HTG - Chapter 171

Kalon

Chapter One-Seventy-One: Kada - Part Two

Galactic Quadrant: Darna Quadrant

Ruling Government: Republic of Hekate

Solar System: D-2,946

Planet: Ravena Minor

Location: Ara Continent, Ravena’s Temple

My legs move faster than any beast I can recall on Ora. The world blurs as I move, and my lungs barely drag in the air. Is this what the fifth bound is like? The noises are louder than I remember, and the light seems to be more vivid, my vision is clearer at further distances. Everything feels enhanced, even the scents in the air.  

“Oi! I said stop!” 

I turn and see a man with blonde hair and blue eyes following behind me, it’s the same man I saw earlier, except now he isn’t wearing his heavy armor. He’s fast… unnaturally fast. What bound is he in? 

“Come on, for fuck’s sake, just stop!”  

Six more follow behind him, each wearing skin tight black under armor. The same kind that Kotina wore under her armor. There is the sigil of their house on their shoulders. Are these Knights? Like the ones that Kotina spoke of. They are certainly fast, and their muscles ripple under the fabric. They are extremely well built and broad. Even the shortest among them is closing the gap on my current pace.  

I am about to increase my speed, but I feel the air crack and I halt before I crash into a man dressed in more casual attire than I have seen him in before.  

“Elder Dargo, I’m sorry, he just…” 

Dargo raises a hand to silence him, “It’s fine, I’ll take it from here, Knight Peren.” 

“I’m sorry, Elder.” 

Dargo nods and waits for them to leave. They give me a glowering stare as they do.  

“Well, boy, how did you get past the runes?” 

I shift my stance, I have seen this man take on more than a hundred of my people and not break a sweat. He has soundly beaten me more than once now. He is Leora’s puppet, her loyal servant.  

“Where is Arrum?” 

He looks at me strangely, “How did you know he was here?” 

“I felt him, now tell me, old man, where is my friend?” 

He crosses his arms, “Old man? Did you hit your head, boy?” 

I want to hit his shiny bald head right now, for what he has done, but Solara told me that he did not know what Mallock intended for us. Still, I do not like him. He is arrogant yet he preaches that pride has no place in a warrior’s heart.  

“Boy,” he says, letting out an exaggerated sigh, “What happened to the runes, who helped you remove them, hmm?” 

“I did not have help,” I say, looking around. We are standing at the intersection of six halls in a circular room. People are staring at us, but no one approaches. There seems to be some deference given to Dargo. Why did they call him elder?  

“Was it Kotina? Or Arkon perhaps? I knew they were nosing about, but why would they break them?” he starts muttering to himself.   

“Old man, I would not need help for runes shaped so weakly. Tell me where Arrum is, or leave me alone.” 

“Weak…” his eyes narrow, “Now I know you’re full of shit. It must have been Kotina, she doesn’t like me very much…” he pauses musing to himself, “Can’t say that I blame her though.” 

I move to walk past him.  

“Ah ah ah, where are you going?” 

My eyes level in his with the coldness they learned from living on Ora, “Are you going to kill me?” 

He looks at me puzzled, “Kill you? Why would I…” 

“Then leave me alone.” 

He blinks and I stride past him. Toward where I felt Arrum. I only know the direction of it, which will make it hard to find him, but I will find him. My pace increases as I run through the halls. There are people in strange clothes praying before altars of Ravena.  

The eyes of the statues, they almost feel like they are watching me. I brush the thought away as I move faster and faster. As I round the next corner, I see him again, Dargo, how the hell did he get in front of me? 

He’s leaned against the wall, “There’s a faster path towards what you seek.” 

I ignore him and continue running. He is around the next bend as well.  

“So stubborn,” he says with a feigned yawn.  

After the third time, I finally stop. This place has been like a maze since the walls became etched stone. Countless lines of her words and deeds are etched in them.  

“Are you ready for my help?” Dargo asks with folded arms as he pushes off the wall with his foot.  

“Yes,” I admit, “Take me to Arrum, please.” 

“Well, since you asked so nicely, follow me.”  

He takes me to a wall that has strange markings and waves his holopad at it. The stone recesses and there is a pod on the other side. We step in and I see other pods moving past us. 

“The main complex area is meant to confuse the worshipers, it’s like an allegory that they must rely on faith to find her inner sanctum. These pods however, are for the rest of us who just need to get somewhere fast. Once you settle in, I’m sure you’ll get the layout and the gist of it.” 

“Why are you helping me?” 

