The Chosen (22 page)

"Is it possible to give any race of man the characteristics and attributes of another?" asked the king.

"I believe so, though I have only tried with humans and orcs," Seth replied.

Seth knew where it was going as soon as the king began to question anew. This time he asked questions about possibilities. Would it be possible to entwine the attributes of more than two races of man, perhaps four or five? Was it possible to do the same with different species of animals? Could the same be done between men and animals, and other questions of the likes of these.

Seth again answered that he believed that most would indeed be possible, though he hadn’t tried it. He was a little unsure about the blending of a man and an animal as not all animals had the same organs as a man and it was a new ability he hadn’t been able to explore yet. It was after taking all this in and mulling it over for a while that the king posed his one real question.

"Could we use this ability to create a special breed of soldier?" King Valdadore asked, his face taking on a visage of pure tactical seriousness.

"It is possible," Seth conceded. Seth knew it was coming to this all along, and after his talk with Sara yesterday, the thought already made him uncomfortable. By serving the king and kingdom, Seth could twist it to serve Ishanya as well, but how would Sara feel about it? Seth did not want to disappoint her or do something that might put a wall between them. Seth waited for the next question, already loathing it.

"What would be required for you to perform such a blending as you call it?" the king asked. At this question the king leaned precariously over his saddle to hear Seth more clearly.

"I would need the men you wanted to blend, and whatever else you wished to blend them with," Seth replied. It seemed inevitable that the king would want to create some new breed of soldier. If they really were as outnumbered as the reports said, it may be their only chance. The king nodded his understanding and posed another query.

"Nearly all of our enemies have superior vision at night than we do. Orcs, goblins and trolls all see nearly as clearly at night as we do during the day. If they attack at night, without warning, we will be decimated. We need some scouts who can see as well in darkness as they can in daylight, but I want them adjusted to their eyes and new bodies before we arrive on the battlefield. We haven’t any prisoners to blend with our men, but what else may suffice?" the king asked, almost in desperation.

"You would need an animal, I suppose one with superior night vision, though I would suggest a large animal as close to the size of a man as possible. Having never tried it, I would not want to risk anything else at this point," Seth offered.

"What of the men, do we need anything in particular when it comes to the men?" The king had already decided upon the course of action.

"I would not take such a risk on
any
man, your majesty. If you wish this of me, then spare the young with families and children. Bring me men who have lived a full life already, have no families or wives, and have no faith to any god." These were Seth’s demands, and the only way he could think of to make it right with Sara. "One last thing, your majesty. The men have to volunteer of their own free will."

With a nod of his head the king left Seth’s side and raced ahead where he veered his stallion close to that of Philip, one of his knights. The king and knight spoke a moment. The knight, nodding his understanding, leapt from his speeding horse with amazing haste and agility, stripping his armor mid-flight and letting it fall like leaves. He landed with a roll and began running back the way they had come at an unbelievable velocity. Seth watched as his brother slowed and turned to retrieve the armor. With Philip racing back the way they had come, the king reined in his horse, slowing the procession to a trot for the remainder of the day, stopping twice to rest the horses and eat a quick meal before resuming.

The rest of the day the king kept a safe distance from Seth, who spent his time pondering what the consequences might be for the deed he had agreed to do. At their slowed rate of travel, the afternoon seemed to stretch unnaturally compared to the morning. The landscape looked much the same the entire day, covered from horizon to horizon with freshly cut fields broken only by the occasional farm house in the distance. But now that evening was upon them, the terrain took on a different look entirely. The first thing Seth noticed was the change in the road. Up until the last few miles it had been a well maintained cobble road; now it was just a wide dirt path. Previously there had been unending fields in all directions; ahead of them now he could see the edge of an immense forest with towering ancient oaks such as he had never seen before. These were massive trees whose trunks were wider than any tree Seth had ever before imagined. Though the trail had been blazed between the trees generations ago, and the trees cut back from the road a hundred yards to a side, as the miles passed beneath him Seth was disturbed to see that no light reached the earth where the road entered the forest. Despite the fact the nearest trees on either side of the trail were over two hundred yards apart, their immense limbs stretched across the great expanse, creating a nearly perfect canopy that left the ground below in utter darkness. The auras of these trees were also amazing to behold. Theirs was a rainbow hue like that of every plant Seth had noted, but these held an undercurrent of a deep purple. They pulsed so slowly as if to barely live at all with no real beginning or end to their rhythm.

As they neared the ancient forest a call came from the rear of the line that riders were on the horizon to the north, and gaining fast. Before even the king could react to the news, Philip came rushing up the trail, allowing himself several hundred yards to slow his pace before falling in beside the king, keeping pace with the royal mount effortlessly. Having been debriefed, Philip went to gather his armor and his horse as the king raised his hand into the sky signaling all those in the procession to halt.

Within moments the king gave orders and all set about dismounting their horses and, removing items from saddlebags, they began to set camp below the canopy of the trees, off the path. Though Philip had just returned, he unsheathed his twin short swords and raced off into the woods. Several men began dragging logs and sticks into a pile in preparation of a fire. Seth, Sara and Borrik watched as those with experience nearly had the camp set before they had even dismounted and tied their horses to an already established tether line. Seth stood transfixed as their camp was erected without a single direction given. This was discipline and experience in action. Awed by what they saw, the three walked beneath the canopy of trees into camp.

