The Last of the Sages (Sage Trilogy, Book 1) (18 page)

“Listen intently,” Arimus stressed as he revealed a cache that he had been carrying over his shoulder. “This is your next test. The infantry examination. Now, first things first, if you decide to take this exam, you cannot quit. Once this starts, it goes to the bitter end. Should you decide to quit, and leave the group to return from the dark forest, I assure you, you will not survive long. This test is actually far more dangerous than the Sage exam due to its unpredictable outcomes. is I must also add that this exam tests many things: teamwork, perseverance, loyalty, determination, and self-sacrifice amongst others. The infantry only strives when everyone is single minded. While a Sage uses his own power to sustain, the infantry are made of separate but equal parts of one body. The muscles, the brain, the nerves, the heart, all the way down to something like your left foot’s big toe or your appendix. Every piece of the infantry serves a purpose and cannot survive without a friend by their side. This is unquestionably a team mission.”

“The ten of you have been selected by your strengths and weaknesses to help the group go forward. It is up to you to find out what that is. The closer you get to one another, the longer you’ll make it. During the exam, there will be close watch by a few of the proctors here at the academy. Although you’ll never be aware of where they are, I cannot stress this enough: they will not save you. If they did, it would defeat the whole purpose of this exercise. And at the end, if you make it, you will be evaluated whether you are able to join the infantry or not. Now, who wants to go home?”

The recruits stood there silent, no one daring to look like a coward before their superior.

“I am not joking. You can die out there. Do you understand?”

The recruits bellowed an enthusiastic “YES SIR!” as Arimus shook his head in disbelief. James knew what it meant immediately. No one would sacrifice their pride to leave the academy in front of so many people. No one wanted to admit they were afraid although each of them were. There was no telling what was in the forest and from Arimus’ words and Kyran’s ominous foretelling, it couldn’t be pleasant.

“The test is at first glance, simple. Here…” Arimus said as he handed a granulated, rocky stone to one of the recruits. The stone emitted a strange, faint  orange-yellow glow, as the group looked at it in awe. James thought about poking it, but decided against it.

“That is a very important stone, so your success of this mission is vital. What you have to do is transport this stone to the shrine at the end of the forest. Retrieve the stone that is in its place and bring it back here. Only if you transport it there and bring that stone back will your exam be a success. Also note that this is a team pass or fail. That is all. You have three days.”

The recruits examined each other closely as Arimus opened the courtyard doors, signaling that it was time to leave. As they strolled out the doors one by one, he handed each of them a medium sized sword to take with them. James suddenly noticed that he was the only one without a backpack full of goodies. Arimus placed his hand on James as he was the last to leave.

“I’ve got your back, James,” he said as he handed James a small knapsack. James took it shamefully as Arimus laughed.

“That is what some of you say, correct?”

“Thanks, Arimus.”

Arimus nodded and waved good-bye as James began walking, shaking his head in irritation
.
Why am I even here
?
He thought, as the group silently walked toward the bridge that would lead straight into their destination. He looked back to see if Arimus was watching, but the proctor was long gone. Sighing, he thought about whether to disappear or not when Achan put up his hand, signaling a stop in the procession. Everyone halted immediately, glancing at one another nervously. What was wrong?

“Pep talk, people,” he called out as everyone placed their teary eyes on their leader. “Now I know this is a test, and I know there was a lot of talk about life and death and impending doom and all that, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun, right?”

The recruits muttered amongst themselves. The only thing that was audible was a loud whisper from the back asking if Achan was crazy.

“I know you think I’m crazy, but I’m dead serious. This mission will be as enjoyable as you make it. Don’t get me wrong. I’m scared too, but if we just huddle around like a bunch of terrified kittens, all we’re going to do is make mistakes and get ourselves killed. We have to trust each other and rely on one another if we’re going to make it. One of us failing could result in us all failing. I’ve never been in the forest as far as we’re supposed to go. Neither have you, but you know what, we all share a common experience that the creatures in that forest would cower in fear about if they knew – we’ve all faced the Sage test. Whether it was against someone in-training or not, we’ve come up against a force that is greater than anything that forest can throw at us. We’ve come against a person that could sense our every movement, read our body language to an art form and had the ability to kill us with no more than a sigh, yet we are still here. We faced our fears to persist through three whole days of agony, perseverance and humility to come to this point. All the recruits who didn’t make it past those three days are long gone. They are quitters, and we are better off without them. So what if we’re not Sages? So what if we don’t stand high above our enemies in battle? So what?”

