Ravez responded with an indifferent shrug, leaving Leo to give the last response. He didn’t know what to say. On one hand, Eli was offering a glimpse into his own future—a prophesy into things to come. But Leo had to ask himself…did he want to know? What if he was destined to fail, or die, or lose more loved ones and friends? If that was the case, he would rather live in ignorance. However, when he looked at Diandra’s ecstatic face—her smile overtaking the air itself, he wanted nothing more than for her to be happy.
“…Alright,” he finally said, “Let’s hear it.”
“Very well,” said Eli, with a hesitant smile. His milky white eyes looked back and forth from person to person in the circle. Waves of white echoed the slightest movements in place of pupils. “I will start by saying that the upcoming battle will be tough, but Zane will ultimately triumph over Grindaull, providing they fight without any interference.”
Leo looked at Zane, who was smiling with a new-found confidence in his eyes. He was always the type of guy who was sure of himself, but being told by a Sage that he was destined for victory must have raised his ego to a whole new level.
“I figured the senile old bastard would be no match for me,” said Zane, flexing his arms, in a mock show of strength.
Everyone laughed. It was good for them to know that Grindaull was going to finally face his justice. He had deserved some form of defeat since the day he stepped foot on AzzaNation, and it was almost there.
Eli looked up to Ravez next, “I promise you Ravez that you will know your father…but to do so, you will have to make a tremendous sacrifice.”
Ravez tilted his head slightly, and Leo thought he saw the man twitch his eyes and lips, but he couldn’t tell for sure. Even when an emotionally charged subject was brought up before Ravez, the man was able to keep his composure.
Eli then shifted his gaze to Leo. “Leo Exe…you underestimate yourself more than any person I have ever met, but I promise that you are destined for great things, and you will prove yourself to be a greater champion than any other being, with as bright a future as any star in the universe.”
Dumbstruck, Leo couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This man—this stranger, once again claimed knowledge about him, that the Sage had absolutely no business knowing. And yet…he spoke the truth. Leo did underestimate himself…constantly. Ever since he was a kid, he always wanted to do great things, but he never believed in his heart that he could do them. If only he had the confidence that Eli saw in him, then maybe he could live up to this so called prophetic insight the Sage was sharing. In his confusion, and frustration, he looked over at Zane and Diandra, hoping their silent gazes could help him. They stared back at him smiling, with full confidence in Eli’s words. They knew Eli was right, even if Leo was unsure himself.
Lastly, Eli turned to Diandra and his expression changed drastically. His smile was gone, his face grew grim and saddened, and he took Diandra’s hand in his own. “My dear Diandra…you are about to face unimaginable pain and sorrow. The pain will be excruciating, and it will be traumatic. But through this pain you will find love and a new family that will replace the ones who are lost.”
Diandra let go of Eli’s hand and stood up, confused. “What do you mean I’ll lose my family? My only family are the Egons…” Diandra trailed off as she realized what Eli meant. She locked eyes with the Sage, not saying a word. She was looking for an answer in his eyes—an answer that was different than what he just told her. But he gave no change, no release of her pain. She glanced at her tattoos, that were peeking out from under her cloak. She finally realized the extent of what he told her and tears overwhelmed her. Without looking back at anyone, she turned and sprinted towards the eastern section of the ruins. She ran as fast as she could, and was quickly gone into the woods.
Leo unfortunately knew exactly what Eli was talking about. He had considered it, back at Fort Koivisto, when he was contemplating the reason Grindaull would want Jacob’s teleportation power. The timing of it unfortunately made sense. Diandra had rescued Jacob and Leo in the Singh Desert, and then Zane was brought to Fort Koivisto by the royals. If Grindaull had discovered that Diandra was an Egon, he would be furious, and he would seek vengeance. He would want the Egons dead, and he would want to catch them off guard. Once he had Jacob’s ability, he could teleport to their mountain village and slaughter them all. They would have no time to prepare. No time to fight back, and within minutes, the Egons would be wiped from the face of AzzaNation. They would all be dead…leaving Diandra as the last of her kind.
