Trojian Horse

A small crowd quickly gathered around the landing site; Vulpeculae of diverse sizes and shapes eager to see the identity of their unexpected guests. Many recognised the ship and their glee was obvious when they saw the face of their old friend Roue. Roue was glad to see the old faces around the crowd and though he would have liked to be happier the moment just would not allow any sort of celebration. Turo walked quietly behind him as he made his way through what was now a small crowd which kept steadily growing as word spread of his return. He asked to be taken to the Queen and an escort made themselves available, in buoyant mood, until Mato-Rayo stepped out of the ship with a heavy load in his arms. A sudden hush fell on the crowd as they recognised the load that was in his arms. Mato walked slowly out of the ship and entered the crowd. Tears still ran like tiny steady rivulets down her blue face. A hand reached out to help Mato carry the load, then another and yet another until eventually the load was hoisted above the heads of the crowd towards the entrance of the palace. What had now become a funeral procession made its way to the throne.

At the entrance Roue recognised Nura whose excited expression immediately turned to one of sorrow when she recognised what was happening. She reached forward and received Arien’s body into her hands. Nodding at Roue she motioned for Roue and his company to follow her. By now news of Roue’s arrival had spread into the entire city coupled with news of Arien’s demise and corridors in the streets were formed by Vulpeculae eager to see their fallen champion and their friend. A few showed a healthy curiosity in the strangers that Roue brought with him although the sombre mood ensured the focus remained on Arien. Nura remained quiet occasionally glancing at the bundle in her arms, half expecting him to jump up and tell her an interesting story or make some snide remark but he never moved. Eventually they reached the throne room where the Queen and Hethios stood at the foot of her throne looking down on the grief-stricken crowd.

Hethios heart sank within him when he saw what Nura had in her arms. Their last hope lay lifeless in her arms, looking peaceful in a ripped top. He appreciated that Arien had been cleaned up before presenting him before them and he nodded to Roue his acknowledgement. Roue, one of his oldest and dearest friends, hung his head in response. Roue’s companions looked to Hethios to appreciate the gravity of the moment. He wondered who they were.

Hethios looked at Arien for a moment before he extended his hands and walked over to Roue then placed his hands on Roue’s head and after a hand on Roue’s chest; the Vulpeculae greeting.

“My friend, it is good to see you,” Hethios said. “It has been a very long time.”

“It has,” Roue replied looking into Hethios eyes. “I wish it were under better circumstances.”

“Tell us what happened…”

“I don’t even know where to start…”

“Maybe start with how you got here,” Hethios suggested.

Roue looked at the Queen, who had not spoken a word, instead opting to kneel next to Arien who lay on the floor. Her eyes remained fixed on his body drowning out the sounds around her as she knelt silently before him. She could scarcely believe that Arien was here before her unable to speak, once so full of life and questions but now limp and cold. It was difficult for her to comprehend the full extent of her feelings in that moment so maintained silence while she tried to process it all. Their relationship had often been tenuous and she often felt he required more discipline but now all she wanted was for Arien to come back to them.

Roue glanced in her direction then turned his attention back to Hethios.

“Well, I suppose in order to explain that I have to tell you what happened after the last time I saw you,” Roue began. He raised his voice so that everyone in the room would hear him then went on to explain how the resistance had been thrown into disarray when the Vulpeculae disappeared. He told them how he had felt lost for a long time after that and finally regained his purpose when the Georas became the new leaders of the resistance, how they had fought Reeger for a long time though it seemed they were losing more battles than they won and certainly seemed to be losing the war. That was until rumours of a prophecy speaking of a power that could tip the balance of the war in their favour, how he had gone in search of that power in Reeger’s ship, which had eventually led him here. He went on to explain how he had met Arien and the sort of impact Arien had made on all of them in the short time they had known him. Arien had given them a purpose and a hope that they had not felt in decades he said. He briefly explained the encounter with Reeger leaving out much of the detail and concluding with how Arien had lost his life defending them. There was a loud murmur from the crowd when he mentioned that Reeger was on Trojian.

