Aeon Legion: Labyrinth (63 page)

And so a tiro comes to the
end of a journey. However, this is merely the start of a career in
the Aeon Legion. Some may squire under the legionnaire who found
them. Others join a cohort for specialization. A few are even allowed
a short leave back to their home time, provided it does not disrupt
the flow of the continuum.

Consider though, that this
new journey is far more perilous than any test the Academy could
design. Comrades will be lost, personal sacrifices will be required,
and life in the Aeon Legion can be brutally short. Defending history
may require the ultimate sacrifice, but a legionnaire already knows
this. What many are not prepared for is when one of our own strays
from the path.

Battle calls to us. Every
aeon edge can become starved for blood. Without realizing it, even
the best of us can become monsters. When you choose a squire, are you
prepared to run a blade through them when they become a villain? Ours
is a journey through blood. Never forget this.

-Closing
words of the Aeon Legion's
Squire Recruitment Manual
by Praetor Lycus Cerberus

T
erra stood
silent amongst the
endless field of blades in Kairos's Garden as Alya added another aeon
edge. It was the second today, with first being Zaid's. Alya plunged
the tip of the aeon edge Cerberus into the soil.

Terra regarded the garden.
Birds sang in the bright day as flowers swayed in the wind. Now the
spring outside the garden matched the spring within it. “How could
someone who made all this be so brutal?”

Alya stared at Cerberus for a
long while. “It's a lesson.”

“A lesson?”

Alya nodded. “It's a
reminder of how easy it is to fall into darkness. Sometimes, it's not
our weaknesses that make us a villain, but our strengths.”

Terra raised an eyebrow as
Alya walked through the garden. Alya stopped in front of Kairos's
blade as Terra followed.

Alya
glanced at Kairos's black rose covered blade. “Conviction, self
sacrifice, and a willingness to do anything to save people. She still
possesses all of these. Although her delusion is the source of her
fall, without her strengths she wouldn't be able to harm others so
effectively. There
will
be more bloodshed before this is done.”

Terra looked at the aeon edge
and fell silent as she remembered the terrifying battle between
Cerberus and Kairos. She wrapped her arms around herself and felt
cold despite the heat of the sun.

Alya smiled. “Well I guess
there is no reason to worry about it at the moment.” She then
grabbed Kairos's aeon edge by the handle and lifted it out of the
ground as the black roses fell away.

“What are you going to do
with that?”

Alya lifted the aeon edge
before resting the flat of the blade on her shoulder. “This is a
garden for remembering those fallen in battle. Kairos is still alive
so there is no need for her aeon edge here.”

Terra started to ask another
question.

“Don't worry about Kairos,”
Alya interrupted. “She is my responsibility. Have they told you if
you have passed the Labyrinth yet?”

“Well I'm not sure. I didn't
make it to the final trial. I walked back to the Academy after that
night and tried convince them to let me take the final trial. They
told me it was too late, but they would review my case.”

Alya grinned. “Well it
doesn't matter. Even if they say you failed, I am still taking you as
my squire. The crashing bureaucrats can cry if they wish. I consider
you a full legionnaire.”

Terra looked down. “I didn't
feel much like a legionnaire during the fight with Kairos. I thought
I had come so far, but I was helpless.”

Alya put her hand on Terra's
shoulder. “Listen Terra. You are stronger, wiser, and braver than
you once were. It's a great improvement over the timid girl I found
hiding in that quarry.”

∞

They all stood in formation
for the last time. There was solemness about the day even though
training was finished. A melancholy mood contrasted with the bright
spring day and beaming sun. Lycus Cerberus was dead. They had just
finishing honoring his memory before the centurions awarded aeon
edges.

It was strange that his death
seemed to hang over the entire ceremony. He had been everyone's
enemy, yet that enemy had shaped them more than their allies in the
training. Lycus had challenged each of them, tested every weakness
and like a skilled blacksmith, had reforged them all into something
stronger.

Terra noted how few remained.
Less than a hundred stood now of what had started in the thousands.
There had been a handful of deaths in the Labyrinth, Zaid among them.

The
thought of Zaid made Terra sigh.
He
should be here to receive his aeon edge
,
she thought. She wasn't even a full legionnaire and had already lost
a friend.

Nikias stepped up to the
platform. “Today you receive your aeon edge. When called, you will
approach the platform to receive your blade. Those who do not were
judged to have failed the Labyrinth. They will get another chance in
a special remedial program should we feel they deserve it.”

Shani then stepped forward.
“The Sybil shall give you your blade. It is not yet named. The name
you give your blade will be your alias within the Aeon Legion.”

“Tiro Roland Delmare!”
Nikias called.

Roland walked up on stage and
saluted.

Shani faced him. “Tiro
Roland Delmare! You are adaptable and cunning, able to surmount
complex problems with simple solutions. When temptation came to
abandon your comrades, you stayed behind and helped them. Such a
person is more than worthy to carry the rank of legionnaire.”

Decima approached Roland,
holding an aeon edge wrapped in fine white silk with the grip facing
him. He grabbed grip gingerly and drew it in a slow motion.

Decima stepped back. “The
tides of blue helped us design this blade. The flow of river water
gave us its inspiration. It is a worthy blade made for a great knight
baptized in a river. It is made for you and you alone.”

