Zacharias

The idol who becomes the master, and the student who learns to expand.
These are the precepts of every great legend in the history of legend itself.
With the renewal of the spirit comes the rebirth of the soul,
But when it comes, wary should one be of burning fires that do not easily cool.


Chapter 3

When I think of the few days between the annihilation of my old life and the construction of my new one, I remember how accustomed I would eventually become to awakening from a state of unconsciousness. My vision was bleary as I opened my eyes, but where my memories had taken time to surface previously, this time the events I had witnessed were still fresh in my mind.

I sat bolt upright, stopping short of crying out. I glanced around frantically and scurried behind the wreckage of the house near which I had hidden. I took a good look at it, surveying the extent of the damage. The Titan's earthquake had apparently forced the walls and roof to buckle, and the flames from the dark knight's ring had blackened and charred the crumbled stone.

I looked carefully around what was left of the wall and at the rest of the village, and my heart sank as I saw how little was left. Where there had once been a peaceful, mysterious village, there was now little more than rubble and the ashes of a great and hideous fire. I unconsciously ran a hand over the broken stone that had once been the wall. I wanted to scream.

Still, my instincts were telling me to keep quiet. I remained crouched behind the wreckage, eyeing the depressingly yellow grass, the charred trees. The ground smoldered but in a tired way, as though it were too tired to burn. I laid my hands on the ground. I could feel an echo of exhaustion in my muscles, and I still felt the stabbing pain from the wound in my abdomen, but the adrenaline coursing through my veins drove it to the back of my mind.

I felt the earth once again, and then realized that the very ground I was standing on had been rendered uneven by the Titan. Throughout the village, I noticed, some houses sat higher than others, while some sank into the earth. Could the tremors really have been so powerful as to rearrange the very foundation of the village?

What I saw next very nearly forced a gasp of amazement from my throat.

On the eastern side of the village, the mountains that formed the narrow pass leading to the desert had caved in. What had once been cliffs were now an enormous pile of rock, far too high to scale and certainly too thick, I guessed, to attempt to dig through. Revealing as little of myself as I could, I peered around to the western passage. To my relief, it had remained clear.

My mouth began to feel dry, however, as I realized how close the newly-formed mountain of rock was to where Rydia had been standing, and she was presently nowhere in sight. I didn't want to think of it as a possibility, but she could easily have been crushed by the avalanche. Destroyed by the very power she unleashed… what a frightening thought.

I put a hand to my mouth as my breathing grew shallow. Her mother's death had been horrible enough, but to die herself at such a young age… it was monstrous.

I shook my head, forcing myself to pay attention, and looked around for any sign of the dark knight or the Dragoon. There was none. I felt my stomach turn as I saw two or three motionless bodies scattered about the village, but none of them wore the armour of either of the Baronian envoys. It appeared that I was safe for the moment.

"What do you think you're doing?" said a voice directly behind me.

I screamed and began to dash away, only to trip and fall roughly to the ground a short distance away. I spun, backing away as quickly as I could across the grass while keeping a fearful but wary eye on the man who had spoken.

It was the Dragoon. His armour was a dark blue and appeared as if time had worn it thin. His helmet bore the likenesses of a dragon's long, fin-like ears, and the tip of the visor was shaped in the form of a dragon's snout. Beneath it, I could see his dark eyes and his rough jaw.

He took a few steps toward me, slowly and carefully. I backed away at a similar pace, my own features contorted with hatred. "Calm down," he said. "I don't intend to harm you."

I said nothing, backing away until I felt myself pressed against the huge boulders released by the avalanche. My breathing was shallow and rapid, but my expression didn't change. "Get away from me!" I said with as much courage as I could muster.

But he did not. "You have no need to fear me."

"I said, get away!"

The Dragoon halted, staring at me for a moment. I remember his eyes, so dark and so deep. It wasn't until later that I learned of the sorrow he held within them, a product of years of misery.

