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A thing doesn't have to be threatening for people to fear it, it only has to be unexpected.
-Musings of the Historian
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IN THE MORNING, THE birds' songs were interrupted by a loud crashing coming from the gate. Saddhan had abandoned finesse and seemed intent now on knocking the door off its hinges. On my side of the gate, preparations were finishing. I liked the look of things, this would be a unique battle.
Following Andre's orders, I climbed a tree and hid, content in my role as an observer in the coming fray.
Sadavir had blocked the door by jamming stones and large pieces of wood against the door. It was a hastily done job, but it had been effective. The heavy doors needed a lot of force to swing them anyway; any sort of obstruction would make it that much harder.
Saddhan's army would have been far better served by long, steady pressure that would have slowly shifted the door open, but Saddhan's rage had closed his mind to options. The bloodlust flowed through his mind like lava, burning his reason and leaving only the black ash of hate and lust for power.
The workmanship of the door held well against the attacks from the army, but after a while, the stone in which the hinges were lodged started to crack. It wasn't long until the doors reluctantly released their hold on the wall and fell forward into the Destroyers' land. The army immediately flooded in, ready for anything. As they ran in, they spread out and searched the landscape for some sort of resistance, aching for an enemy. The landscape was empty, they were greeted only by trampled grass and trees swaying lightly in the breeze.
Saddhan came through near the middle of the army. His eyes swept the terrain, lingering the longest on a large tree that grew near the gate. He stared at it suspiciously, searching its branches. He seemed disturbed by its presence as if it were something that didn't belong. Finally shaking his head, he walked on, already shouting orders to those on the Destroyers' side of the wall as the rest of the army filed in.
As the last of the army came in, Saddhan placed himself in front of them all.
"Now, you have all followed me in here to do a job that's needed doing for a very long time; for as long as we can all remember. Follow me now and we will finish it. Give these animals no mercy, for you certainly will receive none from them. Beware when they act afraid, they are probably planning some sort..." Saddhan's voice trailed off as his eyes locked on the gate behind the army.
"...not possible... GET TO THE GATE!" he screamed. The army acted as one as they spun around to look at the gate, which seemed to have melted, although it gave off no heat. The metal flowed upward, filling the space it had vacated only minutes before. The metal solidified, making a new gate. But this one was without hinges, without bars, it simply locked into the rock, forming a solid metal patch on the wounded wall.
All their attention was locked on the wall. None noticed the faint blue light emitting from a hole in the large tree. The men with the green Stones had done their work perfectly, no part of the tree betrayed the fact that it held two men within. I smiled. It was a beautiful, warm day. Aric would already be regretting his part in this battle.
The men threw themselves against it, trying to get their fingers around an edge to pull the new gate off of the wall, all to no avail. All coming to the same conclusion at once, they turned their backs to the gate, raising their weapons, waiting for an attack. The silent moments dragged on as they were answered only by a gentle breeze that wandered its way across the field.
It was a unique tactic. I wasn't aware of another battle where the commanding general had chosen to seal an invading army inside his own territory.
The men grew restless and already a few questioning whispers spoke the thoughts of the group.
"Where are they?"
"Why don't they attack?"
Finally, one man among them realized that there was a far more troubling question that needed answering.
"Why would they do that?" he said, already louder than a whisper. Standing from where he had been kneeling and lowering his weapon, he asked louder.
"Why would they want to keep us from returning to our own land?"
Watching the faces of the men, I could see the waves of panic wash over the army as they realized the true implications of what they had seen. The same man who had asked the question also spoke their fears.
"They could be attacking our families. We've left them defenseless."
Several men were looking sick with worry. Weapons dropped to the ground, followed by the men who carried them as they sunk to their knees, burying their heads in their hands.
"We have to keep going!" Saddhan yelled at the men, desperately trying to maintain control. "We need to finish the job we came here to do. We must be strong!"
"Why?" The man's tone was low, but his voice trembled with emotion. He continued, louder. "Why should we continue on? To ensure that our families will be safe in the future? They're not safe now!" Veins bulged out of the man's neck as he screamed at Saddhan.
"We can't turn back now!" Saddhan insisted. "You have to listen to me."
