Book 3 Chapter 49

When he came to, Tirr found himself in a large field… Grass swayed gently in the breeze as a group of his followers prepared to camp for the day. The group was small but elite, all of them high-ranking followers… Along with Henna and Selene, it was a force capable of conquering a small country… Viewing the scene as an observer in his own body, Tirr wondered what they had moved for.

Meanwhile past Tirr sat mindlessly, bored as the others all went about their tasks. He picked up a dandelion, carelessly blowing into it. The seeds broke away, floating up gently as they were caught by the strong breeze and carried away. He watched his body move without his input, and Tirr felt a sadness within himself. Before he could dissect the feeling though, a loud voice called from a nearby hill…

“Watch out!” Tirr turned towards the noise just into time to see a dark shape come swooping towards him. He rolled out of the way in an instance, narrowly avoiding the incoming flyer. He turned to look at it in surprise even as his followers went on high alert, charging toward its source.

Tirr on the other hand examined the thing, picking it up as he went over the strange design. Wings made of wood and stretched leather sat on a compact carved body. Tirr felt his excitement rising as he looked over it. The basic idea was close but was missing some key points…

Looking over the broken device, Tirr heard the same voice call out in pain, “My flyer!” Tirr turned towards the source this time, finding an old man being carried in by the scruff by Tirr’s followers.

The old man was bald with a thick bushy beard that hung in tangles from his dirt-covered face. He wore a pair of simple robes, marked with oil and soot, and his expression was one of horror as he looked at the broken device in Tirr’s hands…

Tirr smiled looking the strange man over as he raised the odd creation? You made this?”

The scene shifted and Tirr found himself in a small wooden hut. The dirt-colored ground or dank smell would usually put him off from even thinking about entering, but what he found along the walls drew him in easily.

Wooden gears mixed with od devices and hung on every inch of the walls. And best of all and the most numerous were clocks of all shapes and sizes. He looked at each in wonder as the strange hermit guided him in,

“I've always dabbled in the mechanics of things I can’t understand. From flight to the stars…” But one that has always interested me the most is time…” The way it ticks so ever onwards… He let out a laugh “Though as I’ve grown older maybe my reasons became less pure…”

He pulled down one clock, not much larger than a pocket watch. “Fasinating isn’t it… It marches ever onward one second at a time. One of the few things in this world that is truly unstoppable. The one true constant… Yet I’ve always felt there was more… Soldiers sometimes talk of how time can seem to slow down in particularly dangerous moments. Or even how enjoyment can make time seem to go faster. As if it was dependant on the observer... All that is just a theory though…

Tirr fell an impish desire surge within him at the words... Ignoring the old hermit as he spoke, he pointed at the small clock. The old hermit stopped confuse “ Oh dear, I'm sorry, there I went blabbering again. Did you have a questi…” The words froze in his mouth.

As he watched the small hands of the clock first slowed, then stopped completely. The old man stared in wonder before looking around the small hut. Every clock within had come to a stop, leaving them in eery silence. He looked down at the boy next to him only to see Tirr give him a mischievous grin. “Who said it’s a constant?”

The scene shifted again and a familiar room appeared. Cloaked figures sat around a large table. Some identities had been revealed and Tirr could now clearly see Bren Selene and even Henna. The focus of this memory though seemed to be the old hermit, now dressed in simple but elegant robes and a somewhat combed beard.

“We exist, that’s their problem...” Old Ronas said derisivily… The arguing went on for a while, and several figures came to meet with Tirr afterward, hoping to comfort the young god… The memory became a blur, moving quickly until Tirr reached his own room.

There old Ronas sat, paper spread out around him as he hummed.

“Ronas…” Tirr heard himself say…

“Yes! I’ve been waiting for you… You see this current project I’m working on has been having trouble so I was planning on making my way to the capital even before the meeting... You see, for some reason on the dynamics…”

“Ronas…”

The old man stopped letting out a sigh, “I believe the others have already decided on a sensible plan have they not? So what’s the point in worrying?”

“People are going to die, and because of me…”

Ronas stopped, his face becoming serious for a rare moment… “There’s never quite enough time is there… So much to do, to see… But there’s no point in wondering about what could happen.”

Tirr frowned… and Ronas let out an exclamation “Bahh! I've has never been good at this… Henna is the one you should talk to about that… But what I will say is, don’t worry so much about the future. Focus on one time at a time.” He gave Tirr an awkward pat on the head before pointing to the diagrams, “Now, will you help me with these?”

The scene shifted one last time, and Tirr could tell he had left his own memories and entered Ronas’s. The old man whistled as he looked at the newly formed mountain range… Created just the day before to drive a wedge through the enemy's forces. Yet even still. with only half of their forces… It was more than they were ready for.

Around him, his students worked tirelessly praying as they prepared. All of them showed no signs of panic. They simply went about their work, giving no mind to the giant army that approached them.” Ronas turned to his best student... “Are we almost ready?”

“Soon Master, though even with your strength nothing like this has ever been attempted.”

“Then today's the best day to give it a try… The others need time to prepare, otherwise even these leftovers will wipe us out”

“Yes, Master.” The young man answered before going back to the others. Ronas looked back towards the oncoming army. A mix of humans and golems and in the back a hint of familiar darkness… He held back a shiver even as they drew closer and closer.

Soon the oncoming army was only a few hundred yards away. He turned towards his students again, ready to ask once again when he saw them nod. He grinned wickedly raising his hand as the others channeled their faith to him. Above him it gathered, shimmering in the sky as it formed together. Finally, it solidified, forming a large clock similar to the one he had shown Tirr those many years ago…

As the Army grew closer the ticking of the clock grew softer. The enemy's steps slowed to their own confusion. A voice called out from the darkness at the back, “What are you doing!” Yet the words came out as a crawl as the clock slowed further. It eventually came to a halt, and so did the opposing army. They stood frozen in place, some mid-step, confusion clear on the faces of those who could express it.

Even as the clock held, Ronas could feel the huge amount of faith it consumed. Yet there was nothing they could do... Besides, hold as long as they could… Beyond the miracle's influence, people would be evacuating and the other apostles would be preparing to make their own attacks. The more time they could by the better,

They lasted for first one, then two days. On the third day, the first of Ronas’s students fell. His body and mind drained of all energy… The others were quick to follow, just as spent as the first.

Finally, Ronas was the only one remaining, and as he felt his faith deplete and his life force start to burn, he whispered to himself.. .”I once thought time was a problem to be solved, an unstoppable constant in a world full of variables.” Ronas could feel his vision going black, his body spent. The clock above him first cracked, then started ticking normally once more…

There was an angry shout as the enemy forces continued their march once more and the dark shadow flew towards him, full of rage. Ronas just smiled as he collapsed near his students, “I’ve since realized… That Time is only what you make of it…” By the time the furious shadow reached him he was already gone.