Awakenings

by C. D. Espeseth

  “He should have told you who you are, and what your lineage is,” Lady Buika said, steepling her hands.

  “And who am I?” Adel asked with more anger than she had intended.

  “Why, you are a descendant of Anastasia Quinn, the true messiah. You are the new Arbiter, and one of the purest born in generations,” Lady Buika said reverently. “You are the hope of the Faith, the anointed one who is destined to lead the Singers back to Halom’s path of righteousness and glory, the one who will cleanse the land of His enemies.”

  Adel couldn’t believe the words spilling out of Lady Buika’s mouth. Anastasia Quinn was the name of her doll when she was a child, the name of the heroine in all the bedtime stories and myths her father had told her. Memories of running through the cornfield with a toy wooden sword swam through her mind. She and Naira had taken turns pretending to be Anastasia as they fought off hordes of imaginary monsters. “For Halom and country!” She remembered shouting as they ran down the hill and swatted old corn stalks with their toy swords. “Anastasia has judged you impure!” she yelled in her memory. Adel thought she might have been five. She would yell something righteous like that and then swing her sword with all her might.

  It had been one of the hundreds of play-acted scenarios she had thought up with Anastasia Quinn as the heroine. Later, Naira would come and play with her, and they would re-enact the scenes from the stories together. They were some of her fondest memories.

  “She’s not real,” Adel said, but as the words crossed her lips, deep down, she knew them to be a lie. “She was just a story.”

  Adel looked up at Lady Buika and saw the sad and slightly patronising gaze as she said, “No, Adel. Anastasia Quinn is not, ‘just a story.’”

  No, Adel wouldn’t believe it.

  “She is telling you the truth,” Fellow Callahan said. “Please, there is much to tell, and despite the apparent privacy and seclusion of my garden, there may still be ears listening.” He looked pointedly at Lady Buika.

  “Yes ... please, Adel. We have need of privacy, as it would seem we have much to tell you.” Lady Buika swept her hand out to allow Adel to proceed her into Callahan’s house.

  It was the tone in their voices, which convinced Adel at last. They were serious and believed what they were saying.

  As she walked, Adel tried to prepare herself for what they might tell her, but her world had been rocked to its very core. The true messiah? What did that even mean?

  She wasn’t sure she wanted to find out, but on some level, Adel knew she needed to find out if she was ever to have any hope of controlling the flood of energy waiting to engulf her.

  She clenched her jaw, stepped into Fellow Callahan’s home and tried to brace herself for truths she didn’t want to hear.

  * * *

  They sat at the old wooden table in silence as Fellow Callahan brewed a pot of tea. Lady Buika looked to be strategizing her next move. Adel’s apparent ignorance had changed the board upon which they were playing.

  “Here we are.” Fellow Callahan set down three handle-less cups and his teapot.

  “Perhaps it is best if you explain what and how your father has trained you. Take us through a typical day.” Lady Buika was studying Adel as if she were a prize pig at market and unsure if Adel was worth the asking price.

  Adel heard the question through the daze still clouding her mind. She tried to formulate an answer, but it felt as if her thoughts trudged through knee-high mud, but as her mind drifted back to the comforting routine she had known on the farm her words began to flow. “We woke in the early hours, just before the sunrise. We would say morning prayer to Halom, then warm-up exercises and go through combat forms and techniques. Then chores on the farm, feed the chickens, mend fences, weeding or whatever was needed for the season. Then first meal. Then sparring practice followed by siphoning practice to cool down and to send energy to any minor injuries from the sparring sessions. Then academics for me and scripture while father tended to duties. He would test me on what I had learned in those few hours. Second meal, then weapon forms, techniques, and practice followed by weapon sparring. Final chores on the farm before the sunset. Last meal, and discussions and readings from the Tenets of the Elohim, then early to bed.”

  Lady Buika nodded but did not look satisfied. “And when did this routine start?”

  Fellow Callahan smiled as if he already knew the answer, and Adel was a bit surprised by the question. “As long as I can remember, my Lady,” Adel answered, hoping it was enough to satisfy whatever test she was being subjected to.

