"So you are telling us that you failed in your mission to bring the Terra Clan's son to us!!" Barren said, almost yelling. Though his face was hidden behind his flaming red mask, I could imagine that boiling face behind it.
"I provide my humble apologies for the mistake, sir. But if you wish, I may explain my reason-" I repented but was cut short by Barren's angry voice.
"Apologies! You think these can help you escape the ruckus you have caused. Do you have any idea that the mistake you have made has let us lose our biggest chance to win." He declared. He got down from the seat and walked towards me. I knew what was coming.
He kicked me on my stomach. I coughed hard, with drips of saliva escaping my mouth. I lay on the floor due to the sudden blow. But Barren kept on kicking me.
"Let's not get this too far." I heard a feminine voice say. Barren stopped and turned around. I looked up as well. It was Crys. She was another sorcerer in the League of Order. Her magic power and rank were greater than Barren in the League and Barren acknowledged this fact too.
"But madam, this guy had destroyed our best chance to win a good bargain. He should be punished severely." Barren protested. Crys gave him a glare and that was enough to silence Barren childish demands.
"The decision to punish him or not will be taken by Lord Alter. You must not forget your boundaries. Understood!" She replied in a firm voice. Her one command was enough to bring down Barren from the clouds of the sky to the dirt of the Earth.
"Yes, ma'am." He replied obediently. Crys looked at me, her eyes deadly serious. She was a beautiful woman with uniquely purple hair and some dark blue eyes, while her face was beneath a silver-shiny mask. She was a serious and straight-forward woman, contrasting the typical idea people have for women.
"You are dismissed. You 'll call again when the next meeting occurs." She said. I got up with difficulty and walked slowly towards her. I bowed both for respect and gratitude.
"You may leave." She said.
I got out of the tent. We used tents for temporary shelters. But the division of the tents were based on your ranks. Outside, someone seemed to be waiting for me by the trunk of an oak tree. It was Raven. Raven was another female sorcerer in the League with a rank a bit higher than mine but she was immune from the ego and arrogance from which most powerful sorcerers were poisoned. She was a few years older than me too, I suppose. Actually, I never dared to ask such a question from her. She was tall with straight black hairs and from the pink mask she wore, her hazel eyes peek like buds.
"You took hell of a time, you know. My legs were starting to hurt." She announced. I gave her a fake smile, hiding those pieces of pain I had experienced earlier but she still sensed it.
"Did something happen??" She asked, her voice showing a bit of worry.
"Nothing much. Just a few kicks from Lord Barren." I told her.
"That Asshole!!"
"Hey, hey keep it down. Someone might hear you." I whispered. She rolled her eyes and walked away from the tent and I followed her.
"Where are you going? " I asked.
"Just away to find some peace. Wan'na follow me." She said. I nodded
We wandered for a few minutes in silence. These were the outskirts of the Terra Clan, near the Land of the Earth Giants. There wasn't much greenery here. The place was covered with dry trees and lifeless rocky land for miles. I don't know why but this place kind of resonates with the emptiness of my heart. Whenever I was walking here in silence, it just reminded me of Ryker. I often smiled at our beautiful childhood memories, and often cried at how I had destroyed everything. But this time...this time..I had really crossed the line, I had hurt Ryker. I HAD HURT HIM!! How could I do that to him?? How could I hurt the person I love? 'You dare say that you love him after what you have done.." A voice said it from inside me. I just want to cut off this hand of mine which had dared to hurt Ryker. I am just so disgusted with what I have done...I just...just want to kill myself.
"By the way, when are you going to tell me how someone as skilled as you failed in this mission??" Raven asked.
"Well It 's kind of complicated because I can't describe what happened. Well, I did find the Clan Leader's son and I even attacked him with my bony arrows but-" I started.
"But??"
"But there was another creature who pushed him out of the arrows trajectory and took one himself. That kind of surprised me but what surprised me even more was that after running a few metres from me, they just disappeared...vanished in thin air. I am not even sure that the creature was an Elf."
"You sure it wasn't any spirit transformation technique??" She interrogated me.
"Yes I am sure because I never sensed any kind of elemental magic from anywhere. It was really weird." I explained.
