FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (131 page)

     Another question pops in Ray’s mind. He nearly forgets to ask, but luckily, he manages to remember.

     “Killed _ did you order for High Elementhar Nurten to be done of this, and Monune Sapphire to be set on fire
?
” he asks.

     “Yes
!
Killed _ I had ordered for Master Nurten to be done of this, but the task was carried out by someone else, not the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan,” answers Master Shay.

     “Who
?
” asks Ray.

     “Matter _ does it of this
?
” counters Master Shay.

     “No. Killed _ what was the reason you had wanted her to be done of this
?
” asks Ray.

     “Killed _ I had Master Nurten be done of this so that I can weaken the Water Elementhars, and this ensures that the Wind Elementhars remain strong and keep me in power,” answers Master Shay.

     “Earth Elementhars _ what about of them, would they not be a threat to your position
?
” asks Ray.

     “Earth Elementhars _ of them, they are not a threat as Master Calnen is loyal to me, and furthermore, he has an aversion to power,” explains Master Shay.

     “Fire _ how is it that you can manipulate this element, for an eyewitness has claimed that you could
?
” asks Ray.

    “Fire _ do you think that only your order knows how to generate of this
?
Read _ I am a Grand Elementhar and I know how to do of this of the Vanguard Manuscript, and learning to generate and manipulate fire is easy for someone like me
!
” answers Master Shay.

     Then comes a sudden, unexpected voice.

     “Blind _ we have been of this
!
Blind
!
Blind
!
Blind
!
” exclaims Master Calnen as he, Clover, Lance, Spirit and Master Waycress emerge from an expanding split in the ground just behind the Grand Elementhar and well inside the eye of the vertical funnel cloud.

     “What
!?
How
!?
” reacts Grand Elementhar Shay in shock.

     “Earth Elementhar _ Master Calnen is of him, and he can transport himself and a small company under and through the ground at his leisure, for this is part of his skills, or did you not know, Shay
!?
” explains Ray.

     “Tricked _ you did of this to me
!
” says the Grand Elementhar as he points an angry finger at Ray.

     “Betrayed _ you have done of this to us all
!
” responds Ray furiously, coughing out blood.

     “Betrayed _ indeed, you have done of this to us all
!
” concurs Master Calnen.

     Master Waycress just nods her head in agreement but the expression of disgust on her face is well beyond words.

     Master Shay looks to the High Elementhars, then to Ray and then back to the High Elementhars. In his mind, he can see his future crumbling. He is exposed
!
His power and position is ruined
!
He will be left with nothing
!
Nothing
!

     “Damned _ Ray Iddell, you be of this
!
” shouts an angry, frustrated and desperate Rapier Shay as he turns to execute a Vacuum Choke on the group of the two High Elementhars, Clover, Lance and Spirit.

     Rapier Shay’s sudden attack catches them off-guard. They fall to their knees, clutching their throats and chests and grasping for air. Spirit falls to the ground writhing, unable to breath.

     “Over _ it is
not
necessarily of this for me, for I can still silence all of you by killing you all
and
Ray; and claim that you had interfered in the duel and were killed accidentally
!
” rants Master Shay in a psychotic manner.

     “Mistake _ Shay, my late master had always said never to make the same of this twice
!
” says Ray suddenly.

     “What
!?
” reacts Rapier Shay with a confused look.

     With a stern look on his face, Ray slams his palm onto the ground. A huge, loud explosion occurs on the ground where Grand Elementhar Rapier Shay stands and the resultant dirt, debris and sudden shot of hot, molten lava from the ground propels him high into the air. The liquefied earth scorches the power-hungry Elementhar in mid air. He screams out in agony and lands back to the earth with a loud thud. The Vacuum Choke that he has over Clover and the others is immediately neutralised. They grasp and cough and struggle to draw in fresh air into their lungs. Ray gets up slowly. His body aches all over and he feels almost as lifeless as a living corpse. He limps over to Master Shay. The Grand Elementhar is barely alive, embedded in partially solidified lava.

