"Bullseye!"
The arrow, launched from the tip of the muscular and defiant man's fingertips, leaves an electrifying tip at the back and aims yet again at the middle red mark of the target together with the other perfect aimed arrows, a kilometer away from him. Though Arkhantian winds may disrupt its angle, with barren dust from the turmoil land, the great archer has always prevails his perfect aim.
"Thank you, my young nephew." The man says as he lowers and looks at the child beside him, who holds up his hands above his eyes, like binoculars.
"Can I even do what you do?" the child asks. "I can only look far for only a few meters just like the normal people can do." He sobs.
"The Farsight Technique has been handed down from our Arciera Family from generation to generation." The man says. "And soon if you are called, you just might be the next!" he smiles as he gives him a small bow.
"Really?" the child happily replies as he takes the bow from.
"Give it a try." The man gives a few small set of arrows to him. "And shoot that target over there." He points to a near target on front of him only a few meters away from them.
The child puts up his arrow and tries to launch it, but the arrow land in a shorter distance and in a low projectile. He tries again but the same result happen; the lousy arrow just won't reach its target. After a few tries, he sighs and sobs. "I'll never be like you."
The man kneels down before him and pats his head. "Hey, it's your first time! There is still time to learn, young child."
"You always say that." The child frets. "But people say you're the best archer there is since when you're a child!"
The man embarrassingly laughs. "Is that true?"
"The people say that when you're my age, you have your Farsee ability." The child explains. "And when you get older, you invented three or four new skills for the Farsee and now you're the greatest and bravest legionate of the legion!"
The man chuckles "It's Farsight, young one."
"Yeah, right! Farsight!" the child says. "What I mean is, I can't be like you." He says as his face saddens and tears flow from his cheeks.
"Hey now." The man says as he sits down and carries the child to his lap. "I may have been grown to be a prodigy, discover more advanced skills to the Farsight Technique, and to become one of the best legionates of my legion, but it doesn't mean you're better than me. You're just not ready yet."
"Then when will I be ready?"
"Soon. Just be patient." The man explains. "And when that time comes, you must remember the one thing that I always forget."
"Practice to become the best archer in the universe?" the child happily exclaims.
"No."
"Be brave and never give up even when you're frightened?"
"No."
The child thinks harder as he rubs his finger on his chin. "I give up! What is it uncle?"
"You can be the greatest archer in the universe and you can even be the bravest man alive!" He rubs his hair gently "But in order to achieve it you must…" His lips then move to next forgotten and muted words.
(During Issue 6, WITCH is with Galgheita in Heatherfield)
"Can you do it, young Raymondus Arciera?"
Earlier, Ray rapidly blinks his eyes and opens it; he has been sleeping the whole afternoon. Yet his nightmare still continues. It's been a week since he never left the room, but he feels like it was only two days. Doing nothing, to stare through the window or sit along the edge of his bed as he hangs on to that dreadful truth. He's uncle, who considers him as his trainer, friend and a foster father, has been longed gone. Though he has moved on from it, the pain resurrects on and stays as the days gone by.
He feels no hunger and no sleep, he would often eat less than what's delivered to him or would be sleep deprived by his living nightmare. Though comforted by his family and his colleagues, Eric and Nigel, he could not feel the satisfaction and the contentment. All in his mind was a tireless and continuous emotions of sadness and anger.
Then he hears a knock from his door. "Sweetie, Ray? Your Mom's coming in." she opens the door to finds her son on the edge of his bed, gazing at nothingness.
"May I sit beside?" she asks to her son. Ray moves a bit to the side of his bed for space and her mom sits. She gently takes his head and places on her shoulder. "It's been a long time since that I've caressed you like this. When you're such a small boy and now, you're even taller than me!" she smiles and does a slight chuckle, yet the usual Ray doesn't reply.
