Autumn Dawn (Fate's Intent Book 11)

by Bowles, April

  No one could have appreciated his loyalty more than me but he was right and next time, I’d be glad to have him by my side.

  Two weeks later, we got word that their mothers were returning and we knew what that meant so we quietly started the preparations in hopes to surprise them.

  We walked out to the courtyard that evening where our sons were practicing.

  “Boys.” I called. “We need to talk.”

  They simultaneously sighed and put down their sticks when I used my deep voice like they thought they were going to have some kind of lecture. It kind of took everything we had not to laugh and they followed us inside.

  “Drink this.”

  We each handed our son a glass and thankfully they drank it without question.

  “Aw. What was in that?” Dirk asked.

  “Let us show you.”

  They followed us to the gardens and a crowd cheered when we stepped out. It only took the boys a second to see the obstacles set up for their tasks and they lit up with joy.

  “It’s time.” I said.

  “But mother isn’t back.” Seth said.

  “She is actually. They didn’t want you to know until now and brought back something to help make these challenges seem more challenging.”

  “What is it?” Bryce asked.

  “You just drank it.” Troy explained. “We’re actually surprised there was no questions before you willingly took it.”

  “Then it was something.” Dirk said. “What?”

  “To prove your true greatness, you must do it as any other man would try, by being normal.” I answered.

  It took them a longer moment but they figured it out.

  “You took our powers?” Seth asked.

  “We didn’t take them.” I said. “They have just been limited. This part of life should be done normally. It’s how we did it and it’s how you’ll do it. You’ll be fine.” The boys nodded nervously without argument and took a seat while I did the honors in explaining the ceremony to the crowd. “On this day, we celebrate the transformation of these three boys into men. Their tasks will define them in the most highest of ways as they are tested on individual levels as well as team work. Strength, agility and vitality will be their guides but only discipline will lead them to the finish. Let us begin.”

  The crowd cheered again.

  “This first task is for Dirk.” He stood up and stepped forward. “Your goal is to reach the top platform and as you can see the wall is too smooth to climb. You will have to use your surroundings to build your way up there. Unable to do so will result in a failure. Will you accept this challenge?”

  “I will.”

  “Very well. Begin.”

  He stepped to his task that was compiled of large crates and bricks he would need to place in a certain order to reach the top platform.

  He used his natural strength to pick them up and move them around. He was probably beginning to notice that he didn’t have his full strength and for the first time, he strained to lift something. It was a surprise to him but from our perspective, he did well.

  One by one, he set the bricks in a sturdy pile against the far wall then had begun to build a pyramid on top of those with the crates. Every level he went up, it got harder. He had to carry the heavy crate up the side of his pyramid and place it at the top. We watched on with pride as Dirk picked up the last one and started climbing up the side of the pyramid with it. He slowly made his way to the top at fifteen feet and set the last one on top. He climbed up on it and reached for the platform. He could only just reach it with his fingertips and he would need to show determination if he was to make it up.

  Using his feet, he began to climb, getting more and more of his hands on the platform with every inch. It looked difficult. Without my gift, I doubt that I could have done it and Dirk only added to the ease he had when he had his hands fully up there and flipped himself up the rest of the way, standing proud.

  The crowd cheered for his success and I wasted no time to continue with the next event. “This next task is for Bryce.” He stood up and stepped forward. “Your goal is to make it across the sand pit quickly and reach the platform on the other side without touching the ground. That will result in a failure. Will you accept this challenge?”

  “I will.”

  “Very well. Begin.”

  Bryce stepped up towards the sand pit and took off his vest. There were a few cheers from the crowd that made him smile and he began to climb the ladder to the high platform. It was a long way to the other side but we knew that he could do it and it was only better to see it.

  He took a few steps back and ran toward the edge. It made everyone tense when he jumped off and landed on the first platform. It began to wobble and he understood what I meant when I said it would have to be done quickly. He immediately did a series of flips to the next two platforms before they caved.

  This next gap was too big to flip or even jump across but he didn’t have much time. He went to the wall and ran along it just as the platform he was standing on collapsed down into the sand pit. He landed on the other side and rolled up then jumped toward a rope, swinging from it and landing on another platform on the other side. He then ran to the right and hopped off, landing on another platform then stepped in between two walls and climbed up them by jumping from one to the other quickly until he made it to the top. He climbed up and looked down. The crowd cheered again and Dirk approached to congratulate him.

  “This final individual task is for Seth.” He stood up and stepped forward. “Your goal is also to make it to the platform but your speed and timing is critical as you use them to reach the top. One mistake or misjudgment can result in failure. Will you accept this challenge?”

  “I will.”

  “Very well. Begin.”

  This was my most anticipated moment. Seth had to reach the top the quickest way possible as the pieces were moving in a synchronized pattern. He jumped up to the wall and pushed off, grabbing the first pole and had only five seconds to get off it before it moved. He swung from that to another pole and from that to another. Then he swung toward the wall and pushed off it, grabbing another pole just as it came out. He got up on it and jumped up, grabbing another one above him just as the one he was standing on moved back in. He swung from that one and jumped at a wall. He pushed off it and quickly jumped in between two walls until he got to the top. From there, he ran on a platform and ran along the wall to another pole just as it came out. He had to quickly turn around and climb up on it but the pole started moving back in before he could get up.

