FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (47 page)

     He runs downhill as fast as his weak, old legs allow him. The assassins gain ground behind him. Another half an hour of running and evading, and he knows he can go no further. He can barely stand as it is and his lungs feel like they are about to explode. So he stops and turns around.

     His body may be exhausted, but his soul energy is still high, for he had not spent his soul energy doing tricks during the celebration. He still wears his gold headband, a symbol of his office, and in it are embedded three large rubies. Breathing in and focusing his mind, he sends out a series of eight Heat Bursts in quick succession. Eight painful screams break the silent night atmosphere and eight assassins fall to the ground.

     The other assassins take cover behind large tree trunks. No star-shaped spinning metal objects are thrown. The assassins had run out of them. Sensing their hesitation, Master Santlyn decides to attack. He sends three Heat Bursts at the tree branches on top of the assassins. These tree branches burst into flames, illuminating the general vicinity. He then sends a series of five Heat Bursts and kills three assassins. Two assassins try to run away. Master Santlyn shoots off three Heat Bursts at them, killing one in the process. The Grand Elementhar stumbles a little. His soul energy is being drained to below normal limits. He shoots off another eight Heat Bursts which are so powerful it penetrates the tree trunks and kills several assassins taking cover behind them. Now he really feels weak. He falls onto one knee. But his spirit is still strong. There is some fight in him still.

     Gathering his soul energy and depleting it further to dangerous levels, he executes a Volcano Strike; instantly blasting into the air, burning and killing four assassins who made the mistake of grouping together. As more assassins begin to retreat or scatter, he sends out another series of Heat Bursts, killing another three in the process. He drops to both knees. His head spins even more. The spirit in him dies away to barely an ember. He knows this is the end. This last spell will drain his soul completely. It will kill him. He smiles. He has got to make it count and he will. He has a plan.

     “Surrender _ I do of this,” says Master Santlyn feebly.

     The assassins begin to emerge from behind the tree trunks. They approach him cautiously. Then, as they close in towards him, they yet again make the mistake of grouping together.

     “
Mistake _ never make the same of this twice
,” said the Grand Elementhar, breaking into a smile.

     The assassin’s eyes bulge. Their eyebrows rise in surprise and panic. In his final act, Grand Elementhar Ridge Santlyn drains his soul completely; and just as Senior Dencon had done, collapses to the ground dead. The resulting Volcano Strike sends a dozen assassins into the air, causing their bodies to be consumed by flames and molten lava. The remaining assassins run away from the area. They do not even bother to try to recover their dead comrades, for there is nothing to recover but charred bodies.

     The birds chirped. The wind blew. The branches and leaves shook. The sun shone though the forest canopy. Ray’s head hurt. He was just beginning to wake up. Then he realised he was buried in earth. He struggled to get up, sending soil and leaves flying into the air. He wiped the earth from his face. He opened his eyes slowly. His vision was blurry. The back of his head was still hurting from the night before. He pulled himself clumsily out of the shallow trench. The Original Vanguard Manuscript slipped off from his torso and dropped onto the ground. Ray grabbed the manuscript and examined it. He confirmed that it was indeed the Original Vanguard Manuscript. He then stood up.

     He was undecided in his next line of action. Should he try to run away, or should he try to get back to the monune
?
Will there be any survivors left
?
Are the assassins hiding there, waiting to ambush him
?
What the hell
!?
He cared not, anymore
!
He decided to return to the monune. Even if there were no survivors, his dead brother and sister Elementhars deserved a proper burial. So he cautiously made his way back uphill to the monune.

     The iron doors of the front gate of the monune were torn and half buried in a huge piece of flat lava rock, caused by the cooling of molten lava. There were charred bodies everywhere. Ray walked past them, resisting the urge to search for Senior Dencon’s body. All the buildings were in ashes. The assassins must have burnt them down the night before. He made his way to the field. There they lay, dead and stiff, his brother and sister Elementhars. Ray looked around, waiting for the ambush. There were no assassins around. He wished that there were, so that he could kill them and make them pay for what they had done. But he was alone. Unlike at the gate, there were no assassins’ bodies to be found at the field. These must have been carried away by the survivors.