"For the past twelve years, I've seen you change and grow. I've raised you to become a good son, even if we live a humble life. Though at first, I hate to see you follow the footsteps of your uncle, but because I'd seen you as a brave and strong child, I let you go." She says. "Change can be a good thing, yet also has its bad sides too. Neither of which can say what the future will bring, all we need is to face it and move on."
She rubs his head softly "I want you to let go of this revenge scheming mess. If you want, you can live a simpler life, live in an ordinary life with the humans and you can forget this legionate-thing you dreamed of." She then sobs in grief. "Because I don't want you to end up like your uncle…"
Yet Ray slowly removes his head away from her shoulders and gazes at the window. Still ignored, his mom leaves and weeps out of his room, but he shows no sign of empathy.
Again alone in his room, this was the same monologue her mother says to him every single day. Not by words, but out of context, and though his mind's elsewhere he listened to the usual message of his concerned mom. 'Oh mom, if you could know what I'm feeling right now, at this very moment…It's but a clench of control as my mind screams 'revenge!' 'revenge!' 'revenge!'. I wanted to scream or even throw a ruckus just to get relieve this feeling but it will do no good if he's damned alive!'
Then came a moment of silence in his mind, a feeling of pressure, stress and tension, suddenly like a light bulb that opens light for a bright idea, his, breaks into shards of glass.
'Just you wait Zagan! I'm coming for you!' His anger flows from dead and eyebagged eyes and his now skinny physique, he may seem weak to stand on his own yet his adrenaline pushes him. He wears his battered legionate uniform quietly and locks his door. His right may have told him to stop and make amends yet his left is what he follows. After he prepared for all that is needed, he escapes through the window.
'I'm sorry Mom, Dad, everyone! But I couldn't just take it anymore!' He runs and never looked back, and in a gut feeling will be his last time to see his family and his home, to the where the linked between Earth and Meridian is located: the barnyard. His forced body runs and then limps, runs again and then limps as he runs along the way. As he reaches, the portal he rests and breathes heavily for air and as tears of water rolls down from his head.
He removes the curtain that covers. He has finally reached it, the portal, and probably 'of no return' as he steps into it without any regrets whatsoever.
Like the past, he lands in the loud mutters of Meridianites with the destroyed carriages and spoked wheels; just as they were before Eric and he got here. Yet this time does not wear an extra clothing to hide his uniform. He wants to be seen just like anyone else, especially Zagan. He puts the hood on and heads out to the densely populated and crowded market-goers.
The Meridianite citizens may have noticed his uniform and his weird legionate attire yet keep to themselves or discuss to the one beside them. He may be the center of conversation, yet his tattered and unruly clothes make him look like the usual beggars.
He approaches to one of the crowd, "Do you know where Zagan is?" he asks.
The galhot who sees him as a creepy beggar due to his haggard appearance stutters anxiously. "Z-Z-Zagan?!"
"Yes, where could I find him?" Ray asks.
"O-O-Over t-there!" he points to the tallest castle that reaches the peak of the sky. "Phobos' men quarters are t-there to now, y-you know…" he then pushes Ray. "And now please! Leave me alone you beggar!" he shouts as he runs away from Ray.
(During Issue 6, WITCH in the Bookshop)
The castle is the tallest structure of Meridian and wherever one will be distanced to, the grand and magnificent structure will always be seen from afar. As the sun sets over Meridian, Ray follows as he walks the winding streets to Phobos' castle and as he got nearer. He avoids the soldiers as he blends himself with the group of beggars and shadows of the tall houses. Though anxious with heavy sighs, the screams of 'revenge!' 'revenge!' 'revenge!' becomes louder and louder.
"Hey you!" suddenly a panting voice comes up to Ray's rear and taps his shoulder.
Alarmed, Ray flips around, materializes his bow and arrow at him, but lowers it when he recognizes his recent senior. "Lieutenant Caleb?"
Caleb inhales and exhales loudly from the run. "Aren't you the legionate with Atlas? Why are you here? And you're not even disguised?"
