The Sword Summoner: History Repeats

The night had passed by without a single moment’s sleep for Trey. The image of the strange smiley reaper was imbedded into his brain causing him not a moment of peace. Zak and Billy found no sleep either.

To keep his sanity Trey had decided to busy himself rather than lie in a nightmarish daydream. He had headed down to the under level to check on Dawn first. It appeared like the sleep she had gotten was deeply troubled. Her cover was a twisted mess by her side and dry tears stained her face.

As quietly as he could, Trey approached the sleeping girl and placed the cover gently over her body then left, not wanting to disturb her.

After that he had taken turns at driving the sandspeeder with Zak and Billy after a brief lesson from Liam. Time passed slowly and uneventfully. The seemingly endless view of sand was beginning to grate the nerves of the boys and lack of entertainment did nothing to improve their moods. Liam rose with the sun and took over the speeder, taking away the one thing the others had to focus on. They were reduced to sitting, cleaning their weapons.

The sun’s rays dispelled any fear that remained in the boys from the night and normal banter was battered backwards and forwards between them. Dawn emerged from the stairs and stepped onto the main deck, trying not to attract any attention. It failed. The talking stopped as she came into the sunlight.

“Morning,” she said in a weak voice. She tried to cover up the weakness by clearing her throat but it fooled no one. She walked over to the back of the speeder and gazed off into the distance towards her home.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned her head to see Trey standing beside her. It was hard for Trey to see her like this. She had always been strong and in control yet now she could barely contain her tears.

“S-she’s dead, isn’t she?” whimpered the girl.

“We don’t know that. She was the leader of the Heptalli; she wouldn’t go down without a fight,” Trey reassured her.

“You saw the explosion.”

“Everything will be alright. Just give it time,” said Trey, unable to think of anything more comforting.

Taking Trey off guard, Dawn threw her arms around him and wept into his chest. Trey had absolutely no idea what he should do. Unsure whether he was doing the right thing he wrapped his hands around her and returned the embrace. When she gave no reaction of hurting him or pulling away he tried to comfort her by rubbing her back gently. This situation was a totally new experience for Trey. The warmth of Dawn’s body against his, her hot breath on his chest and long hair billowing around his face. He could actually feel the emotions Dawn was feeling, the sorrow and anger mixed with the sense of safety of the embrace.

Meanwhile, Zak and Billy, seeing Dawn’s pain had decided to confront Liam. He was stood at the speeder’s command deck controlling its direction, seemingly oblivious to everything.

“Are you going to apologise to Dawn?” said Billy in a restrained voice.

“What for?” asked Liam blankly.

“For blowing her Mum up!” shouted Zak a bit too loud causing Dawn to shiver in Trey’s arms. Billy smacked him across the head. As Liam made no attempt to apologise to the distressed girl, the two boys continued their crusade.

“Apologise now or you’ll be in a world of pain,” threatened Zak as Billy cracked his knuckles.

“Pain is good,” answered Liam soberly.

“How is pain good?” asked Billy, taken aback at the statement.

“Pain let’s you know you’re still alive.”

Zak swung his fist at Liam’s face. The blow never landed though. Dawn grasped Zak’s arm with both her hands, halting the attack. Zak lowered his arm with a confused look then backed away slightly.

“It’s all right. Leave Liam alone. He did what he thought was necessary at the time and we still have a dangerous task before us. Fighting will get us nowhere.”The boys stood in amazement at Dawn’s new found resolve. She had a determination in her eyes that had not been there before.

Once the fuss had been sorted the group returned to doing mundane tasks. Billy’s attention was turned to Trey when he noticed that he was fiddling with those pesky stones again. He examined several before choosing one and replacing the others back in a bag. Pressing his thumb onto the stone while whispering a word caused the stone to glow blue.

Sound started to flood from the small object causing everyone aboard to jump, other than Liam who merely turned his head in a curious manner. The sound became more defined and within seconds a distinctive drum beat and the strumming of a lutar became clear. Vocals kicked in and it was like a real band performance coming from a stone with only slight distortion. The distinct sound of Avocado Dusk filled the ears of all present, drowning out the sound of the speeder.

“How the hell did you get music into a stone?” asked a stunned Billy.

“Nimula and a little know how,” smiled Trey. “Do you like it? I call it rock music.”

“You realise that strictly speaking it is technically a stone not a rock. There’s a big difference,” pointed out Zak.

“I know,” replied Trey. “Stone music just didn’t seem to have the same ring to it.”

