by Caleb Selby
“Used by who?” implored Fedrin.
“By the one whose appointment you are late for,” Drezden said and then smiled again in the way he used to when he knew something Fedrin didn’t, but would eventually.
“Where exactly is this appointment to take place?” Fedrin asked, looking at the area over the bridge for some sign.
“Just cross the bridge Fedrin,” Drezden said with a nod toward the other side. “Just cross and stay on the path until you reach Him.”
“That’s the best you can do for directions old friend?” Fedrin said, taking a step onto the bridge.
Drezden smiled again. “Its all you need Fedrin.”
Fedrin rolled his eyes.
“I find it hard not to envy you,” Drezden added as Fedrin took another step across the footbridge. “Your first face to face meeting with Him is an amazing experience...like none other. I wish I could come with you.”
“Well, come on then,” implored Fedrin, motioning for his friend to follow. “You don’t appear to have that many customers.”
“I must keep the bridge,” Drezden said firmly. “But you must go. You are already late.”
Fedrin shrugged and turned to walk over the bridge when Drezden stepped in front of him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You must pay a toll before crossing,” he said and nodded to a locked wooden box with a hole in it sitting atop a counter in the booth.
“Come again?” Fedrin asked.
“You must pay a toll,” Drezden repeated.
Fedrin shook his head. “I don’t have any credits on me Drezden. I’ve not exactly had a lot of time for shopping these days.”
“He doesn’t want credits,” Drezden said with a smile. “He owns the Norpis on a thousand hills.”
“Then what does He want?”
“Your trust,” Drezden said, nodding toward Fedrin’s pistol. “He wants you to put some of your worries on Him for a change.”
Normally Fedrin wouldn’t dream of being parted from his weapon but in this place the thought wasn’t so unbearable. He reluctantly handed the weapon to Drezden who deposited it straightway into the locked box.
“You are free to go,” Drezden said, pointing to the other side of the bridge.
Fedrin took another step and then turned to Drezden. “Will I see you again?”
Drezden smiled and shook his head. “Yes, but not for awhile.”
Fedrin nodded. “I’ll see you when I see you then,” he said and reached a hand to Drezden.
Drezden ignored the hand and gave Fedrin a big hug which Fedrin returned.
“Now get going,” Drezden said, patting Fedrin on the back.
Fedrin nodded. “Thank you my friend.”
“All in His service,” Drezden said with a wave before redrawing his cloak and looking back over the empty plain.
A few paces after crossing the bridge, Fedrin forgot that he didn’t have a weapon anymore. A few more steps and he started to forget about the amazing encounter with his departed friend.
He walked and walked, not getting tired at all, until he came over the top of a hill and saw it; a gleaming tree in the midst of hundreds of other trees, shown out in the dim light like a young burning star. The smooth bark was a radiating white and the leaves shown with a silvery radiance that illuminated the entire dale. Fixed at irregular intervals about the tree’s boughs were small, golden pear-shaped fruits.
As Fedrin neared the grove he began to feel a strange sensation come over him, like the tree itself was calling to him. He pushed through the tall grasses and branches of the other trees until he stood face to face with the tree. As he looked upon the enchanting beauty of the tree, he seemed to suddenly be enveloped with thoughts, sounds and sensations that he could not control.
“Don’t eat the fruit,” a kind voice seemed to call out to Fedrin as he came nearer. “I know what is best for you. If you take this fruit you’ll be happy for a moment but as a vapor of steam passes away, so will your happiness. You will be left as a hollow vessel that regardless of what is poured into it, will always be empty. Trust me Fedrin, and do not take of it.”
“Take just one,” another serpentine voice suddenly hissed. “There are so many of them. Look, see! No one will miss just one. Go ahead. No one is looking. This is what you’re here for anyway. Take it! No one is watching!”
“I am watching, Fedrin,” the kind voice spoke again. “I am always watching. And while I will not stop you, I implore you for your own sake, do not take the fruit.”
