Bacorium Legacy (11 page)

Luca and Emila started to step inside, but the first guard raised his hand.

“Just wait there.”

The other guard left, vanishing into the temple interior. A few minutes later, he returned, in the company of a tall man with black hair and a leather coat.

“Greetings,” this man said, offering his hand to Luca. “You may call me Tranom. What did you say your name was?”

“Luca,” he repeated. “The son of Lodin.”

Tranom looked him up and down. “Yes, you certainly look like one of Lodin's kids. You may enter the temple. Who is your companion?”

Emila bowed politely. “My name is Emila. I'm - well, just a girl from Saeticia.”

Tranom stared at them for a moment. “Are you two...?”

Emila's cheeks burned, and she shook her head. “Oh, no. Not at all.”

“It's complicated,” Luca said. “But we need to be together for the time being.”

Tranom shrugged. “Very well. We don't let just anyone through our gates, but your father was one of us, so you are welcome here. As long as you swear by the girl, she may enter too, but she is your responsibility.”

Luca glanced at Emila, catching a bit of irritation in her eyes, but she kept silent.

Tranom then beckoned, and led them into the temple. Once they passed the threshold, the gates closed shut behind them.

Allma Temple was filled with many teenage students in white robes, who were busy going from place to place. Others were paired off in small sand circles, sparring with wooden weapons, while older instructors supervised.

Tranom led them through the centre of the temple, towards the sanctum at the far end. On the way, they passed one of the small arenas, where two students were donning wooden armour. As they passed, several of the students spotted him, and pointed out Luca's white hair and spoke amongst themselves.

“My father trained here,” Luca said to Tranom. “I remember he spoke of it from time to time. And I believe he brought me here once.”

“He was one of our best,” Tranom replied. “He has quite the reputation.”

“Did you know him?”

“No, but I've heard the stories,” Tranom chuckled. “We all have. I'm guessing your being here means something has happened?”

“He's dead.”

Tranom stopped walking.

“Is that right?” Tranom asked after a moment. “By whose hand?”

“A man named Zinoro.”

Tranom turned and looked at Luca with a contained surprise. Behind him, Emila had stopped dead in her tracks, and drew in a sharp breath.

“I can see there's much that needs discussed,” Tranom said. “But it's not my place to say anything. Masters Allma and Dori will meet with you, and you can speak with them about it.”

Tranom then continued walking, not making any more conversation. Luca followed behind him, and tried to ignore Emila's wide-eyed stare. There was something in her eyes that made him very uncomfortable.

They reached the sanctum, and stepped inside. The inside was carved of smooth stone and was cool and dark. A young man in robes was waiting for them. Tranom approached the boy and spoke to him.

“Rael, go tell Master Dori that something very important has happened, and that he should come to the sanctum.”

The young student, Rael, hesitated, clearly not comfortable with the idea for some reason. But he gave no vocal objections. With a curt nod, the boy strode past them and disappeared.

Tranom turned back to Luca. “I shall go and inform Master Allma that you are here. Wait here until Master Dori arrives.” Without waiting for any reply, Tranom passed through the door into the next chamber.

A few moments of silence passed. Luca waited, aware of Emila's unwavering gaze on his back.

“What?” he asked finally.

“Your father died?” she said. “Why didn't you say something?”

“Because that was none of your concern,” he replied without turning around. “I'm not looking for your pity. Or anyone's pity. I'm not here for that. I'm here because I want to see the man who killed him dead.” There was a finality in those words that told Emila he had no desire to continue the conversation.

“Is that right?” asked a new voice from the doorway.

Luca and Emila turned, to find that the boy Rael had returned, in the company of a grizzled-looking ageing man in tattered grey rags. The old man approached Luca, leaning heavily on a cane with each step. He drew close to Luca, looking deep into his eyes. An uncomfortably long moment passed - Luca said nothing.

“Yup,” the man said. “You're definitely a son of Lodin's.”

“Are you Dori?” Luca asked. He couldn't remember what Dori looked like from his faint memories of his first visit, all those years ago. But when he thought of the man who had trained his father, he hadn't imagined an old man in rags.

However, the old man nodded. “That's me. And you are?”

“Luca.”

