Disclaimer: Don't own it.
Chapter VIII
- Garet-
The sun rested heavily upon the crimson horizon as a lone traveler emerged from the rugged passes of the Kimbobo Mountains. As the traveler descended from the final slopes of his journey, the last of the sun's rays beat upon his face before relinquishing into a cool caress of darkness. Why he had accepted this mission in the first place, he didn't know. All he had to do was settle some intertribal boundary issues between three tribes. Diplomacy had been the priority, but with the way things were happening, force would be absolutely necessary in order for further investigation to take place. Besides, this was the way he preferred it. Exchanged words and promises meant nothing when they could be broken so easily, but put a sword to a man's neck and their words become their salvation, or their doom. Without the threat of immediate consequence, men were nothing but a petty face of liars.
And for the second time since his arrival in Southern Gondowan, Garet approached the fire-lit village of Pavakobo. Warriors patrolled the outer limits in a stealth-like fury, almost completely invisible within the shroud of the night. Within the walls he heard many men marching and shouting in unison.
If they wouldn't let him in to see the chieftain, it seemed that it would be very difficult to force his way in. The challenge thrilled him, but at the same time he wondered if he'd make it out of this one alive. At this point though, he didn't care.
Naturally, it all started with a girl.
So many years had passed since Garet had been out in the world with the drive of purpose. Granted, he had been entitled adept guardian along with the rest of his friends, but his duties in a fairly peaceable land made him feel close to useless. In time, Garet decided to take up the family trade as a farmer.
It was in the fields that his memories of his past disappeared just like the life after a winter frost. With each passing year, his concerns grew narrower and narrower in scope for the livelihood of a farmer entailed him few burdens. And so his gallant lust for life escaped him, or maybe just lay dormant while the surrogate existence of field labor consumed him.
But some things always remain in a man, and sometimes all that it takes to resurface these things is a simple tug at your heart by the imploring hand of a woman. Thankfully for Garet, this woman did come and he was saved.
Garet's first love was for Jenna, and his heart remained hers ever since the day he set eyes on her as a child. But never being an artist, or a poet for that matter, he never could find the right way to express how he felt. All he knew was swordplay, and through that he channeled his passion. Everyone knew that few could rival him. Despite his dazzling displays of strength and will against his opponents, his physical silence was all Jenna knew and therefore never made her the wiser of Garet's feelings. This silence doomed him until one day the heavens fell. His love was extinguished in one blow when Isaac asked him if he would be his best man. He accepted of course, but he was never the same again.
Sometimes on days when all the work was done, he would lay down on the grass and allow his mind to wander to the depths of his soul where of which he rarely dared to go. He would think of himself as a flower that had basked in the radiance of the sun for all his life. Jenna had been his morning and his day, and just to see her face once, would lift him from the worst of despair. But his sun one morning did not rise. His life seemingly enveloped in shadows for the force of love that had once fueled his passion for living and fighting, ended with two simple "I dos". He was left in darkness, alone, no purpose, and no beauty to win over. A man can slowly be destroyed by the stagnation of such longings, and for Garet, he was on the very fringes of such a fate.
But as with every base passion, it clings to your heart until the very last, preserving and hoping that the object of your longing will return for you to love once more. His sun had forever set, he knew this, but he prayed that some light would reveal itself in the void of this endless night.
Garet was in the fields when Isaac's two sons came to tell him that their parents needed him for something.
"Is this important?" Garet asked them.
"Very," they both had answered.
"Somehow I'm not convinced."
"Father said you'd probably say that," Adrian giggled. "So, he told us to tell you that it's guardian business."
Garet had raised an eyebrow both physically and mentally. The words, no, the concept aroused a curiosity that he had not felt in ages.
"I guess I have no choice then, do I?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Michael retorted.
"Where should I meet them?"
""Our house," Adrian said and with that the boys took off running.
Garet informed his younger brother Aaron that he was running a quick errand and would not be back until sundown.
"Must be something big," Aaron told him. "I haven't seen you plan on being gone that long unless you were going out to buy seeds."
"Maybe I am going to buy seeds."
"Doubt it," Aaron replied knowingly. "But whatever you're doing, I'll hold up the fort until things are taken care of."
Garet looked at his brother and realized what a man he had become. When times grew hard and he would have to leave with the other adept guardians, he was confident that his family would be in good hands.
"I know you will, Aaron. I know."
The trip to Isaac's house was short so it didn't result in too much anticipation to be built up for Garet. He reached the small two-story cottage and knocked on the door. The door opened, it was Jenna.
"Hey Garet, she said ushering him in with her usual mesmerizing smile. "Thanks for being here so quickly."
"No problem, what's going on?"
"Come in and hear for yourself," she said leading him into the living room where three people were sitting quietly. Felix, Isaac, and a woman he did not recognize all looked at him inquisitively. The other woman was wearing a white traveling robe that fell just below her knees. Covering her neck and back she wore a beautifully embroidered poncho that boasted a white even brighter than the rest of her dress.
