Will's Opposite

“Alright, I want some straight answers.” It was the day after Jistan’s first battle-or, well, the first battle he’d ever seen. He still didn’t understand what had happened. In the end, the Delani had retreated, but they hadn’t seemed to be losing. Jistan didn’t understand battle strategy well enough to know why they pulled out.

“Don’t we all,” Karrin said with a sigh. She was lounging in a chair, a glass of water in her hand. Jistan, her, and their father were all together for the first time since the battle in their shared cabin. One of the Commanders had offered Jistan his own tent, but he didn’t mind sharing space and the cabins were much more comfortable.

Jistan leaned his head back against his chair, throwing both hands in the air in exasperation. “What in Arkadia’s Halls happened out there yesterday? What are those things? How do they do what they do? Why are we fighting them?” A dozen other questions flashed through his mind, but he forced himself to stop and take a deep breath.

“Honestly?” Sackrin sighed. “We don’t really know. We have very few solid answers, mostly just guesses that come from obscure history and observation.”

“Great,” Jistan muttered, slouching in his chair.

“Still petulant when things don’t go your way, I see,” Karrin said lightly, a smile playing at the corners of her lips.

“I’m not petulant,” Jistan snapped. “I’m just…annoyed.”

“As you well should be,” Sackrin said, giving Karrin a pointed look. “This is all very strange and confusing. Even those of us who have been involved for years feel lost.”

“Nah,” Karrin said. “Highness says, ‘Hey, go kill yonder murderous creatures before they destroy the world’, and I do it. Pretty simple if you ask me.”

“But what are they?” Jistan insisted, clenching and unclenching his fists anxoiusly.

“We aren’t sure,” Sackrin replied. “The history surrounding them is murky at best. As far as we can tell, they were discovered by an ancient ruler of Manicot, before it became a world power renowned for its Will mastery. That ruler kept his discovery hidden, purportedly to prevent other nations from reaping the benefits of trade with the creatures. Apparently, their lands are quite fertile and full of rare and precious materials. But for some reason, they eventually turned on Manicot. That was a long time ago. As far as we have determined, all ties with the Delani were severed. But about fifty years ago, when Highness Jakoda was still in power, the Delani started to raid. They didn’t attack Manicot outright. They targeted smaller, less powerful nations like the Islanders. But soon they started to grow more bold, attacking some of Manicot’s vassal states. To maintain peace and order, Jakoda instituted the Mind Scythes to secretly and quietly eliminate the threat. But it wasn’t enough. Slowly, bit by bit, the conflict became a full blown war.”

“One that is somehow unknown to the entire nation,” Jistan said flatly.

Sackrin smiled wryly. “Jakoda entered into agreements with many other monarchs that they would keep the existence of these creatures a secret as far as it was possible. It seems the Kritons have finally broken that agreement, although we don’t know why.” He sighed. “Which means we won’t be able to keep it a secret for much longer. Travel between Krito and Manicot is not uncommon, and rumors will spread like seeds blown free from a kopiweed.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing,” Jistan said, folding his arms. “I don’t know how I feel about keeping all this secret from the public. It doesn’t feel right.”

Sackrin sighed again. “What are we really keeping secret? We don’t have any answers. All we could give them is shadows and worries.”

“I think a war is a pretty big secret,” Jistan said stubbornly. “Regardless of what we understand about the enemy, the people deserve to know.”

“Perhaps.” Sackrin seemed distracted.

Jistan hesitated, the question that had been bothering him on the tip of his tongue. He wasn’t sure how to ask. “And what about…the strange things the Delani do?” he finally said. “Their strange abilities? Do we know anything about that?”

Karrin gave an exaggerated shudder. “Besides the fact that you don’t want to get hit by one of their strikes, we don’t know much.”

“For Arkadia’s sake, surely we know something!” Jistan exclaimed, growing exasperated.

“We have theories,” Sackrin said, holding up a finger. “As far as we can tell, they can draw upon energy from around themselves and then direct that energy into explosive blasts. It’s almost like the opposite of Will. Instead of using inner strength to strike at the mind of their enemies, they use external forces to create physical attacks.”

Jistan let that sink in. “So, what exactly can they do?”

“As far as we can tell, they are just as varied in strength as we are with the use of Will. Their strongest can dent armor or scorch flesh with the force of their blows. We think that the energy they draw from directly correlates with the resulting strike. For example, if they pull on heat energy, they blast out waves of scorching hot air, sometimes fire if they are very strong. If they use wind energy, they can blast their targets backwards.”

Jistan tapped a finger against his arm. “If they take energy from the wind, does the wind itself blow more softly?”

Sackrin nodded. “If enough of them are doing it, and the wind was particularly strong initially, it does seem to grow weaker. Heat is more noticeable, especially during colder seasons. When an entire army of Delani start sucking heat out of the air, it can get chilly fast.”

“That’s…” Jistan trailed off, trying to think of an appropriate word.

“Incredible?” Karrin offered.

“Disturbing,” Jistan said. A thought occurred to him and he felt his skin grow clammy. “They can’t take energy from…well…”

His father seemed to understand. He shook his head quickly. “They can’t take energy directly from people. Or if they can, they haven’t shown us that ability, which would be stupid. They could easily overpower us if all they had to do was suck away our life force.”

That made sense. Jistan relaxed slightly.

His tension immediately redoubled as a messenger broke into the cabin, face pale.