It was a longsword length
blade with a standard tip. Small etched grooves, like waves,
decorated the flat of the blade while a stripe of deep blue ran in
its center. This was an aeon edge designed for cutting or stabbing, a
versatile weapon for a versatile fighter. He held in his hands,
feeling the weight and balance. After a quick flourish he smiled.

“Tiro Roland Delmare!”
Nikias yelled.

Roland stood at attention.

Nikias saluted Roland. “You
are hereby promoted to the rank of legionnaire! Welcome to the Aeon
Legion, Legionnaire Roland Delmare!”

Roland walked off the stage
moments later.

“Tiro Hikari Urashima!”
called Nikias.

Hikari approached the stage
and saluted.

Shani faced her. “Tiro
Hikari Urashima. It has been some time since we have been graced with
one who possesses so much raw talent. Your combat skills are
unmatched and your dedication and passion are your best qualities. We
are proud to award you your aeon edge.”

Decima approached Hikari while
presenting the grip of the aeon edge to her. Like the others, it lay
wrapped in silk. Hikari grabbed the grip and drew it fast. “It's
still warm,” Hikari said, staring wide eyed at the weapon. The
blade was thinner than Roland's with a curved tip; an aeon edge made
for quick cutting blows.

Decima grinned. “This one
was difficult to make. We spent much time in Caminus forging it. We
had to use an intense fire to make the metal tame. That is its
inspiration. The inferno, endless flames shown us this design. This
blade is for a warrior forged in fire. It is made for you alone.”

Hikari gave a deep bow to the
Sybil and to the instructors.

“Tiro Hikari Urashima!”
Nikias yelled.

Hikari faced them and saluted.

Nikias saluted back. “You
are hereby promoted to the rank of legionnaire! Welcome to the Aeon
Legion, Legionnaire Hikari Urashima!”

Soon Hikari joined Roland and
Terra.

Terra felt a surge of panic
when the centurions didn't call her name next. One by one the tirones
claimed their blades. Then no more were called.

Nikias turned to Decima. “Is
that all?”

Decima nodded. “Yes. That is
all the new aeon edges.”

Nikias turned to wrap up the
ceremony when Terra heard a voice from her shieldwatch.

“Tiro Terra Mason?” a man
asked.

Terra touched her
shieldwatch's holoface and answered the call. “Yes.”

“Please report to the
Academy Gardens immediately.”

∞

Terra walked through the
forest and when she neared the garden she saw two legionnaires
guarding it. Both had the emblem of the Third Cohort, the Guardians.
The Guardians were bodyguards of important figures in the Legion.

“He is waiting for you,”
one said before gesturing to Kairos's Garden that lay ahead.

Terra straightened her uniform
and walked into the garden. She reached the field of blades before
spotting a figure in white ahead that she recognized as Consul
Prometheus. He stood in front of several blades, looking down at them
with a solemn expression.

“Terra Mason,” he said in
a friendly tone when he saw her approach. “I am sorry for
interrupting the ceremony, but there are important matters to discuss
first.”

Terra saluted after
remembering protocol.

Prometheus smiled. “Oh don't
worry about protocol. You have no idea how tiring that gets after a
few hundred years.”

“Is this about the incident
with Cerberus? I already told Orion everything I know.”

Prometheus nodded. “Yes, but
there are things I would like to ask you directly.”

“Yes, consul.”

Prometheus's eyes narrowed as
he placed his hand on the grip of his aeon edge. Terra felt a chill
as she looked at the older man. She could sense an edge to him, much
like with Lycus, a hidden strength masked by a paternal air.

“Who was it?” he asked,
his tone cold.

Terra frowned as she looked to
where Alya had taken Kairos's blade. “It was Kairos. I don't know
why she is trying to kill people now,” Terra said before looking
back at Prometheus. “She is though. I don't understand everything
that's going on. I thought Kairos was a heroine. What could make
someone turn into a monster like that?”

Prometheus studied her with a
critical expression. Then he shifted his gaze to where Kairos's blade
had rested. “I read the entire report on the incident. Not just the
part with Kairos, but the part where you fought a man named Hanns.
That was impressive. Do not allow anyone tell you otherwise. Jumping
into his home time, facing him in his base. That was a bit of heroics
I haven't seen since Kairos. Silverwind chose well.”

Terra blushed at the
compliment.

He then faced her and smiled
again. “I wanted to speak with you in order to take your measure
for myself. Alya sees something in you as do I. I was worried at
first, but now I am convinced you are what we need.”

Terra's brow furrowed.
“Consul?”

Prometheus smiled before
touching his shieldwatch's holoface. “Minerva, it seems we will
need that blade after all. Let Sybil Nona know that I am waiting in
Kairos's Garden. Also, see to those other small details. You know how
irate Orion gets if I withhold information from him for too long.”

“Yes Founder,” came
Minerva's voice from his shieldwatch.

He then looked back to Terra.
“Yes. You are exactly what we need.”

“For what?”

Prometheus smiled again and
looked at two approaching figures.

Terra's brow raised, but her
questions had to wait when she recognized Alya walking with a Sybil.

The Sybil Nona held a sour
expression while she carried something in a white silk cloth.

Alya smiled upon seeing Terra
before turning to Prometheus. “Thank you for keeping this quiet.”