Enmity of Atlas

They charged, Walibeld purposefully matching Trenton’s pace so as to not completely overwhelm him. And, for the first time, Trenton actually managed to hold his own. As Walibeld came at him, a flurry of quick slashes and thrusts at different points on his body, Trenton had no issue knocking aside the blows aimed towards his center, dodging or sidestepping ones towards the edge. The hammer was too heavy to match the speed of the longsword, but he didn’t need to. Trenton, now with a weapon much greater than the one Walibeld held, commanded much greater authority over the battlefield. As he swung at Walibled, using his momentum to bash against Walibelds guard in a series of clean strikes, he was able to push him back, Walibeld back peddling some couple dozen feet. Trenton followed, hammer held to the side. They engaged again, their weapons meeting in a beautiful dance of death, Trenton’s wide sweeping strikes forcing Walbeld to skirt around his fringes, making stray cuts wherever he could find an opening.

Walibeld moved in, making a risky stab right at Trenton’s core. In response, Trenton overturned his hammer, using the intersection between the handle and head to trap Walibeld’s blade, slamming both of them to the ground off to the side. Not expecting this, Walibeld’s entire body lurched, his right arm following down with his blade. Trenton, using the momentum from the sudden left movement, turned his body, kicking Walibeld’s side with enough force to send him sliding back ten feet. Trenton wasn’t just fighting. He was thriving. He was feeling a rhythm unlike anything he’d ever known. As Walibeld recovered, guarding himself against possible attacks, Trenton picked up the hammer, hoisting it high overhead, and slammed it down, piercing the earth in one great blow. Using his force as a conduit, Trenton summoned a massive hoard of energy to infest the earth, bringing alive with his will and commanding a sizable wave of shifting earth spikes to launch at Walibeld, which he sidestepped quite easily, his sword now limp at his side.

“Yes! Perfect! That was the finest fighting I’ve ever seen from you. I can’t believe I wasn’t willing to even try this years ago. It certainly would’ve saved me a lot of headache. Come, let’s keep going,” Walibeld exclaimed, a rare smile on his face.

For the next hour or so, Trenton and Walibeld fought, Walibeld shouting out pointers and moves for Trenton to try as they did. For Trenton, it was akin to a grand reawakening, like he had just found something he always had within him, but never knew how to use. On top of that, using the hammer, he was able to cast spells easily twice as large as he’d normally be able to. Although, when Walibeld decided they were done, Trenton was still bleeding, sore, sweaty, and generally not feeling great. It seemed he still had a physical limit to his casting. Not to mention he couldn’t hope to keep up with Walibelds incredible stamina. At least Walibeld didn’t see fit to just lay him out when they were done anymore. The point felt a little moot now.

They headed back to camp, Trenton stopping by a close stream, with a light mote in hand, to wash off before sleeping, his hammer stowed away in his invisible pocket. It was comforting to have a weapon ready, especially when there could be danger lurking anywhere. As he rubbed his sore body and open wounds with the cool stream water, he took time to appreciate what he still had. Sure, he’d lost practically everything, but having Leo and Walibeld with him meant the world and beyond. Their company, even simple, was something he had to remember he always had.

“Hey, Trenton,” Leo shouted out from behind him, coming out of the tree line to sit next to him by the stream, “Walibeld said I should wash out my wounds,” Leo said, hesitating for a moment before continuing, “well, that and I wanted to talk to you about something,” Leo’s face was downtrodden

“Sure, what is it?” Trenton asked, patting the ground next to him.

“Well…it’s just…how? How do you do it? Back when we were fighting the crawlers, I was just so…terrified. I thought I had been training for this, training my whole life for this, but the second I actually saw danger, I panicked. The same thing happened back in Aria. I’m only still alive by sheer luck. But, then I saw how you were fighting, bold and brave like you were born to do it, and it made me all confused. I tried to lift my sword, but my arm wouldn’t budge. I tried to cast, but nothing came. I wanted to fight, to do something, to actually help. But, I also couldn’t shake that feeling of dread,” he looked up at Trenton, tears welling in his eyes, “I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was going to die just like everyone else. That I would live Aria just to be killed at the first inconvenience. I felt so useless. So, I don’t get it…how do you fight?”

Trenton looked at him, thinking his answer over thoroughly before speaking, “I would hardly say you did nothing. You managed to kill a handful of crawlers without my help. Not to mention, that last one would have gotten me if you didn’t kill it. You saved my life back there,” Trenton said, smiling and slinging his arm around Leo, “and as far as I’m concerned, that’s the make of a hero right there,” he pointed at Leo’s chest. “You have so much potential within you, and such a great heart. You just need to find out how to use it when it counts. If it means anything, I believe in you, and I think Geren does, too.”

Leo wiped the tears from his eyes, smiling, “Thanks…it means a lot. Still though, how do you do it? I can’t imagine what goes through your head when you fight like that.”

“I don’t know. Something about the pressure just gets me going, I guess. It’s a make or break moment, and I’ll be damned if I break, if that makes any sense. So…will? I don’t think that really helps, but it’s hard to put it into words. If I had to label it as anything, it’s like this burning desire not to fail. More than my life counts on winning, so I feel this drive to make sure we come out on top no matter what. And, for me at least, that overwhelms my fear. It’s almost like I can’t afford to be afraid,” Trenton looked over at Leo, “does that help at all?”

“Not really, but I’ll think about it. I don’t think I can just will myself forward like you can, not yet, anyway. So, I’ll figure something out. Maybe I just need to find that spark that let me cast yesterday, whatever it was. Maybe that’s what I’m missing…or I need…something,” Leo said, pulling off his bandages, revealing deep, festering red wounds all across his body. Leo dunked his arms into the water, gently washing out the cuts with his hands.

