"In hectic times, honor always seems to die first."
-Maddard Bessarion
VII. Foreigner
Prometheus tittered.
What is it? Gaijin thought to Prometheus.
Those are not their names. But, play along, Prometheus relayed with a natural laugh following after. They can be so clever.
Never forget what our goal is. Never. Prometheus's voice began fading.
I know. Gaijin thought. But, how did you know they were lying?
There was no response.
Prometheus?
"Prometheus," Gaijin called out worriedly. There was only the vacuous silence of his mind.
He looked at Gaijin with an expression that was rather uneasy to discern.
Noticing the worry on Gaijin's face, he inquired "What's wrong?" By the tone of his voice, he seemed suspicious. He gawked at him, growing more curious the longer Gaijin remained silent.
"Nothing," Gaijin replied nervously.
"Why do you look worried?" He asked.
Growing annoyed, Gaijin quickly changed the subject to the topic of the strange beasts roaming about the forest. "These Deathknights, right? What are they?"
He scoffed. Bringing him along felt like an unnecessary risk. But, there was still something inside of him that wanted to keep him around. It was the words that Maddard so convincingly spoke. He still thought about it. But then he started to think too much.
A sudden spark of revelation flared upon the soldier's expression, he raised his arm and blocked Gaijin from walking with his swords still gripped in his hands.
"You said you fell from the sky?"
Gaijin nodded. "From a cloud. I had been sleeping on. When I woke up, it burst and then I fell in this forest. I have been lost ever since."
"How do you mean?" His voice grew cold and coarse.
"Exactly as I said."
He scoffed again and quickly looked up again at the dreary sky.
Maddard, too, looked stunned as it had not dawned on him until now. "Gods...you survived a fall like this?"
"I died, but I came back to life."
Maddard walked closer to Gaijin, breaking the separation the soldier had created between the two. "There had always been that one cloud in the sky that lingered over Sindirin. It never moved and it never produced rain," Maddard said while looking at the black-haired soldier. "I believe it is called the Cloud of Forever."
Utterly dismayed, the soldier dropped his arms to his sides. "I'm sorry if I startled you. It's been a long day. But if you don't mind me asking, why were you looking for humans and what was this danger you spoke of earlier?" The soldier tried to appear calm, but suspicion still plagued his thinking.
Gaijin took a very deep breath.
"Let me tell you everything I know," he said, motioning for them to come closer to him. The soldier stared into Gaijin's eyes, not wishing to gaze upon his exposed privates. Maddard came closer and did just as the soldier had done, his eyes not glancing high. The soldier looked around the forest before gathering with the others around a bush.
Gaijin attempted to tell his story as aptly and honestly as he knew how. Without Prometheus's guidance, he worried, however. But he muscled through and began to tell them his story while.
"A long time ago when I was a young, there was a worldwide conflict that had nearly erased all life in this world. Do you know the names Zeus, Prometheus, and Athena?" Gaijin asked.
The soldier nodded.
Maddard nodded. "Yes, the people of this world have worshipped them for as long as I can remember."
"Are they still around?" Gaijin asked.
"Still around?" Maddard replied curiously. "I had always believed them to be a myth spread by man to attempt to make sense of the world. I never held them to be real."
Gaijin's eyes widened. He was relieved in a way. "Well, even if they are no longer here, they did exist at a time...ages ago. You probably know them as gods, yes?"
Maddard nodded. The soldier looked on curiously, not saying a word, an amused gleam beaming past his steeled gaze.
"There was a girl named Pandora. She once opened a jar containing sealed evils and it brought the world to ruins. Billions of monsters scoured the earth, it was a lifetime of darkness and sorrow and so I was tasked by the entity known as Prometheus to help defeat her monsters. From what I was told, she was not a vicious girl, she was actually quite innocent from what I was told but the power she had was too dangerous so we found a way to seal her and her monsters. We realized she had a connection, a kind of mental link, with the monsters and so we formed a box to seal her inside, and as she was sealed, her monsters followed with her inside of the box. But, we knew there would surely come a day when the contraption we created would no longer be able to contain her and all those horrid monsters. Prometheus sealed a part of me in the box with her. He did this so when the seal on the box broke, and she was released, I would awaken and warn the world of what is to come."
