Forest & Kingdom Balance (34 page)

He brought his father into the house, got fresh
water and found clean clothes for him. He washed him and bound some
of the worst cuts so they wouldn’t flap open. When he was almost
through washing him, he cleaned off part of the floor next to Pa
and put a blanket down. He made sure Pa’s back was clean before he
moved him to the blanket. Enock washed up and dried his hands
before he dressed him. He wanted to do his best, so he was careful
with the cot cover and made sure to get each stitch in a line and
straight, just like Momma taught him.

Enock needed to drag Pa on the blanket to get him
outside. He was starting to get a little dizzy. It wasn’t any
trouble though; he had dug the grave the night before. Once Pa was
right up to the grave he stopped to catch his breath and then
hopped down. He pulled the blanket into his arms being careful that
Pa didn’t touch dirt until he laid him down. Enock wanted to be
sure of that because he wanted to do his best.

He back filled the grave, taking time to neaten it,
then knelt. “I did my best Pa.” He said. The sun went down as he
sat there. He didn’t think much, just sat. Later in the night he
saw a light off to the side but didn’t pay much attention. The
light came closer and a woman sat beside him. He looked over, “I
did my best.” He said

“I know.” Dionara held him and let her love fill the
emptiness as she rocked him. The centuries and millennia slowly
return to Enock’s awareness, but his appearance never changed,
nothing did, he just sat there in her arms.

“Enock, you don’t need to rule the world to make it
better.” She held him and opened herself to him completely, so that
he could see the truth of her flame. “You can make the world better
one person at a time, one day at a time. You have an incredible
gift that can make a difference a thousand different ways. Why not
start over? The Caretaker can show how to look different after a
change. You could roam the land and discover who you are, and who
you would have become if this had not happened.”

She stroked his hair. “There is more greed in this
world than either of us can imagine. But it never was about the
trappings of wealth for you, or even power for power’s sake. You
wanted control. Perhaps with the control in your hands, you could
make a difference. But control is an illusion, we don’t have
control, we only have choice and our choices determine who we
become.”

“There is also evil in this world, you’ve met most
of it, but it is not you. It has hardened you, made you forget. You
started out with one goal, to make a world that would be safe for
them, and one that they would be proud of. Let us help you to start
over.”

The Knight knew what she was doing, and why. It
didn’t matter. He could feel her flame and knew the truth in it.
It’s been a very long time since he thought of his family and just
wanted to rest here a moment. Her idea had merit. It’s been
thousands of years since he enjoyed the simple pleasures.
“What have my choices been, and why had I made
them?”
He asked himself.

His first choice had been revenge. In retrospect,
never a good start. As he hunted the raiders, the death and
destruction he found in their wake only fueled his grief and anger.
Later, much later, he had a good idea. He would teach people to
protect themselves. That had most likely been his mother’s
influence.

He remembered when the first kingdoms were
established. He would be given ale and a cot at any castle, way
station, or travel house. He’d visit a kingdom, make a few
suggestions, kiss a few girls and move on. He looked at the graves.
“It is true that we cannot change the past, but
it is also true that we cannot return to it.”

“Enock.”
He thought.
“I haven’t heard that name since my first
millennium.”
He smiled.
“It seemed like
every mother for generations named their son Enock. Then I became
the Red Knight and a couple hundred years later you couldn’t find a
single boy named Enock. Memory is fleeting.”
He recognized
the irony.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had stopped to
reflect and consciously choose a path, a millennium at least. What
was his life? He could see how his days were filled with vigilance
against treachery as he balanced his control on the edge of a
razor.
“Who was going to betray me? When would
they attack? How would the betrayal come, and when? Who hadn’t
followed his commands? Spies and strategy, always stay three steps
ahead.