“I’m going after her,” he said. And in a flash, he was gone.
With Leo’s speed, it didn’t take him long to find her. She was running as fast as she could, not stopping to rest—continually using the energy of the woods to feed her, and keep her going. For the first time, Leo saw her taking the nature’s energy, instead of sharing it. The plants and trees she pulled from began to whither as she ran by. Part of him wanted to let her keep it up, stay with her until they reached the Brotherhood base, but he knew that she needed to talk and rest. This wasn’t her. This was her pain and sorrow.
He used his superior speed to push ahead of her and stand in her way. The shock of seeing him appear in front of her suddenly made Diandra trip on her own feet and stumble to the ground. Once she was still, Leo could see that her face was stained with tears. It broke his heart to see her in such despair—knowing that there was nothing he could do to ease her pain. As she looked up at him, she forced herself to stop her crying, but the effort lasted all of ten seconds before the dams broke once more. She wept into her hands, sobbing and wailing. Leo rushed to her side, without a moment’s hesitation, and wrapped his arms around her. She accepted his embrace and buried her head in his chest, soaking his shirt with tears. He didn’t mind. He would hold her for a thousand years if he had to.
And for a very long time, they remained. Leo held Diandra while she wept, and neither of them had to say a word.
“…Thank you,” said Diandra, sniffling and finally getting her breath and voice back. She sat up, wiped away her tears and stared at him, wishing that either one of them could make all the pain and sorrow go away.
“Anytime,” he said with a half-hearted smile.
“I…I keep wishing with all my soul that it’s not true—that Eli was lying…”
“…I wish he was lying too,” said Leo, he truly wanted this all to be a bad dream—something they could wake up from and start anew.
“But you believe him too, don’t you?” she asked him. She looked into his eyes with desperation and pleading. She wanted him to give her some hope…any hope she could hold onto.
“I…” his voice was caught in his throat, and he couldn’t say the words…so he simply gave the saddest nod he had ever given in his life.
Her eyes dropped to the ground and her head fell onto his chest once again. She didn’t have any words, and neither did he. What words could ease this pain?
As Leo looked for the words he could say to help her in some small way, he finally came up with something. “I know,” he said, solemnly.
She looked up at him slightly confused. “You know?”
“I know what it feels like to lose your family,” he said as his eyes became moist.
“You do?”
He nodded gravely, “My mother died giving birth to me. So, I guess you could say the start of my life was met with tragedy…My father had to raise me himself. He…he was the greatest man I ever knew. He protected me and kept me alive my whole life. And when I was captured by the Royals and taken to Adras…he was executed by Grindaull.”
Diandra sat up straight. She was touched that Leo was sharing something to personal with her—trusting her with his past. She grabbed his hands with her own. The warmth of her hands made Leo’s heart jump. He wished they were connecting under different circumstances, but this was the reality, and he was glad to have her as a friend. She was experiencing something traumatic and awful, and he knew what it felt like to l
ose his family in a similar way, while being too far away and too late to do anything about it. He had to deal with his grief alone, while rotting in his prison cell, but Diandra didn’t have to grieve alone. She had him.
“And you feel responsible?” she asked him, her eyes filled with love and compassion.
“I did at first…I mean, if I didn’t get captured, maybe he’d still be alive.” Leo took a deep breath and then continued. “I did a lot of thinking in Adras…and I realized that I shouldn’t blame myself for his death. He died because we had to hide who I really was. If my father had told the truth when I was registered, I would have been killed or turned in to the military, and if I stayed to be an Intellect, I would have been trapped under Grindaull’s rule, just like him…No Di, there’s only one person who needs to take the blame for the deaths of our loved ones…and that’s the king.”
She stared at him for a long time. Her expression grave. He had given her a lot to think about, and a lot to feel. After a while of running through her inner thoughts, her gaze dropped to the ground beneath them, and the sadness that was once in her eyes was replaced by an aggressive determination.
