Chapter 27 - Part 4

Haiden ran through the tight dark tunnels that connected the rooms of the Training pit. He followed the tug on the string that attached him and his memories together like an unbreakable bond ready to be re-discovered. It vibrated as it moved, he could feel it closing in.

It's so close! Scratch squirmed with eagerness in his mind. Feeling the creature urging him to move faster.

Haiden weaved through the servants that were caught off guard by a Wielder running through the cramped ways. They froze, hoping not to insult the Wielder by accident, his face obstructed by the darkness they couldn't tell he was one of the contenders of the Trials. He took a sharp left up the next stairway to the surface. As he approached the exit light blinded him as he broke through the darkness. He was out of breath, and stopped to look around.

There were many people on the Academy grounds that came for the show. The string that connected to his chest pulled, it moved through the crowd. He ran after, pushing and elbowing his way through the sea of people, making his way closer and closer. The tug was so strong it almost pulled him off his feet.

It was now so close he could feel it burn as it begged viciously for Haiden to be reconnected with what he had lost, or rather, taken away from him. The moment he broke through the crowd the familiar face was easy to spot. He stood a head taller than anyone there. In his black cloak with green trimming, and dark fitted breeches and tunic in pristine condition, not even one stray fold in his attire; just like the first day he woke up in the Sanctuary. He stuck out like a sore thumb among the crowd with his handsome and clean features.

Haiden approached cautiously, his heart pounding right out of his chest and blood rushing to his head. Screech too was agitated as he closed in. The singeing rage he had felt moments ago began to melt away the closer he got. The man was waiting in line for some fried sweet buns at a makeshift stall lazily installed by a merchant that saw the Academy's opening to the public as a great opportunity for a quick buck.

Memories of Danil trying to teach Haiden how to write and read, bringing him books, laughing together, eating together flashed through his mind. Haiden could now smell the sweet warm notes of holywood where he kept his clothes in, he couldn't bring himself to do anything but stare intensely at the man, with his heart in his throat and his eyes trickling with frustration and confusion.

"I see you're eating better now." Danil startled Haiden. "Two please." hois turn to order came fast and paid, grabbing the two buns with both of his hands. The man turned around and gave Haiden a wide smile. "Here." He handed one to the young Wielder.

"What are you doing here?" Haiden asked, his voice was haggard and his brows darkened with pain, the bond was searing hot and pulsated in his chest. It pulled at him and punished Haiden for resisting.

"Ah...complicated." He repeated himself with a thoughtful expression. "Let us converse in a more...private place." Danil began and Haidend led the man towards the Garden that were off limits to the common folk, as they moved through the crowd Haiden kept looking back making sure the man did no run away, however the apparent presence of the bond that he shared with his taken memories would never let Haiden loose Danil even through a sea of people. Luckily with Wielder and servant watching the Trials no one was around.

"I'm glad to see you, Haiden."

"Don't fuck with me, old man!" Haiden screamed. "I have a lot of questions for you, and you better answer truthfully or..." he threatened.

"Or what?" Danil taunted. "Throw a handful of sparks at me?"

"Don't push me, old man." Haiden clenched his jaw so tight his teeth grinded audibly. "Answer me! Who are you, really?"

Danil remained calm although he saw the air shimmer with Haiden's power. "I am Danil,"

"Lies!" Haiden cried. "You lied to me, and you took them!" Haiden couldn't control himself any longer, the mixed emotions were bubbling to the surface. This man had shown Haiden he can be more than his mistakes, yet here he was, with his stolen memories stowed away somewhere, ready to lie again. A powerful force blast escaped Haiden at great speeds hurtling towards Danil. The blast was blocked by a barrier that was raised so fast Haiden didn't even register the Fios. It tore through the ground around it, throwing dirt, stones, and innocent shrubs and flowers feet into the air. They weren't well away from others for them to not hear, but hoped they were too busy with the Trials and that the two current Ashen fighters were giving them a good show.

"I see you learned a new trick. Is that all you got?" He was unphased, did not even blink from Haiden's attack."I didn't take anything." He brought both of his hands in view showing them empty. Infuriated, the young wielder prepared another attack but Danil quickly stopped him. "Listen, I'm not here to fight." Haiden stalled his next spell. "My name really is Danil, you can believe it or not, it's up to you." He touched the brown stone around his neck. "We had some good fun at the Sanctuary, didn't we." He looked at Haiden with melancholic eyes, lips slightly turning to a smile. "Remember when we made paper boats and raced on the lake. You had a really hard time externalizing your power so we'd race from dusk till dawn pushing the boats with Fios. Or that time that fat sister caught us stealing a few extra slices of cheese and chased us with a broom, she threw a few fireballs at us for good measure too. They couldn't wait to get rid of us, did they?" Danil laughed.

