Eclipse: the Beginning

Darkness fell upon him. Samuel had felt something like this before. In fact, he could have sworn this was the same setting as the day he had left Earth. He was unsure what this meant, but he hoped another world was not waiting when he “came to.”

“Now then, Madam,” a high, shrill voice said from somewhere in the dark, “I have a few questions for you. Why have you been so uncooperative? Once we have your answers, you will be free to leave.”

“I am no fool,” a soft, familiar voice spoke up. “I will never leave this place. I have already realized this.”

Samuel gasped. That was Grandmother Wingie’s voice! Who was she talking to? He thought he recognized the voice from somewhere, but in the dark, he had no way of knowing without more clues.

“Madam Mary, correct?” There was a pause, but there was no answer. “There are witnesses who say you approached a Light and two companions who left your region’s bazaar rather hurriedly a month ago. We merely wish to know who they were and why you approached them. This needn’t be such a strenuous exercise.”

“And what would you do if I told you anything?”

“We simply wish to speak with them. Nothing more.” The voice made a strange purring sound that Samuel could just image being accompanied with an unsettling smirk

“Why would I be inclined to trust the child who has made a mess of our province?”

“You speak harshly to your viceroy, woman. Heaven appointed me to lead you. You should show more respect at my merciful sacrifice.”

Viceroy? Samuel swallowed a lump in his throat. It was Bog. Why was Bog talking about a Light and some companions in a bazaar? Wait, they had told him he had fallen into a marketplace. Was Bog looking into his arrival?

“The king appointed the regents when your leadership was questioned before his throne. Your spite against our people has wounded many, but none as greatly as your crime against the Wingies.”

“I know not of any such transgression, madam. You have yet to answer my questions, though. Who was the Light and where have they gone?”

“You cannot fool me. I was there, twenty years ago. I witnessed Heaven’s assault on the Hive from a distance. They claimed they were suppressing a rebellion against the viceroy. Heaven’s soldiers left nothing of our oldest tree, nor did they spare the men who stayed behind to protect her.”

Samuel felt a pit of grief in his chest. Grandmother Wingie must have lost loved ones. Twenty years without someone she treasured, how could she bear it? He tried to pull himself together to listen. This was by far the most intense dream he had experienced, but if Grandmother Wingie could keep a stiff upper lip, he would as well.

“If you speak with such conviction, you could only be a fugitive. I can only conclude that the Light was the former Captain of Heaven’s Guard, Celestial. What rebellion are you Wingies brewing in your hiding places, woman?”

A yelp echoed that made Samuel flinch. Was someone grasping his upper arm?

“Answer me!”

“There is no rebellion … and you know that to be true.” The Wingie’s voice sounded strained. What was Bog doing to her? “There never was one. It was only your fear of … what you did not understand. Countless Winds have lost their lives … because you were blinded by that fear. You should pray our guardian is … ignorant of your cruelty to his people. He loves us as his own children.”

“Then Zion is alive! Where are you hiding him?! Is that boy from the bazaar connected to him?!”

“I divined that boy’s appearance,” Grandmother Wingie sounded as if she were about to cry. Samuel felt the grasp tighten. The pain radiated enough to make him want to whimper as well.

“I know not what power he will awaken … but of this I am certain … he is no coward as you are. He will look Darkness in the face with no fear. I have no doubt he will restore this broken land to an era of harmony … and I would sacrifice, as did my family twenty years before me, for him.”

Samuel fell to his knees, as tears floated away from his eyes in the abyss. She was in so much pain. He could feel it as his own. Bog must have grabbed her by the arms, pinning her against something. The young man felt as if he could barely breathe. If this continued, Grandmother Wingie could be seriously injured. Tremulous lips parted to gasp.

“Please,” His voice spoke hoarsely, “Stop … Stop hurting her. Please … Grandmother Wingie … Please hold out …. Seraph, Celestial, we … we must stop him.”

“What are you looking at?” Bog barked. He sounded panicked. There was a pause. “Answer me! I demand you tell me what you are looking at!”

“Weep not, child ….”

Samuel froze. Who was she talking to?

“Do not come here … young one. You must focus … on your quest ….”

