"My son."
"Neither will he make you free. What is it you wish to know?"
"Myself."
"And in that, and only in that, will you find your freedom."
"Can you teach me?"
While looking deeply into her eyes as if he was trying to study and assess her merit, he paused and again tilted his head slightly to the left, "Yes." And just as abruptly as he answered, he turned and dissolved into the crowd leaving her no choice but to follow and leave all that she had known for the last three years behind.
A single moment before she had gathered her substance to follow, her hand was gripped firmly and she was pulled in the opposite direction. "Soliana, come quickly, the fire throwers are about to begin. You must see them!" said an excited Hithana.
While her eyes lingered and attempted to remain connected to the dark grey haired man, Hithana continued to drag her toward their main stage. There was a huge crowd gathered, quite possibly even larger than the size of the one attending her performance. It had been suggested to her that she should learn the art of fire throwing to incorporate into her own act, and while it would certainly increase her fame, it would no doubt cannibalize the renown of the true fire throwers, and that was something she would not allow. She had always enjoyed watching them, in part because Markis was the central figure. In spite of her closeness to him, she was unable to learn the secret to their act. Closely guarded, none outside of their inner circle was able to learn this secret, and none ever would.
As the act progressed, seeing fire leap from hand to hand and thrown from their very mouths, set against the sounds of thundering drums whose rhythms were created to insight the wonderment of magic, Soliana could not remover her attention from the memory of the battle at her performance, specifically the dark-grey haired man. It was his feet that mesmerized her memory more than anything else. Because she had learned to dance, she understood the premise and importance that it was the footwork to set the fluidity of the rest of the body. Without the feet, there was no foundation upon which all other movements, even those of subtle nature, could be used to build her enthralling spells. And while every step, slide, and skip she performed held her audience in a movement induced thrall, he was able to direct those who were combatting him into the very movements he required to speed their departure.
"My Lady," she heard an unseen voice from behind whisper to her ears, "What is it you saw?"
His voice did not startle her; rather, it settled her and sealed her giving her answer to his question "I saw you."
And he understood this to mean exactly as it was spoken. For she did not see him in flesh and blood, she saw him in the steps of his feet and the tip of his blade. He was, in that moment, existing as the lethal expression of his intent possessing everything necessary in and of himself. "A second time I have said yes and I will not again," he said as he turned and strode away, leaving her with a choice to make. Though, in reality, there was no choice to make; for she already knew what it is she wanted, what she needed.
That was it. This was his first lesson and test. He was seeking to measure her resolve by seeing if she was able to break herself away from all aspects of familiarity and comfortability she had known and used to define herself. For definitions were limiting in their very nature, and to become what he wanted her to become, what she wanted to become, what she needed to become, she had to become limitless; therefore, she had to leave her defining aspects and identities to rest in the grave of her past. At its very core, he was asking if she possessed that which was necessary to do that which was necessary.
She looked fondly to Markis, who was in the middle of blowing great balls of fire into the sky while the other companions of fire were throwing smaller balls of fire in front of and behind him. She was going to miss his company and companionship, although she knew his passing would be rather quick. Many thought they were in love and truly together, but she knew otherwise. She looked to Hithana, a woman whom she had grown very fond of and shared the closest thing to love with since her time with Eriboth. She would miss her most of all; the warmth of her skin as they were lying together in the early morning hours of the crisp and cool dawn. She was the only woman whose bed she shared and would remain so regardless of the new direction of her life.
Gasping the raven haired woman's head and turning it toward her own, she kissed her one final time upon her lips. Pulling away, she pushed the single lock of black hair that had fallen in front of Hithana's steel gray eyes to clearly see them one more time. "What was that for?" Hithana asked because it was unlike Soliana to show any spontaneous signs of outward affection.
"I shall miss you, all of you. Please tell Markis of my gratitude," said Soliana as a tear grew to hang upon her lash.
"What do you mean?” asked Hithana, playfully seeking another kiss.
“You all have been so good and accepting to me without knowing me at all. You will all have a place in my heart,” Soliana said as the tear upon her lash fell to land upon her cheek.
Pausing long enough for her playful smile to change to a look of melancholy disbelief, Hithana asked, “You are leaving us? But why?”
“I must go Hithana. I have but this one chance to find what I have been looking for. This one chance to right the wrongs I am responsible for,” she said as another tear formed on her second lash.
In more disbelief than hurt, Hithana reached to grasp Soliana around the waist, “You cannot go, Soliana. You remain too important to all of us. To me," the raven haired woman protested, but knew it would land with no affect.
"Can or cannot matters not. I must go," Soliana said in response.
Hithana had recognized the look set in Soliana’s eyes as she had worn it once before when she decided to leave her home to pursue the circus. And much like herself, she knew nothing would stop Soliana from leaving.
"Then go. Do not delay any longer. You will be missed," she said after pulling Soliana in for another warm and tight embrace, kissing her a final time.
"Please covey my affections to Markis, and let him know I had no choice," she said glancing again at him.
