FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (31 page)

    
Splash!
The coldness of the water shocked Thorn’s body, but he fought it. Forcing his will on his body, his hands stroked and paddled, and his legs kicked. Slowly, his body was propelled to the surface. He swam to the farthest bank and sat down for a few moments. He looked up at the waterfall. The scenery was just as breathtaking as when he first saw it. But there was no time to waste. Traps were needed. Pulling his dagger from its sheath, he went about setting them up.

     Three hours go by. Thorn waits in silence in a bush behind a huge tree trunk. Hurried footsteps could be heard. Then a loud crack and screams of pain fills the air. One of the Aridytes must have had stepped into his first trap. Thorn can imagine the agony that that Aridyte is going though, having stepped on leaves laid on fragile branches which were covering a hole in the ground which had sharp wooden stakes embedded in it. Thorn can easily imagine the pain from the twisted ankle, punctured sole and penetrated calf. The pain is like music to his ears. A few moments later, a loud snap adds to the aural commotion and more screams follow. Thorn knows his second and final trap has garnered its victim, a bent tree branch with multiple wooden stakes tied to it slamming into a man’s chest.

     Thorn counts six Aridytes coming his way. Thorn shoots off an arrow that strikes an Aridyte right in the eye, killing him instantly. The other Aridytes dive to the ground. Their eyes search for Thorn as they strung arrows to their bows. One of the Aridyte crouches up to get a better look. Thorn lets loose another arrow and it finds its mark in the forehead of that Aridyte, ending his life silently and instantly. The Aridytes let loose volley after volley of arrows in panic.

     A few moments pass, and the Aridytes are now out of arrows. The four remaining Aridytes rush forward with their battle axes, though they do not know exactly where Thorn is. Thorn shoots off another arrow, which accurately finds its mark. The three remaining Aridytes rush towards him.

     Thorn sets aside his bow and while stepping forward, draws his sword and slashes down diagonally from his right side. Thorn’s Right Diagonal Downwards Cut slices a bloody red line across the first and closest Aridyte’ chest with apparent ease and smoothness. This Aridyte falters slightly, drops his axe and then comes crashing to the ground. As Thorn brings up his sword to his left side, the second Aridyte dive-tackles him in the ribs, thus sending both of them to the ground, with this Aridyte pinning him down. At the impact of the fall, air is knocked out of Thorn’s lungs and he loses his sword. The temptation to pass out is immense. His eyes are heavy and sleep beckons. But he fights this feeling. Forcing his eyes open wide with a yell as fierce as a lion’s roar, he then slams his right elbow into the second Aridyte’s temple and cheekbone, dazing him temporarily.

     The third Aridyte comes chopping for Thorn’s head. Thorn heaves the second Aridyte’s body with all his might, and manages to turn away just in time as the heavy battle axe embeds itself into the ground. Turning away from the semi-conscious second Aridyte, Thorn scrambles to his knees and slides back just in time as the third Aridyte swings his axe horizontally from the Aridyte’s left side. The Aridyte’s Left Horizontal Chop scratches Thorn’s breastplate at the stomach ever so slightly. Thorn slides back again to avoid the returning Horizontal Chop, this time the cut comes from the third Aridyte’s right to left. As the third Aridyte begins to swing the axe left to right, Thorn executes a Front Alligator Kick at the Aridyte’s wrists, stopping the swing cold and causing the third Aridyte to drop his axe. Thorn follows up with a Left Hand Punch to the third Aridyte’s face, sending that Aridyte stumbling backwards.

     The third Aridyte recovers his balance, runs backwards slightly, grabs the first Aridyte’s axe and tries to chop Thorn with a Right Diagonal Downwards Chop with it. But as he raises his axe up and back over his head, Thorn steps forward and executes a Back Horse Kick to his chest. The third Aridyte falls backwards to the ground, losing his axe in the process. Thorn wastes no time and follows up by stomping the fallen Aridyte’s face repeatedly.

     Suddenly, Thorn feels a foot smash into his right back rib just below the shoulder blade. Thorn loses his balance and nearly stumbles to the ground. He turns around to see the second Aridyte come charging at him with another dive-tackle. This time, Thorn is ready for it. He slides backward slightly and falls to one knee with his body upright, then slams his right elbow upwards into the second Aridyte’s jaw as this Aridyte dives forward. The resultant impact breaks the second Aridyte’s jaw and causes him to lose consciousness.

