***
“I am getting really tired,” Elder gasped from the back of the formation. “How long has it been?”
“About a half hour or so,” Achan panted through the sweat that blinded him. “Alright, everyone stop for now.”
The troop ceased their running and practically fell over in a stupor, panting and gasping for air.
“We’ll rest for five minutes, and then we have to keep on moving,” Achan stated.
“Can I ask you something, Achan?” James inquired as Achan wiped his brow.
“What is it?”
“Can a Sage defeat a Langoran?”
Achan rolled his eyes.
“Yes, I’m sure one could.”
“Then if the infantry is so great and so much better than a Sage, why are we running?”
Everyone listened in after that comment.
“It would be different if we had battle experience, but we don’t. It’s better to retreat for now.”
“What kind of infantry is only good at retreating? Don’t we have to fight to gain experience?”
“Better to fight in a controlled environment back home, where even if an accident happened and we die, we could still go to Paradise. Here, if we fight a Langoran who wants our very blood, and die, we go to Oblivion. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Would you run away if you were King?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Hey! Hey!” Elder said, stepping between them. “No time for arguing. Our five minutes is basically up. I feel better now and I was last in line, so we should be able to resume now.”
Achan glared suspiciously at James who stood his ground, staring deep into Achan’s eyes.
“When we get back, we’ll discuss what you’re really trying to say,” Achan said, turning his back, and beginning to run. The others ran past James who stood with Elder.
“Are you trying to get me on bad terms with him?” Elder exclaimed. “Don’t tell him I told you about his feelings for Catherine!”
“Why not? I want to hear it from his own mouth.”
“James, you can’t just challenge anyone who has an interest in Catherine. You’re not her boyfriend. Besides, it’s about what she wants, and what she would want right now is for all of us to make it out of this forest alive, so let’s go!”
“You’re right, Elder, as always.”
Elder and James began running to catch up with the rest of the troop. It didn’t take them long. They had only jogged a handful of steps when they saw Achan and the others up ahead, standing motionless and shaking as a gigantic monster stepped onto the path. He was tall. Too tall to be from Allay. His hairless pale skin shone even in the dull forest light. His muscles rippled every second or so, as if he were flexing each one on his body at the same time, but James knew it had to be from the built up energy that was surging inside of him, involuntarily making him stronger. The monster balled up a fist, about a foot in length, and pounded his chest ferociously. The booming thud sent sonic booms throughout the forest. Achan and the others covered their ears from the crippling sound. The monster laughed from deep within his stomach and took a step forward, his foot sinking deep into the forest soil. His shirt and pants, made to stretch, were struggling not to snap from his inhuman body mass. The others backed up, but Achan stood vigilant.
“You’re a Langoran, aren’t you?”
The monster answered with a slap across Achan’s face.
James could hear a crack come from Achan’s body as he flew to the side of the trail. He crumpled into a lifeless ball when he hit the ground. The monster scanned the crowd for a moment, looking for the stone that had been taken. Seeing Alicia clutching to it as if it were her life, the monster’s half-shut eyes lit up and he stampeded toward her. Larry was the first one in the way. Frozen in terror, he could only remain stationary as the monster slammed into him. Larry went limp and didn’t get back up. Tyler tried to slice the monster’s thick hide with his sword, but the blade barely produced a paper cut. The monster reared and back-handed him while continuing to make his way to Alicia. Tyler flew to the side and hit a tree with a loud thud. James and Elder could only watch as the monster grabbed Alicia’s sides with two hands and began to squeeze. Her cries woke them out of their daze.
“We have to do something,” James muttered, but he didn’t make a move. His eyes were still transfixed on the still bodies of Achan, Tyler and Larry lying on the ground. He glanced at Elder, who began to get teary-eyed at the sight.
“I can’t just stand here any longer,” Chrillian muttered.
James grabbed his sword and ran toward the monster mindlessly, unsure of what he could do. He lunged forward, only to have Chrillian tackle him in mid-air.
“What do you think you’re doing!?! We have to run away from this thing!”
