FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (130 page)

     Master Shay walks over to Ray with a triumphant look on his face. Ray tries to execute a Heat Burst Spell at the Grand Elementhar but it forms weakly and fades in mid flight. He tries again, but the flames will not even condense this time. Master Shay gives out a sinister laugh. Ray’s third attempt only produces thick and black smoke.

     The Grand Elementhar’s expression of a triumphant look turns into an arrogant smirk.

     “Drained _ you are of this, Ray, for your soul energy is near the level of soul depletion, and should you use any more of your soul energy, you shall die,” says Master Shay.

     “Care _ why do you do of this
!?
” retorts Ray in agony.

     “Care _ I do not of this, merely pointing out this happy fact for my own satisfaction. Fool _ you are of this, Ray, for you were offered an opportunity to rebuild your order, but you declined
!
Fool _ you are of this, for when you chose to walk away from us you could have stayed away and be safe, but instead you seek vengeance; and as a result, this poison of vengeance leads to your ruin
!
Dying _ as you lay here of this, you are every bit still as foolish and always as arrogant
!
” says the Grand Elementhar.

     Ray nods his head in agreement, much to Master Shay’s surprise.

     “Dying _ of this, I am; and perhaps foolish as well, but it is not arrogance that you see, it is defiance; the defiance of one who has been victimised and the defiance of one who seeks vengeance for those who could no longer get it for themselves
!
” retorts Ray in between violent, bloody coughs.

     “Choice _ you are leaving me with none of this but to kill you, Ray. Farewell
!
” informs the Grand Elementhar.

     “Wait
!
” pleads Ray.

     “Why
!?
” asks Master Shay.

     “Kill _ since you are going to do this of me, please grant me this dying wish. Truth _ tell me of this so that I may die in peace
!
” pleads Ray.

     A sadistic smile breaks out on the Grand Elementhar’s face. He raises his arms up like a music conductor guiding an orchestra. A horizontal funnel of wind begins to form around them like a protective wall, kicking up dirt and dust. The crowd is abuzz. No one can see or hear anything. Clover whispers something into Master Calnen’s ear.

     “Truth _ you want of this, Ray
!?
” asks Master Shay.

     Ray nods his head feebly.

     Master Shay lets out an evil laugh and shakes his head.

     “Truth
!
Mercy _ show of this to a dying man
!
” begs Ray.

     Master Shay nods his head. The evil grin is expressed firmly on his face.

     “Truth _ of this, it
was
indeed I who hired the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan to massacre your order; so you were right, Ray. Investigator _ a brilliant one of him you are indeed, catching on to me based on those damned Crimsonuts
!
” confesses the Grand Elementhar.

     “Why
?
” whispers Ray.

     “Why _ it is of this that you could not understand, is it not, Ray
?
Motive _ it is of this that you did not know. Motive _ of this, it was simple, for it was money and power; nothing more,” answers Master Shay.

     “Explain,” requests Ray.

     “Integration _ of this, it was my idea that we do so into the government; for they wanted our knowledge and skills and I wanted the benefits of being a government official; but more so, a benefactor has promised me gold and a high governmental rank if I were to succeed in bringing us in; and with this wealth and rank, I can live the good life. Desires _ every one of these that I have, I could entertain to the fullest with the gold and high rank that I was promised, if only the Grand Order would be willing to integrate into the government. Argued _ I did of this of my cause for many months to the High Council, but Master Santlyn stood in my way time and time again. Time _ of this, it was running out for me as my benefactor gave me a dateline which was fast approaching. Alternative _ my benefactor offered me one of this, that is if I could get the Original Vanguard Manuscript to him so that he could make a copy, then the integration would not be necessary and I would still be rewarded. Original Vanguard Manuscript _ of it, as you know, was not within my reach. Shadow Deathmerchant Clan _ so I finally decided to hire of them to eliminate Master Santlyn and to steal the Original Vanguard Manuscript, thus ensuring I get my rewards either way. Failed _ unfortunately, they did of this and so did I,” confesses Master Shay.

     Ray looks relieved, even though the pain in his body is excruciating. Then it occurs to Ray that some things still do not add up.

     “Original Vanguard Manuscript _ why does your benefactor require of it, when you can supply copies of it from Monune Grand’s archives
?
” asked Ray.

     “Fussy _ my benefactor was of this, so for him only the original would do,” answered Master Shay.

     “Integration _ of this, why did you not implement it after the massacre, when you were appointed as the Grand Elementhar
?
” asks Ray.

     “Integration _ of this, my benefactor was no longer interested when I informed him that the Original Vanguard Manuscript was lost; so I was given only one tenth of the gold that was promised to me, which serves as a cancellation fee of sorts, and was told that our collaboration was over. Plans _ mine of this were all ruined
!
Original Vanguard Manuscript _ if I had known that you still had possession of it, I would have had the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan hunt you down and retrieve it for me, at least I could have still salvaged the deal with my benefactor,” answers the Grand Elementhar.

     “Coins and power _ why are of these so important that you would betray your own kind
!?
” asks Ray in a disgusted tone.

     “Coins and power _ of these are important to me because I
miss
them,” says Master Shay, and then he pauses, and his mind drifts back to his past.

