The three dozen wielders who stood in three lines of twelve raised their right hands and shouted. “No, ma’am.”
Seeing Aya work so hard inspired Falcon. He asked for his own group of soldiers to train and was granted one. He had experience fighting the Suteckh, which was something Latiha valued greatly.
When he showed up to the desert training field, the scene before him was not what he’d expected.
Laars, with his usual wide nose and shaggy hair, was standing before a group of men and women. The skinny girl, Lenka, was there as well.
“Hello,” said Lenka. She waved her gangly arm in the air, as if Falcon could not see her standing a mere three feet away from him.
“What are you two doing here?” asked Falcon. He had no problem with Lenka. She was a bit loud at times, but she was nice. And she was a Void wielder, like himself, which meant they had spent countless training hours together. Laars, however, was a different matter altogether. Laars had taken a dislike to Falcon ever since he first stepped foot at Rohad Academy. The pompous earth wielder never wasted an opportunity to remind Falcon that his brother was a traitor. Their rivalry had lasted throughout their childhood and carried on into their young adult lives.
For the longest time after Falcon had posed the question, Laars simply stood there, scratching his long brown pants. There was something different about him. He didn’t have his usual condescending look, or his smug smirk. He finally broke the silence when he extended his hand and said, “Empress Latiha send us to assist you. She has entrusted you with three hundred soldiers.”
“I think you’re supposed to shake his hand,” said Lenka.
Falcon snapped out of his shock and noticed that, indeed, Laars was still holding his hand out.
“What is this all about?” asked Falcon with suspicion. Something was not right. Laars had always thought himself superior to Falcon. And now Falcon was supposed to believe that Laars took a spot as his subordinate without the slightest form of rancor? Surely Laars had something up his sleeve.
“Nothing,” his rival answered. “When I met Faith, she opened my eyes to what I had bloodied become, and…” He looked down at the ground. “I didn’t like what I bloody saw.”
Falcon took Laars’ hand, though years of being berated by him kept him on his toes. “Yes, she can do that.”
As they settled down and commenced the training, Falcon kept expecting Laars to challenge his authority, but to his surprise, it never happened. In fact, Laars followed Falcon’s orders by the letter. If Falcon asked him to take a group of men and go over running or wielding drills with them, he would comply without the slightest sign of defiance. If he was asked to go fetch weapons, he would do so in an instant.
As the days passed, Laars only became more helpful. One day, when Falcon had stayed up too late with his brother the night before, he showed up to the training three hours late. When he got to the desert fields, he was surprised to see that Laars, with the help of Lenka, had carried on the training with no hiccups. A number of soldiers were running over the long hills, others were working on target practice, and many more were locked in duels.
As soon, as Falcon arrived, his hair a messy heap, Laars reverted command back to Falcon and settled in as his aide.
With Laars’ cooperation, Falcon was able to focus more on overall strategy. Aya was focusing on a small select group of enemies—the Scaiths. Falcon, however, wanted his soldiers to be ready for anything. The Suteckh had many fearsome enemies they might bring into the battle. He needed them to be able to adjust on the fly to whatever was thrown their way.
So, after a week of basics, he moved over to training against a certain creature Falcon had experience against.
“They shapeshift?” asked a young female soldier disbelievingly when Falcon explained the dark creatures’ affinity to change their tar-like bodies into any shape imaginable.
“Yes,” said Falcon. “They’re conjured by dark wielders. Each one can take out over a hundred regular soldiers. Physical weapons are useless against them.” Falcon recalled how back in Sandoria the dark creatures had sucked up the swords, quivers, javelins, and spikes that landed on their bodies.
“We’ll just earth wield, then,” said the timid soldier.
“Most wielding won’t work either,” said Falcon. He noticed most of the soldiers’ expressions drop in disappointment.
“There is a way to defeat them,” he said before they lost all hope. “Do I have any fire wielders here who can wield blue fire?” Falcon counted about thirty soldiers raising their hands. It was not surprising, considering blue fire was a very advanced technique. He didn’t even bother asking if anyone could wield black fire. He was certain no one had reached that level. “It will be up to you, blue fire wielders, to take out the dark creatures before they cause too much harm. Extreme levels of blue fire should be enough to boil their tar bodies to oblivion.”
“You learned this in the battle of Sandoria, sir?” asked an ashen-faced soldier. He had a lumpy body and even thicker arms and legs. “Is it true that you met Shal-Volcseck?”
For a moment, Falcon refrained from answering. Volcseck was not what he wanted to speak about, especially to the soldiers. Nonetheless, he decided to be honest with them. “We have had a few skirmishes from time to time.”
He might as well have told them he defeated Volcseck with one hand tied behind his back. The soldiers looked at him with sudden admiration as if he were some type of legendary hero form their childhood books. They spoke in awed whispers. Falcon felt his face grow hot. He was no one to look up to, and he definitely wasn’t a hero.
“Listen,” he said, attempting to diffuse the admiring looks he was getting. “We need to forget about Volcseck and concentrate on the Suteckh. They’re the ones who may attack the city, after all.”
“What kind of other creatures should we prepare for?” asked the chubby soldier.
