The Rising Sun: Episode 6 (3 page)

“We have to act fast.” said Dantox.

“Why?” asked Vestra.

“Because the Xeni may be exploring ways to
build their armies as well.” Dantox replied. “They most certainly
don’t need to. But they may do so intending to oppose our efforts
to build our army. And so, we need to reach the various targeted
species … or they may before we do.”

“Quite right.” Mantra said grimly. “There are
chances we’re pitted on a race against both time … and against our
enemies.”

“If we are to target non man being species as
our allies,” Nano said, looking at the two masters. “You
understood, of course, that, there is that
one
segment among
the non man beings that will greatly aid our side with their vast
forces…”

Mantra looked at him over a long second,
before his brow fell in a dark frown. “Of course. We’ll need
them
. They would, no doubt, be the strongest force among all
the non man creatures.”

“Who’re you talking of?” asked Qyro. Though
he had a very faint idea he already knew…

“The Ensys.” said Mantra, after a short
pause. “If we can manage to gather the Ensys to our cause,” He
shook his head in an impressed gesture. “It would be gratifying,
for they are a very powerful army of creatures, and we need
them.”

He walked deeper into the room, his arms
folded behind him. “The Ensys were a race who had suffered greatly
during Redgarn’s onslaught eight millennia back,” He explained,
turning to Qyro and Vestra. “The last time Redgarn took over, he
tried to wipe them out completely. And with the help of his demon
army, he scoured almost their entire race. Hearing that he’s back
to finish the job, they may decide to join us.”

“The Ensys are the strongest, and most
powerful among the allies we can hope to make.” Dantox impressed.
“We’ll have to focus on them.”

Mantra nodded. “We will. We’ll send a massive
force as envoys to them.”

“But we do not know where they are.” pointed
out Nano. “After Redgarn’s reign, they practically disappeared from
The known world … And no one has even seen them or crossed paths
with them.”

Qyro waited for the statement to bury into
the silence, before heaving a deep breath.

“Well, I have.”

All faces in the room abruptly turned to
him.

“My master and I,” he explained. “We ran
across a horde of Ensys a couple of years ago … we even came across
their leader, Rigmrr.”

“What!” gasped Dantox, eyes widened. “Well,
tell us everything about it! Where did you find them?”

Qyro drew in another deep breath, and then
plunged into a detailed recount of the experience. He brought to
clarity all aspects of their meeting, including the exact location
where they had crossed the Ensys. And the fact that Rigmrr, the
leader of the Ensys, was dying from a mysterious illness. One that
had placed their entire race in an irate state, and a fearsome
state as well: they did not take to outsiders even more because of
it.

As he finished explaining everything, a dark
silence had swallowed the entire room. Mantra was deep in thought,
no doubt analysing the pros and cons of this mission. One that
could go either way. Qyro knew this through first hand
experience.

Dantox looked troubled too, and he stroked
his chin as he digested everything they had heard.

Vestra bit her lower lip the same way she did
when anxious or disturbed.

Mantra continued in his thought absorbed
state for a couple of seconds, and then said, “Whoever’s sent to
contact the Ensys will definitely have to be careful.”

“Most definitely.” Qyro emphasised, as he
remembered the nasty incident that had almost had his master and
him killed. “If you ask me, we should skip the Ensys … just that
one species.”

But Mantra gave a firm shake of his head.
“They’re the largest force that we can hope to make at this hour.We
don’t have a choice here, and this danger is one we will have to
face. If we gain their alliance, it would be the most beneficiary
one possible.”

He turned to face Dantox. “We need to send a
large troop of watchmen to them, to gain their confidences, in the
fact that we stand against the empire of Redgarn.” He gave a
moment’s thought. “And a Nyon master in the lead would help,
too.”

“I’ll go, then.” said Dantox boldly.

Mantra nodded at him. “Good, I was hoping you
would. Because I think I’ll be needed elsewhere in the meantime…
forging a different alliance. And this is one that needs my
involvement to work out.”

“What’s that?” asked Vestra. “Another non man
being species?”

Mantra shook his head. “No, better. I’ll get
to it.” He turned to Nano. “Very well, then. So this is the plan:
the entire army of watchmen spreads out in small groups, and head
to make contacts with different non man being species, attempting
to gain their alliance in the forthcoming war.”

“Indeed.” said Nano, nodding. “I shall take
the largest batch and, along with master Dantox, head to where the
Ensys are.”

“Yes,” Mantra returned his nod. “That would
be good. And tell the rest of your army to spread out across the
outer spectrum, to contact other non man being species that may be
willing to serve our cause.”

“Understood.”

Mantra turned slowly, imprinting his gaze
upon all of the people in the hall as he spoke.

“It’ll take all of us now to make this final
stand, people. This is all we have left, and we’re gonna have to
put our hearts into it … do we abide?”

All of them nodded as one.

Mantra nodded back. “Good … what about you,
Ion?” He made to turn to the base of the doorway, where Ion had
been lying. “Ion?”

But as all of them together stared at the
side of the double door, they saw that the crumpled black heap
which had been lying there was now gone.

It was all hard to remember.

But far harder not to.

Ion’s body swayed mildly as he trotted down
the forest that had grown around the ruined city. The feeling he
was bearing now was the one which had haunted him for years now.
And after what the demon had just done to him, the horror of his
soul had awoken fresh to haunt him.

He remembered everything, everything he
wished he couldn’t remember.

The day Eol and him had been arrested … the
day he had joined Vonayz … the day he had accidentally killed
Eol…

All the people he had killed … the guilt and
regret…

It all throbbed in his mind with a fresh
fury. The side of him, the darkness of his own being which he had
been wresting with for two years now.