"I remember..." Haiden said under his breath. He squeezed his eyes shut, he didn't want to listen to Danil talk about precious memories he held dear for so long. It hurt too much.

He has them! THIEF! Screech screamed in his mind along with the pain of the bond brought him back to the present.

"I think my favorite was when you set fire to that old bat's robes, accidentally of course." Danil's chuckled brought back even more memories. "I hope you haven't' done anything mischievous at the Academy and treated these nice people well." Danil wiggled a finger at Haiden.

"Enough! I'm not here to play nice and play at being friends!" Haiden screamed, tears began to flow on his cheek, the pain was getting unbearable, his knees felt like buckling beneath his own weight. "I know you took them! I know you stole my memories, Danil! You liar! Why?" Haiden clutched his fists, his heart pounding throughout his body.

Danil couldn't look the young wielder in the eye. His face was one of regret and shame, his faint smile erased instantly from his face and was replaced by thin lips that were very uncharacteristically to the man. He took a deep breath and sighed just as long. "Creators. So, you really are an empath I see." He said under his breath. "I had my suspicions back when I was preparing you for the Academy so I removed the Ashen crystals some time ago."

His neck! They're there! It's burning us! Scratch directed Haiden's attention at the brown stone that wrapped around neatly in silver wiring that Danil was wearing around his neck. His face began to burn brightly red as the pain was too much.

"Give them back!" Haiden called out, the pain was apparent in his voice. His knees finally gave in and collapsed on the ground.

Danil closed his eyes, looking away, his heart tightened. He hated seeing Haiden in so much pain. As much as he wanted to be the emotionless agent he claimed himself to be, he couldn't help but care for the young man that sat before him. "Haiden," he said softly with a sigh. "I saw so many wondrous things as of late, this past cycle. You wouldn't believe me if I showed you with a bonding stone. It made me reconsider a lot of my past decisions. As many bad decisions as there were, one stood out more than the rest, haunting me every single day."

"I don't care about your fucking regrets or how bad you feel! Give them back! Now!" Haiden called as he grabbed his chest and squirmed on the ground.

Danil sighed heavily. "I believe the Creators have a great plan for you, and this, this is not it." He shook his head and began approaching the young wielder. With each pain Haiden groaned as the searing pain intensified.

"It hurts so bad." Haiden managed to say as he convulsed. Screech went silent but he felt the poor creature writhing in pain along with him. They were eternally connected afterall.

"I know, I know, Haiden. It will be over now." Danil crouched down and touched Haiden's cheek. His hand dwarfed his face, making him look like a child. "The stubble doesn't suit you." With his other hand he ripped the brown stone from around his neck and pressed it to Haiden's forehead.

The cool sensation was instantly calming. It made Haiden gasp with relief from pain. For a few moments consciousness flowed in and out of Haiden only seeing Dani's face every time he opened his eyes until he could keep them fully open. The pain was all gone along with the sensation of being pulled towards something. Screech had finally settled but was still silent.

He looked up to see Danil's smiling face. He really was incredibly handsome when he smiled.

"How is that? Much better?" He asked and Haiden nodded, unsure what to say. "Thank Creators." He breathed in relief and collapsed on his behind alongside Haiden, dust gathering over his black attire. He looked at the clear skies and murmured a prayer then made a half circle and touched his heart. His eyes turned back at Haiden, a serious look over took the smile. "We don't have much time, Haiden. The two Ashen should have already finished their fight. You have to hurry." He got up pulling Haiden along with him. "The memories, you have them all back but they will come back gradually at unexpected times. You need to block all of them until you're ready, Haiden. I know Rwoy followed the instructions in my letter and taught you how to lock away things that... things that hold us back. You need to use that technique now and release them only when you're ready and safe. You understand?"

Haiden reached a hand over his heart, something had changed, a feeling of uneasiness flowed within as Danil words registered in his mind. "I understand."

"Good, now is the best time to do it, and quick. A great battle awaits you and you cannot afford any distractions. Now go, you're probably already late." Danil pushed Haiden towards the garden gates.

Haiden looked over his shoulder. "Thank you." he said and began running to the training pit.

------

"Where is Danil?" Ad'hm asked looking around at the faces of everyone around them.

"He said he wanted to grab something to eat from the local vendors." A guard nearby answered.

"Oh, that little fucker. He didn't even ask if I wanted some!" Ad'hm pouted.

"No need, you have the finest food in the Empire right here." Ryel replied. "Made by my own personal chef Rubert no less." He began stuffing roasted meat into his face.

"Thank you, your Imperial Majesty. I am honored and delighted." He lied. While the chef was the very best in the Empire, Ad'hm couldn't agree with the food that was overly saturated with salt that the Emperor enjoyed. He wondered if the man even had taste buds, as he tried his best not to gag as he ate a mouthful of meat. He couldn't say no to an invitation from the Emperor after all.

