The Chronicles of Aumar: 52

The Heroes of Old, Part II

Atticus climbed back down the hole to find Kashad standing up and wearing what he could be describe as battle garb. In Kashad's ancient right hand was a club-like weapon with a jagged dark rocks that were dug deep around the knob while his left had a large, round shield made of wood and covered with leather branded with the runes that Atticus had now come to associate with the Zi'dane. Kashad wore the pelt of a tombaz as a cape while underneath the pelt was a leather chest plate and bangles made of beads around each of his wrists and ankles. Around his waist was what looked like a single sheet of leather wrapped around like a skirt but was actually fastened by two buttons while a small pouch hid the buttons.

Atticus sat down in front of Kashad as a fire separated the both of them, the old Zi'dane's face glowed in the embers and revealed a frightening expression from his wrinkles and jowls. Kashad looked down on the young Terran with eyes so dull and grey from age that they looked like doll eyes lost in mute memory. He began to speak in a strong but stoic voice, speaking as though he was reciting a subdued prayer rather and not going into large bursts of energy or dramatic emotion.

"When I was a just learning to walk, my father's father presented to me this weapon. Though not the original, this sort of weapon had been used among my line for generations. He told me 'Tiny Kashad, I was taught to fight those who look like me but were not of me when I stood where you are. When I join the Elder Mystery of the Cycle, you shall fight those who look nothing like you.' He was talking of the Round Ears, the Terrans. The enemies of the Nat'awl, of all the Twelve Tribes, were those who came from beyond the waters. The only one of the Tribes who knew of a Round Ear before their arrival was those of the Arche in the great wasteland to the south, but they were so far from the rest of the Tribes that many dismissed them as some strange monster or stories of warning.

"For 100 years, there was unsteady peace. If one attacked, the other responded. Sometimes we started battles, sometimes they did. Fights among warriors and farmers, skirmishes on what they called the frontier, all eventually lead to larger battles and finally outright wars. Your people have a saying: 'Fight fire with fire.' The problem is that we both had fire, but my people were the ones burned. A superior weapon means nothing if the opposing force can fight better. We abandoned the weapons of our ancestors to survive, we adopt what we can and discard the old, yet you see what we have."

Kashad then stopped and looked at his weapon with a soft gaze, the very sort one may have when looking at your first born child. He then swung it with a fierceness and strength that made Atticus worry the old man's arm would fall off if the act kept up. The movement of his arms and body was poetic and beautiful, an orchestration of body and spirit that surged of countless lifetimes of mastery and improvement. Atticus sat in total awe as he watched the skills of a Nat'awl warrior, a Zi'dane proud of what his ancestors had created.

"Your people will become strong again," Atticus said finally. Kashad shook his head.

"I lack your optimism, young one. The world is a different place than when I was young. I serve as nothing more than a reminder of the past, just as those before me. My people will never truly continue so long as I remain a relic."

"You know you're harming your people?" Atticus asked with quiet surprise.

"The Elder reminds the youth which foot starts the dance. When the youth know nothing of the dance then what use is the wisdom of the Elder?" Kashad replied sadly. "I know what we were is gone. We'll never be as we were before the arrival. My attempts to revive my people will die with me. My memory, however, will be with you as you leave."

Kashad slowly brought his body to the ground and laid down. He grabbed his weapon firmly and placed it over his body, the grip placed near his chest and his eyes slowly closing. Atticus felt it was his time to go and began climbing back to the surface.

"When you emerge, tell Rayya to be what our people need."

Atticus climbed back to the surface when he was greeted with the entire village standing before him. Rayya then ordered the men to start breaking the dome down as the women and children took buckets of dirt and sand in hand and awaited the dome to be destroyed. Atticus looked on in horror when Dessau grabbed him by the shoulder.

"You're a very lucky Terran, Atticus. You heard the last words of the Elder," he stated. "Not many Terrans are allowed to go into a burial tomb for an Elder.

"A tomb?"

"It's a tradition among Elders. Once Elders reach a certain age, they're to dig a pit and live in it until they commit the Rite of Memory or die. I was told he wished to perform the Rite before you. He favored Erasmus dearly for what he did for us, so he may have wanted his last student to see him go. For whatever reason beyond that is guesswork."

Rayya then handed the cloth that Kashad wore, covered in the runes that Erasmus himself once wore. Folded underneath was a piece of folded paper with a picture of a circle pierced with an arrow. Atticus gently placed the cloth under his arm and unfolded the paper to find there was a note that was poorly written but still legible. There was a complete list of what each rune embroidered on the cloth meant with a smaller message beneath the list of runes by Rayya.

'Solomon knew that Kashad would not help directly. Take this cloth to Palmview to gain the allies you need. Dessau and I have work that needs to be done. You know that this is not a standard assignment for the Scholar's Guild so don't treat it like one.'

Atticus turned to Doc, to which he looked a bit confused by the sudden attention.

"Do you know where Palmview is?"

"Hmm… I reckon it's south of here, across the Andalus Sea. It's the capital of the Views. Why?"

"Once we're done here in the Northern Federation, we're headed for Palmview. What's the easiest way to get there?"

"We can go back to Freedom and report to Lady Deidra an' take the Free-Vert Line, which is the most direct, go back to Visara an' take a ship to a port on the Views northern coast an' work our way south, which allows us to get our stuff directly, or head south and take a ferry."

"Why can't we take an airship?"

"The Views don't trust them with anyone but their own people. Aside from a few areas for merchants near the borders, foreigners aren't allowed to arrive by airship."

"We could head back to Visara and report to Solomon. Maybe even see if Oren has found any info that could help us concerning Lemuel," Atticus responded. "We're not gonna get much more out of this assignment…"

Just then, Doug walked up with two books in hand. It looked to be an old codex with wooden planks as covers with some aged sinew substance acting as the binding of the coarse pages. The second book looked much more contemporary with a leather-bound make and uniform page size; it's most remarkable and distinguishing figure was the Seal of Noah branded on the front of it with a set of Nat'awl runes beneath it. Rayya then followed behind him and portrayed a sad smile on his face.

"I know your trip coming out here was not very worthwhile. Unfortunately, my people aren't ready to open up to Terrans or anyone from 'beyond the sunset.' Please, take this manuscript and the journal from me as a token of friendship."

"Rayya… thank you," Atticus said with a respectful bow of the head. From the corner of his eye he saw Dessau standing away from the crowd and preparing to leave. "What about your brother?"

"Ah, yes… his exile. There is little I can do in accordance to our laws. I can't bring him back in the village, but I doubt he would want that. His life is beyond ours now. However, we need him if we are to bring our tribe to its former glory: a tribe full of pride and strength. The death of Kashad broke our last, lingering link of our past that we can't regain. Now we must march to the future."

"But Kashad died while we were here. What if they blame that on us coming here?" Doug stated as he brought up a valid point.

"I… hadn't actually thought of that," Rayya said with justifiable concern. "You may need to leave here now."

"That won't be necessary, Rayya," Dessau said as he approached the group. "I'll take the blame. If there are those among us who blame the Terrans, just use my return as a scapegoat. I'm no stranger to rude comments or rumors."

"Brother… I can't do that to you!" Rayya exclaimed.

"Why not? You're the chief now. You have to lead our people to a new dawn. The past is with the Elder Mystery, a memory of which we must remember."

Before Rayya could rebuttal, Dessau began to walk off with his suitcase grasped firmly with his tail. Rayya sighed and shook his head while he muttered something silently. With no further reason to stay, Atticus and company gave their goodbyes and walked back to the train station.