“It’s just so cool!” exclaimed Billy.

“My axe is still better,” pouted Zak defensively.

“I don’t know. Mine can lock any sound into them, pass the time well, keep you entertained and if need be they’re still stones so I can throw them at people,” stated Trey.

“You want a fight? Your stones verses my axe?” questioned Zak as he tightened his grip on the weapon.

“I’ll pass.”

The day passed by in the enthrals of the various music Trey had gotten at the concert. The sun arced across the sky until it was low on the western horizon and the moon was preparing to ascend into the skies when a distant rumbling sound began to float through the oven like air. The teens gathered on the deck in silence, ears perked as the sound grew louder.

“What is it?” Billy queried. “It sounds familiar.”

“Sprites protect us,” breathed Dawn, her face draining what little colour it had recovered. “That sound belongs to a sand fortress.”

Trey frowned. “Sand fortress? You mean one of those giant ships?”

“Yes,” she confirmed. “The only tribes with the power and resources to construct them are the Heptalli and the Flesh Eroders. Neither one would be good news for us.”

“Should I change our course?” asked Liam calmly.

“Too late!” shouted Billy. A flag was rising over a dune near the horizon. From this distance the image could not be seen but as a hulking mass of wood reared into sight, the teens were left in no doubt who the sand fortress belonged to.

“Not these guys again,” Billy growled. “We need to get out of here now.”

“They will have already seen us. Liam, stay on course but crank us up to maximum speed,” Dawn ordered. Her face became calm and her every action was suddenly very precise. “We have minimal weaponry. Zak, get on the starboard cannon. Billy, climb up the rigging and spot for him. Pux, I need you to take Bo-Bo and fly over to them, scout out what forces, weapons and what speed they have. Trey, grab all of our supplies and get them ready for a quick departure.”

“On it!” chorused the males as they leapt to obey.

The Heptalli speeder lurched with a sudden burst of speed. The sails extended and the innards growled angrily when Liam shovelled coal into a metal tube beside the controls that led to a furnace. Zak eyed the apple sized ball of stone then compared it to the giant ship that was his target. He shook his head and loaded it into the small cannon as though the sphere weighed nothing.

“What range does the cannon have?” Billy shouted to Dawn.

The girl stopped and thought. “I don’t know. I have little to do with battles.”

“There’s only one way to find out!” giggled Zak, lighting the fuse and swinging the cannon to its maximum arc. Thunder crashed. The ball smashed into the ground about a thousand yards away, missing the Eroder ship by a wide margin. Zak was already loading another round into the chamber.

Billy made some quick calculations but with two moving targets, any workings out were rough at best. “If only I knew what range their guns are capable of, then I could find us an optimum firing position. For now we just have to hope that they don’t get close enough to shoot at us.”

Booms filled the air and several lumps of stone hurtled toward them. Sand exploded all around the carrier, the impacts rocked the vessel and threatened to throw it off course.

“Damn!” cursed Billy. “If they have this kind of range, we need to put more distance between us and them. We keep going straight and well be killed. South is our only option.”

The ship swerved sharply to the left under Liam’s control, angling it to the south. More cannon fire obliterated the ground where they had been only seconds before.

“Holy Sprites!” Billy roared. From his raised position he watched as another two sand fortresses emerged from the dunes to flank the first Flesh Eroder ship. They too opened fire to litter the sand with craters. To add to matters, tribal speeders were pouring from the ships like angry hornets, rushing toward the teens with a chorus of guttural battle cries. “Guys, we’re in big trouble.”

Dawn joined Billy to survey the situation. “Zak, keep the speeders away from us. If they slow us down for even a second then we are cannon fodder.”

Zak obeyed, firing the cannon again. He watched with glee as the stone sphere hurtled into the lead speeder and reduced it to scrap in an instant. Billy shouted out adjustments and a second speeder cart wheeled into oblivion. It did little to dent their number.

Four more speeders met their demise but dozens of others closed the gap at an alarming rate. Billy had drawn his bow and was dropping the drivers themselves with precision aimed arrows. The sand fortresses had ceased their bombardment but continued to follow the faster speeders as they closed in on their prey.

Zak grabbed his axe and jumped onto the top of the cannon. “Trey, take over for me. I’m going to go cut some limbs off,” he laughed. Before Trey could argue, Zak leapt from the cannon and landed on the front speeder. He offered the pilot a smile before slamming his axe into the man’s chest.