“A vessel needs a captain, but it cannot run without its oarsmen. A business cannot strive without its employees. A king is nothing without subjects to declare him so. The Sages are nothing but fairy tales without the infantry to sing their praises. We were not born for greatness. We were not born from nobility, but as the Maker as my witness, we are the nobility. Once a person becomes a Sage, their path is declared and set for the rest of our lives while we may go on to not only fight for and defend our Kingdom, but also enjoy it, gaining the privilege to start families and rise as one when we are displeased. Arimus said it best, ‘we are not many, but they are few.’ The same applies here. I went through the Sage test only because I had to. This is where I belong. I wanted to be in the infantry because I needed to encourage my fellow man to know who they are, to let him know that we are just as important! So let us go into that forest and complete our mission with our heads held high and the pride of our people bellowing from our lips! We are the heart and soul of the Kingdom of Allay! We are the Infantry!”

The roar of the group was deafening. James pumped his fist in the air with a renewed purpose on his heart. They were only ten, and ten recruits at that, but they were just one vein of the heart of Allay, and they had a job to fulfill.

Achan smirked at his team in pride and waved a “let’s go‟ toward the forest. He was ready now. It wasn’t the forest he was scared of, but the team he would lead. Should any one of them be so scared as to not carry out an order, the entire group could be lost, and that’s what he loved about the Infantry. A Sage was a loner, a vagabond that went from battle to battle under order of the King. The Infantryman could fight with honor and immediately go home to his family. What more could one ask for?

Chapter 8 - Haze

“Well, this is boring,” one of the recruits sighed as he chopped a swinging branch in half. “And I was so fired up and ready to go, too.”

“What’s your name, again?” Achan inquired.

“London.”

“Okay, London, shut up.”

London snapped his head back in surprise and began to say something but decided against it. He fixed his gaze straight ahead and kept walking.

“Why do you think he scolded him?” James whispered to Rahima, a noticeably quiet girl that held the rear of the line. Achan kept telling her to move closer to the front, as one of the men should keep up the rear, but she walked so slowly, she always fell back in place. James reluctantly kept watch in back with her on Achan’s orders, despite wanting to talk with the leader himself.

Rahima barely said a word no matter how much James spoke and it wasn’t long before his mind drifted to Catherine and her playful nature. If she was in the forest with them, the only downside would be that they were probably making too much noise, laughing and carrying on. James chuckled to himself despite Rahima trying to answer his question.

“London was scolded because one person affects the entire group, whether they realize it or not. London’s complaining too much. That will start making everyone else irritable, and then no one will be on alert.”

“Oh, that makes sense,” James said as he leaped over a puke-green puddle that nearly claimed his boots. He traded water in his boots for a wet slap to the face by an unseen branch that immediately claimed his cheek. Rahima shook her head in annoyance. She probably thought he was trying to be cute. James grunted at her response. He hoped she knew the only reason he was in the back with her was because he had to, and not because of her charming personality. Tyler, a pale and lanky character with broad shoulders kept glancing back at James with suspicious eyes, as if there was something going on between the two of them.

“I’ll be right back,” he said to Rahima, trying to go a little forward in the line without raising Achan’s awareness. Achan was busy explaining to Aqua, the mechanics behind one of the other Kingdoms. James tapped the boy next to Tyler on the shoulder, but he couldn’t remember who he was. They had all given their names earlier that morning, but James was only half paying attention, his day dreams trying desperately to play up what it meant to be an infantryman. When Achan spoke, it sounded glorious, but the more he thought about it, it was like trying to call someone who shoveled manure, a waste sanitation engineer. Of course it sounded prestigious, but at the end of the day, they still shoveled manure.

“Yes?” the boy said politely as James motioned toward Rahima.

“Do you mind taking over back there? She’s driving me nuts.”

“Achan wouldn’t like you undermining anyone on the team.”

“I’m not insulting anyone, I’m just saying that…well, you know how Arimus said the team was forged based on everyone’s strengths and weaknesses? Well, I think I found the weakness.” The boy laughed and scratched the back of his head.

“Alright, well I guess I’ll walk with her.”

“I really appreciate it, uh…um…I’m James.”