“Who are you talking to?!” Bog’s voice sounded anxious, as if frightened of something the youth could not see. Samuel heard another yelp from the elderly woman after the outburst. A sting struck on his left cheek.

“Grandmother Wingie!” Samuel cried out, coiling his body into a ball. He felt so helpless, living through the ordeal with the mystic.

“I am … one person … among many … suffering, child,” the Wingie spoke in a tremulous voice. Her frail body was not strong enough for such an assault, but her spirit was strong. “Think of them, young one … I gladly would … lay down my … life to … ensure your dream … sees fruition.”

“No!” the young man cried out. “I don’t want people to suffer on my behalf! You were good to us! You treated me like … like … Mother!”

“It has … been quite some … time since … someone … called me that ….”

“I will teach you to defy me! I am your viceroy! You listen to me!”

Samuel gaped as he felt stings of pain rain all over his body. He wept silently, knowing that the woman was enduring this for him. It was unfair. She did not deserve this. He did not want people to get hurt over this. He had tried so hard to prevent pain and bloodshed, but now, it all seemed so pointless. Just as he was about to succumb to his sorrow, he heard a third voice enter the dream.

“Viceroy! What have you done?!”

“She … she defied me! She insulted her viceroy!”

“Madam, can you hear me? Please, hang on!”

“Do not … come … child ….”

“She’s dim! Dim, I tell you!”

“You struck an elder out of fear she had lost her mind? What dimness has taken you?!”

“Do not dare, you worthless dog! I am still the Viceroy of Western Wind! Question me and I will bring Heaven upon this wasteland!”

The third voice seethed through his teeth, but he said no more. Bog laughed at his silence. The laugh became a cackle that morphed into something inaudible as Samuel continued to cry. Whoever that other person was, he wished he could thank him.

“Samuel? Are you waking up? Samuel?”

The young man felt as if he were under cement slabs as he rolled his head from side to side. The voice sounded like Seraph’s, but was this a dream as well? He squeezed his closed eyes tighter as he tried to open them. No, this was no dream. He was waking, but he felt so weak. What had happened just now?

“Seraph …?”

“He’s awake,” the Wind said with relief. “Fetch some food and water. How do you feel, my friend?”

“Heavy …” the Nomad groaned. His stomach growled. “Apparently … hungry as well. Where am I? Are those candles?”

“Yes,” Celestial’s voice came from the other side of him, “this is a chamber within the core of Mt. Aion. It opened when Seraph unleashed his winds.”

“It blew out, more like it,” Bazak spoke up with a snicker.

“Brother,” Boaz scolded him, “come along. Give them a moment. We should fetch Lady Alma as well.”

“Please do,” Seraph sounded like he forced that ‘please.’

As the young man gathered his wits, he looked around from where he still lay on back. He was in a massive bed with a thick woven blanket on top of him. There was a tall ceiling, narrowing into a hole at the top. Glancing about the bed, he saw candles lit about the circular room.

There was a four-necked oil lamp across from the bed that particularly caught his eye. He noticed a clear glass vase with two intertwining necks of water beside it. Lastly, a hand-sculpted bird satisfied the space on the other side of the lamp. It appeared to be clay with gemstones set within it, defining eyes and talons.

“What is this place?” Samuel asked after his observations.

“From what we can tell,” Seraph replied, “this was Lord Zion’s room. I’m sure you noticed the elemental shrine across from the bed. Only wind can get you in or out, and it takes a great deal of it to even open.”

“I’m lying in a god’s bed?!” Samuel cried, but he was too weak to move.

“You weren’t alone,” Celestial laughed lightly. That was when the Nomad realized that the Wind and Light were lying beside him. “We have been keeping vigil over you since you collapsed.”

“How long have I been asleep?”

“Two days,” Seraph replied. “You had us worried. You were weeping in your sleep. At one point, you even cried out as if you were in pain. What were you dreaming about?”

At that moment, Samuel felt the swarm of emotions return to him. Tears returned to his eyes. He rolled into the feathered pillow as he tried to keep himself from breaking down. His two companions looked at one another for a moment before glancing back at him, waiting for an answer.

