As the midday sun stood high above the sky on the third day after their escape, Lynn had finally started to get used to moving through the treacherous underbrush of the Hollow Forest. He was still a bit clumsy when compared to Adan but if there was anything he had learnt over the past few days it was to never compare himself to Adan. At least not when it came to moving effortlessly through terrain.
The woman moved like a cat through the forest, every step measured and precise, every pause intentional. He knew that it was impossible for them to be alone in this forest given the likely massive pursuit Emberon had likely sent after them, but never once did he so much hear another human being nearby.
At first he had accounted it to Adan’s tracker abilities but it was one thing being able to pick up on people’s presence from a kilometer away but to avoid what had to be hundreds of people for days, that was something else.
He had actually woken up early one morning and noticed that Adan was missing. Before he had a chance to sit up and start looking for her, faint footsteps warned him that she was returning. For some reason he had decided to pretend to still be asleep.
Adan had walked up next to him, pausing by his side for a moment. She had leaded down, bringing her usual scent of wood and warm nuts with her. But that night there was also something else she smelt of-soot and iron. Blood.
Lynn had realized then that part of the reason they hadn’t run in to any pursuers was that Adan took care of them silently while he slept. It had hurt his pride at first, but after some reflection, he couldn’t help but feel touched. While not afraid of a fight, Lynn was not sure he was ready to face the damnation of the people who had been looking to him for salvation just days before quite yet. He wasn’t sure he ever would be.
Suddenly, a warm hand on his shoulder pushed Lynne out of his memories. Adan had stopped before him, one finger pushed to her soft lips as she stared at him with caution in her eyes. The message was clear.
They had company.
Without needing further urging, Lynn lowered his center of gravity and followed Adan up a nearby hill. Swirls of near-frozen water danced silently along his fingertips as they walked, ready to be launched in either attack or defense if need be.
They moved slowly, so as to not be heard, and by the time they reached the top of the hill, even Lynn could make out the faint sounds of hushed voices and careful movement. The last few meters were excruciatingly slow, but as the finally peaked over the boulders at the top of the hill, Lynn’s eyes widened in surprise.
Below the hill, in a clearing roughly twice the size of the main market area where he had first run into Adan, several tents were being set up. Quite a few people were working away in quiet discipline.
All of them were dark-skinned Sun Tribesmen.
Judging by the size of the camp, it would probably fit over a hundred people by the time they were done. Lynn assumed these were the forces Duke Kimba had managed to gather and was positively surprised by the size of it, given the short notice.
“Amatures.”
“Huh?” Lynn turned his head towards Adan at her whispered rebuttle.
She seemed a bit surprised she had heard him, possibly not intending to say anything out loud, but explained her reasoning either way.
“They are camping in way to open grounds,” she pointed out in a low voice, “and here we are, spying on all of them and they haven’t even noticed. The should at least have a outpost on this hill for observing their surroundings.”
“They might have Trackers like you,” Lynn countered. “Then they wouldn’t need guards.”
Adan paused, reflecting over it, but shook her head with a slight chuckle in the end.
“There are no other Trackers like me,” she said with a wink. “Wait here, I’m going to go down and confirm that this is Kimba’s people. I’ll let you know when it is safe to follow.”
Adan started to back away from the edge the way they came.
Lynn reached out and grabbed her wrist before it moved away, almost on instinct.
“You . . .” he paused, meeting those large golden eyes that stared back at him calmly. “Be careful.”
Adan smiled, her hand squeezing his wrist too, before softly pulling it back.
“I will.”
Lynn looked at her receding figure and sighed before turning his attention back to the camp. Time to focus.
“You are overcomplicating this,” Adan’s A.I. pointed out as she slipped silently through the trees, circling around the little hill to enter the camp from another end. “You already know this is a blue force camp – Sai has registered Duke Kimba’s voice in the far north corner.”
“True,” Adan mused back, dodging behind a tent to hide from a patrolling Sun Tribesman. “But when would I get the opportunity to show of my ninja skills to Lynn if I did that?”
