They are known simply as Helpers. They are a small, ancient order of humans selected to aid in the defense of humanity from Tomogara and their Rinne. In a castle built secretly under the midlands of Europe, called the Bverrit Keep in recognition of its founder, the Helpers set their own agenda in the elimination of Tomogara. Though their main tasks are to act as spies and informants on the enemy, there are several instances when the Helpers brought together their power in arms and risked their lives alongside Flame Haze in battles so ancient the written documents of that time are all but destroyed. Though not servants, the work of a Helper and that of a Flame Haze cross each other, so much cooperation passes between them.
There is no king or queen among the Helpers. There are five humans from different corners of the world to make decisions in times of great urgency, but this High Council has not convened for many centuries. In place of this, the Helpers form small nomadic clans no more than fifty or so in number. Each group perform their duties separate from one another, though all return to their secret stronghold to renew their oath of loyalty to the Council and the Flame Haze, should the need for their service arise.
However, even in the most humble of assistants, there is dissent. Many Helpers, believing that after many years of loyal service, could in time gain the powers of Flame Haze, found they would remain as humans forever. Craving for more, they renounced their service to the High Council and fell in line with the Tomogara. Renegade's they're called, whose lust for power has led to some of the most terrible acts of betrayal, against Flame Haze, and their own brothers. Though they are human, their tasks as servants to Tomogara, are the same things that Rinne do as well. But the Tomogara keep them in line with empty promises of unforeseeable power.
Tradition among the order requires one of the five council members to be within the walls of the Bverrit Keep as a semblance of power. For ten years each they became brevet-King's or Queen's to their nation, though wielding very little formal power. Its current presider was Halaberd from the Nokozan clan of the British Isles. Clan and leader came and lived together at the Keep.
Nomadic in nature, the clans only became one when gathered at the Keep. Halaberd observed the oath renewal in the great temple, Tendou-kyu, within the castle. There were only three clans present for the monthly service. The desert people of the Rising Sun clan, the arboreal Mahim-Oak clan, and the sea faring Waterwalk clan. The more prominent clan, the Northern Serpent Lords, hadn't arrived as expected. Word was they were caught up in a mission to the east, though nothing solid was known.
Halaberd was getting old. Years since he'd wielded weapon against a Tomogara, he was growing weak. With his last few months presiding over the Helper clans slowly wearing away, he seemed lost in thought more often. His old friend Dakhla of clan Ghostflame was due to arrive within the week as well to begin settling her people in. The Relinquishing of Duty ceremony was performed ritualistically every ten years by the arriving and departing clans alone. Every leader does it twice in his lifetime, his name forever etched in the stone walls of Bverrit Keep as a powerful leader.
The main hall of the castle sits five seats for each council member. The eldest seated in the center, followed by the next eldest on the left, then next on his right, and so forth. The castle itself was designed for the comfort of many different clans at once, as well as a full scale army. A smith forge was built directly underneath, providing many weapons of power and protection. It is here that the flame cancellation rings were first brought into existence. The first example of Human and Flame Haze interaction recorded anywhere. There were countless flame cancellation rings made over the years, but since many of their greatest smiths had died during the Hellmouth Wars none have been made in ages. As if the knowledge of their make being lost forever wasn't enough, many Renegades took the rings they possessed and used them against their makers. It was a great betrayal which haunts the descendant Helpers to this day.
Halaberd himself had personally felt the Renegade's act against his clan, turning a large number of rising warriors into Tomogara fodder or willing slaves. But this day, sitting in the high seats of the Council, he thought of his home. His wife and children waited his return this winter. He smiled softly at the thought of his family's welcome. Finally he could rest, and a new clan leader could be chosen.
That day found him observing the oath renewal in the Tendou-kyu. He frowned at the empty seats, but remembered that one clan that had been expect, was to be late. Halaberd nodded off to sleep.