“It was horrible … I had a dream that Bog was assaulting Grandmother Wingie. She was so strong … but he kept yelling and lashing out! I could feel every strike he made! I wanted to stop him, but it was all dark … and all I heard were echoes of what was happening.”

“Samuel,” the young god reached to touch the trembling shoulder. His spirits sank to listen to the recounting. To have to witness such a thing, Samuel must have felt ten times as helpless as he did now.

“What does this mean?” Seraph looked back at the soldier.

“It’s clear Samuel had a vision, however blind it might have been,” she replied grimly. The news disturbed her. She did not want to rub salt in the wound, but she needed to know more about the vision.

“What else did you hear, Samuel? You are the only one who can tell us. Visions have purpose, so we must act on them.”

“Celestial, now isn’t the time for that,” Seraph spoke up, even if he knew she was right. “Can you not see how upset he is?”

“Time is of the essence. The Wingie might be in danger as we speak. Samuel is our only way of knowing. We cannot shield him forever, Seraph. Especially since he is a mystic.”

The god looked down at the whimpering youth. Samuel had not asked for any of this, not the visions, the powers, or being dragged to Aurora forever. All the Wind had wanted was to protect him, but had he been shielding him too much? Celestial’s methods were extreme, but perhaps his were insufficient. Retracting his hand, Seraph looked away. He could not push him. The Wind sat on the edge of the bed to distance himself.

“Samuel,” Celestial spoke up, seeing the god falter, “we need to know what you heard. There isn’t much time if we want to act.”

“Bog … Bog was asking her about the day I came to Aurora.” Samuel felt Seraph’s disappointment in himself. Celestial was actually being considerate for a change. Was that relief he felt from her as well? They were trying so hard. It was his turn to be strong. Grandmother Wingie believed in him, so he had to try.

“She spoke of how he had the Wingies assaulted by Heaven’s soldiers. She lost family that day … I could feel her sorrow. He grabbed her and struck her over and over. I thought I was going to feel someone die … but a man stopped him. He tried to help her … but I awoke before I heard anymore.”

“The viceroy is investigating us, and she refused to give us up,” the Light mulled over the information. She glanced up at Seraph even though he was not facing them. “It’s clear we are being pursued by Heaven and Wind. There might be time left to save Madam Wingie. We don’t know if this has happened yet.”

“She spoke to me.”

“What?” The Wind and Light gawked at the Nomad.

“She heard me crying. She told me not to come save her … but I can’t just leave her like that! We have to save her! Please, Seraph! Celestial! We have to save her!”

Before they could respond, Boaz and Bazak returned through the door with Alma, who carried food and drink for the three. The Head Wingie stood where she had landed. She had heard Samuel’s outcry, and it made her freeze. She knew there were Wingies wandering the world in search of Lord Zion and revenge. There was one in particular she feared for, but she tried to have faith that wind would protect them.

“You should not venture forth without eating something,” she said when she felt eyes on her. “You must be thirsty as well, despite the little water we could give you while you slept. Please, young sage, recover your strength.”

“How did you know?” Seraph asked in a faraway voice. They had said nothing about the Spirit Sages yet. Things kept coming up.

“I gathered the elder Wingies after the marvel in the Great Hall,” she said setting the tray on the bed. “They are all in agreement that Samuel is the last Spirit Sage, and they told me of what little we recall of them. You should remain with us after you save your friend – for a time. There is much Destiny wishes us to teach you.”

Alma smiled back at them. A wave of hope swept over Samuel as he gaped back at her. She was humbled and a little frightened, but the hope in her spirit was stronger than the fear. As he looked at her face, he thought he should know her from somewhere. Where though?

“Here,” Alma held a bowl-like cup toward him, “drink.”

“Thank you, Lady Alma …” Samuel’s voice died when his hand touched hers. He gasped as his ears went deaf for a moment.

“I leave the Wingies in your hands.”

“But Mother! I am not worthy of replacing you! I am far too weak as a Wingie to lead our people! Please Mother, do not go!”

“Alma, you are stronger than you know. Your elders will guide you when you are lost. I must go. My spirit compels me to see him one last time.”

“Mother! Wait! Where will you go? Bog will have you captured no matter where you hide!”

“I will hide no longer, my child.”