“He’s just a greedy tyrant!” the nasty voice retorted. “He knows if you have one, your eyes will be open and you will be as a god among vermin! Take one and become mighty. Take one and become great. Take one and fight off your enemies! Take one and protect those you love! Take one! Take one! Take one!”
“No!” yelled Fedrin, as he stumbled back from the tree in a daze and panted for breath. “I won’t do it!”
“Very good my son,” a voice suddenly spoke up from behind Fedrin. “You have passed the final test.”
Fedrin turned around sharply and came face to face with a being with whom he could never hope to describe with mere words. He was Namuh, or least appeared Namuh. His face was friendly, yet stern. His eyes shown with wisdom, love and kindness and yet also of power and untold might! His countenance told stories of worlds, galaxies, empires and wars across the expanses of the universe and yet of birds, flowers and songs at the same time. Without a formal introduction, Fedrin felt he could bare his soul to him in complete confidence of his fidelity. If he was the ‘Him’ Drezden had told him of back at the footbridge, Fedrin could see his meaning. The experience was once in a lifetime.
“You’re late,” the figure said in a very warm and friendly voice.
“I am sorry,” Fedrin responded, feeling ashamed rather than defensive.
“No need to apologize,” the figure answered. “I know your journey has been a hard one Fedrin, but you’re here now and that’s what matters.”
Fedrin nodded and then looked down at the ground, trying to gather his thoughts. Some time passed without spoken word when he finally looked back up and pierced the quiet with a question. “Who are you?”
The stranger laughed heartily and then leaned back against one of the trees. “Who am I?” he said and then shook his head as if trying to figure out a way to answer the question in a way Fedrin could understand. “I have many names, Fedrin; I have been called many things throughout the ages by many people. Some of my names are good while others are bad.” He smiled and his face bore the expression of recalling some past event. “You know, someone asked me that question long ago and I answered, ‘I Am.’
“I Am,” Fedrin said quietly. Just hearing himself say it warmed Fedrin from head to toe. “I Am, why am I here?”
I Am laughed. “Its a bit of tongue twister in your language isn’t it?”
Fedrin smiled and nodded. “A little.”
“You can call me Yova then,” I Am answered. “It is the name I originally ascribed to myself for your people when I created you. It means sustainer.”
Fedrin nodded. “Yova then, why am I here?”
“Don’t you know?” Yova answered and smiled.
Fedrin didn’t know how to answer and before he could think of something, Yova raised his hand for quiet. “I love this part,” he whispered as he raised his eyes up toward the mountains.
Fedrin stood to one side of a tree and looked up. “Love what part?” he asked quietly.
“Shhh,” Yova said gently. “Just wait.”
Fedrin turned back and looked up at the reaching mountains. Nothing happened. He was just about to turn away again when suddenly large rays of golden sunlight appeared between two of the mountain summits. The sunlight quickly spread across the range and down the field until it struck Fedrin’s face. Fedrin closed his eyes and soaked it all in.
The strength and power he felt from the rays was nearly intoxicating.
“Wonderful, isn’t it?” asked Yova.
“It’s incredible!” Fedrin exclaimed, his eyes still closed.
The two sat there in quiet for sometime without a word spoken between them. Finally, after several wonderful, silent minutes, Yova walked over to the Grimsin Tree and picked a small piece of the golden fruit that was hanging on a low branch. He then walked back to Fedrin and held it out.
Fedrin looked at the offering skeptically, unsure of what his course of action should be.
Yova smiled, sensing Fedrin’s uneasiness. “Go ahead Fedrin, take it.”
Fedrin slowly reached out and took the small fruit from Yova’s hands. He held it nervously, transfixed by the little oblong item that had brought the weight of the Unmentionables down upon his humble people.
“Every new world is given one Grimsin Tree as part of an initial test to accept or reject me,” Yova spoke. “This tree has also been called the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil which helps better to explain its function.”
“Good and Evil?” Fedrin asked.