But at that moment, there was little to find in his eyes other than mirth. "What did you think you were doing over there?" he said again. "Trying to hide? Where you were lying, even a blind man could easily have tripped over you."

My lower lip was trembling as I tried to speak. "What… what do you want?"

"This place isn't safe," he replied shortly. "If there were any way out of here other than with me, you can rest assured that I wouldn't bother with you."

It took me a moment to understand what he meant. "Y-you want to help me?" Then I shook my head vigourously. "I don't need your help! I'll find a way on my own!"

The man laughed derisively. "You'll find a way, will you? Which way? Through the Misty Valley? You'll be captured by Baronian soldiers before you've even found the other side."

"You're from Baron. Why should you care?"

"I…" He paused. "My allegiance is no longer with Baron."

"You liar!" I snarled. "I saw what you and that dark knight did to this village!"

If I'd been paying enough attention, and if I hadn't been so clouded by my anger, I probably would have seen a look of sincere regret pass across his face, if only for an instant. "We didn't know the purpose of that ring. Our orders were—"

"I don't care what your orders were! You killed all these people! And you killed the Mist Dragon, didn't you?"

He bowed his head. "We… didn't know that the girl's mother would die. We were only trying to defend ourselves."

"I don't care!" I stood up shakily. "You're both monsters, you and that dark knight! As if what you did to Mysidia wasn't enough, you had to come here and—"

"Mysidia?" he interrupted, his eyes widening slightly. "You're a boy from Mysidia? How did you come to be here?"

"I don't know! And why do you care?"

He shook his head. "I don't, although now I understand why you harbour such hostility towards us."

"I hate you because you're both cold-blooded killers!"

"We aren't. You must understand that."

"I don't try to understand men as evil as you and that dark knight!"

"He is not an evil man—"

"He killed my father!"

Before the Dragoon could respond, there were voices from the west side of the village. He glanced back, and then rounded on me. "Hurry. The soldiers are here. You must hide."

"Just get away from me!" I said fiercely.

"Look," he said, "You can think whatever you want of me, and quite frankly, I don't give a damn what you think, but if those soldiers find you here they will not hesitate to kill you. Hide!"

I stared at him for another moment before I finally dove away from the cliff, hiding behind yet another ruined homestead, and not a second too soon. I could hear the pairs of boots ascending the artificial hills along the village and rounding the corner, headed for the east passage. I carefully looked out from behind the homestead to watch what was happening.

The soldiers slowed as they approached the Dragoon. "Sir Kain!" they said, standing at attention.

"At ease," the Dragoon told them. "Why have you been sent here?"

The captain stepped forward. "We were sent to search for you, Sir. After the earthquake, we feared the worst."

Kain nodded. "I understand. I am fine, although I fear that Cecil may have been—"

"Sir Cecil?" the captain interrupted. "We've already found him. A scout ship spotted him crossing the desert with a young girl."

"A girl?" Kain repeated.

"Yes, Sir. A Summoner from this village, we think. We believe he's harbouring her, and His Majesty has sent us to bring him to justice – after finding you, of course. Were there any other survivors?"

For a moment I was worried Kain would reveal me, but he merely bowed his head. "None. I… didn't want to doubt Cecil's loyalty, but apparently His Majesty was correct. He should be your priority, along with the girl. Are there any other groups following you?"

"No, Sir, aside from our airship crew. Should we send for reinforcements?"

Kain shook his head. "No, there's no time. Take your ship and follow him. He will probably be headed for Kaipo."

The captain saluted. "Yes, Sir. His Majesty commands that you return to Baron for your next assignment."

"Assignment?"

"Yes, Sir. Our liege has decided that the other three Crystals pose a threat to our kingdom. The Red Wings depart in three days to retrieve the Fire Crystal from Damcyan, and you are to lead the raid."

My expression darkened. He had told me he was no longer loyal to Baron. He lied to me. But I shouldn't have expected anything less from a man such as him.

Meanwhile, Kain nodded. "I will return to Baron. You must hurry and head for Kaipo. You should be there by nightfall if you leave now."