"Umm—sir…I…" Ray looks to the ground dumbfounded. "I can't even say in a straight face to him! What a bad chance to run into him!'
"Well, it's good timing too!" Caleb says. "I've checked the two portals from the west of here and didn't find the main army to invade Earth!"
"Invade Earth?" Ray asks in shock. "What are you talking about?"
"I see how Atlas irresponsibly didn't brief you!" Caleb says with disappointment. "Vathek plans to use the half of my men to invade Earth! And we need to stop them!"
Ray widens his eyes and jaw drops slightly in a bitter shock. 'W-What?!' "Vathek! But why—"
"No time for explanations! There's another portal, a kilometer from here to the East." Caleb gives him an extra large brown robe hanging from his arm. "Use this to blend with my army. Just stop them and don't kill my men! Understood?"
Ray nods as he wears the disguise and takes off to find the Caleb's army. 'Don't know what's going on or even what this is all about, but I've got a feeling this is going to be bad!' After minutes of running on the same road and peeping out to any intersecting ways, there was no clear evidence whereabouts on the army.
Until, he founds a narrow sloping descending stairway alley. At the bottom of it is a four-way lines of galhots with clubs, swords and torches. Using his Farsight he sees a hundred meters away, as the men continuously go in to a certain structure non-stop. 'That must be them!'
'Yet I won't be believed if I told them that the message truly came from Caleb!' He shoots an arrow with a rope behind on the corner house of the intersection. He climbs against the walls and makes it to the roof. He leaps and jumps as he parkours on the descending houses. As he reaches to the dark and shadowed part of the alley and overlooks where the line stops, he sees the opened portal on a barren bricked wall.
"Earth will be ours men!" says a green galhot who stays beside the portal as he leads the invaders. "We will leave this inadequate world to Phobos! And find a new home for ourselves!" he yells as the men cheers.
'So that's why! I hope Eric and Nigel could stop them as they reached beyond the portal!' Ray saysas he observes the continuous clean march of the rebels and after a minute of waiting of a sign, 'What's going on? I see no sign of obstruction? Does Eric know about this? As if—Wait a minute!'
Ray quickly jumps off from his hiding spot and lands to the large bodies of them. "Sorry!"
"What the-Ouch!" "What's-Urgh!" They yell in pain as Ray runs to each of the galhots shoulders as he runs into the portal. "Who was that! Get him-! Urgh!" Though the rebels try to catch him, his surprising appearance makes it even harder. Finally, he passes through the portal with the rest of the next disturbed galhots.
As he reaches Earth once again, he founds himself in a dark tunnel, still the line of the rebels continue out to march out to the night's light. 'Don't tell me!' He dashes away from the line and runs to the open. He materializes once again his bow and fixes his hood of his brown robe.
"Get back here!" says a galhot from behind. "You can't just go out of your formation!"
As he runs out of the tunnel, he finds himself in a barren wasteland filled with debris and wrecked carnival rides such the demolished carousels and the abandoned large Ferris wheel. He is in shocked and surprised to see a formation of a hundred rebels in battle group formations on spacious ground.
"I knew it! Eric must have looked over around Heatherfield to find these invaders! And they haven't checked here yet!' He says to himself as he materializes his arrow, launches it to the ground on front of them to be noticed. He stops on front of them and removes his brown robe, "Fellow Meridianites!" he yells. "I am a legionate of the Vanguard! You must stop this invading nonsense and go back to Meridian! Your leader, Lieutenant Caleb, has commanded you!"
The murmurs start among the soldiers about Ray's revelation. "You spoke with the lieutenant? We don't believe you!" says a large turquoise galhot with pointed ears. "Vathek, who is under the lieutenant, directed us to seek refuge and invade here, and now he wanted to withdraw our troops?"
"Sir Caleb orders it!" Ray commands as he pulls out his cellphone from his pocket. "Withdraw now!" he points his bow at them with his other hand.
"Legionate or whoever who you are, you can't stop us!" says the galhot. "Besides, you and what army?!"