    
Smash!
Thorn’s head rings like a bell. He stumbles sideways. His eyelids feel like boulders and his legs feel like jelly. He recovers his wits just enough to realise that a badly limping Aridyte has smashed his face with a thick broken tree branch. Thorn falls to the ground, semi-conscious. Then he feels cold, rough fingers wrap around his neck. And these fingers start to squeeze his airway shut. His breathing stops. His chest feels like it is going to explode. He turns and twitches and struggles with all his might. Kill one more Aridyte, just one more
!
Just one more
!
His vision blurs. A pleasant, happy feeling engulfs him. He is dying but suddenly, he feels it is all right. He feels it is time to let go. Just let go…. No
!
He must not let go
!
Kill one more Aridyte, just one more
!
Let go, just let go…. No, fight on, fight on
!

     Suddenly, the limping Aridyte screams out in pain. Crimson liquid drips from the Aridyte’s mouth onto Thorn’s neck and chest area. The Aridyte collapses sideways off of him. His throat is free. He coughs and gasps. Precious, cooling air rushes into his lungs. He sees a figure standing in front of him with a bloodied dagger. His vision is still blurry from the loss of oxygen to his brain. He cannot focus his eyes
!

     Then he sees a hand extended to him. This hand leads to an arm and a shoulder which then connects to a neck and a familiar face, Salmon Verance. Relief and joy engulfs Thorn. Grabbing Salmon’s hand, Thorn pulls himself up. Then the strangest thing happens. Thorn starts laughing. Then Salmon starts laughing. And neither of them know why. Their mysterious laughter echoes throughout the dense forest, obscured only by the violent gush of the nearby waterfall.

     The call to their minvian’s office was not unexpected. It had been two days since the day that Thorn and Salmon had defied their suvian’s orders and rescued a Fallsian family from a gruesome death. When they walked through the garrison gates with the rescued family, almost every soldier stood, clapped and cheered in support of them. To their comrades, Thorn and Salmon were heroes. To the officers, however, their heroic act meant something else. Both cavalry archers stood at attention before their commander.

     “Inexcusable
!
What both of you did was inexcusable
!
It was dangerous and downright stupid
!
The both of you are lucky to be alive. Luck
!
Just pure, dumb luck
!
You cannot win a war with luck. And we cannot win a war with disobedience amongst our ranks. Before I carry out your punishment, do you have anything to say for yourselves
?
” said the minvian.

     “Sir, we did what we thought was necessary and we have no regrets, sir
!
” said Thorn.

     “Sir, we have managed to save the captives, sir. Fallsian lives, sir
!
Is that not our mission, sir
!?
” said Salmon.

     The minvian stood up from behind his desk. He moved forward to face Thorn and Salmon. Then as swift as an arrow, he slapped Thorn hard across the face. Drops of blood flowed slowly down the side of Thorn’s lips. Another slap was given, this time to Salmon. Blood flowed from the side of his lips as well. The minvian tugged at his uniform shirt to straighten it out and then returned to sit behind his desk.

     “Disobedience, or insubordination, is a serious crime in the military, servians
!
By right, both of you are to be executed. Hanged by your neck until you are both dead, do you understand
?
” the minvian pointed out.

     “Sir
!
Yes, sir
!
” Thorn and Salmon replied together.

     “I am a fair man. I shall take into account your
determination
and
success
as well as your
failure
. Therefore you are both promoted to suvian and you shall attend the Shadow-archer Course. But if you fail the course, you
will be
dismissed
from the military. You will leave immediately and report yourselves to Camp Misery by tomorrow afternoon. That is all,” decided the minvian.

     Thorn and Salmon bowed, turned around and left.

    The journey to Camp Misery was just as the name suggested,
miserable
. Thorn and Salmon knew that they did the right thing, but they did it the wrong way. They had a choice to make and they chose the choice of lesser evil. They had no regrets, but cut lips instead. And these they display proudly on their way out of Garrison Wheatriver. Their comrades bowed in salute and cheered them on as their horse-drawn cart rolled past. But both of them were sad to leave their new found family behind. And the sun blazed on in the hot afternoon sky and baked them in misery even more.