“Highness Arellia has called for all Mind Scythes and trainees to gather,” she said, pushing sweaty brown hair out of her face.

Sackrin was already on his feet. “What happened?”

The messenger looked stricken. “The Kritons have invaded Ranteel. The city is under siege.”

***

“I’m not traveling with that.”

Joree stifled a sigh, checking again to make sure the girl’s breathing was steady. She hadn’t woken up since falling unconscious that morning, and it had been over half a day. The sun was past its zenith and heading down towards the western horizon.

“Well, I’m not leaving her here to die,” Joree said. “So if you won’t travel with her, then I guess I won’t travel with you.”

Aniah let out a strangled growl. “Do you have any idea what that creature is?” She snorted. “No, of course you don’t. You’re just a peasant citizen. Well, if you did know, you would have left her to the wolves. No, you would have left her to those other creatures and ran. We should already be dead after facing those other three this morning. By keeping that thing with us, you are courting disaster.”

Joree studied the girl, unsure what else to do. She seemed to be breathing fine, and he had managed to get her to swallow some water. He couldn’t tell if her starkly opaque skin was from injury or sickness or if it was normal.

“Thank you for the vague and cryptic warnings,” he said dryly to Aniah. “Now, unless you are going to be useful, do shut up.”

A moment of silence. “I could slash your mind open right now,” she said, voice low.

“You could try,” he replied.

“Everyone whispers that Will can’t affect you, but maybe you just haven’t faced a powerful enough opponent yet.” She was clearly trying to sound threatening and dangerous. It wasn’t really working for her. Joree bit down an amused smile.

“Maybe,” he said languidly. “Why don’t you go ahead and try?”

She didn’t respond for a long moment. “I could just kill the creature instead, while she is vulnerable. You would thank me later.”

Joree stood abruptly and spun on her. She took a step back, eyes widening in surprise.

“What is wrong with you, woman?” he exclaimed. He pointed at the girl. “That is a person. She is clearly injured, starving, and was probably being abused by the people we escaped. She is no threat to us. If you kill her, you will be a murderer and a monster. Don’t think for one second that I will stay with you if you try something like that.”

Aniah’s eyes were the size of twin moons. Her mouth had dropped open, although she didn’t seem to have noticed. After a few long moments, their eyes locked, she looked away.

“Fine,” she muttered. “When you get a knife in the back during the night, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Joree ignored her. “We have to keep moving. Those others might still try to find us.” They had been traveling as quickly as they could all that day, with Joree carrying the unconscious girl. She was relatively light, much lighter than a regular person her size, but that didn’t mean she was easy to carry for long distances. Joree’s muscles complained at the very thought of picking her back up. He did it anyway.

“I’m beginning to think this army of yours is a myth,” he said, mostly to keep his mind off his fatigue.

Aniah sniffed. “You’re just making up excuses because you’re lost.”

“I don’t see you doing any better,” he pointed out.

“It’s not my job,” she replied, as if it were obvious.

“You are so weird,” he said, shaking his head.

***

Furl rubbed between his eyes, trying to massage away the headache that had been growing all morning. Orstan Pidel, one of the Highness’s guards left behind in Ranteel, had arrived just before dawn with disturbing news.

Twelve days back, a large force of Kritons had besieged the city, only one day after the departure of Arellia herself. Orstan had finally managed to escape three days back, but he had lost Hordial and Comara, two other Fiedons, in the attempt. Worse, Orstan had not been able to find the Heir since the arrival of the Kritons. That was part of the reason he hadn’t tried to escape sooner-he had been searching for the child. But she seemed to have vanished without a trace. Even the Kritons seemed unable to find her, although that could just be a front.

The Mind Scythes were filing in hastily, filling the room with smells of sweat, dust, and steel. Many had been in the middle of training, based on their red faces and gleaming skin. All held weapons, even those who looked as though they had been dragged straight from bed.

The crowd slowly settled, the room, though not small, filled near to bursting. They would need a new conference chamber to accommodate the swelling number of elite warriors Arellia was training.

Highness Arellia entered through a separate door that led to a raised portion of floor, almost like a stage. The Scythes immediately stilled, postures straightening and expressions hardening. The air grew thick with apprehension. Furl caught himself holding his breath.

“As I’m sure most of you have heard, Ranteel has been invaded by Kriton traitors.” Arellia’s voice cut through the room like winter wind. Her words were an exaggeration at best. The Kritons couldn’t truly be traitors as they weren’t part of Manicot, and thus owed them no specific loyalty. A few trade deals and a shared border did not automatically an ally make.

“I have no doubt that this was a calculated maneuver,” she continued. “First, the Kritons left the river pass undefended, allowing the Delani access past our armies. The Kritons waited for me to leave and draw away our strongest warriors to defend the border, and then they struck at our heart.

“But do not assume that I have been ignorant of their plotting.” Her voice grew louder, just faintly, but enough that it seemed to vibrate through the crowded confines. “I have been recruiting from the far edges on Manicot. Soon, my ambassadors will bring reinforcements in droves, and we will have the power to wipe the Kriton invaders from our land.”

From someone else, the speech might have sounded dramatic, even arrogant. Arellia made it seem as though she were simply stating facts. The sun would rise. The weather would continue to grow colder. And Arellia would crush her enemies.

“And what of the other matter?” Furl said softly from his seated position near the front. “What of Areniah?”

Arellia looked down at him, expression unchanging. “If Areniah is strong enough, then she will survive.”