“. . . Sai thinks you need a refresher course on being humble, how off.”
“You wound me, Sai,” Adan moaned theatrically as she sidestepped a tripping wire that was crudely attached to a bunch of chimes. “I’ve never even attended the basic course for being humble!”
A slight pause.
“Sai, set up a perimetry guard, 1 kilometer out. Dispatch sentinels in camp for intel. 50% BioArmor density reduction approved.”
“Affirmative.”
With a wide grin on her lips, Adan turned to the hill where she had left Lynn a few minutes back and waved sneakily before slipping into one of the larger tents at the northern edge of the camp. No one had noticed her movements.
Apart from Lynn, of course, whom she hoped was mightily impressed by now.
Once inside, Adan strolled casually up to the table in the far end of the tent where a large figure was leaning over what looked to be a set of different maps.
“You really should consider the safety of your commanding officer,” Adan started and instantly found a flaming sword pointing at her throat “the security of this camp is abysmal.”
With a clank the sword fell to the ground, flames gone, as shock filled the somewhat round face of Duke Kimba.
“An-antient Adan?” he stuttered and for a moment Adan thought he would forget his oath of never kneeling before her again, but the man stopped himself in the last second. Instead, he actually took a step forward and embraced her in a big hug instead.
“You were running late, I feared . . .” he breathed out in relief and quickly took a step back. “My apologies, Ancient Adan. I was disrespectful.”
After a brief moment of surprise, Adan snorted softly to suppress a laugh. She wouldn’t mind a more relaxed relation to this man but war was approaching. Now wasn’t the time.
“I am grateful that you followed my suggestion to leave Fire Island. Can I assume that I have your support going forward?”
The Duke straightened his back. “Yes, Ancient Adan.”
Adan smiled approvingly. “At ease, Duke Kimba. Tell me, have you heard the news about Lynn?”
The Duke shuddered slightly but collected himself quickly. “I heard that he is a male ice bender and that his father is accused of assassinating King Fenix. You helped him escape.”
“He shows elevated heart rate and increased perspirations,” her A.I. noted. “He is nervous.”
Adan nodded, both to the Duke and Sai.
“And what is your take on it?”
At this question, Kimba noticabely paused. “While I have heard the phrophecy from the Book of Elements, and similar stories are part of our Spoken Flames, I have personally interacted with Lynn since she . . . he was a child. Lynn is a good man.” He hesitated for a moment, before seemingly coming to a conclusion. “Even if there is some truth to the stories, I cannot believe that Lynn would willingly bring harm to the world. There must be more to this!”
“Sai is impressed. Historical data shows that it is hard for deeply religious humans to challenge their faith but this one seems open for interpretation.”
Silently, Adan agreed with her digital companion. Moving away from superstition was never easy and the Duke had only had three days to adjust.
“Will Lynn be safe in this camp?” Adan asked Kimba solemnly.
Another paus. “I cannot guarantee that everyone will welcome him with open arms but our people know how it feels to be prejudiced against. They will try to be openminded.” The duke bent to pick up the sword from the ground. “I can however promise you that everyone here will follow your orders faithfully.”
“Elder Kimba,” a soft voice rang out outside the tent. Adan instantly recognized the voice so she wasn’t surprised when Sera, the young servant girl they had met in Prayer Village months ago stepped into the tent. The same could not be said for the girl.
“Keeper Ena asked me to-. . .” her voice stopped abruptly and the tray of food she was carrying slipped out of her hands.
Adan was quick to react this time and stepped forward to catch the tray before it hit the ground, barely spilling a drop of water in the process. “Careful, Sera,” she chided as she placed the tray back in the girl’s stiff hands, “you shouldn’t be making a habit out of this.” Adan winked and patted her on the head, noticing a significantly darker shade spreading along the girl’s cheeks.
“Sai should remind you that your current behavior could be reported as sexual harassments in some cultures,” the A.I. warned dryly as a few regulation reminders flashed by in front of Adan’s eyes. “You should aim to be a bit more professional now that you are back in a commanding role.”
