The Last of the Sages (Sage Trilogy, Book 1) (13 page)

“Was he a resident of Allay?”

“He was actually born in the Sage Association, a community where top level Sages would meet and discuss current events. Lakrymos was said to be the youngest to ever release his eidolon - at the age of ten years old. He spent most of his time at the Sage Association, delegating responsibilities to other Sages and such. He came to the Kingdom of Allay only once every ten years to see the Academy. Although the Sage Association is outside Allay in a place undisclosed to normal people like us, every Sage is an Allayan.”

“Why? Why aren’t there Sages from other Kingdoms?”

“Every Kingdom has their own specific powerhouse. Their own niche. Ours are the Sages. At least, they used to be. The year of ‘88 was when Lakrymos last visited, and there was a lot of anticipation, so much so that defenses weren’t at their peak.”

“What do you mean?”

“One Sage is more than enough to take on an army and quite a few elites of another Kingdom should they be stupid enough to attack. There was always a sense of safety in Allay, to the point that we began feeling too secure. With so many Sages stationed around the Kingdom, no one believed anything could happen. No defense could be broken. No enemy could penetrate. But our arrogance was our downfall. On the day of Lakrymos’s arrival, many of the newly initiated Sages left their stations to meet the legend in person. Now, they weren’t completely negligent. Instead of seven Sages guarding each entrance to the Kingdom walls, there were two on each of the quadrants. More than enough normally. But on this particular day, the Quietus came.”

“The Quietus?”

“The Quietus, from the Kingdom of Quietus, are extraordinary warriors. Little is known about them except for that they live for bloodshed and challenge. A quietus child could easily massacre our entire village if it saw fit, with little effort. They are brutal and powerful, yet no one knows what gives them their strength. Usually they stay in their Kingdom, fighting amongst themselves, as no one else is deemed worthy to challenge their power. But occasionally, one or two Quietus will try climbing the Allay walls. Of course, they are always killed by a Sage standing guard so we never worried about them. Even rarer, sometimes a whole group of Quietus, usually very young, would stray outside their realm and seek a challenge at another Kingdom. But they always met their doom. Although the Quietus are ruthless by nature, they have strict rules as far as interfering in the affairs of others. This day, however, something went horribly wrong.”

“Was there a group of Quietus?”

“There were only ten of them. That normally wouldn’t be a problem, as weird as it may have been. But they weren’t average warriors. The problem was that they were the elite of their Kingdom, the bodyguards of the King of Quietus himself.”

“The king’s bodyguards left him unguarded?”

“The idea was preposterous. What would these seasoned warriors and arguably the most civilized of their Kingdom be doing here? Whatever the reason, the two Sages at the eastern gate were no match for them. They were executed in seconds and the ten Quietus entered the village. And the village was so oblivious of anything beyond their borders that they didn’t know how to react. Sages, Lakrymos, Quietus - all of it sounded like fairy tales and imagination, and as long as they were left alone to live as they saw fit, they loved being in ignorance of what us soldiers do. When the Quietus arrived, it was a massacre, yet…it was still just a ruse.”

“A ruse?”

“Only about a fourth of the village was murdered when the Quietus suddenly stopped killing of their own accord. They just stood still in the village square, and waited, knowing that the Sages would execute their wrath quickly. Five Sages answered the call and spoke to the group of Quietus, demanding that they take their battle elsewhere. The Quietus agreed to go to the courtyard of the Academy…where Lakrymos waited in rage.

“At the courtyard, they gave little explanation for their arrival, demanding only that Lakrymos meet with them for a conversation. The Sages refused at first, sensing a trap, and they responded in kind. The entire Sage battalion congregated around these ten, perching on the pillars above, circling the Academy entrance doors, ready to pounce on and kill the Quietus as soon as they gave their story. With every Sage brought together at the southern wall, there was no one to defend against the Quietus Army that abruptly arrived. A hundred quietus infantryman stormed the western wall, broke through and, surprisingly, left the village alone, only killing a few passing citizens in order to attract the Sages’ attention.”

