The Fight for Creation: Book 01 - Life Warrior (4 page)

• • •

Jon finally went to bed and tried to remember the young woman that had come to the fencing room and he couldn’t do it. What color did she have on? The harder he tried to recall her, the dimmer she became in his mind. Finally, he fell asleep and she was gone.

R
obert looked at Sarah and saw something was bothering her. “What’s wrong, my love?”

“Jon had his first fencing instruction today.”

Robert saw her expression, “And?”

“Turgk tells me that Jon is so far advanced that he can beat him.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Robert said, “Was the session recorded?”

Sarah pushed a button and the recording of the training began running on the wall display. “What was Juliette doing there?”

“She left the ship and requested some time to train with them.”

Robert watched the recording and paused it when they entered the sword room and Jon moved to the cutlass. He looked at Sarah and she said, “Turgk tells me that Jon says the cutlass drew him to it.” Robert started the recording again and watched the exercise. Finally he stopped it and looked at Sarah. She slowly leaned forward and said, “I don’t know what this means.”

Robert played the recording again and at the end sat back in his chair. “Does this bother you?”

“There’s something else.” Robert began to worry. Sarah said, “I talked with Jon about what happened and at the end I asked him what he thought about Juliette.”

“And?”

“He didn’t know who I was talking about. He didn’t remember anyone else being in the room with them.”

Robert rewound the recording to where Juliette thanked them for allowing her to participate and Jon nodded to her. “He’s looking at her.”

“I know. But he doesn’t remember her being present.”

“Do you think he’s being honest?”

Sarah turned and stared at Robert, “When has he ever been dishonest about anything. He’s honest to a fault.”

Robert thought a moment and said, “He’s pushed her out of his mind.”

“Why would he do that?”

“I have no idea.”

Sarah paused and said, “Do you see it like me?”

“He’s a warrior.”

Sarah sighed and said, “I was hoping that wasn’t his calling.”

“We’ll know for sure if he is before long.”

Sarah turned back to the display and said, “Robert, did you get a sense of his calling when you first saw him?”

Robert was silent.

She looked at him again, “Did you?”

Robert nodded.

“You know the Gardner’s cousin is in command over warrior training. If he takes that route, he could be the victim of court intrigue.”

“I’ll make sure he’s watched. I’ll do what I can.”

Sarah turned back to the display looking at the joy on her son’s face, “It may not be enough.”

Robert slowly shook his head and knew she was right.

• • •

Seventeen year old Tegen stood in front of the King’s throne and waited for the ceremony to begin. The eight hundred young Glod were gathered to display their skills with the two long swords before the King. The ceremony had been going on for three days and the King had been present for all the matches. Finally it was Tegen’s turn and his father put his hand on his shoulder, “I’m proud of you, Son.”

“Thank you, Father.” Tegen moved to the center of the floor and bowed to the King. He said, “Rise and begin your path into manhood.”

Tegen waited and no one came out on the floor to face him. Then he saw an older life warrior move out on the floor and say, “His opponent is not present. I am taking his place.”

The King said, “The participants are supposed to display their talents against each other.”

“All of the others have been paired up. I will take the place of his pairing.”

The King stared at the Warrior and saw the slight nod. He said, “You may begin.”

Tegen barely had time to raise his swords when the warrior charged in and aimed strikes at his chest. The room was stunned. Tegen parried the blows and moved away from the Warrior as he continued to attack. Tegen fought him off and saw that the swords of the Warrior didn’t have the protective covers used during the ceremony. The blades were bare and the Warrior was doing everything he could to kill him. As he moved away from the Warrior, he saw fifty Warriors surround the floor. The King stood and yelled, “STOP THIS NOW!”

Tegen’s father tried to move forward but was blocked by the circle of warriors. Tegen heard the Warrior say, “Your life is mine.”

