Of Heroes And Villains (Book 4) (23 page)

“So who could this pair be, if they even exist at all?”

“What did they look like? According to the Quietus account?”

“The girl was short and ‘solid,’ and the man was tall and lean. Both wore black Sage robes, and the Quietus say they are very powerful.”

“Hmmm…the Quietus…their inclusion into our Kingdom is going to be monster of a conversation.”

“We’ll discuss that later. Do the descriptions help you at all?”

“Black robes…I, um—I’m not knowledgeable about how your Sage abilities work. When you put those Sage robes upon you, do you get to choose the color?”

“I suppose if we wanted to, yes. But when we first transform, a distinctive color appears to reflect something inside of us. The same goes with our eidolons.”

“The Sages of Old used to wear garments such as those,” Master Torill stated. “Black as night. I don’t think it was instinctive though. They wore the robes as a testament to their unity. They all chose the color. At least, that’s what I can remember. We didn’t see the Sages often. Do you recall this?”

“It was before my time,” Arimus said. “I worked within the castle then. I didn’t see much of the Sages either, and when I did, they were in normal clothes. These black robes—do you know what they could mean?”

“I’m unsure, but perhaps this pair knows about the Sages of Old. Maybe their donning of the black robes is a declaration—of their animosity toward the current state of Allay.”

“Just one big statement?” Arimus scoffed. “This pair would have had to only recently become Sages themselves. James said that the Quietus believe the rogue Sages are stronger than us. How is that possible with them being…so young.” His words trailed off as his eyes fell down to the floor. Bastion fidgeted in his seat. He was sure that Arimus was thinking about him.

“Well,” Master Torill continued, “to my knowledge, there is no law saying someone has to be born a Sage on an equal level with everyone else. Such things are even true with our classes and government system. We don’t even choose what Kingdom we are born into.”

“But what could those two want? And how would they even know what the Sages of Old wanted? The old Sage Academy was destroyed and we already went through the material.”

“Maybe they found a way to break in before you had arrived.”

“It’s highly unlikely.”

“Well, I don’t know anyone that is discontent in our Order, at least not to the point they would mingle with Quietus. Disgusting.” The old man said ‘disgusting’ casually, as if it was a fact.

“There’s no one that left your Order? Perhaps even before it was official. I know that you had sermons for the villagers occasionally throughout the years. Was there anyone in your congregation that was displeased with the Kingdom?”

“Everyone was displeased back then. Even you. That’s why you started the Sentinel Academy—to get us out of the cesspool that was our lives. I’m sure that many were thinking of all they could to…hmm.”

“What is it?”

“Now that I think about it…I do recall one. But this was ten years ago, mind you. I wouldn’t even think he was alive still. There was a young man. His name was Ephai. He was a devout member of my Order back then, though it didn’t take much to become one. He was there for every sermon, right outside my porch every two days in rain or shine. He wasn’t a bad kid. Just interested in what I had to say. I guess that was a bit unusual back then,” the old man stopped to chuckle. “But…he did leave one day. He told me that he wouldn’t be coming to my sermons anymore because he got the notion that the Sages of Old were out there somewhere. He knew the stories that everyone else did, of course. There was no reason to believe that the Quietus had not been thorough in their attack, but he believed it just the same. Belief is a very strong notion. It doesn’t matter what that faith is put into, if you believe hard enough, it will make its mark on the world.

“Anyways,” he stopped to give a short cough into his right fist. “He said that there could have been more Sages of Old on away missions, and they just hadn’t come back yet. He decided to go find them, bring them back, and restore the Kingdom. He said that if the villagers weren’t in such fear, everyone would want to hear my sermons.”

“You’re right,” Arimus nodded. “The odds of Ephai being alive are very slim, considering how dangerous the world was back then. We had no allies, and we would have known if he had become a Sage. The Langorans or Prattlians would have mentioned it in our travels. It would have been a spectacle. When we were on our quest, our arrival was a very big deal.”

