The Ten Guardians: The Mother Tree©

Chapter Four

“That is when you killed him? Just like that?” Jaya said angrily while taking a step towards Lone Wolf, one hand raised as if she was going to summon her flaming sword at any moment.

Lone Wolf had squatted comfortably on his haunches throughout his entire tale and made no reaction to Jaya’s aggressive body language. He had dodged Myrum’s attack without countering, just so he could tell Colson’s story. Now that the story was ended, he was willing to accept any action taken against him for killing Colson. He would not defend himself.

“There was more talk as to why he wanted to separate his soul from his body. He felt the contract with Creator would end and make the darkdragon lose its focus. This would stop the darkdragon from pursuing lightningguardian, catching their pack by surprise,” Lone Wolf replied.

Jaya did not correct Lone Wolf’s use of ‘pack’ to describe the other group of people from the beginning of their journey. She had enough to deal with without teaching a jackal how to speak common, a jackal she now stood in judgment over.

She was angry, very angry. Colson was the son she never had, the replacement for her fallen daughter who died following her mother’s path. He was the shepherd who guided them from behind, never wanting to be in charge but constantly ensuring their path was true. He was the example of loyalty, dedication, and righteousness their party needed along their dark journey … and he was gone. He was gone because of the warped creation seated before her.

She was the highest level of authority for her people, the mother seeker of the entire continent, and judgment was hers to pass. She wanted to lay the blame here on his head. She was moments from summoning her magical weapons and ending the Jackal, ensuring loss was paid with loss and justice fulfilled. Yet she held back. She knew Colson had wanted his death to happen. He had designed this entire situation intentionally as a humble sacrifice, so he could help them save the world as they knew it. He was dead and was still leading her from the grave, guiding and directing her. He would not want the blame for his death laid at Lone Wolf’s feet. Jaya was torn. She stood in silence, her entire body tense, her eyes on Lone Wolf, her mind whirling with possibilities that she could not voice.

Myrum had worked on striking the camp during Lone Wolf’s entire story, although only a fool would believe she was not listening to every word being spoken with her kanidian hearing. After she had finished packing their bags and ensuring their small firepit was completely out and buried, she had started sharpening her battle axe. She seemed intently focused on ensuring it could cleave a revenant in half with a single swing as she pretended not to listen to Lone Wolf’s story. She continued to slide the whetstone along the axe in her hand, also not reacting to Jaya’s aggressive stance or tone of voice.

Sparrow had thought of helping Myrum with packing the camp, but he realized that the grieving kanidian had decided not to punish Lone Wolf for his actions and needed something besides her lost revenge to focus on. So instead, he found himself listening intently to Lone Wolf’s story. There was no hint of deception in the jackal, and Sparrow doubted the reclusive creation of his darker half even knew how to lie. His only conversations in years had been with a mind-reading entity in an orb that claimed to be the orchestrator of the existence of his race. Lying was never a cultivated option.

Suddenly, it occurred to Sparrow that if Ultaris could enter someone’s thoughts and read their intention, he could as well. He felt uncomfortable with the potential invasion of privacy involved with such a probe, but the situation was on the edge of a knife. He would try to stop Jaya from killing Lone Wolf if that was her decision, but what would a battle between the two of them do to their party? If either of them died at this point, Sparrow knew the world was doomed.

Sparrow entered Jaya’s thoughts, not reading them or listening in but letting his presence be felt. Jaya wasn’t sure if her body could tense any further, but Sparrow touching her mind at that exact moment, banished all doubts as the fur on her spine stood on edge. She hunched down and was about to spin around and bodily fling Sparrow away from her with a blast of magic when she realized his mind was sliding past hers towards Lone Wolf. She was still connected to his mind, but it was like the joint of a limb. Sparrow was the shoulder moving the arm, Jaya the elbow, and Lone Wolf the hand.

As Sparrow’s thoughts touched Lone Wolf, the Jackal launched himself into the air in a panic. He lost his footing for a moment as he tried dashing for the weapon on the ground, scrambling to regain his balance as he reached the weapon. He pulled it from the ground and spun in half circles, looking for what he thought was Ultaris, his creator.

Sparrow realized his mistake immediately. The only other entity that had entered Lone Wolf’s mind was Ultaris, his other half. Lone Wolf thought his creator was touching his mind, and instead of trying to calmly communicate or search for his old master, he looked for the threat so he could fight. His reaction alone was a testament to Lone Wolf’s resolve to fight his old master, even though he was afraid to do so.

Although Sparrow refused to read her actual thoughts, he could feel Jaya’s emotions and knew she had come to the same conclusion about Lone Wolf. He was surprised to also feel annoyance and a flare of anger, but empathy was also there. Sparrow turned his attention to Lone Wolf. The jackal was no longer spinning in circles, looking for his creator. His entire body was tense, and he had his eyes closed, waiting for the mental attack he thought was coming for his betrayal, knowing it would end him.