"This is Kamarabi. She's from Kimbobo. Kamarabi, this is Garet, he's the other adept guardian we were talking about earlier."
"Hello, the woman said giving him a forced smile, then quickly turning away. She was young, in her early twenties most likely but her complexion gave her the look of a middle-aged woman. Her eyes, a lush dark brown painted with the trials of her life laid hidden beneath an evident cloak of sadness. Other than this, beneath her flowing midnight hair, she was stunningly beautiful.
"Hi," Garet greeted in return, trying to catch her gaze again. Isaac smirked as he watched Garet's fleeting glances.
"Garet, we have a situation at hand," Isaac said as his best friend ceased his gaze at Kamarabi, turning to him.
"Kamarabi has traveled all the way from her village in Southern Gondowan to ask for our help."
"Alone?" Garet exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, alone," the woman piped in with a tribal accent he had failed to notice before.
"Do you want to take it from here?" Felix asked her.
"Yes, thank you sir."
"Please, you can call me Felix."
"Yes, mista Felix sir."
He looked at her unsure of what to say next. after a few seconds of silence, Kamarabi flashed him a big smile.
"I am just joking with you," she said still smirking. "I may be from a village where we hunt down unaware passersby for recreation, but we all know that there is a time to laugh."
Felix, after another few seconds of comprehension, joined in the laughter already resonating throughout the rest of the room.
"Anyway," Kamarabi began after the chuckling died down, "I have traveled many days across land and sea to ask for your help."
The adepts said nothing and waited patiently for Kamarabi to continue.
"In recent years, a new village called Pavakobo has been constructed between both Kimbobo and Naribwe. Nobody knows who founded it, but the village has already picked up to become very large and very militant. Pavakobo is even beginning to infringe on the hunting grounds already established for the other two villages. If this open aggression is not stopped, I fear that all three participants will be cast into a terrible war."
"So what do you need us to do?" Isaac asked.
"I am but a mere woman," she replied instantly. "I can do nothing to stop a conflict of men. But if one of you could reason with the authority in Pavakobo, we might have a chance to spare countless innocent lives."
"She speaks the truth," Felix stated. "I remember from our travels across Weyard that Kimbobo and a few other indigenous tribes in that area were all strictly patriarchal. I assume Pavakobo will be the same."
"Well Felix," Isaac said deciding on what coarse of action was to be taken, "you seem to be familiar with the circumstances, and only one adept would really be necessary."
"I would love to go," Felix said quickly.
"Wait a second."
All eyes turned to Garet.
"I don't think Felix going would be a good idea."
"And why not? Felix asked in indignation.
"Because Picard told me the story of what happened when you all came to Kimbobo for the first time."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"He also told me all about what happened inside the statue. About how you managed to take the book Akafubu was seeking."
"The Tomegathericon!" Jenna said in realization. "I remember that! Akafubu was furious!"
"But he didn't know Felix took it," Garet added. "He was just told that he wasn't ready to have access to the power the book held. I'm pretty sure Akafubu has tried to retrieve the book since then and I'm willing to bet that he's probably pretty mad that the book has already been taken. And, he knows that only one other person could of possibly taken it."
Garet looked at Felix. "You."
Felix seemed unfazed and immediately fired a counterattack to Garet's unusual logic.
"I would not be entering into negotiations with Kimbobo, I would be talking to whoever is in charge in Pavakobo."
This time Isaac answered him. "You can't enter into successful negotiations about boundary issues unless all the concerning parties are present. Akafubu was coronated village witch doctor so he would have to be included."
"And that could make your job as a mediator very difficult," Jenna concluded.
Felix hated the fact that a mission deep in the heart of Gondowan was slowly slipping a way from him. But the facts were clear and his presence would be sure to doom the mission.
"What do you think?" Jenna asked Kamarabi who had been smiling ever since the argument between Garet and Felix had broken out.
"Garet is right," she said quickly. "He said everything I was just about to tell you."
"So he is mad?" Felix asked.
"Yes, he is."
"Then what do we do now, "Felix exclaimed in frustration, just hating how events were progressing.
"Well," Isaac began," Jenna and I shouldn't have to leave the kids unless we have to. So I guess that leaves Garet. You up for it buddy?"
Garet looked at Isaac and thought about everything he would be leaving behind. He would only be leaving the last ten years of his life, but then again, he would also be returning to the first years he had loved so dearly.
Something was stirring in his gut. With each passing second, he felt it taking a firmer hold on him. He couldn't help but start smiling.
"Yeah," he said trying to suppress his steadily growing enthusiasm. "I'll do it."
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And so Garet and Kamarabi departed the next morning.
"You know, right, that every time I say your name I feel like I'm reciting the entire alphabet," Garet said to her one day while heading down the long road to the Gondowan mountains. "Don't you have a nickname or something? You know, something like Kama, or maybe Rabi."
