by D. C. Payson
Sheer terror and adrenaline coursing through her body, Julia jumped up and started banging on one of the shuttered windows along the side of the house. “HELP!” she cried. “OPEN UP! PLEASE!”
There was no response.
“Keep going!” Thezdan shouted, running toward her as the charioteer readied for another charge. He reached out in stride and grabbed a farmer’s hoe from against the wall.
Julia pushed off and began running again, watching over her shoulder as the sinister combination of beast and machine churned toward them, the guard swinging his ball and chain maniacally overhead.
Thezdan stopped, turning to face the chariot. He pounded the butt of the hoe into the ground. “Goddess, receive me!” he shouted defiantly.
As the chariot closed, Thezdan began running toward it, screaming aloud the primal yell Julia had heard back in the forest. Then, just as a borum horn was about to impale him, he stepped to the side and spun around, swinging the hoe like an axe at the charioteer. At the same time, the charioteer swung his ball and chain and the two weapons collided, the ball and chain winding around the shaft of the farm tool. Thezdan dug in his feet and pulled, sending the charioteer over the chariot’s side and onto the ground.
The unguided borum charged mindlessly forward. Julia ducked behind the far side of the house to avoid them. She heard a thundering cacophony as the animals and chariot went by and watched as they slowly came to a stop.
As she came out from behind the house, she saw Thezdan, his arms covered in blood. She leaned up against one of the long house’s corner columns and slid down to the ground, spent.
“We don’t have time now,” said Thezdan, fighting to regain his breath. “We have to keep moving.”
Julia held her head in her hands, trying to contain her emotions. “What the hell is happening?”
“I will explain everything,” said Thezdan, dropping down on his haunches beside her, “but you have to trust me just a little longer. We can’t wait here, but we’ll be safe soon!”
Julia looked up into his eyes. She felt her necklace come to life, which combined with his steadiness calmed her just enough for her to regain her wits. She wiped her face and nodded.
“We have to take the chariot,” said Thezdan, helping Julia to her feet. “The Party will kill these farmers for not assisting the guard if they find the chariot here.”
He walked over to the grazing borum and grabbed the reins; the giant beasts barely seemed to notice as they continued nibbling on withered stalks. He stepped up into the chariot and reached back for Julia. “Come, hop on.”
“Do you know how to drive one of these?”
“Black borum? Honestly, no. But as a boy, before the Party restricted borum ownership, I used to drive the wagon we used earlier with field borum. My father had a big one that we called Yemeth, and Yemeth could run at least as fast as these two louts.”
Julia wasn’t reassured by Thezdan’s story. “Just be safe, okay?” She climbed up next to him and grabbed the rail with a death-grip, prepared for the worst.
Thezdan saw her bracing and shook his head. “You can relax,” he said. “I’ll drive carefully.”
After a quick flip of the reins, the borum came to life, lifting their heads from the turf and beginning the journey forward. After a minute of gentle maneuvering, the chariot was back on the dirt road and heading away from the town.
Julia checked over her shoulder; the road behind them was empty.
“What now?” she asked. “I don’t think we can go back there.”
“No, we can’t; the original plan is dead. I’m going to take you back to the forest. We’ll be safe there, and I think I know someone who might be able to help you.”
“Are you sure the Party won’t follow us?”
“No. During the first Purge, their army chased your grandmother all the way to the Order of the Key Monastery, the one you saw up in the mountains. During the march there and back, the Sylvan killed almost a third of their troops. Since then, the Party has avoided the forests.”
“Wow,” said Julia, struggling to imagine the scale of such a culling. “I’m glad they’re on your side.”
“It’s not so simple, but I agree with you,” chuckled Thezdan.
It took Julia a while to shed the lingering fear she felt from the day’s events, but once they were out of the planted farmland and into the open countryside, she actually began to relax slightly. She looked out and wondered what the vast stretches of meadow might have looked like in prior years when they, too, were tilled and planted. Several times, she spotted grazing borum in the distance, presumably the field variety Thezdan had mentioned earlier. They were less hairy, and their horns weren’t quite so long or as pointy as those of the borum pulling the chariot. There were also quite a few patches of dried earth, signals of tragedy along the road.
She looked over toward Thezdan, who either hadn’t noticed her shift in focus or chose to ignore it. A part of her remained frightened by him, his strength, his hidden anger, and his capacity for violence. But he had looked out for her so far and had proved himself an able protector. She was grateful to have found him.
“Thezdan?”
“Yes?”
“Why are you helping me? Why didn’t you give me up in town?”
“ … Why would I do that?”
“I’m pretty sure I just cost you a trading partner. Maybe even your ability to return to Breslin at all.”
Thezdan tugged on the reins and brought the chariot to a halt. He turned around. “I told you that I would keep you safe.”
“You did. Thank you for that.”
Thezdan nodded. “I am a Guardian, which makes me a man of my word.”
Julia smiled. “Well, I’m a Californian, so I can make promises, too. If you help me get home, I will do everything I can to make people aware of what’s going on here. Those farmers shouldn’t have to suffer like that, and you shouldn’t have to live in exile in your own country. When the world knows, change will come.”