Tegen saw his father stopped by the Warriors and saw that the King’s communication panel was inoperative. He continued to move away from the attacking giant and then he felt his anger. As he moved back he parried a blow by the advancing Warrior and slammed one of his swords on floor, breaking the protective cover. He used the bared blade to parry another blow and slammed the other sword on the floor breaking the cover off it as well.

Tegen then used both swords to parry every strike the Warrior used. He was not backing away any longer. He started striking at the Warrior who was forced to give ground. The Warrior’s expression changed from a sneer to a grimace. He began to realize that this was not a novice swordsman. He fought as hard as he could just to avoid being slashed by Tegen’s swords and after a minute both swords were knocked from his hands and Tegen had a point at his throat. The King walked forward and two Warriors blocked his path. He drew his two swords and cut the heads off the two Warriors and yelled, “You want to kill your king! The Warriors in the circle stared at the enraged monarch and the King cut three more heads off the Warriors in the line. “If you intend to defame this ceremony and bring shame to our people, you are going to have to kill me or submit.” Three more heads were removed. The Warriors put their swords on the ground and knelt.

The Warrior that had attempted to kill Tegen stood not daring to move with the sword at his throat and watched the enraged king move toward him. The King looked at the warrior and the warrior said, “He is not one of us,” just before the King took off his head.

A hundred armored Warriors rushed in and the king said, “Take these traitors away. Hold them for my questioning and justice.”

Word began to spread about the blasphemy of the Warriors that violated the ceremony of manhood. Tegen’s father looked at him and said, “For your safety, you should go and start your training.”

Tegen hugged Treg-Gee and said, “I’m sorry if I’ve brought you shame father.”

“You could never do that. You should go and find your destiny.”

Tegen nodded and left the room to pack.

The King asked, “Where did the initiate go?”

Treg-Gee said, “He’s gone home to pack. He’s going to start his Warrior training.”

The King slowly shook his head, “I’m sorry. I didn’t think they would do this.”

Treg-Gee looked at the King and said, “You thought they would make their attempt before he arrived.”

The King stared at the angry father, “Our people fear those that are unknown quantities.”

“You should know better than all of us that fears are what make us weak. My son deserved better than we have been given. You have tarnished yourself.”

The King watched Treg-Gee leave and went back to his throne. He pushed the button under the chair and pulled up a frequency. The King stared at the face and said, “We failed.” He watched the face show anger and then it was gone. He thought about a seventeen year old that had defeated the best swordsman on the planet and had not killed him. Something was not as he was told. He decided to call someone who might know the truth. Treg-Gee was right. He had soiled his legacy this day. He wondered if the Peers would replace him for his actions once it became known. He knew the Peers would learn the truth from the other participants. Before that happened, he was going to get to the truth.

• • •

“I’m leaving in the morning to report to the testing center.”

Dern said, “I’ll be joining you shortly. My family agrees that I should leave as well.”

Tegen said, “Are your elders frightened of you?”

“They are. The reporter that produced the article about our survival on a planet where every other person was killed has made many of my former friends nervous.”

Jon said, “The Admiral she interviewed said that there was no possible way for the invaders to have not sensed our presence.”

Tegen said, “Which makes everyone wonder if we are connected to the enemy in some way.”

Dern said, “Who was that Admiral?”

“He’s the one over the training facilities.”

“Oh crap.”

“I agree. We need to keep our guard up. I suspect we’ll be targeted.”

“Not like you Jon.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You are in the line for the throne and that Admiral’s cousin is the one that called you an imposter.”

“What are you talking about?”

Dern and Tegen linked and looked in Jon’s mind. “Where have your memories of the woman gone?”

Jon said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Dern said, “Jon, we’re going to link and show you what we saw.”

Jon felt the link and then saw the woman and Juliette. He was stunned. “None of this is real to me. Are you sure it happened?”

“We are.”

Jon thought a moment and then said, “I need the two of you to look at my mind and see if you can determine what happened.”

“Open your mind, Jon.”