The soldiers saluted again, and presently they turned and hurried back out of the village. I waited until they had disappeared safely into the Misty Valley before I stepped away from my hiding place, fixing the Dragoon with an icy stare.

"You liar," I said to him.

He turned around. "I beg your pardon?"

"You told me you weren't loyal to Baron anymore, and yet here you are with a brand new assignment, and some more innocent people to kill."

I could have sworn I saw him roll his eyes. "I do not plan to return to Baron, if that is that you were thinking. I merely told them that to maintain the illusion that I'm still loyal to them. Instead, I will go to Damcyan, and hopefully warn them of the attack before the Red Wings arrive."

I was nearly struck dumb. He killed the Mist Dragon, he destroyed the village, and now he intended to help the kingdom of Damcyan when he could lead the attack? I asked the only question that was left on my lips. "What about those soldiers? What about Rydia?"

"She's in no danger. Cecil seems to have found her… he can take care of himself."

He strode over to the blocked passage, examining it. For my part, I could think of nothing else to say. His intentions were seemingly… noble. And he was a Dragoon. Some part of him must still have retained that sense of honour. Perhaps there was more to him than I had assumed. And whoever this Cecil was, Kain seemed confident that Rydia was in safe hands.

But the dark knight…

I cleared my throat, and Kain turned around. "I'm… sorry. I suppose I may have misjudged you."

He nodded. "Apology accepted, but unnecessary. If I had seen what you did, I would probably have felt the same way."

"I know about your kind," I continued. "Dragoons, I mean. My mother used to tell me stories about them before she…" I broke off momentarily, and then found my voice again. "I read all about their codes of honour and duty, their commitment to justice. I always wanted to be like them – like you."

Kain looked uncomfortable, and turned away, shifting his attention back to the blocked passage. "Don't be too hasty," he said over his shoulder. "I left those standards behind some time ago, and I've committed deeds that were… well, less than honourable."

"Oh…" I'm sure I looked somewhat crestfallen at that remark. Still, I wasn't going to give up my hopes so easily. "So you… you're part of a clan, aren't you?"

He turned to face me. "You really have been doing a lot of reading, haven't you? All right, yes, I was once part of a clan. My father's, actually."

"Your father was a Dragoon?"

He nodded. "He died when I was very young, but he was once a very proud warrior of the Windfang Clan."

My jaw dropped. "The Windfang Clan? The Windfang Clan?"

He chuckled. "I see you've heard of it."

"Those stories are legendary!" I said, momentarily forgetting where I was. When I heard the echo of my own voice returning to me from the cliffs, I sheepishly ran a hand through my hair and regained my composure. "My mother… the stories of the Windfang Clan were her favourites. I used to admire their strength of character, like the old Regent Abramm Highwind—"

"I thought you might know that name," Kain said, glancing back to the blocked passage and gazing upward.

"Did…" I paused. "Did your father know him?"

"Of course. He was Abramm's son."

I nearly lost my balance. "You… you are Regent Highwind's grandson?!"

He sighed, and then turned and made an elaborate bow. "Kain Abramm Highwind, at your service."

I stared for a second, and then realized what I was doing and looked away. "I'm sorry…"

"I will be happy to discuss my heritage with you some other day," he said irritably, "but if there is any chance of getting as far as Damcyan before the Red Wings do, I can't be wasting time." He turned back to me. "I'll take you to Kaipo. You'll be safe there."

He turned back to what he was doing, taking several steps back to properly ascertain the height of the blockage. I watched him, unsure of what to think. Here was the grandson of possibly the greatest Dragonian warrior ever to have lived, and he spoke of his lineage as if it were barely worth mentioning. I couldn't understand him. I was the son of the Lord Black Mage of Mysidia, and I took great pride in that. Kain's grandfather was nothing less than legendary. What was there to be ashamed of?

I felt a pang as I thought about my father, and I shook my head, trying to think of something else. Surely Kain could teach me something of his ways. I thought about that for a moment. I had never been so close to realizing my dream of becoming one of the Dragoons. How could I pass up such an opportunity?