“Why? Because the world must
respect and obey the Red Knight!”
He wondered what his
mother would have said to that. She most certainly would have given
him ‘that’ look. He knows what his father would have said. Of
course, his father would have had to stop laughing before he could
say it. He looked at the graves and thought about how many lives he
was willing to throw away just to exert his control.
“When did I become so indifferent to human life?”
He
searched his memory.
“Jarod, he decided. After
that, strategy was paramount. People became pieces on a game
board.

“When was the last time I knew
love?”
He couldn’t remember.
“Kalibra?”
He wondered.
“She’s a
great many things, however a true love is not among them. My
greatest joy in life at the moment is a woman who needs to stick a
knife in me to feel satisfied. Not good.

“What do I want? What do I
need?”
The Knight considered and rejected idea after idea.
“I need a new adventure!”
Then it dawned
on him.
“I wonder what would happen if I . .
.”
The Knight cut off his thought and sat up. “I thank you
Dionara but my choice is to take another path.” He told her as they
stood, then he gave her a reflective smile and walked away. She
watched him depart, and start to glow.

VIII

“Well, look at the bright side. It can’t go on too
long, sooner or later they’ll both die from lack of water.” Tre
said as he and Ular left the pavilion. Yamikura noted that if
nothing else, you had to admire his unique view on life.

As the sun rose on the second day, the Caretaker and
the Red Knight had not moved since the negotiation began. By the
afternoon of the first day, John and Kalibra had agreed that there
would be one representative from each camp at the table.
Replacements would meet outside the pavilion, and be met by the
retiring pair before entering. Deminar and Tre left the table a few
hours in.

Yamikura took the shifts with Kalibra, and John was
paired with Joshua. The principals agreed that Tre would sit watch
with Ular in the very late evening to early morning, as it was the
general consensus that those two were much more likely to start a
dice game than trouble.

Yamikura and Kalibra sat in unison.
“Kalibra is planning something.”
Catherine told
Yamikura.
“John is rousing the Elites, the excuse
is morning drills. She acts on pure impulse, I won’t be able to
give you much, or perhaps any, warning.”

“Understood.”
He watched
his former training partner for any telltale signs.
“The Knight is on her left which means she will have to come
across her body to attack. Are we sure it’s the Knight?”

Catherine considered his question.
“Nothing is for sure with Kalibra, but her desire is to ask
him what’s going on. She knows if she strikes the Caretaker he’ll
just turn into a bear and snap her in two. She is extremely
confident in her skills to fight but doesn’t like the idea of
starting a fight she knows will kill her. As for striking the
Knight, she has no reservations about that at all. Half the time
she sticks a knife in him, it’s just to watch him pop!”

“What’s so funny?” Kalibra looked at her
opposite.

“Tre’s comment.” Yamikura answered.
“You’ve spent too much time with Tre, Catherine.”

“Sorry. Good cover.”
Catherine’s embarrassment was evident.

“What other weapons does she have
this morning?”

“Just a throwing knife, top of her
back at the neckline. Would she try to snap his neck, or attack you
first?”

“No, she knows if she tried to
snap his neck, I’d have plenty of time to snap hers first. The
throwing knife is out. My blade would be through her armpit before
she could start a forward motion. Besides, she’s worn that knife
every day that I’ve known her. So that leaves the sword, but it’s
on my side?”
Yamikura tried to put himself in her
position.

“Can you see her scabbard up
close?"
He asked.

“Yes.”

“It opens on a hinge down its
length, there are three clasps on the blade side. If they are
undone then there would be a single strand of hair holding the
middle clasp together.”
He waited.

“This will take a little
time.”
Catherine focused completely on her presence in the
pavilion. She needed to see maximum detail.
“Yes,
the clasps are open and the hair is there.”

“She’s going to stab him under the
table.”
Yamikura pulled his blade as he spun, the stroke
would have severed her head, if it had not met her blade first.

“Now!”
Catherine’s shout
went out as Yamikura spun.

