A/N: It's been, slightly over a month since I have last updated, I think? Well, you know the drill of what I'm going to say, and I'm sure it's better to leave that unsaid. I haven't forgotten about this story, just haven't had the time. It has been awhile, so hopefully I'll be able to hear back from some of you. But I'll keep it at that, I just don't know what else to say really. Sorry for being such a . . . buzzkill. :(
"Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers."
~ Voltaire
Chapter Ten
Calm Before the Storm
Hoots and enthralled clamoring returned to Pelli's Hilltop, along with all twelve of the owls sent out on the mission towards The Barrens; or as Aedan speculated: Silverveil.
It had to have been a long trip, no doubt about it, as it took them half the night just to get back to their operating area; nighttime was already fading, and with it, so was the confidence Aedan had about his ability to crack the secret message he had found in his personal book.
The message had several code words Aedan simply could not decipher, the words being: eagle's nest, song, and worm. The only thing he had gathered from the message so far was that supposedly an old companion had written it, and to what authenticity this claim had was still in question. The mentioning of a songbird, lark, was clearly in reference to him: as one such songbird had distracted the mysterious owls that were looking for him during the previous ordeal.
How the writer was aware of that particular circumstance was also not clear, causing more concern for Aedan in regards to the nature of the individual who had written to him and what else they may know about him.
The best guess Aedan had about the other parts of the message is that eagle's nest perhaps was a place of importance that wouldn't seem too obvious to any other owl. Where this nest was located of course was still unknown, but Aedan was working his hardest to think of any possible place in his mind that may connect him with this point of interest.
The part about the song also had some ambiguity when it came to exact context. If the lark was to sing its next song — or as Aedan gathered, if Aedan were to speak about something again, what could it be? Surely, if this owl knew about the incident with the lark, then i0t would know everything there needs to be known about the first contact with the hostile forces. So there had to be another line of reasoning for it, maybe it was something else entirely. How was he to know what this individual wanted out of him? It bothered him greatly ever since he had read it.
Lastly, most confusing of all: the worm. As if, the message was trying to convince him of some kind of incentive for going, despite all the risk and doubt that played deep in his mind and gizzard. But what reward would he gain for going; or perhaps the better question would be: what would he lose by not going?
All of these questions trapped Aedan's thoughts in one, big bubble in which he couldn't escape contemplating on. It was the first offer of adventure, and, more importantly, answers that he sought after for so long. Answers in which they may finally be explicated fully and resolve the lingering questions that have yet to be acknowledged.
Whoever this individual happened to be and what they offered was, if not coincidentally, the antithesis of what he was offered now by Jedrek and the rest of his comrades. This return was further proof of that fact.
The arriving soldiers made no effort to hide their pompous perspectives of the mission, and mentioning of their now eligible kill count. A feat that can only be accomplished by killing another owl, there was no other way to refute what Aedan's ears have heard.
Kill counts were a custom first started by hireclaws during the olden times when conflict was plentiful and the demand for able-bodied soldiers were high. As a result to this influx of competition for recruitment and increased services, hireclaws would tend to keep track of their body counts to use as a basis to demonstrate combat experience and effectiveness. As one may expect, the kill-count system had its flaws, mainly in reliability as hireclaws tended to exacerbate their kill counts beyond reasonability in hopes of employment. One factor that counteracted this was when the highest bracket would make a name for themselves, making them easily recognized.
Setting aside the trivial facts, this very immoral practice never made any headway to anywhere aside from hireclaws. As the Guardians themselves were too prideful and selfless to consider counting the number of lives they have extinguished, and the common soldiers were too disinterested in such cruel practices. No one did it . . . that was, until the arrival of the first hunter units in the years after The War of the Ember.
While hunters didn't count their number of kills for employment purposes, the idea was quickly put into practice to help appease the ego and impact such soldiers had on the battlefield.
It was a known fact that hunters — or any owl for that matter with a repeating crossbow, would have a better chance of surviving than the common soldier. As such, the real measure of the hunters effectiveness lied in his ability to kill.