Falcon was about to answer, but he found himself unable to form words. It was then that he realized that he didn’t particularly have much knowledge in other creatures, soldiers, or weapons the Suteckh might be utilizing.
If he wanted to get more answers, he was going to do something he had long ago promised himself never to do again. He shuddered at the thought. He was going to have to step foot inside a library.
CHAPTER 28
Falcon, Aya, and Faith walked down the busy city streets. The usual loud banter of vendors flowed through the air, and dozens of messenger boys scurried through the streets. It seemed to Falcon as though he couldn’t go a second without someone almost knocking him over.
“I’m so glad you decided to come with me to the library,” said Faith. “It’s so big in there and full of history.”
Falcon threw up a little inside. Books signified everything he despised about school. Was there anything more boring than a bunch of letters crumpled together into hundreds, sometimes thousands of pages? Why would anyone ever want to sit reading countless scribbles of ink when they could experience anything they wanted first hand in the field?
“You’ll get nowhere with this one,” said Aya. She had decided to accompany them as well, which in itself wasn’t surprising. Aya was one who enjoyed getting things done in a hands-on manner, but she could also get lost for hours within the pages of her books. “He doesn’t understand the pool of knowledge a book or scroll can provide. I don’t think he’s ever read a book in his life.”
“I have, too,” countered Falcon. “I tried reading that poison wielding book last year, remember?”
Aya looked at him with a sly smile. “That book was meant for children, Falcon. It had more pictures in it than a coloring scroll.”
“It didn’t have that many pictures,” lied Falcon.
“There it is,” said Faith, as they turned the corner and came face to face with the large building that was the library. It was surrounded by a black gate. Countless flowers ran alongside the outer walls of the library.
“I planted those yesterday,” sa
id Faith proudly. “The Master Record Keeper of the library gave me his permission.” She opened the gate and ushered them in, leading them to a set of blue roses. “Aren’t they lovely?”
“Yes,” said Falcon, welcoming the change in subject.
The door to the library opened. A chubby man stood at the door. He looked as old as Zoen had been. But despite his age, he appeared alert. His wide eyes darted from wielder to wielder. “I thought that was you I heard out here, Faith.”
The holy wielder embraced the elder man. “Yes. I couldn’t stay away for too long.”
“I see that you brought more lovers of literature.”
Faith faced the man. “This is Linius. The Master Record Keeper of Missea.” She then motioned to her companions. “And my friends are Falcon Hyatt and Aya Nakatomi. They’re both Rohads from Ladria.”
Linius stroked his hairless chin. “Hmmmm… Indeed I’ve heard about you two from Zoen. In particular you, young Falcon.”
“Me?”
“Oh, yes. Zoen and I were good friends for many, many years. He was my predecessor.”
“Zoen was a Master Record Keeper?” asked Aya, clearly as surprised as Falcon.
“Yes. It was he who helped bring books and knowledge to the forefront of education in Missea. Before him it was mostly swords and wielding.”
Sounds like my type of place, thought Falcon.
With his cane, Linius ushered them indoors. The inside smelled of old pages and fresh oil. There were high towers littered with books of different colors and sizes. Clear draperies covered the long windows. Every table was polished to perfection, without a single visible speck of dust.
“What a very nice library,” said Aya. “You’ve done a great job.”
Linius acknowledged the compliment with a nod of the head. “I have Empress Latiha to thank for this. She’s a lover of knowledge. It is through her that I’ve been able to keep the library in pristine condition, and it is through her funding that I’ve been able to gather many ancient texts.” Linius trudged behind a desk that rested at the center of the library and laced his fingers around a long scroll. It was ripped and crumpled in a few places. A faded blue outline ran along the outer edges. “Speaking of ancient scrolls, I managed to secure the parchment you’ve been seeking, Faith. The library at Belwebb had the last copy. Let me tell you, it wasn’t easy getting them to let me borrow it.”
“Thank you so much,” said Faith. She gently took hold of the scroll.
“You still haven’t told me why you’re so interested in this scroll,” said Linius, still holding on to the parchment. “The power to have an emblem within you died alongside the Golden Wielder, and he himself didn’t even know exactly how it worked.”
Falcon recalled that Faith had expressed interest in Aadi’s ability to wield without a physical emblem back when they had met the Golden Wielder. Like Linius, Falcon found himself wondering why Faith was so intent on learning about this strange power.
The questioning glances did not go unnoticed by Faith.
“I’m simply curious,” she said, smiling warmly. Before anyone could say anything else, she took the scroll and sat alone at a far-off desk. She unrolled it and began to scan its contents.
Linius rubbed his generous-sized belly. “I have much work to do, but you two are welcome to look at any book in here.”
Aya left to find information on Scaiths, while Falcon went to the second floor in search of books that would shed more light on the warrior they could end up facing: Neikan Demons or Northern Barbarians.
Unfortunately, he had no luck finding anything on the Neikan Demons. It was almost as if they didn’t exist. He did, however, manage to locate a book on the Northern Barbarians. It proved of little use. It spoke of their homeland over the northern mountains. They were a rugged people who etched a living in the wild and often unpredictable frozen lands of Lasteria. Their main source of food was meat, meat, and then for good measure, more meat. Falcon thought that may be the reason they were all so large. They were obsessed with animal fur, almost to the point of worshiping it as a gift from the gods.