     Ray walked amongst the corpses. Tears rolled down his cheeks. But he did not scream out in anger, sorrow or frustration. It would not have brought them back to life. Selecting a suitable patch of land at the empty field, Ray used his manipulation skills and parted the earth to form a huge pit. And into this pit, he carried and laid to rest his brother and sister Elementhars one by one. Bloom was laid next to her twin, Radiance. Thunder and Slide were laid at either end of a long line of novices. Then Ray used his earth element manipulation skills and extracted Senior Dencon’s charred body from the lava rock and laid it at the end of the entire line of bodies. Now all that remained was to search for Master Santlyn. Ray was hoping to find him alive and well, but deep down, he knew better. The Grand Elementhar was dead, and all the blind hope in the world would not alter reality
!

     Finally, almost three hours later, Ray placed Master Santlyn’s body at the opposite end of Master Dencon’s. Ray stepped out of the pit and looked at his ‘family’ one last time. He closed his eyes and bowed three times as a final show of respect. But as he was about to cover the pit, he noticed something odd about Senior Dencon’s fist. It was clutching something. Ray jumped back into the pit to find out what it was. It was a pendant. And that was the first time Ray saw it, the symbol that would inspire so much hatred in him. It was the symbol of the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan. He removed the pendant from Senior Dencon’s stiffened hand and kept it. After that, he jumped out of the pit and covered it with earth using his elemental sorcery skills. He then recovered his silver short staff from the burnt rubble, which miraculously survived the inferno with hardly any damage.  Finally, he turned and walked away.

     Ray walks pass the broken gate of Monune Ruby. Although he does not know it yet, he will not walk pass this gate again for another 15 years. And as he passes this gate, he looks up at the heavens and vows to seek vengeance. And he swears that as long as he is still alive, he will never forget
that fateful night!

THE HIGH COUNCIL OF ELEMENTHARS

     The soft creaking sound of the wooden royal carriage fades way to the noises of the hustle and bustle of city life on the
3
rd
Morning of Third Month of Wet Season in the Year 1200 of the Known Era.
Lance opens his eyes, having just awoken from sleep. He looks out the window and sees countless citizens of Fallsene City going about their usual business. These city dwellers dress in all manners of fashion, with some methods of dressing so foreign that Lance wonders if he has overslept and been brought out of Free Falls by mistake.

     Lance had never seen so many people in his entire life. Grand buildings of shops and places of trade fascinated him. Homes were large and elegant. The roads were paved with cobblestones instead of gravel, unlike the other places Lance had been to before. To him, Fallsene City was busier than an ant hill. As a matter of fact, Fallsene City was a very grand, luxurious ant hill full of busy people living their busy lives.

     Clover was wide awake. Her attention was buried deep in the Original Vanguard Manuscript. She was trying to soak up every bit of information that was kept within it. Although Lance has just known her for less than a week, he could imagine what was going through her mind. He was sure that she was looking for more interesting spells and knowledge to add to her own copy, or maybe even trying to teach herself the mastery of a new element. He thought he smelt smoke and was sure that Clover had tried to generate flames with her fingertips. Ray was in deep meditation while Spirit, who was seated between Clover and Lance, wondered what he would be served for breakfast.

     Ray was in deep meditation for a reason. There were decisions that he needed to make. The first of these was relatively simple. If what Clover claimed was true, then clearly the Law of Elementhars would allow him to accept her as his novice and train her in the fire element. The second decision was harder to make. Should he abide by the Law of Elementhars and turn down Prince Patrum’s generous offer
?
Should he still obey a law that could no longer offer him justice and protection, a law that his fellow Elementhars had conveniently forsaken
?
The seventh Law of Elementhar Administration stated that
‘Justice _ no order of the Grand Order of  Elementhars or even the Grand Order of Elementhar itself, may refuse to do/provide of this for any Novice, Master, High or Grand Elementhar, especially if he/she is not able to do so for himself/herself’
.

     Ray was still angry and bitter. The High Council had outright refused to investigate the massacre of his order. As a matter of fact, he remembered the words of High Elementhar Rapier Shay very clearly, ‘Justice _ of this is the responsibility and jurisdiction of the King of Free Falls, his government and his soldiers. Jurisdiction _ ours of this is only within the grounds of our monunes and does not extend beyond them. Trust _ you must have of this in the king’s government, Ray Iddell, for we have but little choice as we live within the borders of his land. Past _ of this you must forget, so that you can move forward to the future.’  These very words cut through his heart like a knife. If ever Ray wanted to know what it felt like to be stabbed in the back, this would be it.