Long story short, kill counts were merely stable numbers used to prove one's usefulness and give them a feeling of specialness. As if it was some kind of game . . . but, in a way, that's what it was right now, just a game. There were no real wars, and the only time killing happened is when two opposing hunters units happened to fight it out on the border. Like two egos colliding into each other . . . it was a bizarre sight.
And Aedan now wondered what they had accomplished over Silverveil. . . killing owls just to further their kill scores, what good came out of it?
"That was quite a trip," Jedrek suddenly walked into the hollow where Aedan stood, Aedan turned to look at him, "though, it's a shame you couldn't join us lad, but in time you'll be able to."
While there was nothing wrong with the comment he had made, Aedan was more skeptical about what had actually happened. Clearly, they must of saw combat and scored an encouraging victory; that much was apparent from the innocent, almost juvenile grin Jedrek had. Though, when Jedrek noticed the questionable look on Aedan's face, his reversal happened almost as quickly as Aedan's own inner thoughts.
"Well, er . . . not that anything really happened. It's just been awhile since we've actually gotten to use our weapons."
Using half-truths, Jedrek did not appeal to Aedan at the slightest. This was a cause for suspicion for the already perturbed Aedan.
"So, who exactly did you kill? And don't try to deflect the question, I overheard some of our squadron mates talking about it."
Jedrek groaned slightly, "You always have to be asking questions, don't you lad?"
There was a pause, the two just looked at each other before Jedrek gave in.
"Well, if it'll put your mind to ease, we just happened to come across some crows on our way back. Given how they were threatening us, we decided it would be best to deal with them before they mob a helpless owl. That's all this was about, the soldiers just want to make an excuse to get themselves closer to that title of 'ace'."
No one really knew where the term "ace" came from, as it was a word of uncommon usage and unknown origin or meaning. Aedan had took some time to research about this in his free time when he first heard the term be used, he uncovered that the term originated from the Others — more precisely — the Others literature. The word meant something along the lines of an individual who managed to accomplish a great deed in combat, typically with an arbitrary kill-count that satisfies such a title. To the Others, whoever held this title seemed to be the equivalent of a Guardian, and their values.
Of the owls in this unit, only Jedrek claims to hold that title. He had said that while working with his father, he hadn't quite gotten to that point yet, but Aedan's father and some other members did. He said they had accomplished far more than he could ever do in a lifetime.
While the case Jedrek had made about shooting crows could indeed be true, Aedan was hardly convinced, and found a couple holes in the story. Why would the squadron members be so excited just over shooting some crows? But Aedan couldn't argue, he had other things on his mind. The contents of that message began to creep back into his conscious.
Jedrek sighed, "Listen lad, I know it's been tough for you these past few moons, and there's a lot that still concerns you. But I'm grateful that while these questions can be important to you, you've have focused diligently and passionately on becoming a soldier of the Ambalian army. Based off from what I hear from Damien, you have been exceptional in your training and practice, and this gives me high-expectations for you."
He stumbled forward slightly, but the move was intentional, as he continued.
"So, after a great deal of consideration, I decided to grant you a pass temporarily for a couple of nights; give you some time to relax, recollect yourself, and explore anything that you desire."
Aedan blinked, he didn't give much of a reaction to the recompense, there wasn't much to be gained from it besides some more time to read and get resettled. Though, a sudden thought ran through his head.
"Say, so I can decide when this little 'break' is going to be?" Aedan asked, somewhat unexpectedly.
"Well . . . sure, I guess. So long as nothing serious happens and your duties aren't required, I'm sure anytime will work out."
Aedan eyes widen, he began realizing what he could use with that time. It was the perfect opportunity to spend time looking for that "eagle's nest" the message was talking about, all he would have to do is make sure his break period is during the next full moon which would be about . . . a half dozen nights give or take. This opportunity was already exciting him.
