Destroy and Rebuild
Chapter Thirty Six: Disagreement
Disclaimer: I don't own Radiata Stories or any of the characters in the game; they are the property of the brilliant minds at Square Enix.
Authors Note(s): Words in '…' indicate a thought. Words in "…" indicate spoken words. The first thing to note is that this story is a sequel. The characterization and storyline contained here are based on the characters and events that occur in my first story, Sever All Ties. Everything that happens in this story will make a lot more sense if you have read that one, so I recommend reading the first story before reading the sequel. With that in mind, the story picks up where Sever All Ties left off, and tells what happens after Aphelion is defeated and Jack and Ridley return to Radiata. I hope you enjoy.
"You want me to what," Aleks Sterling was surprised with what he had just heard.
Sitting at the table with the other members of the team, they were listening to Elwen discuss her plans for the third challenge. The clock on the wall read 9:45, just a few hours had passed since their return from the fight with Cepheid, and the Guild Leader was intent on keeping them to their schedule of facing the first four challenges in four days. Aleks had woken up in his bed not long after their return, tired and a little dizzy, but otherwise unharmed. The meeting had been set to take place earlier, but the team that fought the Wind Dragon had been given some time to rest so that they could be part of the conversation. Only Gil was absent, the light elf was barely standing when they returned and, after facing two dragons in two days, there was no question that he would not be participating in the next challenge.
"I want you to face the third individual challenge tomorrow morning," Elwen repeated her previous statement. "The Leviathan is a spear with strong water and ice magic, and no one in our group uses a spear as a weapon. Since you were so adamant that you wanted to go after the Jinn, I thought I would give you the chance to earn the Leviathan."
"Don't turn this around on me," Aleks fired back, trying to keep his focus as he grew more frustrated. The rest of the group listened wordlessly as he continued. "I just went to face the Wind Dragon, and I can't just go into another challenge the next day, let alone the individual challenge; I need time to rest and recover."
"Despite being incapacitated in the fight, you were the member of your team who received the least serious injuries during the fight with Cepheid," the Guild Leader responded. He had to grit his teeth to keep from responding angrily. "Were you more seriously injured than you appeared? Is there some sort of lingering effect that will keep you from going?"
"No, but I fail to see why that means I have to go after the weapon when I just completed a challenge," the idea of gaining the Leviathan did appeal to him, but he had seen the physical and mental toll that the first two individual challenges had taken on Ridley and Gil.
"Jack, Ridley, Gil, and I all possess magical weapons already," Elwen replied. "Nocturne is the obvious choice for Efreet, the two-handed saber, and neither Lord Zane nor the High Priest use weapons. That means I need to send you, General Natalie, or Alicia. The General was the most seriously wounded member of the first team, and Alicia is in the exact same position you are in. I think you are the best suited to wield the Leviathan, but this is the price of getting it."
"I do want the weapon," Aleks conceded, taking a calming breath. "I just wish that the circumstances were different."
"Do you think it is a coincidence that the individual challenges have fallen the way they have," Elwen looked around the room as she spoke. "Ridley has to go first, Gil has to go twice in a row, and now Sir Aleks does as well. The challenges are being stacked against us, and we must stay focused and determined."
"Chief, I want to go with the team that fights the Water Dragon," Jack Russell spoke up, across the table and two seats down from Aleks.
"I don't think so," Elwen's answer surprised Aleks as much as it did Jack. Before the former knight could object, she spoke again. "Why do you want to fight Kelvin, Jack?"
"I mean, you know, because my Dad did," he sounded unsure of how his answer would be taken. "I want to be able to say I did too."
"Cairn fought Kelvin on Tottaus, the dragon will be stronger here," Elwen said. Jack looked like he wanted to say something, but listened as she continued. "And, he fought Kelvin by himself, while we're sending a team. I don't want you going into the fight acting like you have something to prove, so you're going to sit this one out. The team will be the same as the first challenge, but with Sir Aleks instead of Gil. So, Lord Zane, Lady Ridley, and General Natalie will be going."
