Legends of the Saloli: Vengeance and Mercy

by Adam Bolander

  Climbing out of his tree, Blaze casually made his way to the food pile. Picking an acorn out of it, he sat on his hind legs and began to gnaw at the shell. A cool breeze brushed against his fur, and he shivered slightly. Lowering his nut, Blaze suddenly realized something that he had not noticed before. The summer heat he had grown used to feeling was gone, and the air was chilly.

  “Fall will be here soon,” Rust observed, coming to stand beside Blaze, “Icefire will need to begin stocking up on nuts for the winter. How are you feeling?”

  “I don’t feel any different.” Blaze answered truthfully. Despite the previous night’s events, he did not feel different in the slightest. If he didn’t think about it, he could even forget about the white mark on his brow.

  “I wish I could give you some advice, but I have no idea what it’s like to be so important, so… powerful.” Rust admitted.

  “Stop,” Blaze ordered, “I don’t want to be treated different than any other saloli. I may have a piece of Valde Abbas inside of me, but my heart is still who it was before last night.” He looked his chief in the eye, “I’m still Blaze.”

  Blaze began to gnaw on his acorn again, but looked up once more to say, “By the way, I’ll be sleeping in the Common’s Tree again from now on. I don’t like sleeping alone.” Rust merely nodded.

  As he ate, Blaze reflected on how, despite what he had said, things were different. His body didn’t feel changed, but the way creatures treated him and acted around him were vastly different. For one, he had found that even Rust would obey orders from him without question. Blaze didn’t much like this either, but he supposed that it was all a part of being the Sword. The other creatures looked up to him now, and he would have to make sure that their trust hadn’t been incorrectly placed.

  “Rust!” Another saloli shouted, running in from the forest, “They’re back!”

  Rust ran out to meet the returning patroller, and demanded, “Who? Who’s back?”

  “The white one and his companion. They’ve brought almost fifty more saloli with them as well!”

  Blaze felt a wave of anger wash over him. In all the recent events, he had almost forgotten about Specter’s demands. Didn’t they realize what Icefire was going through right now? Why couldn’t NoTribe just leave them alone?

  Before Rust could send out an interception party, Specter came running into Icefire’s camp, followed by Mask, and then a swarm of other saloli. The fifty saloli that they had brought immediately spread out and surrounded the camp.

  If it comes to a fight, they don’t have nearly enough saloli here to beat Icefire, Blaze found himself calculating, we could win against these odds, but not without heavy casualties on our own side as well. But what happens when the rest of NoTribe gets wind of it?

  Specter strode forward, towards Rust, with a cocky grin on his face, “Hello, Icefire chief. I don’t believe I caught your name last time.”

  “Rust.” Icefire’s chief replied, curtly.

  “Well, Rust, one week has passed, and now it’s time for Blaze to pay his debt,” Specter announced. “If I were you, I would hand that female over this instant.”

  “I’m sorry to inform you, Specter,” Rust replied, not sounding sorry at all, “that the saloli you demanded has been betrothed to another Icefire saloli.”

  A spark of anger came into Specter’s eyes, “Well, then her future husband is going to be very disappointed, isn’t he?”

  A challenging smile brushed Rust’s face, “Why don’t you tell him that yourself?”

  Specter bared his teeth, but kept his composure, “Very well, where is he?”

  “I’m right here,” Blaze called out to the albino, stepping forward.

  “Blaze?” Specter asked, incredulously, “How dare you ask to marry that female when I specifically demanded that she be given to me?” A look of confusion crossed his face, “And what happened to your head?”

  “That’s none of your concern, Specter.” Blaze answered, “What matters now is that you will not take Sunbeam. I don’t care if it starts another war, I will fight you to the death to make sure that she never has to spend a night with the likes of you!”

  Outrage almost made Specter’s crimson eyes glow. “Fine, then!” he shouted, “If that’s what you want, then NoTribe will go to war with Icefire! I hope you’re happy, Blaze, because you’ve just killed every single saloli in this camp!”

  Specter moved as if to attack Blaze, and Blaze immediately went into a defensive stance, when a voice sounded from within Icefire’s ranks.

  “Stop!”

  Surprised by the interruption, both Specter and Blaze froze and turned to look at where the voice had come from. The crowd parted slightly, and Smallthorn stepped out, followed closely by Springthorn, who was trying to look everywhere at once in an effort to understand what was going on.

  “Smallthorn, what are you doing?” Blaze demanded, “Get Springthorn away from here!”

  “No.” Smallthorn replied, “I have to do this.” He turned to look at Specter. “You say you want a son, right?”

  Specter nodded slowly, obviously not sure whether to trust this new saloli or not.

  “Well, then I give you mine.”

  A resounding gasp rang out from Icefire’s ranks. Blaze’s eyes grew large in horror. Abandoning his fighting position, he ran to stand beside his friend. “Smallthorn, have you gone crazy?” He whispered, “What are you doing?”

