Part CXII: Shadows of the Past
Date: Kapton 18th, 114 A.U.
Flek stared out the window as the earth rushed by below as they flew over the plains. After months of traveling, he was finally returning to his homeland and to Lord Freglak. So much had happened since he’d last smelled the pine scent of the trees and felt their rough bark. But as much as Flek wanted to see the sights again, a cold pit of dread was forming within him.
So much had happened. He had gained much. And he had lost his power.
Flek knew that he couldn’t have his power anymore. He had been a fool to make the deal with the spirit in the first place, and his deal had nearly destroyed the Xavier Team. And yet, as he anticipated the re-entrance into the fortress and into the courts of Lord Freglak, it bothered Flek how much of his renown and prestige among them was built on empty vanities and nothing.
Or even how much his own entrance into the Xavier Team—as the Warrior—had been build no such vain promises. Promises that he only kept by the wretched being that had lived inside of him. All gone.
He turned at the noise to see Astrid entering the chamber that he was in. Glancing at her, he turned to look back out the window, watching as the earth rushed by.
“Hey,” he finally said to Astrid as she walked next to him.
“Hi, Flek,” Astrid said, and paused for a couple minutes as they just watched the earth rushed by outside. And then she again spoke.
“You’ve been spending a lot of time here, haven’t you?”
Flek shrugged, not exactly paying attention to how much time he’d spent here since they’d left. “I guess; why?”
“I know how you feel,” Astrid said, sitting down next to him and Flek glanced at her briefly. What did she mean?
“What do you mean?” Flek asked, giving voice to his question.
“You know how I murdered the man in Araelia,” Astrid said after taking a deep breath.
“You might have mentioned it before,” Flek said. “I have a vague recollection, but no real memory of it, though.”
“I became involved with a government espionage program against a group of, well, I don’t know what they were doing—but they were terrorists of some sort,” Astrid replied. “And I got trapped as a spy for the government whom the terrorists trusted.” She licked her lips. “Long story short, I found myself in the position where I either helped them to murder one of my patients at the hospital, or they’d kill me. And so I chose to murder my patient.” She bit her lip. “It’s taken me a long time to get over it, mostly with Monty’s help. But listen, Flek. Don’t let your guilt consume you. It nearly drove me to suicide… You have—you have to figure out what you want to live for. And why.”
“So when did you finally decide?” Jroldin asked, still shocked that Number 994 hadn’t originally been on their side at the creation of the Xavier Team.
“I… I can’t hang my decision on one moment,” Number 994 replied. He had just been explaining to them the truth about his loyalties. “Up until the Citadel of Tzel-Maret, I was still looking and waiting for the right opportunity to betray you, but then…” He paused. “Things seemed to change after we joined up with Augger and began our long trip back. We spent a long time together in our slow journeying, and…” He pursed his lips. “I broke the rules of the orcs. And I committed my course. I was still worried, though… The prophesy of Xavier worried me that I might end up being the traitor…”
“But thankfully you weren’t, and it all turned out relatively well,” Zarien said, concluding. “Though I must say that I can’t believe that you still hated my gut all that time and still managed to keep your self-control.”
“Rule Number 52: Never betray your emotions. Betray your emotions and you betray your whole plan,” Number 994 said, raising an eyebrow. “I lived by the rules. I still do in many ways… It’s hard to break old habits.”
“We should be arriving at the goblin city within the next five days,” Reynyagn said, gesturing at the map.
“Yes; we’ve been making good time so far,” Augger replied. “What should we be preparing for?”
“Prepare for anything,” Reynyagn said, pursing his lips. “When I last left, Lord Freglak had been beginning a war with the Emperor. While I hope that the strength that I saw in the goblins would be enough to keep back their forces, the Emperor is powerful. The goblin empire may very well be mostly in ruins. We need to be prepared to fight off the goblins, and, if their empire still exists, to deal with tensions between the goblin priests and Freglak.”
“These priests intrigue me…” Augger said. “You said they worshipped a tree?”
“An abnormally large tree, but yes,” Reynyagn said.
“Interesting…” Augger said, shutting his eyes. “I seem… I feel like I have an inkling in my memories… Some hidden thought and memory of my ancestors that bears some resemblance to this… Something that may lend its insight on why the goblins worship the tree… But I can’t remember it.”
“We still have a lot of time left before us before we arrive,” Reynyagn reminded him. “We’ll have time.”
“We’ll have time enough,” Augger agreed. “We only have so much time though before we can push off the final confrontation with the Emperor. We must move fast.”
