Amidst The Rising Shadows (Book 3) (8 page)

The way Halcylon almost spat the word, human, left little to the imagination of how his race was viewed by the general. Aaron took a moment gathering his thoughts. He glanced at the shackles on his wrists and felt the stirrings of the bladesong within. He cast his gaze upward to the jagged ceiling of the cavern above, and then at the angry faces of the crowd all around him. There were no arguments he could make that would spare his life. The Hythariam needed someone to bear the blame for their suffering. He could fight and most certainly die here at this moment, upon this world, away from the people that mattered most to him. He glanced at Halcylon, who stood waiting for him to speak with a menacing glint in his eyes. There was only one thing he could think to do and that was to honor the most basic teachings. When his grandfather had died, thrusting him headlong into this mess, his father had told him there were no perfect solutions. Never were truer words spoken. When faced with uncertainty and you had to take responsibility for offenses arrayed against you, the truth cannot only be your shield, but the beacon that shines even in the hour of your death.
 

Aaron looked up to speak to the crowd, “Your general is right. I didn’t come here for the benefit of the Hythariam. Nor did I come here to wage a war that began ages ago before I was even born. I came here to save the woman I loved. She was pulled into this conflict, saving my life, but in turn it would have cost her more than I was willing to allow. The actions I took to save her brought me here, and is something I will never apologize for, to anyone. It is true there are Hythariam alive and well on Safanar, and they all grieve for those left behind. I’ve seen the sorrow that haunts their footsteps and the pain behind their eyes. They grieve for you and given the choice would choose peace over war. It wasn’t me that put the barrier in place, barring your people from Safanar. But given the choice, I never would have come here. It is true I took the barrier down, but not for you. They were for my own selfish reasons. The Hythariam on the other side of the portal fear the war you will bring them. They fear your leaders and the measures that will be taken if you were to ever make it to Safanar.”

“Measures indeed, tell me, Aaron, what wouldn’t you do to protect your people?” Halcylon asked.

“My ancestor, Daverim Alenzar’seth, created the barrier to protect his people and his world. I cannot know what was in his mind when he committed the act. I’m already betting my life that he wouldn’t have taken such an action if he hadn’t believed it was necessary. You found Safanar through an accident of fate; who says you should live at all? What desperate measures have you taken to survive? The Hythariam on Safanar paint a bleak picture of what life was like on Hytharia and the measures the Zekara had taken to achieve its goals.”

“Doing what is necessary is never wrong,” Halcylon countered.

“Was it necessary to murder your own people? Sacrifice entire cities so that you should live?” Aaron asked.

Halcylon studied him for a moment, “We’ve had to make tough choices in order to survive.”

“That’s exactly the point. My people also made a tough choice in the name of survival, and yet here I stand waiting to be judged by your tribunal. Who will judge the actions you have taken?” Aaron asked.

“Indeed you are here to answer for the genocide that your people have committed against mine. Can you justify that?”

In that moment, Aaron knew it was hopeless. “It’s not genocide if the Hythariam are alive on Safanar. You’ve had almost eighty years, and are you telling me that in all that time the Hythariam didn’t come up with a contingency plan? That it was either make it to Safanar or die?”

Halcylon regarded him with an icy glint in his eyes, “Make no mistake, human. We will be going to Safanar, and when we do the Safanarions will have much to answer for, as will the Hythariam there.”

The roar of the crowd shattered the silence, and Aaron could hear the echoes of the other Hythariam throughout the great cavern outside the stadium they were in. The roars outside were deep and bestial, beyond that of any normal Hythariam. Aaron felt the stirrings of the bladesong within, and the muscles in his arms grew rigid, straining against the shackles on his wrists. He looked at Halcylon, understanding once again why Iranus was so fearful of his coming to Safanar. If he were to die here, then perhaps he could make his death count for something. He pulled the energy in hardening his muscles and skin. He kept his gaze upon the ground and took a breath. In the last second before he would jump, he looked at Halcylon.
 

The Hythariam watched him, waiting for Aaron to reach out toward him. “Do it, human,” Halcylon hissed.

The moments ebbed away, and the only reason Aaron didn’t move was because it was exactly what Halcylon wanted. Instead Aaron turned to the tribunal and waited.

The crowd came to a muttered silence as the five members of the tribunal rose from their seats.

“We of the Hythariam find the human guilty of the war crime genocide against the Hythariam race. His sentence is death to be carried out immediately,” a member of the tribunal said.

Halcylon stepped up, “I have a better idea that I would like to present to the tribunal and one that would serve the justice we of the Zekara would seek.”

“The judgment has been rendered and cannot be changed.”

“Yes, it has. What I propose is that we condemn the human to the same fate that he and the other Safanarions have doomed the rest of us to. When the portal is once again opened upon Safanar, the human will watch and remain alive long enough to bear witness that the way back to his home is right in front of him, but forever beyond his reach. He can die with our beloved Hytharia.”

The crowd roared their approval. The cheers of righteous fury changed to fear as the ground shook violently beneath Aaron’s feet. Pieces of rock detached from the roof of the cavern and slammed into the ground around them. The Hythariam in the stadium were thrown to the ground. The tremor finally passed, and Aaron noted that Halcylon was completely unfazed by what had happened.

Halcylon turned and waited for the tribunal to respond.

The members of the tribunal regained their feet, and a member spoke, “We find that your suggestion is in keeping with the good faith of our judgment and will be carried out upon the human.”

Aaron glared at Halcylon, but he wouldn’t move. He wouldn’t strike out against the general even though he was such a short distance away from him. They had a way to get to Safanar. A glimmer of hope ignited deep inside Aaron that he may yet be able to return to Sarah. It was that hope that would keep him from casting his life away, and the look on Halcylon’s eyes confirmed that this is what the general had planned the entire time. Halcylon had used Aaron as the rallying cry for the Hythariam. As he looked around the stadium at the hateful leers of the Hythariam, Aaron almost doubted that he would live long enough to even see the portal open to Safanar.