I cleared my throat. "Um… I have something to ask you."

Another exasperated sigh, and he turned around. "I hope this isn't about my grandfather."

"No, it's not. I…" I hesitated, unsure of how to phrase what I was thinking. When I finally spoke, it came out far more blunt than I had intended.

"Take me with you."

Kain crossed his arms. "Excuse me?"

"Please," I said, taking a few steps toward him. "It's… I told you, I always wanted to be like the Dragoons, and I—"

"Stop, that's enough," he interrupted. He placed his hands on his hips and looked at the ground, letting out a heavy sigh. "Look, I'm not a babysitter, and I'm certainly not the best example of this Dragoon honour you keep going on about. I have…" He broke off momentarily, and then looked me in the eye. "I am a disgrace to my clan. They don't want to have anything to do with me."

"But why—"

"I don't want to talk about it!" he snapped, turning back to his task. "Rest assured that you'd have a much lower opinion of me if I told you."

"I don't care! I… just take me with you!"

He didn't even glance back over his shoulder. "Sorry, but I can't afford the dead weight."

"Dead weight?" I repeated. "Says who? I'm a Black Mage, you know! I can fight, too!"

He sighed. "You're just a kid. I'm going up against a kingdom of perhaps the most ruthless soldiers on the face of this planet. It's far too dangerous for someone like you."

Anger boiled inside me. "Someone like me, huh…"

I swiftly strode around him, gazing fiercely into his dark eyes. "You think I don't know danger? You think I'm afraid? I watched my hometown burnt to the ground, its citizens killed by the very same soldiers you plan on fighting. My father – my father – died trying to save me from the same fate, and they nearly got me too, and for what? A lousy Crystal!" My face was barely two inches from the breastplate of his armour by now. "Do you really think I can stand by and do nothing? Do you think I can live a happy, ignorant life while other kingdoms, other people, suffer the same fate as Mysidia?"

He crossed his arms. "And what about this so-called evil dark knight of yours?"

I held his gaze for nearly a second more before I faltered, turning away. "What about him?"

He chuckled derisively. "You don't fool me. You're no humanitarian. You want to go with me and fight because you want revenge."

"Justice!" I spat bitterly.

"Perhaps the way you see it. But the truth is that you just want to get back at him – don't give me that look, you know I'm right."

The murderous expression on my face did not change as I stared back at him. "So what if I do? He killed my father, he stole the Crystal – he stole my life! So what if I want to make him suffer the same way I did. Is that really so wrong?!"

"Someone as well-versed in the Dragoon's code of honour as yourself should know the answer to that question."

I looked away. He resumed what he had been doing. I wanted to explode, to yell at him until my face turned blue, to scream, kicking and punching until he said he was wrong. But he wasn't. He was absolutely right, and I knew it. I thought about the books I had read, the great Dragonian legends… Regent Abramm Highwind. He'd have said that some things – honour, duty, even justice – are more important than petty things such as revenge. But I didn't want to admit that.

After a few more moments, I turned once more. "I… you're right… but I really do want to help!" Once again, he stopped what he was doing and stared at me, and I could sense the change in his attitude from where I stood. "I want to do something for this world, and if I can help… if one less innocent person has to die because I stand up for what's right… that's more important to me than getting revenge."

His expression did not change. "You mean that?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Even if it means fighting at his side?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but the words caught in my throat, and I realized that this was the one possibility – no, inevitability – that I had not considered. Could I fight alongside the man who destroyed the last vestiges of the life I had once known, who had forcefully taken everything from me that I held dear? Could I forgive a man such as that? No, I could. It was out of the question. But still…

Kain had approached me, speaking more softly this time. "He is my ally," he said. "I swore as he did to bring down the kingdom of Baron. We've both committed atrocities against humanity in our lives, leaving us with a great deal of shame. But he is not an evil man."

