Silent Requiem (Tales of Ashkar Book 3)

by Kayl Karadjian

“Yes,” Valien affirmed. “Now water.”

  “Water utilizes the moisture in all things, including the water within the body,” Kal said. “Abusing water leaves it dehydrated.”

  “Dehydration is just a symptom, not what happens to the body,” corrected Valien. “What does it do to the body?”

  Kal looked at his sister and mother, drawing a blank.

  “Work on that, now wind,” Valien said.

  “Wind uses the air itself, while also using the air in the body,” Kal said. “Overuse leads to deoxygenation, and the lungs and heart need to work harder to supply the body with oxygen.”

  “As expected from a wind elementalist,” Valien said. “If anything, one should know the limits of their power fully. Now, ice.”

  Kal took a moment to ponder the answer. “Ice is the opposite of fire, drawing heat from the surroundings and absorbing it into the body to produce ice. It raises body temperature the more it is used, and can lead to hyperthermia, heat stroke, uh… other things.”

  “I’ll let that slide today,” Valien said. “Other things won’t cut it for your teacher. Earth.”

  “Earth molds the earth beneath us,” Kal answered. “Its source of energy is bone, and can be dangerous if overused. A loss of bone makes it easier for the bones to break, and earth elementalists often develop bone disorders later in life.”

  “Now lightning,” Valien continued.

  “Lightning uses the charged properties of our surroundings, including the neurons of our brains that transmit electrical signals,” Kal explained. “Too much stress can lead to feinting, delayed reaction, and weakness.”

  “Very good,” nodded Valien. “Now tell me about time elementalism.

  Kal appeared confused. “Just time, or…?”

  Valien smiled. “Space, too, then.”

  “Space and time are uniquely similar,” Kal said. “Their source of energy is still not understood, but their effects are the same. Headaches and loss of sight are common. Space and time elementalists are at a high risk of cancer.”

  “You’re almost there,” Valien encouraged. “How about light?”

  Kal shrugged. “I didn’t learn a whole lot about light elementalism.”

  “Whatever you know is fine,” Valien said.

  “All I’ve been taught is that both its power and its source stems from positive energy, both internally and externally,” Kal answered as he made a grand gesture. “The opposite goes for dark. It feeds off of negative energy. That’s all I know of those two.”

  Both Cora and Selina clapped excitedly while Valien gave Kal a firm nod. “Great job, Kal, but there’s still one more question left. Who is above even the Elemental Lords and their power?”

  At Valien’s question, he heard the elemental equivalent of ire within his mind from Remar, but he paid the elemental no mind. He would continue the debate with his elemental later. For now, his focus was on Kal.

  “Amaetheus, the Creator,” Kal replied.

  “And who is Amaetheus?” Valien questioned.

  “He was the one who created the universe and everything in it, including the Elemental Lords, and watches over us from above,” Kal said.

  “Wonderful,” Valien said as he rose from the table and moved to embrace both his children and his wife, savoring the gesture as much as he could. “I shall see you all again this evening. I love you all.” He then walked to the front door of his home, picked up his axe, opened the door, and closed it behind him as he stepped through and appeared on the other side.

  A row of soldiers lined either side of the path from the entrance to his house all the way to the main street of Base Valor at the Northern Wall splitting Veri and Dommogin lands.

  As Valien started down the path, the soldiers under his command saluted. With each step he took he stripped away the things that made him a husband and father, replaced by the things that made him the Supreme Commander, a title second only to the High King in prestige.

  He still did not fit into the role as comfortably despite holding it for a number of years, and he assumed that he never would. Could someone commanding the army of an entire people ever feel comfortable?

  “Status on the wall?” Valien asked as he stopped to regard one of his commanding officers, who was waiting for him at the beginning of the street by a tram.

  “Quiet, Supreme Commander,” said the officer, wearing the same tabard as Valien.