Besides the long passages on culture, Falcon didn’t learn anything useful for battle. Though the absurd idea of using fox pelts to bribe the barbarians to their side did cross his mind.
~~~
It was when Falcon closed the door to the inn that he heard Hiromy’s voice and his insides rejoiced.
Faith and Aya heard it too. Together, they dashed up the stairs and into the room. Sure enough, Hiromy was sitting up in her bed. Her face was a shade of mild green and yellow, and she appeared to be groggy. Her eyes flickered as she took in her surroundings.
Sheridan, who had not left her side for a minute, looked up excitedly. “She was mumbling for a while, and then she just got up!”
Faith rushed over to check on her while everyone stood back awaiting her verdict. After a few minutes, she looked up somberly, and Falcon knew the incoming news wouldn’t be good.
“We should step outside,” she said.
Hiromy grabbed Faith’s arm. “It’s all right. Whatever you have to say you can say in front of me. I know I’m damaged and will never be the same, but I’m not stupid.”
“I don’t think—” began Faith.
“Tell me, please,” begged Hiromy. “You are my friend. Don’t hide—” She stopped and clutched her head. “I can handle whatever you have to say.”
Falcon steeled himself as he toyed with his fingers. The scent of the dirty, muddy water in the vase only enhanced the sense of hopelessness that hung in the air.
Sheridan bit his nails, looking even more nervous than Hiromy.
“The poison is still spreading through your brain.” Faith’s tone was neutral, but Falcon could hear the sadness in her voice. “I can’t stop it. I’m so sorry.”
“How long?” asked Hiromy.
Faith took a deep breath. “You have a few days at most.”
Chapter 29
From what Falcon could see, Hiromy was taking the news better than anyone else. He wondered whether she truly understood was going on or not. There were times that she seemed like her old self. At other times, however, she would rant about the most trivial of things. Like the colors of the wall, the number of heartbeats in a minute, or the amount of time it would take to walk from one capital city to another.
Sheridan was trying to keep a brave face, but Falcon could see his facade crumbling with each passing day. The first after the news he seemed to be in denial. The second and third days he passed with Hiromy, tending to her every wish. At nights, Falcon would hear him deep breath into his pillow. Despite Falcon’s deepest urges to console him, he just couldn’t. There was nothing more to say or do.
Aya and Falcon spent their days busy in training. It was the only thing they could do to keep their mind off the fact that at any moment they were about to lose one of their own.
The late-night dinners with his brother were now nonexistent. Albert had been granted the position of Temporary Grand General of Missea, a position not held by anyone since the Golden Wielder. The entire army of Missea was now under his command, which meant that his brother spent his days supervising men, attending military meetings, and passing in and out of the palace.
Faith, on the other hand, would divide her time between the library and healing sessions with Hiromy. She couldn’t do anything to save her, but she was trying her absolute best to keep her alive as long as possible while she searched for some type of miracle. A miracle everyone knew wasn’t going to come.
The only good in an otherwise bleak time was that he not been subjected to those boring concentration sessions Faith was so fond of. That all changed the afternoon of the third day.
“We need to go over one more scene,” said Faith, as she came back from the library with a dozen scrolls under her arm, and Falcon was again forced to question what in Va’siel Faith was researching.
“Do we have to?” he said. He had just come back from a long training session. Hi
s legs ached, his head was pounding from within, and his entire body was begging for a long, warm shower. To top it all off, he was beyond hungry. Laars and Lenka had brought a few nuts and slices of dried salami, but that had barely been enough to sate his ravenous hunger.
“Yes,” she said, setting her scrolls down on her bed. “I have one more scene to show you.”
Falcon swallowed. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”
He followed her to the outskirts of the city, beyond the golden walls and past the road. They found a large rock and settled themselves on top of it. There, under the orange-reddish glow of the setting suns, they held hands and closed their eyes.
Then he was falling down a dark pit. Black fog surrounded him, compressing into masses. It didn’t take long for the black mist to take the form of a home, surrounded by trees. The grass was covered in snow, though the severe storm from their first vision was absent. The weather was much cozier this time, perfect for a family outing.
He looked over at the cabin door, which had now flown open. A boy and a woman Falcon recognized as Volcseck and Lunet made their way out. The beautiful red-haired woman handed the young boy a mug of what appeared to be steaming warm milk.
Faith patted Falcon’s shoulder. “Do you remember that Lunet took Volcseck in and nursed him back to health?”
“Yes,” said Falcon. He indeed did recall the time when Demetrius had showed them a vision of his first meeting with Volcseck. Demetrius had wanted to turn Volcseck away, but Lunet, being the caring person that she was, invited Volcseck into their home and treated him like a son.
“Hurry up!” said Volcseck excitedly. He still looked a bit skinny, but the dark circles around his eyes had mostly disappeared. Falcon presumed this meant that he had been under Lunet’s care for some time now. “The market will close soon.”
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