FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (132 page)

     An hour later, Dawn opened her eyes. She seemed dazed and confused.

     “What happened
?
Where are we
?
Eclipse, where’s this place
?
The clanmaster, did he get away
?
” Dawn began to ask.

     Higher Recipient Truthkeeper ended his chanting.

     “The clanmaster is dead. Silk had killed him. You’re in the infirmary at Palace Liberty. Just try to rest. I’ll explain everything to you later,” said Eclipse.

     “Wha.., all right,... rest,” said Dawn as she fell asleep again.

     “She is still weak. But she is out of danger. I will be back tomorrow to continue with the chanting, maybe that will help her to recover her energy faster,” said Higher Recipient Truthkeeper as he bowed and left the infirmary.

     Ray and the others returned the bow and turned to look at Dawn, who was already sleeping like a baby.

     That night, after dinner, Ray and Clover held a mass briefing for the entire Royal Elementhar Pond at their barracks. Ray spoke first, describing the details of their investigation into the identity of Baron Chessmaster from the conversation between him and Clanmaster Collart until their conversation with Captain Rizzance on The Far Horizon. Then Clover described in detail the events that transpired at Monune Grand. Although the massacre of the Fire Elementhars was not strictly any concern of the Sollenthars, however, since they traced their knowledge of Elemental Sorcery to Ray and his master and the masters before him, they were indirectly ‘descendants’ of the Order of Fire Elementhars and it was their right to know what had happened; and in particular, who had murdered their ‘ancestors’.

     Being Sollenthars, they were not very familiar with the mentality, the way of life and the limitations of Ordered Elementhars, therefore they could not understand Master Shay’s obsession with power and wealth. They kept asking why the Grand Elementhar chose to stay in the Grand Order instead of leaving it and earning his authority and fortune by working, just like everybody else. Clover explained that by leaving the Grand Order, Master Shay would have lost his authority. He would have been a nobody. He would never have risen to prominence. He could not, as he did not have any special skills other than Elemental Sorcery. Therefore, leaving the Grand Order was never an option for him.

     Clover had also explained that since Ordered Elementhars were not allowed to have any money at all, and that all the money they earned was given to their respective orders; the desire for wealth, in the Grand Elementhar’s case, became extremely magnified simply because it was elusive and forbidden. Basically, he wanted wealth simply because he used to have it but he was no longer allowed to have it; and this made him want it even more. Clover commented that sometimes the human mind works in strange ways, and this was one fine example of that. Clover also explained that since the Grand Elementhar had been an Elementhar for so long, leaving the Grand Order would have seemed ‘scary’ to him, just as a bird that has been caged for too long would fear to leave the cage when it was given the chance to do so.

     Finally, Ray took over and for the very first time, revealed to the Sollenthars the Original Vanguard Manuscript. No one, except for Lance and Clover, knew that he had it with him all this while; not even Serene, Rod or any of the convians. The Sollenthars asked him why he had kept the book a secret from everyone. He answered that he had always suspected that the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan was after the manuscript and that they had spies everywhere. He explained that he wanted to
hunt
the assassins instead of
being hunted
by them, which would have been the case if they had discovered that he had the manuscript.

     Then one of the Sollenthars asked him why Master Shay did not send the assassins to steal the manuscript after he had found out that Ray had it. Ray could only speculate that after 15 years, The Benefactor was perhaps no longer interested in the manuscript so it was pointless for the Grand Elementhar to steal it. When asked about the identity of this mysterious character, Ray and Clover both admitted that they had no idea. Then Ray clarified that the decision to massacre the Fire Elementhars was Master Shay’s alone, and that it began with him and had ended with him. It was midnight when the briefing finally ended.

     The next morning, Dawn woke up just a few moments after Higher Recipient Truthkeeper finished his whispering chants. She seemed more alert and aware of her surroundings. The Receiver excused himself as soon as he was done and left Dawn to Eclipse’s care. Eclipse fed Dawn a bowl of hot broth and told her of all that had happened after she became unconscious. She told her of how Ray had radiated his soul energy to purge the dark energy that had contaminated Dawn’s soul and of how Clanmaster Collart had met his demise. Eclipse had also told her of Serene’s decision to ask for Higher Recipient Truthkeeper’s help when Ray and Clover were preoccupied with ‘the other business’.

     Dawn sat silent after the meal, trying to make sense of all that had transpired since she became unconscious. There was one thing that she did not understand. Why did Ray try to save her
?
She was an assassin, and although she had not partaken in the massacre of the Fire Elementhars, she was still of the kind that Ray hated. Throughout her career, she had killed countless numbers of innocent people and soldiers, some of whom had served under Ray. Why did he not just let her die
?
Surely he had wanted some sort of revenge on her
?
There was no tactical advantage in Ray’s decision either. She was worthless to him, since by that time, The Lair had been breached and the clanmaster had already been defeated. And by choosing to help her, he allowed the clanmaster to be killed by Silk. She was sure that Ray had wanted to interrogate him so that he could find out more about Baron Chessmaster. Yet he chose to save her instead
!
Why
?

     Meanwhile, Ray, Clover and Serene stood at attention before King Patrum in the throne room. Ray had just finished giving a verbal report of what had transpired at the raid on The Lair and at Monune Grand. A written report had earlier been submitted to Prince Patrum. But the king had wanted to hear the details of the events from them personally.

     “So, Grand Elementhar Shay was the one responsible for the massacre of the Fire Elementhars. But who was responsible for hiring the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan to try to kill my son
?
” asked the king.

