Red Leaves and the Living Token

by Benjamin David Burrell

  "We can only assume the Petra command is in possession of it. My friends we cannot allow this. It is a betrayal of the oath we've pledged to protect the sanctity of the holy article, the Token. It must be returned to its shelter here with us. We've made this promise." The Holy Master Cleric said. He paused to study the faces of his captains.

  "Who here is willing to fight for this cause?" He asked.

  The crowd responded with a unanimous "HO!" as they stomped their right leg and lifted their right arm in salute.

  "You honor me with your devotion." He said.

  A thin Botan in flowing white rob rushed up to the Master Cleric and whispered in his ear.

  "The Petra division has broken camp. They're moving." The Master Cleric repeated.

  He focused his glare on his high commander.

  "Commander, if we cannot come to a compromise in this situation?"

  "We have enough numbers to stop their single division, yes." The Commander said.

  "Then we must send our response now." The Master Cleric said.

  "This would be considered an act of war, your holiness. A war that we are not prepared to fight." The Commander said.

  "Trust me my young friend, we have no choice. The Token is our trust. It cannot be betrayed even at the cost of war.” He paused to push himself to his feet.

  “Move the soldiers into position now.” He said with his hand out stretched.

  -

  Moslin and Handers hurried through the thick leaves, ducking under the branches of the low ferns and bushes. The dense ground covering made it impossible to see more than a few feet in front of them.

  Moslin stopped. "Do you know where we're going?"

  Handers looked back towards the camp they had just left. All he saw was a quiet and peaceful forest, no sign of anyone following. How long had they been running? Ten minutes? That put them far enough away that the Petra wouldn't run into them by accident. He didn't think they'd come looking for them on purpose. At least not yet. They had more significant targets.

  "Now what?" She asked.

  He stared at her, not having an answer. He'd been obsessed with what just happened. He hadn't moved on to what they should do now. He kept going over it and over it again in his mind. His son there with in his reach. The door opened for them to go home. He questioned himself, his actions. What had gone wrong? What could he have done differently? Should he have grabbed him and taken him by force. Rifled through his clothes to find the token for the general?

  Every time he followed an alternate thread of action in his mind it ended with the same thing, his son's last words. That he wasn't willing to fight for him.

  Moslin put a hand on his arm. He glanced back at her a little startled. He didn't notice her coming up. Apparently he'd been staring off into the trees a little too long.

  "We'll find him." She offered in comfort.

  "I don't know." He turned to her. He felt the guilt rising. This time he didn't push it back. He was responsible for driving his son away. Emret was right. He wasn't willing to fight for what his son wanted. Yet he was ready to kill for what he wanted, to see things turn out the way he felt they should.

  "What do you mean?" She asked.

  "Even if we could find him. He'd just run away again." The horror of that thought sank in as soon as he said it. It wasn't that he couldn't protect Emret. It was that he didn't want his protection. He didn't want his help. "I..."

  She took him by both hands and looked him straight in the eye. "Handers, It's not too late."

  He didn't understand. "Not too late for what?"

  "To fight for him." She said.

  Handers stared at her. Apparently she'd been thinking about what Emret had said too. He was listening.

  "I've seen things in the last few days with your son that..." She shook her head. "I tried taking him back home the day after we got to Shishkameen. But he absolutely refused. I don't know how but he knew he needed to come up here to find the token.

  "Something is helping him. As hard as that is for an adult to accept, he knows more than you or I what he needs to do. He just keeps pushing forward despite what anyone else thinks. That's pretty amazing."

  Handers watched her as she spoke about his son with such reverence. Emret had found the Token in much the same way he had. This thing that had changed his life in so many ways. They had shared it. And yet, if she had known about his own experience with the Token, would it have caused her to speak about him in such a way? No. She would've spoke of horror and shame, he was sure.

  "What I'm trying to say is." She smiled. "The same power that's helping your son find what he needs can help you just the same. When we found the token… the forest rearranged itself to show him where he needed to go."

  Handers shook his head and looked away.

  She put a hand to his face and pulled him back to her. "Look at me. I don't care what you've done. You are his father. You have a right to protect him, to fight for him. What ever it is that's guiding Emret through the forest don't you think it would listen to the plea of a parent seeking his child. Wouldn't it help?

  "No matter what you've done wrong, in that request, you're doing right! You're right to ask for help to help your son!"

  The high pitched scream of a child sounded through the leaves. "Sinesh?" Moslin shouted back as she ran towards her.

  "A frog!" Sinesh laughed. "Mommy come look. A frog!"

  Moslin stopped and let out a frustrated sigh of relief. She turned back to Handers. "I'll be right back." She smiled then disappeared into the leaves.

  Handers watched her go then sat down on a fallen log nearby. He felt his pocket. The tiny lump was still there. He pulled out his tiny fragment of the Token that had turned black.

  The guilt overshadowing his heart hadn't subsided. Staring at the piece of Token only reinforced it. How could he ask for anything now? He'd already had this chance. He'd had the token. All he did with it was cause irreparable damage.

