The Last of the Sages (Book #1 of the Sage Saga)

Chapter 11 - The Final Test

James woke up feeling better than he had in a long time, despite current events. It was nice to wake up in a bed again and not the cold granite floor of the cave or the dirt of the forest. He decided not to go outside the Kingdom walls anytime soon. After Achan had released his eidolon and defeated the Langoran in one strike, not a word had been spoken as they limped their way back to Allay. Scarlet and Arimus had been waiting for them at the entrance. There wasn't a big celebration or anything like that waiting for them, but at least they were quickly swept away to the infirmary. And that was better than dessert.

James had mainly slept, not caring what tests or duties were next. He just wanted to rest, as he had in the old days, when life was simple and dull. It was nice to go back to it now and no one could call him lazy, or say he hadn't earned it. No one said a word to him about it, period. They had just let him sleep, and he thanked them silently for it. No one knew but him what torture he had gone through in that cave, and he didn't want to relive it just yet in the debriefing. The only two survivors who were unscathed were Elder and Rahima, and they mainly just hung around the dorms, telling in detail the story of their survival.

James was finally ready to talk about his venture when Achan walked through the door. James couldn't speak at first. He was sure he was going to start crying. Achan noticed the hurt in his friend's eyes and simply sat down beside him.

"I know, I know...why me, right?" Achan said as he shrugged his shoulders. He winced at the pain that shot up his broken arm. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't want this."

"It makes it worse," James said, his voice trembling as he tried to force the misery out of his face.

"Noted."

"So why are you here? To gloat?"

"Idiot, I just told you I don't want this. I came to see how you were doing."

"I'm doing fine. My leg is still not the same, as expected. But I'm hanging in there."

"I hope you're not taking what happened during the test too hard."

"Why would I be sorry for getting people killed?"

"You don't have to get nasty. I only want you to know that we all knew the risks. We all heard Kyran's words. We knew that people could die."

"I didn't expect some to die because of me. Because of a decision I made."

Achan sighed and moved his seat to the foot of the bed. A clock somewhere ticked away.

"Listen, you did what you thought was right. You knew deep down that Allay wouldn't stand for a prisoner being let go, yet you fought for him anyway. It's not just because he saved your life, but also because you had some kind of bond with him that carried you further. Without him, you may not have survived down there, in that prison where I found you. The important thing is that you're alive. Just don't sleep the rest of your life away. Make their deaths count for something. I myself was the leader of the team, and because of that, their faces will haunt me for the rest of my life. I could stand here all day and rattle off what if's. What if I did this or that, what if I changed something, or said something. Blah blah blah. Bottom line, we have to learn from our mistakes."

"Yeah, but some should never have been made in the first place, like trusting the enemy."

"James, honestly, we would all like to believe we're all fine judges of character and we can discern what a person is feeling and thinking, but at the end of the day, when it comes down to it, we just want to believe in people."

James nodded, thinking hard about what his friend said. Achan patted his shoulder and got up, getting ready to leave.

"Why did you come back for me, anyways?" James had to know. "I was gone for so long, you should've assumed I was dead."