Sparrow was as gentle as he could be, extending the equivalent of a soft hand on Lone Wolf’s shoulder, trying to calm him down.

“Lone Wolf, do I have your permission to show Jaya your thoughts and memories?” Sparrow said out loud while sending the emotion of peace and safety with his mind. He refused to do this without permission.

Lone Wolf’s eyes opened and locked on Sparrow with the intensity of someone about to do battle. Lone Wolf had a target for the mental probe, and he was struggling to separate the sensation of Sparrow’s mental touch from his memory of Ultarius’, his now sworn enemy. It was like hearing the same voice from two different sources with your eyes closed. They sounded exactly the same, but you knew they were different.

The difference, though, was stark. Ultaris did not ask permission or make requests. He did not care for privacy or safety. To Ultaris, Lone Wolf was just a tool, one that could be replaced. He was the opposite of Sparrow in every way, and it was only then that Lone Wolf truly understood who Sparrow was and why Ultaris wanted to stop him so badly. Lone Wolf decided, from then on, that Sparrow was his true master and creator, and his fear and insecurity vanished.

“Gladly,” was all Lone Wolf said as he put his weapon back into the ground next to him. All signs of unease had vanished, and he stood waiting for whatever was going to happen next.

Sparrow sent the emotion of appreciation and gently opened the jackal’s mind like he was opening a book. At first, Sparrow was confused about what he found. The magic behind it was simple for him and felt natural, but the jackal’s mind was different than he had expected. Lone Wolf had three different levels of memories and thoughts within his mind. One of them was bright and active, with fresh memories being made, even recording what was taking place at that moment. Yet the other two were dim copies of the first, hidden in the background yet identical. Sparrow ignored the dim copies and pulled from the active entity.

“Remember what happened with Colson, and I’ll share your memories with Jaya as if she lived it,” Sparrow said out loud.

Lone Wolf did as requested, and as fast as thought itself, the memory flowed towards Sparrow. Sparrow flowed the memory back along the tether he had created towards Jaya, but before the memory reached her, Sparrow altered time for the memory. He didn’t want Jaya to have a memory recalled from days earlier, all compressed in a single thought. He wanted Jaya to truly know what happened, what emotions were felt, and what pain was experienced. Sparrow relived it with her through the perspective of Lone Wolf. He could hear and smell what took place as if he was there. Although reliving the memory took several minutes mentally, for Lone Wolf, Jaya, and their bodies, it came and went in seconds.

All of Lone Wolf’s tale had been true, but there were details near the end that had been left untold.

*****

Lone Wolf stared at the handle of his weapon being held towards him by Colson and made no move to take it from the guardian.

“Lone Wolf, I need you to help me with something very difficult. I know it is hard to understand, but doing this will allow me to stop Ultaris from using the well, at least until help arrives. He is weak right now, his powers cut in half, and I know I can hold him at bay. Also, my death will end Ultaris’ contract with the corruption over Sonelith, which will remove its motivation to seek out Grey. He may have already reached the well of souls. Please, help my soul reach him before it is too late,” Colson said passionately.

Lone Wolf still made no move to take the weapon. Lone Wolf had spent most of his life in solitude and had spent years in the service of a monster that manipulated his entire race, including their very existence, for its own gain. He had every reason to be guarded and mistrusting of everyone and everything, but Colson had broken down those walls without Lone Wolf knowing they were even there.

Colson was nothing like Ultaris. Colson was kind and considerate and made decisions based on the benefit of others instead of himself. He manipulated in ways that raised others up, like when he helped Lone Wolf with his speech without being asked. He improved himself by improving those around him and took genuine joy in the successes of others. He fostered a daughter of another species without being asked to do so. He was a true leader, and his loss would be an injury to the world.

“I cannot do that to you, waterguardian. You are needed here,” Lone Wolf said stoically, putting his arms behind his back to respectfully refuse the weapon being offered to him.

Although nothing showed outwardly, Sparrow and Jaya could feel the emotions Lone Wolf experienced at that moment as clear as a bell. Lone Wolf was horrified at the thought of killing his companion, the only example of goodness and kindness he had ever experienced. He was afraid of being asked to do such a thing, yet knew deep down that Colson’s logic was sound.

None of this showed outwardly, but there was a knowing smile on Colson’s face which indicated he knew somewhat of Lone Wolf’s feelings. He continued to hold the weapon out towards the jackal, letting the moment stretch, allowing silence to speak for him. Eventually, the silence began to work itself on Lone Wolf. Lone Wolf let his arms fall to his side for a moment before anger flared, and his voice rose in volume as he spoke.