"Of course. Now delay no longer. If you do, I may grasp you and never let you go," she said as she lightly pushed Soliana away.
"Thank you. I will miss you."
Soliana turned and briskly walked to the boundaries of the gathered crowd, who had just erupted into an almost frantic applause as all five fire throwers breathed in unison, extending the fire and heat well above and beyond their audience. As she stood at its outskirts, she looked around to find her new instructor and felt her anxiety elevate when he was not readily locatable. But it quickly subsided as she saw him sitting upon a magnificent black stallion with the reins of a smaller, light brown horse in hand.
“You are ready, no?” asked the dark grey haired man.
“Ready for what?” Soliana asked as she mounted the horse.
“To embrace your life,” he said as he spurred his horse forward into another unknown progression into Soliana’s future.
It was impossible for her to forget the sight of his black war stallion, and now that she was on its back, riding it as master, it was forever entrenched into her heart. She had no doubt he had yet another stallion of similar breeding and magnitude ready to be broken under his will, but that did not quell the enormity of his gift. It was not often the Master of the Order of Chaos gifted one of his students with anything, let alone a horse from his private breeding line.
Arriving at the head of the army, she glanced to the expanse of the valley passage they were poised to enter. Because of its narrow formation, there would be no room with which to encamp with an army this large. Even though it was not late enough in the day to call a halt under normal circumstances, she felt it necessary to do so now. If they were to progress into the valley, they would find themselves marching thought it during the late hours of the evening and early hours of the predawn morning. This would mean they would, out of the necessity
to avoid considerable fatigue, camp upon their exit, during the day time hours. As such, she called the order to halt.
After the considerable effort and time required to settle half of the greatest army in the realm, Soliana found herself sitting quietly outside of her tent and next to her own fire. As a matter of habit, the commander’s tent was situated atop the closest hill so her vision of the army below could be complete, or as complete as it could be given the nature of the valley they would be entering on the morrow.
Fire. Her life before her martial training had been defined by it, and now as she sat in front of it, she felt comforted by it. Its mark had been indelibly burned in her soul, of that she was certain. For as she sought to remove it from her past and the pain it had caused and continued to symbolize, she had learned that it could also offer her consolation and comfort though its familiarity.
"What burns within you that fails to ignite in the moment of your doubt?" said the harsh voice of Psumayn as Soliana stood breathless and bruised from her last training session with the difficult teacher.
His private lessons were outside of her normal training schedule within his school. She had excelled with the studies of all of her formal classes much more quickly than her instructors had thought possible from a young woman with no previous martial training. Most of, indeed all of the students were soldiers sent from all reaches of the known world; however, the vast majority found their roots within the confines of the south. During her first year, she had learned that his teachings were unorthodox and considered impractical when applied to the historically proven successes of conventional, large scaled warfare. As she progressed and applied these teachings upon the field of their practiced battles over the entirely of her studies, it was readily apparent his instructions exceeded those of historical significance.
"You must embrace this ignition. You came here to learn yourself, yet you continually remove when you should embrace. Now stand again, and know," he commanded.
Their relationship had grown beyond that of teacher and student resulting in the blurring of his authority while both were located within the circle of his instruction, "Why and to what end? It is clear now that I will never be all that you saw," she said defiantly.
While he would normally confront such defiance with a swift and abrupt beating for any of his other students, none of them had presented with the potential she had, and neither had they captured his affections. "You cannot possibly see all that I have within you because you remain blind to yourself. Now stand and ready yourself to see."
"I will stand. And I will lose again," she said as she boosted herself to a standing position, but before she was able to ready herself, he was upon her, slashing repeatedly.
"What is it you saw?" he asked after each of his blocked strikes.
Soliana was pressed to the limits of her physical capability, "You know what I saw!" she continued with her defiance.
"No!" he said succinctly. "I know what it is I saw," he stated, emphasizing the word "I" as he swept her legs out from under her and fluidly spun away. "What did you see?"
"Nothing! I saw nothing!" she said through gritted teeth.
"Perhaps the estimation of your worth was limited to what you were told by Matteos then? Now, what did you see?" As she stood to meet his advance, he threw to her a second blade.
She caught it barely in time to use it to parry his swift downward slash, "Why do you do this? Why do you continue to push when you know I have nothing left?"
As their crossed blades pushed apart, he aimed a kick to her stomach that she quickly sidestepped, allowing her to spin and deliver a counter strike. Ducking, he spoke, "You have nothing that you see left," withdrawing a half step to allow him the space to fire a quick kick to her shin that met with air as she lifted it to danced away, "but that is because you do not look in the correct place."
Stabbing to his side, “And where is it I should look if not within?" It was her turn to strike air as he spun away and launched into a series of steps and slashes that forced her into the corner. As she was beaten, he stopped short of delivering unto her the final strikes with their padded wooden swords she had become used to.