“The name’s Christian, but thanks for trying. Next time, pay attention, Larry,” he said as he pulled back to line up with Rahima. James laughed silently
.
I wonder when it will hit him that that’s not my name.

“Everyone, hold it here,” Achan called out as the group came to a halt. James threw up his hands in defeat. Of course the group was going to stop for the night the moment he found a replacement for Rahima.

“There’s going to be three recruits on guard and we will switch off on the hour. I know three sounds like a lot, but we still haven’t encountered anything yet, and it’s better to be safe than sorry. No heroes tonight, please.”

The group began sitting in a circle as three volunteers took their posts by carefully chosen trees. Achan ordered someone to build a fire and for everyone to sleep with their sword in hand.

“I think we’re all nice and prepared now,” Achan sighed. “Now, I was having an interesting conversation with Aqua today about the significance of our mission. Does anyone know what this stone is?” he asked, holding up the stone they carried.

Someone raised their hand immediately.

“Yes, you, Elder.”

James raised an eyebrow at the boy known as Elder. No one knew his real name. Supposedly it was so embarrassing that he referred to himself only as Elder, since he gained so much knowledge during the little time he had been alive. His parents were said to be scholars in the castle.

“It is an instrument, so to speak. It measures the density of the Ether that clouds our sky.”

“What Ether?” James blurted as Achan pointed up.

James and the other recruits looked up for a moment to see a dark green haze mask the canopy floor. He squinted, trying to see through it to the crystal clear night sky he was accustomed to, but to no avail. James frowned and waited to hear more about what he was seeing.

“Some of you probably don’t know. That’s why we’re discussing this,” Achan said. “Most of us have never been outside the Kingdom of Allay, where you can so easily see the sun and the moon, stars and the baby blue sky. In other Kingdoms, it is not so. This is their sky, all day, and all night. This mist. This green haze.”

“Why is that?” Christian asked, a little afraid.

“That is a story that goes back to the foundation of the five Kingdoms. The very beginning.”

“First, a question…” Elder began. “How many of you believe in the Maker?”

Half of the group raised their hand. Christian held his hand high while Alicia made a “so-so” wave of her hand.

“It’s not that I don’t believe in the Maker, it’s just I have no reason to believe either,” she muttered.

“How many of you believe you have a soul?” he asked.

The entire group raised their hand.

“Not surprising, considering we all had aspirations to be a Sage at one point, except for maybe my dear friend here,” Elder motioned toward Achan. Achan leaned back against a boulder in satisfaction.

“A Sage and the word eidolon go hand in hand. The idea that one can take their own soul and manifest it into the form of a sword. The very definition of Sage and eidolon testifies to the fact that there is a soul in each of us. One final question…how many of you believe there is a Paradise and an Oblivion?”

No one raised their hand, no
t because they doubted their belief, but the unsettling fact that the word ‟death‟ suddenly had some weight to it. They had been hearing so many warnings of death and destruction that could ensue at the hands of the third test, but it was the first time they actually wondered what would happen should they meet it.

“It is a humbling subject, to be sure, yet necessary. I myself have been to neither so I cannot speak on either behalf, however, I can tell you what I have seen concerning the subject. When I was just becoming a teenager, I learned of my uncle’s love affair with a woman from the Kingdom of Prattle. Now, I myself find nothing wrong with that in of itself, but the problem arose when he tried to claim her for himself, to unacceptable ends. When her father and mother learned of their courting, they were furious and demanded they abstain from each other’s presence. My uncle would not have it. Enraged, he did not seek any peaceful means of reconciliation, instead relying on the edge of a sword and the throats of his respective in-laws. Though his ‘enemies’ were slain, he did not count on the skill of her father, a man, although aged in years, trained to wield a blade with great dexterity. The father and mother were slain, yes, but my uncle was wounded to the point of no return. I remember I was with my father and mother at the time, studying a particular species of toad at the edge of this very forest when he stumbled along. To have made it this far from Prattle was a task altogether, but he was doomed, despite my parents’ knowledge in medicine.”

Elder paused to wipe down his glasses.

“We were under this green sky then, aware of its purpose, yet unafraid of its grip on our very souls. My uncle was very aware, and very afraid. From the moment he knew his fate, he ran toward Allay. He was so close…but he inevitably died… and in the forest, under the green sky. Maybe some of you have been blessed or cursed to see some spiritual occurrences in your lifetime. I know I have. Your belief in the Maker is your choice, but I know where I have stand. From a child I had a fervent belief in the Maker, and in time he has enabled me to see things beyond human capacity. This was one of those instances.”

