Wondrous Ancient Heroes

 "Why won't you let me help him?” Tao said crouching over his friend's unconscious form. He looked up at the blonde-haired sorceress who it seemed had become their ally. “You must know I would do anything to save him.”

“I do understand that.” She replied agreeably. “I also know that if he were awake to speak on the matter he would never let you make that sacrifice. So I'll accept it neither.”

“This is my choice, it's my life.” Tao said defiantly.

“I know you would do anything to save him. But his life without you in it would destroy him just as completely as staying trapped in the world beneath the Earth. He loves you, and he trusts you. And that's what he will need now...more than ever before.”

Tao looked as if he'd just seen a spirit of the dead. “You...you really do care for him?”

“The world is for either Dar or Zad to claim. I care very much. And yes, Zad was kind to me, and I'm grateful to him for that. But Zad is a monster who would destroy the world and anyone who does not serve him. Dar is selfless and kind and he keeps people safe. If the world is to be ruled by either the son of Eldar or a man who makes a pact with the lord of darkness...I choose to help the man who saves the world rather than destroys it. Ironic.”

Tao looked up sharply. “Zad was the one who taught me I deserve the right to live my own life. And now I am choosing to help a man who wants nothing to do with me. Strange.”

“What can I do to help?” Tao said barely above a whisper.

“Prepare another potion to bring him back when the sun sets. We have to trust Dar will succeed. It's our job to make sure his world is here for him when he wakes up.”

“But...But how...” Tao stammered. He looked around but the sorceress was gone.

“You've turned against me.” Zad said briskly. “After all we've been through together.”

“I'm giving the Beastmaster a fighting chance.” The sorceress replied. “Where's the sport in defeating such a hopelessly out0matched opponent.”

“Fairness is over-rated.”

“Oh come now Zad, you are a warrior as much as you are a king.” The sorceress said coquettishly. “So hunt him...and try to enjoy the fight as much as you will the victory.”

King Zad studied the woman's face with attention, and came to a conclusion. “Just so we're clear. I know what you're trying to do. But fortunately you make a good point. My victory will be sweeter if I actually earn it. And his defeat will be more humiliating knowing he did everything he could and still failed. And you are right about another thing, I am a warrior as much as a king.”

“Remember Zad, he knows the forest better than you. You'll have to lure him to your territory, to your city. Or possibly drag him into the city by the scruff of his neck.”

“Don't pretend you'd actually be alright with that. I can see you like him.

“You've no idea how wrong you are.” The sorceress said with surprising intensity. “I don't like him. He rejected my help more times than I can count. He keeps me from my love as selfishly as the Ancient One did.” She said with unconcealed contempt, and a strength in her voice Zad found difficult to ignore. “And I am not claiming I would enjoy it. But I'm not sure I would mind it either. Perhaps we will both get the chance to find out.” Zad smiled faintly as the sorceress composed herself. “This is a great battle. And among other things you are a warrior. So fight your enemy, the one person who stands in the way of what you claim as your destiny. He IS the only one standing in your way. And so as it always is in the ways fo war and this world, to the victor will go the spoils. In this case...the world itself."

Dar woke up, rested, if disoriented. “Dar, are you alright?” Tao said gently.

“Yes...I think so.”

“Did you find the tiger?”

“Yes...my sister. She's...nearby isn't she?”

“Sorceress says she's a short way off, toward where the sun would set.”

“Sorceress.” Dar said with surprise. He stood quickly and saw her, standing a short way off. “I'm not sure I understand. Is that actually your name?”

“It has been ever since I entered service to the Ancient One. And I think your friend Arina was right: Each new ruler is worse than the last. Whatever my history with Zad, I hope you believe that Balcifer is a monster who's side I am entirely NOT on.”

“I don't question that. And...I owe you a thank you.”

“You owe me nothing Beastmaster. But it means a lot to me that you offered it.”

Dar reached out his hand shakily. “Sorceress...Thank. You.” The sorceress, or Sorceress as we must now call her, smiled sheepishly as she faded from view.

“You know Tao, I've been thinking about some of the times we've had.” Dar said suddenly.

“Old days or recent days?” Tao replied quickly.

“Well, more the recent days, like when we met Rhana and her friends.”

“When we first learned about the Ark..and that you still had family in the world.”

Dar exited the cave carrying what looked like a crystal house on a foundation of Cedar wood. “What is that?” Tao said with bewilderment. The resistance fighters around them were clearly wondering the same thing.

