FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (22 page)

     The sun rose the next day. The rhinoceros demon returned to the mud pond. As usual, it went to its favourite spot.

     Snap
!
The branch platform breaks
!
The demon falls and sinks into the hole in the mud that Ray has made. Ray runs out of his hiding place and using his Elemental Sorcery skills, creates a continuous blast of hot flames at the demon and its surrounding area. The demon screams out in pain and struggles to get up and get out, but to no avail. The mud is just too slippery. As the water in the mud hole evaporates, the mud hardens and ‘cements’ the demon in place. It is unable to fight, and it is also unable to fly off. It screams out in frustration as it realises that it is stuck.

     “Damn you, Elementhar
!
Where the hell did you come from
!?
” curses the rhinoceros demon.

     Ray does not bother to respond. Drawing in a deep breath and summoning up all of his remaining energy, including from his Reserver, he executes a barrage of Heat Bursts at the demon’s head, and blasts it to pieces. Then he falls down to his knees in sheer exhaustion. Master Santlyn comes out of hiding and offers him a drink of water from his bamboo water container. Ray accepts it with a smile. Master Santlyn pats him on the back. Ray has passed his second and final test. He is now a Master Elementhar
!

     Ray and Master Santlyn made their way back to camp. There was no need to inform the others of Ray passing his test. The smile on both their faces said it all. The others novices exchanged bows with him and shook his hand. Then they all went to sleep. When morning came, Master Santlyn and the others parted ways with Ray. Ray was told to return to Monune Ruby.

     It would be another three months before Master Santlyn and the last of the novices returned to Monune Ruby. Then a simple ceremony was held to mark their graduation. Ray and the novices were each presented with a certificate, a silver headband with a large ruby set into it, and a set of orange-red robes. Then came the assignments. All of the new graduates were assigned Travelling Patrols. With the exception of the Dellix twins, each new graduate was assigned a different route to travel. Radiance and Bloom were given an exemption. They were allowed to do their Travelling Patrol together. The new graduates set out of Monune Ruby with a mixed sense of pride and foreboding. They were proud of the fact that they were now Master Fire Elementhars, and they felt the sense of foreboding for they were to spend the next six months alone. But they understood the importance of carrying out their assignments. It was the best way to reach out to the people of Free Falls and rid them of their demon problems.

     When Ray was of the age 20, Master Calnen arrived at Monune Ruby to offer him a place as a novice with the Earth Elementhars. After a long discussion with Master Santlyn, Ray decided to postpone his search for his parents and take up Master Calnen’s offer instead.

     As Ray rides out with Master Calnen for Monune Brown Diamond, he wonders what the Earth Elementhars will be like
.
He wonders if he will be accepted. He wonders if he will pass and make his order proud, or fail miserably and be a huge embarrassment for his fellow Fire Elementhars. With all of his concerns in relation to the Earth Elementhars and Monune Brown Diamond, little does he know that in five years time a tragedy will strike Monune Ruby that will permanently change his life. All of his ‘family’ will be dead. Pride and shame will be insignificant. Success and failure will be meaningless. There will be only sadness, grief and an insatiable thirst for vengeance. In five years time, all that will matter to him from that point onwards is
vengeance!

TIMBERSTOCK

     The gentle breeze offers some solace from the late morning heat on this day, the
11
th
Day of Second Month of Wet Season in the Year 1200 of the Known Era
. Ray, Lance and Spirit take in their new sights. Colourful banners and posters adorn the side of buildings, street lamps and sign posts everywhere. The trio walk down the main road towards the market, feeling amused by these ridiculous ‘eyesores’ that the townsfolk have put up.

     The trio located the market place easily enough. Endless rows of food stalls, numerous varieties of food and the aroma of freshly cooked meals whetted their appetites. Saliva dripped from Spirit’s mouth. The travel-weary trio sat themselves down in a large stall and ordered an early lunch. Lance was so hungry that he ordered a second helping.

     “Name _ of this, what is this town’s, master
?
” asked Lance as they ate their meal.

     “Timberstock,” answered Ray.

     “Reason _ what is it of this that they put up these posters and banners
?
” asked Lance further.

     “Election,” said Ray with a cynical smile.

     Lance looked at one of the posters. ‘Vote for Etner
!
’ was written on it. The one next to it said ‘Vote for Rehum
!
’ Each poster had a portrait-style sketch of the face to which one of these names belong. Or at least that was what he thought they said.  All this writing and reading was still new to him.