     It was a bright and sunny day in the Dry Season of the Year 1130 of the Known Era when Rapier Shay was born. His father was a trader of gemstones, and was wealthy beyond measure. His mother was an elegant and beautiful woman, for she was a former beauty queen of Free Falls. The Shays had five children and Rapier was the youngest.

     The young Rapier Shay grew up in a grand mansion in Fallsene City. He was attended to by servants day and night. He had but to ask, and all that he desired was brought to him. He had the best clothes, and the latest toys. Life to him was fun, fun and fun
!

     When young Rapier was old enough, he was sent to Royal Fallsene Educational. He was automatically the most popular student. This was not because he was the brightest or the most hardworking, but because he had the best clothes and the latest toys. He even had a full time servant attending to him during classes, copying down notes for him and also doing his homework, although he had never admitted to the latter. He was the envy of his schoolmates because he had what they did not have, even though they had considerately more than what most Fallsian children could ever had dreamt of.

     During his sixth year at Royal Fallsene, Rapier had decided that attending classes was a waste of his time. So he told his servant to attend the classes on his behalf and he bribe his teachers to turn a blind eye to the fact, and then he went off ‘exploring’. So on paper, Rapier Shay had perfect attendance and scored perfect marks in his homework and examinations, even though he was never there.

     Exploring the city was fun, as far as Rapier was concerned. And on one of his explorations, he had come across this strange place called ‘Dice & Destiny’.

     The first time Rapier stepped into Dice & Destiny, the smell of pipe and burnt tobacco nearly overwhelmed him. He had wanted to step out and not come back. But he stayed. He stayed because he had heard laughter
!
And it was the sort of laugher that only fun could have brought out. So this stinky, smelly place was fun; and he wanted to find out why this was so. He saw people putting coins on the tables. There were gold, silver and bronze coins and an assortment of jewels as well. And there was a wheel that would spin and a metal ball would bounce around in it. When the wheel stopped spinning and the metal ball went still, the coins and gemstones would be taken away from their owners but some owners would get them back in twofold, threefold or more. Ah
!
It was a game, Rapier realised. And the prize of winning and losing were coins and gemstones.

     Rapier had looked around and found many a game that was played at Dice & Destiny. But the game with the spinning wheel was the easiest. So he placed a stack of gold coins on the table and joined in. Then the wheel spun and spun and the ball bounced and bounced. And when the wheel had stopped spinning and the ball went still, Rapier had won two stacks of gold coins. Wow
!
That was easy
!
So one can earn money without studying hard and working hard
!
Fantastic
!
And so Rapier placed another stack of gold coins on the table and watched the wheel spin. And it was on that day that Rapier Shay was poisoned with the vice of gambling.

     Rapier had won a lot of coins on that day. And he knew people noticed. He made no efforts to hide it. He shouted out loud every time he won and laughed out even louder. This was his way of gloating about his victory. Then a pretty young woman named Candy sat next to him. She was sweet, Rapier recalled. Then came Honey, and she was sweeter. But he was rich and was getting richer, so why choose
?
He extended his arms and wrapped each of them around the two girls. And he laughed out loud. This was much more fun than school, that was for sure
!

     Graduation day came but Rapier was nowhere to be found. On record, he had scored perfect marks and graduated with flying colours; but in truth, he was never there. He was at Dice & Destiny, placing his destiny on the dice, as well as the ball and spinning wheel, and the cards.

     After graduation, Rapier had moved out of his parents’ mansion and got a home of his own. It was a lavish apartment in the heart of Fallsene City, which he shared with Candy and Honey. Of course, Rapier paid for all of the expenditures. Or more correctly, his father did. And Rapier never did find a job. He spent his days and sometimes his nights at Dice & Destiny, and as far as he was concerned, this was ‘the life
!
’

     One day, his father had decided he had enough of Rapier’s behaviour and cut him off. Rapier had lost his source of income. So he went to Dice & Destiny, foolishly thinking that he could earn a living just by gambling. He borrowed some money from some lone-givers and started gambling away. And he gambled away all the money he had. And in a matter of days, Candy and Honey left him. In a week’s time, the loan-givers had confiscated his lavish apartment. Rapier was thrown out on the streets. And his whole world crumbled.

     “Beggar _ I became of him overnight, to starve and to suffer the bite of coldness and the stench of filth. Starving _ were you ever of this, Ray
?
Beggar _ have you ever been one of him
?
Filthy _ to be of this, and to depend on other people’s trash for your own survival, I had went through it all. Desperate _ I was of this, so much so that I begged for noviciate with the Wind Elementhars when some of them came down to Fallsene City for a meeting. Stomach _ it was the only way to fill mine of this,” says Master Shay on this day, the
Fifth Day of Sixth Month of Dry Season in the Year 1200 of the Known Era
.

     Ray lies on the ground staring at Master Shay with great disgust. He shakes his head and wonders how the Grand Order could have ever had placed their trust in a man so lost and confused.

     Master Shay breaks into his evil smile again. He enjoys the satisfaction he gets from Ray’s misery.

     “Believed _ I have never had of this of the ways of the Elementhars and I have always wanted to get out; so when the opportunity came, well, I had to grab it. Offered _ I was of this of coins and power, to be rich and powerful again like the good days of my youth; but you and your order had to ruin it for me. Inconvenience _ you and your order had been a great one of this for me all these years, Ray; so it would be good to finally get rid of you
!
” says the Grand Elementhar.