"Yeah, but…" Jack's objection was stifled by Nocturne's interjection
"So, four of them going on their second challenge before you and Jack even go on one," the Void Warrior's displeasure was clear in his voice. "Plus the other elf makes five. The kid may be stupid and a little reckless, but I bet he'd behave if it was the difference between him going and not. I'd rather have him at full strength than somebody still recovering from a previous challenge."
"I too am uncomfortable with this arrangement. Maybe it's time you share with the rest of the team exactly what's wrong with Jack Russell." glances shifted quickly between Jack and Elwen after Aleks spoke. "He didn't quite seem like himself when we sparred yesterday, and now there's a rather suspect reason for keeping him out of a challenge."
"I had hoped to not have this conversation," Elwen said after a momentary pause. He moved to the edge of his seat as she continued. "Not because I mind explaining, but because I hoped you would grant me the trust that I asked of you. Over half of the group already knows, but for those of you who don't, Jack was negatively affected by the magic in the sword he used to defeat the Silver Dragon, and is not at full strength. It would be unwise to send him into a fight until he is fully recovered, which I hope will be any day now."
"That seems like information we're all entitled to. Why was it kept from some of us," Aleks was surprised by this revelation, and bothered that he had been kept in the dark.
"It didn't affect you," Alicia said, turning to look at him. She winced a little at the motion, her right shoulder was wrapped in heavy bandages. "Jack was required to be here by the Valkyrie, so we couldn't have left him at home. The ones who know are helping him train, and that's it."
"It's not about the injury," the Knight Captain countered. He looked to Natalie for support, but the General said nothing. "Everyone on the team should be treated equally, which means not withholding information from some of us."
"I would've liked knowing, too, but we can't change that now," Nocturne echoed his sentiments, but turned his head to speak directly to Aleks. "If there's one person I trust to have a plan built around solid logic, it's her. Let's just make sure we don't have these issues going forward."
"I agree," Elwen turned to acknowledge Nocturne when she spoke. "A better effort should be made to keep everyone informed. Now, back to the team that will face the next challenge: we originally spoke of essentially having rotations so that there was a day of healing and recovery for those who are fighting. Three of the four here will have gotten that. The Behemoth that Ridley acquired in the first challenge will be a real advantage, because its earth magic will be the weakness of the Water Dragon. Are the four of you all capable of fighting?"
"Yes, I can" though he was irritated, Aleks responded affirmatively. The other three all offered words and signs of agreement as well, though Lady Ridley gave a strange look to Lord Zane as she did.
"All right, that's all I have for tonight," Elwen said. "If there's nothing else to discuss, then…"
"I do have something else, actually," Aleks was frustrated, but did not think a better time would arise. "It's one thing to say that Jack is not fighting because of this mysterious affliction that you chose not to tell us about, but why haven't you been in any of the challenges yet?"
"Your short-sightedness continues to disappoint me, Sir Aleks," the Guild Leader fixed her gaze on him, and he had to fight the urge to look away. "There are 10 challenges, and you act as though there are only three or four. I was chosen for this position, to make decisions, because there was agreement that my judgment could be trusted when it came to assigning teams to face the challenges. If that is no longer the case, and you speak for a majority of the team, then we can discuss it. Until then, trust that I am capable of doing the job you chose me to do."
"Just a moment ago, you told us that a better effort should be made to keep all of us informed, and yet you are choosing not to," the contradiction seemed obvious to Aleks, and both the General and the High Priest seemed to acknowledge his point. "If you know something that will affect the team significantly, then I think we have a right to know."
"In this case, Sir Aleks, you will have to trust my judgment," her answer was unchanged.
"We understand your point, Aleks," General Natalie made eye contact as she spoke, before turning to Elwen as she continued. "And I do think it has merit; we're entitled to knowledge about what might be coming, but I think that we need to trust Elwen this time."
"Fine," Aleks relented, fighting to contain his feelings of frustration. As long as they continued to support her, he knew better than to continue arguing. He stood up and walked toward the kitchen area without waiting for any more discussion.
'I don't care how great she is, I can't trust her blindly like that,' the Knight Captain was convinced he was right.