  “That does indeed sound like Leonard,” Fellow Callahan said with a sad smile. He looked to her then, and it appeared it was his turn to pull out information. “And during these discussions and when you studied scripture ... what texts did you discuss? What books did you read?”

  Again, the question seemed odd. Books? There was only one book of scripture she knew of. “The Tenets, sir. It was always the Tenets of the Elohim.”

  Fellow Callahan nodded. “And these discussions, did they ever deal with material that might…” he paused and shared a searching look with Lady Buika, “... that might contradict what was written in the Tenets?”

  Contradict? “No, sir.” Adel had never thought about something contradicting the Tenets of the Elohim before. “We would discuss possible interpretations of some of the passages, and of the deeper lessons within the Tenets, but contradictions … no.”

  “You never read a small blue leather-bound book, never spoke of Anastasia Quinn as anything other than as a mythical hero?” Lady Buika’s disbelief was obvious.

  “No, my lady, to both questions,” Adel answered. She held her hands together, nervously. She was disappointing them somehow, and they were angry at her father. She waited with a growing dread for the next question.

  “How could he–” Lady Buika’s anger threatened to explode from the now very dangerous-looking woman. Adel tensed, ready for a physical attack about to be unleashed.

  “I think that is enough for now.” Fellow Callahan’s hand touched the lady’s wrist and cut off the outburst before it truly began. “I think I grasp Leonard’s rationale.” His eyes flicked down to the sword at Adel’s hip. “Though not fully.”

  “His rationale?” Lady Buika’s fury twisted her beautiful face into something almost primal. “What possible reason could he–”

  “He has given her a choice.” Fellow Callahan’s calm words cut through Lady Buika’s fury like a sword stroke. “Not much of one, mind you, but a choice nonetheless.”

  “A choice?” She hesitated in thought for a moment and then frowned as she understood.

  “Yes.” The older man patted Adel’s hand as he saw her look of confusion. “A chance to make her own mind up about all of this.”

  Fellow Callahan and Lady Buika shared a knowing look, and they both sighed at a remembered sadness.

  “Where to begin?” Fellow Callahan held the cup of tea in his hand and swirled it in thought. “There are many within the Faith, who have different views on the accuracy and interpretations of some of the histories within the Tenets of the Elohim.”

  Lady Buika rolled her eyes at Fellow Callahan, who ignored her.

  “Your father, the Lady Buika, and I are all believers of this different interpretation of past events. We call ourselves Quinnites after Anastasia Quinn, whom we believe was a messiah, not a dreadful conquering villain like many of the other stories betray her.” Callahan spoke calmly as if he were putting forward a simple idea to think about and debate, but the connotations of it shook Adel’s world to the core.

  “She was the true messiah, not Meskaiwa!” Lady Buika hissed angrily at Fellow Callahan. “You have confirmed it yourself with your research.”

  “I would not say it that way, and there was evidence that Meskaiwa was another very powerful person who lived during the same confluence of events all those years ago-” Fellow Callahan tried to explain.

  Lady Buika cut him off. “Enough prattle,
you are one of the major supporters that Anastasia Quinn was greater and more connected to Halom’s Song than even Meskaiwa was.”

  “Well, yes, I did say that-”

  “Then, it is simple. Anastasia Quinn was the messiah, not the Raven.” Lady Buika’s chin rose as if she had won some sort of battle.

  Fellow Callahan sighed.

  Adel threw up her hands in frustration. “Who was this Anastasia Quinn? Why was she so important?” Adel had read history books during her studies. There was no mention of Anastasia Quinn she could recall.

  “Anastasia Quinn had another name, a much more infamous name.” Fellow Callahan paused. “The Dread Queen was the title the northern realms gave her. The woman who led the soulless hordes. Yet, it is always the victors who write the history books, you see. In the South, there are many who still speak of her as a demi-god. To them, she was the Arbiter of Justice, Halom’s judgement in the mortal form of a champion. She was meant to have carried a dark blade which would only cut if you were an enemy to the faithful, an enemy to Halom.”

  Adel’s hand shook as it found the hilt of the dark sword at her side as it suddenly felt as if she wore a viper which was waiting to lash out.