The Elites moved to their assignments the instant
she spoke. When they moved, the Crimson Guard made for the
pavilion, all with a single order, put a blade in the Red Knight.
Two Elites made straight for the pavilion, they were the last line
of defense. Three others were to get in between the pavilion and
the Guard to catch any that made it through. John, Tre, and the
remaining fourteen Elite intercepted the eleven Guardsmen midway to
the pavilion.

Kalibra kicked back from the table, to a fighting
stance. Yamikura used the momentary upper hand to fight her back,
away from the pavilion. With their blades at the speed of a
hummingbird’s wing, the two friends and training partners battled.
Yamikura’s less aggressive style gave up slight attack advantages
so he could press her to give up ground. She substituted her normal
kill strokes, which against Yamikura would be risky, in hopes that
she could injure him and make it back to the Red Knight. She caught
his blade with hers and reached for the throwing blade with her
left. He flipped her blade and drew his across to catch her left
hand with his hilt. The throwing blade tumbled to the ground.

John defended strokes from three different Guards as
he fought his was to Joshua. Two Elites had faced off with the
Guard captain, one was down and the other in trouble. Joshua’s kill
stroke met John’s blade. Calm and centered, John’s blade countered
the Guard captain’s. No longer the crippled boy who wanted nothing
more than to die in battle for his crimes. His flame was now two.
He had a wellspring of love to draw on and to give him peace. He
was the wind and time slowed. His blade moved of its own accord,
and he was aware of every man around him. Faster and faster his
blade flew, sure and to the mark, his balance was true. He could
see his opponent’s moves develop before they struck and countered
them easily.

The rhythm turned in John’s favor. He saw his
opportunity three strokes away. Two. One. John caught the captain’s
sword guard with his tip and the adversary’s sword flew from his
hand. A quick stroke to the sword arm to keep him out of the fight
and his blade stopped at Joshua’s neck. “Tell your men to disarm or
you die.” Joshua grimaced, then his gaze turned in disbelief to the
pavilion.

Kalibra hesitated, Yamikura didn’t trust his sight
and moved to the advantage carefully. He swung around behind her
with his blade at her throat. “Yield!” He commanded. Her sword
dropped, and he realized why she hesitated. A ball of red light
engulfed the Pavilion. The Elites backed away as the ball grew in
size and intensity. The red light brightened, swirls of deeper and
lighter tones moved within the ball that shone like a beacon at
midnight. It pulsed, slowly at first, then quicker and quicker. The
speed increased to become a hum. In an instant it shrank to half
its size and paused. With a thunderous sound the globe burst and a
crimson wave swept out from the center. Men fell, the ground shook,
and trees bent in its path as the wave glided across the landscape
while the sound weakened like an echo of thunder.

Yamikura lay on the ground, his blade still at
Kalibra’s throat. “Tell the Guard to disarm, they have no one to
defend now.”

“Guard Disarm!” Kalibra yelled, though it was
unnecessary. As the men arose and walked to the pavilion, there was
no conflict.

John ordered Peter to collect the Guard’s weapons
and signaled Tre to see to the wounded. He met Kalibra and Yamikura
as he reached the pavilion. They watched the Caretaker redress.
“Caretaker, what happened?” John asked.

The Caretaker stood there, he started to answer,
then stopped and considered. “I don’t know. He seems to have grown
tired of people’s foolishness and desired a new adventure. The rest
you saw.” The Caretaker’s consciousness spiraled out from the
clearing, he went farther and faster. Nothing. He went to the
coast, and then across the sea to the Red Knight’s fortress.
Nothing. He scanned the large Kingdoms and population centers.
Nothing. He turned to those who had gathered. “The crimson flame of
the Red Knight is no more.”

Tre joined the group at the pavilion. “Captain.”
John turned around to take his report. “Four Elites dead, six
wounded. The Guard have two dead and two wounded.” Tre said.

Kalibra looked over her shoulder. “Deminar, go
away.” She said as the High Councilor approached.

“Knife!”
Catherine’s mind
screamed as Deminar stepped up to Tre’s back.