A Road to Peace
he blade of my executioners sword glistened in the sunlight as it started its descent to my neck. As I watched the blade slice through the air, my life as a renegade flashed before my eyes. Starting with the occupation of my peoples' land at 13 until my capture at 16.
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I awoke to the sound of the alarm being rung. The loud iron bells shrieked out in the gloom of early morning. We in the town of M'riian, know all too well what that sound means. It is the alarm rung by the men on the ramparts when the Oedivan troops come into sight on the plains that seem to infinitely surround our little town. It is the alarm signaling men and women alike to take their swords to hand, and prepare to battle against a near omnipotent force for whatever meager freedom we have.
I heard my brother Kiev shouting to me," Kellein, hurry the Oedivans are advancing quickly."
I grabbed my sword from where it hung above my bed. I am young, only thirteen, but freedom has infinite costs.
I shouted back to Kiev," It is a good day to die!" and charged out of the house to join the hundreds of others preparing for this latest battle against the Oedivan oppressors.
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I close my eyes. I remember that day well. It was most definitely a good day to die, but it wasn't my day. By the will of the gods, ten or twenty men, women and children survived the battle. All of us had lost friends or family and in most cases both. My brother, Kiev, died in that battle and at the end of that day I wished I had died along with him. The survivors including myself turned toward the northern forest, where most of the outlaws had gone. That night we formed a pact; we all swore our allegiance to those who were slaughtered in the battle of M'riian.
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The bloodstained blade, still glimmering in the noon light, was nearly halfway to my neck. I closed my eyes again, thinking about how my childhood had come to an end so quickly, and now the same was happening to my adult life. I remember the autumn of my sixteenth year of life.
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Five of us had been ambushed on our way back to S'eve, the fortress deep within the northern forest. We had chosen to make our trip down through the hilled northern country to gather men, women and children to aid in our crusade to avenge the deaths of those who died at M'riian and many other towns fighting for their freedom. The five of us traveled on Mor'daths, large beasts of burden, we had covered an area of thirty square miles in our month long journey. We recruited many people who also believed their lives had or would be ruined by the iron-fisted rule of the Oedivans. This had also been a supply run. S'eve would be hit with a long, hard winter again, and this time we intended to be prepared to withstand another four or five month winter.
Over the past two years I had risen to become the leader of a small group of soldiers. I was respected for my ability with the sword , a training my father had started when my brother and I could hold a small sword. I had become respected even more for my strategies, I advised those who had power in our rebellion. That is why I was chosen to lead this mission.
I had chosen a team of young fighters, ranging in age from fourteen to seventeen. D'naar was the oldest, a year older than me at seventeen. Then there were two fifteen year olds Niev and his twin Oni'ya. The youngest at fourteen, Pomeit, I chose because his style of chivalry was strikingly similar to that of my deceased brother.
We had just turned back the day before to head home. There was plenty of food loaded on the Mor'daths backs, and we were traveling quietly with D'naar and myself and the others right behind, when we started to hear the heavy footfall of Mor'daths galloping. Quickly I turned my group off the road to let whoever was behind us pass as well as to stay out of view in case the riders were Oedivans. I looked behind and saw a cloud of dust rising. There were maybe fifteen riders coming from behind. D'naar suddenly grabbed my arm and pointed. Coming from the other direction were several more riders. I realized that some "good citizen" from the last town had reported seeing us. We were being ambushed!
In the past three years I had fought in many battles, killing everyone I could so they wouldn't kill me, but I have never experienced an ambush. I turned to face my comrades, knowing we were utterly and completely out numbered.
"I have fought with most of you for two or three years now, and I know you are all excellent warriors. But we, five young swordsmen, are no match for thirty grown men," I told my friends," We have two choices, fight to the death outnumbered, or flee southward to the mountains and then circle back and go home. Which would you like to take?"
Although it would have been braver to stand our ground and fight, we were young and afraid of death, so we chose to flee. With one mighty kick I sent my Mor'dath galloping through the woods the others not far behind.
