FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (65 page)

     “Clover, come home. Stop this folly
!
We can talk everything out at home,” said Hammer.

     “Yes, sweetheart
!
Come home. We miss you,” said Fragrance.

     “Home _ though I miss you all a lot, this place is mine of it now,” said Clover.

     “Clover, why do you speak in this funny way
?
” asked Chrys.

     “Yes, sis, why do speak in this weird way
?
” echoed Pike.

     “Elementhar _ I am of her now, so I speak in such a way so as to honour the Pioneer Elementhar and all those who have come before me,” answered Clover.

     The Genoxes shook their head. As far as they were concerned, Clover had been brainwashed. They felt the need to get her out of Monune Sapphire and undo this damage.

     “Come home, Clover
!
Your parents are going crazy without you. It is not a very good thing you are doing here, running away like this. I do not know what has happened, but I am sure it can be resolved. Just come home and let us all talk about it,” said Castle, trying to be empathic as possible.

     “Explain _ I do not know how to do of this, but somehow I know that this is my true destiny; so to go home, I cannot, uncle” said Clover.

     “Do not be ridiculous
!
Just come home, Clover. We shall sort everything out when you are home,” said Hammer.

     “Home _ this place is mine of it now, father,” said Clover adamantly.

     All the Genoxes stand silent, including Clover. None of the Genoxes know what to say to convince her to go home and she does not know what to say to convince them that she should stay. It is a stalemate of sorts.

     “
Traitor!
” shouts Serene suddenly, taking everyone by surprise. Drawing out her sword, she runs towards Clover, raises the sword up above and in front of her head and cuts down….

    
Craaaack!
Serene’s sword cuts partway through the feeble Ice Wall Spell that Clover had cast at the last moment to protect herself, and the sword got stuck in it. Clover had fallen onto the ground when she tried to avoid her cousin’s cut while simultaneously conjuring up the defensive spell to protect herself.

     “
Serene!
” shouted Castle, horrified by his daughter’s action.

     Hammer was stunned. Fragrance grabbed on to him in fright. Chrys and Pike just stared blankly at Serene with their jaws dropped and their eyes bulging. All the nearby Elementhars turned their attention to the Genoxes.

     “Clover, are you all right
?
Are you injured
?
” asked an embarrassed and panicky Castle.

     “Fine _ I am of this, uncle,” was Clover’s weak reply as she got herself up, for she was clearly shaken as well.

     “Serene
!
Have you gone mad
!
Why are trying to kill your cousin
?
” asked Castle.

     Serene just looked from her father to her uncle, aunt and cousins and back to her father again. Then she turned to look at Clover, whom she could see clearly since the Frozen Wall Spell had just melted away. She shook her head several times while backing away, sheathed her sword, then turned and ran away. Castle went chasing after her.

     There was a long silence.

     Clover tried her best to contain the myriad of emotions that she was feeling. After a short moment, she managed to properly compose herself.

     “Staying _ I am of this. Visit _ of this, I shall do of Mansion Genox when I am permitted,” she said finally.

     Tears were streaming from all the Genoxes’ eyes, especially Fragrance’s. Hammer just stared at the ground, but the rest of the Genox family, minus Castle and Serene, embraced in one big group hug.

     When Serene finally got back to Fallsian Guards Academy, she sought out the only person of experience whom she respected and felt she could trust, Verallvian Thorn Sayvion. During the travel back from Monune Sapphire, she had not spoken a word to anyone, not even to her father. But now, she desperately needed to speak to Thorn, to seek his advice. But alas, one of her teachers told her that Thorn had been called away on a secret mission.

     It would be a month before Serene could finally see Thorn, and a few more days on top of that before she could finally have a few private words with him. She told him of what had happened at Monune Sapphire. Then she broke down in tears. Thorn told her that she should just let the past go. He told her to forget about it all and only look towards the future. He said that the past could not be changed no matter how much she regretted it, and that she should learn as much as she could from her mistakes, then let them go and move on. He told her that this was the only rightful thing she could do.