After the meeting to decide the team, Lord Zane had returned to his room. Seated in the chair, he let his mind wander somewhat. The elf had seen a great many things in more than a millennium of life, but the fortress of the Gods was something unique. Yet as impressive as it was, he already missed the proximity to nature that the elves traditionally maintained. He had heard in his younger days that there was a time when elves had lived in cities and castles, just like the humans, but those were stories that even the elders of his youth had been unable to confirm. The thought of living behind walls and within stones for all of his life was unappealing, and he infinitely preferred open air and proximity to nature. These thoughts were interrupted when the door opened and Ridley stepped into the room. Neither said anything as she took a few short steps toward him. Her expression was blank, and he did not avert his gaze. Several moments passed before she spoke.
"So, is this it," her voice was soft and tense, as if she was trying to stifle her reaction. "You're just going to your death?"
"Good evening to you, too. Please, sit down," he smiled genuinely and gestured for her to be seated on the bed. The conversation would go better if she was not ready to pounce on him. "I did decide, after speaking to Elwen, that I will be going to fight the Water Dragon. While the possibility is very real, it is not my intention to die."
"Are you fully recovered from the fight with the Earth Dragon," her green eyes locked intently on him as she spoke, but he did not look away.
"I won't ever fully recover," his bluntness seemed to surprise her. Though her expression was unchanged, she paused for a long moment before speaking again.
"I know that," she said quietly, looking down at the floor. "But you can still recover what you used here, right?"
"Algandars is going to claim me, all fighting will do is hasten the inevitable," his answer seemed to frustrate her.
"Then why go at all," Ridley asked in a clipped tone. "You think you'll sacrifice yourself to win the fight and go out a hero or something like that, but you could die right at the beginning and leave three of us at a big disadvantage."
"You aren't seeing the big picture," the elf leader stated simply. "There are eight challenges left. High Priest is not participating, Elwen seems to have decided that she is better served by not participating for now, and it appears that Jack Russell will not fight until he has mastered control of the Falvern. That reduces our number of eligible fighters to seven. The only thing we know for certain is that the four elemental dragons are the first four challenges. So, we know our next two opponents are the Water Dragon and Fire Dragon. My wind magic will be of no use against Lord Parsec, which means that this challenge is likely the last chance I have to actually help us. I might fall at the beginning of the battle, as you suggested, but the probability of it happening is low enough, and the potential reward is high enough, that this is the best course of action."
"But you haven't had enough time to recover to where you were before the first challenge," Ridley protested.
"I think it is reasonable to assume that the challenges are going to become more difficult as we proceed," he was trying to put things in context for her. "If I have more time to recover, but the upcoming challenges are significantly more difficult, I will be in essentially the same situation. Our team needs help now, and I am willing to provide it, even if it means that I am risking my life."
"But you want me to do it," her volume did not increase, but the intensity did. "You want me to kill you."
"Yes, I do," he replied, a light smile on his face as he reflected on the situation. "I still think that the power you received the the Gold Dragon is capable of saving me."
"Did you find anything else? Anything that describes how it might be accomplished," Ridley had been hesitant last time, and she did not appear to have gotten over her concerns despite her promise to help him.
"No, I didn't," the elf was not deterred by the absence of this additional material. "As I said before, I will die no matter what, and this at least gives me the chance to do something good and maybe be saved in the process."
"Quasar's power, I still can't do anything with it except destroy," she shook her head to emphasize the deficiency. "If it requires anything else, I can't help."
"I know," this time, he was the one who locked eyes with her. "I know that this might not work, but the alternative is to wait as my condition progressively worsens until it kills me. At least we will have tried something."
"You're right, of course," Ridley nodded her head in acknowledgment of his point, and sighed. Her voice was barely above a whisper when she continued. "I just don't want to lose you."