     “How
?
Drained _ you were of this of your soul energy, yet how
?
” asks the Grand Elementhar, his voice barely a whisper.

     “Mistake _ Shay, my late master had always said never to make the same of this twice, yet today, you made them often; for you assumed that I was drained because I was without any jewels left, but I was only feinting, for I had swallowed a ruby before I came here this morning, so, I still have a sufficient amount of soul energy left; and of course, when you executed your Vacuum Choke you forgot to create a shield around you to protect yourself from counter-attacks, and this mistake you have also made twice. Mistakes _ but the greatest of these was that you chose to be greedy, power-hungry, scheming, treacherous and murderous and now, finally, after 15 years,
justice
is served
!
Burn _ may you be of this in hell for all eternity
!
” answers Ray as the others gather around the Grand Elementhar.

     Grand Elementhar Rapier Shay balls up his fist in anger. His eyes burn with hatred. But his body is burnt beyond function. His body seizes up and he dies an angry and frustrated death. And then he sees nothing, hears nothing, tastes nothing, smells nothing and feels nothing. All is dark. All is void. That is, until he awakes and finds himself burning in an inferno…, the eternal inferno of hell
!

HEALING

     The hot, Fallsian sun burns brightly overhead on the
5
th
Afternoon of Sixth Month of Dry Season
as the crowd begins to descend into the arena at Monune Grand. Ray, Clover, Lance, Spirit and the two High Elementhars stand over the lifeless body of their traitorous Grand Elementhar, Rapier Shay. Ray begins to wobble weakly. Clover and Lance rush to steady him. Master Calnen manipulates the ground behind Ray to form a chair, and Clover and Lance gently sit Ray down on it. Clover hands Ray a container of water. He drinks down the precious liquid in small sips, despite his great exhaustion, for fear of vomiting. He looks like a living, bloodied corpse and he feels even more so. But his eyes are an absolute contrast. They are as alive as a newborn baby.

     Masters Calnen and Waycress stood dumbfounded as they stared at Master Shay’s body. They just could not accept the fact that he was Baron Chessmaster
!
But they had heard his ‘confession’ with their own ears. How could they have been so blind
?

     “Say _ of this, I know not what, Ray; and so it seems I, we all, owe you an apology. Know _ but how did you of this, for surely it cannot just be because of Crimsonut shells
?
” said Master Calnen.

     Clover unslung a long, narrow, cloth-wrapped bundle that she had with her the whole morning. Lance helped her unwrap the bundle and she presented the content to High Elementhars Calnen and Waycress for inspection.

     “Sorcerised Item _ this sword is of this
!
” exclaimed Master Waycress in surprise.

     “Sorcerised Item _ this sword is indeed of this
!
Presume _ am I correct to do of this that this was the sword of the clanmaster of the assassins
!?
” asked Master Calnen.

     Ray gave a feeble nod.

     “Sorcerised Item _ of this, only an Ordered Elementhar of the rank of master knows how to create one, not any novice or any of the Independents,” stated Clover, more for the sake of emphasis rather than being informative.

     “Blind _ we have been of this
!
” lamented Master Calnen as he examined every detail of the sword.

     The evidence was unquestionable. There was a white diamond, a ruby, a sapphire, a brown diamond and a golden beryl embedded into the blade of the sword.

     The crowd had, by this time, gathered around the two High Elementhars to get a decent view of the sorcerised sword. Master Waycress waved them away a little so as to give Ray some space to recover a little peace of mind.

     “Crime _ of this, there was another that Master Shay was responsible for, which was the murder of Master Nurten and the weakening of our knowledge in Elemental Sorcery
!
” answered Clover as she turned towards Master Waycress.

     “Crime _ indeed he did commit of this upon us,” agreed Master Waycress.

     “Crime _ his of this, besides murdering Master Nurten, how did he weaken the Water Elementhars
?
” asked Master Calnen.