     Later that evening, they arrived in an unknown town. As their horse-drawn cart rolled through its main street, there was a sudden shout of panic from an intersecting street. An unattached cart, heavily laden with cargo, had jumped its chocks and came crashing into them. Their cart turned turtle. Thorn was flung off their cart. Salmon was flung onto the ground and the side rails of their cart slammed into his chest. Blood sprayed out of his mouth.

     A crowd of onlookers had gathered. A few men came to Thorn’s aid, but as soon as he regained consciousness, he shoved them out of the way and searched for Salmon. Thorn found him, surrounded by a crowd of people. They had just lifted the upturned cart off from his crushed body. Thorn pushed them aside to get to him. Thorn knew it was hopeless. Salmon was lying in a pool of blood and more was spilling out of his mouth.

     “You will be all right. Just hold on. The healer will be here soon,” comforted Thorn.

     “Liar
!
I am dying and you know it
!
Remember our pledge, Thorn
?
” said Salmon, coughing blood as he spoke.

     “Yes, brother. I remember,” said Thorn.

     “Protect my family… my sister, Caramel… protect them,” said Salmon weakly.

     “I shall keep my pledge to you, brother,” said Thorn.

     “I am leaving now, brother. I am sorry I cannot help you hunt down Aridytes anymore. Take care, Thorn Sayvion,” said Salmon with a weakened voice.

     One last violent cough and Salmon’s eyes gave a blank, expressionless stare. His body became limp and motionless. But on his face was a peaceful and pleasant smile. Thorn stared in disbelief. He felt like he was trapped in a nightmare that he could not wake up from. But this was no nightmare. Salmon was gone.

     The events of the next few days were a blur to Thorn and would remain so for the rest of his life. Somehow, he was taken to the local garrison and from there, transportation was arranged for him to get to Camp Misery. He did not even have the chance to attend Salmon’s funeral.

     As the horse-drawn cart which Thorn is on rolls through gates of Camp Misery, he glances upon the signboard that reads ‘Welcome to Camp Misery
.
We Shall Make Sure That Your Stay Here Is Painful and Unpleasant. Hell Is Where You Go For Picnics. Here Is Where You Come To Become A Real Man.”

FORT EASTGUARD

     The darkness begins to fade. The pain creeps in. The sensations return to his nerves. His headache begins to drown him in pain and confusion. Slowly, Master Elementhar Ray Iddell opens his eyes, only to find himself alone in a room of stone walls and tied down to the chair that he is sitting on; on this late morning of the
16
th
Day of Second Month of Wet Season in the Year 1200 of the Known Era.

     A female soldier walked in. She poured a bucket of cold water on Ray’s face, causing him to straighten up in shock.

     “I am Convian Serene Genox, commander of 1
st
Pond, One, 3
rd
Ocean. Tell me now, who are you
!?
What are you doing in Eastern Falls
!?
” she asked sternly.

     “Understand _ I do not do of this to you,” replied Ray.

     Convian Genox slams her right fist into Ray’s face, cutting his upper lip. Crimson blood dripped from the wound.

     “I am Convian Serene Genox, commander of 1
st
Pond, of 1
st
Lake, of 3
rd
Ocean. I have five rivers, or 25 streams, under my command. This means there are approximately 311 soldiers under
my
command
!
As you can see, I am a very busy woman. Do not waste my time with your futile mind games. Identify yourself and do not lie about it,” she demanded.

     “Identity _ mine of this is Master Elementhar Ray Iddell,” answered Ray.

     Convian Genox swung the back of her right fist across Ray’s right cheek. Ray felt like as if a heavy log had slammed into his face.

     “Liar
!
There are no Elementhars in this province. They were all killed 15 years ago. Who are you
!?
” she asked again.

    “Identity _ mine of this is Master Elementhar Ray Iddell of the Grand Order of Elementhars,” answered Ray again.

     A punch landed on Ray’s chest, causing him to cough.

    “Liar
!
You are not an Elementhar
!
You are a Serpentian spy. Battlelord Constrictor sent you, did he not
!?
” she accused.