Jedrek noticed this and churred, "Ah, it seems your reaction was quite delayed. I'm sure there's a lot of things you could do during that time. I know for one thing you'd like to check up with your parents- well, aunt and uncle . . . I know you don't like them, but any relative is still worth talking to, you should be grateful. Besides, I'm sure you'll like to remember the surroundings of where you grew up."
If it couldn't get any better, than that surely did the trick. Aedan nearly jumped up in realization.
No, it couldn't be . . .
"Well anyways, I got to file a report on the sortie we just did. I'll leave you to finish up your duties for tonight. Try to let me know when you want that break, okay? I'll see you soon."
The two saluted and Jedrek left the hollow soon after. Aedan just stood there, appalled from his own comprehension. His beak hung open slightly, before he swiftly turned around to fetch his book.
"I knew I heard that name Hortense before," Aedan lectured to himself, "she used to live in a place right near here, and if my theory proves correct-."
He paused as he opened up the book: The Capture by Otulissa, scrambling to the chapter the note was left in. As he suspected, it was located on the chapter titled Hortense's Story. After skimming through and skipping ahead certain parts of the book, he confirmed that Hortense is associated with eagles and began drawing up a final conclusion.
Whoever wrote this message is very clever . . . putting the note on the chapter that serves as a clue. So "eagle's nest" has been narrowed down to Hortense's original home, which I know is located relatively close to where I used to live. There is much to take away from all of this.
Aedan's thoughts continued in a similar fashion. Theories as to who the individual could possibly be began to arise, with one being that it was the actual Hortense herself. However, this was dismissed when it was worked out that Hortense would've likely moved on from the place eventually and it had to be someone who he knew. Could it be Gowyr?
Gowyr always was somewhat keen on hiding his identity in such a fashion, and Gowyr could be trying to get in contact with him secretly. What better satisfaction could there be other than finding out he was alright? It could be anyone for that matter and Aedan would feel slightly better about himself.
Though, a part of him still couldn't bare the shame of being a coward.
Even so, Aedan was eager to find out whoever this wise conveyer was, and would do whatever was required of him to arrange a time to find his old home.
Odd someone coincidentally also may know where I live . . . Aedan realized, as he never told anyone about his residence. Perhaps this isn't something I should take lightly, just in case-
He didn't want to think about it any further.
Full moon, the clouds had begun to scatter, and the stars appeared beyond it. It was to be a night of great importance to Aedan and he wanted to do it right. But caution was always his first priority, not action.
Flying to directly to the southeast, passing straight through the heart of Ambala, it was a majestic region. How the valleys transformed into flatlands, then over to dense forest always fascinated him, all he could imagine was how it would look on the ground, from a different perspective.
Such distractions didn't hold much sway, however, as he neared his area of interest. The familiar landscape and air currents were subtly encountered, only to be made explicitly clear moments later.
Getting a sense of direction once again from being in familiar airspace, he initiated a sharp banking turn rightwards before leveling off. His eyes proceeded to scan the surrounding tree line for any possible locations fitting the description.
The previous couple of nights were relatively short and not noteworthy. Training and standard operating procedures summed up most of those nights quite well, with the occasional conversation occurring at times. Mostly these talks would start between him and both Damien and Gershom.
Gershom was the Barn owl that was also assigned to Damien for training. Like Aedan, he was a recruit that was still learning to become a true hunter. Unlike Aedan, however, Gershom had nothing really to hide, as he was always running his beak about even the most irrelevant of details. Compared to what Aedan remembers from Gowyr, Gershom was older and more rugged in body structure, his face also wasn't nearly as white as Gowyr's. The more obvious difference is in personality, but that goes for anyone, not just Gowyr and Gershom.
Getting away from them tonight was a different subject, as the two hadn't been expecting it and were hoping to dump their shifts onto Aedan given how the rest of the squadron would be out on sorties, much like the nights before. When asked, Aedan had claimed he was going to see relatives, but nothing could be further from the truth.
He had no intention of meeting up with his fake parents, the ones that neglected him since birth. He'd even wager they would think he was a stranger or even an intruder if he arrived at their hollow.