“Still, it does make me wonder about a few things. Being a man of faith, I tend to come up with theories every now and then, about the Maker, about the world around us. You know, just humoring myself. Nothing serious. Perhaps a theory of mine ends up being the answer to your troubles, considering that these so-called Sages were wearing robes from the old days.”

“What is that?”

“The story of Thorn. Everyone reads it. Many have experienced it in one way or another. Fascinating story. But there has always been something about it that troubled me. He created the ether to hold the souls of both good and evil, and this has been confirmed by your team’s own accounts. I believe Scarlet and Kyran were able to see their loved ones during your journey?”

“They were,” Arimus said, unsure where he was headed with the line of questioning.

“Well, in one part of the story, Thorn says that he was able to defeat the Dark One and keep him apprehended. His plan was to eventually take an army to the gates of Paradise and try to usurp the throne of the Maker to claim as his own.”

“It is a crazy notion.”

“Well,” Master Torill continued, “once you all destroyed the ether and the souls were all freed, the good souls went to Paradise, but the evil ones…where did they go? Was the Dark One freed upon Thorn’s defeat? And even if he was, was he able to round up all those evil souls in time?”

“I don’t know,” Arimus admitted. “But even if that true, they are just souls. They can’t harm us.”

“There is more than one way to harm someone. Maybe an evil soul got to whispering in someone’s ear, telling them about the Sages of Old and kindling their discontent. It’s not far-fetched.”

“It’s not far-fetched for you,” Arimus laughed. “I’m not saying that it’s not possible, but there was evidence of what Thorn was trying to do. He demonstrated his power by showing my colleagues Chloe and Scarlet’s brother. But even before then, there were villagers that had seen their loved ones be denied Paradise. As time went on, and the witness accounts increased, we then decided to act upon it. It wasn’t just complete faith that the stones of power would dispel the ether and solve our problems. We acted once we got some evidence, through the shrines and eyewitness accounts. So surely you understand why we can’t just act upon this “evil spirit” theory of yours.”

“Not until the proverbial ether’s over our Kingdom, right?” Master Torill smiled and folded his hands together. “Well, you had to face forces involving the supernatural once. You may again. Who’s to say? I just have to say. Considering you can mold your souls into weapons and manifest your imagination into tangible objects—I thought you would be a little more open minded.”

“I’ll think about it,” Arimus grunted as he turned to Bastion. “Are you ready? We have other places to look into.” Bastion nodded and Arimus turned back to the old man.

“I hope you find your answers, Arimus,” the old man replied. “Your victory is beneficial for all of us.”

“Thank you,” Arimus said, giving him a nod. Then he and Bastion turned and walked out the door. It wasn’t until they had gotten a safe distance from the house that Arimus snickered.

“What do you think about what he said?” he asked the young Sage. “You’ve read our history.”

Bastion shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure. It’s possible. Based on rumors in the village, there were stories of people seeing their loved ones after Thorn was killed. The sightings have dropped off significantly over the past couple years, or else no one is talking about it anymore. Either way, those sightings would coincide with what Thorn was doing. We could probably assume that if those ‘good souls’ went to Paradise, the bad ones would have to be placed somewhere.”

“And the whole Dark One business?”

“We don’t even know if the Maker exists, let alone the Dark One. Of those two, there is no evidence. Of Paradise and Oblivion, we do. Maybe those places act on their own. Why does there have to be someone guarding them and manning the gates?”

“I don’t know,” Arimus shook his head. “This might all be distraction. We might have to look into the Order some more. Master Torill could be using his knowledge of what we went through to his advantage. Considering we fought manifestations and a man who claimed to be a god, we would certainly think about what he said.”

“Well, those evil souls went somewhere,” Bastion said. “That much we can confirm, but I doubt it’s here on our plane either. From what we know about our eidolons, the soul isn’t strong when it doesn’t have a shell to go back into. I imagine it would disintegrate…or something like that.”

“So the evil souls are either in Oblivion, or somehow in Paradise. I can’t imagine Paradise. Chloe and Kyran would be having a field day up there.”

“Then they have to be in Oblivion…right?”

“Right.”