James collected himself and realized that Alicia was nowhere to be found. London was running as fast as he could down the trail, stone in hand. The monster immediately gave pursuit.
“I don’t know what happens if we don’t bring back the stone,” London yelled out. “But right now, I really don’t care!”
“Agreed,” Chrillian said quickly. “Elder! We should leave!”
James, Chrillian, Elder, and Rahima deviated from the trail and began stepping into the brush of the forest itself, cautiously trying to avoid as much muck and debris as they could.
“If what Achan said is correct, there are four more of those things out here,” Elder whispered. “And we have no idea where they are.”
James shuddered at the thought, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the comrades he left behind.
“Maybe we should have checked to see if there were any survivors,” Rahima spoke up, somehow mirroring his thoughts. James immediately agreed. They weren’t safe at all. No more than they were a minute ago anyway. They might as well check their fallen comrades to see if any were still alive.
“Let’s go back,” James said firmly. Chrillian and Elder looked at him and Rahima with looks of disbelief but finally their faces dropped in acceptance.
“It’s the right thing to do,” Elder admitted as they all reluctantly turned around.
A rustling behind them interrupted their conversation. James and the others turned to see three more Langorans (one of them being significantly bigger than the others) and a very short, skinny man that seemed to hold on to the big one’s shoulder like an anchor.
“What’s the point of going back if you have yourself to worry about?” he spoke boldly.
“You can’t be a Langoran,” Elder said. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, these are my brethren now,” the skinny man said, waving his hand down toward the Langorans. “And I don’t need to explain my origins to children. I have a feeling I’ll be explaining myself enough to all of your parents.”
“Do you really think you’re going to storm into Allay with three Langorans and your skinny self?” Rahima spoke a little too arrogantly. Alexander took note.
“Not really. I only want one Allayan to die. One of your proctors actually. He has caused me a lot of heartache over the past six years. I just want to return the favor. But enough about me, what about you? How do you Allayan brats wish to say farewell to this world?”
James stood before the monsters and refused to believe that his fate had arrived. Was his time really up? There had to be more than this. More to experience. More to tell Catherine…
“I still haven’t apologized!” James yelled, catching the attention of the Langoran squad. James unsheathed his sword and Alexander immediately took action.
“Kill that one first. The zealous one always has to die first to decrease morale. An example.”
One of the Langorans bellowed a cry of glee as he pounded toward James. James’ adrenaline immediately shot up and he almost fell to the ground trying to escape. The monster plowed through the trees, knocking down everything in his way, reaching for James’ collar more than once a
nd barely missing each time. James didn’t look back, running as fast he could through the thick foliage and scraping himself endlessly on stray branches.
The monster started to get annoyed, and that was what James wanted. It meant he wouldn’t think as much—not that he was thinking much to begin with. James realized that he did feel a little proud about having some sense of strategy in the midst of conflict. James had been too scared to think when the Langorans had first showed up, but now that the monster behind him was getting frustrated and somewhat tired, he had some time to consider what he should do about the situation.
Obviously, the monster was too powerful to face alone. Trying to pierce him was out of the question. His skin was too thick. Knocking him out could work if James had the proper time to lay a trap. But there wasn’t much time. At any moment he could lose his footing on a branch he didn’t see or stumble across a ledge that could lead to his death...an idea crossed James’ mind, but it sounded almost too crazy, and it was very dangerous. Still, it was all he could come up with at the moment. He would have to deal with the consequences later. James kept running, glancing around him for the beacon of light he so desperately needed. Making sure he ran toward the direction of the pedestal, he finally found it. The light emanating from the stone they had placed there earlier. James corrected his path accordingly, the brute slowing down even more as he got caught in some vines for a moment. It didn’t matter, James needed time to survey the area.
James looked around the pedestal for a sign of the prison the Langorans had come from. Seeing a large crater—created from where the Langorans had been crowded together under the earth—James took a deep breath and went inside, knowing the monster behind him lost sight of him as he bellowed in anger and disbelief.