"It is my hope that you answer that question before the annual martial tournament begins. You have avoided participation each of these last long years, but you will not do so this year. You are to stand and compete, as are my other leading students. Look within, Soliana. Look within the reaches of your pain and will find the flint that will ignite your potential," he said as he turned to stride away just as he had done on the day of their meeting.
As the fire danced and licked warmth to her skin in the cool evening, she could not help but admit how correct he had been. Of course he knew this, had always known it, but hers was the task to find it upon the grounds of the annual martial tournament hosted by her mentor and school. As the tournament took shape, its ranks of participants were separated into several different groupings based on skill and age. And while Soliana had not earned the rank of master, she was nevertheless entered to compete within its ranks. No doubt, this was done at the behest of the host, Psumayn himself.
She heard a loud crackling of the fire followed by an even louder pop of wood as it relented to the physical stresses of being set ablaze. From behind her she heard a rush of noise as several birds fluttered into the air in response to the rather loud interruption to an otherwise silent night. Soliana turned her head toward the movement, but with the night fully in bloom, she did not see the birds. She lingered, gazing into the night behind her, feeling as if something was there, but dismissed it as more wildlife. As her attention upon the darkness was just about to release her eyes, her head snapped back to the fire as she heard more unusually loud snapping and popping. There was more uneasy rustling around her and she instinctively reached for the blade she always kept secured to her thigh. She looked around again, and seeing nothing, relaxed her hand.
But the crackling and popping did not relent; instead it grew. She heard more loud popping and snapping sounds coming for her soldiers’ fires below as well. She looked down toward her encamped army and was able to see many of the soldiers standing and attempting to extinguish the genesis of the growing noises. She too stood up and tried to do as her soldiers were doing. First she tried to stamp it out with her boots. Then she tried to cover it with sand, and when that failed as well, she emptied her water skin. Just like her soldiers below, her success fell short. The flames and noises persisted.
In unison, the fires all began to grow until they had reached half and again the height of the tallest of elves. In doing so, the popping and crackling attained a level sufficient to drown out the growing din of the Elven soldiers. Soliana's own fire had also grown causing her to feel the increased heat. She backed away. Eyes darting from her fire to those of her soldiers, her attention was captured when she thought she saw a pattern forming within the flames. No, not within the flames, but from the flames. As the seconds passed, the wild licking of the fires began to lessen around their edges and gather into diffusely human shapes. By now, each of the soldiers had drawn their weapons, grabbed their shields, and donned what armor they had readily available. The Elven Wizards were attempting to use their magic either in an effort to understand the nature of the flames or in an attempt to extinguish the fiery figures.
Soliana had realized that while there were distinct advantages to being encamped a short distance away from the soldiers, there were also distinct disadvantages, not the least of which was the inability of forming them into a cohesive unit when facing an unknown foe, if indeed it was a foe. Part of the training of an army was to teach them the proper actions when they were attacked not only from an enemy across the battle field, but also if their enemy was bold and skilled enough to attack them by surprise while they were encamped. And in this training there were standard practices of deploying sentries, each constantly moving to create very short intervals between which an intruder could infiltrate. But there were no prepa
rations made, nor should there have been, for an incursion through the very flames giving them light and warmth. As such, her distance prevented any cohesion between her army's individual pieces.
The confusion was held, barely, upon the edge of the sharpest blade, and when the flaming figures strode out of their flaming confines in unison to attack anything within the reach of their burning arms, that which was held was forced to fall and shatter into thousands of individual pieces of chaos. There was nothing any of them could do. Their weapons proved useless, passing right through the flames as if they were void of physical substance. Even the great spells of the Elves were useless against the large, flaming figures. Nothing could stop them and the carnage was great. Soliana, in spite of her great skill, was unable to slow the advance of her own flaming nightmare. However, neither was it able to slow her.
As if the fires of hell were made to coalesce into twisted shapes of mortality and walk upon the fields of this valley, all around her radiated with a mixture of death, heat, and flame. There was nothing she could do except run. She called to Ninidras, hoping he was still alive. The great war stallion came galloping through a hedge wall of flames. In one motion, and without slowing her stallion, she grabbed its rains allowing them to jerk her off her feet. When they hit the ground again, she used their increased momentum to propel her impossibly high and onto its back. All around her the battle raged, the fires burned, and the Elves died. She danced her stallion around and endless supply of the flaming horrors and burst to safety by dodging a launched flaming pillar meant for her head. That was the last she saw of the flames as she rode through the night.
She would have felt responsible for the death of the Elves had it not been for the absurd conditions in which they were attacked. What could have possibly prepared her, or anyone, to face what they had just seen? Nothing in her preparations could have possibly allowed her to properly face this foe. The Queen! In her haste to fight the flames and then to escape certain death, she did not have the opportunity to see to the condition of Her Majesty. In peace time, her main position was to be at the side of the ruling head of the elves, but once the army was assembled with the intent to march to battle, her role was expanded and the personal guard of the Queen was left to the other members of the Royal Guard.
Convergence (The Dragon Within Saga Book 1) Page 72