  Fellow Callahan continued, “Now, many of the stories told so long ago have obviously been embellished, and we know the sword you carry will cut any who touch it, the same as any other blade. But Anastasia Quinn was a real person, and the sword she inherited is the same you hold now. She heard Halom’s Will sing through her just as Meskaiwa did, and she performed miracles aplenty as well.” Fellow Callahan shrugged his shoulders. “Meskaiwa Denii, no doubt, was a very noble and religious man as well, by all accounts a very good man who helped many people, and he had some special abilities in his time. It is my theory that we are once again seeing a confluence of individuals with special abilities, just as Anastasia, Meskaiwa, the holy Elohim and Rykavin Stonesplitter of Navutia had astounding powers in their time.”

  “So, this is all just some argument over who was more holy thousands of years ago?” Adel was getting somewhat annoyed. If this was just some philosophical debate, why all the secrecy?

  “It’s far more than just an argument,” Lady Buika hissed. “There has been an ongoing war within the Faith for hundreds of years. Secret societies plotting, politicking and killing in the name of the true messiah have quietly changed the rulers of nations, and the destinies of kingdoms. Faith unifies the people, and faith speaks to the hearts of those people, common and royal alike. Yet, even if that is not enough of a reason, there is more.” Lady Buika leaned closer. “Anastasia was meant to win. It was only through the North’s unholy alliance with the Navutian giants that turned the tide of the war. Meskaiwa is a false prophet–”

  “Well, that is possibly too harsh, there may have been two during–” Fellow Callahan interjected.

  “A false prophet,” Lady Buika spoke over him, her voice cracking like a whip, “and whose followers would have all three of us here killed if they had any hint of the truth of who you were.” Lady Buika’s eyes shot icy daggers straight into Adel’s very soul.

  “But … my father. He fought in the Union Wars. He was a champion of the Faith, for the very Singers you say would kill us now.” Adel had to look away from the lady’s stare, this wasn’t making sense.

  “Yes, he fought for the Singers, but he was also our champion, hidden in plain sight. To the masses, your father was the mysterious Black Hand of the Singers, a righteous assassin and warrior used with clinical precision against the enemies of the Union and the Singer Faith. However, to those few who kept the Quinnite rebellion alive in their hearts, we knew him as the Arbiter and the greatest and purest of the Heirs of Quinn for ten generations. If it was not for the sudden outbreak of the Union Wars, where our enemies of the Faith joined with the unexpected power of Ronaston Mihane’s Syklan knights, well ... let’s just say you and your father would be holding some very holy and royal positions of power right now.”

  “What?” Adel could barely keep up.

  “Your father was meant to be hierophant and your mother, the queen,” Lady Buika huffed.

  Fellow Callahan sighed and turned to Lady Buika. “You know you have damned her now, to the same fate as ours if we are found out?” Callahan studied the tall and proud woman for a moment longer and then scowled at her. “Of course you knew.”

  It was the first time Adel had seen anger cross Fellow Callahan’s face.

  “My mother …” Adel found the breath catching in her chest. “Father … he would never speak of her other than to say she died in the wars.”

  The other two were silent for a moment as they shared a look.

  “You’ve already trapped her in this with us,” Fellow Callahan said as he shook his head. “She might as well know the rest of it. She deserves to know this.”

  Lady Buika fixed Adel with another of her icy stares. “Adel, your mother was the Queen of Bauffin, Tabitha Mercurio.”

  The shocks continued to come, one after another for Adel. She felt numb.

  “But the king and queen, along with the entire royal family and most of the nobility were killed when the Navutians sacked New Toeron,” Adel said through the dazed fog within her mind.

  “Not all of the royal family …” Lady Buika said, looking pointedly at her. “We found you. Your father arrived too late to save Tabitha, but he killed those responsible before they could get to you, and it wasn’t the Navutians who killed the royal family.” She paused, and Adel saw a hint of anger and outrage flash across Lady Buika’s face. “The Singers discovered the secret of how Queen Tabitha’s baby was conceived, and that you were not the king’s baby. They took the opportunity of the Navutian raid and set forth to purge the Quinnites from Bauffin. You see, Queen Tabitha, my longtime friend and a woman I considered to be a sister, was also an Heir of Quinn, yet from a different line than that of your father. I, along with some other trusted friends within the Quinnites, helped them to meet in secret so they could conceive a child. You, Adel. The bloodlines of Quinn were to be united, and you were to be the heir of the Bauffish throne, and later, once your father had secured his position as hierophant, your true bloodline would be revealed.”