It was dark, musty, and covered in cobwebs and debris. The thick smell of mold that permeated the air was stifling, causing him to involuntarily cough. As soon as he did, he realized his mistake as he heard increased sounds of rustling and grunts of disapproval. A low whine of help made its way toward him. It was impossible to see where it had come from, but James knew he had found the right place. He only had to be careful of where he stepped.
As his eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light that shined through the cracks in the ceiling, James could see the Langorans, chained to the wall and staring at him in awe. Strangely, they made no attempts to attack or break out of their chains. If he didn’t know any better, he would almost say they were afraid of him, but that couldn’t be. He was just a child to them, and an insect to their physique. What could he possibly do?
Still, he remained cautious, stepping around their legs as they huffed. Their gazes never left his face. The room was long; rows of Langorans were chained to the sides, with only a few meters between each of them, all looking the same—the same clothing, the same muscles. He ignored his fears of one breaking loose and finally made his way to the end of the room where loose chains hung idly from the wall.
These have to be the chains those Langorans came from, he thought.
It was there he would make his stand against the Langoran that was chasing him. It was a stupid plan, through and through, but he saw no other options. If he could somehow get the Langoran down into the basement, and even get one chain on him, it would be enough to slow him down exponentially. After, he would slowly get the chains wrapped around him, trapping him back down there. He had faith in the chains’ holding power. After all, they kept so many of the other Langorans at bay.
James knew his pursuer was still outside, probably wondering if his prey was actually stupid enough to go into a room full of Langorans. James waited for a moment, wondering what was the best way to lure his adversary into the prison, when something occurred to him. If the Langoran came downstairs, wouldn’t he try to free one of his comrades? No, the chains were too tight. He did start out down here after all. Surely he had tried already…but there was also another matter to consider. Suppose he had overheard about the stone and how picking it up from its resting place would release the chains? What if he happened to stumble across the stone and released the other prisoners? James could barely afford to be downstairs with one Langoran, let alone dozens! James began to run toward the door when the Langoran bumbled down the stairs in a hurry. James backed up further into the darkness, knowing it would take a little time for the Langoran’s eyes to adjust. He had but a moment to take advantage of his blindness.
Lunging forward, sword in hand, James aimed for the Langoran’s neck, which happened to turn at the last second. Still, it nicked his collarbone, causing the Langoran to reel back in agony. James knew that was all the time he had for a swing and so he backed away once again. It took only seconds for the Langoran to notice him. He roared and plowed toward James in fury. James dived at the last second from the raging monster and rolled out of the way. The Langoran tried to cease his assault, but his attempt at stopping just sent him sprawling into the back wall. He gathered his footing and turned around to make another pass. James maintained his composure, already feeling that his plan was going better than he had hoped.
The Langoran ran once more. James waited for the last second to dodge, then he ducked down below the Langoran’s reaching arms and cut a flesh wound into the Langoran’s left leg, just as he passed by.
If that slows his running down only by a second, he thought, It was worth it.
James smiled at the Langoran as he lifted up his head in anger and screamed at the ceiling. For some reason, the big guy just didn’t seem to get it—that it was hard to maneuver quickly at such a full charge. All he could think about were his colleagues watching him, as he was cut down, little by little, by a child.
And an Allayan child at that.
The Langoran bared his teeth and stuck both arms out to the side as he began his signature sprint toward James. James took note of how he was trying to cover as much escape room as possible, and planned accordingly. Headed toward a set of chains, James backed up until the tip of his fingers grazed the granite wall. His foot brushed against a stray chain on the ground. The confirmation soothed his soul. James sighed. This was it.
The Langoran ran faster this time, trying to catch James off guard. James waited for a moment of opportunity and sidestepped out of the way. What he hadn’t planned on was the Langoran trying to tackle him. He dove through the air, doing a sort of swan dive towards him, and although he missed his body, the Langoran’s extended right arm brushed James’ shoulder as he moved out of the way.