Her head hung and her shoulders slumped, and he saw a tear fall to the floor. Lord Zane was surprised by these words, and said nothing as silence returned to the room. Although she had grown a great deal in the past few months, not much had changed in the girl his brother had given his life to save. The dual sides of her personality, the well-trained, confident warrior and the nervous girl full of doubt, were both still present. She was smart, and quick to process situations, but second-guessed herself and agonized over decisions, sometimes even backing down from making the right one. Still, her compassion was unwavering and resolve had grown a great deal since the first night they met. Their time working together had been short, but meaningful. Her green eyes sparkled when she looked up again, and Ridley brushed away tears.
"My parents love me, I know that," she said, smiling softly. "They've taught me important things, and I know they're there for me if I ever need them, but I've never felt close to them the way I do with you, Lord Zane. I feel like you understand me, and I'm going to miss that."
"No one can understand you perfectly," his reply seemed to give her pause. "No one else has experienced what you did with the transpiritation, becoming as the Vessel, facing Aphelion, and now being here. What I did understand, I think, is the way you feel. Seeing suffering in the world and wanting to change it, finding the power and committing to do it, I understand all of that. When my time comes, I will miss you as well, but we are here because we can make those sorts of decisions."
"I know," Ridley paused for a moment, and her expression changed. "Did I tell you I have an ally here? Something about the magic that's here allows Hap and I to communicate directly with one another."
"How is that possible," Lord Zane was surprised by her words.
"His voice is in my head. I can hear him, and he can hear my replies," she explained. "I'm not sure how or why it happened, it wasn't anything that either of us did deliberately."
"Has this had any effect on your ability to access his power? Can he take control of your physical actions," he was interested in knowing the extent of their connection.
"I don't think either of those things are possible," Ridley answered.
"The interesting part is that this happened after we arrived here. I have yet to notice anything peculiar about my magic," he mused. "Still, I am glad that you and Hap will be able to look after one another. I hope that you will continue to keep me informed of any developments in this area."
"Of course," she agreed. A moment later, she muffled a yawn.
"A timely reminder that we should retire for the night," a glance at the clock informed him that it was almost 11:30. Ridley silently rose to her feet. "I will see you in the morning, so that we can face another challenge."
After the door closed behind her, he let out a sigh to match hers from earlier. In one day's time, he might have beaten Algandars. Lord Zane had read every book in the light elves' library, and had never seen a reference to The Power and Balance of Tottaus, but the book was found among his deceased brother's collection when they were researching and preparing to face the challenges. If Ridley was able to use the Guardian Dragon's power correctly, she would be able to save his soul to be reborn. When he first read it, Lord Zane could not help wondering if the knowledge in it might have saved his brother, but such thinking was pointless; Nogueira made his choice when he performed the transpiritation. Nevertheless, he was determined not to give up, and make the most of the opportunity. Following the advice he gave to Ridley, Lord Zane climbed into his bed to get some rest before the next morning's challenge. Although he had spent many long nights laying awake and thinking about algandars or relations with humans and the other races, the light elf was at peace and went to sleep almost immediately.
'If you are found worthy, your soul will be returned free of the distortion, and you will be able to wield the strongest weapon in the world. If not, you will forfeit your soul to the sword and die,' try as he might, Jack could not get Lord Khell's words out of his head.
Knowing that he was risking his very existence to gain control of the Falvern was daunting, and he was having a difficult time sleeping in spite of his fatigue. After his training alone, then with Natalie, and then Ridley, the Chief had decided he should take the night off to recover. However, he was too restless to get the desired effect and could only stare anxiously at the ceiling. Neither the Chief nor Lord Khell had told him anything about the kind of challenge that he would ultimately be facing, which made him even more unnerved. He was confident that learning to control his spiritual energy and the sword's power would be valuable, but he wanted to know more specifically what he would be required to do. While he was thinking about these things, he casually turned his head to the left and was startled to see Lenneth standing next to his bed. She seemed amused by his reaction and smiled.
"Relax, if I was going to kill you, I would've done it eight minutes ago," the Valkyrie said matter-of-factly as he sat upright and instinctively turned his gaze toward the Arbitrator. "You certainly are jumpy."
"Sorry, I guess I wasn't expecting you to just appear out of thin air in my room in the middle of the night," he was trying to stop his heart from pounding in his chest, and annoyed at the situation. "Why are you here anyway?"