Yova nodded. “Those that reject me, partake in the Grimsin fruit against my wishes and gain the knowledge of evil. It never satisfies, never fulfills, and never gives happiness. It always leaves one needing more and more until the soul literally dies under the bombardment of evil and the creature becomes nothing more than an unfulfilled, mindless drone, caring for no one and, in turn, being cared for by no one. It is a miserable, lonely existence that I did not intend for anyone.”
Fedrin eyed the small piece of fruit in his hand suspiciously. “Will that happen to me?”
Yova shook his head. “The power untapped in your minds is more vast than you can possibly imagine Fedrin. More prodigious than even the Sions possess. Technology, tools, weapons, understanding, wisdom, all of these things and more are already yours. I have given this Grimsin fruit to you so that your eyes will be open to this knowledge and so that your race can reach its full potential. For when offered freely, and not taken for self indulgence or vanity, the Grimsin fruit you even now hold yields the knowledge of good for the partaker and for your entire race.”
Fedrin held the fruit up and was just about to take a bite when he stopped, and looked intently at Yova.
“You have a question?” sensed Yova.
“I do,” Fedrin answered.
Yova raised a hand. “Ask away.”
Fedrin stalled a moment before speaking, unsure of how to ask what he wanted to know. “Why do you do all this?” he blurted out. “Why mess around with trees and fruits and chosen races and everything? You are Yova! You are God! You are all powerful! Force your creations to love and honor you if that’s what you want. Make them obey you! It must be within your power so why don’t you do it?”
“A love demanded, is no love at all,” Yova gently replied. “For what good would it do me if I forced all of my creation to love and obey me without giving them a choice to do otherwise?”
Fedrin shook his head, unsatisfied with this answer. “Why not destroy the races that are too far gone from saving? Wipe those ones out and let the rest of us love or reject you on our own terms, without outside influence.”
“I can’t do that,” Yova calmly said.
“Why not?” Fedrin shouted, and then wished he didn’t when he saw the look on Yova’s face. “I’m...sorry,” he then said sincerely. “I didn’t mean to yell.”
“It’s ok,” Yova said reassuringly. “Your passion is commendable...if not misplaced.”
“It’s just that I don’t understand why so many good people have had to die because of a few evil ones,” Fedrin added. “Can you just tell me why you can’t just snap your fingers and make the Unmentionables vanish?”
“Because it is their choice,” Yova replied passionately. “Like we said a moment ago, what enjoyment would it be in having a relationship with someone that was forced love you? You would gain no satisfaction from such a relationship. Nor would I. That is why I want the peoples that I have created to choose me, to choose the way of love, light and life; but if their answer to my offer is no, I can’t simply kill them. For that would be the same as forcing them all over again. Don’t you understand Fedrin? The conflict, the choices, must exist. There will be those that choose me, there will be those that reject me, and sadly, there will be those that hate me. It is the only way for me to have friends...true friends that choose me for who I am and what I’ve done for them...not for what I could do to them if they were to reject me.”
Fedrin reluctantly nodded. He didn’t understand everything Yova had said but the main points had been made.
“I don’t expect you to understand without help,” added Yova kindly. “Your race is indeed very young, the youngest I have ever asked to take on this responsibility; but you have proven yourself over and over again. Your resiliency and adaptability gives you something that few other races possess and that’s why I am asking you to become the next Chosen Race.” Yova finished speaking and looked down at the Grimsin fruit Fedrin still clutched in his hand.
Fedrin too glanced at the fruit and then looked back to Yova. He nodded slowly, knowing what he had to do...what he was destined to do. He then brought the golden fruit to his lips.
He woke up, seemingly days later, beneath the Grimsin Tree; although it bore striking little resemblance to the way he had originally seen it. The leaves no longer gleamed and the bark now appeared dull and grey, like normal tree bark. The golden fruit that once adorned the branches had all shriveled to nothing more than blackened pits. The steady hum and debating voices that had accompanied the tree when Fedrin had first approached it, were now silenced. Everything about the tree was simply ordinary.