"Good, no?"

"Exquisite, your grace. I could not expect less from your personal chef." Ad'hm lied again.

"It's a recipe the skillful Rubert and I developed together."

"No wonder, your Imperial Majesty. I have never tasted anything like this." Ad'hm moved to food around trying to make it seem like he was enjoying it and moaned as he took another dreadful bite.

"Creators! When will this boring fight end." Ryel sighed. "I wish I could have them killed just for being so...bland. One of them stabs, the other dodges, an endless silly dance."

"You can, your grace. If you give the word my men will execute both." the security officer quickly replied.

"No need...um...." Ryel looked at the man and motioned with his hand to tell him his name.

"Chester, your grace." The man bowed his head. Ad'hm tried to stifle a laugh but was not successful.

"No need, Chester. I don't want Helena to give me a dirty look, besides It looks like one of them will lose soon. Look, he tripped over his own feet. What a buffoon." Emperor Ryel laughed as he pointed at the unfortunate soul that was being battered on the ground by a fellow Ashen.

The moment the man lost consciousness his opponent pushed him outside of the arena. Ad'hm followed a few people dressed in all white that hurried to the wounded man and levitated him towards the wounded tent. Just outside the tent's entrance sat Master Coner waiting for his next patient.

"It can't be..." He whispered to himself.

"What?" Emperor Ryel followed his gaze to the tent. "I know... If it were for me I'd leave the weak to die, but we can't afford to lose Ashen so frivolously." Ryek shook his head.

"No, your grace. That man, there." Ad'hm pointed to Master Coner. "I can't believe that bastard is alive... Creators..." Ad'hm came to a sudden realization.

"Well? Are you going to explain yourself or should we play the guessing game." Ryel became aggravated.

"Your Imperial Majesty," Ad'hm began as he bowed his head. "that man over there caused a great commotion in Red Keep over a decade ago. At that time I had just joined the Royal Guards from the first regiment that pushed into the west borders into Tharst, and I was being assigned all the petty jobs among which was one about a series of disappearances in the lower levels. No one wanted that one, so naturally it fell on the new guards like myself. I wasn't -"

"Yeah, yeah, get to the point, Ad'hm." Ryel rolled his eyes and sighed. "I don't have all day and the next fight will start soon."

"Yes your Imperial Majesty. The man kidnapped people of lower standing thinking no one will bat an eye. He did crazy experiments on them, Creators give them peace. What we found were no longer human, your grace. Creatures that resembled the Neva were found dead. Some had human-like faces, yes, but others were completely unrecognizable. We caught him before we could continue his atrocious acts. I remember that day in the interrogation room, your Imperial Majesty. That man is no human, he is a monster. I saw the pleasure in face as he told us how he massacred and tortured those poor people that had the misfortune to stray on his path of destruction. He claimed that he was bringing them closer to the Creators, turning them into living gods. He is as insane as they come, your grace."

"How is he here, then, Ad'hm?" Ryel asked, watching the man healing the wounded Ashen through the opening in the tent. As if he had felt he was being watched, he pulled the flap on the tent shut. Ryel sighed and rolled his eyes.

"His actions warranted him being sent to Ga'vira, your grace." Ad'hm's face darkened. "The envoy that was charged to escort him there was found dead weeks later four days away from the destination, his body was never found. The prime suspect was the mentor he had mentioned but only by mistake, he never said a name or anything else. We had exhausted every trail as we tried to find them both." Ad'hm sighed deeply, he remembered all the deformed bodies stacked, piles of cadavers and the smell of death that lingered in the air, permeating the clothes. You couldn't wash it away, you had to burn them all. His eyes fluttered open and bulged, he took a double take at the tent as he remembered the report that Araya relayed last night. "Didn't Araya say that Councilman Ameral had gotten the creatures that Attacked Red Keep from a contact in Elo'yn, didn't she?"

"You're telling me that man over there is responsible for ruining my city" Ryel jumped from his seat, anger burning through him. "Seize him!" He ordered Chester.

"No!" Ad'hm jumped to stop the security officer by his cuff. "Your Imperial Majesty I beg of you, we mustn't rush, we can't charge in, he's a Master of the Elo'yn Academy and Headmistress Helena will defend him until her last breath without any evidence. But, I have no shred of doubt in my mind that he is capable of such atrocities."

"And what do you recommend us do, Ad'hm? Not only did that man might have created monsters that killed a few hundred people in Red Keep but also a traitor to the Empire! He aided conspirators trying to dethrone me! ME! EMPEROR RYEL! He shouted.

"I understand, your grace. But please, let us move carefully after the Trials."

Emperor Ryel sighed deeply. "Very well, my fight's about to begin anyways."