"Just to talk," her tone was unchanged.
"You haven't generally said things that I wanted to hear about." Jack replied
"That's true, but things you need to hear about aren't always things you want to hear about," her words tripped him up for a moment.
"So, you think you have something I need to hear," he stated after a brief pause.
"Maybe," Lenneth replied. "Maybe I just want to get to know the Disruptor."
"Somehow I doubt that," Jack was on his guard.
"Why does El want to keep you off of the team that is going to the next challenge," without acknowledging his statement, she sat down and started the conversation. Begrudgingly, he seated himself on the edge of the bed.
"She's afraid that I'll feel like there's something I have to prove," he repeated the Chief's way of thinking from the earlier meeting. When Lenneth did not immediately say anything, he continued. "I can see why she thinks that. I mean, I do want to fight the Water Dragon because my father did. I've heard a lot about how great he was, but I never got to see him or meet him or anything. I want to be even greater than he was, so this would be a chance for me to try to prove that. She also wants me to master the Falvern before I go to one of the challenges."
"To master it, you say? You would be the first," these words gave him pause. "I think she'll be satisfied if you just keep it from destroying you."
"Well, yeah, that's what I meant. She just wants me to get control of it," Jack had to backtrack with his words. After a pause, he continued "You said I would be the first, has nobody ever mastered the Falvern?"
"It's had several wielders, some of whom could even control it, but no one has mastered it," the Valkyrie explained. "Not even King Nohmet, whom the sword was forged for, ever mastered it, the sword itself is so powerful, and requires so much strength and control to use, that true mastery of it is all but impossible. You know that you could very easily end up repeating this process, right?"
"What do you mean," asked Jack.
"I mean that, if you manage to return the Falvern's power to the sword and get your strength back, any use of the sword in the future could result in the same thing happening. It doesn't matter if you've been through the process before, it can happen again any time you draw out too much power."
"I'll have to keep that from happening," he said defiantly.
"The sword is too powerful for that," Lenneth stated again, emphasizing the words. "You will always have to fight for control over it. There is one way to master it, though."
"There is," Jack was buoyed by these words.
"Of course," she smiled. "You just need to complete the 10 challenges and wish for it. You'll get any wish you choose for winning, remember?"
"You mean the wish that we're going to use to fix the cosmic order," this was what Jack had been waiting for. "I don't always figure out things like this right away, but this one is definitely clear."
"We went over this already, Disruptor," Lenneth was undeterred. "If you complete the 10 challenges, then there will be no Reset for at least 200 years. Think about it though: is there any way that peace will last for eternity as your friends seem to naively believe? Surely you can recognize that will not happen."
"If it's work together or the end of the world, then yeah, I think we can handle it," Jack felt confident in the answer.
"But can the humans and elves 400 years from now? The ones for whom things like the Changeover and Guardian Dragons are nothing but a myth," she countered. "This isn't the first time that humans and elves have tried to fix things as the Changeover got close, but it's inevitable that, as time goes by, those lessons are forgotten and bad habits return. All it will take is for their response to be insufficient one time and your world will end forever. It may not be this time, or the next time, but it will inevitably happen. What you should do instead is use that wish for yourself, spend the rest of your life trying to fix things between humans and non-humans, and allow the Changeover to take care of things after your time. What would be so wrong with that?"
"It's not what I said I would do," the former knight said. "I told Lord Luc….I mean, Aphelion, that I would try to bring about peace. Also, I just don't really trust you or this system."
"Yes, because yours is working so much better," the Valkyrie said with a laugh. She stood up to leave as she continued. "Well, think on it, if you get the chance."
"Last time you offered to spare people I care about if I gave up, now you're telling me what I should do if we win," Jack smiled, earning a glare. "You must not be as confident."
"Quite the opposite, I'm worried about your confidence," she said curtly. "I tried to convince you last time that you would lose, and you didn't believe me. So, this time, I'm telling you that it makes sense to do what I'm asking even if you win."
"If you say so," he suddenly felt very confident. "Are you and I going to get to fight?"