     Ray opened his eyes. His meditation yielded no firm result. He reckoned that he would be wrong either way.

     “Novice _ I now accept you, Clover, as mine of her and of the Order of Fire Elementhars, but take care lest you burn this precious book,” said Ray with a slight smile, for he too had smelt the smoke that had come from Clover’s fingers.

     Clover lowered her head and gave Ray a shy-like, apologetic look.

     One of the sentries at Fallsene City’s palace shouted out the Royal Carriage’s approach.

     “Royal Carriage
!
Royal Guards
!
One pond approaching in chariots
!
” he called out.

     The sun shone brightly overhead when the giant, solid iron doors of the palace swung steadily open, welcoming back its battle-worn prince.

     “Elementhars Iddell, Genox and Arman, I welcome you to Palace Liberty. It is my home and yours as well as long as you wish to stay in Fallsene. This is a hospitality that I owe to my saviours,” said Prince Patrum.

     “Accept _ we humbly do of this of your offer, Prince Patrum,” replied Ray.

     Palace Liberty was more of a gigantic fort than a stately residence. A circular wall of hard stones seven storeys high and 20 paces wide surrounded the palace grounds. The wall was supported by four guard towers nine storeys high, with each tower located at the north-east, south-east, south-west and north-west points respectively. A giant moat 30 paces wide formed a band of protection on the outside of the circular wall while a giant drawbridge was placed on its southern face. The palace keep was located on the northern part of the palace grounds while barracks, stables, training arena and archery ranges occupied the eastern and western parts. A large garden was grown on the southern part to provide visitors with a welcoming scene of natural beauty.

     As the royal carriage pulled up in front of the palace keep, a small number of elegantly dressed men and women, no doubt palace officials, appeared from within the building to greet their prince. A suvian opened the carriage door and bowed. Prince Patrum stepped out. The palace officials bowed in respect and greeting. The prince returned their courtesy.

     One of the elegantly dressed men stepped forward. He was in his early fifties and had a very gentle demeanour.

     “Freedom and harmony, Your Highness
!
A despatch rider has brought us the news of the attempted assassination. We are all glad that you are unharmed. His Highness, the king, wishes that you see him immediately,” he said.

     “Prime Minister Cayman Trex, freedom and harmony to you, too
!
My father is in the throne room, I suppose
?
” replied Prince Patrum.

     “That is correct, Your Highness
!
” answered the Prime Minister.

     Lance stepped out of the Royal Carriage, followed by Clover, Spirit and finally, Ray. The officials stood momentarily frozen in surprise as their eyes fell upon the simple and rugged clothes of the prince’s travel companions, not to mention the fact that one of them was not even human.

     “Elementhars Iddell and Arman, I introduce to you Prime Minister Cayman Trex, the prime minister of Free Falls,” said the prince.

     Ray and Lance bowed. The prime minister returned the bow courteously.

     “Prime Minister Trex, they are my saviours and my guests, Elementhars Ray Iddell and Lance Arman, and Spirit the fearsome white wolf. And this is Clover Genox, daughter of Recavian Hammer Genox. I have extended my hospitality to these good people. Can you make arrangements for them while I see my father,” said the prince.

     “Most honoured to meet your acquaintance. You honour us with your presence and put us ever in your debt for saving our prince. Your Highness
!
I shall do so immediately,” said Prime Minister Trex with a warm smile as he turned from Ray and the others to Prince Patrum.

     Prince Patrum excused himself by bowing to Ray, Clover and Lance and went into the palace keep.

     Prime Minister Trex gave Ray, Clover and Lance a wide smile. Then he looked at Spirit and for a while he looked confused. Then he simply shrugged and started smiling again.

     “My personal assistant, Royal Secretary Verbena Romar, will show you to your accommodations,” he said.