She laughed, shaking her head furiously. "No, no, please do not call me one of those! If anything call me Mara. My father calls me that back home."
"Mara sounds good to me," Garet decided. "Speaking of fathers, what's yours like?"
Garet immediately realized that he had hit a nerve as Mara's face turned somber. He wanted to kick himself for ever bringing it up. Thankfully, however, she continued.
"Lately," she said taking a deep breath, "he has not been himself. He just...I don't know if..."
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Garet interrupted her, pleased to see an obvious sigh of relief emanating from her. So, she didn't.
Their journey was mainly in silence, but when Garet did get Mara to talk, she talked. The topics mainly encompassed the joys of traveling, hardships, and occasionally her objects of amusement. She enjoyed many simple things, some ranging from the funny looks children gave her when she talked in a foreign city, to the way the rain falls on a sunny day. She was truly an extraordinary woman.
The only problem Garet noticed was that every time the two would share a laugh while exchanging glances, she would always be the first to turn away. He hated this and it nagged at him the entire journey. What did it mean? He was beginning to dare to be attracted to Mara, but every time she turned away from him he felt that he would just be wasting his time. But one day as the Gondowan Mountains flooded into view, Garet realized that time was probably running out for him to get to know Mara any further before the aspects of the mission would completely enthrall him. Besides, silence had lost him Jenna already, and regret was really getting old. So he decided to make his move.
"So Mara," he started with an utterly obvious acting tone. "Is there a Mr. Kamarabi waiting for you back at the village?"
Mara gave him one of those mischievous smiles that can make any man go mad. "If there was," she said still smirking, "he would be with us right now. No husband of mind would be sitting at home doing nothing while a war lingers not far off."
Okay, success, Garet thought, but now what?
"Why do you ask, Garet?"
Damn, I just set myself up!
"Oh, I don't know," he said fumbling with what to say next. She was looking directly into his eyes now, and she was not turning away. Her expression was emotionless and he was starting to lose his cool as he returned the gaze. Now he wanted desperately for her to turn away. He felt as if his mind was being probed for the answer to his question. She wasn't using psynergy to mind read him, for he knew that sensation, but somehow she was reading him; every twitch, every movement, and every flicker of the eye rendering him more and more transparent.
Not now, he reluctantly decided. He hardly knew this woman. Heck, she hardly knew him.
"Okay then," Mara muttered responding to his silence, yet again seemingly piercing his thoughts.
Another great many of days passed before the two even reached the base of the mountains. They were monstrous and never had Garet felt so small.
"This should be interesting," Garet remarked as he imagined the difficulty ahead of them in traversing the mountain paths.
Mara looked at him curiously. "We are not going through the mountains, silly, that would be suicide. When I said I traveled across land and sea, I was not joking."
"You have a boat?" Garet asked thoroughly surprised.
"Kind of."
"But that's impossible, there isn't a harbor for leagues! Especially anywhere near the Gondowan Mountains."
"Follow," was all Mara said in reply as she headed westward.
A few days later they reached the Great Western Sea. Garet looked in dismay as they came into view of Mara's ship. A ship indeed. He stared at it. A canoe.
"Welcome to Kamarabi Harbor!" Mara exclaimed, obviously mocking his disappointment. Garet fired back.
"Did you think of that name all by yourself?"
"Yes I did if you must know, but be quiet!" she hissed as he pointed a little ways past her canoe. Three additional canoes floated in silence beneath some ill-placed branches.
"Were about to be ambushed," Mara said in an unusual playful tone. "Do not be alarmed though, we are dealing with amateurs. Just keep walking and we will see who we are dealing with momentarily."
Sure enough, six men of all shapes and sizes revealed themselves from their hiding places and surrounded the two. They all chuckled wildly while clumsily brandishing their swords.
"We don't have time for this," Garet muttered as he lifted his palm in preparation to channel his psynergy into fire.
"No!" Mara shouted. "Do not use your power, that's no fun!"
Garet looked at her not sure if he was hearing her correctly.
"What?"
"You heard me, they are amateurs. We have no need to kill them. If we disarm them by besting them in combat, they will run."
"How do you know?" Garet asked still not fully recovered from the shock of this new side of Mara's personality.
Mara looked at him as if he was the most ignorant man in all of Weyard. "First of all, they did not have the guts, or the skill, to sneak up behind us on the road. Second, they made sure that when they wanted to ambush us, they had their boats nearby. They are cowards Garet, so let's have some fun!"
Once again she flashed him the smile, and then dropped her white poncho off her shoulders. Reaching behind her back, she unsheathed two long scimitars. Their attackers halted their advance, but pressed further seconds later. Mara then twirled her weapons effortlessly in a flurry of intimidation and grace.
Garet looked at her in awe and could not help but burst into a wide grin. He then pulled out his massive sword, ready to fight by her side. There was no denying it anymore. He was in love.