Chapter 8

"The Light of Salvation? Agreian, you have heard the stories, haven't you?" Mistress Ladrienne paced around her room at the top of the Great Temple. Agreian stood in the doorway, eager to get on with the task.

"Mother, please understand, it is for the sake of Efferia,"

"I know you have good intentions, but I cannot help but worry, you are my only son,"

"This war has gone on far too long. If the Light of Salvation is the only way to end it, then so be it. I will not fail, mother…"

"Agreian…" Mistress Ladreinne pulled her son into her arms. Agreian sighed and gave in, letting his mother hug him.

"Please don't worry, mother. I'll be fine, I promise," Mistress Ladrienne sighed and stood back.

"I have faith in you Agreian. Remember all that I have taught you,"

"Yes, mother…"

"But, I have one request if you are going on this mission,"

"What is it?"

"Let me keep the shards safe, here in the Temple. I will have them locked away until you have them all. I…don't want you to succumb to their negative powers, Agreian…"

"Mother…" Agreian sighed. He knew she only cared for him, but really, she did get bothersome at times. As much as he pitied Calintz, he also envied him for never having the nagging voice of a mother to deal with. "Alright, I'll give you them to keep safe until I have all the shards," She smiled at him, a look of relief spreading across her face. Agreian turned to go.

"Agreian?"

"Yes, mother?"

"How is Calintz? You haven't told me yet," Agreian closed his eyes momentarily.

"He's still asleep…but, it seems his wounds are healing,"

"Thank goodness. Why don't you let me take care of him for a while? I could put him in the infirmary,"

"No!" He hadn't meant to startle her, but it was evident in her clear blue eyes. He just didn't want anyone taking Calintz away from him. He wanted to help the Captain get better himself, since he was the one who had caused it by misjudging him in the first place. He quickly left the room, unable to bare his mother's gaze any longer.

Mt. Rhyde was a windswept, rocky landscape. Old, frail trees stood here and there, just managing to withstand the punishing fist of the wind. General Agreian strode along the treacherous mountain path without hesitation, eradicating the various mountain cats and wild birds which dared attack him. The Lightening Ruins were not far now, just a little further up and he would be there. There was a crack across the sky, like the expeditious slice of a guillotine as lightening struck a rock above him. He quickly dodged the falling boulders, watching them disappear into nothingness.

Agreian, although fit, was beginning to tire as he came to the top of the mountain. The Lightening Ruin's were a vast complex of electrically charged caves. It was risky due to the falling of stalactites and various monsters which dwelled within them. But the General was determined. He sat down before the cave entrance, brushing his hair out of his ashen face and gazing out over the landscape. Tell tail fingers of smoke drifted up into the blue sky from burning towns and villages. He could hear the far off battle cries mixed in with the screeching of the mountain eagles. Were his men there, fighting now? Fighting without him…He never fought with his armies, he directed from afar. Agreian shook his head in the hope that it would dishevel the thoughts that were accumulating there. Am I scared of fighting alongside my men? Unlike Calintz, Agreian was prepared to admit to his weaknesses. Yes, he was a coward, he was afraid, afraid of failure, afraid of his reputation being broken. It was the reason he appeared so cool and laid back all the time, it was his only defence in hiding his true image. But here, out on this mountain, he didn't have to hide from anyone. He didn't have a reputation up here, he was General of the Alliance, he wasn't the son of the Great Priestess…he was just Agreian.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Azel walked into the Captain's office. They were back at the Headquarters of the Tears of Blood. General Agreian had informed them that the Captain would need more time to recover and that they should not wait around, despite Azel's protests. The young cadet sighed and sat down at Calintz's. It was a beautiful, uxorious, leather chair which swivelled around if you pushed it. Everything had been handed over to Lehas until the Captain returned. Azel was glad, he had at first dreaded that Haren or Chris would be put in charge, and that would just be a disaster. The Tears of Blood wouldn't last a minute if any of those two had control of the reins. Lehas, although cold and callous at times, was a superb tactician and never made a faulty judgement.

Azel sighed. There was nothing much happening at the moment. There had been an attack at Lester Woods, but apparently, the Alliance had it under control so there was no need to call for help. It was then that Azel noticed one of the drawers on the desk was slightly ajar. It was odd, because the Captain was always secretive with his belongings and always had the drawers and cupboards locked. Azel knew that he shouldn't, he knew that he would be betraying the Captain's trust, but still, he longed to see what the pieces of paper were that he could see through the crack in the drawer. They looked like envelopes, perhaps business letters? Maybe it was something important that the Captain never got around to completing before they were called out to fight and the whole mess began. If he put them back exactly how he found them then there was no way he would find out, right? Azel held his breath and opened the drawer. It was stiff and he had to pull, shaking the desk and nearly knocking off the candle. He grabbed the letters that were inside and dusted them off. Obviously they were old and hadn't been opened for a while. I shouldn't be doing this…This is so wrong…Captain, please forgive me…He opened the first one. The paper was thick and of good quality, the writing small, neat and joined. He had seen that writing before somewhere…Yes! It was General Agreian's handwriting, he recognised it from the reports he sent. But scanning over it, Azel realised it wasn't any report.