  “Let us make our rounds, then,” Valien replied as he stepped foot atop the tram along with his officer and a few others. “The wall is long, and the Dommogin are many. One cannot underestimate the cunning of a thinking mind, no matter how dull it may appear to be.”

  Once they were all on the hovering tram, it sped forward down the street, which was constructed to be a ley line of its own. Thanks to an understanding of space elementalism, the Veri had abandoned horses and other beastly mounts long ago.

  As the tram glided over the ground below, it hummed softly, and it was that sound that Valien clung to as he thought of leaving his family and entering into a place of struggle.

  There wasn’t much chatter between the others, aside from conversation about their personal lives, the Dommogin, or the happenings of far places to the east and west.

  Any conversation usually amounted to those three topics, for there wasn’t much else in the life of a veri. Internal strife had been all but stamped out long ago, leaving them to deal with the Dommogin as the only threats to their lives.

  The tram twisted and turned down the serpentine road, passing other homes and buildings in Fort Valor. Light posts on the street illuminated their path until the sun rose high enough to provide adequate light of its own.

  “For all the wisdom of the Veri, you still cling onto this false god who you name Amaetheus,” Remar said within Valien’s mind.

  “Remar, it is you who clings onto the Elemental Lords as gods,” Valien replied. “The Elemental Lords are powerful, yes, but the elements were created by someone. You cannot deny history, Remar. The Veri have seen the clash of the Lords of Hell and Amaetheus. If the Elemental Lords are powerful, then he is all powerful.”

  Remar quieted, for the two had quarried for years on the subject and both had long accepted the belief of the other—even though they disagreed wholeheartedly.

  The Northern Wall came into view, snaking its way for hundreds of miles to the east and west. The wall was tall, tall enough so that Valien had to tilt his head back to see the top. At the top of the wall were towers about every hundred feet or so, armed with turrets that were manned by elementalists.

  The turrets were augmented by the power of the elementalist manning them, and fired an amplified shot of the elementalist’s power at a fraction of the cost on the body. It was yet another advancement in elemental understanding, but the Veri had learned long ago the consequence of developing weapons. As such, most of their advancements came in the form of bettering the lives of the people, not ruining them.

  Like his officer had said, the air was quiet on this morning. Not a single turret fired for as far as the eye could see and the ear could hear, a welcome circumstance for Valien. The less battles to fight, the better.

  “Let’s have a closer inspection of the wall,” Valien said, and the tram followed his command. They sped down the length of the wall for a few miles, searching for any signs of damage or Dommogin activity. Barracks and other fortifications were stationed not too far from the wall, with groups of soldiers following the orders of superiors and engaging in training or drills.

  Everything appeared pristine, as it should have. The stark difference between Veri technology and Dommogin lack of technology made it a fool’s hope that the wall could crumble in any spot. The only advantage the Dommogin had over the Veri was sheer number. Estimates between the two populations came out to be about ten Dommogin per Veri, with that disparity growing by the day.

  And it was with that disparity that for time immemorial the Dommogin have thrown themselves at the wall to break through,
hundreds and even thousands of them at a time.

  During some periods the attacks had been conducted on a daily basis, and on many occasion Valien was both awestruck and horrified at the tenacity of the Dommogin. Their admirable yet futile determination cost them countless unnecessary deaths, but the Veri could not shake the bloodlust of the Dommogin no matter how hard they tried.

  The sound of a turret firing in the distance echoed in Valien’s ears like the sound of thunder.

  “Did you hear that?” he asked the others, garnering several nods.

  “It came from the east,” an officer affirmed.

  Valien sighed and reached for his weapon. “Go.”

  The tram did as he bid, moving at double the speed that it had done so just a moment prior. It sped along the wall until a series of blasts resounded not too far away, followed by a call to arms. Hundreds of Veri ranks mobilized, heading straight for the wall where several turrets had already begun firing at an unseen threat.

  The tram stopped by a set of stairs leading up to the top of one of the towers, and Valien, along with a few of his officers, dashed up until they reached the top. From here, Valien had a clear view of both the north, where the Dommogin resided, and the south, his beautiful home.

