That night proved much shorter than the other. In the early hours of the morning, the senses of the two combatants alerted them to a sound. In a few seconds, they were both standing, both perfectly silent. Both were trying to distinguish the origin and nature of the sound that had awoken them, and they rapidly became certain of two things: first, that the sound they’d heard had been the sound of boots, which meant some time of humanoid creature, and secondly, that the strangers were numerous. Glaide and Kezthrem had nowhere to hide. They had found a few rocks that rose up out of the ground that had sheltered them some for the night. Around them, though, were empty plains. The emptiness offered one benefit, however: they were soon able to clearly distinguish the owners of the boots that they heard, and despite the remaining darkness, they could recognize them as a battalion of orks. Glaide estimated that there were about fifty of them.
“There is nothing we can do here,” murmured the man. “Let’s gather our things and try to distance ourselves from them. A few kilometers from here, we’ll be back in civilization, and perhaps we’ll find a unit of soldiers.”
The young man nodded, and as he gathered his things, he wondered if his master would be capable of confronting so many enemies at once. However, as the two began to move on, they glanced behind them one more time, and noticed that the group had divided in two. Most of the monsters had moved off in the direction of Zakorth, and only a dozen or so continued in the same direction as the two travelers. Glaide was sure they’d be capable of fighting them, and he could see no reason for avoiding the fight. “At least we can do that much,” he thought, hatred for them rising up in him. However, as he moved to turn around and go after the creatures, he felt the hand of his master on his shoulder. His master shook his head, and motioned for him to continue to follow. The adolescent obeyed, though not without protest.
“Why don’t we get rid of them? They wouldn’t stand a chance against us!”
“Glaide, we are in enemy territory,” Kezthrem pointed out. “We don’t know what might be hidden in the area. It could be that they are just one unit, and that the rest of the group is nearby. Do you remember what I told you? That with every battle, you put your life on the line?”
“Of course...”
The man had explained before that one should never underestimate their adversaries, and that one should always put their all into a fight.
“And that we have to choose which battles are worth fighting?” continued Kezthrem.
“Yeah, yeah,” grumbled Glaide, “I remember. And I want to choose this battle. Who knows how many people these monsters might kill in the future? If we get rid of them now, that could mean we’ve saved many lives.”
“Glaide...” began the man. The name hung in the air, though, as a loud noise interrupted him from nearby. The master and his disciple looked around them, searching for the source of the noise, then suddenly, Kezthrem roughly pushed the young man to the side. The boy somersaulted, quickly getting back on his feet. A mace dug into the ground where he had been standing just seconds before.
Its owner appeared, and Glaide easily recognized what they were facing: a flatland troll. A little smaller than its mountain relative, less agile but much more massive, it appeared just as dangerous. The creature’s skin didn’t look as thick, though, and the adolescent thought he would be able to pierce it without too much difficulty. Though he was certainly capable of making his weapon appear directly in his hand, he decided to draw it; the sound of the blade exiting the sheath would give him courage. Then, he began his approach toward the creature.
The monster hesitated, unsure whether to attack the master, who was closer, or the disciple. Kezthrem forced the decision by letting out a cry, and launching into the duel. The boy, however, didn’t get a chance to watch the battle, which promised to be epic. Behind him, he heard the telltale sound of orks. He spun around to see the ten creatures that Kezthrem had refused to confront. A dark smile appeared on his lips.
“Out of the frying pan, into the fire,” he murmured. As the older man threw himself into battle against the troll, Glaide charged at the group of orks. Soon, the battle had already been raging for about five minutes. From time to time, the young man had caught glimpses of his master, locked in combat with the much larger creature, but neither of them seemed to have gained any ground. The boy found himself fighting with a frenzy unusual from him, probably due to his excitement at fighting at his master’s side—not as a student, but as a peer; each of them had an opponent to face, and had to trust the other to pull their own weight.
The adolescent took out half of his enemies, but he had forgotten one thing that greatly complicated his task: his fatigue. He began to feel the weight of all the fatigue he’d accumulated over their many days of traveling, and he suddenly found himself out of breath. His adversaries, seeing his weakness, threw themselves at him with renewed strength, and this time, the boy began to feel the danger he was in. He could no longer breathe properly, and his blows were losing both precision and power. He managed to kill another ork, but his head was starting to spin. He saw stars, and felt himself beginning to pass out. The sounds of the battle began to sound more and more distant. He thought he could make out a dull thud in the midst of the fog that was taking over his mind. Suddenly, he felt someone catch him, then gently lay him on the ground. Slowly, he began to return to reality, all while still trying to catch his breath. Kezthrem stood at his side, his expression unreadable.
“I... I thought I was passing out...” murmured the young man.
“And I think you almost did.”
The adolescent looked around them, and realized that the dull sound had been the body of the troll hitting the ground. He could also see the bodies of ten orks, and he had to admit that his master had saved his life. However, it was not gratitude that he felt, but a deep anger—an anger directed within. Why this sudden weakness? Why, just five minutes into battle, did he already feel so exhausted?