"Worthless twats." Aedan muttered to himself angrily, he would've rather seen them picked off from those owls over The Barrens than his friends. But despite all these regretful thoughts, he'd never considered sacrificing himself just for heroics.
It was a futile thing to do, even in that situation, someone had to get that message-. He stopped himself, remembering how even with the message it hasn't done any real good. Maybe tonight this individual will change that.
After a few minutes, Aedan started to become frustrated. What was he doing wrong? This surely was the area, and there was no sign of . . .
His eyes caught sight of something strange at the entrance of one hollow. Though almost barely noticeable, the distinct shape of an earthworm was recognized.
Aedan never recalled any earthworms just to show up inside hollows, nor would any creature bother to carry it up there for any real purpose. Not even larks eat earthworms, which is part of the confusing part about the message, but now it made sense. It was a small, but easily distinguishable way to find the exact location.
Aedan began his approach towards the tree, stretching his talons as he did so. Covering them was a layer of sharpened metal, iron to be exact. These were without a doubt, the finest example of battleclaws Aedan had ever seen.
Compared to the copper training claws Aedan had during his time at the Gateway to Hoole, these Ambalian issued battleclaws were far heavier and sharper than the former, but also had its own unique characteristics compared to other claws. Being a hunter, battleclaws issued to them were typically made with that idea in mind, focusing more on trimming unneeded areas to lighten them and to produce less drag. They were also tipped differently to be more effective for high-speed slashing attacks over the traditional stabbing thrust done by other soldiers. The only setbacks are service life and sturdiness of the claws during heavy usage. After all, they were made with the expectation in mind that they wouldn't see much action besides non-combat purposes such as gripping branches or cutting certain objects.
While Aedan couldn't take the crossbow with him for a non-combat tour, he could take his battleclaws at anytime and anywhere given the fact he is an actual soldier of Ambala. He'd figured the battleclaws would be an understandable accessory for his trip to this remote location.
As, if something sudden were to happen this time, he was prepared.
Finally landing at the tree where he sighted the earthworm laid out at the entrance of the hollow. He quickly inspected it before concluding that this had to be the location. Why else were there to be an earthworm up here? It had to be what the passage meant: a symbolic hint based on the message had said. It was an overwhelmingly complex riddle for what? It had to be something important, or this individual just wanted to play around with him.
It could also be both if one were to consider the possibilities.
Finally, peering into the hollow, he saw an owl he just knew in the back of his mind who would it be. Whether by his gizzard or true intellect, he had supreme confidence it would the owl that stood before him now, the exact form nothing but a darkened silhouette from the contrast of the lighting, but obviously made out to be a member of the Tyto genus. His eyes lightened up, it was almost just perfect.
But, as Aedan's eyes adjusted to the light from outside to the hollow, and the details of the Tyto became more visible, several individuals began to be ruled out. The Tyto was larger than the average male, so Gowyr was immediately ruled out to Aedan's ultimate disappointment. But it wasn't just that, although Aedan was no good at remembering how other people looked, he noticed that this owl had more of a creamy front, which differed from most other Barn owls.
As he was observing all of this, the Tyto finally noticed his presence and greeted him.
"Ah, what a pleasant surprise, I knew you would make it!"
The feminine qualities of her voice could not be mistaken, but in that exact same moment he realized that it couldn't be Kolina. Kolina had a whiter plumage overall than this one. So if it wasn't Gowyr or Kolina, then that could only mean she was . . .
"Vara."
Fresh but faint memories flooded into Aedan's mind about everything he remembered from her. She was a wildcard, the odd one out for the most part. A clear introvert, she placed her confidence in books over other people; relying on theories over opinions. Formality and dedicated observation was her one specialty Aedan had ironically observed himself, however, everything else about her was pure speculation. She was about as disconnected from the group as Gowyr was, in fact, Aedan would argue he knew Gowyr better than Vara.
And as it would turn out, it may as well seem they were meeting for the first time.
To Aedan's surprise, her face expressed nothing but confusion. Her obsidian eyes remained fixated on him blankly, before seemingly returning to their normal form.