     “Spy _ I am not one of him. Knowledge _ I have none of this of any battlelords or anything of Serpentia,” denied Ray.

     Another hard punch landed on Ray’s face, this time causing the chair to tip over and slam onto the hard ground. The reverberating shock sent pain signals all over his body.

     “Liar
!
Lies
!
Lies
!
Lies
!
” shouted Convian Genox.

     “Sense _ use your common of this, why would a Serpentian spy travel with an adolescent boy and a white wolf, or has years of military service addled your brains, convian
!?
” he replied in frustration.

     Convian Genox kicked the chair so that it swung sideways and then she slammed her feet into Ray’s abdomen. Ray shouted out helplessly in pain on the cold hard ground.

     “I shall investigate your claim. But if I find out that you are a Serpentian spy, I am going to stick my dagger into your gut and twist it over and over again. You will die a slow and painful death,” threatened the convian.

     “Do _ you may of this to me if indeed I am a spy, but tell me, where am I and what of my companions
?
” asked Ray.

     “The boy and the white wolf are in a prison cell in the next building. And you,
spy
, are in Fort Eastguard,” said Convian Serene Genox as she opened the door and left the room.

     Ray was left to lie on the floor, bruised and bleeding.

     Moments later, two soldiers came in and threw Ray in the prison cell where Lance and Spirit were kept imprisoned. Lance came over to Ray. Ray looked beaten up badly. Lance did not understand. Why were they being treated like this
?

     “Right _ master, are you all of this
?
” asked Lance.

     “Right _ I shall be all of this, just help me sit up straight,” answered Ray.

     Lance helped Ray to sit up. Ray leaned his back against the wall and tried to control his breathing. His body felt sore all over, particularly his face and stomach.

     “Treat _ why do they do of this to us this way
?
” asked Lance.

     “Treat _ they do of this to us this way because they think that we are Serpentian spies. Elementhars _ they do not believe that we are of us, for they believe that all Elementhars in this province are dead or has become extinct,” replied Ray.

     Then a thought occurred to Lance, one he had never thought of before. There was a piece of the puzzle that did not fit as far as the history of the Elementhars was concerned.

     “Fire _ of this, master, why is it that this is the element that you are training me in, as I am to understand that the Order of Fire Elementhars was destroyed 15 years ago
?
” asked Lance.

     “Assassins _ 15 years ago, they of them of the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan attacked Monune Ruby during the Grand Creation Day celebration. Survivor _ I am the only one of him. Survival _ mine of this I have kept a secret and is not known to anyone outside of the Grand Order of Elementhars. Assumed _ the rest of Free Falls did of this that my order was completely annihilated, and I had wanted it as such so that I can hunt the assassins without being hunted by them. Travelled _ I have done of this for the past 15 years beyond our kingdom and our continent; but I have returned to seek revenge and now it seems that with you as my novice, I have also embarked on the task of reviving our order,” explained Ray.

     “Understand _ I finally do of this, master,” replied Lance solemnly.

     The busy sound of orders being shouted and heavy equipment being moved were clearly heard through the open yet barred window in this barren and featureless stone-walled room. If Ray and Lance could venture a guess, it would be that Fort Eastguard was getting ready for war. And they had no idea how right they were.

     Drops of rain flowed down Convian Serene Genox’s battle helm and armour in the slight drizzle of the
17
th
Morning of Second Month of Wet Season.
Orgavian Ram Deffs, in full battle armour as well, stood beside her on the eastern wall of Fort Eastguard; looking out to the vast grasslands of Serpentia. In addition to the armour that they would usually wear while on operational duty, they wore battle helms, chain mails and gauntlets; and they also had with them their shields. In the distant horizon, large masses of men and equipment looked like specs of mould on stale bread. Convian Serene Genox took in a slow deep breath, but let it out sharply with anger.

     Convian Genox turned and spoke to Orgavian Deffs.

     “Sir, why do they not learn
?
” she asked.

     “You mean the Serpentians, do you not
?
” replied Orgavian Deffs.

     “Sir, yes indeed. After 900 years of attacking us and failing each time to succeed in conquering Free Falls, why do they keep on trying
?
” asked the convian further.