A week later, the news had come to his weary ears. The Ghostflame clan had arrived in greatly reduced numbers, Dakhla herself lay on a stretcher as they approached Bverrit Keep. The story was that Ghostflame had come across the remnants of the Northern Serpent Lords fleeing east over the hills. When brought to heel they told of Renegade ambushes in numbers unheard of at that time. Dakhla had barely heard those words when a large force of Renegade's descended on them, most likely searching for their fleeing brothers. In what seemed to be a desperate confrontation, Dakhla and what friends she could save, broke through and made their way straight for Bverrit Keep. But Dakhla was wounded, near to death. Her condition would prevent her assuming her role as presider for many months, causing Halaberd to stay for much longer than he'd like.
He spent many days by Dakhla's bed, talking to her as she convalesced in the Keep's medical wing. This day's conversation concerned the now gone Northern Serpent Lords. The last of the clan had been wiped clean from the earth in that second attack.
"They seem organized on a level we haven't seen for centuries," Dakhla said. Her clan's colors were a white lined with a pale green. Her cloak hung on her bedpost displaying her crest, a fading Torch. "I couldn't read their movements either. They seem to be creatures of a different kind."
"Should the Five be summoned?" he queried. "Do you think this threatens the Helpers as a whole?"
"Yes, I do, though summoning Ume, Nord, and Grand Father may put them in danger of ambush as well."
"That seems likely but it must be risked."
Dakhla's lip twitched. "I thought you'd say that, so I sent messengers during the battle."
Halaberd snorted. "You always were the insightful one of the group." He sat back in his chair. "How is Ume, lately anyway? He and I never did get along much, you know."
"Well, you know, he's still causing trouble in his own way. I don't fear him, so much as I fear his clan. Last time I dared spy on them they had lofty ideas of being the ruling clan forever. Not quite Renegade talk, but closer than I'd dare go. Ume does his job to our satisfaction but puts too much into the requests of his clan mates. Its as if they make half the decisions for him." She grew quiet then and seemed to sleep.
"Well like as not Ume is strong. If it comes to an uprising he won't go down easily. Personal experience, you know."
For the first time Dakhla laughed lightly. She remembered the first and only fight between the clan chieftains Ume and Halaberd. Each wanted to preside over Bverrit Keep first. In the end, Ume won by strength of hands, cleanly defeating Halaberd who was five years his senior.
Long ago. Halaberd was older now in nearly his sixtieth summer. He looked at Dakhla's face, her thick dark hair laying across her pillow, her rich brown eyes full of concern for the world. Her people were a long lived people, and even in middle age she looked a youth of less than twenty.
Halaberd himself was graying in his hair and beard. His blue eyes still sparkled with his youthful determination to serve humanity. This secret service had never worn on him. Never had he stepped back from his duty to the world. The past ten years, he'd thought he'd seen the termination of a large number of known Renegade humans. His clan, in cooperation with local clans, had seen the cleansing of this region of Renegade influence. He had even seen the recovery of several dozen flame cancellation rings. His efforts were recognized worldwide, his name honored by those who knew it.
There was a time when the battles of Flame Haze and Tomogara near wiped humanity from the surface of the earth. Only the foresighted among the Helpers made ready the against the devastation that would come. Their founders Bverrit Runeblade and Crainte Vomir brought the wandering people of their Order together to fight. Under Flame Haze direction, and at the cost of his life, Bverrit set up protective shrines around the entire continent of Asia, the Tomogara's preferred battle ground, reducing the destruction caused to the earth. It was a story as ancient as those odd giant tombs in Egypt. Halaberd and every other Helper had memorized it and follows the example their ancestors had set.
To Halaberd it seemed as if those times might come again in his lifetime. With clan leader Dakhla in such a terrible condition, it seemed enough evidence to him that his enemies were beginning to move. With Ume's Voice of Reason clan skirting the edges of political rebellion, it was the worst possible time for another world conflict. Did the world stand a chance to survive such an encounter, let alone the order of Helpers themselves?
Dakhla looked at her long time friend with some pity. His time at the Keep hadn't been the most peaceful of times. He'd taken it upon himself to speed along the acquisition of peace. But to her, it seemed Halaberd's attempts were ineffective at the most. Her helpless right arm was proof enough of that.
"Halaberd," she said into his silence. "I am dying." He opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off. "Be quiet and listen, please. I feel my life's flame going out. I try to feed it more and more energy but I will soon run out. I can delay long enough for the council to meet, but much more than that I do not know."
