FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (106 page)

     Dawn placed her small cooking pot, which contained rice grains soaked in water, on top of the trench and waited patiently for it to cook. She then lay on the ground, staring at the flickering flames dreamily, letting the heat warm up her face. Occasionally she would put her hands near the flames to warm them up or she would switch body positions to warm up other parts of her body. But the warmth of her body was truly gained when the rice was cooked and she ate her first real and properly cooked meal in three weeks, using a pair of chopsticks fashioned from broken tree branches. She was cold, wet and hungry; and under these conditions, even simple and plain white rice was a godsend.

     There had not been any signs of Fallsian soldiers for the past two weeks. Dawn was sure that she had lost them. She closed her tired eyes. Within moments, she had gone to sleep, the first truly proper sleep in three weeks. Her sleep was deep and dreamless. Her mind was lost in the serenity of emptiness. She was at peace.

     The very next morning Ray, Clover and Sky set out of Palace Liberty on horseback. The three horses trotted along at an evenly pace.

     “Channeller _ where do we find of him, Minvian Proest
?
” asked Ray.

     “There is one in the town where I am from. It is called Southgust Town,” answered Sky.

     “Southgust Town _ we have been to of it, for we came to its aid when their dam burst during an earthquake,” said Ray.

     Sky gave Ray a humble and appreciative bow. It was probably the first time Sky had showed any form of humility in Ray’s presence.

     “Yes and for that, you have my eternal gratitude
!
My father’s house was reduced to rubbles in that quake, but luckily, none of my family members were hurt. They received the food and medicine that you brought. It made a big difference. I was devastated when I heard about the quake. I was extremely frustrated that I could not join you in the relief effort. You see, I was on a reconnaissance mission in the Arid Plains. By the time I got word of the quake, one whole month had already passed and the town was almost rebuilt. I felt so useless
!
” expressed Sky.

     “Blame _ do not do of this to yourself,” said Clover sympathetically.

     Ray was reminded of Higher Recipient Truthkeeper, the Receiver whom he had met in Southgust earlier on.

     “Higher Recipient Truthkeeper _ you know of him, do you not
?
” asked Ray.

     “That useless old fool
!?
Yes, I know him. He has been an irritant in my life for the past two decades. Does nothing good for our town. Just preaches those weird teachings,” said Sky.

     Ray understood Sky’s feelings, even though he did not agree with him. He knew that no one had ever found Reception to be pleasant and the doctrine of the Receivers of Light was as unpleasant of a doctrine as it got. But Receptions, being teachings of angels, were meant to educate mankind, instead of making them happy. And people like Sky just did not understand. They had mistakenly valued happiness, when instead, they should have valued righteousness.

     Ray kept quiet for awhile. He saw no reason to get into an argument with Sky. He reasoned that people such as Sky would just have to learn things the hard way.

     “Time _ how long of it has this Channeller been there
?
” asked Clover.

     “He has been there for at least thirty odd years. My mother told me that he had come to our town just after she married my father, and that was 33 years ago. He is a warm and friendly person. He gave our village a lot of good advice and pleasant ideas,” replied Sky.

     “Advice _ what sort of these had he offered your town
?
” asked Ray.

     “All sorts of advice. When to plant our seeds. When to harvest our crops. When to expect rain and drought. How to live our lives. How to enjoy the senses and have fun. How to feel alive,” said Sky with a smile.

     Ray shook his head. So did Clover. Sky shook his head too, but at the both of them.

     “Sceptical _ I am of this,” said Ray.

     “Agree _ I do of this with you, master
!
” expressed Clover.

     “That is not fair
!
You do not know him. You do not know us or how we live our lives. What right have you to judge him, or us
?
He has given us plenty of good advice. We were sad and miserable people before his arrival, but now we are cheerful and full of life, all thanks to him,” defended Sky.

     Ray and Clover chose not to reply. The trio continued to ride on in silence. They rode all throughout the afternoon, skipping lunch and opting for short breaks instead to feed and rest their horses. Thick heavy clouds began to form during the late afternoon. The Fallsian sky began to darken prematurely. Then, a flash of lightning cut across the sky and the low rumbling of thunder followed. The wind had picked up too. Then, the sky opened up and poured its pearly tears.

     Nightfall saw the three wet and weary riders arriving at the riverside town of Clearcatch. They checked themselves into the nearest inn. After a hot shower and a change of clothes, the three soldiers met downstairs for their evening meal.

     “What is that
?
” asked Sky as the waitress delivered the meal Ray had ordered.

     “Contents _ of this, it is rice with vegetable curry; it is quite obvious, as you can see
!
” answered Ray as he began to eat.

     “That is not what I mean
!
Why is there no
meat
in it
?
” clarified Sky as the waitress brought a plate of barbequed pigeon.

     “Why should there be meat in it
?
” asked Clover rhetorically as she received her dish, which was a type of flat bread with the same vegetable curry that Ray was having.

    “But… would it not be tasteless
?
” asked Sky, looking puzzled.