     “Mayor _ of him, which one of these two would be better
?
” he asked.

     “Neither. Incompetent _ Rehum is of this, as he is the mayor for the past twenty five years and Timberstock has not shown much progress since then; and Etner owns a construction company, to which he can award contracts at double or triple the actual cost and skim money off the public. Outcome _ of this, it is irrelevant, for the townsfolk will suffer either way,” answered Ray.

     “Vote _ if these candidates are useless, then why should the townsfolk do of this for either of them
?
” asked Lance.

     “Vote _ there is no proper reason for them to do of this but they will do so anyway for the lack of a better choice, or because they foolishly believe the lies these two candidates tell,” answered Ray.

     “Decision _ of this, what should the people of Timberstock make
?
” asked Lance.

     Ray just shrugged his shoulders.

     Lance looked at his plate and felt a slight sense of panic.

     “Food _ master, why do I eat of it more than usual
?
” asked Lance.

    “Training _ because of this, you are using more energy than what you would normally use and therefore you will need to eat more than what you would normally eat,” explained Ray.

     Spirit was chomping down on his third helping, oblivious to the meaningless human activities around him.

     Two groups of people began to gather at opposite ends of the market place. Each group carried colourful banners and chanted slogans of their choice. Then they marched towards each other, chanting their slogans evermore loudly.

     “Rehum respects re-forestry
!
Save our forest
!
Vote for Rehum
!
” chanted one group.

     “Etner establish enterprises
!
Save the jobless
!
Vote for Etner
!
” chanted the other group.

     Then finally the two groups came face to face a few paces to where Ray, Lance and Spirit were having their early lunch.

     Angry words were exchanged between the two groups. Ray looked at them and shook his head in disbelief.

     “I don’t understand how you can support that money hungry leech
!
  The forest around Timberstock is as bare as it is, you want to let that greedy garbage of a human being build another sawmill
?
” said the leader of the pro-Rehum group.

     “People need to eat
!
  People have got to make a living
!
  Who cares about the environment when there are hungry mouths to feed
?
” replied the leader of the pro-Etner group.

     “That’s not true
!
  You
can
make a decent living
!
Just take less from the forest and re-plant what you took
!
  You’re not exactly starving, are you
?!
” said a pro-Rehum man.

     “Just take less from the forest
!?
We want more money
!
Who in his right mind wants to be poor forever
!?
That new sawmill will bring in the gold
,”
mocked a man from the pro-Etner group.

     “You greedy blood-sucking leech
!
” cursed a pro-Rehum man.

     “You naive tree-hugger
!
” retorted the other side.

     Then someone threw a stone at the pro-Rehum group. A full blown fistfight ensued. Banners went flying. Noses were broken. Faces were smashed. Blood got splattered everywhere. Shouts of anger and aggression overshadowed the cries of pain. Even furniture from the nearby stalls were used to inflict damage. Ray hastily paid the stall owner and then signalled Lance and Spirit to follow him. They moved to a place about 100 paces away, and ‘enjoyed’ the show.

     About a quarter of an hour later, a dozen soldiers from the local Provincial Guards garrison showed up and arrested all those who were involved in the fight. Anyone who was bloody or bleeding was arrested
!
Those arrested were loaded up onto horse-drawn carts and transported to the garrison. One of the soldiers stared at Ray, Lance and Spirit for a while, and then decided that the trio were not involved in the fight and lost interest in them.

     The trio went about the market searching for items that they needed. First, they got Lance a book and some writing tools. Then Ray found a tailor and ordered two sets of novice’s robes for Lance. Later, Ray spoke to several jewellers and blacksmiths, producing the silver pendant with the sword inside the two circles symbol. All of the people who Ray spoke to did not recognise the design of the pendant.

     “Pendant _ master, what is this of it
?
” enquired Lance.

     “Pendant _ this of it is the symbol of the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan, the assassins who massacred my,
our
, entire order 15 years ago. Pendant _ this one of it I have found clutched in the hand of one of my seniors when I buried him, and it is the only clue that I have to hunt them with,” replied Ray.

     Lance took a careful look at the pendant in Ray’s hand. He noticed that the pendant was faded somewhat and had burnt marks on it. He made himself memorize the symbol, for those whom this symbol represented were now his enemies as well.

     By late afternoon, the trio checked themselves into an inn. Ray had asked for and had gotten them a room on the third and highest floor. When they were in the room, Ray checked the diamond-like black jewel that was set into the metal cover of the thick ancient book. It was not spinning.