"Vara? Oh, that's quite smart Aedan, using aliases instead of actual names in your report. I remember how you used to try to do that while at the Gateway to Hoole, I always found that to be quite amusing."
Now it was Aedan's turn to express his complete and utmost bewilderment. What in the world was she talking about? Her name wasn't Vara? Aliases that he made? Was this some kind of joke or was she serious? What if this wasn't the real Vara and just someone pretending to be her? Aedan suddenly grew concerned.
"Wait a minute, so are you Vara or not?"
She blinked, "Don't you remember? You were the one that tried to give us these names. It's not my real name, of course, as that would be quite silly, but in your report you referred to us by those names; the ones you tried to use for us while we were all together."
Aedan suddenly became nauseous, his gizzard seemed to twist inward. His head started to hurt the more he thought about it. When did he ever try to make up names to refer to them by? He had no memory of this, and he was certain that he had a good recollection of what went on at the Gateway to Hoole. Was she trying to confuse him intentionally?
Vara, or at least, the female Tyto Aedan assumed to be Vara, motioned with her wing for him to come in, taking notice to his perplexed state.
"Come, I'm sure now that you're here we can try and address these disparities in your reports."
"You're saying there's more than just names I got wrong?" His voice trembled with anxiety. He almost didn't want to talk with her, fearing that she would just only confuse him even more.
Aedan entered the average sized hollow, taking notice to the variety of notes and other papers scattered about throughout the hollow. He watched his every step to ensure he doesn't accidentally step on one that would annoy his hostess. Judging by the amount of information written on each paper, she must've been busy during the nights leading up to this exchange. But why?
Vara neared one of her books that remained open set it aside to a more organized pile at the edge of the hollow. Upon doing so, she turned to him and said.
"You know, I never would've thought to see you become a soldier . . . it just never did fit your kind of personality. I guess I was wrong."
Aedan gave her a soft glare, "Are you trying to say I made the wrong choice?"
She shook her head, "No, of course not. It's just, you always presented yourself more as an idealist than a head-strong warrior."
Aedan shrugged his wings, "Things change. Besides, how else are you going to save your classmates? In fact, what are you doing about it besides criticizing me over a choice I made that did not fall into your predictions?"
"I didn't- well, hmm . . ." she grabbed a quill and a patch of paper, "I think this is what it all comes down to, I believe the quill is mightier than the claws. We both have our ways to handle the aftereffects of what had happened, but in the end, we're after the same exact thing: finding out who took the class, and what came about of them."
She gazed up at him after writing something down very briefly on the fresh piece of paper. "Now, let's start with the more concerning matter, you're inaccuracies in both your report and seemingly your memory. Care to start us off?"
Aedan was aghast by the question; did she really think he had it wrong? There was a lot that needed to be answered on her end as well. What was all of this about? Just to find a hole in his story or try to even deceive him from his own memories? What was she truly after for her to go through all of this just for a little chat? Besides, there had to be other reasons; as she clearly had read the report and made her own assessment on the matter already.
Then, he began to wonder how exactly she made it out from the ambush in the Canyonlands.
"Inaccuracies? Under whose measure, Vara? In fact, you've got a lot to explain yourself if you want anything out of me, as it sounds like what you're trying to get at is that everything I said is not true. You can pretend all you want that everything I said is false, but I can say for certain you weren't with us after the ambush and that you were acting suspiciously yourself throughout the time I knew you; perhaps instead you should explain yourself regarding your confrontation with Gowyr during our trip just before the ambush? How about that for a start?"
Aedan was surprised he said all of that, he wasn't planning on being that harsh, but it was truly what he was thinking at the moment. She on the other wing didn't seem taken aback by the outburst, instead, writing down details and notes on the paper before returning a glance. While indifferent, he could tell that she wasn't exactly pleased with doing this kind of discussion.
Despite this, she did something Aedan didn't expect.
