A Warrior's Legacy (3 page)

My father had sent several contingents of
our best warriors to aid the Attorgrons in their efforts to repel
the vicious raids of our common enemy. He had placed me in charge
of the Attorgron resistance, while Larc commanded the northern
action.

It had been a brutal six months since I had
last seen my homeland, but I yearned to see it again with passion.
My sense of duty held me firmly to my post though.

The raids were growing fewer and I hoped
that soon they would quit altogether. The Zoarinians were losing
far too many troops for their raiding tactic to be an effective one
anymore. And if the Creator was with us, today would be no
different.

The Attorgrons were masters of disguise and
they had taught me and my men everything of their skill. I knew my
men and our allies were all around me, but spotting them was an
endeavor.

The enemy party grew closer and soon they
were passing beneath us. They moved quietly for fear of alerting us
to their presence in the forest. Of the last three raids only one
raiding party had returned home and it had been down below half its
original number and strength.

The size of this party was considerably
larger than in the past. If we destroyed them they may not send
another and then it would be the Attorgrons turn to raid their
weakened neighbors and repay them for their brutality.

My best estimate of the enemy force moving
quietly below us put it at two thousand men with perhaps four
hundred horsemen. I had three hundred of my own men and seven
hundred Attorgron allies. Better than 2 to 1 odds against us.

Nothing new about those odds. I saw my
target and slowly I rose up my arm holding my bow and drew back the
arrow it held already strung.

For all viewable purposes my actions
appeared as if a branch of the tree was being ruffled by a strong
breeze so complete was the disguise of green and brown paints and
the twigs and leaves adhered to my body. As I moved the whole
canopy of the surrounding forest rippled, as if caught by the same
sudden unpredicted breeze.

I sighted down the arrow and let my breath
out slowly as I took aim and with the release of my fingers on the
end of the arrow shaft I unleashed a fierce unseen hell upon the
helpless troops beneath us. Before the garishly dressed field
commander had fallen to the ground from off his horse by my well
aimed arrow a thousand more arrows had found their mark.

Screams of pain and shouts of war rang out
from beneath us. Steadily I yanked each arrow free from where I had
staked them and after methodically taking aim I let them on their
course of death.

It was a bloodbath beneath the canopy of the
forest. We had worked hard to set up this ambush leaving
misinformation for the enemies’ informants. We had made an
all-night march through the forest; one scouts life had been lost
giving the enemy misinformation instead of the truth as he was
tortured to death. This was payback for what happened to him and
others like him.

No quarter had been given by the enemy in
this war and none was being given back in return. A few scattered
survivors managed to escape the scene fleeing back the way they had
come. We let them go intentionally so that the bad news would reach
their peers.

The forest floor beneath us was strewn with
the bodies of the enemy. No doubt some of them were still alive
playing dead hoping to survive till nightfall, when they too could
escape or at least try to.

The Attorgrons had too much pent-up hatred
though to allow that leniency. They came down out of the trees and
began to systematically make sure that everyone was dead and at the
same time they collected weapons and loot.

I had no stomach for such actions so
gathering my bow and remaining arrows I lithely jumped down onto
lower limbs until I reached the ground. My actions were echoed by
my men and together we made our way through the scene of death
towards our horses that were tied up roughly a mile away.

I hoped today’s victory would send a clear
message to the Zoarinian commanders that it was time to end their
faulty strategy of war and focus instead on preparing their border
for the raids that were soon to come from the Attorgrons onto their
soil.

It gave me no pleasure to kill men from
concealment. I would rather face them in open battle than kill
stealthily from ambush. There was no honor in this kind of warfare,
just killing.

The silent walk to the horses helped clear
my mind some. When we reached the horses the man on duty signaled
me. Approaching him I saw he held a letter.

“This was delivered by a scout not over an
hour ago for you Sir!”

Taking the letter I recognized my father’s
seal and I tore open the letter not sure if I would find good or
bad news, perhaps even both. “Dear son from your reports I gather
that the need for you and your men aiding our allies is no longer a
necessary one and I have already said as much to the Attorgron
leadership. Upon receipt of this letter I wish for you and your men
to come home as I have a more pressing need of your service on a
mission that concerns your brother and perhaps the fate of an
entire people. Do not delay in coming to me!”

The fate of an entire people?

What did that mean?

A mission involving Gavin?

“What is it Sir?” Asked Zartanin one of my
closest men.

I folded the letter up and looked at him,
“We’re leaving for home. Right now!”

The men didn’t question me, but moved to
their mounts and within moments the clearing was empty. We headed
north along narrow forest paths shown to us by our allies.

What was happening at home I did not know,
but I instinctively felt a big change was coming. We rode for days
until we reached the foot of the mountains and then we walked
pulling are exhausted mounts up behind us. We reached the secret
pass high up in the mountains the fourth day of walking and then
mounting up we rode down the other side.

It was late in the night when our column of
riders rode up the stone streets of the Ta’arny. Riders broke off
one by one from the column to go to surprised loved ones that they
hadn’t seen in six months. Over half our number was gone from the
ranks by the time I neared the big gates of Thunder Ridge that
stood wide open with torches ablaze as sentries stood guard.

My father was always well-informed and it
didn’t surprise me that he was expecting us to arrive this night.
The rest of our number peeled off as we made our way through the
castle until I and Relentless were alone as we made our way up the
last few steep stone clad streets to reach the Great Hall.

Relentless puffed hot clouds of steam into
the cold night air, as I brought him to a halt at the base of the
stairs. More torches decorated the night with their fiery glow as I
dismounted and handed the reins to an attendant and started for the
stairs. Looking up I saw my mother standing wrapped tightly in a
fur coat.