“Lakrymos gave orders quickly, telling Sages to save the village and warn those protecting the King and Queen. Little did he know that the castle was one of the Quietus’s primary targets. The King and Queen would be captured, their own bodyguards unable to take on the waves of Quietus that fought them. Still, the order was given, and the Sages went their separate ways to save the Kingdom, each of them divided and conquered by a waiting death squad. The Quietus had planned an attack on Allay for decades, waiting for the perfect time, when our guard would be down and all the Sages could be exterminated at once. They chose a perfect day. One Quietus even said, ‘It was the ‘perfect genocide, swift and thorough.’ The Quietus had divided into groups as well as the Sages, but their groups were calculated well in advance, each troop knowing full well its members’ strengths and weaknesses. And as each Sage was slowly cut down, one by one, the Sage Association was forced to send every member they could muster, even their reserve, to protect their homeland.”

“All were defeated as more and more armies of Quietus, hundreds upon hundreds, stationed around the Allay Kingdom, its walls, and even the forest, waiting in the wings for their unsuspecting prey. I remember a villager telling me once that they had overheard a trio talking, discussing how Allay was the Kingdom to test their might on, the Languor and Prattle Kingdoms being nothing by comparison. The Quietus wanted to collectively know that they were the best, defeating all that stood in their way. And with Allay gone, there would be only one realm left to challenge their might, one Kingdom remaining that was higher than us: Zen-echelon…but that conquest would be reserved for another day.

“In no time at all, Allay’s infantry was dead along with every one of its Sages, except for Lakrymos. He fought the elite of the Quietus Kingdom valiantly, but already they had demolished his Kingdom, massacred his people and murdered his soldiers. He wasn’t the cool and calm warrior of legend anymore. He didn’t strike fear into the Quietus elites. He was now just a man. A man with great power, but still just a man - his symbolism cut down, his spirit broken. They had anticipated this. Everyone has a weakness, and they had figured his out. They knew that under normal circumstances, even fifty on one, Lakrymos would be the victor, maybe bruised, a little scarred, but impressively the victor. He was the highest level of Sage after all. Yet, they were eventually able to overwhelm him, and force him to his knees…out of a broken heart.

“It was a great battle, not one of shame or dishonor. He managed to kill many before they humbled him. And without ridicule or insult, they respectfully brought the giant down and spoke to him as an equal, despite their triumph. They asked him, what would he, this warrior of warriors, this legend among the Quietus people, desire. He didn’t hesitate. He asked for the sparing of his people, for the Quietus to cease the ravaging of his already decimated home.

“The Quietus agreed, a laugh rumbling deep within, and Lakrymos saw through his enemy: deception.

“Clear-headed now, he broke free of his captors’ grasp, destroying their bodies with a flick of his wrist as the eidolon he carried bellowed a war cry. The Quietus had prepared for this, knowing that Lakrymos’s intoxication with grief would end at some point, and so the captured king and queen were suddenly brought forth to squelch his rage. Lakrymos’s anger subsided as he saw his reason for living standing before him, the code of the Sage whispering maliciously in his ear: the King and Queen are your life.

“Lakrymos bowed solemnly, ready to raise his blade, when the king of Allay bellowed a ‘STOP! Do as they say!’ fearful of his own life. Lakrymos shook his head no in defiance, refusing his birth right, the Sage code, and his name. He knew they would not spare their lives. Not these Quietus. Unfortunately for Lakrymos, his non-compliance with his own King had also been anticipated.

“Through the crowd, gliding like water on rock, the King of Quietus emerged, protected by his own as far as the eye could see. He wore a pitch-black hooded cloak, covering his face and body, so that all one was able to see of him was that he was a big man, over eight feet tall, and that his hands were hideously thick and calloused as if they were made of granite. Intimidating to all who saw him, he came face to face with Lakrymos, unafraid.

“‘I understand your will to fight,’ he said. ‘Still, as long as I am present, your efforts will achieve very little.’

“‘I will not let you harm the King and Queen,’ Lakrymos stated respectfully but firmly, his decision made.