  I was getting nervous. If he fell from that height it could possibly kill him but he halted my worry.

  He quickly jumped right, back toward the right wall and grabbed a small nook. He waited there for a second before the pole came out again and then jumped to it. He got up and jumped to the one above it to the left. He swung himself from that one to the left toward a wall and pushed off it, landing on the top platform.

  The crowd cheered again more loudly as Dirk and Bryce went over to him with praises but it wasn’t over yet.

  I put my hand up to calm the crowd. “You have all succeeded in your individual tasks. Well done but now that you’ve gotten yourselves up there you now have to get yourselves down before moving on to your final task. You will notice behind you there is a rope.” They turned around and picked up the rope. “You must do this through the means of teamwork by tying yourselves together at the waist before you begin your descent. Will you accept this challenge?”

  “We will.” They answered together.

  “I will give you a moment to set a strategy.”

  The boys huddled together and talked amongst themselves but I had an advantage to hear their strategy before they show it.

  “This is it.” Seth whispered. “The last thing before our final trial and we all know what that will be.”

  Dirk and Bryce smiled. “A fight.”

  “Exactly. May our experience in battle lead us to victory
but first let us focus on this next task.”

  “We can do it, easily.” Dirk replied.

  “Together.” Bryce said.

  “Follow my lead and stay close.” Seth told them. “I won’t let any of us fail. Pack’s honor.”

  They turned back toward the ledge and looked down at me, ready for me to continue. “During this test you will not be allowed to speak to each other. You must communicate by other means but be wise. A fall can result in an injury or even death. Your teammates are counting on you to keep them alive as you do the same for them. Begin when you’re ready.”

  They tied themselves together tightly, leaving about five feet of rope between each of them. Seth was in front followed by Bryce then Dirk at the end. They walked up to the ledge where they were to get down and looked over. It was a long way to the bottom, about forty-five feet but they could do it.

  They sat down on the ledge of the top platform and jumped down together to another just below them. They landed and walked over to the edge on the left. Dirk stretched one leg across the gap and rested his foot on the wall on the other side. He signaled to the others to start going down because he could hold their weight. They slowly got down to the platform below then Dirk brought his feet together and jumped down to them. They moved right and shimmied along the wall to a ladder and slid down to the platform below. Then they move to the left and one by one jumped down to the platform just three feet below to the left.

  Seth falls into a roll toward the edge and falls off, pulling Bryce along with him. The crowd gasped as they hung over the edge while Dirk was standing on the platform keeping them from falling. He looked down and shook his head as he smiled. He grabbed a hold of the rope and started pulling it toward him. Seth and Bryce started to move up. Once Bryce reached the edge, he grabbed a hold and pulled himself up. He then turned around and helped pull up Seth. Once he was up, they stepped up onto a small ledge and slowly moved left to a hanging rope. One by one, they grabbed it and climbed down to the platform below.

  They took a few steps to the right and saw a set of five step pillars, placed an equal distance apart that they had to jump to, to make it to the ground. They would have to do this perfectly or else someone will fall. Seth jumped to the first one, waited and jumped to the second one at the same time that Bryce jumped to the first one. Seth jumped to the third one as Bryce jumped to the second one while Dirk jumped to the first one and so on until they reached the bottom and untied themselves.

  The crowd cheered and they jogged back to their starting positions.

  Darius and Troy got up from their seats and stood next to me when they reached us and I had to put up my hand again for the crowd to calm down. “Congratulations to you all. You have passed these tests with outstanding efforts and I am pleased to declare that you have stepped out of childhood and now must embark into manhood. Please kneel as your fathers will present you with the ceremonial symbol of your abilities as you will use them to complete your last and final challenge.”

  They kneeled and bowed their heads. We were handed the weapons they would carry with them throughout their life and turned back to reveal them.

  Darius stepped to Dirk and slammed the handle end of a large ax in front of him. Dirk raised his head when his father started to speak. “For my son, Dirk. Bolek, the famed ax of might. A symbol of your strength and ability to wield it. May you let your fate guide such strength for it will bring you great glory.”

  The large ax stood almost height level to his own with a long gold handle and ruby gemstone grips. The head of the ax was an eight pointed double blade, weighing the exact width of the handle for perfect balance made out of genuine ruby with gold blades. We’ve seen this a long time ago but it just gave us more pride because we knew why we were seeing it again.

  Dirk took it and bowed his head then Troy stepped toward Bryce and crossed black twin broadswords into the ground in front of him. Bryce looked up when his father started to speak. “For my son, Bryce. Tarasvin and Asvini, the twin broadswords of haste. A symbol of your agility and confidence to succeed. Your fate will prove to lead you beyond the normal eye to the greatness within yourself.”