"No! No, Saddhan, I will not listen. I have listened to you so far and now my family could already be dead! You are the one who brought us here. It was your hatred that brought us to this. If my family is harmed, Saddhan... I blame you!"
The man had started to walk slowly toward him. Saddhan, suddenly realizing how sharply the tides had changed, raised his weapon defensively to point at the man. Several of the weapons in the army raised to point back at him. Saddhan noticed the weapons and tried desperately to reclaim his hold on the people.
"We can still save your families!" he yelled. The man who was approaching him paused.
"We're listening, but you had better talk fast."
"We still have the axes we brought with us to chop down the tree we used as a battering ram. We can chop down other trees and prop them up against the walls. That will get us over the spikes. Then we can drop down on the other side. It's a fair fall, but we could make it."
Saddhan had grasped at straws, but it paid off. The men looked around for the axes. Only handles were found. The axes had been dropped on the ground next to the gate as they had rushed through, thinking only of their weapons. I had no doubt that the metal from the ax heads now helped form the very barrier the men were trying to breach.
"Any more bright ideas?" The man turned on Saddhan once more, his worry for his family translating into anger toward Saddhan.
Saddhan again raised his weapon to point at the man's chest. He had run out of ideas, but even in defeat, he would lash out. He yelped as the launcher in his hand fell apart. He jumped back from the pieces, staring at them. Several of the men displayed the same reaction as their weapons also dismantled in their hands. It was only a matter of time before the milling army was left with only metal components littering the ground at their feet.
"What kind of trickery is this?" Saddhan wondered out loud as he stared at the spectacle.
"It's actually not all that hard," Sadavir announced as he walked casually toward the army. During the destruction of the weapons, no one had noticed as he had dropped soundlessly from his tree and started his stroll toward the confused army.
"Get him! It's the traitor, he's the one to blame, kill him!"
Saddhan raged. No one was listening to him now. They stared at Sadavir as if he were a specter from beyond the grave.
Only Padam, blinded by rage, rushed at Sadavir. He lunged and tried a running grab, aiming to tackle Sadavir to the ground. His arms flailed as they hit empty air. Sadavir had dropped to the side, leaving only his extended leg behind where he had stood only a moment before.
Padam tripped and hit the ground hard. His hand found a fallen limb and he jumped from the ground, swinging the thick branch like a club. Sadavir easily dodged his first two swings. Padam then tried to jab with the branch, thrusting with it like a sword. Sadavir sidestepped and caught hold of the branch, jerking it away from his attacker.
The would-be hero started to scramble back toward the army, but suddenly spun back to Sadavir, throwing a handful of sand toward his eyes. Sadavir, expecting a rock, had flashed his armband forward through the path of the thrown dirt, but failed to block the mass of it. He sprung back as the dirt filled his eyes.
Padam took full advantage of his small victory and leapt in, kicking Sadavir hard in the stomach. The wind flew out of Sadavir as if from his father's blacksmith bellows and he fell backward. His attacker was on top of him in a moment, punching and scratching. Saddhan, for his part, was screaming at the army to help his son. The army seemed confused at the new turn of events and paid no heed to Saddhan's screeches, content to watch idly as the events played out in front of them.
Padam had made a mistake by jumping on top of Sadavir. Although still blinded, Sadavir's armored forearms flew in front of his chest, trying to defend himself. His armband slammed into Padam's fist as it passed and Padam rolled off to the side, gasping and holding his injured left hand.
"Look out!" Olya's voice was unmistakable as she screamed a warning. Several eyes flashed to the tree where she was hiding but flashed back to see the thing that she had warned Sadavir about.
As Sadavir rose to his feet, still trying to blink the sand out of his eyes, Saddhan had abandoned his attempts of persuading the army and had picked up the club that Sadavir had dropped and now crept silently up behind the blinded warrior. My breath caught in my throat as he swung hard for Sadavir's head.
The club broke in half as steel armband met the club mid-swing. Even from my high vantage point, I could see his black Stone shimmer and dance violently on his chest. His closed eyes stared in front of him and I was reminded of the day behind his father's house and the pile of broken wooden balls. Saddhan stumbled back, his hands and wrists shocked by the impact.
Sadavir finally managed to open one eye and peered through it at Saddhan.
"P-please don't kill me."