The strength surging through just one of those fingertips was enough to knock James off balance. James staggered back, grunting and trying to get his body’s motion under control. He managed to stay on his feet, but he had strayed far enough to bump into the body of a chained Langoran. The chained Langoran head-butted him slightly in the shoulder. It didn’t hurt, but the distraction was long enough to give the free Langoran the upper hand, who had enough time to get up from his awkward dive, run over, and grab James by the arm.
Pulling James toward him, the Langoran gave James a bear hug from the back, squeezing him until he could hear his bones creaking under the pressure. James tried to fight him, but he knew he was done. All his kicking and yelling at the Langoran wasn’t getting through. And he could already feel his vision blurring from the pain, when an unexpected shout from the prison’s entrance momentarily stopped the crushing.
“Let him go!” the mysterious voice said once again. James tilted a weary head to the right to see a Langoran, smaller in stature than his cohorts, with even a tuft of hair on the side of his right temple, looking up toward them with anxious eyes.
“I said, let him go!”
“AND WHY...” a voice called from the entrance. James recognized it immediately as the small man who rode the Langoran’s back. “-would we be so foolish as to do such a thing?”
The pleading Langoran fell silent as Alexander studied James, who was trying to build up his strength for one more game of tug-of-war.
“Don�
�t worry,” Alexander said. “I allowed your friends to get away, but not without a chaperone. I left one of my comrades behind to follow them for the best route back to Allay, in which he will kill them upon arrival. The only reason I came back here was to free the rest of us with a lift of that stone, but low and behold, what do I find, but you, still alive. That intrigues me, because a Langoran of his stature should have caught up to you and slaughtered you a while ago.”
“You knew…about the stone?” James heaved, wiggling a little. Alexander noticed but gave no response.
“Of course. This isn’t the first time I’ve been ‘freed.’ There was another test some Allayan children were participating in, during which I had been let go. But I stayed here in patience. I waited for everyone to leave the perimeter, examined the stone for myself, realized that its release had freed me, promptly went back downstairs and chained myself back up for the next test. Sometimes the right time to strike is not the first opportunity. See, now is the time. Now I have a set of eyes trailing the children on their route back to the village. And, since I am fully aware that this is an ongoing test, I have determined that there has to be some Allayan adults watching in the distance. Of course, this exam is probably not going as planned. They’re probably so concerned with the safety of the students right now, they’ve probably forgotten all about me, if they even saw me in the first place, that is.”
Alexander rubbed his bottom lip with his index finger and glared at James.
“Tell me something, and it would be wise to speak truthfully…Are you a Sage?”
James didn’t reply, only taking deeper breaths, trying to calm down.
“I ask because you shouldn’t be alive, and I was standing there long enough to see what you were trying to do to him, how you were trying to use the chains…or better yet, yes, actually that would make more sense…maybe you are a Sage-in-training, am I right? That would explain your youth and tactics at the same time, while also explaining why you didn’t just pull out your eidolon to slay him. Maybe you have pulled it out once, but you can’t do it whenever you like yet. Therefore you’re taking the infantry exam.”
“You…know about -”
“- the eidolon? Of course! The five Kingdoms were established long before your great grandparents were born. We are all fully aware, generally speaking, of each others’ strengths and weaknesses. The eidolon has a lot of power, or so I’ve studied. I would like to see it myself.”
“No.”
“Being stubborn doesn’t make you a hero. Only dead. Break his foot.”
“What?” James exclaimed as the Langoran released his hold on James, dropping him to the floor. Before James could scramble away, the Langoran smashed his foot down hard onto James’ left leg. It felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it as he immediately lost all feeling in his leg. All that remained was the alarming pain that shot up his body. His mind went numb as his screams replaced rational thought. Alexander tried stifling his laughter.
“I said his foot, you fool,” he chuckled. “That’s going to take a long time to heal, if at all.”
The Langoran shrugged his shoulders, a lot calmer now that Alexander was there. Someone to think for him. James reached toward Alexander, unaware of what he was doing, but the Prattlian just stepped away and laughed some more.