  Smallthorn looked at Blaze, tears welling up in his eyes, “I can’t do it, Blaze.” He answered, voice hoarse with grief, “I just can’t do it.”

  “You don’t have to! Go take Springthorn back to the nursery tree, fast!”

  Smallthorn shook his head, “No, I mean I can’t raise him. I can’t be his father. It’s too much!”

  Blaze felt a chill run down his spine. “Why not?”

  “I can’t even look at him, Blaze. Every time I see him, all I can think of is Newthorn. It’s too much! I can’t do it.”

  Blaze couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Smallthorn, pull yourself together! You are Springthorn’s father. You love him. Are you really just going to hand him over to a band of outsiders?” Tears streaming down his cheeks, Smallthorn nodded. “No,” Blaze insisted, fury welling up inside of himself now, “I won’t let you!”

  “Blaze,” Faith said, coming to stand beside him, “It isn’t your decision.”

  “But- but…” Blaze stuttered, “You can’t seriously think this is a good idea?”

  “What I think doesn’t matter,” Faith advised him, “Smallthorn is Springthorn’s father. It is his decision, and his alone.”

  “Smallthorn…” Blaze said, turning back to his friend.

  “Blaze, this will bring peace between Icefire and NoTribe.” Smallthorn said before his friend could speak any further, “You know we can’t fight them by ourselves, especially not when we’re fighting Darkcover too. It hurts me to give them Springthorn, but I know that it’ll hurt you far worse to give them Sunbeam.”

  “But I…”

  “No. This is the way it has to be. Please don’t make this any harder than it already is.”

  Without another word, Smallthorn walked around Blaze, Springthorn following directly behind. It took all of Blaze’s strength to keep from grabbing the child in his teeth and running away with him. There was no way this could be right! Still, what Faith had said was true. It wasn’t Blaze’s decision. He could only watch as Smallthorn approached Specter.

  “His name is Springthorn,” he told the albino, “I will give him to you to take as your own son if you promise me you will raise him well.”

  Specter sneered, “What makes you think that I want someone else’s child?”

  “Because you said you wanted a son. You only needed a mate to give you one. If I give you Springthorn, you won’t need to take Sunbeam. I hope I’m right in thinking that you don’t really want a war any more than we do. Take my offer, and you’ll get what you want, and nobody will have to die.”
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  Specter looked at Smallthorn with something between admiration and bewilderment. “Why?” He asked, “Why would you be willing to give me your own son for someone else’s sake?”

  “Because one life is not worth the lives of hundreds of others,” Smallthorn replied, and a fresh wave of tears cascaded down his face. “I don’t like doing this, but I will if it means that my tribe will live on.”

  Specter seemed slightly unnerved by this. Instead of speaking to Smallthorn any further, he turned to look at Springthorn. “Come here, child.” He ordered.

  Slowly and tentatively, Springthorn came to stand before NoTribe’s chief. Looking at him, Blaze realized that Springthorn was no longer a baby. In fact, he was very close to being old enough to become a trainee.

  “Who’re you?” Springthorn asked.

  Specter did not answer, only looked all over Springthorn, evaluating him. Finally, he looked back at Smallthorn.

  “Very well, then. I will take him.” He turned back to Springthorn, “But the name Springthorn will not do. It reeks of tribal customs. From this day forth this child’s name is Fury, because I will teach him to hate the four tribes in this forest like I do.” He looked up, sending a mocking grin towards Rust. “Who knows? He may even be the one to finally bring your flawed society falling down.”

  “Do I have your word that he will be raised well?” Smallthorn demanded, ignoring the insult that had just been thrown.

  “I am the chief of NoTribe,” Specter answered, “He will be given every luxury that I am given, though it isn’t nearly as much as you spoiled tribe saloli are used to. In the end, he will grow up to be three times as strong as any of you, just like all NoTribe saloli are.”

  Smallthorn hung his head, “Very well.” Coming to stand by his son’s side, he looked down on his son for what may have been the last time. “Springthorn, you need to go with this saloli.”

  “Why?” Springthorn asked.

  “Why isn’t important. Just go with him.”

  “When will I come back?”

  “I… I don’t know.” Smallthorn answered.

  “Okay, daddy!” Springthorn agreed, smiling with delight at the thought of meeting someone new. He quickly brushed his cheek with his father’s, the final display of love that he would ever give to his father, and turned to face Specter once more. “Where are we going?”

  For the first time that day, Specter’s face spread into a real smile, not mocking or cocky, but genuinely happy.

  “You’ll see soon,” he promised. “Follow me.”

  At a swish of his tail, NoTribe turned and ran out of Icefire’s camp. Specter turned and walked away slowly so that Springthorn could keep up with him.

  No, Blaze thought, Not Springthorn. Not anymore. His name is Fury now.

  Without a word spoken out loud, Blaze sent a prayer to Valde Abbas, begging him to watch over the innocent child in the nonbelieving tribe.