“Mother! Mother! Mother!”

Samuel wheezed as he returned to where he was. He had done it again, reached into someone’s spirit. The voices though …. Alma’s voice sounded different when she raised it. There was no doubt it was the voice Seraph had been following since they left his home in the labyrinth. The other voice though … could it be?

“Are you,” he tried to find his voice, “are you Grandmother Wingie’s … daughter?”

“What?” Alma blinked back at his question. “Who is Grandmother Wingie?”

“The second voice I heard … your mother’s voice … it sounded just like the Wingie who helped us when I came to this world.”

“Are you saying Lady Alma’s mother is in trouble?!” Bazak asked with anger in his voice.

“Viceroy Bog wishes to gain information about my arrival. I am so sorry … this is all my fault.”

“Samuel, you couldn’t know Grandmother Wingie would get caught up in this.” Seraph put his hand on the youth’s shoulder at last. Just as he had feared, the guilt and horror was bleeding through his eyes as he stared at Alma.

“This is all my fault … and she told me not to save her.”

“Control your tongue, boy!” Celestial barked at Bazak as she got out of the bed to ring his neck. Samuel was sensitive enough, but if his anger was not being shared, the empath would only feel guiltier about the situation.

“She was willing to be a martyr … for me ….”

“Bazak, please try to control your temper,” Boaz spoke up to save his brother from the soldier headed straight for them.

“I didn’t want this ….”

“Samuel,” Seraph tried to get the Nomad’s attention as he drew within himself. “Samuel, you can’t blame yourself for any of this. Please, don’t blame yourself!”

“I never wanted this … I never wanted people to die.”

“Samuel,” Alma feared to touch him, but she knew she had to get through to him. Wrapping her hands around his still on his cup, she spoke slowly, calmly, “Come back from the darkness of your spirit. Believe in your power. You can protect what you desire.”

Samuel gawked at her with lost eyes. Grandmother Wingie had said that, but what did that mean? He had failed to protect anyone. He was always being protected, and now, the people who were helping him were getting hurt. It was too much. He could not take it. His chest ached. Tears fell again as he thought of who else might suffer because of him in the future.

“No more,” he mumbled, “no more hiding. I will save Grandmother Wingie. There will be no martyrs in this quest. I can’t bare it! I won’t!”

The room fell silent as Samuel screamed through his tears. He was trying so hard to be strong. They all admired that. What they regretted was that he still owned it all. He could not focus that way. It would only wound him further, tearing him apart from within. Alma knew what to do now.

“Samuel, you came to us as a ray of hope. It has been some time since any of us has experienced such a feeling. I know it is a heavy burden you carry in your spirit, but those who sacrifice on your behalf do this out of gratitude. They know you will bring a brilliant future for all Aurorans. To them, it is a small price to pay to save our world.

“That does not mean you must sit idly by and let them suffer. You can protect that which you wish to. If you are so compelled, then go to their aid, but you must remember the consequences of doing so. Do not forget the quest Destiny has given you. Destiny cannot be avoided, young sage.”

As everyone looked to Samuel for his reply, the Nomad stared at the Wingie’s hands, holding his gingerly. He could feel how much she believed her words. None of it was mentioned just for saying’s sake. Protect what he desired, eh? He had to believe in those words, but he still could not fathom what power he possessed that could do anything like that.

“I suppose we should eat then.”

Everyone held their breath.

“We leave for the capital today.” His face was more serious than it ever had been before. Bog had angered the wrong seventeen-year-old, and he would not let his friend die without at least telling her thank you for everything she had sacrificed.

“I like that look on your face,” Celestial said, making everyone turn her way. “That is the face of a leader I would follow. I will see to provisions and weaponry.” She grabbed some bread before looking at Bazak for a lift out of the god’s room.

“I’ll make sure Samuel’s ready then.” Seraph stood up to walk over to a chest against the wall. “You should be careful not to push yourself too hard, mate.”

“It is settled then,” Alma said with a smile, “but you must return to us to train. The Wingies hold the most knowledge of the Spirit Sages in all Aurora.”

“I promise,” Samuel nodded in reply. He finally took a sip of the water in his cup. Who knew water could taste so sweet?