“I have failed you. I failed you all,” Roue said.

“No need to blame yourself. None of us could have expected this. Reeger was always a formidable enemy,” Hethios said.

“But I was there, I should have done something…”

“What could you have done?”

“I really don’t know. I just feel like I let you down.”

“To let me down I would have had to have sent you. I didn’t.”

“They trusted me to protect him,” Roue stated.

“They?” Hethios asked.

Before Roue could answer he felt Turo nudge him in the back. Roue had neglected to mention the Greylings in his narrative and he guessed Turo wished that information to remain secret.

“It doesn’t really matter right now. Arien wanted to save them. That’s why we were in Reeger’s ship,” Roue said nodding in the direction of Mato-Rayo, Elia-bi and Reinon.

“Well, it sounds like he could not be protected. He would have done what he wanted anyway,” Hethios said, sensing the obvious distress in Roue’s voice and trying his best to offer comfort.

“Perhaps,” Roue accepted reluctantly.

“And so who are they?” Hethios asked.

“I don’t actually know,” Roue said gesturing for his companions to speak. “I really only just met them but I know Arien wanted them to be saved sooner rather than later.”

“I am Reinon, of the Reichkin, descendent of Ethazar, father of the great from the planet Akrin,” said the tall blue-skinned female, bowing low as she spoke. She had a sword in her hand which had a few drops of blood around the hilt. Hethios could see that an attempt had been made to clean it though probably not as well as Reinon would have liked. When she stood up straight she noticed Hethios gazing at the sword.

“I was the previous owner of the blade. I have disgraced it and myself, and am no longer worthy to wield it. I am at your service, until I can regain my honour.”

“What do you mean,” Hethios asked.

“This is the sword that killed Arien,” Reinon stated flatly. “Reeger took it from me and used it against him.” The shame was evident in her tear-stained face. The room somehow grew far more silent than it had been. More than a few looks were cast in her direction after her declaration.

“And who are you?” asked Hethios looking directly at Turo.

“Turo, a resident of Trojian. I helped Arien escape a pair of hungry talaksh in the forest. I led him out of the forest then we met Roue and you know the rest I believe.”

“You know everything that happened to him then? You were with him?”

“I was,” Turo replied. “He saved my life.”

“I wish to hear everything that you spoke about while you were with Arien. Perhaps later. But I thank you for your kindness,” Hethios said.

Turo nodded her acknowledgement as a single tear rolled down her cheeks.

“It’s nothing,” she answered, turning away instantly, and planting herself a few steps behind Roue. Hethios turned his attention to the remaining two members of the party.

“And you two?”

“I am Mato-Rayo,” the heavily built grey-skinned gargantuan answered.

“And I am Elia-bi,” the tiny creature on Mato’s shoulders answered. She had long flowing hair, golden brown skin and a pair of feathery wings on her back folded neatly behind her. She was a little less than half of Arien’s height but she looked very intimidating.

“And do you know why my son wanted to save you?”

“No…not really,” answered Elia-bi. “But we are grateful. And anything we can do we will do. His daring plan gave us the chance to die free, and die we will if we must.” She clenched her fists.

“Why did Reeger have you in his cells in the first place?” Hethios questioned them.

“We were unfortunately not in the right place at precisely the wrong time,” the deep resonating voice of Mato Rayo answered. “We kept Reeger at bay by speaking in a language none of his party could understand. That was her plan. After a while he kind of forgot about us.” His voice went lower and lower as he approached the end of his sentence then he hung his head when he finished speaking.

Hethios could see that they had all been through an ordeal they were not quite prepared to speak about and chose not to press any further.

“And you?” Hethios asked, facing Reinon.