Thezdan’s hazel-green eyes twinkled. He turned around again and whipped the borum back into motion. “Perhaps we will be saved by the return of a Vorraver after all.”
Thezdan and Julia arrived at the narrow bridge leading to the forest in the early evening, about an hour before sunset. Thezdan pulled the chariot off the road and brought it to a halt.
“We’ll have to go by foot from here,” he said, dismounting.
Julia hopped down from the chariot and sat on the ground nearby. She was pretty stiff from standing in place for a few hours, and she needed a moment to rest her legs.
Thezdan drew his sword and hacked at the straps connecting the borum to the chariot harnesses. Once the animals were free, he cut their armor loose and delivered a few quick whacks to their rears, sending them running off into the countryside.
The once-menacing chariot now sat in a heap like a piece of roadside junk. Thezdan grabbed hold of it and walked it over to the edge of the riverbank, then he sent it into the roaring waters with a strong shove. Julia sprang to her feet just in time to watch the rapids swallow the chariot whole. A single detached wheel made a brief appearance downstream, discomfiting evidence of the river’s power.
“They’ll be able to track us to the river, but no farther,” said Thezdan, turning to walk toward the bridge. “Let’s go. I want to arrive before dusk.”
“You know,” said Julia, “you still haven’t told me where we’re going. Not really, anyway.”
“As I said before, I know someone who may be able to help you.”
“A friend of yours?”
Thezdan sighed and kept walking.
Julia didn’t quite know how to respond. She followed in silence as they neared the bridge, wondering what he was hiding. Those thoughts soon gave way to other concerns, however, as they came up to the first set of the bridge’s stones. The pit in her stomach returned.
“Stop here,” said Thezdan. “I need
to teach you something.”
Julia’s body tensed. She hoped that his ‘teaching’ would have little to do with the extremely narrow bridge in front of her or the river below.
“There may come a time when you have to cross this span, or another one like it, and you will not have time to crawl. From a very young age, you’ve been able to walk a distance the length of this bridge without deviating but a few fingers either way from your path, and yet you do not trust yourself to do it here.”
Julia nervously shook her head.
Thezdan continued, “What are you afraid of?”
“W-what is this about?”
Thezdan took a step toward her. “By blood I am a Guardian. By fate I may now be your Guardian. But that does not mean I alone can protect you. You must find the strength inside you so that it will be there when you need it. So, I ask again, what are you afraid of?”
“Well,” Julia said, looking past him, “I’m guess I’m afraid of the river, of ending up like the chariot.”
“And you should be. But I am not asking you to swim.”
Julia flashed an insincere grin.
Thezdan faced the bridge. A moment later, his legs burst to life. Julia watched in amazement as he sprinted across the span, seemingly oblivious to the danger below. At the far end, he turned around and drew his sword.
“Trust yourself!” he yelled.
He began running back across. Suddenly, he let out one of his brutal screams and slashed his sword in front of him, the first strike in an elaborate sword dance. Leaping, whirling, and tumbling, he moved across the bridge, striking in all directions with his sword. It was a beautiful display of precision and strength, made all the more incredible by the stage on which it was performed. Closing within yards of Julia, he launched himself into a giant forward roll, driving his sword toward her in a dramatic final thrust. Its point came to rest only an inch from her breast. Julia looked down with a mixture of awe and fear, at a loss for both breath and words.
Thezdan looked into Julia’s eyes with a strong, purposeful stare. “I have done that sequence over a thousand times since my father taught it to me as a young boy. It is almost as natural as walking. I have learned to trust myself and my training, and that trust has made me stronger. Now: walk across this bridge. Trust yourself.”
Julia tried to imagine herself doing as he said. She looked past Thezdan to the bridge in front of her.
“When you cross, look at me,” said Thezdan. “Let your general awareness and peripheral vision guide your steps.”
Julia nodded. “Okay. I’ll try.”
Thezdan turned and crossed the bridge again. At the far side, he waved for her.
Julia took a deep breath. She forced herself to take a step, then a few more. With each one, her mind fixated more and more on the danger beneath her, until, suddenly, she stopped.
“I don’t know if I can do it,” she said, her voice too soft for Thezdan to hear.
Thezdan waved her on again. “Trust yourself! You are stronger than you know!”
Julia dropped to one knee and closed her eyes. Her necklace sprang to life, radiating warmth greater than any she had felt it emit before. She gathered her breath, building courage. Then she rose to her feet, opened her eyes, and began walking. The first few steps were not easy, but they showed the truth of Thezdan’s words.
I can trust myself.
She walked half way across the bridge, then stopped.
“Come, Julia!” Thezdan called. “You can do it!”
Julia ignored him. She clenched her jaw and focused on her endpoint. Her mind was still.
I can trust myself!
She pushed off hard against the stone. Faster and faster she went, running at top speed over the narrow span. The sounds of the wind and river below filled her ears but her concentration never wavered. Finally, she burst across the last few stones and onto the dirt road at the end. She had made it.
Thezdan clutched her arms. “You surprised me,” he said, smiling broadly.