"It was all so dark during those days...forests died, the oceans turned black, the clouds disappeared from the sky. It would not rain across the continent for years at a time, no sunshine, just ash...that is why I urgently need help finding her so I can stop her somehow before the same thing that happened all those many years ago happens again." Gaijin paused and looked around. "To see trees, sunshine, and life again...it is a good feeling."
The soldier rubbed his chin, his fingers unfurling the stubbles, and said, "If what you say is true, then it is of the highest importance that we must see Father." He hastened his stride and walked by Maddard's side. He gripped his hand and pulled him to the side away from Gaijin.
"Oh and one other thing—" He said suddenly. "Could you show me the back of your neck..." His tone was calm but Gaijin felt malice lurking just beneath, it showed within his eyes which pierced like cold steel. His hands were tight around the handles of his swords. Gaijin became a bit nervous, and the soldier took notice of that.
Maddard stepped forward. "Why!" He argued angrily in defense of Gaijin. What does that have to—"
"Were my words aimed for you, Chester?" He looked at Maddard, piercing him with his stolid eyes. "I merely wish for him to show me the back of his neck and nothing more."
"But—" Maddard tried saying.
"Enough!" The soldier was growing weary of Maddard. "It is merely a simple request," he said, his eyes still set coldly on Gaijin.
"What an odd request," Maddard whispered to himself.
"It is fine," said Gaijin as he turned around, revealing the small tattered white wings pressed flat against his back.
He raised his hand and waved away the wet strands of hair from off his neck. The soldier approached slowly with an attentive expression and his clutch strong on his swords. He saw nothing but plain brown skin. He appeared more relaxed now, even dropping his swords down to his sides.
"Thank you for cooperating," he said, blowing out a sigh.
Gaijin let down his hair and eyed him awkwardly.
"What was that supposed to prove?" Maddard yelled angrily.
Not addressing Maddard's question, the soldier waved his hand for them to follow him. "It is time that we leave for Aeryngrave."
Gaijin, with a look of reluctance, followed but Maddard remained where he was.
"What are you waiting for, Chester? Time is of the essence, the sooner we leave, the better it is for all of us."
"Who are you really?" Maddard mouthed while facing the soldier with a look searing with hostility.
The soldier stopped, his quick strides lessening into small steps in the snow. "What are you on about, Chester?"
"Do not call me that! I am tired of your games!" Maddard yelled. "You may have paralyzed me with whatever wicked poison you used, but I heard and saw everything. No mere man can move as you had. I watched you destroy that Deathknight and the beast it rode!"
The soldier began walking back towards Maddard with a coldness to his eyes, a look so cold it mirrored the eternally-present chill of the forest.
"I want to know what is going on or else my feet shall not move from where they stand!"
The soldier scoffed, his manner was strange and suspicious. There was a look of annoyance on his face.
"Sojourn village...not Moontown. That is the real name of that village, and it was peaceful, too, with no more than two hundred humble people. I have been to that village several times in the past years, selling and trading goods with the villagers. Honest, hardworking men, women, and children and I had formed close relationships with many of them. Gregory, the innkeeper and his wife, Sarah. Anthea the florist and her two children, Isaac and Phoebe. Hezekiah, one of two of the village's only blacksmiths. Elias, the owner of the village's only tavern. Selene and Evander Edison, the best bakers and the two kindest people I had ever had the pleasure of meeting. All these people lived peacefully, yet, when we arrived, it was a ghost town. A devilish image of the community I had once known.
I could feel the vile evil air. The shops and homes were ravaged. I saw that too! But, the people whom I saw dead and spread across the ground like pieces of trash...they were not villagers were they? Those were soldiers. Two or three months ago during my last time over there, I was sharing a drink with Elias in his tavern before he was to close shop for the night and I was to go to Emis who was staying in one of the rooms in Gregory's inn, when we happened to overhear a conversion between two young men who had walked into the tavern some time ago. There were at least thirteen people still in the tavern. But these two sat in the corner a few tables away from where we were. They had not ordered a single drink since they had walked inside. They looked nervous about something and I could not help but notice how skittish they were behaving. I had never seen those two men in the village not once, even Elias agreed he did not recognize them. They dressed like villagers but their hair was too kept. They fit in like the villagers, but we knew they were not. Years living with wolves dressed as humans has taught me to read people...and the two men talked differently, too."
