of Mayan and the forest, settling down and having a family. Pulling his trews up over his legs and under his rear and with his shirt loose he sat looking toward the water his elbows on his knees and his toes entwined in the lush green grass.
‘Jed, from a tactical point o’ view, as a soldier I mean, what should we do…, what should I do?’ He said quietly as a silver fish jumped up out of the water to catch a long legged fly hovering just above the surface film and looking for a good place to lay its eggs. The sun caught the fish reflecting the silver scales and lighting it up for a brief moment before it fell back into the cold water with a gentle splash.
‘The question was right first time bro, what are we gonna do?’ Jed replied as he sat down beside his friend.
> Once more Gideon lay back on the grass and stared at the sky; soft willowy white clouds were forming as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. Jed lay back beside him; he could feel the worry emanating from his friend and he knew he had added to that worry, he had caused his best friend, his brother, pain, with his heart heavy with guilt and sorrow he also closed his eyes.
As Gideon slept his head swirled with emotion and his heart felt heavy, no, it isn’t me ‘eart it’s me chest an’ the amulet, he thought as his dreams continued. He saw himself struggling in the water; the weight of the pendant dragging him under, the world began to turn black as he struggled to breath, deeper and deeper he dropped into the murky depths. Strange creatures swam toward him with evil in their eyes and soft cold tentacles brushed against his skin. He could not feel the fleshy arms as they stroked and caressed his body but the stinging pain they left behind made him open his mouth to the viscous fluid he was sinking into. The thick, sticky water flowed into his lungs and the creatures backed off just watching as he struggled, they seemed to be waiting for death to claim him, no, they waited for his soul. Struggling against the weight of the amulet, he knew he was indeed dying.
Suddenly the weight lessened, and the world began to turn bright once more. He could no longer feel the pain from the stings and the pain in his chest also began to fade, he felt the water turn from sticky, thick claws pulling him down ever deeper, to light silky caressing fingers easing his hurts and soothing his mind. In his dream, he thought he was dead. Me Journey is beginning…, he mused as the silky water left his body and the amulet around his neck stopped pulling him under.
A tinkling laugh interrupted his thoughts.
‘My Journey…not me Journey,’ Gideon opened his eyes and realised he had slipped into the ether, he looked on the girl he had seen once before as she took his hand lovingly. She was wearing the same clothes she had worn previously, white and blue robes that seemed to float as she moved, her golden hair long and thick, the colour of Gideon’s own and eyes, also as blue as his own smiled back at him.
‘Even bein’ dead don’t stop folk from correctin’, sorry, correcting me,’ he grinned at her.
‘Gideon, you are not dead, you are just sleeping, look,’ she smiled as Gideon continued to stare at her. ‘Look,’ she said again, turning his face with her pale cool hand.
‘Should I know yer, er… you?’ Gideon asked with a grin as he corrected himself again.
Again, the girl smiled and pointed, Gideon sighed and turned his head in the direction she indicated. He could see his body and that of Jed’s, both fast asleep on the green grass with the silver river rushing by.
‘Jed looks uncomfortable,’ Gideon said as he watched his friend tossing and turning his brow creased in worry.
‘Jed does not sleep well anymore,’ the girl replied, adding, ‘would you like to see his dreams…?’ Gideon looked up at the girl as she smiled at him; he had never seen such love and depth of feeling in another person’s eyes before.
‘Who are you?’ He asked.
‘Look Gideon,’ she said again. Gideon tore his eyes away from the deep blue pools and looked around. The scene before him had changed, he could still see his own body and Jed’s, but now Jed was holding him on the ground against the bole of a large tree, blood was pouring from a wound in his neck and running like a river, flowing away fast and deep for as far as Gideon could see. In the river were people, people from his village, they were all staring at Jed begging him to save them, they were drowning in the blood under the weight of golden chains.
‘So much blood,’ Gideon whispered.
‘Watch, listen…’ the girl replied as Jed wielded the knife, his face full of conflict.
‘I love yer Gideon,’ he was saying as he pushed the knife to bite deeper into Gideon’s neck. A second figure of Jed appeared and knelt in the blood before the first, it seemed to be pleading with the one holding the knife. Gideon could see the mouth open and close but no sound came forth, tears of rage and pain mingled with sorrow and regret poured from the face of the pleading figure, the tears coursed down his cheeks, silver rivers running fast and furiously as they joined and mingled with the river of blood. The people began to disappear into the blood red water.
‘Jed loves you, and hates himself deeply; he wants to help his family too but does not know how. Help him Gideon, as only you can.’
‘How?’ Gideon asked, his heart reaching out to the clearly distraught figure below him. ‘You do not need me to tell you my son,’ the girl said as she released his hand. Without hesitation, Gideon stepped into his friend’s dream and kneeling in the blood that pooled around him, Gideon took his friend into his arms.
‘Speak to me Jed’, he said as the figure continued to plead silently as if it could not see Gideon beside him, could not hear his words. ‘Lady...,’ Gideon called feeling helpless.