  The Dommogin side, wilds of greens, browns, and blues as far as the eye could see, was teeming with thousands of purple-skinned dommogin charging at the wall. The stomping of their feet rumbled the ground and their shouts nearly drowned out the sound of the turret firing just next to Valien.

  In droves they were shot down or blasted apart, with but a fraction even reaching the wall. Despite being sworn enemies, it pained Valien to see such life thrown away callously.

  What hope did these Dommogin even have? What could they possibly hope to do even if they breached the wall?

  Valien watched as one of the dommogin warriors stopped and separated himself from the horde, looking up at Valien and pointing in his direction. The dommogin then ran back the other way instead of charging at the wall.

  “This attack will be thwarted in a matter of moments,” Valien told the others as he turned his back to the north and started his descent down the wall. “Let’s check on the other parts. When one dommogin party strikes, so does another somewhere else.”

  The others followed Valien down, and once they reached the bottom they headed straight for the tram. Once the last person had boarded, it sped forward again—

  A loud rumbling came from beneath the tram, but before Valien could even ponder what it was he was thrown to the ground, the tram capsizing like a boat as a spike of earth impaled it and threw it aside.

  Valien reached first for his weapon, then collected himself. The others had been thrown to the ground as well, with one of his misfortunate officers being impaled through the chest by the spike.

  From the hole at the ground where the tram had been gliding over spilled forth dozens of dommogin, clashing blades with whoever was closest.

  “One body, one time, Remar!” shouted Valien as his axe transformed. Its shaft extended and the sharp edge grew wider, runes dancing along its edges. A clock-like counter appeared in the middle of the edge, with an unmoving hand on the number zero where a twelve would normally be.

  A dommogin charged straight for Valien, but the seasoned commander cut his enemy down with one swoop of his axe. The hand on his axe moved clockwise from zero to one.

  Not a moment after did Valien feel a blade pierce his back. He lurched forward, reeling from the pain. He clenched his teeth and let out a grunt as he twisted his torso and thrust his axe at the assailant, cleaving him in two.

  The counter on his axe turned to two.

  Valien felt crimson making its way down his back and lower body. He staggered, then keeled over. Had he been a different elementalist, he would have been mortified by such a wound. But like his son, Kal, had said, time elementalism was a strange and unique one.

  Summoning the power of Remar, Valien felt the pain from his wound subside. Even further, the power of his weapon prevented the bleeding from continuing, as well as preventing any damage to his body from the wound.

  The cost? It was borrowed time, nothing more. Any wound suppressed by Remar would eventually catch up with Valien. The only way to prevent it was the time that his blade stole from the lives of his foes.

  Valien stood up, surveying his surroundings. Legions of dommogin continued to pour out from the hole in the ground, but the Veri had already mounted a counterattack. Hundreds of veri soldiers swarmed in from all directions, fighting back and crushing the invaders.

  Valien’s axe came crashing down on the next dommogin who challenged him. He moved to the next, and the one after that. Each time his axe bit flesh, the counter moved up one. When it reached a full circle, more, smaller numbers appeared below zero through eleven, starting at twelve below the number zero.

  It wasn’t until the double digits that Valien’s sight found the dommogin who had pointed at him from the other side of the wall. Valien charged at the dommogin, an earth elementalist and the obvious leader of this surprise attack.

  “Don’t throw your life away so easily,” warned Valien, though his words only elicited a sneer from the dommogin.

  A boulder was sent Valien’s way, followed by a series of harsh words in dommoginian. Valien dodged the attack with ease, rushing toward the dommogin with axe raised high.

  The sharp edge came crashing down atop the dommogin’s head, but ended up striking ground instead when the dommogin leapt back, firing another slew of earth-based attacks at Valien.

  Valien rolled under them, then flung his axe at the dommogin, who dodged it by ducking. It made no difference, for Valien had closed the gap already, launching both feet in the air and striking the dommogin on the chest.