"Dakhla, my friend, you must not be so fatalistic. We could petition the Flame Haze to intervene on your behalf. There are many skilled healing Flame Haze that could cure you. I can name one without stopping to think about it."
"I don't think that'd work too well, Halaberd, dear heart. It is the way of human kind to take so little hurt and be close to death. We've known this even when faced with perils no one save the Flame Haze know. This life of mine was a grand one. I would have no other, if it wasn't in service to the Flame Haze."
"Ill chance is not the same as fate and you know it!"
"Ill chance and fate are one and the same. No one can avoid it no matter what the end looks like. Please Halaberd, I don't want to argue this anymore."
"Alright, I will let it alone for now. You must rest now. I'll see you in the evening."
Rumor around Bverrit Keep was that Dakhla was soon to die and Halaberd remain chief presider for another ten years. Clansmen from Halaberd's Nokozan clan had made no effort to stop their packing efforts, and so most such rumors were put off as enemy rumors penetrating the castle.
"Renegade talk," they would whisper to each other at night. "Treason." others said, and many wondered where it had come from to have entered their hidden castle.
"The higher ups have been arguing a lot lately, ever since Grand Father and his Boneslayer clan arrived." This was a Mahim-Oak clansmen talking to several others in the main eating hall. There were two of those same Boneslayer men there as well. "No offense to you and your clan, mind you," he said quickly in an aside. "I just mean that the more information they bring to table, the more choices they must decide from, making their decision that much farther away."
"Like as not, with Dakhla out of commission for who knows how long it seems to me that the other four have more on their shoulders of late." This was Boneslayer.
"Do you seriously believe, though, that Renegade imposters can enter the Keep? Let alone the sacred Tendou-kyu which was built for us by our Flame Haze allies?"
Boneslayer looked to the speaker. A Waterwalker. Known for high minded and simplistic ideals of service and glory. Nearly separating themselves from the order of Helpers except for their bi-yearly pilgrimage to Tendou-kyu. "Of course, its more than possible. The ancient betrayals of old have always started from within the keep itself. To think it could never happen again would be shortsightedness on all our parts."
This seemed to sober everyone at table, and they continued to eat in silence.
"Nord and Ume are in transit it seems."
"Yes, Grand Father."
"Dakhla's condition. Is it improving at all?"
"No, Grand Father."
Grand Father sighed. He was the oldest helper alive at nearly ninety winters. He moved with much the same grace as Halaberd himself. He commanded great respect from all clans, and was nominally the one to look to for advice in these dark times. His white beard hung down below his waist. It is said that in battles of old, he would tie his beard on his belt so as it didn't interfere with any movement. His Boneslayer clan had arrived unannounced a mere month after Dahkla's injury, just as messages from the other two council members were set to arrive. Once again Grand Father proved he was a master at high strategy, and rumors and whispers told him more than Halaberd ever would have thought.
"This situation is getting worse. We need Flame Haze representation." The two men sat at a table eating together. Though Grand Father was Halaberd's senior in many ways, the ancient principle of equality among council members was observed as a matter of habit. "If only that fool Talus hadn't gone Renegade those years ago. He had a good many friends among the Flame Haze."
Halaberd winced. "Yes but he also was the cause for several of those Flame Haze's deaths. I remember because my good friend Indomitable Sun, Lenora, was among those killed. If the Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter hadn't killed him, I would have done it myself!" His voice rose passionately as he spoke.
"Yes, yes, I understand, but I didn't mean Talus himself was needed. Only that a man like him with connections to several Flame Haze would be helpful. As it stands we need to form a search for several others who might be helpful to us."
"This seems good," he replied as he came to grips with his emotions. "Who did you have in mind?"
"I think we should begin preparing the search. When Nord and Ume get here they will supply names that may be helpful as well. So we wait." And this seemed good Halaberd.
They ate on in silence.
Later that day word arrived that Nord was en route via the Rhine River, and Ume had left his home in the far southeast in a place called India. Halaberd took the news and hoped much good would come of it. Dakhla seemed better of health and joined him and Grand Father for meals lately. She still seemed weak and the walk to and from her bed seemed to tire her greatly. It hurt Halaberd's heart to see his longtime friend this way. He promised silently he'd see every Renegade dead before his life's end and cursed them all for their heretic ways.