The immense forest was an entire new world to Seth and it sent all of his senses reeling. In the shadow of the trees the temperature was at least ten degrees cooler than out in the sun, but somehow it remained incredibly humid. The earth smelled rich here, and as stakes were driven into the ground to erect the various tents, the smell grew stronger and stronger as if the soil here was more potent than any other place he had traveled. It would explain the colossal size of the trees. Nothing but thick moss and a few varieties of fungus grew below the trees though vines hung everywhere. Looking around Seth saw no real sign of any other life either. However, reaching out with his magical senses Seth could feel literally millions of auras tugging at his consciousness. He located a nest of insects not far from camp that sprawled for hundreds of yards in all directions underground. In the trees birds and other creatures rested on branches or clung to the sides of the giant trunks. Life was everywhere in the forest, and Seth wandered around camp, Sara in tow, as he took in all of his surroundings.

*****

Borrik remained at the edge of camp, not quite feeling he belonged. This was not so much due to his appearance, but his station that hindered him here. He was not of the royal elite, he possessed no skills of war, and though he now felt as powerful as any non-blessed human soldier in his new form, he had no training to match. This was a camp of military precision, and Borrik did not know his place here. Deciding he had better learn to fit in, the better to serve his master, Borrik finally entered the camp and began dragging logs for the fire.

*****

Seth and Sara wandered aimlessly until finally someone shouted for Seth’s attention. Turning, Seth spotted Borrik near a large pile of deadwood, attempting to get his attention. Sara followed Seth’s lead again, this time back into the heart of camp. As they approached Borrik, who was motioning to the pile of wood, a ball of fire came shooting across the camp into it, making it explode into flame. Turning to see the origin of the fireball, Seth, Sara and Borrik all witnessed the smug grin on Vladmere's face.

"It seems his jealousy remains," Seth murmured.

Sara giggled as Seth and Borrik too shared a laugh. Watching them all laugh angered Vladmere all the more and he then stomped off across camp like a toddler in a tantrum.

Shortly after camp was completed, one of the soldiers collected Seth, Sara and Borrik and showed them their tents. Each in turn tossed their packs inside, and watched as Philip emerged once again from the forest. Chatting with Garret and Zorbin, the three disappeared back into the trees. Everyone in camp stood talking in small groups when the sound of hoof beats thrummed the ground in steady rhythm and the riders, who less than half an hour ago had been spotted on the horizon, came reeling to the edge of camp.

There were eight riders in all. Seth observed as they dismounted, using the care that comes with age to spare their joints the jarring of leaping down. His assumptions assured, Seth watched them tether their horses as the king himself walked out of camp to welcome them. Seth realized that it would be no surprise if the king knew them each by name. Sure there were thousands in the army, but most were young, having been with the army less than a decade. These men were grizzled well-decorated veterans, who had fought many campaigns, with more experience between the eight of them than nearly a hundred of their young counterparts. The king greeted each of them, clasping at the wrist like old friends, and speaking to each one in turn.

"What’s going on with them?" Sara asked. Seth was afraid to answer, but knew it was a necessity.

"I am to conduct an experiment on them. The king wants me to combine them with some animals to give them sharper vision in the dark so that they may better keep watch at night when our enemies are more likely to attack," Seth said.

"I see," Sara replied, obviously unhappy.

"It is out of necessity that I do this. I made sure the king brought me only men who have already lived a full life and have no family to speak of, and are volunteers. I did not want to make the same mistake today as I did yesterday," Seth admitted, feeling defeated.

"That, my darling, is precisely why I love you," Sara smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing Seth hard. He had gotten the approval he hadn’t ever hoped for.

Borrik emerged from his tent to join them just as Garret, Philip and Zorbin emerged from the forest, bringing with them a heavy load. Zorbin and Garret dragged behind them a grizzly bear that must have weighed at least three hundred pounds. And as if that wouldn’t be enough, Garret also had wrapped around his shoulders a small buck with perhaps five or six points to its credit. But it was Philip's prize that both astounded and offended Sara, and left others simply bewildered. Dragging behind Philip, their back legs broken, were a pair of large does. They thrashed wildly trying to escape and mewed loudly, their pain evident to everyone, but Philip ignored it, refusing to end their suffering. Before entering camp he lashed the beasts, by their broken legs, to a fallen log. Leaving the does to suffer Philip then assisted Garret by removing the buck from his shoulders and carrying it into camp. None there understood the reasoning for the foul treatment of the animals, and even hardened veterans found it unpleasant to endure the suffering of such animals, but all knew that a Knight of Valdadore would not do such a thing if it were not of necessity. Thus all stayed their hands, and their mouths, lest words betray their feelings on the matter.

As the evening wound down the bear and buck were summarily skinned and butchered and hung upon a spit above the blazing fire, soon filling the camp with the scent of cooking meat. The sizzle of fat dripping into the fire did at least a little to drown out the sound of the pleading animals at the forest's edge. The king sat near the fire speaking with the elderly veterans and none approached to interrupt him without invitation. Seth and Sara took the time to enjoy a few moments alone in the growing darkness as Borrik rested against a tent pole, his eyes closed. Seth watched from across the camp as his brother and the other knights spoke amongst each other, and though he wanted sorely to have more time to talk to his brother, he didn't know what they discussed and so did not want to interrupt them either. Glancing back to the fire, Seth saw the king and all eight of the veterans openly looking at him. Apparently the king had been relating something about Seth to the men, maybe giving them the details of their plan that not even Seth was yet aware of. Unable to restrain himself any longer, Seth released Sara. With a smile, he gestured for her to come with him. Stopping only to rouse Borrik, Seth led them directly to the fire, without invitation.

"Welcome, Lord Seth," the king said noting their approach. "I have been speaking to the men of your testing yesterday. Of course they had heard rumors, but I gave them the facts and the details and I believe them all to be very impressed." King Valdadore intoned.

"Thank you, your majesty," Seth nodded. "But what of our plans for these men? Do they know what they are volunteering for?" Seth asked.

"As best as I am able, I have informed them," the king replied honestly.

"Borrik, please remove your cowl so that these men may see their future," Seth requested.