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I closed my eyes again. That decision like many of the others I had made in past years, was made in haste. Thinking back on it now, it may have been wiser to stay and fight, for what happened because of my decision and the chance happening of an early winter brought the five of us together by driving us apart.
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"Kellein, I think we've put enough distance between us and the soldiers. I can't hear their Mor'daths behind us anymore," Oni'ya said.
She was right of course. I hadn't heard them behind us for twenty minutes, but I wanted to put as much distance between us and the murderous criminals following us as I could. For the sake of keeping my group together I could at least slow the pace we were going at so the Mor'daths could rest and we could get our bearings.
"Whoa boy," I said slowing my Mor'dath to an easy trot, the others followed suit.
I think it was in the last two weeks of autumn, but it could have been in the first weeks of winter. We had been traveling off the road for several days now. I didn't think they were following us anymore, but Oedivans are paranoid creatures, and they probably thought we ran because we knew something. So heeding my earlier decision we traveled further to the south. I hoped we would reach the mountains soon, or some sort of shelter because the sky, which I had been watching had the look about it that warns the farmers of the early blizzards. Knowing that we would be hit by a blizzard soon made my decision to continue southward harder. The others could read the sky as well as I could, so I know they've noticed the peril of the path we were taking. At least our food supply was plentiful.
As we entered a clearing I looked up at the sky with a rush of paranoia. Not only were we out in the open where anyone could see us, but it had just started snowing. The flurries were coming down hard and fast. I surveyed my group, from the looks on their faces I sensed a growing dissension among them. If we were to continue on in the growing storm we were sure to become lost.
"D'naar, your town was near the mountains, you know this area better than I. Do you know of any place we could take shelter until this storm has passed?" I asked because to go on thinking I knew the terrain would be a lie, and lying would get us killed.
"There were hunters shelters around here, I think the nearest one is three miles from here. We could stay there for a time. We would be hidden. Not many people know where the shelters are." Then he instructed," I remember there was a path leading to this clearing. I believe that's it over there by that Ot'eloger grove." As he said this he pointed in the direction of a group of trees that were twisted and gnarled, and were bearing a red fruit.
It took me a moment to realize they were the type of tree he had mentioned with the late harvesting red fruits.
"D'naar you know the way, so you lead us to shelter," I announced as the snow was thickening into a deep white mist that shortened visibility to five meters," Everyone must stick close together, this storm will be bad, and I don't want to lose anyone. Niev you take the rear. Hurry let's go!"
We all took off at a gallop following D'naar. As we traveled the snows whiteness became more blinding, and the road more treacherous.
"We're nearly there," D'naar shouted from ahead.
Suddenly a scream pierced the white, quiet of the forest.
"They've come, the Oedivans have found us," Pomeit, who had been silent for the most part, shouted.
"We can't stop," Oni'ya yelled back," Nievs dead, but they'll kill us all if we stop."
At that we picked up the pace. If the Oedivans had killed Niev, they were very skilled at silent tracking. I never remember them being that skilled though. On the path ahead I noticed D'naar slowing. The shelter was just ahead of him.
"Once we get inside we can barricade the door to keep them out," D'naar said as we all dismounted from the Mor'daths, and handed the reins to Pomeit to tie them up.
"I don't think the Oedivans killed Niev," I announced," I didn't hear anyone behind us. I'm going back out to see what happened."
"You can't go out there, they'll kill you," Pomeit shouted.
"I'm going out. If I don't come back in twenty minutes, D'naar will take command." With that, I left the shelter and stepped out into the bitter cold.
I grabbed a Mor'ath and leapt on to its back. I kicked and sent it off towards where I had heard the scream. When I got there I knew I had been correct. The Oedivans hadn't killed Niev; his own mount had. In our haste to get out of the driving snow, his Mor'dath had slipped and killing itself. It had also knocked Niev to the ground where he now lay with his head hanging limply at an awkward angle. I picked up his body and placed it in front of me on my Mor'ath.