     “Crime _ his of this, besides murdering Master Nurten, he had planned for Monune Sapphire to be set on fire; so that we had to recopy our copy of the Vanguard Manuscript from the archives here. Copies _ those of these which were in the archives were not updated, and they were also tampered with, or modified, to reflect less effective spells; so as to weaken the Water Elementhars. Compare _ if you do of this of our individual copies of the Vanguard Manuscript against the original, you will find that almost every intermediate and advanced spell was altered; and this was done by removing detailed information of the spells, thus weakening it and rendering it less effective. Treachery _ through his of this, he had managed to make the Wind Elementhars stronger than us, and we, subservient to him. Treachery _ through his of this, he had managed to force us to continue to accept his leadership out of fear and awe,” explained Clover.

     Master Calnen was stunned by Clover’s explanation. Could Master Shay have possibly been
that
evil
?

     “Proof _ have you of this, Clover
?
” challenged Master Calnen, although he knew she was probably right.

     “Proof _ of this, if you compare our copies of the Vanguard Manuscript against the original, you will see major discrepancies between them,” responded Clover.

     “True _ what she says is of this, Master Calnen. Returned _ when Clover had done of this of Wave Soltude’s copy, and when we had made the comparison with what Clover had amended against what we had, there were indeed major discrepancies,” confirmed Master Waycress.

     “Approach _ why did you not do of this to me when you realised that there were major discrepancies, Master Waycress
?
” asked Master Calnen.

     “Approached _ I had not done of this to you for I had thought that the discrepancies were accidental due to the fact that the copies in the archives were not updated, not because they were tampered with,” answered Master Waycress.

     Ray raised a finger to the air, both to bring attention to himself and to signify the number ‘one’.

     “Treachery _ there is one other of this of Master Shay’s, though I cannot truly prove it, and it is an alarming issue as well,” he said feebly.

     “Treachery _ of this, what is it
?
” asked Master Calnen.

     “Treachery _ of this, I have encountered a demon that fashions itself as Lord Deathclaw and it has a sword which is a Sorcerised Item. Suspect _ I do of this that its sword was sorcerised by Master Shay, though I know not the reason why he would have done such a thing,” said Ray.

     Both Masters Calnen and Waycress were speechless, and stood statue-like in shock.

     After a long while, Master Waycress began shaking her head. She foresaw a huge problem. She turned to look at Ray.

     “Access _ Ray, you must give us of this to the Original Vanguard Manuscript, for if you do not, then the Grand Order could be attacked and weakened by others using the same method as what Master Shay had used. Compare _ we cannot do of this of our copies against the original, Ray, as long as you do not give us access to it,” stated Master Waycress.

     “Access _ you may have of this to the Original Vanguard Manuscript, with the condition that you may only study it in my quarters at the barracks in Palace Liberty, and that you may not remove it from there without my knowledge or permission,” said Ray after a short pause.

     Master Calnen gave Ray a fierce look.

     “Permission _ so now you give of this to us, when earlier you had refused
!?
” he criticised.

     “Yes
!
” answered Ray in a firm tone.

     “Return _ and so you still will not do of this to the Grand Order
!?
” asked Master Calnen.

     “Return _ I shall not do of this to the Grand Order
!
” answered Ray.

     “Stubborn
!
” commented Master Calnen.

     Ray chose not to respond. An uneasy silence followed.

     Master Waycress shook her head in disbelief. Both she and Master Calnen saw that there was no reason for Ray not to return to the Grand Order. But Clover understood Ray’s nature. Ray was an unforgiving man. He was also a man who considered all possible factors before making any decision. So when Ray had made his decision, and unless he had been proven wrong, he would stand by it his whole life even if it meant that he would get killed for it.

     Ray himself was surprised by the uneasy silence. He had expected Master Waycress to be silent, but he had not expected Master Calnen to remain silent as well. Master Calnen had always been a strict disciplinarian, and as he had mentored Ray in the earth element, he had also admonished Ray for being a non conformist many times in the past. Ray was sure that Master Calnen would try to admonish him in some way or other for not repenting and for not wanting to return to the Grand Order, but apparently, he did not.