“I became a part of the resistance and he caught me,” Reinon said. “He found this sword and committed some unspeakable acts with it.” Tears flowed afresh from her face as if she looked at the lifeless body lying on the floor.

Hethios wondered why she was this affected by Arien’s passing, as if she had known him all her life. He wished to ask her but thought better of it.

“What is special about it?” Hethios asked.

“It has…incredible power. Much of which I have not been able to harness. Maybe Arien knew its strength and could not let it remain in Reeger’s possession, I can’t be certain. He told me that we were the key to defeating Reeger.”

“I thank you for rallying behind him when you had no reason to trust him. I could not have asked him to be surrounded by more suitable companions on his last day.”

“He had the Thalios,” Roue said. The room erupted into gasps and hushed conversation.

“And you know this for sure?” Hethios asked visibly shocked.

“We do,” Roue answered. “Reeger knew it too, I think, that’s why…” Roue glanced in the direction of Arien’s body.

“Reeger is a monster, he will not stop until we are all dead. All that stood between us and him was the Thalios. He couldn’t get it from Arien the first time but this time he wasn’t interested in extracting it,” Roue informed them rather vehemently.

“Wait, what do you mean the first time?” Hethios asked making no attempt to hide his surprise.

“Today was not the first time they met, although I gather Arien may not have had any recollection of it until recently I think. Reeger tried to find Arien before,” Roue said.

“What do you know about this first meeting?” Hethios asked.

“Nothing,” Reinon replied, “Only that Reeger failed although he tried to convince me that he had succeeded. I began to suspect that he hadn’t because he hadn’t killed us yet and he still wanted to know more about the sword.”

“I’m beginning to wonder just how much power that sword actually has,” Roue remarked.

“A lot more than you could imagine, in the right hands, or rather in more capable hands that my own its power can be devastating,” Reinon replied.

“This is all so much to comprehend.” Hethios staggered back into a seat then sat silently contemplating what he had heard. “And what of their first meeting?”

“It was on Ser-oos. A long time ago. When Arien was still an infant,” said Roue. “At least that’s what Arien told us.”

“He will come for us. To destroy us,” said Reinon.

“Yes, I know,” Hethios responded.

“We need to be ready. Anything we can do we will do,” Elia-bi stated.

“We are grateful for that,” Hethios replied.

“I know you are trying to understand all of this, and you must grieve in any way you see fit but we can’t, at least not right now. This is what he wants, for us to be destroyed by our fear and paralysed by our grief,” Roue said speaking in a deliberately authoritative tone ensuring that everyone in the room heard him. “I didn’t know Arien very well but he sacrificed himself so that we could all be here right now and I think we can honour him by staying alive and fighting.”

“You’re right, of course,” said Hethios. “And we always knew this day would come. It’s just that the cost has been so high. It doesn’t make sense; this can’t be the way it all ends.” His voice was quavering. His head sank into two of his cupped hands.

“Roue is right,” Reinon said. “This has been Reeger’s plan all along. He wants us to lose hope, to concede victory to him but if we keep our minds sharp and let our grief drive us then he’ll have to work for it.”

“Why do you care so much for him?” the Queen asked, breaking her silence at last.

“I may not have known him for long but I was waiting for him for a long time. He represented everything that we fought for, the reason I joined the resistance, the sum of all our causes in a physical form, the guardian of the Thalios and the Aldebaran,” Reinon replied.

“The what? Aldebaran?” Hethios asked simultaneously with Roue, Turo and Elia-bi.

“Where I come from our education encompasses a history of the great powers in the universe and how to harness or control them. And those that can’t be controlled we have to understand.”

“Who are you exactly?” the Queen asked, rising from the floor, and walking toward Reinon.

“Today I am your servant my Queen,” Reinon replied. “I wish I could tell you everything I know but I do not think we have enough time.”

“I will hear what you can tell me Reinon. Hethios, will you see to it that we are ready,” the Queen said. “We are at war, my people.”