Date: Kapton 18th, 114 A.U.
Flek stared out the window as the earth rushed by below as they flew over the plains. After months of traveling, he was finally returning to his homeland and to Lord Freglak. So much had happened since he’d last smelled the pine scent of the trees and felt their rough bark. But as much as Flek wanted to see the sights again, a cold pit of dread was forming within him.
So much had happened. He had gained much. And he had lost his power.
Flek knew that he couldn’t have his power anymore. He had been a fool to make the deal with the spirit in the first place, and his deal had nearly destroyed the Xavier Team. And yet, as he anticipated the re-entrance into the fortress and into the courts of Lord Freglak, it bothered Flek how much of his renown and prestige among them was built on empty vanities and nothing.
Or even how much his own entrance into the Xavier Team—as the Warrior—had been build no such vain promises. Promises that he only kept by the wretched being that had lived inside of him. All gone.
He turned at the noise to see Astrid entering the chamber that he was in. Glancing at her, he turned to look back out the window, watching as the earth rushed by.
“Hey,” he finally said to Astrid as she walked next to him.
“Hi, Flek,” Astrid said, and paused for a couple minutes as they just watched the earth rushed by outside. And then she again spoke.
“You’ve been spending a lot of time here, haven’t you?”
Flek shrugged, not exactly paying attention to how much time he’d spent here since they’d left. “I guess; why?”
“I know how you feel,” Astrid said, sitting down next to him and Flek glanced at her briefly. What did she mean?
“What do you mean?” Flek asked, giving voice to his question.
“You know how I murdered the man in Araelia,” Astrid said after taking a deep breath.
“You might have mentioned it before,” Flek said. “I have a vague recollection, but no real memory of it, though.”
“I became involved with a government espionage program against a group of, well, I don’t know what they were doing—but they were terrorists of some sort,” Astrid replied. “And I got trapped as a spy for the government whom the terrorists trusted.” She licked her lips. “Long story short, I found myself in the position where I either helped them to murder one of my patients at the hospital, or they’d kill me. And so I chose to murder my patient.” She bit her lip. “It’s taken me a long time to get over it, mostly with Monty’s help. But listen, Flek. Don’t let your guilt consume you. It nearly drove me to suicide… You have—you have to figure out what you want to live for. And why.”
“So when did you finally decide?” Jroldin asked, still shocked that Number 994 hadn’t originally been on their side at the creation of the Xavier Team.
“I… I can’t hang my decision on one moment,” Number 994 replied. He had just been explaining to them the truth about his loyalties. “Up until the Citadel of Tzel-Maret, I was still looking and waiting for the right opportunity to betray you, but then…” He paused. “Things seemed to change after we joined up with Augger and began our long trip back. We spent a long time together in our slow journeying, and…” He pursed his lips. “I broke the rules of the orcs. And I committed my course. I was still worried, though… The prophesy of Xavier worried me that I might end up being the traitor…”
“But thankfully you weren’t, and it all turned out relatively well,” Zarien said, concluding. “Though I must say that I can’t believe that you still hated my gut all that time and still managed to keep your self-control.”
“Rule Number 52: Never betray your emotions. Betray your emotions and you betray your whole plan,” Number 994 said, raising an eyebrow. “I lived by the rules. I still do in many ways… It’s hard to break old habits.”
“We should be arriving at the goblin city within the next five days,” Reynyagn said, gesturing at the map.
“Yes; we’ve been making good time so far,” Augger replied. “What should we be preparing for?”
“Prepare for anything,” Reynyagn said, pursing his lips. “When I last left, Lord Freglak had been beginning a war with the Emperor. While I hope that the strength that I saw in the goblins would be enough to keep back their forces, the Emperor is powerful. The goblin empire may very well be mostly in ruins. We need to be prepared to fight off the goblins, and, if their empire still exists, to deal with tensions between the goblin priests and Freglak.”
“These priests intrigue me…” Augger said. “You said they worshipped a tree?”
“An abnormally large tree, but yes,” Reynyagn said.
“Interesting…” Augger said, shutting his eyes. “I seem… I feel like I have an inkling in my memories… Some hidden thought and memory of my ancestors that bears some resemblance to this… Something that may lend its insight on why the goblins worship the tree… But I can’t remember it.”
“We still have a lot of time left before us before we arrive,” Reynyagn reminded him. “We’ll have time.”
“We’ll have time enough,” Augger agreed. “We only have so much time though before we can push off the final confrontation with the Emperor. We must move fast.”
RSS Feed