     “Book _ of it, is this the Original Vanguard Manuscript
?
” asked Lance.

     “Book _ of it, it
is
the Original Vanguard Manuscript and I am its rightful guardian, but I require that you keep this information a secret,” explained Ray as he showed Lance the book.

     Lance examined the book with great curiosity.

     “Jewel _ this of it is known as the Vanguard Jewel, and although it looks like a diamond, it is not. Unique _ it is of this because it is the only jewel known to have the ability to detect the presence of demons by pointing its apex towards them,” said Ray while pointing at the black jewel that was set into the metal cover.

     “Vanguard Jewel _ of it, if it is not a diamond, what is it then
?
” asked Ray.

     “Diamond _ it is not one of it, that is for sure as the Grand Order has consulted with many experts over the centuries; and the best theory so far is that it is a fragment of a rock that fell from the sky; and as to why it shows an attraction to demons, no one knows,” explained Ray.

     Lance placed the book into Ray’s backpack. Ray and Lance then immersed themselves in meditation. Spirit napped away in serenity.

          Earlier that same morning, two horse-mounted soldiers approached the western gate of a large fort at galloping speed. The fort was situated along the mountainous border of Eastern Falls and Serpentia. It was built over a small gap in the mountain range. To the north and south of it were steep and high mountains. On its eastern face it has a straight wall five storeys high or equivalent to approximately 25 paces in height. A semi-oval wall three storeys high formed its western face. The walls were 14 paces thick, made of large solid blocks of stone and were built to join with the hard rocks of the mountains on its north and south. In the middle of the fort were several buildings of varying height, some made of stone while others were made of logs. The eastern wall has a medium sized gate, with two doors made of thick, sturdy logs. The western wall has a large gate with a large door made of the same thick, sturdy logs.

     “Provincial Guards
!
Two approaching on horseback
!
” shouted one of the guards on top of the western wall.

     The leader of the sentries, a convian by rank, ordered the western gate to be opened. The two large wooden doors cracked open slightly. The two horse-mounted soldiers rode in. They wasted no time in securing their horses in the stables and then proceeded to a large, double storey stone building in the middle of the fort. Inside the building, they ‘stood at attention’ in front of their superior.

     “Freedom and harmony, Orgavian Ram Deffs
!
” said the two soldiers in unison as they bowed.

     “Freedom and harmony, Convian Serene Genox and Verallvian Rod Sayson
!
At ease
!
Take a seat. What news have you of the Serpentian mobilisation
?
” replied their superior as he rose from his seat and bowed in return.

     The two Provincial Guards sat down opposite their superior. The exhaustion on their faces was very evident.

     “The Royal Guard whom we have sent into Serpentia has been killed. Before he died, he managed to deliver his report to our contacts. The Serpentians have mobilised one serpenest, under the command of Battlelord Constrictor for a raiding attack. Approximately 7,800 soldiers, consisting of swordsmen, archers and Grand Catapults. Cavalry presence is unknown. Expected time of engagement, two or three days from now, sir
!
” reported Convian Genox.

     The orgavian sat in silent contemplation. Both Convian Genox and Verallvian Sayson looked at him eagerly.

     “An entire serpenest for a raiding attack
?
With Grand Catapults as well
?
This is overkill
!
Well, we will just have to handle it. Our strength here
may
only be one ‘lake’, which is 1,562 soldiers, but three days would be enough for us to strengthen our defences. We should be able to hold out until reinforcements arrive. I trust our colleagues of the Royal Guards know of our predicament
?
” said Orgavian Deffs.

     “Affirmative, sir
!
Convian Sky Proest and Exevian Meteor Staven are riding hard for Fallsene City as we speak. They will also spread the word to the town garrisons that we need help. We can expect some light reinforcements in a few days time,” said Verallvian Sayson.

     “Very well, that saves me a runner, whom I can use to recall Minvian Glow Jussette. I sent her and 3
rd
Pond, 312 soldiers in all, to hunt for bandits in Windswept Forest two days ago. These were orders sent from the palace itself. Many a rich merchant were robbed of their wealth while travelling through there and the prime minister is very upset about it. Anyways, if there is nothing further, you both are dismissed,” said the orgavian.

     Convian Genox had wanted to say something, but then she hesitated. Orgavian Deffs noticed her hesitation.

     “What is it, Convian Genox
?
” he asked.