He trotted by and leaned casually against the
back of a tree, staring at the canopy of trees engulfing the place
ahead.

Now, after two years, after battling with
himself, Ion realised that he had lost…

Jedius had shown him his path, and placed all
his faith upon him. But Ion now saw that his master’s faith had
been misplaced. He couldn’t do this…

“This is one of the only forest planets
around here.” came a voice from behind him.

Jumping around, he saw Mantra walking up down
the lane of trees slowly, a faint smile on his elderly
features.

“And it’s also one of the most exquisite, and
beautiful.” he finished.

He trotted up to beside where Ion stood,
gazed at him for a second, and then let his eyes travel over the
canopy of trees before them. The mushrooms of greenery hanging
overhead split the golden sunlight into a million fine rays.

“I almost wished I was dead now.” Ion said,
his back pressing firmly against the tree trunk behind.

“Hang along with us, and maybe you’ll have
your wish.” said Mantra.

Ion swapped a sideways glance at him, and
then shook his head.

“If only you knew,” he whispered, turning to
face Mantra full in the face. “If you knew what I’ve done … I
killed my own brother, master. How am I supposed to live with
myself?”

Mantra’s calm white eyes were unmoven from
his. The serenity of his gaze reached Ion.

“I can see that you aren’t living at all.”
Mantra said. “Living requires
facing
. Facing life … facing
your demons. And this is not something I can help you with, son. I
can’t give you what you need to fight that. But what I can give
you,” He laid a gentle hand on Ion’s shoulder. “is a promise…”

“A promise?”

“One that may give you the strength to move
on regardless of the pain.” he said quietly. “Because I assure you
of this: if you plough on, whatever be the pain … one day, you will
look back and thank life for the pain it gave you. Because you
would see that you braved what no one else ever could: your own
self.”

He relinquished his hold over Ion’s shoulder,
and heaved a breath. “But beyond everything, the choice is upto
you. The choice of whether you let anguish and despair drown you …
or of whether you would brave it, and continue on the path life
sets for you.”

Ion continued to stare past the canopy of
trees ahead. All that was left of the sinking sun was a mere rim
pressed against the horizon, seen through the canopy of trees.

He smiled.

It had been on a forest planet very much like
this where he had been trained by Jedius. The greenery he saw
around drew his memory back to the two serene years he had spent
with his master…

The memory allowed relief to bloom amidst the
chaos inside him.

Feeling a resolved frown settle over his
brow, he turned to Mantra. “All right … I guess my anguish and
despair can wait for now. We’ve got stuff to do.”

Mantra held his eyes for a long moment, and a
warm smile touched his lips.

“Spoken like Jedius’s true apprentice.” he
said, as though having sensed Ion’s thoughts.

He gave Ion a gentle pat, and the two of them
turned and strolled down the forest, back to the city.

The entire army of watchmen stood about the
large city, their thousand beady eyes pooled at the centre where
Mantra, Dantox, Nano, Vestra, Qyro and Ion stood.

When he had heard the entire situation and
the options they were left with, Ion had mentally braced himself
for what they now needed to do.

They needed to gather their forces, in
preparation of defending the spectrum from Redgarn’s demon
army.

Ion and the other two watched as Mantra and
Dantox split the entire army into many groups: each group was to
find and contact a different species among the non man beings, and
seek an alliance with them. Dantox, Nano and a hundred other
watchmen formed the largest batch among the different groups. They
were reserved for the foremost and most crucial of the forces they
were having eyes on. The Ensys, their main target among the non man
beings.

As the two Nyon masters finished debriefing
them, the different batches began to leave for their specific
destinations: each group was enveloped by a glowing halo which shot
into the skies like fiery bullets. Mantra and the three students
were left behind

When they were all gone, and Mantra and the
three students were the only ones left behind, Qyro asked Mantra,
“What about us? Where’re we heading?”

Mantra nodded. “The Skrylis, like the many
other races of non man beings, were greatly harassed during
Redgarn’s onslaught eight millennia back.” he explained to them, as
the group of them trotted down the maze of empty structures to the
city’s outskirts. Where Flamebird awaited them. “But they are a
meagre, and a slightly unnecessary addition to the army we will
raise. Be that as it may, we need to scrape off all the allies we
can for this war, and we cannot exclude even the smallest of
forces.” He moved his white eyes over the three of them. “This race
of creatures is a friendlier one than most non man beings. They
will definitely agree to aid us, but you will need to take trouble
in reaching where they lie.”

“
We
?” repeated Qyro. “You mean
you’re
not going with us for this?”

“No. like I said earlier, there is a more
important alliance I need to forge for our cause.”

The three of them exchanged curious
glances.

“This is a greatly powerful force, almost as
powerful as the Ensys army itself.” Mantra told them. “I’m going to
contact their leader, and try gaining their support.”

“What is this, then?” asked Ion.

Mantra smiled. “Not what.
Who
. I’m
going to meet a former student of mine.” He gave them a sideways
glance. “He’s in command of a greatly powerful force that would be
of aid for our side.”

“Your former student?” asked Qyro.

“Yes.” said Mantra. “You see, over the ages,
the Nyon has had the chance to train many mystics. But among the
ones we train, very few will continue and stay to serve us.” He
looked at Vestra and Qyro. “The two of you were a part of the rare
students we’d trained who did. Most others, however, felt that
joining the Nyon, which was always in a threatened state and in the
hitlist of the Naxim, was a dangerous prospect.” He sighed. “Of
course, they were completely right to feel so. And as a result,
some of the students we trained never stayed back and joined our
brotherhood after we’d finished training them. They decided to move
forth and craft their own lives in this world, avoiding further
danger for an already dangerous life that a mystic leads. My former
student was one of them.”