     “Simple
!
It is because they are
not
trying to conquer Free Falls. The Serpentians are a lazy society. They are not willing to work hard. The only skill they have and are willing to invest their time in is war. They see no point in planting crops when they can plunder them from us. They see no point in getting their hands dirty in the wheat or rice fields when they can kidnap our people and force them to do so on their behalf. They see no point in mining their own metal ore when our people make such excellent slave labour. So they have not succeeded in conquering Free Falls simply because, they have not tried to do so,” answered the orgavian.

     The orgavian’s answer was confusing to Convian Genox. She shook her head trying to figure it out.

     “Sir, I do not understand. Why do they keep on attacking us if they have no intention to conquer us
?
” she asked.

     “Harvest
!
It is just simply harvest, Convian Genox
!
The Serpentians attack to harvest resources from us. They are not interested in the entire kingdom, just Eastern Falls. As you know, this province is our agriculture base. Wheat, rice, vegetables, timber, and of course, quality labour as well, are plentiful here. North-western Falls has much ore to be mined, but it is too far away from Serpentia to be of any practical value. The transportation costs would be too high. Southern Falls is a trading and merchant based province that deals in products that are of little value to the Serpentians, such as handicrafts, scented oils and stylish clothes. And physically weak traders and merchants make lousy slaves in the metal ore mines. So their intention is to conquer just Eastern Falls, and they have succeeded in the past,” explained the orgavian.

     Convian Genox was fuming with rage. Her fellow citizens were not meant to be slaves
!
They were not meant to be beasts of burden
!
What or who has given these accursed Serpentians the right to even try to treat them like this
!?

     “Then why do we not put a stop to it, sir
?
  Why do we not invade them and subdue them once and for all
?
” she asked.

     “We have neither the resources nor the will to do so. We Fallsians are not really a battle-hardy people and also, if we were to invade Serpentia, we may not have enough resources left to protect our western border against the Aridytes. As you know, the Aridytes are a far worse threat than the Serpentians.

We simply do not have the capability to fight a war on two fronts, so the only thing we can do now is to take a defensive and reactionary posture,” explained Orgavian Deffs.

     A blood-soaked figure galloped his horse as fast as it could towards the border fort.

     “Provincial Guard
!
One approaching on horseback
!
” shouted a sentry on the western battlements.

     Several moments later the large door at the western gate cracked open and the blood-soaked rider entered. He had barely the energy to get off his horse and several nearby soldiers had to come to his aid. He then struggled to climb the stairs up to the eastern battlements. Finally, he managed to reach to the top and he was standing before Orgavian Deffs and Convian Genox with his body shaking and wobbling slightly from exhaustion.

     “Freedom and harmony
,
Orgavian Ram Deffs, Convian Genox
!
Exevian Root Survox, 2
nd
Pond, Three, 3
rd
Ocean; reporting, sir
!
” said the blood-soaked soldier weakly after an unsteady bow.

     Orgavian Deffs and Convian Genox reciprocated the exevian’s bow.

     “2
nd
Pond, 3
rd
Lake
?
Yes, I recognise you. You are stationed at Timberstock, are you not
?
” asked Orgavian Deffs.

     “Sir, affirmative, sir
!
  I am stationed at Garrison Timberstock, sir
!
” replied Exevian Survox.

     Orgavian Deffs knew that the exevian bore bad news. The question is, how bad was the news
?

     “Proceed with your report, exevian,” commanded the orgavian.

     “Sir, Timberstock was attacked and raided yesterday afternoon. Most of our soldiers were outside the garrison at that time, investigating the murders of the town mayor and the replacement mayor. The Serpentian advance party was about two pond’s strength. Their attack took us by
total surprise
and all of the soldiers who were outside the garrison were either killed or captured. Thereafter the Serpentians attacked the garrison, but since we were down to only three streams’ strength, they defeated us easily. I had managed to escape from the garrison and went into hiding in the nearby forest before stealing a horse sometime last night to make my way here. The Serpentians enslaved the
entire
town population. Approximately
5,000
men, women and children. However, sir, it is still
not
too late. They should have just started their journey across the mountain ranges an hour ago, by my estimate. We still have time to intercept them. Requesting permission to partake in the intercept mission, sir
!
” said the exevian.