“When my uncle died, for some particular reason…I could …see…literally see… his soul. It was a little hazy, a bit intangible, but his soul nonetheless, coming out of the lifeless body that lay still in the forest dirt. I remember he was screaming toward us, my father and mother unaware to his plight as he floated upwards, still examining his physical corpse. He was mute, unable to call out to us audibly, and he must have realized it eventually, for he soon stopped and stared up at the green haze before him with hope. He hovered to the top, and reached the edge of the green ether, and then he went no further.”

“He pounded on the green haze with what appeared to be hands of a sort, screaming frantically toward the heavens. It only took a few seconds, before he began to fall. Faster and faster with increased velocity at every second. He continued his silent screams for help as I could only watch in horror. His eyes widened at my feet and mine could only follow. Right in front of me, it was as if the very ground beneath had opened up, and all I could see was the black of darkness. The hole was only a few feet in circumference but it appeared bottomless. My uncle reached for me but grabbed nothing, falling down into the hole that was before me. The hole shut in an instant upon his entry, as if it had never been there, but the memory imprinted on my brain like a branding iron. I could never forget what had happened, what I had seen, and that’s when I purposed within myself that I would join the academy, for no one should have to suffer as my uncle had.”

“I don’t understand,” Rahima spoke up. “What happened to him?”

“He is in Oblivion,” Elder spoke softly, wincing at the word. “That green ether, serves as a barrier to our souls. As long as we are under it, we cannot go to Paradise. Our souls cannot break through, and if we cannot reach Paradise, our souls are claimed by Oblivion. We are fortunate in Allay to not have the Ether cloud over our Kingdom. However, this is not the case in others. My parents have told me that the Ether at one point had not even covered the forest, but it gets thicker and it spreads further towards us every year. It is only a matter of time before Allay is consumed. This is why our mission is so important. Allay must be able to accurately read, every month or so these changes, how strong the Ether is getting, so we may act accordingly.”

The group sat in silence, contemplating Elder’s words.

“Then why are we here?” Christian asked frantically, “under this green sky? We should get out of here before we get ourselves killed and damned!”

“Idiot,” Achan spat toward him. “That’s exactly why we’re here. So others won’t be killed or damned. For one reason or another, the other Kingdoms are stuck under the ether. Many of them are too hardheaded to believe they’re doomed and the ones that do, realize it all too late. Why do you think there are only recruits around here? Because when you graduate, you head off to other Kingdoms, trying not only to defend our souls, but theirs as well. We’re risking our own lives for the sake of others. We can’t just stay in Allay for the rest of our lives and do nothing while others are doomed to eternal death over and over. Besides, you heard what Elder said, the Ether is spreading. Soon, Allay will also be covered. We have to do something about this. Once we get the stone back with the reading, Allay can prepare for what needs to be done.”

“And what’s that?” Rahima snapped. “What can be done? How can we actually stop what’s happening?”

“Don’t know,” Achan shrugged his shoulders. “That’s for the leadership to decide.”

“Ridiculous!” London spat, standing up for all to see. “Who cares about the other Kingdoms? Like you said, they’re hardheaded! They chose their own fate! Who cares if they die?”

“They are hard headed,” Achan said patiently, “but so are we. Human beings are naturally selfish. We’re trying to do better for ourselves. I have no doubts there are those that die in Allay and still go to Oblivion. Don’t think that ether is all that’s stopping us. We are all judged.”

“By who? There is no Maker judging us! None! I see no Maker judg
ing me or punishing me. This is crazy!‟

“Says the fool.”

“London,” Elder soothed. “If you don’t believe in the Maker, then why are you so worried about death and the afterlife?”

“All I’m saying is, Allay should watch out for Allay.”

“And that’s why you could never be a Sage,” James declared  in rage, sick of standing by, listening to London rave on and on.

“What did you say?” London screamed as James stood his ground.

“Sages are pure hearted. For a human being to literally take his soul, bring it out into the world and put it at risk, all to save others from certain death. That sounds pretty noble to me. Nothing like how you’ve been acting.”

“What does it matter?” London spat back.