“Why?” he murmured aloud.
“Oh, for any number of reasons,” replied the man, who obviously understood exactly what his disciple was talking about. “First of all, because we are fighting in the early hours of the morning, without having eaten anything. Then, because it was eight against one.”
“But during the battle with Ydref and Arline, I fought much longer, without feeling tired at all! I...” Glaide stopped as he felt his senses failing again.
“At that time,” continued Kezthrem, “you were fighting for different reasons: to avenge Rackk, and to prove to yourself that you were strong. And at the time, you were perfectly rested. This time, that was not the case.”
“So what do I do?” demanded Glaide, hoping to remedy the problem quickly.
“Well, here is the main problem: every time you blocked a blow, you contracted your muscles to absorb the shock. However, by doing that, you lost flexibility, speed, and above all, endurance. Your entire body was held tense, and you blocked your breathing so much that you began to suffocate yourself.”
“And here I thought I’d finished my training,” muttered Glaide darkly. He realized now that he still had much to learn, and that he would now have to learn through practice. If he hadn’t become as exhausted during the battles he’d experienced up until then, it was only because they’d generally been less complicated, and because he’d been more rested. But in the future, how many times would he have to defend himself despite not having slept for days? How many times would he have to fight, even though the enemies far outnumbered him? Optimal conditions were never a guarantee. And it was out of the question to simply pass out!
“I have to work on my endurance. That’s what I need to do now,” he said with a sigh as he got up. “I have the technical level to fight multiple adversaries; I just need to reach the level of physical strength.”
With that, the two travelers continued on their way.
Chapter 2
GLAIDE didn’t open his mouth to speak even once that whole morning. He was lost in his th
oughts, most of which centered around the battle they had just had, and which he considered a defeat. He couldn’t find any simple solution to the problem, however, and had to resign himself to merely being patient. During his next confrontation, he would just have to try to come out of it as well as possible, and he was determined to fight more sustainably.
Soon, the tension that the master and his disciple felt from being within range of Zakorth dissipated. Before them, a few hundred yards away, they saw a house of some kind, undeniable proof that the inhabitants of the enemy village did not venture this far. The two individuals approached with big smiles on their face, and as they walked, Glaide realized that he and Kezthrem had just passed an important stage in their journey. It had now been an entire week that they’d been traveling, though much to his dismay, he hadn’t yet had an opportunity to really speak with his master, besides when they’d discussed the stars.
However, it looked like they would be stopping at the nearby house, probably offering their aid in exchange for room and board. And that was indeed what Kezthrem chose to do. He knocked at the door a bit before noon. The man who opened it had a tired face, and looked surprised to see travelers in the area. He lived with his wife and two children, one of whom was very young. The family was happy to accept the trade of room and board for the travelers in exchange for a bit of help. The hosts informed them that they had just returned from a long journey, and between their crops and the children, they were burning the candle at both ends. So it was with pleasure that Glaide and Kezthrem decided to give these people a chance to rest, while they worked to harvest produce.
The young man had never done this kind of work, but he willingly threw himself into it; a little manual labor would do him good. Under the guidance of his master, who seemed to be an expert in the matter, he spent the afternoon gathering fruits and vegetables of all sorts. From time to time, their hosts would give them some instructions, then they would return to their work.
Glaide found himself exhausted and hungry when evening came and he finally sat down at the table. However, he and Kezthrem had accomplished a lot, and the couple who had welcomed them into their home looked much more rested. The conversation that accompanied the meal was an animated one, with the master and his disciple recounting stories about the things they’d seen and heard during their journeys, and the man and woman sharing interesting bits about life in the region.
The children went to bed early, and Glaide expressed his wish to do the same, so they showed him the room that he would share with Kezthrem. It was a perfectly good space, with a bed and an extra mattress on the floor. He chose the latter, thinking that his master would probably enjoy a real bed. That night, he didn’t spend much time in thought, like he usually did. The sound of the conversation between Kezthrem and their hosts sifting into the room, combined with the fatigue of their journey, didn’t give him the option. He fell asleep immediately.
The next morning, the woman and her husband insisted that they replenish their provisions before leaving. Water hadn’t been a problem, since they’d regularly found small streams to fill their gourds at—streams that even Kezthrem couldn’t explain, since there had been no rain for many years. It was true, though, that the two travelers had had yet to encounter a living soul up until that point, and that the rest of their supplies were dwindling seriously. In the end, they left with their bags filled with food. As the house and its occupants disappeared from view, the older of the two spoke.
“And now you can see exactly who is waiting for your aid.”
Glaide, hearing that, looked at his master at length, trying to decide exactly what those mysterious words meant. However, his master didn’t return his gaze, and the adolescent decided instead to meditate on their meaning. He soon realized that there were many people who lived in the Known Lands, not just in the villages, but also in isolated places. And these, also, hoped for a better future. If he could do something, there would be repercussions for an incredible number of people, many of whom he was completely unaware of! The consequences of his actions both frightened and attracted him. He’d never imagined that a single human being could change things like that. Actually, along those lines, the more he thought about it, the more he had to admit that, up until then, he had not received any special powers, whether that through divine aid, or anything else.