"I don't think that's up to me. After all, you have to ask permission from El," Lenneth stepped toward him, her face very close to his. Her smirk irritated him. "Besides, you're no threat to me as you are now. Gain control of the Falvern, then you might be able to make it interesting."
He was still fumbling for a response when she faded away and disappeared. Gritting his teeth, he laid down on his back, trying again to relax. They had only talked a handful of times, but she knew how to get to him. The more he laid in silence, the more he thought about her words. Completing the 10 challenges would save everyone in the world, but she did make a good point about not knowing how well future generations would maintain the cosmic order. If they did poorly, then the world could be destroyed. But, that was exactly what was currently happening, so someone in the past might have made the same argument about him. Staring at the ceiling, he wished again that there was a simple answer to the issues they were dealing with.
After one last deep breath, Aleks calmly stepped through the doorway to face the third individual challenge. He was unsure whether to expect something elaborate, like the maze Ridley had navigated, or more simple, like the room Gil had used. What he found was a courtyard ringed on all four sides by stone walls. Although it had a regal air, it had clearly seen better days. There were large cracks in the walls, and they were crumbling in places. The arch over one of the entryways was destroyed, and a majestic fountain had been smashed. Even the grass, poking up in patches through the stones, was dead. The dense clouds overhead made it difficult to tell whether it was day or night, but it looked to be near dusk. The Knight Captain walked tentatively to the closest gate, but it would not open. Beyond the walls, he saw a number of buildings that were all in the same state as the courtyard. Before he could explore any further, he heard rubble shift behind him and turned quickly, his hand going to the hilt of his sword.
"Welcome," a melodic, female voice seemed to come from all around him. "You must be here to claim the Leviathan."
"I am. Lord Aleks Sterling, a captain in the Radiata Knights" he stated confidently. "And who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"
"If you're here, you should know," the voice teased. Behind him, water started to pour out of the broken fountain.
"The Water Dragon," Aleks stared intently at the fountain. "Lady Kelvin."
"Very good," the water stopped as she spoke. "Do you know where we are?"
"Nothing here looks familiar," the Knight Captain chose his words carefully.
"I suppose it wouldn't," the dragon said. "I suppose it would make more sense to ask if you know when we are."
"I don't," shaking his head, he continued to scan with his eyes. His left hand was on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw at any moment.
"This is Na'Rhy, the capital city of the elves, or what's left of it," she said in a somber tone.
"The elves in my time live in the forest," Aleks was focused on remaining calm. "So, does that make this the past or the future?"
"The past," her answer would have been shocking to him not that long ago, but it was no stranger than anything else he had heard recently.
"It's certainly seen better days," he quipped. "So, what is my challenge, then?"
"To learn. And, to understand," Kelvin's words confused him.
"What does that even mean," Aleks asked. Her words were almost too vague to interpret.
"I chose this place for a reason," the dragon began. "The city looks like this because it was destroyed during a brutal war between humans and non-humans. The whole history of Tottaus is full of conflicts between these two, especially humans and elves. As you wander the city, I will show you some of the worst things you have ever done to each other."
"What sort of challenge is that," the Knight Captain still did not understand.
"What is the cosmic order," Kelvin asked a question instead of providing an answer, and he paused to consider it.
"A restriction," he concluded. "We have to make sure that our growth does not encroach too much on the other races so that we can avoid the punishment of the dragons' intervention."
"I suppose that isn't inaccurate," the dragon mused. "The world is structured in a particular way, and everyone must work together to maintain the balance. We do not tell you exactly how to do that, only that it must be done. Over the millennia, you have done terrible things to one another, sometimes in defiance of your charge to preserve the cosmic order, but other times in an effort to repair it. After seeing and comprehending your repeated cruelty to one another over the years, I want to see if you still feel that humans and non-humans can work together to secure a future for your world without the dragons enforcing the cosmic order. The only other restriction is that you are not allowed to intervene."
"What do you mean, intervene," Aleks could tell this last stipulation would be important.
"You will see everything. The violence, death, and destruction, all of it," she explained. "As long as you only observe, you will remain concealed. If you attempt to stop or alter anything, you will lose."
