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“We shouldn’t leave him there,” James said as they reached the bottom of the hill. Though the tepee was no longer in sight, it was like he could still hear the muffled cries echoing through his head—the bound man begging with all his might to be protected. But even he knew that they couldn’t sit there all day and watch him.
“And what would you have us do?” Kyran asked. “Take shifts?”
“We might catch Gideon in the act,” he said, regretting the suggestion as soon as it was uttered.
“No,” Arimus said firmly. “No, we won’t. If Gideon is truly a Sage hunter, and he has an eidolon of his own, then he’ll be able to sense where we are, and he would know to stay out of the range of ours to the best of his ability. He will keep his distance until the time is right.”
“He could be a Sage from long ago, like Lakrymos,” Kyran suggested.
“Perhaps,” Arimus mused over the possibility. “And if so, then someone may know who he is. As long as the name isn’t a fake, we may find old friends or enemies.”
“I’ll start doing some research,” Kyran said, stopping in his tracks. “I’ll go invisible and whisper the name in people’s ears. See what I turn up.”
“Paragon is a big place,” James said. “You’ll be better off if we all split up the work. Not to mention that you won’t be safe by yourself.”
“I’ll be careful. Gideon may be a hunter, but so am I. I’ll be fine.”
“And you really don’t want any help from us?”
“No. It may take longer, but at least the job will done right. Prepare the others for the possibility of an attack. Until proven otherwise, Cimmerian is what we should be worried about most.”
“Good luck,” Arimus said as Kyran vanished from their sight. James and Arimus continued walking on in silence. Both of them deep in thought as they pondered the conundrum before them.
Arimus cleared his throat. “I have to ask you something.”
James was taken aback by the crack in Arimus’ voice. It was like he was nervous about something, and he had never seen his former mentor that way. Though Arimus had long stopped teaching him outright, he still valued the older man’s knowledge and insight. To see him vulnerable was disconcerting.
“Ask me anything,” James said, his throat drying up.
“Have you wondered at all why I’ve taken a more prominent role in the Sage Academy’s affairs?”
“You mean...why you aren’t you spending all your time with Ashalynn like before?”
“Yes...so...you have noticed.”
“I enjoy your presence, so I didn’t think much of it. But I was a little curious.”
“Catherine’s mother...she left me, James.”
“No,” he said. His jaw literally dropped. How was that possible?
“It was three years ago.”
“Did you two have problems in your marriage?”
“Not exactly. I treated her the same as before, but I think...I think...I wasn’t enough for her anymore. Back on Terra, I was a shining beacon in the midst of dark clouds and gloomy days. I treated her with respect and admiration when all men wanted to do was possess her like a trophy. I was the knight in shining armor. There was her husband in the way. There was the looming conflict between the five kingdoms. There was war. There was death. There was so much external conflict that we had no time to get sick of one another.
“Not that I got sick of her. I actually...I actually still feel sick when I think about her. I can still taste her on my lips. I can still feel her fingers running down my back or tousling my hair. I can hear her laugh—James, her laugh was like a cool breeze in the heat of summer. Her speech was like honey and—”
“—I get it,” James laughed, wiping his watering eyes. “Sorry...you just got me thinking about Catherine there. I’ve been a fool. Such a fool. I need to get to her as soon as possible. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“Catherine still loves you. I’m sure of it.”
“I don’t want to talk about me though,” James said, clearing his throat. “Please, go on.”
“When we came to Paragon, she had so many suitors vying for her attention. I never thought she would ever fall for any of them, and she didn’t like it when I got rough with them. She said it was harmless—that her heart only belonged to me and there was no way she would give it to another. I didn’t want to cause any more conflict with the Paragon people than there already was so I left it alone. I started focusing more on what we were trying to rebuild, and in the process...I lost her.
“I suppose I never had her all along. I was surprised by how quickly she left me. I came home one day to find her things gone and a note on our table. I tracked down who she had decided to live with, but I didn’t fight for her. I found them in his front yard, laughing and giggling as they chased each other with buckets of water and grass clippings. They went on for a few minutes before they kissed each other passionately. And it was a kiss that I hadn’t felt for a couple of years. I walked away.” Arimus turned to James with tears streaming down his eyes. His face was scrunched up in pain as he tried to hold back the anguish. “I should have wooed her back to me. But I...I feel so old, James. I know I’m not. Not really. And we live in Paragon. It’s not like age really matters anymore here...but I still feel it. More mentally than physically.