I had to smile at the welcome sight of her.
Mother was one of the very best parts of coming home because she
helped make home what it was to me, which was a haven I felt secure
in.

Krista watched her son approach up the hill
on the massive black stallion that he loved. The two were a pair in
reserve and barely leashed civility at other times.

As the stallion stopped and her son
dismounted with the grace of his father’s quick effortless
movements she marveled not for the first time as she saw her son
begin to approach her, had the Creator really so blessed her that
she could claim the virtuous and powerful young man coming up
towards her as the offspring of her womb?

As he looked up and gave her a rare smile
which she returned, yes He had! She felt a thrill coursed through
her as she watched him come up toward her. He had the commanding
presence and masterful bearing of his father with a heart to
match.

What was the Creator going to do with this
young man? Time would tell. His big arms closed around her in a
tight embrace that swept her off of her feet. The cherished embrace
of her son and the sound of his steady heartbeat beneath her ear
that was so similar to the love of her life caused tears to press
out of her eyes as she thanked the Creator over and over in her
heart for her son’s safe return from war.

She felt the arms of her mate close around
her and her son and for a moment she felt true happiness. She
savored every second of it, because such moments in life can be so
fleeting and far in between.

After a long moment in the embrace of my
parents I reluctantly stepped back, but still holding onto my
mother I looked at my father and said, “I need a woman like this to
come home to father.”

Father laughed and pulled mother out of my
arms and into his. “You have to get your own boy! This one’s
taken!”

We both laughed at mother’s rosy
complexion.

“It’s so good to see you son! A might
earlier than I expected, but all the better. I don’t think I
could’ve managed to return so swiftly as you did !”

“It’s good to see you father and I’m sure
that if the tables were turned and you were in my place you would
of been here in time for dinner instead of like me, who is going to
have to starve until breakfast.”

“No son of mine is going to starve on my
watch! You run along with your father and I will see to the food!”
Mother said as she hurried off.

Father looked at me for a long moment and
then said “Humility is one of your greatest strengths son. It was
nice what you said, but I doubt it would be true if put to the
test. I would’ve probably been in time for breakfast and no
sooner.”

“Lying does not become you father.” I said
with a quirky smile.

For a moment he appeared shocked, but then
he laughed and throwing an arm around my shoulders we started off
walking towards his study, “You know me too well son!”

I sat in the chair across my father and
listened to the entire story. Excitement bubbled up in me at the
thought of exploring an unknown continent on our very own world. A
new and strange place to discover.

Stop!

My place was here! Or was it?

“How does Gavin’s vision concern me?”

Father stared at me steadily and then
responded, “Your brother is an extremely capable individual with
good common sense, except when it comes to two things. Sharing the
Holy Scriptures to the lost and somewhat more speculatively on my
part, the realm of love between a man and a woman. He may well be
successful in saving the souls of a tribe of cannibals that he sits
down beside to discuss their dinner plans and share the good news
with, but he might also try the same with a group that has
alliances to the dark side that do not wish for change. Your
brother’s faith and desire to share the Creator’s word are
powerful, but he lets himself get into situations sometimes that
are best to have been avoided. You know what I’m saying is
true.”

I could not deny the truth of my father’s
words. I myself over the recent years had saved Gavin’s backside
several times from situations that his overzealousness had gotten
him into.

While on the other hand I had seen that same
overzealousness be the key in some amazing occurrences of God’s
miraculous plan.

“I’m not trying to limit Gavin’s faith or
what the Creator wants to do with him or his willingness to serve,
but rather I want to see him protected while in service to God so
that he can be as effective as he can possibly be!”

“That’s where I come in I guess?”

“Yes.”

I looked back up at him, “If I leave and he
leaves who will be here for you in case it should go wrong for us
and we can’t return?”

Father looked thoughtful as he got up out of
his chair and came around his desk to sit on the front of it, “All
this.”

He gestured to everything around him, “Is
going to be your older brothers someday.”

I made as if to speak, but he held up a hand
stopping me. “I have faith that one day I don’t know how or even
when, but I believe your brother will return to us. And not only
return, but return a better man than when he left. A man worthy of
all this legacy just as you already are. Going on this mission to
protect your brother is only one of the reasons why I want you to
go. I saw the way your eyes lit up when I told you about this new
land. I want you to go to this land with the purpose of not only
sharing the words of the Creator, but also to carve out your own
destiny there. Start a new legacy. When our grand sire Tadias
Ta’lont came here there was nothing before he started it. With his
own hands he laid the foundation of this fortress and by the
principles he lived by and the grace of the Creator here we too are
living out the dream that he started so long ago. You can do that
to Zevin! Go to this new land and be the man I’ve taught you to be.
Seize whatever opportunity you find there and above all else be
faithful and humble before your Creator as He will never fail you.
Create a new legacy with new traditions just like the man whose
blood still courses through your veins did. Find the girl that’s
like your mother and cherish and care for her all your days, even
as the Son of the Creator cherishes and cares for our souls and
daily needs and desires. Have dominion over your world. May you
have victory in war and joy in the peace that follows. May you
never think more highly of yourself than you should and may the
Creator bless you with all His loving mercies. May the Creator
multiply and secure the borders of your people and may your house
last until the stars fall from the skies and we’re all called home
to our everlasting abode with our Creator. This is my wish and
blessing as a father for you Zevin and all those who follow after
you.”

Tears ran down my face at both his words
over me, which I felt the power of wash over me like a warm wave of
promise, and the realization that this place which I had called
home for so long was no longer.