"Maybe I don't understand," he was thinking over these words, trying to determine if there was something he missed. "This sounds very easy."
"We'll see," the dragon sounded skeptical. "You think you can watch the worst acts ever committed and not do anything?"
"I'll be fine," Aleks continued to smile confidently. He had seen unsettling things as a soldier, and was not afraid of what might be awaiting him.
"Well then, I'd say it's time for you to go," Kelvin said simply. "Take the gate to the right, head around the corner, and we will begin."
Aleks did as instructed and walked to the gate. It was heavier than he expected, and there was some resistance as he pushed it open on its rusty hinges. Walking down the debris-strewn path to the end of the street, he felt felt relieved that the challenge would not require physical strength. This would provide him with more time to recover from fighting against the Wind Dragon the day before. When he walked around the corner, things changed immediately. Na'Rhy was gone, replaced by a setting that would not have looked out of place in his own time. An orchard full of trees that bore a strangely shaped green fruit stretched out in front of him, and several men and women in different colored robes were tending to them. The houses and barn looked rather rudimentary, and the quality of their implements was rather poor, but they were hard at work in the afternoon sun. They could not see Aleks, and so he sat down to watch. Several long minutes passed, and he was growing frustrated when he eye caught movement on the far end.
Moving stealthily out of habit, he approached the tree near the fence that had drawn his attention. Straining his eyes as he drew closer, he focused on the thickest part of the foliage to find out what he had seen. It took several long moments, but he made out two elves pushed up against the trunk. They were staring intently down the row of trees, where the people working in the orchard were. Gritting his teeth for what he knew would be coming, Aleks watched as the elves took aim at the humans with short bows. His right hand hovered over the hilt of his sword, but he did not draw it from the scabbard. When they fired their arrows, he suddenly became aware that there were even more elves hidden in the other trees. Their arrows flew toward the workers as well, all of whom were all killed before they could even react.
It was a professional, efficient operation carried out for the purpose of killing innocent civilians. Aleks' blood was boiling as he watched the elves jump down and walk toward their allies. He followed behind them and listened as they spoke to one another. Though he could not understand their language, it was apparent that they were pleased with the outcome of their operation. After a brief discussion, they began to walk purposefully toward the houses behind the orchard. As the first house was lit on fire, Aleks' vision blurred, and the images faded. He was no longer in the orchard, but back in the ruins of Na'Rhy. The Knight Captain's heart was still pounding in his chest from the scene he had just witnessed. Only a moment passed, and he heard the voice of Kelvin.
"Violence between elves and humans is very common, as you're going to find out during this challenge," the dragon whispered. "The incident you just saw was from this era, when King Nohmet decided to take a more aggressive stance against humans. In his zeal to maintain the cosmic order, the elf king went too far and actually made the imbalance worse. Of course, the humans were all too willing to oblige. I have more to show you, and not just from this era, whenever you're ready."
"First, I have a question," Aleks was tense. "You said the point of the challenge is for me to learn and understand. What am I supposed to learn from seeing humans and non-humans kill each other? What am I supposed to understand?"
"The answer may not be clear to you, yet," the answer was cryptic. "If you find it before the end, you will succeed."
"That's not very helpful," he frowned, looking around. "All right, where do I go for the next one?"
Vegeta26: Here's a quick update to make up for the long delay last time, and we're diving right into the third challenge. As always, I appreciate those of you who continue to read and review. See you next time.
Alvin Nobody: Glad you were on board with most of the previous chapter. The Jack/Ridley moment may not have been perfectly executed, but they're both a little awkward around each other and that's how it ended up. Hope to hear from you again.
Zane Tribal Tyne Alexandros: Interesting idea for the Reset, sounds kind-of similar to Final Fantasy IX, although it's not really the direction I'm planning to take. I look forward to hearing from you.
abbylovesmyungsoo: Everybody on the team is capable of killing a dragon, but it will take a team effort for most. Gil doesn't have to strike the final blow to get the Jinn, he just has to complete the challenge. Let me know what you think.