Dakhla was questioned many times of the night she was attacked by Grand Father. The enemies form, number, weapons, tactics, even aggressiveness and any war cries she might have heard. Could she see their leader, or was there a leader at all. Did they make a concerted effort to hit the remnant Serpent Lords or did they seem to attack whoever was closest. So many of these questions went unanswered, since Dakhla herself was injured soon after the onset of the fight.
"There was one thing that bothered me," she said after days of retrospection. "Renegade's as I've known them have not been known to form clan groups as we Helpers have. Yet from those who attacked us I distinctly remember seeing only one distinct crest on all armor and shields they used on us."
"That does sound interesting," Grand Father offered. "What did the crest look like?"
"It was three red Torches circling each other. It made no sense to me then. Even now I have never known a Tomogara to employ the use of such a crest. Could it be a knew enemy?"
"No, I think not, dear Dakhla. If I were to make a guess I'd say there is a new level of cooperation among the disparate groups of Tomogara in Guze. I think for now we must await the arrival of the other two councilors. Perhaps then we can decide what it is we should do on this matter."
Halaberd and Dakhla looked to each other. They knew it was to be war with the Tomogara. The only thing they were unsure of was whether the Flame Haze would allow the Helpers to support their efforts, or if they'd work apart from each other. So it had happened on different occasions. Flame Haze and Helpers working apart from each other toward the same goal, or Flame Haze and Helpers working together against a serious threat.
The Tendou-kyu bell tower was sounding as a messenger approached. Messengers arrived daily now with word of support, advice, opinion, or concern over the Keep's situation. Halaberd rose and made his way to the front gates of the castle.
Bverrit Keep itself was situated beneath the earth, its entrance within a cave, and the Tendou-kyu bell tower rising above ground. Its entrance guarded by the ancient clan of Bverrit Runeblade, the Iron Shards, who devote their lives to the security of the castle. Of all clans, only theirs number nearly into the hundreds for the sake of protecting the castle as well as its outlying lands.
Halaberd arrived at the messenger ready room near the castle entrance. There he met with the messenger who had arrived. The sealed scroll the woman handed him was very light in his hand.
He went to his room and broke the wax seal on the scroll. He read the whole thing and by its end he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders again. He slammed his fist on his desk and cried out in despair.
"Nord is dead, along with his clan. Ume and his following are missing and is presumed dead. Some of his clan's belongings were found abandoned in a forest. This comes from our most loyal clan in the southeast, Morning Star. I don't think there is reason to disbelieve this."
"This is the worst news we could possibly have gotten. War with the Renegade's followed closely by the assassination of council member Nord and my own near assassination a few months before. Not to mention Ume's presumed death, disappearance."
"Presumed?"
"His death." she replied flatly.
"Grand Father seemed to take it very hard. He's locked in the second deep cellar meditating, apparently." Crying more like, he thought to himself.
"Ume was his son, you know. His last and most treasured son. More like his father than his father was. A man can be destroyed by news like this." Dakhla sighed. The news was a shock to her as well. But the pain in her right arm was still bothering her, so her emotions were tempered for the moment. "What we need is to make emergency decisions. We need to summon ten of the most prominent clans known to meet here. With so many voices we are very likely to come up with some decisions. Also we need Flame Haze. Even they can't ignore Renegade movements like this. Since Renegades are more likely moving to the will of a Tomogara, the elimination of prominent leaders among the Helpers will be of high interest to them."
"I know. I have several parties of volunteers from the clans here at the keep willing to go. They just need an itinerary. Who they are searching for, and where they should start."
"I will supply names and known areas of wandering among the Flame Haze. They aren't many, but it should be a start."
"A start," Halaberd replied sourly. At a look from Dakhla he coughed slightly. "Yes, it's a start. I will be back with some writing tools for you."
He left Dakhla's room and closed the door. He stood there for several minutes thinking of his family back home. He wondered if he'd ever see them again.
END CHAPTER 4