Julia smiled back. “Maybe I surprised myself.”
“Never forget what you felt here. There is great strength inside you, strength that you may need to call on again one day.”
Julia nodded, feeling the natural high of someone who had just accomplished something beyond what they thought possible.
“Unfortunately, we can’t stay and revel in your victory,” said Thezdan, turning to walk up the road. “We’re not far, but it’s getting late. We should go.”
Julia took another moment to catch her breath then scrambled to catch up. “Wait. Where’s Scylld?”
“He is probably nearby in the forest. We will meet up with him tomorrow.”
Thezdan and Julia walked down the road side-by-side, coming to the intersection with the footpath a minute later. Thezdan’s pace slowed.
“Are we going this way?” Julia whispered, surprised.
“Yes.”
“What’s up there?”
Thezdan turned up the path. “People who can help you. I hope.”
Halfway up, as they came around a small bend in the trees, the wall of wood Julia had seen earlier came fully into view. It wasn’t a frontier fort log wall at all; it was a line of thick-trunked trees that had grown together so tightly that many of the trunks had fused. A large opening had been cut into the base of the central tree on the front wall, though a wooden gate sealed it closed on the far side. There was also a boxy guardhouse, almost like an enclosed kids’ treehouse, built on a thick branch above.
Julia couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing. This was a fort, but a living one, with actual trees for walls, branches for ramparts, and a broad canopy ceiling. Through the branches, she could make out a sheer rock face looming in the background, the first sight of the mountains she’d seen since entering the forest the day prior. This was a very narrow part of the forest, only several hundred yards separating the fort from the river.
“Who lives here?” Julia asked, amazed. “How did they get the trees to grow together like this?”
“We believe the Goddess herself commanded the trees to grow together. It was here when we arrived, and we have been here for centuries now, ever since we became aware that she wished us to serve her as Guardians.”
Julia stood still for a moment. “Wait. We? Guardians?”
Thezdan bowed his head and kept walking.
“Thezdan, come on. Where are we going? Is this where you’re from?”
“No. I’m from the Trebain,” he said coolly. “As is most of my clan. But yes, now the surviving Guardians live here.”
“Are you alright?”
“It’s fine. You need not worry for your safety.”
As they approached the gate, a voice rang out from the guardhouse. “Halt. Announce yourself!”
Julia looked up at the source of the sound. There was a teenage boy standing in one of the open windows, his hands clutching a bow and arrow trained on them.
“Notin, I had thought you braver than to shoot those pointed twigs at me!” Thezdan shouted. “Come! Let’s fight like true Guardian warriors!”
The boy lowered his weapon and leaned over the rail of the window. “Is that you, Eodan?”
“Indeed, it is! I have come to see Alana and have brought an honored guest!”
Julia could hear a delighted laugh from the tower as the boy withdrew from the window. She heard him yell something into the interior part of the fort, though she couldn’t quite make out his words.
“Eodan? I thought your name was Thezdan?”
Thezdan shook his head. “He calls me by a title I no longer accept.”
Before she could ask any further questions, the large gate doors began to open.
“Let’s go,” Thezdan said, staring ahead blankly.
Julia wasn’t sure whether he was addressing her or speaking to himself.
The interior of the fort was brimming with people, most of whom had stopped what
they were doing and were facing the gates expectantly. A small horde of young boys rushed forward to greet Thezdan.
“Eodan! You’re back!” shouted one at the head of the pack. He was older than the others, though barely a teenager himself.
Thezdan smiled at him and held out his arms. “Nobrun! How goes your training?”
The young boy ran forward into the open embrace but was surprised when Thezdan pivoted at the last moment and threw him gently to the ground.
“Not very well, it seems!” Thezdan said, jumping on top of the squirming boy and grinning broadly.
“Ease up on the young, No,” called a gruff voice from behind the crowd.
Julia looked up to see an older man limping toward them. He had a long but well-maintained beard, and his nearly shoulder-length hair hung freely like a proud, gray mane. He had a truly incredible physique for a man his age, the ample armholes of his leather tunic revealing muscles larger and perhaps even better-defined than Thezdan’s. As he hobbled forward, Julia could see that his right leg was turned in slightly, and that a metal brace had been wrapped around his leg near the knee.
Thezdan looked up, his grin fading. He let go of the boy and rose to his feet. “Hello, Lothic.”
“I have missed you, Eodan,” said Lothic, smiling genuinely as he came forward and clutched Thezdan’s forearms. “These boys have missed you, too. They could use your guidance in training.”
Thezdan shook him off. “Lothic, I am here because something strange has happened.”
“Oh?” said Lothic, his expression shifting. “Are you alright?”
“Yes, I am fine,” said Thezdan. “But I need to speak with Alana right away.”
Lothic nodded. “Then go to her. I will not keep you.”
“There is no need,” said a woman as the crowd parted in front of her. She looked to be about Lothic’s age, with pale blue eyes and a crop of long, gray hair tied behind her back. She wore a white robe held together by a large brooch made from twigs woven around a central flower. Her movements and posture radiated the quiet seriousness of authority.