  This has to be a bad dream, Adel thought to herself. Somehow, all of it had to be a dream. It was too unbelievable to be true. She was just a girl from a small little farm, on a small little island in the middle of nowhere. Her father had been a good soldier who fought within the Singers-enlisted men. That was all. Yet the doubt had wormed its way in – the convenient lie of her father’s backstory began to crumble, and part of her had always known it had been too simple of an explanation.

  “We tried to execute the plan despite the war, but the Syklan army had become too powerful, and Ronaston Mihane was popular and considered a saviour to the people. Our years of planning had been unravelled, and we chose to go back into hiding. Your father was meant to have told you all of this. We have been preparing for your return for sixteen years.” Lady Buika’s passion touched every word, while Fellow Callahan sat quietly, listening to them and watching Adel carefully.

  Just a dream, Adel repeated to herself. It has to be. “Is what she says true?” Adel looked up to meet Fellow Callahan’s eyes, but part of her didn’t know why she should still trust this old man, he had been part of all this as well.

  “It is true. You are the daughter of Queen Tabitha Mercurio, and by blood, you are heir to the Bauffish throne. The Mihanes sit in your place, though they know it not. Everyone of consequence believes you to be dead, to have been killed by the Navutians. Only some of the Singer ruling elite, like the hierophant and only a few of the seraphim, know what really happened. Yet Leonard killed anyone who could have reported anything different. They have no reason to believe you are still alive.” He took a deep breath and sighed. “It is true that those of us within the Quinnite Rebellion who knew the truth have been waiting for you to return to us. And lastly, and I am certainly sorry for this, it is true that if the Sing
ers knew who you really were, they would use every resource within their power to get rid of you.”

  Adel stood from the chair slowly. The room was just too small. This was all too much. She had come here to be a Syklan, just like the other initiates. She didn’t want any titles, or thrones, or crowns. “I ... I …” Adel didn’t know what to say. She wanted out. “I...need some air.”

  “Why didn’t he tell her?!” Lady Buika demanded of Fellow Callahan. The Hafaza champion stood to bar the door from Adel.

  “Oh, dear lady, can you not see?” Fellow Callahan stood as well and ushered Lady Buika out of the way. “It was the one thing few of us expected to happen.”

  “What are you talking about, you old fool?” Lady Buika made no attempt at hiding her anger any longer.

  “Love,” Fellow Callahan said simply. “The love of a father for his daughter.”

  “Love?” The answer had shocked her, and Lady Buika grudgingly stepped aside.

  Fellow Callahan helped Adel to the door and opened it for her.

  Sweet and fresh air filled the room, and Adel felt she could breathe once again.

  “Yes.” Callahan smiled and shook his head in wonder. “On that tiny island out in the middle of nowhere, Leonard Corbin, one of the hardest, most righteous and most efficient killers we’ve ever known, had his heart melted by a baby girl and somehow learned to be a half-decent father.”

  Lady Buika opened her mouth to shout, but Fellow Callahan’s open hand whipped in front her face, snake-quick, to forestall her.

  “You have never had children, so you do not know their power. The power nature gives to them. And once you feel that power, even a man like Leonard Corbin, wants nothing more than to protect the small, innocent child who gives you their unconditional love. Love trumps duty, almost every time. Leonard did not want to trap Adel into the path everyone else set for her, to burden her with that fate. But her powers became too strong, so he had to send her to me, and thus to us. In his mind, he let his daughter grow up without this burden looming above her. He tried to shield her from the realities of his world for as long as he could, and in the end, would not force his daughter to be the new Arbiter. He’s trained her in body, blade and faith so she could fill the role, but in the end, the choice will be hers.” Callahan smiled as he spoke and put a gentle hand on Adel’s shoulder. “This must be a lot to take in. You will need time, but I must stress, you cannot speak of this to anyone else. Do you understand?”