"Trust is something we must work for again, is that so? Well, I can start off by saying you were inaccurate in many details from what I know, there could be even more details I'm not aware of, but the fact we both have different perspectives on the same occasion frightens me, Aedan. That's part of the reason why I sent you here, because without your input, I hate to say this, but all of these inaccuracies seem . . . intentional."
Aedan was appalled, he could see her trying to make the case he was wrong, but intentionally fabricating parts of the story? What kind of owl was she just to think he would do that?
"You must be yoicks to believe I would ever lie about such a thing." Aedan retorted quickly, but Vara began to walk slowly around him.
"Yes, what actually happened to you, myself, and the others was tragic and is in no way just a lie . . . I'm afraid things get complicated once we start looking at the background. Tell me, do you remember your early moons as a hatchling?"
Aedan nodded, "Quite vividly, I lived right around here actually with my aunt and uncle who I hate with a passion. I still don't know what happened to my actual parents, but that doesn't matter to me right now."
"Hmm, interesting." She proceeded to write down some additional details on the paper. This time, Aedan took notice to that action and was slightly disturbed, was she profiling him?
She elaborated, "I think, Aedan, you're generalizing too much. Can you actually remember an actual instance of when you were just an owlet? It can be any point of time."
What was the point of these kind of questions? Aedan thought, realizing that she may just be trying to stall time.
"I . . . yeah- no, I can't remember an exact moment as an owlet, nobody can! It was all boring and uninteresting just dealing with the same old routine every night with my aunt and uncle. I was simply too young. Why are you asking me this anyways? Are you trying to avoid answering the question I'd asked you earlier?"
She finished up her additional notes before replying, "Oh, I have no reason for asking these questions — was just wondering."
Aedan frowned, "I'm not answering any more of your stupid questions without knowing what you did, it almost seems like you yourself have something to hide."
She churred, "Quite aggravated, aren't you? I remember that about you as well, you had the patience of a twig. Now, let me fill in the gaps for you."
She walked towards the exit of the hollow, looking out into the night moonlit sky.
"Those many nights ago when you had first arrived to the Gateway to Hoole, when I first met you, you were a quiet, shy little thing that was helpless to the outside world like everyone else who had first arrived there. You had nothing but fascination to the world, I could tell by the way you would look at me when I would help you on your assignments; but, you also had the look of someone who wishes to run away from their past, or simply just trying to hide it. Even so, you always hung close to me throughout those early moons, but all that started to change . . . as you yourself started to change."
Aedan disagreed with her points but remained silent, wanting to hear what else she had to say. So far, it was completely against his understanding, she was the more quiet type, not the more social one. She helped in some topics yes, but not nearly to the level she has described. Could she be confused? Yoicks even? Aedan didn't know.
"Your personality started to change, like the rest of the group. Everyone seemed suddenly fixated together as if they were a bunch of leeches latching on to its host. You in particular started having an obsession over that Barn owl, who you referred to as "Gowyr". The moment you developed your obsession, you stopped recognizing me, time and time again I would walk up to you only for you to completely ignore me. The others were following a similar pattern. That was when I realized something was wrong."
Aedan had trouble comprehending what she was saying, but he was following along. Some things did seem to connect, but many parts of her story didn't match up. Still, he listened on in silence.
"Now you may be surprised, but I too was concerned about the safety of our 'test', as it were. However, for a different reason than compared to what you've stated in your report. This is when I started to suspect the owl you call 'Gowyr', as he was quite adamant on hiding his true thoughts."
Aedan looked up at her, disbelieving what he was hearing. Wishing to hear no further of it, he quickly tried to debunk her unfounded claims.
"You can't be serious, he's the youngest one out of all of us! Are you saying that he was one of the elements behind all of this hysteria?"
Vara looked back at him, "Now, I never did say that, did I?"
Aedan opened his beak, only to close it moments later. What she had said was true, perhaps he was rushing to conclusions.
She continued, "I started to do my own investigations and research into the matter, trying to figure out who he was, and what his motives were. But by then there was too little time and everyone was already leaving for the trip by then. I did that very research here, in this exact hollow, by the way."