"He's a dark knight," I said loathingly. "I may have misjudged you, but there's no question about him… that heart of his is as dark as the armour he wears."

Another sigh of exasperation from the Dragoon. "Listen—"

"No, you listen!" I said, my voice sounding harsher than I had intended. "You weren't there! You didn't see what happened! You didn't have to witness his cruelty firsthand! I did! You weren't there when my f-" My voice cracked, and I broke off for a moment. "You didn't see how little he hesitated before giving the order to kill. You didn't have to hear the screams, feel the heat! You weren't nearly run through by his soldiers, convinced you'd never live to see tomorrow!"

Through the tears that were now forming, I winced; speaking of the wounds the Baronian soldiers had inflicted upon me had forced the pain in my abdomen to return. Clutching the wound, I stood there, shaking.

Kain approached me, kneeling so that he could properly look me in the eye. "I understand the… the pain that you feel. But some things are more important than revenge."

I sighed shakily. "That's… that's what your grandfather would have said."

If he felt any exasperation at the continued mention of his ancestry, he did not show it. He merely said, "well, then, if you won't listen to me, will you listen to him?"

It was a long time before I began to decide what to think. I knew as I did so that I had not yet understood what it was that I was supposed to understand, had not yet felt as Kain thought I should have. But I knew that my journey had to begin somewhere… with a first step.

Slowly, I nodded.

Kain bowed his head. He almost looked pained, but at the same time, now that I look back upon that moment, I can put a name to the missing emotion that I had not managed to trace when I was a boy: a hint of pride.

Moments later, he stood. "All right. I will take you with me to Damcyan."

My knees weakened with relief. "Kain… thank you!"

"Don't thank me just yet," he said matter-of-factly, standing and turning back to the blocked pass. "There's plenty you need to learn if you want to become as skilled as the Dragoons are, and that will not be easy."

My eyes widened slightly. "You… you mean you'll…" I gulped. "You'll help me? You'll teach me?"

He sighed once more. "Only because you'll need some skill if you're going to keep up with me, and the way I do things."

He took one final look upwards, beyond the rocks that blocked the passage, and nodded. "Now, for the first challenge."

I looked for myself. The blockage reached very high, perhaps halfway to the peaks of the mountains. "What's so challenging about this? You can jump much higher than that, can't you?"

"Not with a passenger," he said, looking pointedly at me.

I blushed slightly and turned away, annoyed with myself for not realizing the added weight I really would be giving him. I wiped away the last of my tears, removing my hand from the wound in my front. Pain still scorched me, etching away from the pierced skin, but I grimly set my jaw and looked back to the task at hand. "I'm ready if you are."

He nodded. "We must leave. You'll need to hang tightly to my back."

Obligingly, I walked over to him. He stooped to allow me access to his muscular back, hidden behind his dark blue armour. As I climbed onto it, steadying myself for what would surely be a bumpy voyage, I looked around once more. My heart was heavy as I looked at all the homes, now little more than wreckage, or else threatening to become such after a short time had passed. I saw the bodies of some of the villagers. I saw the charred, smoking grass and plants.

Then I saw Allana. She lay on her back as she had before the fire, peaceful, untouched. The true beauty of her figure, stunning even in death, lay before my eyes, and I couldn't help feeling more tears coming, watching as the unscathed, unfortunate mother lay in her sundress on her back, waiting for the heavens to descend and claim her.

I closed my eyes, feeling the wet tears begin to dribble down my cheeks. Allana, I thought, clutching the Dragoon's shoulders, I will find her… I will keep her safe. I owe you that much.

I heard Kain speaking in the very outskirts of my ears, as if he were calling from very far away. I held on even tighter, hoping against all hope that he and I would arrive at Damcyan in time, that we would be able to stop some of the carnage from taking place; a last glance at what had once been the village of Myst told me that I couldn't bear to see the evil kingdom spill more innocent blood.

Watch me, Father.

And then Kain jumped, and the sky beckoned to me as we flew higher and higher, and Allana and Myst were nothing more than a painfully vivid memory.