“Leave us, fool,” he said playfully to his companion. “Go and hold up the stone, sitting on the pedestal upstairs for no less than ten minutes. I want every Langoran here freed and gone.”
The Langoran nodded and pounded up the stairs as James realized the seriousness of the situation, but what could he do? He couldn’t move due to his shattered leg, and it looked like Alexander was right about the proctors being busy with the recruits. No one was going to save him…
“Now that we are alone, I want you to show me your eidolon.”
“No,” James muttered through tears, despite knowing what had happened to him the last time he refused. “Why do you need to see it?”
“I want to know all about it, for when we face Allay. When I know how to counter an eidolon, we will take Allay completely. They are already wounded from the siege years ago so it should be easy. Back then, Languor or Prattle couldn’t even breathe on Allay. Now, they are weak and defenseless. Now is the time to strike, while I have my Langoran brothers fueled by dormancy, and you will help me, by releasing your eidolon.”
“I won’t do it…”
“What is holding you back? Loyalty? Honor? Grandeur? What are these things but fabricated ideals to keep people like you and me from achieving our dreams? We are all selfish. We are brought up to believe that desiring things for ourselves is wrong, but innately, we are all overflowing with greed. Should you get a promotion at a job, wouldn’t you accept it? Sure, you would. But why? You have been working hard, and you feel you deserve more, sure…but you are content in your position. You’re making ends meet. Shouldn’t you pass it up for the next fellow, who may need that job just a little bit more? Suppose you fall in love and the people around you disagree with your choice of mate? Should you forsake your love for the happiness and tranquility of their minds? The list goes on, Sage. Love and money are two of the strongest desires for all people, and yet, to achieve them, they require a great deal of selfishness. So what is holding you back from showing me what I want to see? Fear? Tell you what, I’m a reasonable man. Should you show me what I want to see right now, I will allow you to join our cause. All you have to do is prove your worth. Give me information, and kill one Allayan, and I will trust you completely. How does that sound?”
“Crazy,” James grunted. “A Sage is not selfish…”
“HA!” Alexander exclaimed, before rustling his hand through James’ hair. “A Sage may not be selfish, but he is still a puppet. To become a Sage, you have to be willing to give up all your innate desires for what? Death? Because that’s what it ultimately comes down to. A Sage always dies well before his time. That is a common Prattlian saying, about Allayan Sages.”
“Everyone dies at some point…”
“We get only one life, and after that, we are subjected to Paradise or Oblivion, according to our deeds.”
“I think I know where you’re going…”
“A comedian to the end. Yes, I am on my way to Oblivion. My bags are packed, and the transportation won’t be late. When my time comes, I will face the music…should it come. If there is a way to extend my existence, maybe even achieve immortality...who knows?”
“No one lives forever.”
“So we are taught. So we believe. So we fear. We are already eternal beings, otherwise there would be no reason for Oblivion and Paradise to exist. Did you ever think of that? Sure, I believe in the Maker, despite how strange that may sound, but I also believe in the Dark One, and let me tell you something about the two of them, concerning our existence. There are no neutral sides, in this life or the next. You will always have to choose. Whether you claim neutrality or not, your actions choose a side. You can’t have it both ways. The already defined ‘good and evil’ are in place. People want to stay gray, stay confused, stay hazy in ignorant bliss, thinking that, at the end, it will save them. That ignorance will save them. But even our own laws frown on ignorance. Break a law in ignorance and you still pay the penalty. Do you understand, now? You have to choose a side, and you have to stick with it with all of your heart and soul. I made my decision long ago, and for my dedication, I will be awarded accordingly. Listen, I know you’re only a child, but even a child must decide at some point, and your time is now. My name is Alexander, and I will be the villain of your story.”
Without another word, Alexander stomped on James’ crushed leg with all of his might, laughing madly as James blacked out from the pain. The Langorans sitting near the spectacle shuddered at how such a small man, could be so scary…
The Last of the Sages (Sage Saga, Book 1) Page 16