  He held the tiny black fragment up. If only he could go back and start over. He thought about what Moslin had said, that no matter what he'd done, he had the responsibility to look after his son. He could always ask for help with that. Not for himself. For Emret.

  He thought about that. For Emret. He could ask for that. For help. He held up the Token. "Forgive me." He whispered. The black token flickered. "Help me. Help me with my son. The Token flickered a shade lighter. "Help me fight for him."

  The Token lightened again. His heart lifted. He continued to plead. "Please!" The Token sputtered a tiny flash of light before turning dark.

  He stared at it in disbelief. Something was happening.

  "Raj! Come look at this!" Moslin called. She and Sinesh were kneeling in the dirt staring at the ground. He came up behind them.

  They were staring at a bunch of insects who were crawling in an odd line. He'd never seen insects of different kinds crawling like that together. He'd seen ants form columns but not with other insects. Unless they were eating them.

  "What do you think it is?" She asked.

  "I don't know." He answered.

  "Either they're all trying to get away from something or... Something is attracting them." She pondered.

  He wasn't sure what she was seeing. They were bugs! Who cared where they were crawling?

  A large frog hoped into the patch of dirt filled with bugs. Sinesh laughed with delight. "The frog!"

  It sat there for a moment next to the array of edible bugs but didn't seem interested in eating them. Instead, it turned in the direction the insects were crawling and hoped off, disappearing into a large fern.

  Sinesh laughed again and chased after it. "Come back little frog!"

  "Honey." Moslin called after her. Sinesh didn't respond. "Sinesh!" Moslin scampered after her.

  Handers was alone again. He took the Token out once more and focused on it, on his son, on finding him. Again, it flashed a short moment of blinding white light.

  More insects gathered in the creeping c
olumn. All pointing in what could be interpreted as a line. An arrow of direction. But then again they could all be attracted by a dead animal.

  Should he at least find out? The idea felt immediately ridiculous. Was this what he'd been reduced too? Following a path of insects in the dirt? Was this the best way to help his son? Was this the best he could do?

  Running through the Petra camp he'd felt like nothing could've stopped him from reaching his son. The power was intoxicating. For the first time since he lost his son, he'd felt - in control.

  And now? He had no idea how to find his son. There was nothing to fight. He could work his way back to the road outside the camp and follow the horse tracks. By now who knows what would be left of the trail. So was this really a valid alternative? Bugs?

  He stepped forward. The insects seemed to be moving into a dense part of the underbrush. He lifted the branches out of the way and crouched under them.

  There under the ferns and bushes the distinct line of all sorts of creepy and crawlies continued. A small salamander had even joined. If they were all heading towards some sort of food wouldn't they be coming from all directions?

  Still this was embarrassing. He was a grown adult. He was intelligent, strong and healthy. Why couldn't he figure out a way to help his son himself.

  He pushed the thought out of his mind. He had tried it his way. With his strength and cunning. He pushed as hard as he could. And all he ended up doing was pushing his son away.

  Humiliating? Fine. If it helped his son. He pushed further into the dense leaves.

  The insects grew thicker, the further he pushed. A small frog hopped in line next to the salamander.

  "Handers?" Moslin called from behind.

  "Over here." He answered.

  "What're you doing?" She came up behind him, pushing aside the heavy underbrush.

  Great, it was distressing enough that he was staring at insects, now he had to explain it? He tried to think of an excuse. "Uh..."

  She noticed the swarm below his feet. "Oh, wow. There's more of them."

  He turned back to where he was going. "I just wanted to see... Maybe we should see where they're going." He glanced back to see her reaction.

  She stared at him, trying to read his expression. "Sorry, I thought it was odd. But I didn't mean... Shouldn't we be looking..."

  She was right, he thought. This looked crazy.

  She furrowed her brow at his lack of response. Then her eyes flicked down to his hand.

  The Token Fragment, he forgot to cover it. Warm light lit up the plants all around him.

  She gasped. "The Token? You have it?"

  "You're right. This is ridiculous!" He said.

  He got up, took a deep breath and pushed past her, heading back the way they had come from.

  "Handers?" She wheeled around and followed him.

  -

  Rinacht darted through the low lying branches and ferns with Emret still wrapped tightly in his arm. The forest opened up into a small clearing in front of them.

  At the opposite end of that clearing, a group of Zo soldiers in black armor sat in a half moon facing them, waiting, as if they had known they were about to have guests.

  Emret noticed an older Botann man dressed like a cleric sitting behind the others, almost hidden. He was clearly out of place.

  The man in the middle of the half moon stood up.

  "Rinacht! You made it!" He said as he moved towards them with a graceful slide. "We were beginning to worry."

  Rinacht panted as he tried to catch his breath. "Yes."

  "And who is this?" The man asked, giving Emret a friendly smile.

  "This is Emret. Emret this is Lord Valance. He's the one who's offered to help us."

  Emret eyed him curiously then leaned to the side to look at the group of men behind him. They looked rough and unpleasant, not the kind that'd go out of their way to help a strange child. He leaned back and forced a smile at Lord Valance. "Hi."