“Luca...” Dori repeated slowly. “That's right. I remember you now.”

Dori turned back to the young student at the door. “Rael, you're dismissed.” The boy nodded, and left them alone.

Dori moved past Luca, glancing only briefly at Emila. “Allma and Tranom are probably waiting for us. Let's go.”

<> <> <>

Luca and Emila stood in the centre of the room, while Dori, Tranom, and Allma sat in seats before them. Allma the third was a tall, imposing man with a trimmed grey beard. He had watched Luca warily as they entered, and the introductions and mentioning of his father provoked no reaction from him. Eventually, Luca was asked to present his father's sword, to prove he truly was Lodin's son. He did this, and Allma and Dori both looked over the blade and nodded.

“As sharp and smooth as when I last saw it,” Allma said as he held the blade up and examined it under the light of the overhanging lantern. “You've kept your father's blade in perfect condition.”

Dori stepped forward and took the blade from Allma. “The test was hardly necessary, though. I could tell who he was the moment I saw him.”

“You knew my father well?” Luca asked.

“I trained him for four years,” Dori replied, his eyes distant. “So yeah, I think I knew a thing or two about him.”

“Then you can tell me why he sent me to you,” Luca said. “The only advice he ever gave me should he be killed was to come here and speak to you.”

Dori grew quiet for a moment, staring at the sword which he held in his small hands. He ran a finger over the edge of the blade, drawing no blood in spite of its sharpness. He frowned, and finally shrugged.

“Dunno,” he muttered. “I guess it was to point you in the right direction.”

Dori went to Luca and handed him back Lodin's sword. There was a sense of something greater in that simple action - something unspoken between Dori, the sword of his dead student, and the student's son. Perhaps it was Dori's way of saying goodbye to his closest friend. Wordlessly, Luca returned the blade to the sheath at his side, and Dori returned to his seat, looking weary and aged.

Luca was silent, giving no indication of his frustration. He wasn't sure what it was he had been expecting from his father's old master, but he'd thought he'd get more than a shrug. Perhaps a few answers at the very least, like who Zinoro was, and why he had been after Lodin.

“So Lodin is dead,” Allma said quietly. “And at the hand of Zinoro, according to Tranom.”

“That's right,” Luca affirmed.

Allma sighed, also looking weary from the news. “As his son, you have the right to know why this has happened. What do you know of Zinoro?”

Ah. It would seem he was to get his answers after all.

“I know he is Acarian,” Luca said. “I know he holds some rank among them. And I know he wields one of the nine fragments of Rixeor. Other than that, I know nothing about him.”

Dori, Allma, and Tranom exchanged glances. Emila stepped up from the back of the room and stared at Luca incredulously.

“Luca,” Emila said to him. “You really don't know who Zinoro is?”

He returned her stare, unsure what to say.

“Zinoro is the leader of the Acarian nation,” Tranom explained. “Or what remains of it, anyway. He inherited the rule from his father, Manorith.”

“Manorith...” Luca repeated. “That name I certainly know. He was the one who led the invasion of Sono twenty years ago.”

“Indeed,” Tranom said. “Acaria was, before then, a prosperous and peaceful nation. But they were struck by a plague that left their land devastated. Green fields turned to deserts. Food was in short supply. At this time, Manorith was just beginning his tenure as the king of Acaria. His people, in their desperation, demanded a solution to the troubles of the kingdom. Manorith provided them with one: the invasion of Sono.”

“And it would have succeeded, too,” Dori said, sitting up. “Manorith had superior numbers compared to Sono, which was emerging from a period peace and ease. But Manorith's mind was not one inclined for mass warfare. He made a number of foolish mistakes that cost him an easy victory.”

“Torachi and Saeticia offered their aid to Sono, but it was not necessary,” Tranom continued. “We went there and supplied a number of our skilled students, but even our help made little difference. Sono had all but beaten Acaria before we even arrived, They tried to flee over the mountains back to Acaria, but they had started a conflict, and Sono would not let them get away after that. The Acarian army was crushed, wiping out a large percentage of the already diminishing land. Taking into account the plague that was still ravaging the Acarian homeland, and the population was reduced to a mere fragment of what it once was. These days, it is rare to find an entire family of Acarians.”