     “Unknown _ his identity remains of this, Your Highness
!
Dead _ Clanmaster Collart was of this before I could ask him any more questions,” answered Ray.

     The king sat silently in deep thought. Then after a long while, he signalled for a suvian to approach him. In the suvian’s hand was a folder containing several documents. The suvian approached the king, bowed and handed the folder to the king. The king signed the documents and handed them back to the suvian. The suvian moved to a table by the side and furled the documents into neat, tube-like rolls and secured them with sealed ribbons. When he was done, he placed the document rolls onto a silver tray, approached the king, bowed again and stood beside him.

     The king got off his throne and approached Ray, Clover and Serene.

     “Congratulations to all of you
!
You have managed to rid us of a very dangerous and evil element in our society. The Shadow Deathmerchant Clan could have risen to full rebellion if you three had not managed to stop them. And since the formation of the Royal Elementhar Pond, the number of demon attacks in Free Falls has reduced significantly. I have seen it fit to promote the three of you, as well as Convian Rod Sayson, for your efforts and sacrifices. And I have also seen it fit to expand the Royal Elementhar Pond into the Royal Elementhar Lake and to commission a fort here in Fallsene City to serve as its base,” said King Patrum.

    King Patrum handed out the relevant document roll to Ray.

     “Congratulations, Orgavian Ray Iddell
!
” he said.

     Ray bowed, to which the king bowed in response, and then Ray accepted the document roll with both hands, and they exchanged bows again. The whole process was repeated with Clover and Serene, who both now held the rank of orgavians as well. And while Ray’s expression was neutral, Clover and Serene were smiling from ear to ear. Being from a military family, they appreciated the honour and glory of achieving the rank of orgavian at the young age of 22. This meant that they were now equal in rank to Serene’s father. This would make the Genox family extremely proud and happy.

     The king spoke to the three of them again. His tone was as serious as ever.

     “There is still an evil schemer out there who is trying to destroy our kingdom. He must be found
!
We need to know why he is trying to kill my son and how this helps him to accomplish his intentions, whatever they are. It is your mission to unravel his identity and apprehend him. It that understood
!?
” ordered the king.

     “Understand _ we do of this, Your Highness
!
” they replied in unison.

     “Good
!
You may carry on,” said King Patrum.

     The three newly-promoted orgavians bowed, turned and left the throne room.

     Ray unfurled the document roll that he held in his hand. It consisted of three pieces of document. The first document stated that he held the rank of orgavian. The second document stated that the Royal Elementhar Pond was expanded to the Royal Elementhar Lake and that he was designated as its commander. The third piece of document stated that Fort Stormwatch was renamed Fort Elementhar and was designated as the base for the Royal Elementhar Lake. Clover and Serene unfurled their document rolls, which only stated their new ranks and nothing else. But they were so filled with ecstasy that Ray looked at them in bewilderment. He guessed that there were things about them he could never understand. For the Genoxes, the awarding of rank was a reward and a form of recognition, but for any Elementhar, especially Ray, it meant just an increase of duty and responsibility and nothing else. So, he wondered, what was there to celebrate
?

     A few hours later, Minvian Rod Sayson met Serene at the palace dungeons. They bowed to each other and congratulated each other on their promotions. Then together, they entered the cell where Minvian Thorn Sayvion was held. They bowed to each other in greeting. The contrast in their appearances could not be more obvious. Serene was in her clean, neatly pressed Royal Guard uniform. Her hair was tied neatly in a bun. Rod was in a casual cotton shirt and baggy pants, which covered the cast on his injured leg. He was clean shaven, his hair neatly combed. But Thorn, on the other hand, looked worse than a beggar. His hair was long and un-kept. His beard and moustache had grown wild. His clothes were in tatters. His eyes were sunken with dark rings around them.

     “Forgive my appearance, a dead man has no need for looks,” said Thorn rather unapologetically.

     “Over _ it is not of this, for it is not too late to appeal your case,” said Serene.

     “Right _ she is of this, so please; for all our sakes, swallow your pride for once and save your life, damn it
!
” added Rod.

     “No” said Thorn with a wry smile.

     Then they all broke into laughter.

     “Answer _ we knew what yours of this would be, but we had to try anyway,” said Rod.

     “Of course,” responded Thorn.

     “Look _ yours of this is like a corpse. Die _ if you must do of this, then please do so looking like a soldier of the Provincial Guards and a hero of Free Falls. Remember _ let those who watch you hang do of this of your bravery and tactical brilliance and your golden heart. Die _ do not do of this as a broken man, Minvian Sayvion,” commented Serene.

     “You are right, Minvian Genox. I had almost forgotten why I am doing this,” admitted Thorn.

     “News _ we have of this for you and this is why we are here,” informed Rod.

     “What is it
?
” asked Thorn eagerly.

     “Success _ Retired Orgavian Lidell has met with some of this, for he has raided three mines thus far and liberated about 150 Fallsians, whom he had sent home with guarded escorts. Success _ his of this is so encouraging that there are ‘sponsors’ who would like to assemble another group to do the same. Answer _ although we already know yours of this, but we still have to ask, would you be interested
?
” said Serene.

     “No,” said Thorn casually.

     All three of them were silent. Serene and Rod had really hoped that Thorn would change his mind. He was their friend, and Serene’s mentor. They did not want him to die. But Thorn seemed insistent. He was fighting a battle with the Fallsian Military. It was an abstract battle. It was a battle of the mind, not of fists or swords or shields. It was a silent protest to the death. But can Thorn truly accomplish anything by dying
?