“You’re right Leo…Grindaull is to blame…And he is the one who should be punished.” She rose to her feet, a new fierceness in her demeanor, “And I say we do whatever we can to bring down the son of a bitch!”
Leo got to his feet and stood beside her. He smiled, with a similar determination that had gotten him through the Adras death tournament, and gave her a nod of solidarity. He reached out his hand for her to take as a sign of respect, but Diandra threw it to the side and embraced him once again. He took a second to truly enjoy the moment, and then he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tight, never wanting to let go. She was the most beautiful and stunning woman he had ever met, and they had just made a connection that was truly special. He had never felt affection like this for anyone else in his life. He had experienced moments of attraction or feelings of appreciation with other people before—other women. But his heart had never skipped the way it did when he saw Diandra’s smile, and he had never been overwhelmed by a desire to help and cherish a person the way he did with her. He respected her dearly, and he was finally realizing that his feelings weren’t just feelings of infatuation. They were so much more…he was falling in love with her. And while that was new and exciting to him, it was also terrifying. He wanted to tell her—to take her in his arms and kiss her, but he couldn’t. He cherished her so much, and he had just helped her through a horrifying and traumatic experience. To profess his love for her now, would be grossly mistimed, and it would put pressure on her that she didn’t need. So, instead of saying anything, he just held her tight, until it was time for the two of them to end their embrace.
But this time before letting Leo go, Diandra gave him a kiss on his cheek and whispered in his ear,
“Thank you Leo.”
And he nearly fainted.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
O nce they reached the Brotherhood’s base, everything happened so fast that Leo barely had a chance to absorb it all. Zane and Ravez had caught up to him and Diandra in the woods outside the Ruins of Sora, and then the four of them quickly travelled the rest of the way to the Hills of the Dead on foot. They made it to the hills by dusk, a few days later, barely taking breaks along the way.
As they reached the first valley, Leo thought he saw a glimmering soldier standing atop one of the high hills, looking down at the grass and valleys below him. The translucent soldier seemed to blend into the air itself. It turned its head ever so slightly towards their group, and the air seemed to get colder. But then suddenly, as Leo observed the spirit, a faint purple haze swept through the hills and enveloped the specter. Once the haze was gone—so was the spirit, and as quick as the air had turned cold, it returned to normal. The speedster’s bones shivered as he thought of the countless other undead that might have been surrounding them. Their souls wandered these hills, restless and angry. He had to wonder…if the purple haze hadn’t taken the spirit away, would their interaction have gone differently? Leo shuddered at the thought.
Once inside the Brotherhood’s base, they were ushered to Michael and Gabrielle immediately to give their briefing. During which time, Diandra got the unpleasant confirmation of the destruction of her village. It seemed as though Grindaull wasted no time at all. As soon as he killed Jacob and gained the ability to teleport, he transported to the Hidden Mountains and laid waste to the Egons. No one knew exactly what happened, but a day later, the royals had transmitted on every frequency that the Egons were no more—accompanied with a warning to anyone else who was thinking of challenging the king.
When Michael played the message for them to hear, Leo noticed that Diandra didn’t shed a tear. Her time of grieving was on pause, and all she seemed to have on her mind was vengeance.
“I know it’s hard to see the light right now,” said Gabrielle, placing her hand on Diandra’s shoulder. But it’s on the horizon. Trust me.”
Diandra forced a smile, but her eyes kept their darkness.
“Well said Gabrielle,” said Michael. “Thank you for your briefing. We have to move fast if we want to catch Grindaull by surprise, so spread the word that there will be a war briefing in an hour.” He motioned to Gabrielle and the two of them left the room in a hurry, off to meet with Kitso and the rest of the Brotherhood’s leadership. With only an hour to plan, they didn’t have a lot of time to come up with their next move.
“The Brotherhood is a charming place,” said Zane with a coy smile. “I think I’ll like it here.”
“If only you had more time to feel at home,” said Leo, as they left the briefing room. As he walked through the doorway, a smaller man bumped into him. The man was carrying a couple crates, stacked on top of one another, and they went flying to the ground.