  With a snarl the dommogin fell to the ground. Valien scrambled after his weapon, picked it up, and lifted it high before dropping it on top of his foe’s head.

  The dommogin dared to parry, but Valien’s edge cleaved both weapon and skull.

  Panting and aching, Valien looked around to see the last remnants of the attack quelled by the veri. Hundreds of purple-skinned bodies lay around him, dommogin and veri alike.

  “Supreme Commander!” yelled a medic who ran his way.

  “It’s not my blood,” Valien said as he dismissed the healer and pointed to veri soldiers writhing on the ground and fighting for their lives. “Help them.”

  “Supreme Commander,” said another voice, though when Valien turned to the person belonging to the voice he found not a healer but a soldier of rank.

  “Yes?” Valien asked, wiping his blood-soaked face.

  “High King Tethaine has summoned you,” said the officer as he handed a parchment to Valien with the High King’s seal on it.

  Valien nodded, and the officer went his way. There was no need to read the parchment at the moment; Valien would have more than enough time on his way to the capital, Bacille.

  What Valien needed to do first was find a healer not preoccupied with someone in a more dire situation. He already felt Remar’s power wane as his weapon reverted to its base form, and thus he felt the throbbing in his back return.

  On his way, his mind returned to the first thought that reached him every morning, and had done so ever since taking up the mantle of Supreme Commander.

  What makes a good commander?

  _ _ _

  Tethaine Yeul’nama stood in the Chamber of History, a hall behind his throne displaying artifacts of Veri history on raised platforms. There was High King Lohan’s breastplate, who preceded Tethaine, as shiny and pristine as it had been when the departed High King had worn it in battle.

  There was Scholar Ela’s cowl, an esteemed veri who had discovered several advances in science and elementalism that propelled the Veri to an age of prosperity.

  Dozens more priceless artifacts could be found in the chamber, but none compared to what was contained in a hidden vault at the end of the hall.

  Tethaine opened
the vault, the wall moving aside to reveal a shiny orb placed atop a dais. The High King picked up the orb and brought it to his chest as he closed his eyes.

  The Orb of Wisdom brought Tethaine instant warmth when he held it. It was an artifact symbolic of the Veri, ancient and wise and rich with history.

  And most important of all, the orb was a gift from Amaetheus the Creator himself. It was a gift not only for the Veri’s servitude, but the orb was also a sign that the path the Veri had taken was the right one.

  “High King,” said one of his guards who had entered the chamber. When Tethaine turned to meet his gaze, the guard kneeled and bowed his head low. “The Supreme Commander has arrived.”

  “Thank you,” Tethaine said, and the guard stood, bowed, and slipped back out into the throne room.

  Tethaine placed the orb back onto the dais, waited until the hidden vault closed, and moved across the hall toward the exit of the chamber.

  The back of his throne was just outside the chamber, and when Tethaine moved around to take his seat, he saw the Supreme Commander waiting for him in the middle of the throne room.

  The throne room was grand, with high arches and pillars lining the walls. Banners beholding the High King’s crest, a depiction of the Orb of Wisdom juxtaposed onto the face of a veri, were draped throughout the room.

  Above Tethaine’s head was a large window designed in the sun’s likeness where light poured through, drawing a circle of light right where the Supreme Commander kneeled. There were as many guards near the walls as there were tall candle holders.

  “High King, you summoned me?” asked the Supreme Commander.

  “Yes, Supreme Commander,” replied Tethaine as he sat back and drew a deep breath. “Grave news have reached my ears, but first, I wish to hear any tidings of the Northern Wall.”

  “The wall is calm, High King,” answered the Supreme Commander. “The Dommogin still try, vainly, but they still try.”

  “Word reached my ear that an attack occurred south of the wall,” continued Tethaine. “Is that true?”

  The Supreme Commander hesitated.

  “Supreme Commander,” Tethaine said.