Saddhan had gone from treacherous warrior to pleading beggar in the blink of an eye. He fell to his knees as he pleaded for his life. Sadavir waved him back to the army. He scampered back into the ranks of the army, followed closely by his son.
Sadavir approached the waiting army again, staring at them through bloodshot eyes. Several of the men looked around for weapons, but most just waited, not knowing what to expect.
"Creators! You have invaded our land!" Sadavir announced.
"We have destroyed your weapons, you are at our mercy!"
"I only see one of you, boy!" The man who had confronted Saddhan now confronted Sadavir. He was from a different village and had never met Sadavir. Men from Sadavir's village hissed warnings at the man but went unheeded.
"It would only take me to scatter your army," Sadavir responded threateningly. The man scoffed.
"You are only a boy, what gives you the idea you could defeat us all?"
With bloodshot eyes and a dirty face, Sadavir still held an air of majesty as he addressed the army.
"I could defeat you because you are cowards!"
Sadavir's opening remark rippled through the ranks of the army, the men stirring angrily at his words.
"I could defeat you because you haven't the spine to stand up to one hateful man and his lust for power. I could defeat you because you are fat, gorged on your unshared wealth. I could defeat you because you are blind, blind to the suffering that happens every day beyond your walls.
"I could defeat you because I have honor." Sadavir pulled his black Stone from around his head.
"I could defeat you because I have love." He pulled a small, clear Stone from the pouch that hung at his side.
Putting both the Stones in one hand, he raised it for everyone to see as the black light jumped and danced between the Stones and down over his arms. The army drew back in fear and wonder. Sadavir thrust his hand to the side of the army and a section of the wall burst outward in a thunder crack of pure destruction.
"Now go home!" Sadavir ordered the cowering army. "Your families are safe. Far safer than ours were at your mercy."
The man who had been acting as spokesman for the army stared at the gaping hole in the wall.
"Do all Destroyers have this power? Is that how they got over the wall?" the man wondered out loud.
"The Destroyers never went over the wall," Sadavir announced. Several of the men, who had already started to head toward the hole in the wall, turned to protest. Sadavir interrupted them.
"They went right through that gate and it was opened by one of your own," he declared.
"Who would do such a thing?" the man demanded.
"I ask you, good sir, who stands to gain when people are driven by fear? Who profits when the people will sacrifice their freedom for safety?" Sadavir paused and smiled. "Who is a jerk with a really annoying voice?"
I knew that he was taking a chance. He didn't really know who had been opening the door, all he had to go on was a vague description given him by Andre. His gamble paid off, however, as Saddhan groveled and begged for his life.
"No, it's a misunderstanding! I never meant to... if you kill me it would be murder... murder! I have a wife and a son, they need a husband and father..." His voice trailed off into whimpering as the man who had been speaking looked on in disgust. He turned back to Sadavir.
"We will leave your lands, but we will make more of the weapons, we will be ready to defend ourselves," the man warned. Sadavir smiled, his eyes looking meaningfully to the gaping hole in the wall.
"Defend yourselves, eh?"
The man was left with no response and turned his back on Sadavir and followed the army as they trudged through the wall back to their own land.
As soon as the last of them had gone through, a few more people dropped out of the trees. Two men with green Stones approached the tree that grew next to the gate. The Creator gave his Stone to the other man, who held his hand up to the tree.
The tree twitched and shimmered as it shrunk and twisted itself back into the ground that had given it birth. As the trunk twisted away, it revealed a hollow chamber in its middle. Aric burst out as soon as there was a space big enough, gasping for air.
Andre followed after with his customary amused smile still fixed on his face.
"Come then, Aric, it wasn't all that bad, was it?" Andre asked. Aric only glared at him in response. Andre laughed, then turned to Sadavir, who was trying to convince Olya that he truly was all right and that his eyes didn't need to be healed.
"So, Sadavir, part one went well," Andre started. He nodded, a small smile of relief growing on his face. Andre continued.
"Now it's our turn to invade."
Sadavir nodded somberly. Then, his mood suddenly lightening, he turned to Olya.
"Would you mind taking a walk with me?"
I watched, amused, as Sadavir started walking down the length of the wall. Periodically, his arm would raise and another section of the hated wall would burst and crumble to the ground. Spontaneous cheers erupted from the watching crowd with each thunder blast of broken rock and swirling dust.