“You’re bound to infect those cuts using plain river water. Did we have no treated water left?” Trenton said, eyeing Leo as he worked.

“Walibeld said it’d be fine either way. Said he has a salve to stall infection. Supposedly, there’s some wizards in Wyrm’s perch who should be able to clear the infection better than he can, some talented nature mages,” Leo replied, still looking down into the river.

Trentons head shot up. Sitting just before them, on the other side of the tiny stream, was a peculiarly dressed man, sitting cross legged. Somehow, Trenton didn’t feel anything through the earth, not even the slightest vibration. Did he teleport? No, Trenton would have felt the residuals if he did. Trenton took in the man’s odd figure, his peaceful demeanor almost unnerving. He was short, wrapped in fine pale blue cloths interwoven together to create a garment which hung loosely around his body. Atop his head, he had a simple straw hat, which slowly slanted back to a point. Hanging from the hat, oddly covering his face no matter which direction he seemed to turn, was a rectangular white veil with the number three printed across it in blue.

“Hello,” the man said simply, his voice scratching an itch somewhere in the back of Trenton’s mind. His voice sounded shallow, like it was completely devoid of emotion. It was also much younger sounding than Trenton expected, like that of a boy–someone around Trenton or Leo’s age. “Who are you?” Trenton asked, unnerved by the odd boy’s peaceful demeanor.

In response, the boy pointed to his mask, “I am many things, many names, but first and foremost–I am the third veil.”

“Third veil? What does that mean?” Leo asked.

“I cannot say. Or rather, I shouldn’t say. I’m already disobeying two’s orders by being here in the first place, but I think it’s important–for me–not you,” the boy said.

“What is it you’re here for, then?” Trenton asked, his eyes narrowing.

“To convince myself, perhaps. I am not your enemy today, but I will be one day. And when that day comes, I must be rid of the inhibitions within me. I cannot afford to hesitate. But…such is easier said than done. To disregard my mind, my emotion, is something I have never needed do before. At least, not to this extent,” the boy said.

“Enemy? You’re an enemy? Did you have a hand in Aria, then?” Trenton spat out, jumping to his feet.

“No. Not me, personally, nor any of my fold. That man who attacked you, I know from where he comes, but he does not listen to us. His allegiance is to another. In any case, that’s all. I merely wished to see you Trenton, Leo. We’ll meet again,” the boy said, rising to his feet.

Trenton tried to say something, but the words were lost on the wind. The spot the boy stood just moments prior was completely empty. He was just gone, like he had never been there at all. Magic? Again, it simply couldn’t be. What the hell was he?

Trenton slowly untensed his shoulders, coming to a semi-relaxed state, “Quickly finish and let’s head back to camp.”

Leo finished washing his body, and the two of them hastily made their way back to camp. When they got back, Walibeld was sitting there, staring into the fire.

“You alright?” Walibeld asked, his eyebrows knit together.

“Some weird kid showed up while we were washing, seemed no older than me or Leo. He was wearing this straw hat and a veil with the number three on it,” Trenton said, settling into his bed roll.

Walibeld lurched forward, his eye alight with an intensity Trenton had never seen before. With his back to the boys such that they couldn’t see, he once again opened his left eye, his voice reverberating through the small encampment, breathing a wild sense of life into the very air itself, “Find.”

Although he could not see it, he could feel it, the surge of energy radiating out from Walibeld in every direction. It bore into Trenton’s being, digging through his body, and wrapping itself around his beating core. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. The energy, not even directed at him, intertwined itself with the world so completely as to paralyze Trenton in place. This was something else entirely, a power beyond even imagination. After a minute of this, Trenton straining against the energy to no avail, Walibeld put his arms down, the sensation easing off of Trenton. Both he and Leo began gasping, desperate to fill their stunned lungs with air.

“What the hell was that!?” Leo choked out.

“He couldn’t have moved so far so quickly,” Walibeld said, ignoring Leo’s comment and turning to Trenton, “You’re absolutely certain of what you saw? You saw a man wearing a veil with a number printed on it?”

“I’m-” Trenton tried to say through his heavy breaths, “-certain. And when we finished talking, he just disappeared, like teleportation, but without magic. Why? Who was he?”

Walibeld did not answer, instead sitting down on his bed roll with a look of unrestrained fury, while muttering madly to himself. After a couple minutes, he looked up at Trenton and Leo again.

“The ten Guardians are an organization of independent fighters led by the Bulwark. They operate in a numbered system, the lower the number, the stronger they are, with the Bulwark himself being the first guardian. They seek to protect the land and quell whatever affairs would threaten the delicate balance of peace. The Veil is their opposite, in a sense. I don’t know what their goal is, but I’ve fought them in the past. They also operate on a number system, meaning that man, that boy you just met, I would consider to be one of the greatest warriors in existence. Very likely he could hold his own against any of the five kings. But they’ve been quiet for centuries, so I don’t know why they would come out of hiding now of all times,” he paused, looking up at Trenton. “This is bad. Things are much worse than I thought. If they’re on the move…did he say anything to you?”

“He said something about convincing himself that we were his enemy. In any case, he said the man who destroyed Aria wasn’t related to him, the veil. So, it sounds like multiple different groups are vying for my head,” Trenton said, almost feeling sick to his stomach at the thought.

“It’s too early to call anything, but it’s possible,” Walibeld sighed, loosening up a bit, “I couldn’t find him, so I’ll have to sit on my emotions, no matter how much I wish I could do something. Come here, Leo. I’ll see to your wounds before we sleep.”