After his survey of the tree, Fedrin slowly stood to his feet, and glance around. Yova was nowhere to be seen, although Fedrin felt convinced that he would see him again...someday.
Quite hungry and still not knowing for sure how long he had been there, Fedrin indulged in an impromptu breakfast of a variety of sweet fruits and hardy nuts gathered from some of the trees and bushes nearby. Feeling quite refreshed from the first meal harvested from the garden in untold centuries, Fedrin promptly made his way out of the grove, leaving the once all important Grimsin Tree to be swallowed up into obscurity amongst the other nondescript trees of the garden.
Over hills and through fields he walked in silence, thoroughly enjoying the beauty and tranquility of the ancient garden. As he walked, Fedrin noticed his mind growing sharper by the moment. Layers, of what could only be described as fog, seemed to melt away as complicated thoughts; ideas and theories began to fill his brain. The feeling was strangely liberating for Fedrin, as if he was slowly being freed from an intellectual incarceration he had been in his entire life. The Grimsin was working, Fedrin was sure of it.
He walked and walked until the footbridge he had crossed on his journey to the Grimsin Tree, once again came into view. As he approached, he noticed the booth was empty and Drezden was nowhere to be found. He quickly crossed the bridge and made his way for the garden doorway. He reached it and was just reaching for the handle to the door when a voice spoke up behind him.
“You’ll be needing this,” the voice said, holding out Fedrin’s helmet and attached breathing device.
“Nebod!” Fedrin exclaimed as he looked into the glowing face of the departed former Chief Admiral.
“Hello, Fedrin,” Nebod said with a warm smile.
“But what...” Fedrin started to say but stopped when Nebod shook his head.
“There is no time to talk now,” Nebod said and then nodded at the door. “I just wanted to say hello before you begin this grand undertaking.”
“You are a Sion!” Fedrin exclaimed, noticing Nebod’s glowing completion and soft countenance.
“He is,” the unmistakable voice of Trab said, walki
ng up on the other side of Fedrin.
Fedrin turned around and smiled. “Trab!”
Trab’s eyes shown with admiration and respect. “Glad to see you made it Fedrin.”
“I never could have done it without you!” said Fedrin sincerely.
“Its time to go now,” said Nebod, reaching for the door handle.
“We’ll be seeing you again, Fedrin,” Trab said sincerely and bowed to Fedrin. “Lead the new Chosen Race well!”
Fedrin nodded back to his Sion mentors and took one deep and final breath of the garden’s air before securing his helmet and breathing tube. He then grabbed the brass handle firmly and opened the door.
CHAPTER 21
The Protectors
Reesa and Darion huddled together behind one of the quickly assembled walls in the main bunker. The constant noise of explosions and incessant gunfire sounded right outside the doorway as the Krohns continued their relentless attempts to break in.
“How much longer do you think it’ll hold?” Reesa asked as she rested her weary head on Darion’s shoulder.
Darion shrugged and glanced up at the heavy blast door. “Another half hour or so...maybe,” he guessed and brought his hand up to stroke Reesa’s hair. “That blast door is pretty thick,” he added in a vain attempt to reassure her.
“Do you think the Clear Skies missiles fired?” asked Reesa, looking for reason to justify the horrific carnage about to ensue.
“I’m sure of it,” Darion quietly answered.
A small plate in the upper corner of the door suddenly fell off following a particularly loud explosion. Darion and Reesa didn’t even flinch.
“Do you think Xander and Linea will be ok?” Reesa asked as she stared blankly at the small opening in the door.
Darion held her tighter and glanced across the way at the small access shaft Reesa had used to enter the bunkers, which once again served as a hiding place for the two children. “They’ll be fine,” he said nodding. “And besides, Fedrin is probably here even now and once his marines and fighters are deployed, these Krohns won’t stand a chance.”