     When Serene had finally stopped weeping, she noticed something. Thorn was no longer a verallvian. He held the rank of convian. He must have gained a battlefield commission, she concluded. She congratulated him on his promotion, bowed and excused herself. As she walked away, she decided that if she was to meet her cousin again one day, she would endeavour to make things right between them.

     And so with this final sequence of events, the path of the Cousins Genox, who were practically the best of friends and the closest of relatives, diverges. Clover goes on to master the water element and then takes up noviciate with the Wind Elementhars and masters the wind element as well. Serene, meanwhile, goes on to graduate from Fallsian Guards Academy, rejects an offer from the Royal Guards, gets commissioned as a convian in the Provincial Guards instead, receives an assignment to Southdell Town for two years and then finally gets assigned to Fort Eastguard together with Convian Thorn Sayvion, her mentor.

THE HUNT BEGINS

     The
22
nd
Day of Sixth Month of Wet Season in the Year 1200 of the Known Era
shows the midday sun shining mercilessly hot and bright. The ocean waves splash against the sandy shores of the southern tip of North-eastern Continent with a perfectly constant rhythm. Nearby, about 5000 paces away to the west, lies the Fallsian harbour town of Fallsbay. About 500 paces to the east lies an estuary where a large river meets the ocean.

     A stream of Provincial Guards stopped at the estuary to rest and have their lunch. The stream was ordered to patrol the forest area close to the shoreline. They had begun from Garrison Fallsbay about four hours prior, but had travelled in a zigzag pattern from the southern edge to the northern edge and then back again to the southern edge of this small forest, heading eastwards. The suvian in-charge of this stream had thought that the resting at the estuary was appropriate before they followed the river upstream to a ferry crossing point. They planned to cross the river in a ferry and continue their zigzag patrol pattern on the other side of the bank.

     The soldiers gratefully washed their head and faces with the soothing river water. They did not bother to cook lunch. Instead they broke out biscuits and had a small snack. They used water from their water containers to boil some tea. The water from the estuary was not used as it was salty, being a mixture of river and sea water. Half an hour later, they continued on their patrol.

     The soldiers walked upriver in the forest, approximately 50 paces parallel to the river bank. Despite their heavy armour, their footsteps were relatively silent. One of the servians acted as a scout and walked several paces ahead of the others, with an arrow strung to his bow, ever ready to react. He kept his eyes wide opened and scanned the area in front of him. His ears were strained so as to hear the slightest sound.

     Then the scout’s heart skipped a beat. He saw something out of place in the forest. There was a faint plume of greyish smoke rising almost hidden behind a large tree. The servian knew that the smoke came from a campfire that had just been extinguished. He also knew that the campfire was not set up by an innocent traveller. That part of the jungle had no clear tracks cutting through it. The nearest road was at least an hour’s walk away. Any traveller who wished to spend time cooking, resting or sleeping would have done so at Fallsbay or at least set up camp near the road, but not this far from it, unless they wished
not
to be detected.

     The scout gave his fellow soldiers the hand signal to stop and crouch. The other soldiers obeyed immediately. Some strung arrows to their bows while others drew out their swords. The suvian-in-charge crouch-walked up to the scout. The scout then pointed the smoke out to him. Looking around carefully, the suvian could faintly make out two black silhouettes sitting down on the shaded ground drinking beverages while another two were sleeping on hammocks tied to large branches of trees. The fifth one was sitting up on a branch keeping guard towards the north, where the nearest road was. The suvian deemed himself to be lucky, as his stream approached from the south and was not discovered.

     Quietly, the suvian signalled his soldiers to back away. When they were about 500 paces away, the suvian ordered two servians to return to Garrison Fallsbay and report their sighting. He then ordered another two servians to creep up towards the silhouettes and observe them from a distance of approximately 100 paces away. The suvian then ordered the remaining servians to climb up several trees in the surrounding area, which they did as stealthily as possible. The suvian and his men positioned themselves comfortably on the branches of these trees and strung arrows to their bows.