With an anxious look in his eyes, he nearly choked on the weight in his voice. "Do you want to know what I heard them talking about," he said with revulsion searing in his eyes.
"They were whispering something to each other. But it was the way they were conversing amongst each other...they meddled with certain words as to conceal what they were really saying. It was like a coded language, a puzzle I forced my mind to put together. It was no normal conversation those two were having. What they were talking about made their bellies quiver and their eyes turn cold like ice. They were speaking of some happenings going on with the Aeryngrave king, Obryn I believe his name was, yes that was it. The Majesty of Aeryngrave, King Baccus Obryn. Their voices would shrink softer whenever they spoke that name. He had supposedly gone missing and they were trying to find him along with the rest of the soldiers. But I heard them say something about the king's royal guards being the soldiers sent.
We both found it odd. They would occasionally look around like they were worried about having someone overhear their conversation. I and Elias would turn away and pretend we were talking drunkenly amongst each other whenever they looked around from the corner of their eyes. They then talked about soldiers and how they were getting ready for the third stage of some plan of theirs. Soldiers sent to a village to find their king? It did not make sense to either of us. Then, and this is what made both of our stomachs fall.
We heard them say something about the empire possibly being attacked by Deathknights and that the soldiers had to be ready to deal with them when the time came. And, yes, you too were one of those soldiers, aren't you? Why would my brother send an Aeryngrave soldier to take me to him...as if he knew all of this madness was going to happen? He did, did he not? He knew of the Deathknights, and so he planned to have me out of the danger before it all happened, didn't he! He knew this was going to happen and he said nothing! Tell me I am lying, and may the gods strike you where you stand." Maddard's face twisted and turned into a disgusted grimace.
"What kind of evil things have you gotten yourselves involved in? Did those good people have to die because of the government's meddling? I may live in the outskirts but I know of the things happening in Aeryngrave as well as Sindirin and the conflict brewing between the ten nations and I know that the growing order known as the Confessors are behind much of it and how they are trying to overthrow and replace the government. The empire is in a state of peril and jeopardy because of the greed of power-hungry people who would prefer to be the rulers of ash if it had to be so!" He grunted suddenly, a thick pool of saliva being jostled down his throne. "And even if they do manage to do it, they would be just as worse a government as the ones who have been destroying this empire for hundreds of years.
My hate of the government drove me away a long time ago back when I still lived in Sindirin as a citizen of the empire and a knight of the current emperor's auxiliary, when I slowly began to learn about the people who were sworn to serve the empire and of their actual intentions. It was horrifying to come to know of their true colors, the side they do not show to the people. All devious and underhanded like the ones who came before and the many to come after themselves. You all pretend to serve the people— all of you, when you really wish for power. Soldiers, knights, nobles, rulers, lords, dukes, barons...they are all the same. You are all the same! Like thirsty beasts who are never content with their fill. My brother knows my feeling towards all of it...the kinds of things people will do for power...it keeps me up at night.
But I will return to the two men in the bar, for that was not all they had said. Mentions of Ereignfall, Edelaviel-esprit, Aeryngrave, and Solaris also emerged. They even mentioned the Rare Nations at one point and they talked about the possibility of evacuations that may very well occur in the countries I mentioned when the time needed to come. They mentioned the three other empires to the south, west, and east. And then suddenly they began behaving a lot more suspicious than they had previously. They came closer near one another and looked around the room than they typically had.
They looked more worried and upset. It was harder for me to hear them but I managed to make out six words distinctly. The six words were man, tattoo, dangerous, arrows, careful, dakini. I do not know what the last word meant but it turned their skin white just by uttering it. I looked at their faces turn sour and hair stand straight. You all are plotting something dangerous! I know it! The blue explosion back when you first saw me, you did not even flinch at the shockwave of it. There is something sinister going on and you all wish to hide it from the people and you dare not lie to me! I am right, aren't I? You were playing with fire you could not contain and now we are burning in it. Those innocent people...all dead because of you people! The dead soldiers dressed as villagers we saw...they received what they deserved!"
