Chapter 6: A Much Needed Explanation

I sat motionless on the floor staring at my new sword Harbinger. Thresh and the Shaman conversed back and forth, but I tuned them out. My focus was completely on my weapon. I was right in accepting Zeshua’s offer. If he can help me, then I shall not turn him down. Thresh is wrong. They’re all wrong. I looked up at the Alpha Male and the small man in red. “What did I do?” I mumbled softly. The two of them continued on with their conversation as if ignoring me. My anger began to rise, “WHAT DID I DO?” I shouted. All eyes were now on me as I stood up and sheathed Harbinger. “Why is it so wrong to accept help from Zeshua?” I asked. “It is not like I swore fealty to him. I just accepted his help in eliminating the Orcs.” I walked over to Cirania and tried to reach out to her. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and moved to the other side of the room. She whispered, “I’m sorry Aerol. I can’t.” I turned and faced the jury of my peers. I never removed my hand from Harbinger’s hilt and said, “So what did I do?” The Shaman was the first to speak. “Aerol, you have to understand that we know you didn’t realize what it was you were doing.” I watched as Oases sulked toward Cirania and lay down at her feet. Thresh stepped forward and looked at my weapon, “Aerol Reign, over the past year you and I have built a friendship. It is one that I cherish.” He finally looked me in the face and continued, “So it is with a heavy heart that I must explain what it is that you have done.”

Thresh sat down on his haunches and began to speak aloud, “Your sword is not called Harbinger for nothing.” His voice sounding graver with every word he spoke. “You now possess the sword crafted by Zeshua himself. He forged this weapon in the fires of hell.” He stood up and began to pace. I said, “If what you say is true Thresh, then I will just dispose of the cursed sword. I will find a place to bury it where none can ever find it in all of existence.” The Alpha Male stopped in his tracks and said, “It is no use Aerol. No matter where you go, no matter how far away you try to distance yourself from his sword, it will find you.” He started pacing again and continued, “It is useless to try to run from the hell sword. It will always find you. It is now bound to you and you to it.” I glanced at everyone in the room. Their looks said everything. Thresh was right. I did make a mistake. “So what I do Thresh?” He stopped once more and said, “There is nothing you can do. Every time you try to draw a different weapon, there will be an internal struggle to draw Harbinger, and only Harbinger.” I lowered my gaze in shame. “How can that ensure his return to this realm?” I asked. Thresh shook his head, “I do not know, and neither does Oases.” The Alpha Female raised her head at the mention of her name. “But I can assure you Aerol,” he continued, “we will not rest until we find out why. And I suggest you do the same.”

I looked directly at the Shaman and said, “And what of you Shaman? What do you think?” The small man in red looked up at me and tilted his head to the side and said, “Me Aerol? You wish to know what methinks?” I nodded my head and said, “Yes, how do you think I can beat this?” He shook his head and said, “I do not know. Yes, that is right. I do not know.” He flailed his arms in frustration and continued, “Unleashing the most evil entity onto the face of this land is tricky business. Yes, tricky business indeed.” The Shaman stopped moving his arms and stepped forward even closer to me. Lowering his voice he said, “There are more questions that need answered before you try to defeat the evil of the world Aerol.” I grew increasingly frustrated with the way Thresh and the Shaman continued speaking to me in riddles. Angrily I said, “Why? Why can none of you just speak to me in basic? Why do you insist on…” Thresh cut me off, “Aerol, what the Shaman is trying to tell you is there is a more serious evil being unleashed right here in Firecove.” Thresh turned to look at everyone in the room except for me and continued, “Against Zeshua, you are no match. Even in his ethereal form he could destroy you with the snap of his fingers. What we are talking about is the evil that is growing inside of you.” My jaw hung loose at what Thresh said. I was stunned at the way my friends were speaking to me. I began to defend myself, “I…there is…” My anger never subsided, instead it rushed through me. “How can you? Any of you? You all are supposed to be my friends!” I continued yelling at everyone in the room. “How could you say that there is evil growing in me?”

It was Cirania who stepped forward and spoke first. “Aerol, I love you. We all love you. But what you are doing, killing Orcs that were not responsible for what happened to your parents. It is wrong. The way you justify what you are doing is wrong. That family that you murdered tonight, the Shaman told me that they are a wealthy family in Firecove. The male of the family named Uglarish was an ambassador for the Orcs. He reported to the Mayor of Firecove directly.” Cirania crossed her arms and lowered he head and continued, “Aerol, you are trying to fight a battle that is bigger than you. You have appointed yourself eliminator of a race that does not need eliminated.” I stroked the hilt of Harbinger. I could feel its power surging through me. Even now I could feel it calling me to draw it. To strike down those that do not share my vision of a world without Orcs. I opened up my senses and allowed the sword to envelope my being. I could feel the power begin to attack the wound on my left shoulder. My flesh began to burn and I could feel my blood rise into my eyes. The group of people stared at me in awe of what was happening. I could barely hear Cirania let out a scream. Harbinger had nearly healed my wound when I said, “You, Shaman. You could not heal my wounds. But Harbinger can. What does that say about you?” I pointed a finger at Thresh, “And you, you have told me nothing but lies this entire time.” I then directed my verbal assault at Oases, “Now I know why she refuses to talk. She is afraid of my power. She knows I can slay her with a single stroke of my blade.” Oases sat up on her back haunches and bared her teeth. “You know its true Oases. All of you know the truth, and that is why you are trying to stop me.” I walked backward toward the door and reached for the handle. “You aren’t trying to save me. You’re trying to save yourselves. You want to redeem yourselves from past failures. You’re afraid of the warrior that I am destined to become!” I opened to door and felt a large ominous shadow behind me.

Just I turned to look, Oases sprang in to action. She leapt at me with blinding speed and shoved me out the door. With me clearing the threshold she slammed the door and turned to the other three people in the room and said, “He is nearly lost to me. I cannot allow this to happen.”