When I got to the shelter a fire had been started in the pit and smoke was rising from the chimney. I brought the body inside. At the sight of her dead brother, Oni'ya burst into tears.
"There were no Oedivans following us," she shouted over sobs of grief," You're as paranoid as they are! We could have circled around days ago, and no one would have died. Or better yet, we could have fought that battle and died with honor."
"I think you've known we weren't being followed, maybe not consciously, but you've known," Pomeit added," I wish I had fought back there on the road, I would have died defending our cause, not freezing to death in an old hunter's shelter."
"You may both be right, but you were not the leader of this mission; she was. Whatever decisions she made were made because they seemed right to her at the time, "D'naar said coming to my defense.
I remained quiet, there was nothing more I could do. I had let my friends down. I walked over to the fire and sat down. If they left, which seemed would happen, I would be responsible for their deaths. If they joined me by the fire now, I would be responsible for whatever happened to them because of my leadership.
D'naar walked over, and sat across from me by the fire. I smiled inwardly, my friend was loyal as always. Pomeit and Oni'ya looked over at us and then turned their backs to us and walked out of the shelter. A few minutes later I heard two Mor'daths gallop off. D'naar stood and then brought a sleeping mat over. He laid down and went to sleep. I sat staring at the fire, I had caused harm to come to my friends I would never forgive myself for that.
I must have fallen asleep while staring at the fire because I woke staring at its dying embers. I looked around to see if D'naar was awake, but to my shock he wasn't anywhere in the shelter. He had deserted me too. I had failed them all ,and I would never get the chance to make it up to them.
"Kellein, they have not deserted you," a familiar voice spoke.
"Who is that? Where are you?" I asked nervously looking around.
"It's me Kellein, your brother Kiev," the voice said. Then, in a flash of some kind of magic his form appeared in front of me," You still have a chance to make up for the last three years."
"But how?" I asked.
"Do what you know is right. Work to end the war not prolong it," he said.
"I don't know how to," I said.
"Of course you do. Make those two young soldiers believe they would be better off not fighting," he said.
"They've left. I can't speak with them. We can't start a new cause," I told him.
"They will be dead by night if you do not go and bring them back to the shelter," he said," Farewell Kellein."
With that, his body dissolved back into the air from which it had come.
I woke up, and D'naar was next to me again. I shook him to wake him.
"Is something wrong?" He asked.
"Yes. We must go after them. They'll die otherwise," I told him.
Their trail was hard to follow. The wind had blown snow into their tracks. We rode around in circles for hours. Then over by a pile of boulders I saw what resembled a makeshift shelter. I pointed it out to D'naar, and we dismounted and walked over to it. They were lying side by side inside. Their lips were blue from the cold and they were unconscious and nearly frozen to death. I picked up Pomeit and D'naar picked up Oni'ya, we carried them over to the Mor'daths.
We arrived back at the shelter and built up a fire to lie them beside. They recovered quickly, and we started work on a new plan to launch a new cause for an era of peace and an end to bloodshed.
Two weeks went by, and the four of us became much closer friends. When Spring came in another month or so, we planned to leave the forest and travel to the many towns again, promoting peace this time instead of violence. I would say those two weeks were the best weeks of my life.
As has been noted before every rise in history has been followed by a greater fall. History didn't fail to repeat itself. At the end of the two weeks the Oedivans who had been tracking us in the autumn, walked into the shelter.
Following our new plan we didn't attack or fight them. They captured us and with our refusal to tell them where the fortress of S'eve was, they announced to us that we would be executed.
After saying farewell to my friends I offered my life in exchanged for theirs. I insisted that I was their leader and that I was responsible for their anow accept the consequences of my life in the peace of death. I was just one death to start the end of war.
The sword was right above my neck now. I took my last breath and shouted," FREEDOM!" The blade cut through my neck. I could feel the pain, but I didn't care. With luck, my three friends would start an era of peace. I did what I knew was right I can now accept the consequences of my life in the peace of death. I was just one death to start the end of war.
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