"Any mystic beast?" She suggested. I shrugged.
"Maybe....but I had seen one like him. He was quite a short one to be precise." I added.
There were just two things that I didn't mention in my story. First was obviously the Ryker part. Though I trusted Raven, I didn't want to pull Ryker into any of this. This was the main reason I joined the League of Order. I didn't want Ryker to have the same end as my parents. I want him to live freely. Be who he was. The League promised us Soul Manipulators that if we support them to overthrow the Elf King, we would be granted the freedom we deserve.
"You know, there is one more thing. When that short guy pushed off the Leader's son...it kind of...it kind of touched my heart." I added. To be honest, he reminded me of the smaller version of Ryker who always tried to keep me safe. At that moment, an impulse of his smiling face flashed in my mind. The face I left in the forest, hurt and dirty with blood. I just couldn't bear that face. Ryker was everything I had to call my own....how could I hurt him? Why did I hurt him? Did I not love him? I did and I will, till the day I die and maybe even beyond that. Then why??There was no answer to that. But one thing was certain that Ryker loved me the same, even after all this. And you know what, that hurts even more..
"Did he remind you of your love?" She said and I was taken back by this sudden remark.
"Wait! How do you....?"
"Ohh!! Do you really think I wouldn't notice that dreamy look on your face whenever you are alone. People in love are not that hard to distinguish. Love can really twist them in strange ways. It drives them to provide their loved ones with everything in a better way. Some may try to change themselves while some may try to change the world around them. And in your case, it's the latter. " She said.
"Does anyone else....?" I whispered in question.
"Don't worry kid. Most people here are not interested in someone like you. But don't take that as a compliment and neither as an insult." She told me. I smiled slightly at her. Then we turned back and continued our walk back to the tents. It might be the time of the Upper Meet of the League. During our quiet walk Raven said something that shook my belief to the core.
"Aven, I understand that whatever you are doing, you are doing it for the better of your people and the one you love but..but while you are trying to change this world you are also changing the person you are. The one that your lover loves is dying inside you. In the end, you might not be the same person you once were. Life like this, will eventually degrade the humanity inside you, including your love. Can you risk it all for this world??"she said. And without me realising it, I got the answer which I was searching for. It wasn't me who hurt Ryker. It was a new side of me. The one I didn't know. The one that was capable of hurting anyone, even...even Ryker. I didn't reply to anything, I did not have any.
At the Upper Meet, there were three sorcerers sitting at a round table. Barren with his usual fuming eyes and Crys with her stern look was present there. In the centre of the table, sat the most powerful sorcerers I had ever seen in my life. It was the Great Lord Alter. He wore a purple mask over his face. His hairs were black with highlights of purple in the end and his skin was dead pale. I had never witnessed his face but I assume that it would be as divine as his presence.
"Aven, we are here to judge the failure you had over your last mission and declare your atonement. I hope you are ready for the trial." Crys announced.
"Yes, my lady. I am prepared." I said bowing my head while my knees kissed the ground.
"We would like to hear your part of the story." Crys said. And I told them everything apart from the two things I didn't tell Raven before.
"You think a story like that will save you!" Barren interrupted, his voice a little loud.
"You dare raise your voice in my presence." I heard a deep voice say. The voice had an authority in it and it shivered me to my bones. I felt bound to lower my head while trying to stop even my heartbeat from making any noise. A cold silence enveloped the room. None dared to utter a word.
"Soldier, I am giving you one more chance. If you fail, it will not end well for you. I have been informed that the Clan leader is planning to let his children leave for the Flora Clan while he himself will be covered with ultimate security of the clan. This will be our last chance of bargaining with the Clan. I will send a subordinate with you to lead the way." He declared.
"You two will accompany him too. I have a feeling that the Clan leader might be present there himself after the last attack." He continued.
"As you wish, my lord!!" Both Barren and Crys bowed in synchronisation.
"And you soldier, you can take any other sorcerer with you if you need. I also want you to bring both the Clan Leader's son and that short guy to me. I wish to meet them. And remember this is not a request!!" He further added, his voice speaking directly to my blood.
"Yes, my lord." I bowed. 'The Clan Leader's son and that short guy.' I said in my thoughts.