     The searing heat did not fade as the sun descended halfway from the heavens. Ray hated Dry Season as it was always so hot. But he understood full well that Nature was not to do Ray Iddell’s bidding. It worked on its own set of laws. And Nature’s law stated that Wet Season was coming to an end and Dry Season would soon begin. It was the
26
th
Day of Sixth Month of Wet Season
, and even when he was seated in his office, Ray could still feel the heat of the merciless sun.

     Ray sipped his tea silently. Clover was seated on his right, sipping tea as well. Seated on Ray’s left was Lance, who was gently scratching Spirit behind the ears. Seated opposite Ray was Serene and beside her was Convian Rod Sayson, who had followed Serene when she was assigned to the Royal Elementhar Pond. All of them had just concluded the afternoon training session and were seated in Ray’s office, having their tea break.

     The afternoon silence was broken by shouts from the guards at the palace gates. Apparently, a few horsepersons had just arrived. Within a quarter of an hour, a servian appeared and delivered a written message from Prince Patrum to Ray. The message indicated that the Provincial Guards of Fallsbay Town had had contact with suspected Shadow Deathmerchant Clan assassins and Ray was ordered to investigate. Ray calmly acknowledged the message and dismissed the messenger. The messenger bowed, turned around and walked away.

     “Follow _ Serene, you and 1
st
River are to do of this of me, and we shall be heading out immediately to the town of Fallsbay. Stay _ the rest of you are to do of this here. Continue _ Clover, you are to do of this of the pond’s training schedule,” ordered Ray.

     “Understand _ we do of this, Minvian Iddell,” the others replied simultaneously.

     Half of an hour later, Ray, Serene and 1
st
River, Royal Elementhar Pond, set out from Palace Liberty on horseback, galloping southward at maximum speed.

     Night fell and the sky was dark and moonless on the
First Day of First Month of Dry Season
. Deep heavy breaths were exhaled by the Soldier-Elementhars, who were then to be known as ‘Sollenthars’, and even deeper and heavier breaths were exhaled by their tired horses, as evidenced by the thick vapour of the breaths that were made visible in the extreme coldness of night. This was another thing Ray hated about Dry Season. Due to the lack of cloud cover, the heat escaped easily from the ground at night, causing the temperature to decrease tremendously, resulting in very hot days and very cold nights in this unpleasant season.

     Finally, Ray, Serene and 1
st
River arrived at Garrison Fallsbay. The minvian-in-charge of the garrison greeted them.

     “Freedom and harmony, minvians
!
Minvian Pole Chell, commander of 4
th
Pond, Four, 4
th
Ocean,” he said as he bowed and introduced himself.

     “Nature’s wisdom _ may you have of this, Minvian Chell
!
Identity _ ours of this are Minvians Ray Iddell and Serene Genox, Royal Elementhar Pond, 1
st
Ocean,” replied Ray after both he and Serene had bowed in return.

     Minvian Chell became speechless for a few moments. His jaw dropped slightly.

     “Royal Elementhar Pond
?
Forgive my surprise, Minvian Iddell, I did not expect your pond to be operational so soon,” said Minvian Chell.

     “Operational _ we are of this as all of our members are already trained and experienced soldiers. Situation _ what is it of this of the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan assassins
?
” asked Ray.

     “We are not sure if they are Shadow Deathmerchant Clan assassins, but there are five of them and they have been camping out in the forest for the past one week. Every few days, one of them would dress up normally and come into town to buy supplies and to gather information. They seem to be waiting for something or someone. We have tried ‘tailing’ the assassin who came into town, but we failed miserably. I have no idea what they are up to, but until today, there has been no report of any assassinations, either attempted or successful,” reported Minvian Chell.

     “Assassins _ of them, where are they now
?
” asked Serene.

