Metal and Flesh (The Rohvim, Book 1)

16.1 Faithful

"'She will change the world. She will right all wrongs. She will exalt the poor and the meek, and cast down the strong and the mighty, though they too, at last, will be saved. The friend of the King of Healers shall she be, but greater than he. And at the altar of time, on the mountaintop, she will seal her gift with her blood.' And when he had said these words, the people all praised Ilien, and looked forward to their day of salvation." -The Adventures of Ilien, 45:50

  

WHEN THEY AWOKE THE NEXT MORNING, the sun gently warmed the dew-kissed earth, and the crisp fall air carried the smell of turning leaves. They broke camp, and sent the freed townspeople south to seek lodging in the town of Lofgren. The freed soldiers they allowed to travel north with them to find their former homes. They travelled for many days in this arrangement, and after two days one of the soldiers approached the master healer.

   "Master?" the woman asked.

   "Yes, my daughter?" smiled the old man.

   "I've been remembering more and more of my ordeal. At first, it was all cloudy and I could remember very little, just that a year ago I forgot who I was and saw my body do strange things that I could not control. But now I am remembering more detail. Soon after I lost control of my body, I travelled east with a group of other people entombed in their own bodies. We travelled for two weeks at least, crossing mountains, hills, wastelands, until at last we came to a stronghold. I lived there for a year, watching the amassing army, until we were sent out last month with the intent of capturing several cities and eliminating the nobility in each. That is all I remember. I'm sorry if it is not enough."

   Diana, listening in, asked the woman, "Which of the northern kingdoms do you call home?"

   The woman replied, "The kingdom of Vaasa."

   "And you travelled roughly two weeks to the east?"

   "Yes Milady. I do not know if it was due east or slightly to the north or south, I just remember following the waking sun."

   Diana turned to the master healer, "She must have passed though the land of Volda before reaching Lord Shiavo's stronghold. It may even be within the borders of that land."

   The old man replied with a grim smile, "To Volda we go, then."

  

   They continued their travel for several days more, at last coming to mountains, a tall, snowy peak ascending to the sky behind the range.

   "To the northwest of this range," said Diana to the freed soldiers, "lies the land that most of you hail from. We, however, must travel northeast, and go to the kingdom of Volda, where I was born, and root out this evil that has made slaves of many." The freed soldiers thanked them and praised them, and took their leave to the northwest. As they approached the mountains, they began to turn east and hug the southeasterly slopes of the foothills. The terrain was rough, clogged with thistle and weeds, and thorns clung to their clothing.

   The weather turned, and rain began to fall, carried on a wind out of the west. As the sky turned from a gloomy grey to a darker shade of grey, Aeden realized that the sun must be going down, and longed to stop and make camp, dry off, eat, and rest his feet. He did not, however, want to be the one to ask for rest, cocky teen as he was. He needn't have worried, though, for Diana and Gregory both announced that their tired old metal bones had had enough for that day, and they climbed to the top of a hill amid a thicket of trees to establish their camp for the night.

   Aeden dropped his pack and lay on the ground for a few minutes before getting up to help gather firewood. Rupert bounded up behind him, like an eager dog, Aeden thought, to offer his assistance. "Hey Aeden! Mind if I join you? I can carry a lot!" Aeden nodded, a little reluctantly, and the two wandered off a short distance into the woods.

   The master healer sat on a fallen log to relieve his sore feet. Stuart lay down immediately on his bed pad and fell asleep. Frederick and Darla wandered off into the woods together, supposedly to gather firewood as well, though they did not return for at least twenty minutes and carried just a handful of fallen branches on their return. Betha and master Arturo gathered some large rocks and assembled them into a fire pit.

   "I wish your father was with us, Betha. They call me a master swordsman, but truly he was greater than me," said Arturo.

   Betha nodded in agreement, "He is rather amazing, isn't he? You served in the royal guard with him, no?"

   "I did. He joined several years before I did, and took me under his wing when we discovered that we were fellow society members."

   Betha dropped a large stone into place. "Who invited you into the society?" she asked.

   "Alastair."

   "I'm afraid I don't know Alastair."

   "You wouldn't. He was one of the original members that the master healer brought in, but he was older when he joined, and died about twenty years ago. He was very devout. Very humble. Very kind. He wanted to make your father a member of the elder council before he died. But then your father left ...."

   Betha grimaced. "He can be quite stubborn sometimes ...."

   They had nearly finished the circle, and when Aeden and Rupert returned with some wood, Arturo continued, "Alastair was someone I would have loved to have on this mission. A highly skilled swordsman and a fine rohva. Much like your father. In fact, I wish your father would have come."

   Betha shrugged, "I asked him to consider it, but he refused."

   Arturo frowned. "Is it still the same old thing?"

   "Yes. And so it's left to me to do his job."

   Aeden looked up at her. "Why does he not like the society?"

   She sighed. "Oh, it's not that he doesn't like the society, he just doesn't like certain members. He sees many in the society as too ... unfaithful, I guess the word would be. There are many healers who think that with our knowledge of the human race, the Creator has no place in it. After many of these people gained seats on the council, he left and won't come back."

   "So these members aren't faithful? I know a lot of people who don't seem very faithful and they seem ok."

   "Well, these members were a little more vocal in their opinions than those unfaithful that you've met. There is a large portion of society members that believe we should not associate ourselves with the priests or the Creator in our healing."

   Arturo piped in, "But if we did that, then the people would ask: 'by what power then do you accomplish your miracles?' and we would be either forced to claim witchcraft, or tell them the truth, both of which are unacceptable."

   Aeden asked the man, "So you consider yourself faithful, then?"

   Arturo affirmed, "I do. Most of those on this mission consider themselves faithful, with the exception of Diana and Edwin, though I am not sure of some of you younger folk." The wood had been properly arranged in the circle, and Aeden retrieved his tinder.

   "Use your sword!" said Rupert.

   Aeden looked at the thin boy, puzzled. "Use my what?"

   "Use your sword. It's much faster to light a fire that way."