  The twin broadswords for Bryce were very unique pieces. They weren’t exactly metal which made them light and they had a single edge blade, each being two and a half feet long. The handles were dark green with a black ring around the start of the blade and were designed for an easy grasp. Gift’s from Kole but he may never know that.

  Bryce took the swords and bowed his head then I stepped toward Seth and placed the greatest straight sword in the ground in front of him. “And lastly for my son, Seth, the renowned sword of the Senian Way, Ashvanghosha. A symbol of your people and loyalty to your country. Passed down to you by all your ancestors before you, leading down to the founder of Seni himself. Fate says the possessor of this sword is destined to many great things as you will be if you so choose to wield it.”

  I have always loved this sword, I admit. It was three and a half feet long with a double edged blade and a gold engraved line down the middle of the blade. The handle was dark blue with a spiked gold hand guard. It was my father’s before this and seeing it again brought me his memory, passing it down to my son as his son will do for his son so it will always remain in our family.

  Seth took the sword and bowed his head.

  “Please rise to your feet as you’ll now proceed to your final task.”

  They stood up and I signaled for the set up. All kinds of people gathered to move around obstacles down in the sand pit under Bryce’s task. In the matter of seconds, they were done and left the grounds.

  “This, gentlemen, is where history shall recite your names. Your final test. A battle of the brave, a battle of the strong and a battle of the sight. Here you shall redeem your titles as men if you so choose to accept it.”

  “We do.” They answered at the same time.

  “Very well. Let us set the scene and so you shall begin.” All the fires were doused except for two campfires and four torches around the perimeter. “This shall take place on a dark night in the middle of the wild. As a company of twenty Leccan soldiers, handpicked from our recent victory of course, settle for the night. They are unaware that a smaller company of only three have been tracking them for days. Your orders were to find and kill any crossing your lands and on this night you finally meet your enemy. Know that this is a battle to the death and know that they have no clue why they are here but will fight for their lives as you do the same. Take no mercy on them and show no fear as they surely would not do the same for you. Now, take your positions and good luck.”

  They walked down into the sand pit with their weapons in hand and hid amongst the obstacles while I signaled for someone to bring out the prisoners.

  A door opened and the twenty Leccan soldiers were de-hooded and forced to exit. None of them knew what was going on but they walked out and saw the fires. Their vision was blocked beyond them so that they couldn’t even see the people watching or enough of the surrounding area to know they were standing within the walls of the palace grounds. It only appeared to be a dark room with no roof but no one tried to escape.

  In the confusion, they soon realized they had no choice but to settle around the fire.

  The boys sat with their backs up against the obstacles and looked at each other. Bryce nodded and was going to peek around and use his vision to see their position but his swords slid against each other and he immediately stopped.

  One of the soldiers around the fire looked up in that direction. “Did you hear that? There’s something in here with us.”

  “Well, if you feel that strongly about it, why don’t you go check?” Another soldier said.

  The first soldier glared over at him and got to his feet, pulling out his sword as the others laughed at him.

  “Shh!” He started walking further into the dark.

  The others turned their head away as the other soldier kept walking. He got closer to where Bryce was and Seth sig
naled to him to be quick about it. Bryce nodded and as soon as the soldier got close enough Bryce sprung out from where he was and sliced him with his blades before hiding again. The other soldiers heard it and looked up.

  “Oh, very funny, Norm.” One of them said. “Trying to scare us?” The soldier didn’t reply as he fell dead to the ground. “Norm?”

  When he wasn’t moving and didn’t reply again, they looked around at each other before one of them stood up. “Norm?” He walked closer to him, being extra cautious. “Are you all right?” He reached him and kneeled down to his side and saw all of the blood. He rose to his feet and looked back towards the fires. “He’s dead.”

  Just then, Dirk swung the large ax and beheaded him before he could stand fully. The others all jumped up and took out their weapons.

  “There is something in here!” One shouted.

  “Then let’s get it!” Another shouted.

  They all headed over that way as Dirk grabbed the soldier’s head and moved to the sides with Seth and Bryce, towards the campfire. The eighteen remaining soldiers reached their fallen comrades and looked around. Seth, Dirk and Bryce came up behind them and were looking around too.

  “Some evil is at work here.” Seth whispered as he stood behind one of the soldiers.

  Bryce gasped. “You don’t mean—”

  “Ah huh.” Dirk agreed. “Ghosts.”

  Their little act made the soldiers uneasy. “What should we do?”

  “Here hold this for me, would you? I’ll check it out.” Dirk handed one of the soldiers the head of the dead one and stepped back.

  The soldier paused there for a second before he looked down at it and noticed he was holding a head. He shrieked and immediately dropped it as the others all turned to him just as Seth drove his sword through the soldier’s stomach. When he pulled it out, the remaining seventeen soldiers attacked.

  Seth ducked out of the way of the first swing and sliced him in the stomach to stand up and kill another to his right. Then he ripped out his sword and swung it out in front of him as it cut down two soldiers at once. He ducked again from another swing then came up and punched that same soldier in the face and slit his throat.