     “They are still at their campsite. I shall lead you to them now,” answered Minvian Chell.

     Ray, Serene and 1
st
River followed Minvian Chell to the estuary on horseback. Then they dismounted and trekked through the forest on foot. Half an hour later, they arrived at where the suvian-in-charge and his stream were waiting. They began to crouch-walk as they approached the area.

     “Update _ suvian, give me of this,” commanded Ray in a whisper.

     The suvian-in-charge was taken aback by Ray’s ancient manner of speech. He had heard news of the formation of an Elementhar pond, but he did not expect to be dealing with them so soon.

     “Minvian, there are five suspected assassins 500 paces to our north. I have two scouts 400 paces north, monitoring their activities. The last report I received indicated that the assassins have started a small campfire and were in the process of cooking their dinner,” he reported in a whisper.

     Ray turned and spoke to Serene.

     “Proceed _ Serene, you are to take 1
st
and 2
nd
Stream and do of this to the assassins’ right aft flank, I say again,
the assassins’ right aft flank
and cut them off. Remember _ you must of this that the objective is to take them prisoners,” ordered Ray softly.

     “Understand _ I do of this, Minvian Iddell,” replied Serene softly and she then led 1
st
and 2
nd
Stream away.

     “Assault _ 3
rd
, 4
th
and 5
th
Stream; you are to follow me and make a frontal of this at my command,” whispered Ray to the rest of his river.

     The convians-in-charge of the remaining streams nodded their heads in unison.

     “Stay _ Minvian Chell, you and your subordinates are to do of this here and serve as back-up if required,” instructed Ray softly.

     “I understand, Minvian Iddell,” replied Minvian Chell softly.

     Quietly, Ray and the Sollenthars crawl their way towards the assassins’ position. Ray, as usual, is armed with his silver staff. The Sollenthars draw out their swords instead. The cold land breeze helps the Sollenthars’ approach and as it dampens out their noises and blows away their scent. The darkness of the moonless night masks their approach. They see four of the assassins eating their dinner beside the fading campfire and the fifth one eating his dinner while still on sentry about 50 paces to the north. The Sollenthars reach the position of the two scout servians and crawl past them.

     About 20 paces later, one of the assassins notices them and shouts out a warning. In a frenzy of panic, the assassins start throwing Airblades at them.

     “Execute _ assassins, 80 paces ahead, Heat Burst, aim legs, do of this now
!
” commands Ray.

     Immediately, volley after volley of fist-sized spheres of flames soar through the air at knee level. Three Heat Bursts from the first volley hit one of the assassins in the knees, shattering them and sending him falling to the ground with a loud thud and knocking him out cold. The other assassins take cover behind the trunks of large trees. Volley after volley of Heat Bursts slam into the tree trunks, cracking them and setting them on fire.

     The four remaining assassins crouch in a fidgety manner, a clear sign of severe panic. One of the assassins charges forward while sending off a barrage of Airblades. Several Heat Bursts slam into this assassin’s legs and he falls forward and is also knocked unconscious. The three remaining assassins, seeing the hopelessness of the situation, decide to run. Dodging a volley of Heat Bursts, they run towards their rear. Ray and the Sollenthars give chase.

     Suddenly, one of the assassins turns around and throws a few Airblades at them. Ray and the Sollenthars dive to the ground. As soon as this assassin turns around to continue running, Ray and the Sollenthars get to their feet and charge forward. As they reach the burning tree trunks, Ray orders one of his streams to stay and secure the two unconscious assassins while the rest continue the pursuit.

     The three remaining assassins run towards their rear. Warm undigested food rush up along their throats and they pull their mask away to allow these eruptions of vomit to leave their mouths. The sloshing of food in their stomachs is a burden and a great discomfort to them and every eruption of vomit is agony. However unbeknownst to them, they are running straight into Serene’s ambush. Their noisy approach is clearly discernible to Serene and her Sollenthars.