“Think of it as an Ark: A place to keep those things which are beyond value.” A voice said from nearby. Dar, Tao, Rhana and the rest looked up and saw a man dressed in a faded blue tunic and burnt orange trousers. There was the beginnings of a beard on his careworn face. His hair was swept with heat and dust and exposure to the desert winds. “See the images?” The man said, gesturing to the pyramid.

“Tiger, wolf, goat.” Tao said, counting the runes. “I take it more than animals?”

The stranger smiled faintly at Tao's understanding. He faced Dar with piercing eyes. “They represent the members of your family who survive. Your father kept them safe for the day you would be old enough to claim the throne. He turned them each into animals, so they could live their lives hidden from the eyes of Zad...or any other ruler.”

“That's brilliant. An incredible risk but...brilliant. How did he know they would survive, or that Dar would survive?” Tao blushed in embarrassment. “I'm sorry. I've always been far more prone to talk than to think, though I do a fair bit of both.” He closed his mouth to avoid looking like any more of a fool. By comparison Dar never opened his mouth without a great deal of forethought. And even after almost 3 years traveling together, Tao still had a habit of letting his words dig trenches.

“He didn't know how long it would be.” The stranger replied. “And he didn't care. He just knew that one day you would be old enough to find them and set them free. That is your quest now Dar, to find each member of your family, bring them to the Ark where they will be sure to be safe.” He kept his eyes on Dar as he said this but Tao still looked called out. “Once you've found them all they will be released. They will each regain their human form. They will help you to defeat Balcifer. And restore peace, and justice to the world.”

Dar looked around him at his closest friend and the fighters that in a matter of seconds had become his allies. He looked up to the stranger who seemed to have guided him to his new future. He couldn't help feeling unequal to the task with which he had been entrusted. “You told me the fate of the world rests on my shoulders, I didn't doubt you then and I don't now. But what you are saying is that my destiny is to, be a king?”

“I understand how you must be feeling. This great destiny thrust on you all at once. You feel like you suddenly have the weight of the world on your shoulders. But you are the rightful king or Arukan Dar, you are Eldar's son. Your father risked everything to save you. I will do everything I can to ensure that you will succeed. But it rests on your shoulders.”

“I don't know whether to be grateful or concerned.” Tao said in an undertone.

Dar nodded uncomfortably. “I cannot do this alone.”

The stranger chuckled. “Somehow I have a feeling, you won't have to.”

All the warriors plus Tao stood. Rhana stepped forward. “The throne of Eldar IS yours, Dar the rightful king of Arukan. We will do all we can help you. And when this darkness ends, we will serve you at your side...”

“...to restore the world to goodness.” Another warrior finished.

Dar looked to his friend, who smiled warmly, something like pride in his face. “I need you with me. I need you now more than ever.”

“Is that really a question?” Tao asked with a smile. “I always said the world needed you. I just never realized how much. But before the sun can rise this night must fall...as in come to an end. That means defeating Zad. And that means finding the missing members of your family. Dar, I'm with you, same as always. And you and I both know you'll need me with you...That hasn't changed either.”

Dar smiled, then laughed at the humor, and humility of his friend. “I cannot disagree.” He said brightly. Dar turned to the woman he had rescued from Zad...and was reminded of the young man who had asked him to help save her. “Rhana, know that Breon was a hero. He did everything he could and died fighting to free you.

“He protected the tablet, that was his mission. It was all of ours, really. Breon died a hero and a warrior, but more importantly, a faithful servant and a protector of the truth. We've always known the writings on that tablet would lead to the true king. Who has now been found. It is for that not saving me, for which he will never be forgotten.” They started climbing the steps of the old temple, now a hollow shell. Rhana turned to Dar. “We are not the only ones prepared to fight for you. There are resistance fighters throughout the land. Some who knew of Eldar, some who see with their own eyes Zad's reign cannot be allowed to continue, and many who yearn for the new dawn your friend speaks of. Everyone of us will fight for you.”

Dar nodded sagely. “Defeating Zad might not be the same thing as defeating Balcifer. Who knows which will actually come first.” Dar looked across the horizon and sighed. “One day I will need all of you. But for now the final battle is not yet at hand. So for now, go home, live your life. Keep your loyalty hidden. And remember that when the battle does come, I will call on you.”

“And we will answer.” One of the warriors pledged

“And we'll be ready.” Rhana promised.

The memory faded from Dar's mind. He looked across the campfire and noticed a concerned look on his friend's face. “That was one of the most brilliant days we've shared.” He said thoughtfully.