Adan rolled her eyes internally. “No need to beat around the bush, Sai – you could just say that you want me to act more like my sister.”
“Act more like Commander Nadia,” the A.I. admitted in a heartbeat, slightly stunning Adan.
“Turn coat,” she hissed back, returning her focus to the Duke. “The girl mentioned Keeper Ena, is she here too?”
“Yes, Ancient,” Duke Kimba replied respectfully. “We were just about to call for a council meeting to discus our options, do you wish to join?”
“Yes,” Adan nodded. “But I need to collect Lynn first.”
Beside her, Sera flinched slightly at the mention of the man but said nothing.
“Of course,” Kimba moved to grab his coat. “I will join you.”
From his position on the hill, Lynn saw saw Adan step out from the tent she had sneaked into and let go of the breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding. The spirited woman looked up at him with a bright smile, and even at this distance he was sure see could see him. It was an odd feeing, as logic told him that shouldn’t be the case but he instinctively knew it was true.
Stepping out next to Adan, recognized Duke Kimba at a glans. He seemed even more respectful to Adan than he was before, keeping the same distance as his father’s officers did when they followed him through camp.
“Adan seems accustomed to it,” he noted as he watched the girl wave her hands and point at the foot of the mountain. Lynn understood the message and stood up from his hiding spot, starting to make his way down the hill. Below him, details of the camp became cleared; although similar to military camps he had seem before, this one was noticeably more colorful. Red, yellow and orange fabrics made up the majority of the tents and several wooden trinkets had been hung around the perimeter, swaying silently in the wind.
When he started to come closer, the people in the camp had stopped what they were doing. Panic gripped him, images of angered and fearful warriors filling his mind. Lynn straightened his spine, ready to face it all but as he got closer, Lynn realized that it wasn’t him people were staring at.
It was Adan.
Almost nobody paid any attention to Lynn as he walked into the camp. He heard murmurs around him;
“It’s actually the Ancient. Elder Kimba was speaking the truth!”
“Of course he was, he’s an Elder!”
“Will we be saved?”
Lynn felt confused, but also a bit hurt. Adan seemed totally unfazed by the attention she was getting, clearly aware of the status she had in the Sun Tribe, but she hadn’t mentioned it even once.
Yet another secret Lynn didn’t know about.
“Lynn,” Adan waved again as they approached each other and gestured to Duke Kimba at her side. “Let me reintroduce you, Duke Kimba. This is young master Lynn, son of Marques Hayden.”
Lynn twitched at the sudden reveal and a wave of murmurs spread among the Sun Tribe warriors close enough to hear her, Adan’s welcoming demeanor seemed to stop them from reacting more severely. At least not right now.
Duke Kimba stepped forward and Lynn tensed. He had been deceiving this man for as long as he could remember. He had fond memories of playing with him as a child when the Duke visited his father, but he knew that the fear of male ice benders was deep even within the Sun Tribe faith.
“Lynn,” Kimba spoke sternly, causing Lynn to lower his gaze, not wanting to meet the man’s eyes.
There was silence for only a moment, but it felt like an eternity before a dark hand appeared in his field of view, reaching out as if to shake his hand. Lynn looked up in surprise.
“Your parents are good people, Lynn, both to their family and the nation. I understand why the protected you.” Kimba stretched his hand further, urging him to shake it. “You too have shown honor in not running away from your people. You have my respect, Lynn, son of Hayden.”
Shocked, Lynn stood rooted in place, not sure what to do. Pain filled his eyes, but he forced down the tears. With newfound resolve, Lynn reached out to Kimba’s hand gripped it hard.
He couldn’t manage to say anything, but he didn’t need to either.
Lynn glanced to the side. Next to the Duke, Adan smiled at him, gentle warmth in her eyes. Regardless of who she was, the look she was giving him now felt so honest. So pure.
She was genuinely happy for him. Lynn was sure of that.
“Duke Kimba,” she intercepted, braking up the hand shake. “you mentioned a council meeting. Should we go?”
The Duke instantly snapped out of the moment and turned his attention entirely to Adan. “Of course, Ancient. Follow me.”