“Have no fear, human,” Halcylon said, so only Aaron could hear. “The last thing you will see is your home through the pale light of the portal. Mark my words, Safanar will be forever beyond your reach.”

Halcylon stepped away, and four soldiers took up guard around him. The Hythariam in the stadium came onto the field, hungry to see their human prisoner they had condemned to death. All the while Aaron kept thinking that Iranus was not mistaken in his judgment of his own people. The slippery slope stemming from desperate measures in the name of survival had sapped the soul of the Hythariam race, leaving a yearning hatred to the purveyors of their own destruction. War and a struggle to survive had become a way of life for the Hythariam, and the only thing keeping them together was the promise of retribution for all the wrongs that had been visited upon them. It was madness, and Aaron was caught firmly in its web.

C
HAPTER
5

FALLEN CITY STIRS

Colind looked at the rubble-strewn ground that stretched away from him. Shandara had been his home and his prison. Now it appeared that the fallen city was waking from a fitful slumber. The imbalance of energy and constant twilight were gone. The barrier that held the Hythariam at bay no longer drained the land. Sunlight bathed the city in a warm glow, and the city seemed to breathe a great sigh as if it had cast off a terrible burden. The cries of the dead still echoed in Colind’s mind, causing him to wince at times. Nothing remained of the people who couldn’t escape, and what fire hadn’t consumed the passage of time claimed for its own.
 

The Hythariam had been slowly clearing the streets and restoring the buildings. At least they had shelter, and the underground springs that fed the city still worked.

“I keep expecting to see a Ryakul lurking around every corner,” Garret said.

“They’ve scattered, but there could still be some here,” Colind answered.

“Without the Drake to control them, I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time before they terrorize the smaller cities and towns that have little or no defenses,” Vaughn said.

Garret frowned, taking stock of the area, “What I don’t understand is how the Ryakuls even survived here for so long. What did they eat? It’s not as if there was a ready food supply anywhere near here.”

Colind’s stomach sank, and he closed his eyes, wincing, “They ate the most readily available food supply: other Ryakuls.”

They glanced at each other, their mouths drawing downward, disgusted at the thought of this new revelation.

“I’ve seen it,” Colind answered. “My body was trapped and my soul doomed to dwell in the twilight of this place. The past, whatever else it is, is gone.”

The silence gave them men a brief respite from bitter thoughts. They turned down a street that had been cleared. The rubble had been moved to a place away from the city. Roselyn, Iranus’s daughter and a brilliant scientist, had been able to create smaller Keystone Accelerators for them to use to open portals. They were less powerful than the prototype that Aaron had used, but they did work just fine. They were limited to a few uses in a given cycle and currently had to brought back to Hathenwood to be recharged. Iranus had assured them that new versions of the accelerators would be able to recharge on their own.

“Even though the barrier has been down a month there have been reports of animals returning to the surrounding forests,” Vaughn said.

Colind nodded, “That’s good. I know Cyrus has been getting a lot of requests from people wishing to return here. Resources at Rexel are being spread thin, but it will do them no good to get here and not be able to feed themselves.”

“There is a long road ahead if Shandara is to be rebuilt,” Garret said.

Colind nodded, “Yes, but if Shandara is going to protect anybody we need to repair the walls.”

“They are using the rubble from throughout the city, reshaping it into pieces to fix the damaged sections, but simply put, it’s a big wall,” Vaughn said.

“We still have some time,” Garret said. “Precious little though there is. Have the others had any luck finding the chamber or the weapons caches?”

Colind shook his head, “The place that the chamber is believed to be is in one of the most damaged parts of the city. They are still working their way toward it, but they need to be cautious lest they destroy the very place they are most eager to get to. As far as the weapons caches go, they think they might have found one. Sarah and the others are heading there now.”

Vaughn frowned, glancing where Colind had nodded his head.

“What is it?” Colind asked.

“I’m worried about Sarah. Her patience is growing thin with finding the chamber. Each day that passes, her will erodes away that much more,” Vaughn said.

“I want Aaron back too,” Colind said.

“Do you think he is alive?” Vaughn asked, and Garret glanced back at them.

“Yes,” Colind said without hesitation.

“How can you be so sure? Verona and the others say the same thing. It’s as if they won’t believe for a second that Aaron may, in fact, be dead.”

“It’s not blind faith, my friend, I can assure you. Think about it,” Colind said. “We know the Hythariam are on the other side. Aaron saw them. So they must be monitoring the portal and would know if someone came through. I believe Aaron is being held captive by the Hythariam on the other side.”

Garret swallowed, “Being held captive could be worse than death. This is the same race that created the Drake. I can only imagine what they could do to Aaron, especially if they knew who he really was.”

“They know who he is,” Colind sighed.

“How?” Garret asked.

Vaughn's eyes grew wide. “He bears the mark of the Alenzar’seth upon his chest.”

“Yes, and Halcylon would never forget who is responsible for putting the barrier in place. Given the amount of destruction where the chamber used to be, I have little hope that we will be able to mount any rescue attempt for Aaron. He is on his own.”

The uneasy silence dragged on.

“I’m beginning to understand Sarah’s attitude,” Vaughn said quietly.

“If they know who Aaron is then they will recognize his value. Wouldn’t they keep him alive then?” Garret asked.

“That’s what I’m hoping for,” Colind said.

“There has been some good news. Zsensibar’s armies are gathering in the south. King Nasim has been in contact with Cyrus this morning,” Vaughn said.