“Jackals have been the enemy of your people for centuries, designed by the Creator to help him kill guardians, so he can reset time and kill humans. My entire life, I have served him, killed for him, blindly believing my purpose was holy and righteous.”

He started pacing as he spoke, his voice now shouting the words as emotions he had never expressed before unfolded.

“My eyes are finally open to that deceptive snake, and I turn to help fight against him! I fight alongside gods and cousins and finally feel respect and companionship for the first time, and now within days of joining their fight, I kill one of their own? That is how Ultaris acts! That is the blind follower I once was! That is not me! I will not bring myself to his level, eliminating members of my pack to save myself from danger! The darkdragon can take me if it wants! This cannot happen! I am not like him! I am not his weapon anymore!”

Lone Wolf stopped his pacing and turned again to Colson. The moment was all the more touching for Jaya because it felt like she was looking into the living eyes of the real Colson, almost close enough to touch. Colson had eternal patience, love, and peace upon his tear-streaked face. He continued to hold the weapon out to Lone Wolf as he spoke.

“Lone Wolf, there is only one thing you said that I think you are wrong about. You said you would be killing ‘one of their own.’ You should have said ‘one of my own’ because you are one of us. Two of us, actually, if you think about it. If Ultaris succeeds, you and all of your kind would no longer exist as well because your human half would be lost. That, my friend, is a far greater loss than the body of this old man standing before you. I will yet live, I promise you. Yes, things will be different, but without my soul’s interference, Ultaris will win before our fight has even begun.”

Colson’s arm was steady, still holding the weapon out to Lone Wolf. Lone Wolf stared at the weapon for quite some time. Then tears slid down the short fur on his face as he slowly reached for the weapon with a shaky hand.

“What … what will I tell them?” Lone Wolf asked softly, holding the weapon gingerly in his hand.

“Tell them the truth,” Colson said to Lone Wolf, but his eyes shifted slightly, and it was apparent that he was looking past Lone Wolf.

Sparrow would have gasped if he hadn’t frozen his body in time. He realized Colson was speaking to an unknown observer, which was him and Jaya. He hoped Sparrow would seek this memory eventually and was speaking for their benefit now.

“Don’t be afraid. They will know your heart in the end, even if you cannot express it yourself,” Colson ended, again meeting Lone Wolf’s eyes as if he was the only one there.

Lone Wolf seemed to swallow his own emotions, suppressing them as he had countless times before so Ultaris would not sense them. With his facade in place, he was all business. He had been assigned a task and was ready to fulfill that task, no matter how painful it would be.

“Thank you, Lone Wolf, although you are not ‘alone’ any longer. I am ready,” Colson said firmly, standing at ease.

Sparrow and Jaya could feel the pain in Lone Wolf as he hesitated, feeling him want to throw his weapon to the ground. He looked into his companion’s eyes, his understanding, forgiving, compassionate eyes, and plunged his weapon into his heart. There was a gasp from Colson as the pain and interruption to his body’s blood flow hit him, but the look on his face never changed.

Lone Wolf held his hand, staring into his forgiving eyes as the light faded from them.

*****

Sparrow disconnected their mental connection and stood back as Jaya fell to the earth, an uncontrollable sob of sorrow pouring from her soul. She had lived every action, she had heard Colson’s words, and she had felt Lone Wolf’s emotions involving what had happened. She had looked into Colson’s fading eyes with that forgiving smile on his face.

Lone Wolf had no frame of reference for how to express some emotions and had a lifetime of harshness beaten into him. He repressed emotions well, and Jaya had not been expecting them to echo her own loss so completely. Killing Colson had broken Lone Wolf, and he wanted the pain to end. He came to Jaya for his punishment, to end his guilt and sorrow.

Myrum was suddenly holding her grandmother, crying softly with her as they mourned their lost loved one. Sparrow gave them their space and waited. After some time, they both stood and faced Lone Wolf. Jaya leaned on her granddaughter as Myrum put her arm around Jaya’s waist, neither ready to let go.

“Lone Wolf, do you have any questions before I pass my judgment,” Jaya asked, her voice quivering with emotion.

The words sounded ominous, but it was obvious to everyone except maybe Lone Wolf that she was not going to sentence him to death. She couldn’t, not after seeing Colson’s face and voice convincing Lone Wolf that killing him was the only way to save the rest of their party from death. Not to mention saving the world.

“Yes, Mother Seeker, one question only. Near the end of my story, I mentioned that waterguardian … Colson … said something to me. He said I was a skilled warrior and that I was his … ‘friend.’”

“Yes, what of it?”

“I have never heard this word … what does ‘friend’ mean?” Lone Wolf asked with all sincerity.

Jaya almost started crying again and walked forward to wrap her arms around Lone Wolf in an embrace.

“Do not worry, young one. I will teach you what you already feel but lack the words to express. You will never be alone again.”

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