“I thought we weren’t going to entertain that line of thought,” Bastion laughed. Arimus threw his hands up in the air and just began laughing.

Chapter 17 – Ancient

They reached the top of the mountain, but James was hesitant to proceed any further. Last time he had been attacked by Quietus, but Arimus had been with him. His father-in-law brought a calm to his nerves that he wished had lingered a bit longer. The closer they got to the ruins of Old Prattle, the more nervous he became. And he had to stay brave. Especially since the young Sages behind him could probably sense his apprehension. And that wasn’t good. They were already nervous, and now he was making them question if they were on a suicide mission. It’s not like he had given them a whole lot of information.

James stopped at the edge of the summit and held up a fist for them to halt. He had eight Sages with him, all unseasoned and terrified. He needed their minds like steel.

“Listen, guys. I want you all to have your eidolons out at all times. If you think you’re about to be attacked, then go ahead and strike. Your lives matter first and foremost.”

It was a horrible suggestion. He knew that in the back of his mind a Quietus child could just run out and be killed accidentally. Hakin could have definitely left a second group behind, just in case he and the first group were captured or killed. Still, he didn’t want his Sages slaughtered because they weren’t sure whether to attack or just defend. As long as they accomplished their mission, it would all be worth it. Even if some Quietus died…as long as they got the stones, that was all that mattered.

James blinked rapidly, and he wiped the sweat falling into his eyes. Was this the way of a Sage? Making decisions that were morally and ethically wrong? Just to ensure the safety and security of the Kingdom? At what point did just doing what was right enough? He could tell the Sages not to attack unless ordered, but what if he was apprehended? What if they were killed because they were so busy trying to follow orders that they didn’t have the sense to keep their bodies unharmed. What if…

“I’m sorry,” James said, shaking his head and turning around to face them all. “I’m just thinking about how to go about this.” The young Sages were staring at him with wide, watery eyes and crestfallen faces. After James had stopped their climb, he had just stood there for a while. They didn’t know what that had meant.

“Stay close to me,” he said. “Be mindful of what I do. Don’t be reckless. As I told you before, there could be Quietus hiding here. We’re here to retrieve something. I’m sorry I can’t tell you what just yet. Don’t be afraid to let me do the fighting if you get worried. Just be my backup.” A chorus of nods followed, and James nodded back. “Okay, follow me.”

James stepped slowly, the sound of the crunching snow beneath his feet sounding like an explosion to his ears. With each step they took, his heartbeat was increasing a notch. He cleared his throat and kept walking, hoping that the Sages behind him were too scared themselves to notice.

Once they made it into the courtyard, and the crunching sound disappeared upon their feet hitting brick, he heard the crackling sound. Someone had a fire going. James brought his eidolon out a fourth of the way from his right palm and scanned the area. Up ahead. By the stairs to the castle. He stretched his neck and squinted his eyes as he approached. Light snow was beginning to fall from the skies, and snowflakes began to hit his face, trying to distract him.

The fire had been hidden by a pile of benches, ripped from the courtyard floor. But the benches were just a shield. They weren’t on fire. What was behind them was.

A pile of corpses.

They had been dead for hours, and their flesh had melted away. Based on what he was sensing, this was not the first fire. There were the ashes of old ones underneath the pile. He was unsure whether they were from Hakin’s Quietus group or not. But even if they weren’t, who had done this to them?

Then he felt a presence. He held up a fist to stop the Sages behind him, and they were happy to halt. They remained still as he continued to step forward and behind the massive fire. A man was there, crouching on the ground and fiddling with something. He hadn’t noticed James.

“Who are you?” James said casually, and the man nearly fell over. He glanced behind him quickly and then scurried to the left, taking off into a full sprint. He headed for the stairs, where something was shining from the bottom step. James didn’t take any chances. He unleashed his eidolon and swung at what glinted in his eye. The man stopped short and fell to his knees in front of his destroyed objects. It was only then that James realized—they were four stones—now cut in halves. The shine they once had shimmered and then disappeared. He had been careless!

“Shhhh,” the mysterious man said to the halves. “It’s okay. It’s okay.”