Trey aimed the cannon under Billy’s direction and braced himself as the gun bucked with another shot. The ball clipped the rear speeder’s wheel, sending the vehicle spinning out of control. Zak sprang from speeder to speeder, creating havoc with every movement. Despite this, the remaining speeders just veered around the chaos and continued to flank the carrier.

The carrier shook. Flesh Eroders were smashing their speeders into the hull of the teen’s ship and the pilots were clambering up to reach the deck. They crawled onto the deck with jagged weapons held in their mouths. The second that they could stand they were instantly on the attack.

Trey abandoned the cannon and drew his sword. Billy and Dawn joined him, blocking off Liam from the attackers. The Flesh Eroders ran at them screaming. Billy hurled a knife at the closest man then brought up his short sword just in time to parry a slash from curved blade. Dawn brought her scimitar around and sliced the arm off of Billy’s attacker. Blood sprayed her face and she gagged but had no time to throw up before she had to sidestep a mace blow.

More men boarded the carrier. Trey dropped a scrawny man with a slash to his chest then had to punch another with a gauntleted fist until he could bring his blade back into a defensive position. An axe bit into his pauldron with a force that numbed his shoulder. He stabbed at the weapon’s owner, his blade splitting the man’s chest in a rain of gore.

“I can’t drive and fight!” called Liam. Warriors were streaming past the teens to climb the stairs up to the control deck. The black clad youth held a halberd at his side but could not use it effectively with one hand. His head jerked between the approaching enemies and the wheel.

Billy managed to reach the railing. “Zak! Get up here. We need backup!”

Liam ditched the controls and thrust his halberd at the first man to peak the steps. The warrior stepped back to avoid the attack but Liam turned the lunge into a swing that tore through the man’s face. He staggered back screaming but two more men took his place.

A black blur shot into the sky at the rear of the ship and landed between Liam and the tribesmen. Zak took in the situation at a glance and lashed out with his axe, killing both men in that single arc. Seeing Zak in his warped black armour, several warriors turned tail and fled.

Through the floundering throng of Flesh Eroders emerged a stocky, barrel-chested man with a war-hammer held firmly in bearlike hands. With the force of a bull he charged straight at Zak with his hammer ready to smash into the teen. Zak leapt to the side but the man continued his sprint, completely ignoring Zak and hurling himself at Liam. Liam dived away and the hammer smashed into the control wheel, reducing the finely crafted wood into matchsticks.

The carrier lurched and swayed, swinging right sharply. Zak’s axe halted the warrior’s rampage but nothing could be done for the controls. Liam tried in vain to regain control of the carrier but he could not get it to veer back away from the Flesh Eroder ships that were now far too close for comfort. Those warriors who still lived began to turn away from combat and jump back over the edge and into the sand below.

“They’re running!” panted Billy. “We won.” He looked to the others, then to the shattered controls and then the looming sand fortresses. “We’re doomed, aren’t we?”

The air exploded with sound that alone seemed to unbalance the world. Cannonballs hurtled toward them as though they moved through jelly. Every heartbeat took an age but Trey could only look on in horror. His body would not move.

Wood split and became an armoury of deadly stakes that crisscrossed in every direction. Sawdust and sand stormed through the wind in a torrent of devastation. Sections of the carrier broke away and flew wildly to smash themselves to tinder as they flipped across the ground. There was so much noise that sound lost all meaning.

Trey felt pain, then seemed to become weightless until more pain greeted a feeling of being crushed. Sights and colours were nothing but a blur that induced sickness. One second was darkness followed instantly by intense light in constant repetition. Then all was still and the veil of darkness settled across his eyes.

Consciousness flickered like the flame of a candle. Time passed on its own accord, a second becoming an hour while a day could have passed by between hazy blinks. Figures moved disjointedly in his peripheral vision like waking spectres. Hands tugged at him, lifted him, pulling and pushing as he lolled with all the power of a rag-doll.

“Trey. Wake up. Please be okay.”

Searing light assaulted his eyes as the soft voice registered in Trey’s subconscious and drew his mind back to the forefront of his brain. His body screamed out in pain but a quick check confirmed that everything was still functional.

He was stood upright, held straight by thick ropes that tied him to a tall pole. Similar poles held the other teens. They were in varying degrees of health but all of them were conscious and none looked seriously injured. Everyone retained their armour but their weapons were nowhere in sight. Billy’s lutar was in the hands of a dirty tribesman who grinned toothily as he plucked tunelessly at the strings. Dawn, who was on the pole to the right of him, sighed in relief now that Trey’s eyes were open.