     Ray, Clover, Lance and Spirit followed the prime minister’s assistant to their designated rooms, which were furnished with grand luxury and comfort. Beautifully crafted wooden furniture and scenic murals painted on the room walls greeted their sights. Each room had a large window which offered a magnificent view of Fallsene City. For the first time in almost three weeks, Lance rested his body on a proper, soft and comfortable bed.

     The
6
th
Mid-afternoon of Third Month of Wet Season
was nothing but wet. It had started raining from the early morning hours. The rain showed no signs of dying off, instead it just got heavier. Ray was in a restaurant in Fallsene City, seated across a man he had not seen for nearly 15 years. This man was in his late sixties or early seventies and was dressed in a fashion similar to Ray. The colour of his robe was dark brown. On his head he wore a gold headband embedded with three large brown diamonds. They stared at each other deeply in the eyes, trying to read each other’s thoughts.

     “Good _ the years has been of this to you, High Elementhar Dulcet Calnen,” said Ray finally, breaking the monotonous splatter of rainfall.

      The other Elementhar broke into a cynical laugh.

     “Say _ after 15 years, this is all that you have to do of this to me
?
Inquiry _ not a single one of this of the state of the Order of Earth Elementhars, of the Grand Order or of the High Council itself
?
Cold _ you have become of this, Ray Iddell, in spite of the fact that you practice the fire element
!
Robe _ and why are you wearing a black of it, instead of red, or even brown
?
Black _ the colour of this is of a novice, Ray; and you are not a novice
!
” stated Master Calnen.

     Ray nodded his head in agreement. The rain splatters started to lessen.

     “Cold _
indeed
I have become of this, and I have been so since the day the High Council abandoned me, since the day the Grand Order abandoned my order
!
Meet _ the only reason why I have requested to do of this with you is because I still have a small amount of respect for you, Master Calnen, for you were the one who mentored me in the earth element. Mistake _ make none of this for I still feel the betrayal that you did to me when you supported the decision of Masters Shay and Nurten. Robe _ for your information, mine of this is black to signify mourning; ever-lasting mourning for the massacre of my order
!
” said Ray defiantly.

     “Impulsive _ you are still of this and your aggression has yet to die down, Ray. Reason _ what is it of this that warrants my invitation here today
?
” enquired Master Calnen.

     “Denounce _ I shall do of this to the Grand Order and to the High Council at the Grand Conference, should they still refuse to investigate the massacre of my order. Inform _ I wish to do of this to you first, lest you be caught surprised and embarrassed at the Grand Conference,” answered Ray.

     Master Calnen’s facial expression became extremely serious.

     “Denounce _ you must not do of this of the Grand Order and the High Council, Ray
!
Consequences _ are you aware of these of your actions if you continue with your intention
?
Join _ no other Elementhar of the fire element, either by noviciate or by self development, would be allowed to do of this anymore into the Grand Order. Elementhars _ those of them who are practising the fire element as a second discipline would be required to abandon this element forever. Element _ the Grand Order would lose one of this permanently and it would be like chopping off an arm of the Elementhar society in Free Falls. Realise _ you must be of this that there have been efforts for the past 15 years to re-create your order, but the High Council has put these plans on hold out of their respect for you; seeing that you are the one and only true heir of your order; and therefore this privilege and responsibility lies solely with you. Reconsider _ you must do of this, Ray
!
” cautioned Master Calnen.

     “Reconsidered _ I have done of this for 15 years. Decision _ mine of this is final, for the breach of our laws by the High Council cannot be left unpunished
!
” stressed Ray.

     Master Calnen shook his head in disappointment and also in disagreement.

     “Obsessed _ you are of this with your vengeance, so much so that it has blinded you of the more important things in life. Revive _ we are offering you the opportunity to do of this of your order, so why do you not accept it
?
Rejoin _ you may do of this of the Order of Earth Elementhars, for you
were
one of us and in our eyes, will forever be so; and allow the High Council to revive your order even if you do not want to do so yourself. Crazy _ be not of this, Ray,” he advised.

     “Right _ you are of this on one thing but one thing only, that the privilege and responsibility of reviving the Order of Fire Elementhars lies solely with me and me alone; and I shall revive it far away from the corruption and deviated influences of the Grand Order and the High Council
!
” exclaimed Ray as he gave a fierce stare to his former mentor.