He looks at me strangely, “When was I not helping you?” 

“I can think of a time,” I say bitterly.  

“That… well, yes,” he turns picking at something stuck on the glass pod, “In a way though, you did get stronger because of it. Didn’t you?” 

“That’s hardly the point, old man.” 

He turns an eye toward me, “Why do you keep calling me old man?” 

“You are old are you not?” 

“Relative to you, perhaps.” 

“You are a man are you not?” 

He sighs, “Last I checked.” 

“Then if you ask again, I will think you are a foolish old man.” 

He chuckles at this, shaking his head, “I have had many apprentices over the years, but you will be the most… interesting I think.” 

“I am not your apprentice, old man.” 

He looks at me squarely, “I can teach you many things, boy.” 

“Why are you even here?” I ask, leaning against the cool glass. It is nice, the coolness of it reminds me of home… home, I wonder what is left of Naro city. It will be like the abandoned city that Luna and I traversed many months ago.  

“I’m part of Ravena’s house, I have been for some time now.” 

“Solara told me that you were not bound to any house.” 

“I wasn’t,” he sighs again, “Things change, one must not fight the wind.” 

“You sigh quite often, old man.” 

He turns to look at me, a faint grin on the corner of his mouth, “Well, when you’re as old as I… never mind.” 

He laughs a strange and stifled laugh, like he forgot how.  

“Well, if you’re not going to be my apprentice, what are you going to do?” 

“Still doing her work and asking her questions for her. Tell your goddess Leora if she has questions…” 

“To ask you herself?” he interrupts.  

“No, to go fuck herself.” 

He roars with the same strange stifled laugh before collecting himself, “You know, you remind me of me when I was your age.” 

“Then remind me to never grow as old as you.” 

He chuckles but the laugh doesn’t follow, “And for your information, I’m not talking to Leora anymore, I haven’t for months.” 

I study him for a moment before looking back toward the tunnel that the glass pod moves through, “You expect me to believe you?” 

“I don’t expect anything, just setting the record straight.”  

I look down at the floor, the metal plating is polished perfectly, the ones who clean this place must take pride in their work. Then I think back to what he said… 

“You said months ago you stopped talking to her? Then…” my brow furrows, “How long was I in that glass machine?” 

“You were suspended in a meditube for months, boy, nearly half a year has passed since you killed that turd, Adonius.” 

“Half a year…” I breathe, yet again I have lost precious time. I turn to him, “What has become of everyone in my absence? Do they suffer?” 

He’s about to sigh but he holds it in, “No, so far as I know, all the ones you call friend do not suffer.” 

“What have I missed?” I ask, thinking back, everything is somewhat hazy, like my memories are scattered, “The people, what happened to them?” 

“From Orarak?” 

I nod.  

He tilts his head strangely at me, “You… you don’t remember?” 

I shake my head. 

“What do you remember?” he asks even stranger.  

“I killed Adonius and then I tried…” I place my hand over my chest.  

“Well, then you missed quite a bit,” he pauses, scratching his chin, “You’re sure you don’t remember anything?” 

“Why would I lie, foolish old man.” 

He grins for a moment then folds his arms, “Well, after you recklessly killed the Governor of the solar system, they decided to attack the city, and almost crashed it…” he stops, then holds up a finger, “Technically it did crash, just not at a high rate of speed.” 

“Who attacked the city... It crashed?” I ask, my heart beating faster, “How many did it kill?”  

“House Helenius attacked with Flagship Thorn, Arkon and I… managed to save everyone and slow the descent.” 

Arkon is Luna’s father’s name. I blink at him, then my eyes close and I whisper a prayer to Amara, the goddess my mother taught me to worship. The prayer is only halfway finished when I stop, remembering that Amara may be my aunt, in a strange way. There is much that I do not understand about what has happened. I need to speak with Amara about it, I need her to tell me the whole truth. About who and what I am… who the golden eyes is.  

He clears his throat and straightens, “Thankfully, we were able to restructure the runes in time.”  

His eyes are strange as he tells me this, like they are searching me for something.  

“Thank you,” I say, lowering my head, “I don’t know how many you saved, but I will not forget what you have done.” 

He opens his mouth, then closes it, then opens it again, “Does that mean you’ll be my apprentice?” 

My eyes narrow as they rise to meet his, “It means that I will remember what you have done, all of it.” 

He winces and nods before smiling faintly, “We’re almost outside of the complex.” 

Though my heart beats slow again, I cannot help but be worried for Arrum. Soon, brother, soon.