‘You do know the way Gideon, look into your heart,’ he heard her say, into me heart... my heart, I carry me ma’s pendant against my heart, Gideon thought. Suddenly a vision of the bloodstone, the deep red bloodstone he had given Jed on the night of his eighteenth birthday so long ago sprung into his mind. He pulled open the sobbing figures shirt.
‘This was for love and protection Jed,’ he said, as he held the bloodstone in his hand, tears formed behind his eyes and his voice choked with emotion as his friend sobbed silently, his body shaking with the pain and depth of the emotion. ‘I gave this ter yer because I love yer, you could not, would not ‘urt me as I would not ‘urt you. We are brothers, an’ we’ll help the villagers too Jed, we’ll find a way, I promise,’ he vowed, as the tears fell unashamedly from his eyes.
The silently pleading figure of Jed seemed not to have heard, he continued to beg the form of himself holding the knife against Gideon’s neck. Gideon felt as ineffective with the weeping, pleading Jed as he imagined the figure felt, as he pleaded with himself.
‘Please Jed,’ Gideon wept. ‘You are more than a brother to me, you are part of my soul and together we can do anything, I love you...’ he said, not noticing his speech had altered once again. The weeping figure suddenly turned slightly in Gideon’s arms and he spoke slowly.
‘I love you too Gid, but I’m still not goin’ ter kiss yer.’ Gideon grinned slowly through his tears at his friend.
‘I hope not, I’d rather have Mayan kiss me, if there are any kisses going that is,’ he said, his voice trembling with feeling. Jed held his friend’s hand tightly.
‘I am so, so sorry Gideon, please, please fergive me,’ he sobbed as the tears continued to fall.
‘Brother, there is nothing to forgive, my life is your life, my blood your blood.’ Gideon said and swallowed, desperately trying to rid himself of the hard lump in his throat, he had not realised how hard his friend was punishing himself.
The figures beside the tree and the people in the red water slowly began to fade, finally they disappeared, the river of blood and tears changed into a river of flowers, light and sweet smelling amongst the green, green grasses.
‘Sleep well now my friend,’ said Gideon as he gently pushed his friend into a more comfortable position amongst the flowers and watched as he drifted off again, this time to a deep and healing sleep.
‘Gideon,’ the lady called, Gideon smiled at the lady who was once more beside him. ‘You truly are my son,’ she said.
‘Am I the one?’ Gideon asked quietly as she took his hand once more, the movement causing her amulet to move and twinkle in the bright light that seemed to surround them both.
‘The way will be hard for you Gideon, but Jed will be with you, I also will be with you, for as long as I can be,’ she answered as she kissed his brow and slowly began to fade, as she did so, Gideon too fell into a dreamless sleep.
The sun had begun to lower in the sky when Gideon opened his eyes again; Jed was still beside him watching the silver water as it played and ran.
‘Wherever you go Gid, I will go,’ he said, without looking at his friend.
>
‘It would make me proud to have yer beside me.’ Gideon replied with emotion, not realising his speech was almost correct. In his mind, he could see the lady, his mother, smiling. Understanding between the two men at last complete, Gideon stood and offered his hand to his friend.
‘C’mon Jed, let’s get back, the others will be worrying,’ he said. Jed placed his hand in Gideon’s as he allowed himself to be pulled to his feet and together they walked back toward the low white halls in the distance.
They had gone to swim as children and they returned as men.
Chapter 30
More Tales Told
‘There yer are,’ called Mayan smiling as she ran out to greet the returning swimmers, she had been watching by the window for hours worrying about them both. As the men approached, she realised that something about them had changed but as she could not put a finger on it and she made a mental note to discuss it with Lemba just as soon as she could.
‘Is everyone in the hall?’ Gideon asked Mayan, squeezing her hand gently.
‘Yer, we waited fer yer coz we knew you’d be hungry. Lunch was hours ago and dinner is on the table,’ she answered as the three walked into the open door and on into the large room. Thaddrick was sitting alone at the head of the table almost where they had left him.
‘Thaddrick,’ said Gideon as he took his chair casually, ‘I…, we,’ he corrected himself as he looked at his friend who smiled in return, holding tightly to Lemba’s hand. ‘We need for yer…, for you, to tell us about the Bleak, about the gateway and just how we are to fix it,’ he said. Varan turned white and began to cough as he choked on a succulent piece of chicken, Sonal, pale but able to pull himself together more quickly handed his brother a jug of sweet small beer.
‘What?’ Said Gideon’s father standing quickly, ‘yer no a soldier boy,’ he began angrily, ‘I’ll no allow yer ter go ter fight, I’ll no lose yer now,’ he said, clearly upset. Rhoàld sat quietly saying nothing, knowing his fate was to accompany Gideon and now, it seemed, young Jed too, wherever they went. Thaddrick smiled.
The Tessellation Saga. Book Two. 'The One' Page 26