FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (55 page)

     The third hunter runs past his fallen comrade, but does not stop. He knows that it is pointless to help a corpse. One swing
!
Just one swing of his axe would be sufficient to cleanly sever Spirit’s head off. As the third hunter closes in on the white wolf, he raises his axe high above his head. He tries to run beside Spirit so as to get a good chopping angle. Just as he executes his downward swing, Spirit stops and leaps backward, avoiding the sharp blade of the large axe. The white wolf then leaps and sinks his fangs into the third hunter’s throat and rips off a large chunk of flesh. The third hunter does not even have time to utter his last prayer. He falls to the ground in a state of shock and dies moments later, with his mouth still opened wide. His dying thought is that of disbelief at being outdone by a simple animal
!

     Spirit stops running now. The odds of the fight have improved. He is now face to face with the second hunter. The human brings his spear up in some sort of guarded stance, pointing its sharp tip at the white wolf. Spirit gives a low-pitched growl, baring his bloodied fangs. The second hunter returns the growl with a fierce look. The hunter steps forward and thrusts his spear at Spirit. Spirit jumps to the side, narrowly avoiding the metal tip of the spear. Immediately Spirit leaps forward and bites the human at the knee, causing him to lose balance and falls onto a kneeling position. Pulling back his spear, the hunter tries another stab at Spirit but misses. Spirit circles the wounded man. The two opponents stare eye to eye. The hunter thrusts his spear forward, but Spirit leaps in an arc above the pointed weapon and lands on the man’s face. A scream of agony fills the air as Spirit’s sharp claws puncture the hunter’s eyeballs and blinds him. The blind hunter stabs desperately and wildly with his spear, but the fight is over. Spirit finishes him off and walks away.

     The reflection of sunlight from a metallic object catches Spirit’s eyes. The shiny blade of the hunter’s knife reminds Spirit of the one remaining hunter. Blood drips from the man’s wounded wrist. Like a furious bull, the man charges at the white wolf, swinging his knife wildly. Spirit moves sideways and jumps onto the hunter’s back as the human passes him by. A sharp yell of pain is heard as the long sharp fangs sink into the human’s neck. Crimson blood sprays into the air. The hunter collapses onto the ground, his face crumpled in an expression of extreme pain. Spirit releases his hold of the doomed man, and steps away.

     With a final glance, Spirit turns and begins his slow, meaningless walk in this blinding white landscape. Then a sudden pain grabs his attention. He turns to see the hunter’s knife embedded in his right hind leg, thrown by the first hunter mere moments before. Spirit’s crimson blood flows onto the snow-covered ground. He collapses onto the ground. The pain and loss of blood begins to affect him. His world begins to spin. He sees an orb of reddish orange flames. He hears the desperate, death-scream of the first hunter. His world begins to turn dark. And just before he surrenders to the darkness, he sees a hooded human figure approaching him. He hears these words, ‘
Spirit
_ such high of this is this wolf; who although severely weakened manages to defeat four evil-hearted hunters; then this shall be your name and I shall be your friend, as it would be my honour to know such a noble creature such as yourself. Name _ mine of this is Ray Iddell and I shall take care of you, Spirit, my friend’.

THE ROYAL ELEMENTHAR POND

     A gentle night breeze blows through the open window. The candle flames flicker. Master Elementhar Ray Iddell sits behind a desk in his room at Palace Liberty. It is the
23
rd
Night of Third Month of Wet Season in the Year 1200 of the Known Era
, and he feels troubled.

     Ray was troubled by the fact that the fate and future of the Order of Fire Elementhars lay solely in his hands. A small part of him felt that perhaps he had over-reacted somehow. He had taken a gamble and he had lost. But for the most part, he still felt that the gamble was necessary. Avenging his order was more important than rebuilding it. The fate that had befallen his order could befall any of the other orders. As a matter of fact, the Water Elementhars had already been sabotaged. No matter what the cost, the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan has got to be stopped.

     Ray realised that he would need to make a decision soon. He had two choices, and
only
two choices; of which he could only afford to choose one. The first choice was to continue to seek and hunt down the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan. But more importantly, he needed to find out the identity of the true culprit, the person who had hired the assassins to massacre his order in the first place. The second choice was to give up the hunt for the assassins and focus his efforts on rebuilding his order independent of the Grand Order. This would entail constant travelling to seek out potential novices. It would also entail him buying a piece of land and building a monune of his own later on.