“There are so many mornings where I just want to lie in bed and sleep the day away. But I know that eventually I wouldn’t be able to doze off anymore. I would have to face the world one way or another. And I don’t want to. I’ve lost my purpose. I don’t have my sweetheart. My house doesn’t feel like home. I have no King to answer to. There are no people that I serve. There’s an army coming that I have to fight, and for a people I care little about, and now...now there’s a hunter seeking to kill me and I don’t know why. What do I have to look forward to now, James? I thought Paragon would be the answer to my woes, not bring more turmoil.”
“We have to find our purpose,” James said. “We have to seek it out and keep on growing.”
“For what? What is our mission now?”
“What is a Sage?” James found himself saying.
Arimus was taken aback. “We’ve had this conversation.”
“What is a Sage? At its core?” James asked, recalling what his mentor had once told him.
“One that is wise.”
“And what do we do with wisdom?”
“We use it to better ourselves, our lives, and that of others.”
“That is our mission then,” James said. “Because I will never, ever become the boy I once was. I won’t slack. I won’t sleep. I’m going to get better.”
“But how?”
“By adopting the principles of what a Sage should be. It’s more than power. Our eidolons...they mean nothing if we don’t stand for something. I’m going to better myself by not being afraid to fight for those I love and for what I believe in...no matter how much it hurts. I’ve been afraid that I have to compromise who I am to win the upcoming war, but I won’t. I won’t. I will find another way. I will better my life by finding Catherine and reuniting with her because she is what makes me happy above all else, and lastly, I will better the lives of others.
“Are people from Paragon assholes? Yes. But that doesn’t mean I want them to die. It doesn’t mean I want them to suffer. They just see things differently. And I can help change their view on things. I’m not going to argue with them, or scream at them in the streets. I'm not going to belittle them or say they are beneath me.
"I’m going to live according to my principles and show them that we aren’t evil. I’m going to be kind and compassionate until they are willing to listen to me and what I have to say. Eventually, they may tolerate me. Eventually...they may accept me. They may grow to like me, then love me. Then they may see my point of view and begin to take steps to alter theirs. In time, I may grow to love them as well. And then, and only then, will the world that we pretend not to coexist in—have changed for all of us. And for the better at that. You know what? Maybe I've been an asshole too..."
“What do you mean? What have you done to them?”
“Not them,” James said, falling deeper into his thoughts. “Though I’m still going to fight on their behalf...no, I mean our students and the other Sages.”
“You’ve done your best as a leader toward them.”
“But they don’t need a leader right now. They need a mentor and a friend. When we went on that journey for the five stones, we all bonded in a way that transcended duty and obligation. We connected in a way that hasn’t been repeated since. Bastion and Lily are awesome, but even they’ve admitted that they’ve felt like outsiders when we all get together. Zhou keeps to himself and he’s rarely seen. I forget he’s even around, to be honest. Last I heard, he was scouting out Terra.”
“So what are you saying?”
“To face Cimmerian and this hunter, we need to be united like never before. We need that bond, but not between just the six or seven of us. It needs to be between all of us. We’re all equally important and needed for what’s to come.”
“And how are we going to do that?”
“Let’s start by getting people involved,” James replied, rubbing his hands together. “Training courses like the one with the infantry back then. Missions that bring on the possibility of death. Take those that are willing into the field early. Let’s take off the kid gloves.”
“If that’s what you think is best,” Arimus chuckled. “You are the leader until we find a replacement.”
“It will work out.”
“And what if they die? What if they aren’t ready?”
“I can’t worry about that anymore,” James sighed. “And though some might...it’s better than the alternative—sitting back and wondering about what could be. There are worse things than death. Aren’t there?”
“Yes,” Arimus said, staring directly into James’ eyes. “And thank you...for the pep talk.”
“I was helping myself more than anything,” James chuckled, slapping a hand on Arimus’ back. Arimus turned and gave him a big bear hug in reply. James didn’t fight it. Who knew how long it had been since Arimus had felt the embrace of another? As his brother, friend, and pupil, James was more than willing to forego his awkwardness, and show him a bit of kindness.
***
“JAMES, THERE’S SOMEONE here to see you,” Bastion said the moment he and Arimus arrived. James looked behind the young Sage to see a tall man in full body armor. His gauntlets were gigantic and his dark brown hair was matted with mud and dried blood. James approached with caution, despite sensing no ill-will from him. He wasn’t sure who to trust these days.
“I’ve never seen this place personally,” the man said as James stopped only a couple of feet away. “It’s fantastic. Much better than the trenches my men spend their time in.”
“Do I know you?” James asked patiently. The man’s eyebrows perked up in the realization that he hadn’t given any introductions and so he took off one of his gauntlets by placing it under his armpit and pulling it off. Then he stuck out a clean but clammy hand. James shook it.