Aedan nodded, this part did seem to make sense to him, explaining why she wasn't among them at the start of their trip to Ambala.
"Of course, as your report accurately describes, I confronted 'Gowyr', demanding to figure out what was in the satchel. He of course refused, and to that, there was really nothing I could besides assume the worst. And then . . . the ambush happened."
She sighed, before turning back around fully towards Aedan, "I may not seem fully trustworthy to you Aedan, but that experience would leave a scar in the rest of my life. I had no capacity to help you or the others, so I did what anyone would do: fly as far and as fast away as possible."
"And you got out without anyone following you?" Aedan asked skeptically.
"I was careful in my window of opportunity, once everyone started to panic and all the bad owls were distracted, I made a break for it. Despite the headwind, it played in my favor as they were suspecting me to be an easy catch and instead went after you and- hmm . . . what did you refer to him by? As yes, Favian, you and Favian."
Aedan, then realizing she as well also was apart of the ambush and seemed to have a good eye for what had happened, asked.
"By the way, did you happen to see Gowyr? Nobody can seem to answer this question."
She looked down at her papers, "I can't confirm or deny I did, but . . . I did see a Barn owl flying low within the ravines, and from the looks of it, going north, but there's no telling where that all ends up."
"Gowyr." Aedan whispered quietly to himself, had he actually made it after all? But if that was him, where would he be now? This new piece of information was giving hope to Aedan, regardless of the uncertainty as to if it was him or not.
"Must I explain what happened afterwards?" Vara asked, but Aedan decided that was enough of an explanation. So he shook his head in reply,
"Good," Vara returned to the piece of paper she was writing on and grabbed the quill, "now, can we get to what I wanted to ask you tonight?"
Aedan agreed with a simple nod.
"Wonderful. So, we took up more time than I expected, and I want to make this quick — I hope in the future we can continue these discussions so we can get a better understanding of the situation."
In the future? There was no telling if Aedan would be able to get away with another trip like this, especially without raising suspicion to Jedrek or everyone else in his unit. Regardless, he continued to listen.
"First, for now we can set aside our disagreements on the perspective before the incident, but right now, I have to take your word for everything that happened after it. And this should even be more crucial to you."
"Of course," Aedan remarked, "it's been five moons and no action, I would like for someone to actually take it seriously."
"Oh you'd be surprised," Vara replied, with a genuine grin, "not everything may be as it seems, but that's exactly the problem, the reason why it doesn't seem like anything big is because everyone is on their guard right now, not wanting to jump to conclusions to quick to start up a war beyond proportions we've ever seen before. And let me tell you Aedan . . . this is merely the calm before the storm."
Aedan was silent, were they really that close to a full-scale war? Between who? The Ambalians? What about the Guardians? All these questions quickly flooded Aedan's mind.
"You said in your report that your group and escorts encountered an all-Tyto formation in The Barrens, correct?"
"Yes, a quite intimidating one at that."
"You also said that while on the ground you heard them make mention to the term: 'Bashers'?"
"Yes, that was how one of them referred to themselves with their comrade, is there a meaning behind it?"
Vara gazed down at her papers, "Not that I'm aware of, I'm sure there's nothing-"
The look Aedan gave caused Vara to reconsider what she had said, she retracted her previous statement and started anew.
"If what you said is true, then they are referring to the formal 2nd Special Airborne Battalion, otherwise known as the Queen's Guard, or more informally as the 'Bashers'. They were one of the first units to be created for the Kingdom of Tyto, assigned with two task: to protect Queen Sebastiana, or 'Bash' as she is known informally by other members of her family. Their other objective was to be superior to all other forces of both their kingdom, and any other kingdom. To accomplish that, they received Guardian training, Kingdom of Tyto's military training, and other specialty areas no one else received training in."
"So what came about of them then?" Aedan asked, somewhat fretful.
Vara sighed, "At one point, they defected and were never heard from again. But if your report holds true, then we could have a serious problem on our wings."