Jon closed his eyes and felt his brothers go deep into his consciousness.

Three hours later Jon woke and felt his brother’s link. “Did you find out?”

“You’re not going to like it.”

“What do you mean, Dern?”

“The cutlass caused you to lose your memory of the woman and girl.”

“I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”

“We have learned something about us that we didn’t know before we looked in your mind. It appears that we can give a kind of life to inanimate objects.”

“Now you do have me confused.”

“Do you remember the music you heard when you felt the cutlass calling you?”

“I do.”

“Well, the cutlass didn’t cause that music; your mind did as it looked for something to bond with.” Jon said nothing.

Tegen said, “It was your bonding that was looking for that weapon and once you found it, the cutlass was bonded to you. It couldn’t continue in its new life if you had any interest in any other thing; or person.”

“Are you trying to tell me that cutlass drove the memory out?”

“Jon, when did you put the cutlass back on the wall?”

“A week ago.”

“As near as we can determine, the bond to that weapon lingered for twenty four hours. After that, the connection was broken.”

Jon thought hard and remembered the feeling of holding the cutlass in his hand. It was like it was an extension of his body. He looked at the memory of the woman and her daughter and then after a moment, the memories came crashing in. He held his head with both hands and then shook his head. He examined the memory and said, “I was attracted to her.”

Dern said, “The cutlass knew that for it to function properly there could be no distractions. It pushed her out so you could focus.”

Jon thought about what they were saying, “Have either one of you had this happen?”

“You know our talents lie elsewhere. You are the weapons master.”

Jon continued to think about what happened and was snapped back into the present when Tegen said, “You are the one that they will attempt to kill first.”

Jon focused and said, “I’m the one that represents the largest threat.”

Dern said, “You are in line for the throne.”

“I don’t want it. I’ll abdicate before I take it.”

Jon waited for his brothers to agree but they were silent. Jon waited and then said, “Dern?”

“I’m not sure, Jon.”

“What do you sense?”

“You’re in the line for a reason. I can’t determine if you should accept it….yet.”

“So announcing my refusal to participate in the secession at this point could be detrimental to us.”

“That’s what I sense.”

“Tegen, have you come to any realizations out of this?”

“Yes I have.”

Both Jon and Dern were surprised at the statement. Tegen’s talents didn’t lie in making revelations. He only added power to their minds to see things. “What?”

“The cutlass makes me believe that there are weapons out there somewhere waiting for us to come and take them.”

Jon and Dern thought about his statement and Dern said, “He’s right.”

Jon said, “We’re going to have to come close to them to find them.”

“I see that, Jon; but for the moment we have to survive training.”

Jon smiled, “There is that. I’ll contact you later; I need some time to process what all this means.”

“Good night, Jon.”

• • •

Vremel prepared to attack the approaching fleets. His warriors were ready and the White Warriors were ready to hit them as they moved in on the planet. Then he heard, “Do you have a moment?”

“Only a moment.”

“I can see that; you should know there was an attempted assassination of one of the three survivors.”

“Which one?”

“The Glod.”

“Did you cause that reporter to write that story?”

“No, that was Lady Cassandra Gardner’s doing.”

“She doesn’t want the human survivor to be in line to the throne.”

“I’m not sure I do either.”

“That’s why I asked if you did it.” Vremel looked out at the incoming fleets and said, “What if these three are here to save us?”

“What do you mean?”

“The Royal Family is no longer psychic. We don’t have anyone to fly the psychic ships. Is there a reason the creative force has ended the psychic force we once had?”

The Cat was silent and said, “She didn’t end it. We still have it.”

“But not the ones that can fly the ships.”

“There are none that possess the necessary attributes.”

“Perhaps the problem has been seen by another that wants to help. I know this; we’re not winning. The best we can do is a standoff.”

The Cat thought, “There is no way for us to know what to do.”

“You should think long and hard before you allow them to be harmed. Now if you’ll excuse me; I have a planet to save.”