Calintz,

Why do you persist to ignore me? Now, it seems you won't even stop by Amabat each time you pass. Ever since you found out I was your old best friend, you have distanced yourself, does that mean everything has to change? You treat me like everyone else now, just another comrade, if you can even call me that. But yet, you still show respect to me, as well as disgust (I can see it in your eyes even though you try so hard to hide it). Is it because I helped you, because we are still co-commanding the forces of Efferia? You think that if you turn your back on me completely, things will fall apart with our country? Don't give me that, I know you better than you think. You want to forget the past, huh? Well avoiding me won't do the trick. You can't keep me hanging like this, you can't live a semi –existence, avoiding all that you're afraid of. You know I had feelings for you, Calintz, I still do. And I know you still do for me.

Azel's eye's widened as he read the letter. It was dated back a goodfew years ago, not long after the Tears of Blood and Alliance joined forces. He opened the next one.

Calintz,

It's been over three months now. You won't even deliver the reports yourself, am I that repulsive to you? I will not beg you to come back, Calintz , if that is what you want. Doesn't what we had mean anything to you? I need to speak to you, to see you again, to hear you again, at least once. I have tried to forget, but the thoughts persist to plague my mind like ever hungry wolves. It doesn't have to be like this, we can keep it a secret, no one has to know anything. It's like getting blood out of a stone with you, isn't it? I heard you went away for a couple of weeks, no one knew where. You came back badly injured and covered in blood. They told me you'd lost many of your men to the Yason. I'm sorry to hear this…But why am I always the last person to know of these things? I worry for you even if you refuse to acknowledge my existence, the least you could do is let me know! I'm going to come and see you, whether you like it or not. We need to sort things out.

Hugo

What was this? Azel stared at the letter in disbelief as a thought began to dawn on him. Could…No! The Captain and General Agreian could never…Captain, I…I…is it true? Or am I misreading it? "Feelings"? and a secret, what secret? That you and General Agreian were childhood friends? Or…were you more than that…? Azel didn't want to see the letters anymore. He shoved them roughly back into the drawer, a deep, swelling feeling growing inside his chest. It couldn't be what he thought, even though it seemed plain obvious. He stood up abruptly, slamming the drawer closed and shaking his head.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The damp, dank smell of stagnant water prickled his nostrils. Every drip and every footstep was like a bomb going off in a church, the resonation like a sonic boom. Agreian stalked through the underground ruins, his sword at the ready. He had been wandering around all day, but had no success in locating the Lightening Shard. Instead, the greatest enemies he had encountered were his own thoughts. Here in the darkness he was alone, there was nothing to distract him from himself. He thought mainly about his duty, about the war, about the things he wished he could do and about Calintz. War had a thing about wearing you down, about ageing you beyond your years. Agreian sometimes wished he had never become General of the Alliance, that instead he had lived a normal life.

A normal life…? Do I even know of such a thing? If only Calintz and he were just ordinary citizens, would that make things different? It would certainly make things easier…Imagine it, we would never have to hide, you wouldn't have to worry…We wouldn't have all the responsibilities of war, would we?

Agreian was startled out of his thoughts by a dazzling light ahead of him. He realised he had wandered into a large cavern. At the back a small altar stood and upon it lay a gleaming shard of electricity. The Lightening Shard!

Agreian started towards his goal but didn't get far before he was grabbed and thrown to the ground. The breath was knocked out of him and he struggled to get back to his feet but to no success.

"I knew some fool would come, like clockwork," a cold, commanding voice echoed through the cavern. Agreian looked up to see a man clad in dark grey, with short, spiked hair and the undoubtedly pointed ears of a Yason.

"And who might you be…?" The man gave him a piercing stare.

"I take it you've heard of the Four Warriors?" The Four Warriors? Yes…the main powers in the Yason kingdom. Agreian looked up at the man and the recognition hit him. He'd seen his pictures spread across countless newspapers, his name over many headlines.

"You're Orha Duren…most powerful of the Four Warriors, correct?" He received a smile of pride from the Yason.

"So, you've done your history, I'm glad to see," Agreian took the chance and got to his feet, his sword out and at the ready in a flash. Orha only laughed.

"You know, I expected you to be different, instead you appear as sickly as all the other human scum in this country," Orha spat.

"And likewise. For one of the leading powers of Yason Roven, I would have expected more of an entourage,"

"I like to do carry my goals out on my own. I don't sit on my ass and direct others to do the dirty work,"

"Isn't that ironic? You did just that when you attacked Mirna, I never once saw you're egotistical, smug face," Orha gave him a menacing smile.

"Your pathetic soldiers weren't worth my effort, General Agreian," He delivered the title mockingly, sneering all the time. Agreian decided he had had enough of this idle banter.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have deprive Yason Roven of one of their heroes," At that he smiled sweetly and initiated the first attack.