  "Rinacht explained that you needed a little help getting through the forest." Lord Valance explained.

  Emret twisted to look at Rinacht who nodded encouragingly.

  "We understand you're looking for something. Something rather important." Valance continued.

  Emret scowled. Who were these people? The fact that they knew about what he was doing made him nervous. "Why do you want to help me?" He asked through squinted, distrusting eyes.

  Lord Valance smiled. "A fair question my inquisitive young friend. I'm not going to lie to you young man. We have an interest in what you’re looking for.” He snapped his fingers. One of the men sitting in the half mood stood up and brought a small object wrapped in cloth with him as he approached.

  Lord Valance took the object and unwrapped it.

  Emret leaned forward and stared at the dark stone carving. It had a remarkable resemblance to the Token that he had hidden in his clothes, a resemblance that he couldn't explain because it was a different shape and it wasn't glowing. Just the same, he knew what it was just by looking at it. Another Token.

  "This belongs with the piece that you have."

  Piece? Emret wondered. They weren't two Tokens, they were one? Two pieces of the same? He looked up at Lord Valance. Maybe he'd been a little too critical. Maybe they honestly did want to help him. He let a smile creep across his lips.

  "Where did you find this?" He asked.

  "Oh, we've been looking for a long, long time." Valance grabbed the glove on his right hand by the tips of the fingers and pulled. The heavy material slid off, revealing a black hairless hand. The polished surface of his skin shone like it was wet, contrasting sharply with the blackness.

  "You're not the only one seeking help." Valance said.

  Emret's face lit up. Then he felt bad. Had he really been that focused on himself? Of course, he couldn't possibly be the only one looking, the only one needing help. Of course, there were millions and millions of people in the world. So how could he have been so selfish? How many of those had health problems that couldn't be fixed? At least some of those people had to have thought the same thing he did, that there was some other way, that there was something out there that could help.

  He felt sorry for misjudging this man. They'd come together in this need. He would help him find what he needed just as much as he'd find it himself.

  "I think we have something we need to find!" Emret said quietly.

  Lord Valance handed him the dark piece of Token. "I think we do." He smiled.

  Emret took the token. A rush of white flowed through the stone, changing it from a dark purple to white. With the change came a flash of radiant light that receded into a constant glow.

  The older Botann man in the back stood up with a gasp. The soldier next to him yanked him back down.

  Emret stared at him for a moment. The man's face still lit up with an expression of awe. He looked a bit more messy than the others. Were those bruises on his face?

  Perhaps he's been looking too. He thought. He opened his shirt and took the plant shaped piece had. Holding one in each hand, he could see how they fit together, where the small bird was meant to wrap around the base of the plant.

  He slid them together, curving the bird to fit under the leaves of the other. As they clicked together, another blinding white light flashed.

  Lord Valance covered his eyes and stepped back until the burst of light burned down.

  A loud crack reverberated through the still forest, immediately followed by a wave of movement. Leaves shuttered, branches twisted, and the thick, immovable trunks of trees leaned and twisted. In a mater of minutes, the forest had parted, leaving them a clear and straight path.

  A flock of birds sitting in the tops of the trees fluttered up into the air then swarmed down onto them.

  The men in the back of clearing were on their feet now, gazing at the forest around them. They ducked as the birds buzzed by their heads.

  The birds shot down through the new pathway that had opened up as the trees parted. E
ven the underbrush conformed to the new path, splitting and laying to the side.

  Lord Valance smiled.

  -

  "Can I see it?" Moslin asked.

  Handers covered it protectively. "It's just a small piece that broke off."

  "Well why didn't you say anything? Of course, that explains what we saw. That was what was happening." She said.

  He sat down on a fallen stump. "You say that now. But you should have seen your face before when you thought I was following a trail of insects. You thought I was crazy."

  She frowned. "I..."

  "This isn't how it worked before." He tried to explain.

  "What do you mean, worked before? How long have you had this?" She asked, then stepped closer. "How do you have this?"

  He took a deep breath. "Its complicated."

  "OK?" She said.

  He knew she'd have a lot of questions. How couldn't she? She'd seen him storm through the Petra camp like some kind of monster. She'd seen him toss the two ton stone soldiers as easily as he'd toss a child. She's seen his hideous black arm completely exposed.

  Frankly he couldn't believe she came out into the middle of the battle to help him. He couldn't begin to imagine what must be going on in her mind. What lies she made up to convince herself to trust him. To risk herself for him.

  He knew the longer he spent with her the more he'd have to explain. It was only a matter of time before she pressed for answers.

  If now was that time, he wasn't ready for it. He couldn't go through everything that had happened since he left right now. It was too much. The things that she saw him do brought up bad enough feelings of guilt. The last thing he wanted was to go through the things she hadn't seen. To confess to her what he'd done that she didn’t already know about. He wasn't ready.

  Really, what he was telling himself, was that he didn't want her to judge him any more harshly than she did now. He needed her. She was the only support he had left. If she knew. He might lose that too.

  "Please." His eyes pleaded with her before he turned away.

  She sat down beside him. "You don't have to explain."