“The name is Eizel. Altostratus’ frontline.”
“I wasn’t aware that any of the cities had a working army.”
“Well,” he chuckled. “It’s the most unorganized thing you’ll ever see in your life. All composed of volunteers and troublemakers. We’re the ones that keep spies from Cimmerian at bay, or at least, we’d like to think that we do. There’s not many of us. “
“Considering the lack of conflict in the public sphere, I would say you’ve done a fine job. Not to mention that we’ve never heard of you.”
“Oh no one likes to talk about us. Makes them think of war times. But anyways, I’m not here to make small talk. I have some concerns that I would like to discuss with you.”
“Go ahead,” James said, folding his arms. Arimus walked up and stayed in the background, making sure he was still within earshot.
“I lost three of my best men two days ago to someone that we think is from Cimmerian. No matter how hard we try, we can’t touch him. A bald tattooed man in an orange-red cloak and robe. He killed all three of my Sages before we could even form a plan.”
“Your three best men were Sages?”
“Yeah, a few men that didn’t want to be a part of the academy. I hope that doesn’t hurt my call for help.”
“You’re here for back-up?”
“My job is to stop threats like him, but we can’t stop this one without outside assistance. The three Sages under me made up most of my force as far as strength goes. We can’t do much until this man is stopped.”
“We’ve encountered him actually,” James said, turning to Arimus. “He didn’t kill any of us...but he did say that he wanted Sages to suffer.”
“He didn’t say a word to us,” Eizel shook his head. “Wish he did. We might have had a chance. He just murdered my Sages and ran. Sounds like it’s personal against you guys.”
“Have you done any digging into who this guy might be?”
“A little. Nothing but rumors though.”
“We’ll take anything we can get.”
“I heard,” Eizel stopped to scratch his head. “Well, I heard that he had woken up in Paragon after death, but he immediately headed to Cimmerian for training. It’s all speculation though. I can’t confirm this.”
“It’s better than nothing,” James sighed, uncrossing his arms. “Unfortunately, we can’t spare much, and we’re not an army here. Anyone that goes with you will have to do it willingly. I’ll spread the word, but in the meantime, feel free to inquire about it with any Sage you come across. They have my permission to go with you.”
“And what are all of you doing? Hunting him down?”
“We’re working on it.”
“Is training all you guys do?” Eizel asked, squinting his eyes ahead of him to see the floating platforms. Students were in the process of clashing eidolons and performing close quarters combat techniques.
“Until there’s a reason to get involved, yes.”
“There’s plenty of reasons. Listen, you know this people called Delilah?”
“We’ve heard of them,” James said. “A couple of our Sages were there when everything changed for the worlds.”
“Bastion, right?”
“Everyone knows him, huh?”
“How couldn’t they?”
“I’m sorry. Go on. You were mentioning the Delilah.”
“Paragon isn’t doing a thing when it comes to relations with people on Terra. Allay is with them, but Paragon sort of forced that alliance. It’s not like Paragon sent missionaries to spread the good word and why they should be on our side. What I’m trying to say is that if you want some powerful allies in the coming war, you should court the Delilah. They have the technology. They have the manpower. And they’re the closest Kingdom on Terra to us. It would be one thing if they stayed neutral, but if Cimmerian manages to sway them over to their side, it will be detrimental to us. Not even Allay would be able to assist in time.”
“The Delilah aren’t too fond of us,” Arimus said. “Not after what Bastion did.”
“Neither are the people of Paragon. But that doesn’t mean swaying public opinion is impossible. We need them.”
“We’ll take care of it,” James stated, glancing over at Arimus. His expression remained neutral. “It’s something to do while we wait for more information on the hunter.”
“Thank you for your time,” Eizel said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be trying to persuade some of your students to die needlessly.”
Eizel walked away as Arimus let out a deep sigh.
“We’re going to be spreading ourselves thin. We’ll be a bigger target.”
“We won’t all go,” James replied. “Someone needs to watch Chloe after all. The hunter could come here in our absence.”
“And do you think we can persuade the Delilah to our cause?”
“I think it will be harder to get permission to go to the Delilah in the first place.”
“A fine mess we’re in.”
“Let me know when Kyran comes back. I’m going to get some sleep in the meantime. I’m exhausted.”
“Who’s the team going to Delilah?”
“Myself, Kyran, Bastion and Lily.”
“You’re going to take Bastion?” Arimus asked in shock. “Won’t that hurt your chances for peace?”
“Without him there to help negotiate, there’s no hope at all.”
“I suppose.”
“Just let me know when Kyran arrives. This might be the last break I get for a very long time.”