“‘You bow before me yet you make demands. How interesting. I commend you, Sage, for impressing me is an accomplishment not easily achieved. Yet, I am not willing to spare the head of my enemy without recourse. Are you willing to sacrifice for their lives?’

“‘I would die for them in an instant.’

“‘Do not be so dramatic, warrior. I know of your contract with death. I speak of your soul.’

“‘What do you mean?’ Lakrymos said. For the first time since the siege had begun, he grew afraid.

“‘I desire your salvation, human. The treasure you have coveted since your first breath. Allow me to consume your soul, to gain the power of a Sage coupled with my own, and I swear, that no Quietus now, or ever, shall lay a finger on the Kingdom of Allay or its inhabitants. Neither shall the King or Queen lose their life, nor their soul.’

“‘You would spare everyone, including them, in exchange for my soul and my Sage abilities?’

“‘Yes, creature,’ the hooded man breathed, nodding in approval. The King of Quietus, despite his violent nature, was known for his cold-hearted honesty. Lakrymos knew that if there was anyone to trust in all of Quietus, it was him.

“‘I pray you keep your word, monster.’ Lakrymos threatened, ‘or I will fly to hell myself to tear your spirit limb from limb!’

“‘Ah…’ the Quietus King laughed, ‘but you would no longer have a soul to do so.’

“That day, Lakrymos, the greatest Sage in our history, lost his life and his soul at the hands of the Quietus Kingdom. True to his word, the King passed a law in the middle of our own courtyard, declaring that no Quietus was to ever set foot on our soil, less they be executed speedily and their soul consumed by the King himself. Our own King and Queen were spared, but,” Catherine paused, her voice breaking. “They were taken and brought to Quietus, made into slaves, and the Kingdom of Allay has struggled ever since to survive without their leadership…”

“How was the Quietus King able to gain the power of a Sage? And what did you mean by ‘he consumed Lakrymos’s soul?’”

“I’m not sure exactly. All I know is that, somehow, the Quietus can take your very soul and all that it possesses - memories, abilities, thoughts, dreams…and absorb them into their own body. I’m not sure how it’s done.”

“Then I’m glad I’ll never have to see one, or meet one.”

“Yes. As long as you stay on Allayan soil, you won’t ever meet a Quietus.”

The stage coach stopped abruptly, the horses neighing loudly as if to say “get out.” James climbed out the door. Taking Catherine’s hand, he helped her step down into the snow that lay in front of the eastern doors.

“I guess chivalry isn’t dead after all,” Scarlet remarked from her post. She leaned against the side of the eastern doors, arms crossed as if she had been waiting for their arrival the whole time. She was emitting a strange scarlet glow from her body, but James figured it was some weird reflection between the light, her hair, and her armor, which was now visible for all to see. In spite of the climate, she did not wear a cloak to protect her.

“Aren’t you cold?” James asked as he cringed under a stray breeze.

“Not at all,” Scarlet sighed as she rubbed her forearms. “Toasty, really.”

“Right,” he stated flatly. “So are you here to take us back to the Academy?”

“Hardly. I know what it’s like to be cooped up in there. Catherine said she wanted some time outside of the place so I agreed.”

“Oh yeah, you’re cousins, right?”

Scarlet stole a glance at Catherine who maintained a blank face and then glared at James.

“I’m not breaking the rules because we’re family,” Scarlet said. “And in reality, she’s more like a half-cousin, through marriage.”

“Which doesn’t make us any less close,” Catherine sang as she hugged Scarlet. Scarlet dropped the cold composure and hugged her back.

“That reminds me,” James stated. “If the King and Queen are gone, who’s running the Kingdom? Nobody?”

Catherine looked up from her embrace and into Scarlet’s eyes. Her cousin looked away and  let her go, scratching her head.

“At the moment, it’s a little complicated,” Scarlet answered. “But I guess one could say the Princess. The sole heir to the throne. She’s the only one who survived the siege of ‘88 which I’m sure Catherine told you all about. When the Princess is a little older, she’ll be able to become Queen and take a more prominent role in the Kingdom as a whole.”