Aedan widened his eyes, "So you're saying that either this unit could be working independently or . . ." he paused, "they could be doing the Kingdom of Tyto's bidding."
Vara shook her head, "Jumping to conclusions again, you know full well that the Kingdom of Tyto is not responsible for this."
Aedan began to recall something, "If that is true, then why did one of them mention that they were trying to stop a war from being started? Wouldn't it make sense if they tried to silence me and the group so they could prevent the continent from learning about all of this?"
Vara stayed silent, before responding with the same point again, "You can't create these conspiracy theories every time you learn something new. While I may not know why they said that, all I do know is that everyone is going to be at each other's throats."
Aedan cocked his head to the side, "How so?"
"Simple, Silverveil doesn't trust Ambala and believes they are responsible for giving the hireclaws weapons, they believe the information you gave about the owlnapping to justify this. Ambala doesn't trust Tyto based on the information you gave about the unit you encountered, and believes the Kingdom of Tyto is behind all of this and is starting to create tensions."
She looked at Aedan compassionately.
"Aedan, bless your gizzard, but I think your group's warning to the owl kingdoms was premeditated."
Aedan took a step back, "Premeditated? You mean, the bad guys may've wanted us to warn the outside world?"
Vara wrote something down again, before responding, "Not the bad guys you're necessarily thinking about. But, this is all just speculation."
She looked up at him, "Any information you've attained in your time in the Ambalian army may prove to be helpful, consider it like that question game we were playing on our trip with the group, you get one question, I get one question."
Aedan clicked his beak, was it wise to start talking about military matters to her? After all, what business did she have knowing about what the Ambalians were up to? But, perhaps she had the answer for everything going on at the moment.
"A good poriton of my squadron is doing combat sorties towards The Barrens, I don't know if they are heading up to Silverveil, but they did attack something a couple nights ago. Jedrek, my commander, hasn't told me what they were up to. He said after that night sortie, they just killed some crows that were threatening them."
Vara had a good laugh, "Crows, mobbing them, during nighttime?" She laughed again.
Aedan wilfed slightly, embarrassed by the fact he didn't catch on to that. Vara would go on to reassure him.
"It's quite alright, just realize that something may be going on that you may not have yet noticed."
Aedan seemed discouraged by this, "Do you think the Ambalians are attacking the Silverveilians now?"
"I'm not going to jump to conclusions, but," she smiled, "I have faith that the Ambalians and Silverveilians are trying to do the right thing."
Her smile quickly disappeared as she brought up one last thing, "Just be ready for anything, I'm sure some warning signs will become apparent."
"How do you know?" Aedan asked.
"Something no one is expecting is always bound to happen-." She paused, before saying finally.
"Now seems to be that time."
Aedan's return was unremarkable, but he had learned quite a lot from the conversation he had with Vara, or the Vara he once knew. While she does seem to be off on her assessments about him, she did provide some interesting information that he had yet to consider. Such as the identity of the unit they had encountered over The Barrens. So while Aedan didn't fully take Vara's word for everything, she was still a worthwhile asset. They had agreed by the end of it to remain in contact and perhaps to engage in more talks in the near future.
Most of the points made during the conversation seemed to have disappeared from Aedan's concerns, he was satisfied with what he had learned, but still wasn't any closer to solving the case.
But a howling screech brought him out of this placid state.
Looking out of the hollow, one soldier of their unit was badly wounded on the left wing, with two bolts sticking out of it. Before he could reach the tree, he lost control and crashed into the ground below, dead on impact from the looks of it. Several additional members of the unit were also nowhere to be seen.
The tone of the unit was not filled with the usual excitement or glee, but not silence, awful silence. With four owls gone from the twelve, that meant effectively a third of them were missing, something bad must've happened.
I highly doubt attacking crows would yield this many losses. Aedan remarked sarcastically to himself. It was almost ironic how Vara had stated that there would be some warning signs, it seemed to be coming frighteningly true. Then Aedan noticed Jedrek landing on a branch beside him. Jedrek said slowly.
"Aedan, I think we need to talk."