“I have the strangest sense of déjà vu,” commented Zak dryly from Trey’s left.

“Shut up,” grunted Billy who was slumped dejectedly beside of Zak. “We were lucky to escape last time we were captured. Now it is an impossibility.” Between downtrodden looks at the floor he flashed the man holding his lutar venomous glares.

“Impossible you say?” asked a bemused voice that was hidden by a group of Flesh Eroder warriors. It was a calm, strong voice that sounded distant yet felt whispered directly into the ear. Brutal yet as soft as silk. From the cluster of men stepped a slim man wrapped head to foot in ribbons crusted with long dried blood. Tanned skin stood out in a strip across his face from where crystal blue eyes watched the world with calculating amusement. “Time makes all possible.”

Dawn drew a sharp breath and terror flooded her eyes. Almost subconsciously she began to speak in a shaking rhyme. “Beware the man all wrapped in blood, whose riddled words aren’t understood, for in those eyes all souls erode, the man whose life the Sprites are owed.”

The wrapped man smiled, pearl white teeth visible through the folds of gory cloth. Those blue gems moved slowly over each of the captives, studying each with the glint that suggested he knew every secret that their minds contained.

“What an interesting assortment we have gathered here,” he said after he was happy with his examination. He directed his attention at Zak. “Who could have predicted that I would stumble across one of the Summoner’s blood.”

Zak looked genuinely surprised. “How did you know?” he frowned. Trey had never seen the boy be taken aback.”

“I see the auras, as I assume you can on occasion,” the man explained. His and Zak’s eyes were locked with an intensity that blocked out the outside world. “You see, I too am a descendant of the last Summoner. You could say that we are distant cousins. Our blood is hardly similar though. The Summoner had two sons to two different women. I belong to one chain while you are from the other.”

“Just who the hell are you?” Billy managed to growl, although under the man’s attention the harshness of the words sounded more like whimpers.

“How rude of me. I am Mellow Blacksky, chieftain of the Flesh Eroder tribe,” the man introduced himself. His attention was still solely focussed upon Zak though. “I have a proposition for you, cousin. Join me. With your strength, you would be my right hand man. You would have all of the battle and power that you could desire.”

Zak laughed openly. “I already have all the power that I could possibly want and I’ll have more than enough battle between beating you and then marching into Lanstiro to show those Forukks who they are dealing with. In the past few weeks alone my power has multiplied massively.”

“How dare you!” snarled one of the Flesh Eroders. He pushed his way forward and slammed his fist into Zak’s stomach with all of his strength. Zak did not even flinch.

“If you want to try the old ‘good guard bad guard’ then you may want to get this guy a hammer,” the teen grinned.

Mellow motioned for the warrior to stand down. He took a step closer to Zak. “Such confidence. Can your body support that confidence though and can your confidence support your body?” Lightning fast he drove his fist into Zak’s gut. If he had not been tied up then the boy would have doubled over. Blood spewed from his mouth onto the wooden planks beneath him.

“H-how?” Zak wheezed through pained breaths.

“Blood, my dear boy,” Mellow chuckled dryly. “Use your head. You derive your power from the blood passed down from a Summoner. The Summoner himself has no special blood as it is the prolonged use of the sword that infuses his essence. In old age a Summoner may begin to benefit from these changes but it is his children that gain the most. That power is watered down with every generation.”

Zak grit his teeth against the pain. “I am stronger than my gramps ever was!”

Mellow punched him again and Zak’s eyes looked on the verge of popping out of their sockets.

“Stop it!” screamed Dawn. “Leave him alone!”

The chieftain turned and focussed in on the girl. “And let us not forget you, my dear. Robes the colour of fresh blood and hair like a flame to herald in a new era. I know you, Dawn Rayin of the Heptalli. You were named for your destiny of bringing the dawn of a new chapter in the Heptalli’s history. Nowhere does it state that this new era will be for the better or worse though. Such a mountainous weight for such slender shoulders, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Get away from her!” Trey growled but Mellow ignored him completely.

“Join me, Dawn. Together we can unite the desert as it once was. Think of the peace that that would create.

Dawn fought to keep her face calm, a difficult task under his piercing gaze. “What peace can be found by a man who formed a band of savages named the Flesh Eroders? By a man who wraps himself in the blood of every man, woman and child that he has ever murdered?”