As they followed the man through the camp, Lynne leaned in closer to Adan.
“Ancient? I thought your people didn’t use that phrase?”
Adan glanced at him and sheepishly scratched her head.
“Weeeell, it seems like they do use it, but only for specific people. I’ll explain later.”
“You better,” Lynn grumbled.
The camp wasn’t very vast and they quickly reached the largest tent, located smack in the middle of the enclosure. A young tribe girl was waiting impatiently at the tent entrance and as soon as she saw them-or more accurately, saw Adan-she squealed and dove into the tent.
“The ancient comes!”
“Sera, manners,” someone chided from within just as Duke Kimba stepped forward to hold up the tent flap to allow Adan entry.
“After you, Ancient Adan,” he said with a respectfull brow.
Adan stepped into the tent without a twitch, completely natural in the environment. Lynn followed, slightly in a daze.
Had he ever seen her so at ease before? She was always playful, sure, but this was different. More . . . natural.
“The council greats Ancient Adan!” the booming collective voice of five people brought Lynn out of his thoughts.
Inside the tent, five elderly people had sunk down on one knee, covering their marks in respectful salute. Adan didn’t seem to like it, he noticed her fist clenching at her side, but she didn’t reprimand them.
“At ease, everyone,” she said, and lead Lynn to take a seat at the round table at the center of the room.
“Ancient . . .” one of the elders seemed to hesitate but stopped in a heartbeat after just a single glance from Adan. She motioned for the rest to also take their seats.
“Duke Kimba, are we waiting for anyone else?”
“No, Ancient Adan.”
“Very well,” she straightened in her chair, her presence commanding attention. “For most of us, this is our first greeting, so let me introduce myself. As you know, my name is Adan, and your Chief has confirmed that I am indeed an Ancient, as you call it. Just as my ancestors, I hope to help strengthen the Sun Tribe’s standing in Solmani going forward. However, the usurper to the throne, Emberon, looks to destabilize the nation and increase internal strife. He must be stopped.”
She paused, gazing at the five Sun Tribe elders.
“You might feel that the battle between Solmani and Valdmani is none of your business, but trust me when I say, war will not benefit the Sun Tribe. Those marginalized are always the first to suffer in times of great turmoil.”
Swept up by the momentum, the elders in the room nodded subconsciously, not thinking to interrupt Adan’s speech.
“In my opinion, the best way to improve your standing among the Solmanean people is not to rely on one persons strength but to show them that you too are part of Solmani and are willing to defend it when in danger. By taking action to protect the people and bring down the usurper, you will earn your place in the people’s hearts. You, the Sun Tribe, not the Ancients.”
She slammed her fist in the table, looking the very image of heroic, causing Lynn to raise a quizzical brow.
‘Really, Adan, who are you?’
Silence filled the tent.
“Your thoughts?”
“Ancient Adan, ” one of the men started tentativly, “with all due respect, I don’t think th-“
Adan cut him off with the raise of your hand. “I said it was our first meeting, present yourself before you speak.”
The man swallowed, the small momentum he had built up gone. “My apologize, Ancient. I am Keeper Kaelen, head of the western Sun Tribes.” He paused, as if checking that the introduction was satisfactory, before continuing. “With all due respect, while I agree that a show of support in restoring order to Somlani would undoubtedly have positive effects, managing to do so will be a challenge. We only have roughly a few hundred warriors in each tribe, and only a portion of that force is currently here. Emberon on the other hand is controlling Solmani’s full army, with thousands of soldiers, fire and water benders both.”
“We have the Ancient,” the second man intervened, and quickly added, “Elder Therun, of the southern Tribe. The Ancient can fight a hundred men on his own with ease.”
Keeper Kaelen glared at Elder Therun but didn’t seem to find an argument against his statement.
“Antient Adan didn’t want us to rely on his powers alone,” Duke Kimba commented and Lynn noticed, with odd satisfaction, that even he didn’t seem to know that Adan was in fact female.
At least there was some secrets he knew.