“What the hell!” exclaimed the man. He had short blonde hair, and bright yellow eyes. “Watch where you’re going, dumbass.”
Leo winced as he suddenly recognized the voice. “Coté?”
The shifter looked up from his fallen crates, and smiled. “Well I’ll be damned, Leo the Butcher…I’m glad to see that the plan worked—I heard that Jacob almost botched the whole thing though.”
“Almost…” said Leo, trailing off, remembering his lost friend.
“…We figured that something went wrong during your mission,” said Coté, apologetically. The energy of the room was heavy, and no one knew what to say. “B—But I’m glad that you survived…and you got Zane here.” Coté gestured to the human psychic, and reached out his hand as a first greeting. “You are Zane, right?”
Zane smiled his winning smile, and took Coté’s hand. “Indeed I am. Pleasure to meet ya, mate.”
“Likewise,” replied Coté. He quickly glanced over Ravez and Diandra, before picking up his dropped crates. “Pleasure to meet all of you.”
Diandra gave another forced smile, and Ravez gave his usual expression of indifference.
“…Okay then, I better go. It was nice seeing you again Leo.” And just like that the man who helped rescue the speedster was gone.
With their spirits at an all-time low, the four walked around aimlessly, until it was time for the briefing. Soon they saw the Brotherhood members rushing back and forth through the hallways, preparing weapons and ships. With every passing minute, they got closer to the battle ahead. Eventually, everyone gathered in one of the main cargo holds, and Michael stood on a make-shift stage, facing all his loyal soldiers.
“Alright everyone, this is the moment we’ve been fighting for. This is our final fight—win or lose.” Everyone was silent for their fearless leader. They gave him their undivided attention, nodding in agreement, and taking everything in. “As we know, KL’en is one of the most fortified cities in AzzaNation. Built by the Mountain Drakes centuries ago, it has the protection of Mount Adjourn itself. The Royal Palace is of course built into the mountain, with the rest of the city expanding from it. This wouldn’t be th
at bad, but of course the entire city is protected by a hundred-foot-high wall made of reinforced tythril. On top of those walls are ELC cannons and Royal soldiers—who make a ground assault nearly impossible.”
Michael stopped and surveyed the crowd. The few hundred soldiers under his command were not scared, or swayed by the odds. They only wanted to know his plan, and they would follow it without question.
“Grindaull has made himself a comfy little fortress, and he would never expect an attack…which is exactly why we’re going to do it.” Most of the brotherhood members, at this point looked confused, and Michael did his best to ease their tension. “We cannot win a long-winded siege…but we can distract Grindaull’s forces while a splinter group sneaks into the Royal Palace and assassinates the mad king.”
A few soldiers cheered at this prospect, and Michael had to raise his hand to calm them down. “Now that we have Zane with us, we are destined to win. If we can get him to the King, fate will take care of the rest.”
Leo noticed some of the Brotherhood members sneaking glances at the savior, and Zane was loving every minute of it.
“And to aid our savior, I have chosen Kitso to lead the team—along with Rome, Ravez and Leo Exe.”
Leo froze. Why was he chosen to go on this splinter mission? This group had to be filled with the best of the best. And he was not the best. There had to be some sort of mistake. But as he looked towards Michael, his confidence wavering in himself, he noticed that the angelic High Commander was looking back at him, with the most confident smile Leo had ever seen. This man didn’t make mistakes. He truly believed in the young speedster, and he was willing to put the fate of AzzaNation on the line to prove it.
“As for everyone else,” continued Michael, looking back over the crowd. “We are going to do the impossible and lay a full-scale assault on the walls of KL’en…Because just in case our splinter group fails, we need to take the Royal city one way or another.” Michael smiled, and raised his fist in a salute to his fine soldiers, standing in front of him. They all returned the gesture, proud to be a part of such a monumentous moment of change.
The Chronicles of AzzaNation: Dawn of a New Age Page 23