     Ray stopped eating and looked at Sky. So did Clover.

     “Matter _ what is it of this that it is tasteless or tasteful
?
” asked Ray.

     “Of course it matters, Ray
!
That is the reason why we eat, is it not
?
” answered Sky disbelievingly.

     “No
!
” answered Ray.

     “What do you mean by ‘no
!
’
?
” Sky asked, looking more puzzled as he began to tear away a piece of the dead bird.

     “Taste _ it is not of this which forms the reason why we eat, Minvian Proest; but rather for the sole purpose of survival only,” answered Clover on Ray’s behalf.

     “Well, of course, I agree with you that we eat for the purpose of survival, but we also eat for the purpose of enjoyment, do we not
?
For the pleasure of the senses, that is the point of life, right
?
” Sky said as a matter of fact.

     “No
!
” said Ray, as he began to eat again.

     “No
!
” enforced Clover just before she put a piece of curried bread in her mouth.

     Sky dropped the piece of dead bird back onto the plate.

     “Really
?
” asked Sky.

     “Really
!
Eat _ the purpose of this is strictly for survival only and not for the pleasure of the senses because in order to eat, you will have to hurt and kill and destroy a life; which in turn causes unnecessary suffering to innocent living beings
!
” Ray pointed out strictly.

     “Survive _ it is the right of every living being to do of this, so we do not have the right to deprive them of their lives just because we like the taste of their flesh in our mouths; therefore the killing and eating of animals causes suffering to the animals themselves and should not be practiced by anyone
!
” added Clover.

     Sky leaned back in his chair. His jaw was wide open in disbelief.    

     “That is ridiculous
!
Absurd
!
Are you saying that I do not have the right to eat this pigeon because it has the right to live
?
” argued Sky as he waived the piece of pigeon meat in front of Ray and Clover.

     “Yes
!
” Ray said with a firm stare.

     “Definitely
!
” Clover added with a firm stare at Sky as well.

     “You Elementhars are crazy
!
Crazy
!
If that is the case, why you do you eat fruits and vegetables. Why do you not just choose to starve to death
!
” retorted a very angry Sky.

     “Sun _ if only I could draw energy directly from one of it, I would abstain from even the consumption of plants, but since that is not
yet
possible, I choose to eat plants rather than animals to show compassion and respect for the higher forms of life; for animals are more similar to us than plants and like us, they have feelings and emotions. Feel _ they do of this of fear, pain, sadness, disappointment, anger, happiness, gladness and such, so killing them is tantamount to killing another human being
!
” Ray explained.

     “Agree _ I do of this with every word that Master Iddell had spoken, bearing in mind that there is the Law of Retribution, which is a physical and natural, all engulfing law that
no one
escapes from; and so if you are merciless against a component of nature, an animal for example, then nature will reciprocate by being merciless against you. Saying _ of this, it goes ‘Live and let live; or kill and be killed’; and we prefer to live, so we let live
!
” stressed Clover.

     Sky shook his head. He could not believe what he was hearing. Unfortunately for Sky, he was wrong. Thinking that he was right, he continued to argue with Ray and Clover.

     “I do not believe in this rubbish
!
Phah
!
Then what about all the
demons
that you have killed
?
Hmm
!?
What about all the
robbers
and
assassins
and even the
Serpentians
who lost their lives to your blades and your mysterious magical powers, huh
?
” questioned Sky.

     “Live _ they did not let us do of this, so we reciprocated by not letting them continue to live, what is so confusing about that
?
” asked Ray.

     “What
?
What did you mean by that
?
” retorted Sky.

     “Self-defence,” explained Clover.

     “Self-defence
?
What happened to ‘Live and let live’
?
” asked Sky rhetorically.

     “Agreement _ it is in complete of this with the “Live and let live” philosophy, which in essence is also in complete harmony with the Law of Retribution,” answered Ray.

     “Meant _ what Master Iddell did of this was that if someone provokes or attacks an innocent person or party without being provoked by that said person or party, then the attacker has forfeited his right to live as he has chosen to kill, and therefore he shall be killed as a result, and we humans, as one of the elements of nature,
then
have the right, or even duty, to kill the attacker in order to restore equilibrium and order,” interceded Clover before Sky could say a single word.

     Sky sat silent and frozen. A piece of grilled pigeon was held still in his hand. His mouth was gaped wide open in disbelief yet again.

     “You Elementhars are crazy
!!!
” he finally yelled out.

     “No
!
” said Ray.

     “Unenlightened _ you are of this,” said Clover.

     “Correct
!
” agreed Ray.

     The three soldiers ate the rest of their dinner silently. Sky was visibly upset with Ray and Clover, who in turn, were irritated by Sky’s ignorance. Ray was the first to finish his meal and sat silently waiting for Clover. When Clover had finished hers, both she and Ray afforded a polite bow to Sky and returned to their rooms. Sky meanwhile, was still infuriated as he sat there alone finishing his dinner. He finally left for his room with a bottle of wine in his hand.