“Elder Soraya, acting chief of the central tribe,” one of the slightly younger females spoke up next. “I agree with Keeper Kaelen and Elder Kimba, we need to be realistic in what we can achieve on our own. As impressive as Ancient Adan no doubt is, the Ancients have left before and we need to survive if they leave again.”
The woman bowed apologetically to Adan but the latter waved it off, even looking a bit pleased at the woman’s deduction.
An uncomfortable lump formed in Lynn’s chest. ‘Leave?’
“A war doesn’t have to be fought on the fields to be won,” Adan added, clearly nudging the conversation in a direction she wanted.
“Indeed,” a second woman spoke, fiddling anxiously with the wooden totems hanging around her neck. “but the Sun Tribes haven’t fought any kind of war in a long time.” A pause. “Ah, Vashara, Keeper and head of the Eastern Tribe.”
“Perhaps not,” the last woman, clearly the eldest in the room, spoke softly. Her smoked over eyes, staring at nothing in particular. “but we have always been hunters.” She turned towards Adan, smiling warmly and touching two boney fingers to her now closed eyes. “Keeper Ena of the Southern Tribe sees Ancient Adan again.”
Lynn noticed a faint smile on the side of Adan’s lips. Clearly she had met at least this woman before.
“Wise as always, Keeper Ena,” she complimented. “if you can hunt beasts, you can hunt humans.”
Silence filled the room again as the content of their discussion was allowed to sink in. Lynn contemplated the situation as well. From his own perspective, he needed to make his way back to Fire Island with enough strength to be able to free his family and hopefully the King as well. However, the Solmanean army was no pushover and driven by religious hate towards himself, Emberon would surely have no issue mobilizing them.
Could he get strong enough to do it on his own? With time, perhaps, but time was not on their side right now.
There was also the issue of his mother and the Valdmanic boarder. If Emberon was indeed collaborating with Valdmani, would not both his mother and the boarder be in danger? Lynn felt that speed was of the essence, waiting for a full mobilization of the Sun Tribe warriors would take to much time.
“We could enter in secrete, in smaller forces, and try to rescue the King,” Lynn offered. “If we can prove that the assassinations is false, Emberon would loose control over the army.”
Silence.
Lynn looked around the room. Everyone was staring at him, apart from Keeper Ena who still stared at noting in particular. Lynn swallowed. He could se a mix of emotions in their eyes. Anger. Fear. Distrust. Nothing positive.
He could see them battling with their emotions, ready to rebuke him. To condemn him.
“Lynn,” Adan’s voice cut through the silence like a welcome breeze. “You forgot to introduce yourself.”
“Ah,” Lynn blinked. “I am Lynn of Gakkvisa, daugh-. . . son of Marquis Hayden.”
“We know who you are,” Keeper Kaelen cut in. “A male ice bender—destruction incarnate. And look what’s already begun.”
Bang!
With a loud explosion, the table in front of them chattered into tiny fragments, smoke and soot instantly filling the air. Apart from Keeper Ena, all of the other new faces around the table jumped back in shock, nearly falling over their chairs.
“Keeper Kaelen,” Adan’s voice was darker than Lynn had ever heard it. Smoldering. Dangerous. “I can accept uninformed prejudice from your people, but as a leader and as an honored Keeper of the Spoken Flame, I would expect more tolerance from you.”
Flames flickered around Adan’s face as she started at the man, but there was no anger in her eyes, no emotion at all in fact. Lynn had seen men lose their temper, scream, lash out—but this? This wasn’t heat. It was a vacuum. Her mere presence pulled all warmth from the air, and from his body. He’d never known he could be so afraid of her.
Deep-seated, instinctual fear.
“Lynn is my ward. I will help the Sun Tribe out of pitty, but I help him because I want to. Always remember that.”
Silence.
Slowly, the flames around Adan faded and her expression softened.
“Besides, Lynn is your best shot at long-term peace with the Solmaneans. In the eyes of the Solmanean people, if even he, hated for a fate he couldn’t control, could turn against his supposed nature and help rescue the King, why couldn’t you?”
Snowy Publications 