“So what does this have to do with my father?” Luca asked. “Why would Zinoro go after him?”

“I was just finishing training Lodin when the war broke out,” Dori said. “Torachi was sending their own forces to aid Sono, and they paid the temple to lend its skilled fighters. Your father and I were among those who went. But by the time we got to Sono, things were starting to wrap up. The Acarians were scattered, and the large scale battles were reduced to manhunts of small squads of Acarian troops.”

Dori took a deep breath before continuing.

“Publicly, the credit for the death of Manorith went to Zaow, the king of Sono,” Dori said in a cold voice. “It was actually your father who found and killed him.”

Emila's eyes went wide and she looked back and forth from Dori to Luca. “You're not serious... It was actually Luca's father who killed the king of Acaria?”

Dori nodded. “I wasn't there at the time, so I don't know how it happened exactly. All I have are secondhand accounts. Lodin's squad was patrolling the base of the Acarian mountain range, and Lodin stumbled across a cave where a group of Acarians were camped for the night. That group was Manorith and several of his men who had fled with him. Lodin's squad attacked them without realising who was there. One of the Acarians fled the cave, and Lodin pursued him. Half an hour passed before Lodin returned, carrying the helmet of the Acarian king.”

Luca looked down at the ground, silently pondering this story.

“Only one of the Acarians managed to escape that battle,” Dori said. “No doubt he returned to Acarienthia and told the queen what had happened.”

“And her fifteen year old son,” Tranom added quietly. “Who later assumed the throne.”

Silence settled over the stone chamber. Allma and Dori were both staring away, expressions of sorrow and regret upon their faces. Emila had retreated back into the rear of the chamber, as quiet as a mouse.

“So my father killed Zinoro's father,” Luca affirmed. “And thus, Zinoro came after him in vengeance.”

“I often told Lodin to deal with Zinoro before it became a problem,” Dori muttered. “But he regretted what happened with Manorith. The guilt was too much for him. He became a shadow of his former self, and he swore never to kill another man.”

“That's why he refused to fight back when Zinoro attacked him,” Luca muttered. “He just sat there, lost in his own guilt. All those years of travel - I always knew we were running. He never told me who it was he fled from. And when his past finally caught up with him...” His voice grew more quiet with each word - by the end he spoke in a whisper.

Several moments passed in silence.

“Well, now you know what happened,” Allma said. “You came here and spoke with Dori. Your obligations to your father are fulfilled. You are free to do whatever you wish. You can leave, or you can stay here. The truth of Manorith's death is known among us, and your father is respected for it. The debts we owe him belong to his kin.”

Allma rose from his seat and walked out. Dori watched Allma leave with a strange look in his eye. Once the old man was gone, he turned to Luca and Emila. “So, what are you going to do?”

Luca glanced at Emila. “That is up to my companion. I am bound to her, and where she goes, I must go. I cannot ask her to stay, as I already owe her for accompanying me here in the first place.”

Emila blinked, then she shrugged passively. “I have nowhere I wish to be. If you want to stay here, I have no objections.”

Luca turned back to Dori. “In that case, I wish to stay here and prepare for the next phase in my plan.”

Tranom joined them. “And what plan is that?”

“The death of Zinoro,” Luca said quietly.

<> <> <>

“Can you train me?” Luca asked Dori as they emerged from the sanctum. “The way you trained my father?”

“If you survived an encounter with Zinoro, I doubt you need my training to begin with,” Dori chuckled. “Rather, it is not a lack of skills that separates you from Zinoro, but simply that he carries a weapon that you cannot hope to match.”

“A Rixeor fragment,” he said. “Do they really grant such power?”

“Not quite,” Dori replied as they walked. “Rather, they draw out the strongest part of the wielder and remove its inherent limitations. Zinoro is most likely filled with great hatred and anger. The Rixeor fragment amplifies this and turns his emotion into mana power. That is how he has such physical power. Trying to match that would be a waste of your time.”

“Then how can I fight him?”

Dori frowned, searching for the right words. “Find your own strength. That is how you overcome an enemy like Zinoro. Not with gimmicks like a Rixeor blade. You might think you need to find one, but you don't. You already have what you need to fight him. You just need to learn how to use it.”