The soldier stepped forwardly, his hands tightened into balls around his swords' handles. "And yet you ran. As earnest as you try to let off, why did you not go to warn the villagers? Go house to house, village to village, and save those people you claim to have such a strong fondness for? You had months to do so...but yet you did nothing. You knew all of this and yet you chose to say nothing."
"I-I did not know what to make of it...I-I could not—I prayed to gods for all of us every single night!" Maddard stumbled on his words.
"You had three months as you said! You could have at least tried to warn all of those people caught who may one day find themselves in the crossfire. The government was clearly not going to as you say. But you had the choice, you had the power, as did your friend! You could have saved them, yet you chose the easier route to live with that knowledge without ever warning a single soul? How is that?"
"You dare criticize me? It was the actions of you people who—"
The soldier's voice suddenly rose, "Or was it that you were not as noble as you thought yourself to be. The lives of those people were in your power, or do you deny that? You had the power to stop all of it from happening. You stand here and wish to spew words that mock those who take action. You are worse, you are the worse kind of person, the kind who would rather stay silent and pray for your gods to save us.
How were those prayers of yours? Were they answered? Did your gods reply to you and tell you that the sweet, innocent people of the village would be spared? Did the sign come to you in a gust of wind or, rather was it a golden chariot of light rode by Helios himself? Or rather, was it the truth? The truth that you chose the coward's path and prayed to ease your own guilty conscious and believe that everything would be just fine and that your gods had solved all of your problems? You were only so keen on having Gaijin join us because you knew of his power to heal. You are not the only one who can read others. Your wife is gone and she will never come back, not through healing, not through prayer, not through anything and it was because you did not take action! Wake up! The world has never been a loving place! We do our duties as soldiers to change the world for the better or have you forgotten this all those years ago?"
The soldier simmered his increasing anger and settled his face to something calmer. You had the power, Bessarian...remember that. The dead will not forget it. Do you wish to stand by and do nothing once again? Will more die because you wish to stay silent or will you stand on your own two feet and fight for what you believe in? But, I will say this, what you said is not entirely wrong. I will not lie to you about that, nor you, Gaijin. There was a reason why we came to this village some time ago, but it was not for the reason you think. Will you fall upon your knees for answers from your gods or do you wish to discover the truth with your own two eyes?
If you wish to learn the truth, you will need to trust that I can take you to find all the answers to your burning questions if you so choose it. But, it is on your hands. I have done my duty to take you to the village, and so my business with you is concluded. But, if you wish to take a step further and come with me and that will mean your brother will have to wait to see you some other time, Maddard. Besides, with these Deathknights around, I'm sure he's busy himself. Knowing that man, he has already declared martial law. But, I am a mere soldier sent on a mission entrusted to me by my superiors," he looked at Maddard.
With a steady beating of the heart, Maddard stood still, knowing not what to say. In the face of uneasy obscurity, he stood still and breathed silenced.
Gaijin walked closer to the two, "I am willing," he said.
"And what of you, Bessarian?" The soldier said, his eyes calm and still.
Maddard quickly turned to Gaijin, and awed at the burning resolve in his eyes. He saw a man, a foreign being, who was determined to take action.
"It will not be a safe journey if you come with me. It will not be a safe journey, regardless of your path, put truthfully. Or have you forgotten the way of the soldier? The oath we soldiers live by."
Frustrated and ready to burst with welling emotion, Maddard yelled with rage weaving through the many scrunched lines of his face.
"Damn you! No, I have not forgotten. I will join you but only because I wish to see my brother and look him in his eyes and ask him the very questions I have asked you today."
Maddard was still a gloomy imitation of a man. His movements were sluggish and his eyes often stayed still, rarely looking about. He could not fight back the flooding emotions he felt which whirled and spun so aggressively his thoughts were unmanageable.
"And just know that I do not normally let people see Father. But you two are special cases," the soldier said, releasing a soft sigh after.
Gaijin nodded.
"And as for you," he said looking at Gaijin, "you shall have your answers, as well. But, until then, is there more we need to know?"