“It was one of the most glorious days of my life.” Tao replied quickly. “Matched, though not surpassed in brilliance by two others.”

“The day I convinced you to keep wearing your jade ring, even though your people were gone. Because in doing so you would honor them, I assume.”

“Yes. And the day after we first met.” Tao answered. Dar looked confused. “We met because I was about to be fed to Zad's tigers. That's not something to remember; far from glorious. And when we sat at the campfire that night, I assumed we'd say goodbye come morning, or shortly after. By the end of the next day you invited me to stay with you. The most glorious day of my life, if I had to chose just one is the day I found what came to be a home...the Sanctuary.”

“Fair enough.” Dar said, his voice small and distant.

“Dar, I...I'm not even sure why I'm asking this, but why mention the Crystal Ark? Why is that the memory in your head right now?”

“Because that was the first time strangers believed in me. People I hadn't saved who didn't know me. Who had no particular reason to trust me, believed in me. My quest to rid the world of darkness, my dedication to my mission isn't because it's my father's legacy, his throne or kingdom. It's because I'm fighting for them. No, I don't imagine I need to explain that to you.” Dar sighed. I am fighting for them. I'm trying not to disappoint them. But sometimes I feel like they chose the wrong man to believe in. That my father might have made a mistake entrusting me with this.”

“Like you say, you're not doing it for your father, you're doing it for the people in this world who need your help. And you were doing that long before you knew you were Eldar's son.” Dar nodded briefly but still looked troubled, his sad mood unchanged by his friends encouragement. Tao smiled. “All warriors have doubts Dar. I would be worried if you didn't. And all heroes lose faith; there's nothing wrong with that. What makes you the greatest hero I could have ever asked for, the best example for me to follow is that you don't give up when you lose your way. You ask questions, you find the answers, you keep going. And you've inspired me to do the same. You lost your powers as the Beastmaster you still tried to keep the balance of nature and protect the animals. You lost...more than I could ever hope to fully comprehend and you never let it dim your light, or cast doubt on your convictions. I could name more than a couple of times I acted like a completely idiot and you never thought the worse of me for it. But that's not why I'm here, that's not why I...I'll just say it I actually love you like a brother. If you need any further proof at all that you change the world for the better, whether or not you ever win the battle, I suggest you ask Sorceress why she follows you so completely now.”

“Tao that's just it. I don't need people who follow me, I need people who believe in me. And as far as...I feel the same, believe me. I always have.But so many people only follow me because I am the rightful heir to Eldar's crown. And I didnt' even know such a thing existed until this year! Believing in me as a person, as you do, is what I need right now. You believe in me no matter what. I don't have anyone else like that in my life.”

“Yes you do Dar.” Sorceress replied, standing on a boulder nearby. She was clothed in a natural dress the color of a robins egg, accented with purple sequins. She skipped lightly to the ground. “All of us follow you because we believe in you, there is no question as to that. We...they all have a faith in you that will never be shaken and cannot be undermined. Tao and I have more cause for it than the others. And we will never forget what you've done for us. When the new dawn comes, the two of us, and hopefully Arina will stand with you in the light of day. All of us crossed you path for different reasons. But we are all fighting for the same dream. And we ALL believe in you...and the dream itself.”

“I appreciate it. But...wait why do you say 'hopefully Arina'? Is she...alive?”

“Illusions are magic Dar. To fool the natural way of things is how most of us are taught to use our gifts. But however powerful and true to life the the vision is, the enchantment really does work exactly because you want to believe what you see. Arina is alive...and she needs you.”

“Now I remember why I don't usually trust sorcery.” Tao muttered as he picked up his bag. Dar grabbed his pack and his staff and they ran off to Xinca without another word.

“That was one of the most brilliant days we've shared.” Dar said thoughtfully.

“It was one of the most glorious days of my life.” Tao replied quickly. “Matched, though not surpassed in brilliance by exactly two others.”

“The day I convinced you to keep wearing your jade ring, even though your people were gone. Because in doing so you would honor them .”

“And the day after we first met.” Tao finished. Dar looked confused. “When we actually met I was about to be fed to the tigers, not something you'd want to remember; not a glorious thing. Besides, when we sat at the campfire that night, I assumed we would say goodbye come morning, or shortly after it. By the end of the next day you invited me to stay with you. The most glorious day of my life is the day I found what came to be a home...when I first saw the Sanctuary.”

“Fair enough.” Dar said, his voice small and distant.