  Don’t let him forget where he came from, or who he lives for.

  Once they were out of view, Smallthorn turned and slowly walked back to the Common’s Tree, head hung and tail dragging on the ground behind him. Some of Icefire were looking at him with pity, others with disgust, and still others with admiration for doing what he did.

  “Faith,” Blaze said, turning to face the prophet, “How could you let him do that? Springthorn was the only family Smallthorn had left!”

  “Because it was the will of Valde Abbas.” Faith said, simply.

  “But why? Why would he ever want Smallthorn to do something that hurt him so much?”

  Faith looked Blaze in the eye, “Because,” she said, “Valde Abbas has a plan, and that plan sometimes calls for us to sacrifice what is most important to us for the good of others. Earthly happiness is seldom worth fighting for, because it will always go away sooner or later. The only thing on earth that is worth ending lives for is love. Always remember that, Blaze.”

  Without another word, Faith turned and walked away, leaving Blaze to think about what she had said. Love is the only thing worth fighting for? It couldn’t be true. Yet, at the same time, it made sense. Blaze fought Darkcover because he loved his tribe, his friends, and Sunbeam. Goliath killed because he wanted power, and loved no one. Nodding to himself, Blaze understood the difference between himself and Darkcover’s chief. Blaze hated killing, but did it because he had to protect his tribe. Goliath loved to take lives, and would do so simply because it made him feel superior. What greater power was there on earth than the ability to end a life? Killing, Blaze surmised, must make Goliath feel as if he were Valde Abbas himself.

  Chapter Twenty Six

  Despite the previous day’s miserable events, Blaze couldn’t help but feel happy at the thought of what tomorrow would bring. His heart soared every time he looked at Sunbeam. He could hardly comprehend the idea that she would soon be his mate, his to love from then until the day he died. When he closed his eyes, he would see her beautiful face before him, her fur golden as the sunlight she was named for. Her soft, soothing voice would whisper imaginary words into his ear, causing his heart to beat as if it wanted to crawl out of his chest.

  For now, though, he was forced to keep reminding himself, he had work to do. As the Sword, it was his duty to further the efforts made by the other saloli to keep Icefire safe. For every patrol that was sent out, Blaze would make the rounds twice. If something was reported as out of the ordinary, he would be the first to arrive and straighten it out. He wasn’t sure if the actions he took did anything to protect his tribe, but he felt as if he needed to do something, or else he would be neglecting the responsibilities given to him by Valde Abbas.

  It was nearing noon, and Blaze was returning from a lone patrol once again. Not a single Darkcover saloli had been sighted after the attack on their camp, but this did not inspire peace within Icefire’s ranks. They knew now, more than ever before, what they were involved in. To see Goliath’s brutality firsthand confirmed their situation more than anything else could have. There would be no truce, no surrender. The only way this would ever end was utter destruction of one tribe or the other. Still, hope prevailed. After all, they had the Sword.

  “Blaze!” Blaze turned to see Faith coming his way, Ink right behind her.

  “Yes?” he asked. Despite his new status, there was no saloli in Icefire he trusted and admired more than the prophet.

  “With everything that’s been happening lately,” she told him, “I think it’s time to finally reveal the existence of the hidden tribe. They may be willing to help us in our fight. You should start with Ink, since she has the closest connection to them.”

  For a moment, Blaze was confused. Hidden tribe? Did she mean NoTribe? They weren’t hidden anymore. And what connection did Ink have to them? Ink was his former trainee, Scratch’s, twin sister. Instantly, understanding filled Blaze’s head. Without another word, he nodded to the prophet and motioned for Ink to follow him.

  Blaze led the trainee out of camp, halfway to the Groundsky border. It was wrong that she was still a trainee. Scratch had been ready to be promoted a month ago, and the only reason Ink was not as well was because her mentor, Smallthorn, had been neglecting her in the wake of all the tragedy that had befallen him. Not that Blaze blamed him, but good reasoning didn’t help Ink. She was full grown now. It must be humiliating for her to have to sleep in the same tree as the tribe’s children.

  Blaze turned to face her, but she spoke before he could, “You don’t have to tell me, Blaze. I’ve already figured it out.”

  Blaze must have looked confused, because she continued, unbidden, “I worked it out in my head. Rust talking about how Scratch has strange powers, and then his sudden disappearance. Then Faith begins talking about the Black Legion.” She looked Blaze in the eye, “Scratch is in HeartTribe, isn’t he?”

  Blaze was shocked by Ink’s perception. She had figured this out all on her own? Incredible.

  “Yes,” he answered, “Scratch is in HeartTribe now. They’ve been living ver
y close to us for a long time, in this very forest. It’s always been a secret, but now Faith seems to think it’s time they were revealed.”

  “I always knew something was different about Scratch.” Ink reflected, “I’ve been able to feel it. I can’t describe it; I could just tell he wasn’t like the other saloli. As if there was something he had that the other saloli didn’t. Or maybe it was the other way around.”