Mellow laughed a great rumbling laugh. “The world is a contradiction,” he chuckled merrily. “You say that ‘Flesh Eroder’ is savage but what is it that erodes flesh? Time! It is time that reduces kings and paupers to skeletons. This desert that we call home, this wondrous sand as far as the eye can see, all of it is the result of the erosion of time. This desert was a lake, which in turn was once a sea. That sea rubbed against cliffs and mountains, grinding rock into sand. Water eroded mountain to create sand which formed this desert. Life becomes death and that death feeds new life! Life and death, creation and erosion, one is impossible without the other!” he ranted happily as though he was revealing the secret of life to the teens.

“As for these,” Mellow continued, tugging at the blood stained bandages. “Think of them less as a gory trophy and more of a memoriam of the souls that I owe life to. Blood is the essence of humanity, by wearing the blood of every life that I have reaped it serves as a constant reminder of every face, every voice, every set of eyes that I have seen the life drain away from. Look back far enough into the Heptalli’s history and you would see that you wear crimson robes as a reflection of my practice.”

“Our family has worn red for centuries,” Dawn countered.

Mellow swung around to face Zak again. “And there we have the answer to you question of how my power supersedes your own. I used my…talents, to extend my life exponentially. The last Summoner was my grandfather.” Like a whip he rounded on Dawn. “Those tales that mothers tell children to scare them about the blood wrapped leader of the Flesh Eroders is no story, nor is it a mask taken up by a new man every few years. I am legend. I am time immaterial.”

Liam yawned. “Enough talking already. If you’re going to kill us, just get it over with.”

“You are quite right, Onlasarian. I have an appointment at your city’s walls to keep.” Mellow nodded. He began to walk away.

Zak snarled at him. “I…am the…strongest!” He hissed a chain of strange words. As his voice picked up tempo, dark clouds boiled above them. Lightning flashed and forked down upon the head of the chieftain. Mellow raised his arm and batted the blazing bolt away like a fly. The lighting scored a deep line of molten glass into the desert to their right.

Tutting under his breath, Mellow pulled a book from his bandages. Its dark crimson leather casing and golden lettering made it instantly recognisable. ‘The Arts of Nimula’. He leafed through the pages then threw it across the deck in disgust.

“You put such faith in a child’s toy,” he grunted. “Books such as that were used to teach children the basics of the power, the words little more than an aid to help concentration.” Mellow raised his arms and the land shook and groaned violently. Sand rose up all around them, enclosing over the ship until it formed a shell that surrounded the three vessels. Mellow lowered his arms and the sand crashed back into its original place.

The Flesh Eroder warriors cackled with raucous laughter at the sheer fear and shock on their captives’ faces. Even Zak seemed stunned by the display. Power still crackled through the air, dissolving slowly in the wind.

“Get the ships moving again,” Mellow ordered the men around him. “Time alone won’t destroy Onlasar. While we have nothing to do other than wait, prepare the Bloodgrounds. Our guests may as well provide us with some manner of entertainment during their demise.”

A chorus of cheers erupted from a thousand throats. Men and woman jumped to their tasks, hooting with an eager bloodlust that chilled Trey’s spine.

A tiny voice whispered behind Trey. “A real mess you have gotten into this time. How many times can you possible get yourselves captured?”

“Pux!” The Yuxova moved onto Trey’s shoulder, crouching low to avoid detection. “Can you cut the ropes for us?” Trey whispered.

Pux shook his head. “No. The ropes are too thick for my blade. Add to that you are all tied up separately, I would be noticed before everyone was free. Even if I could, there are too many warriors for you to escape from. Remember, there is no battle to distract them this time.”

Trey thought, his mind racing with plans. “Liam, do you still have any boomballs?” he asked in a low voice.

The older boy inched his head forward slightly. “Yeah. A few smaller versions.”

“They will have to untie us to take us to this ‘Bloodground’,” Trey explained. “When they do we need a distraction. Zak, do you think you can keep them busy for a few seconds?”

A shark like grin spread across the boy’s face. “Oh, I’ll keep them distracted alright. Death is pretty distracting, right?”

“Liam, you will break away and run. Pux, guide him through the ship to something important, keep him away from any enemies that you can. Destroy what you can with the boomballs. If this ship stops then Onlasar will have one less army outside of its walls. At least for a while longer.

“And what about us?” grunted Billy. “I didn’t notice the part where we are saved.”

“Neither did I,” Trey replied heavily. He could see no way out, but with so much depending on his actions, he would somehow find a way.