In the end, he decided the lesson was to simply be aware of the many lives that existed in this world. He had to learn about them, and nothing would help him to do that better than a journey like the one he was on. He hoped that Kezthrem would lead him to meet people in many different places and walks of life.
The day passed without any disturbing encounters. The further the two travelers went, the more cottages they passed, some isolated, and some less so. They even passed a tiny village, hidden in the middle of a woods. The place wasn’t marked on the map, but it also had neither soldiers nor a wall to protect it. It seemed to be more of an accidental grouping of houses than an actual village.
The two travelers spoke with some of the inhabitants, and learned that they hadn’t known each other, but had simply decided to build in the area, and had become neighbors entirely by chance. However, with time, a great feeling of solidarity had been born, and so they had built the place into a village of sorts. Glaide was delighted by everything they came across. He wondered if one day, little groups of people like this one would give birth to true villages.
Kezthrem continually reminded him that the Known Lands were filled with inhabitants, and the more they traveled, the more aware the young man became of that fact. He even began to feel astonished that he and his companions hadn’t crossed any living souls in the wilderness on their journey to Shinozuka. However, despite the isolated homes dotting the landscape, there remained plenty of great stretches of virgin soil reaching as far as the eye could see.
It was in the middle of one of these that the master and his disciple stopped that evening. As was their habit, they built a fire, and Kezthrem roasted a few pieces of meat.
“We should reach Ojilon sometime tomorrow,” announced the man as he began to eat.
“Will we sleep there, or will we just be passing through?” asked Glaide.
“I think that we’ll find an inn to spend the night. There is no sense in hurrying, because no one is waiting for us.”
“And... Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” asked the boy, hope ringing in his voice. However, his companion simply shook his head. Glaide sighed. He decided to change the subject. “Master, this morning, I thought about something that intrigued me.”
“Mm hmm?”
“It was about the Destroyer. You told me that all of the people we've encountered, even though they’re cut off from the rest of the world, are hoping for a better future. That made me think about everything that has happened up until now, and I had to admit that I’ve never experienced any special powers of any kind that will help me in my task.”
Kezthrem looked deep in thought for a few moments before responding.
“That’s true,” he said, finally. “But don’t forget what I told you: the Destroyer is just a title associated with some strange and poorly understood phenomena. In the end, you’re still just you. What you’ve done up until now, you’ve done yourself.”
“That’s what I told myself,” agreed Glaide. “I’m simply what I believe in. I act on my own values, but not everyone shares them. For the moment, there have been no problems with that. But if I really manage to change things, I’ll do that according to my own point of view, and will that really be a good thing? I mean, what can a boy like me really know about the world? Am I really qualified to respond to all of the hope that they place on me?”
Kezthrem smiled. “You have, without a doubt, taken your first step toward wisdom, my young disciple,” he murmured.
Glaide smiled in turn, pleased with the compliment. The man continued, the light from the flames dancing across his face, “Know that a boy knows the world simply as he has
discovered it to be. It is exactly the same for everyone. Anyone who claims they know everything is a pretentious imbecile. We all act based on our experiences, and yours do not have any less value than those of anyone else. That being said, we don’t know to what extent you can change things, or what the repercussions of those changes will be. But listen, all of the goals that we chase and all of our values are at the same time the shade and the light from the same candle.”
The young man’s eyes widened in surprise.
“In the end,” continued his master, “those values can be seen as light, because they guide your life. But every light is balanced by a shadow, and as you said before, making a choice and following what we believe can also mean closing your spirit to other possibilities. Someone who can hear and consider everything could claim to know the world, because he would be able to analyze and understand everything. However, while some might try to make such a choice, that’s not an option for you, because that also requires you to give up action. To be able to accomplish something, you have to follow a goal. A man who is without his own set of values, on the other hand, becomes a powerless spectator. Wise, certainly, but powerless. At the same time, though, we have to reflect carefully on the path we choose to follow, because the paths we choose cannot fail to cast shadows, obscuring other paths.”
Kezthrem became silent for a few moments, letting his words soak in before he spoke again. “However, all shadows find their origins in light, and though values can be restrictive, they remain vital. They are what allows us to advance, and to hope. They guide our actions, shape our world, and make us the humans that we are rather than sages...”
“So, to respond to your question, Glaide, try to conform to your values so that your life will have meaning, at least in your own eyes, but never forget that yours are not superior to the values of others. Perhaps you will be brought to a point where your decisions affect more than just your own simple existence, and in that case, you’ll need to follow your heart. If your heart tells you to listen to the counsel of someone else, then do so. If it tells you to act, then act. If you have decided for yourself that you should fight, then fight accordingly, and if you fight for others, listen to them, and respond to their expectations.
Chronicles of Galadria III_Lessons Page 2