     “Keep _ you may do of this of it,” said Ray after awhile, pointing to the sorcerised sword.

     “Sword _ why would we want to keep of it
!?
” asked Master Calnen.

     “Forget _ so that the future generation do not do of this of the Fire Elementhars and of the fate that had befallen us, but more importantly, for them to beware of traitors in their midst. Display _ you can do of this of this sword at the gathering hall here so that all may know and remember what has happened here for all eternity
!
” answered Ray.

     “Reminder _ it can be one of this, a source of caution and a memorial item to teach the future novices of our story and their history,” added Clover.

     Both High Elementhars nodded their heads in agreement.

     Master Calnen wanted to speak, but hesitated slightly. After a few moments, he decided to speak anyway.

     “Restart _ will you at least permit us to do of this of the Order of Fire Elementhars without you
?
” he asked.

     Ray sat silent. He sat silent for a long time. He had anticipated this request. But he was not sure of what the best course of action would be. He did not want to allow a course of action that might suggest forgiveness, for then the Elementhars would one day forget that his order was massacred. He wanted the Grand Order to remember that the Fire Elementhars were massacred and he wanted them to remember this fact for all eternity
!
Restarting his order may accidentally bury the past. And the past must never be buried
!
It must always be remembered, so that they do not make the same mistake twice
!

     But Ray conceded that Master Calnen’s request was reasonable. Besides, they had Clanmaster Collart’s sword. It would be enough of a reminder. Ray looked at Clover. She gave him a nod. He looked at Lance. He nodded as well.

     Finally, Ray nodded to the two High Elementhars. Both their faces broke out in relief. At least they had managed to get some form of closure to this issue, an issue that had haunted them for 15 years. The Order of Fire Elementhars could be restarted by Master Elementhars of the other elements who had trained before in the fire element, and of them, there were still a few. But the lineage of this order would be broken. They could no longer trace their lineage to the original Fire Elementhar novice of Pioneer Elementhar Nova Vanguard, who was the first and the best of her novices. But both High Elementhars were grateful to have this solution anyway. It meant that they could now move on.

     Half an hour later Ray and Clover rode away from the Grand Monune on horseback while Lance ferried Spirit on the white wolf’s specially designed chariot. For Ray, a long chapter in his life had come to a close. His brother and sister Fire Elementhars had finally been avenged. For Clover, the mystery of the weakening knowledge of the Water Elementhars had finally been solved. For Lance, he was glad to have been a witness to a historic event in the history of Ordered Elementhars; the day a traitorous leader was uncovered, a massacre avenged and an order started anew. Spirit was just glad that his pack was unhurt. He would have ripped that wind-controlling old man to pieces had that old man managed to kill Ray.

     Two hours later, Ray and Clover made their way to the infirmary at the barracks in Palace Liberty. There they met up with Eclipse Menox, who had stayed by the bedside of the unconscious Dawn Breven since she was brought there after the raid on The Lair. Higher Recipient Truthkeeper was there as well, whispering soft chants that no one but Dawn could hear. He had been brought there by Serene, who had sought out his help. Ray’s initial actions at The Lair had saved Dawn’s life, but he had failed to completely remove the dark energy that was polluting her soul. A tiny fraction of that dark energy still remained in her soul, tiny but stubborn. And with Ray and Clover gone to deal with Baron Chessmaster, there was no one who was sufficiently skilled in Elemental Sorcery to continue to heal Dawn. That was when Serene had thought of the Receiver and rode out to ask for his help.

     Higher Recipient Truthkeeper worked in an entirely different way than the one that Ray had used. Ray had radiated his soul energy to
purge
the dark energy that was threatening Dawn’s soul, thus working from the outside to the inside. The Receiver was whispering chants to strengthen Dawn’s soul so that she herself could purge the invading dark energy out of her body, thus he was working from the inside to the outside. In the long term, the Receiver’s method was far more effective, Ray realised. This was so because the Receiver was educating Dawn’s soul to make her spiritually strong.