     Ray decided to go out for a walk. He was hoping that the fresh air and the change of scenery would help him with his decision. Spirit, he saw, was snoring away in his own wolf-sized bed, beside Ray’s. Ray walked out into the palace garden. Except for the torches that were lit, the whole garden was dark. Layers of cumulus clouds obscured the waning half moon. He knew for sure that the next morning would be cold and wet, and these six months were not called Wet Season for nothing. The garden grounds were still slightly soggy from the previous downpour.

     The cold, moist air and the distant rhythmic sound of crickets had calmed Ray down somewhat. He began looking for a decent place to meditate, holding out the oil lantern that he had with him to better illuminate the surrounding area. He found just the perfect place, a log-bench built under a huge pine tree. Then he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around to find none other than Minvian Javelin Farhan, standing a few paces behind him.

     “Nature’s wisdom _ may you have of this, Minvian Farhan
!
” greeted Ray.

     “Freedom and harmony, Elementhar Iddell
!
Feeling restless tonight
?
” replied Minvian Farhan.

     “Restless _ I do feel of this, minvian,” confirmed Ray.

     “What troubles you, Elementhar Iddell
?
Is it the matter of you denouncing the Grand Order
?
Or your hunt for the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan
?
” asked Minvian Farhan.

     Ray motioned to the log-bench. Both men sat down. Ray placed his oil lantern on the ground.

     “Informed _ it seems you are well of this of my affairs, minvian,” said Ray.

     “It is my job as a Royal Guard to stay informed of all matters in and outside of Free Falls that concerns its security, Elementhar Iddell. It should not surprise you that the government ‘observes’ the activities of the Grand Order and the affairs of all Elementhars. You Elementhars are powerful people and if you go rogue or become uncontrollable, you could destroy the entire kingdom,” said Minvian Farhan.

     Ray broke into an ‘I should have known’ smile. Minvian Farhan returned the smile with a fake smile of his own.

     “Spies _ how many of them do you have in the Grand Order, minvian
?
” asked Ray.

     “That information is secret, Elementhar Iddell. I cannot tell you. But let me tell you how I can help you. You want to hunt down the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan. But how are you going to do it on your own
?
And the answer
is
that you can do it with
our
help
!
Join us
!
Let us help each other
!
The Shadow Deathmerchant Clan is our enemy as well as yours. They tried to kill Prince Patrum, so we, the military, need to eliminate them as well. We have a common objective. It would only benefit us to work together,” answered Minvian Farhan.

     Ray should have known better. It was typical of the government and the military to try to get what they want regardless of the moral implications. He realised that Minvian Farhan was trying to take advantage of his situation.

     “And what happens when our objective is no longer common
?
” asked Ray.

     Minvian Farhan was lost for words.

     “You are a Fallsian
!
Do your civic duty, for goodness sake
!
” he said finally.

     “Elementhar _ I am of him, and I am required to be apolitical, which I cannot be if I
do
my civic duty. Resources _ the government is full of these, so they can eliminate the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan without my help,” stressed Ray.

     Minvian Farhan nodded his head in partial agreement.

     “True
!
In time, we shall find these assassins and wipe them out. But there is something that we are unable to handle and that is the problem of demon attacks. This is where we truly need your help and your expertise,” he pointed out.

     “Elementhar _ we of them shall handle the demons,” retorted Ray.

     “No, you Elementhars are not handling them
!
The cases of demon attacks have risen by four folds since the last time you were in Free Falls. The Grand Order is incapable of handling the situation. More and more Elementhars are losing their lives by the day. They are short on manpower. If you care for the people of Free Falls, you must let us help you. Teach us
!
Train us in Elemental Sorcery
!
Then we can put an end to these demons forever
!
” reasoned Minvian Farhan.

     Ray shook his head in disagreement. Minvian Farhan let out a sigh of frustration.

     “Free Falls _ of it, its safety is your responsibility, not mine. Care _ I have not of this for the people of Free Falls, for I am apolitical. Concern _ mine of this is for the principles of right and wrong, and not the well being of a kingdom. Duty _ do not expect me to do yours of this, and do not interfere when I am doing mine
!
” stressed Ray.

     Now it was Minvian Farhan’s turn to shake his head.

     “Even for an Elementhar, you are cold
!
” criticised Minvian Farhan.

     “Cold _ I am indeed of this, for it keeps me objective-minded,” explained Ray.

     Minvian Farhan opened his mouth to argue, but could not find the words. Elementhars care not as how soldiers do and soldiers care not as how Elementhars do. Elementhars, Minvian Farhan realised, are highly idealistic to the point that they would sacrifice themselves. But he did not understand why they had chosen to be so.

     “Is survival important
?
” he asked suddenly.

     “No
!
Important _ of this, it is Truth, Justice and Righteousness,” answered Ray.

     “And so you would let every Fallsian die at the hands of demons, Serpentians or even the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan so that you can keep your Truth, Justice and Righteousness
!?
” challenged Minvian Farhan.

     “Yes
!
” answered Ray.

     Minvian Farhan felt extreme fury at Ray’s answer, but forced himself to remain calm.

     “You Elementhars will all die one day if you continue to be like this
!
” he retorted, finally.

     “True
!
” admitted Ray.

     Now Minvian Farhan became extremely confused. Ray, meanwhile, was still calm.

     “Do you want to die
!?
” Minvian Farhan asked.

     “Want _ it is not about what I do of this, but it is about accepting facts. Fact _ it is of this that everybody and everything will die someday, therefore we learn merely to accept death and not try to welcome or reject it; therefore what matters is the quality of life that we live before it ends, and the quality is measured in terms of Truth, Justice and Righteousness,” explained Ray.

     Minvian Farhan came to a sudden realisation. Elementhars accepted death just as soldiers did, he realised. But they accepted death for a different reason. A soldier accepted death to protect his country and the ones he loved, whereas an Elementhar accepted death to live a life of Truth, Justice and Righteousness. How did this happen
?
Minvian Farhan, like all Fallsian soldiers, thought that Elementhars were irresponsible and uncaring, but he had been proven wrong
!
Elementhars saw a higher purpose and served a higher purpose. But it was a higher purpose that he did not understand. Perhaps a ‘Receiver’ could explain it to him. Speaking to Ray was giving him a headache.

     Minvian Farhan decided that the whole point of the conversation was already lost. But somehow, his respect for Ray and the Elementhars had increased. Maybe it was because he understood Elementhars better than most soldiers, seeing the fact that he had spent a lot of time spying on the Water Elementhars.   Without saying a word, he folded up his legs and sat in meditation. So did Ray. Anyone who came across the two of them would find it a strange sight, an Elementhar and a Royal Guard sitting in meditation side by side.

     Suddenly, there were shouts of alarm
!
Ray and Minvian Farhan ran as fast as they could to the source of the alarm, which was a section of the palace wall 300 paces away from the palace gates. As they approached the area, they saw a Royal Guard standing next to the bodies of his two comrades.

     “What happened, servian
?
” asked Minvian Farhan.

     “Sir, I do not know. I just found them like this, sir,” answered the servian.

     Minvian Farhan kneeled down and pulled a star-shaped metal object from one of the dead Royal Guards. Ray recognised it almost immediately.

     “Object _ this of it belongs to the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan
!
” remarked Ray.

     “Yes, it does. I think they call this an Airblade
!
” agreed Minvian Farhan.

     “Airblade
!
Name _ so this is of this of the object
!
Question _ of this, did the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan kill your soldiers trying to come in or go out
?
” said Ray.

     Before Minvian Farhan could respond to what Ray had said, shouts of great pain and agony were heard, this time far out on the other side of the wall. Ray and Minvian Farhan raced to the palace gates, rushed out of them and got out into the dark, grassy field that surrounded the palace. Six Royal Guards joined them when they ran past the gates.

     Silence and darkness engulfs the Royal Guards and Ray. They hear nothing but the accelerated beats of their own hearts. They see nothing but the blackness of night. Minvian Farhan draws his sword, waiting for the silent attack that he feels is sure to come. Ray raises his lantern and his free fist in a guarded position, for he had not brought along his silver staff.

     Minvian Farhan pulls out his straight, double-edged dagger and gives it to Ray. Ray accepts the weapon without hesitation. They walk out in the field of tall grass. About 50 paces into the darkness, they come across the dead bodies of two Royal Guards.

     Suddenly, Ray executes a Stone Wall Spell and drags Minvian Farhan to take cover behind it. Almost immediately, a huge number of Airblades fly straight towards them. Three Royal Guards fall silently to the ground with Airblades embedded in their throats and two more scream in agony as Airblades punctured their eye balls. The last Royal Guard manages to dive down and take cover behind Ray’s Stone Wall. Ray lets loose a series of Heat Bursts and set several patches of grass on fire, illuminating the whole area.

     Five assassins run across the field towards the dimly lit streets of Fallsene City. Ray sends a Heat Burst straight into the back of one of them, killing him instantly. Minvian Farhan runs out from behind the Stone Wall and tries to give chase. Suddenly an assassin springs up from a patch of tall grass and tries to stab him. Minvian Farhan parries the attack just in time and follows up by slashing the assassin diagonally from collar bone to waist, killing him instantly.