Chapter 28

“With sorrow in her core, Life called upon a man to protect her and her creations, bestowing him with extraordinary power. The world would come to know him as the Protector of Peace, the Advent of Ages. But Life herself gave him the title: Guardian.”

Origins by Grand Arboler Parley, year 1989

Duel

There was no doubt who he was. He had to be Lennox Elmson. The way he held himself. The way he narrowed his eyes down at enemies. To Oliver, he looked exactly like what the Guardian of Magic should look like.

A few Salverian mages turned their heads back at Oliver with odd expressions. They probably wonder if they’ve been following the right Guardian all along, Oliver thought. He watched the Forids slowly approach. I don’t blame them. Though, Oliver knew one thing for certain. Lennox was not the Guardian. All growing up, he’d heard of the evil Lennox, the false guardian. One of the most wicked men to ever live.

Oliver expected Silas to call the retreat, but the command never came. The general just watched the Forids march ever closer. We can’t fight them and expect to win, Oliver thought. What’s Silas planning to do?

Lennox aimed his staff at the Salverians and spoke with a powerful voice. “Send forward your so-called Ascended Guardian!” he said. “Oliver Kapur, I’m told is his name! Come! Fight me! And let us see who the true Guardian is!”

All eyes turned toward Oliver. He grimaced, tightening his grip on his staff. What do I do?

Oliver looked over rows of mages’ heads at Silas, who wore a somber expression.

What do I do?

The Forids stopped marching, only Lennox continued forward, a steady trot on his horse.

Before he knew it, Oliver’s feet started carrying him forward, toward the front lines. Ilan and Ashley watched him walk with worried eyes. I’m going to fight him… he thought. The evilest man in history. I’m going to fight him in a magical duel. He didn’t know why he kept walking. He was going to die, but he kept walking.

It would be wrong to run, he thought. I don’t run from a fight. That was his motto as a Branch Leader, but back then, he used only words.

The front line parted, letting him pass. Lennox aimed his staff right at him. “There you are.”

Oliver gulped. Lennox was a tall, broad-shouldered man with black, thin hair touching his shoulders. He seemed Oliver’s superior in every way. After a moment of hesitation, Oliver resumed walking toward the center of the plaza.

He tried to build his own confidence as he walked, running through Carvings in his mind. Maybe I will beat him, he thought. Maybe I am the Guardian. I think I can do this.

✽✽✽

He's going to die, Silas thought. I must do something.

The general was impressed Oliver kept walking. It was either bravery or plain stupidity. Regardless, he knew Oliver was no match for the likes of Lennox Elmson.

Silas moved among the ranks and into the palace where he spotted Captain Fields, who was watching the spectacle in the plaza with a dropped jaw.

"Captain, are there any rare wands or staves left in the palace?"

Fields jumped at the question and said, "Perhaps. We’ve used up almost everything. But I think there's a few in the Mayor's room."

"Perfect, thank you."

✽✽✽

Lennox laughed, pointing at Oliver. "Oh, Salveria. This poor excuse of a man is your Ascended Guardian? You could've done better." The Forids behind him laughed.

Oliver was still going over the Carvings in his head, hoping he would remember them and not die. Somehow his feet kept moving him forward.

Lennox got off his horse and planted his staff into the ground, smirking at Oliver. His staff looked bizarre. It was multicolored from top to bottom with several different wood types. Oliver had to tilt his head upward as he got closer Lennox. The Forid king stood nearly a head and half taller than him. Oliver nearly tripped over one of the cobble stones.

The Forids laughed again.

"General Silas, where are you?" Lennox asked scanning the crowd. "Nowhere to be seen? Weren't you supposed to go and bring back the Ascended Guardian? Instead, you brought this runt? If you're going to send in a false guardian, at least send in a fake that can play the part!"

Runt? Oliver felt his blood begin to boil. He turned around at the Salverians and saw some doubt, very little faith in their eyes. Ilan smiled hopefully. Captain Fields' eyes were wide. Ashley looked like she was holding her breath, her veins bulging. He couldn't find Silas among the crowd that had dispersed around outside and inside the palace.

"Salveria, listen," Lennox said, his voice tender and inviting. "Stop the pretense of believing in a false, ascended guardian. Convert to the truth. The Guardian Reborn is here in front of your eyes. I am the same man who saved mankind a thousand years ago, and I will Appear by being reborn every one thousand years. To help your unbelief, I will cut down your false guardian as proof of my divine investiture."

Oliver stopped, a few paces away from Lennox, recognizing something behind his words. He stared up at Lennox, the man who would go down in history as the worst of the worst, and he saw him for what he really was.

Fear left him.

He's the same thing as me, Oliver thought with a smirk. He's a fake!

"Oh, Barkley and Forid!" Oliver shouted in his best prophetic voice. "Depart from your evil ways!"

Lennox's smile faded. The man to his right and the woman to his left looked puzzled.

"Sons and daughters of Barkley!" Oliver continued. "Return to me, your true Guardian of Magic! You have long believed in the Ascended Guardian but have been deceived by this false guardian who claims reincarnation! All your misdeeds will be forgiven you if you will lay down your weapons and join our cause!

"Sons and daughters of Forid! You have been blinded by centuries of false teachings, which has led to the rising up of this man, this false guardian who leads you to unnecessary violence! Throw down your weapons and join the cause of truth and honor!"

The plaza fell silent.

Lennox looked completely baffled, as did the officers behind him.

Slowly, laughter broke out. Lennox laughed the hardest. "Looks like what he lacks with stature, he makes up for with his mouth!"

More laughter.

Then, it died when several Barklians dropped their swords and started crossing the plaza to join the Salverians. Astonished, Lennox shouted, "What's this? Dissenters?" He waved two fingers casually at them.

A bolt of lightning streaked across the plaza and struck one man. The other men started running, some towards the palace, some back to the Barklian ranks. None of them made it. The white-robed mage on her horse electrocuted each of them with a bolt of lightning from her staff. When finished, she returned to glaring at Oliver.

That must be Queen Charol, Oliver surmised, a chill running down his back. He recalled reading somewhere that she was as infamous as her husband.

Lennox turned back to his armies. "You see how cunning their doctrine is? We must put an end to it!" He turned back to Oliver. "Starting with you."

Oliver raised his hands to speak more but stopped when Lennox began twirling his staff. "No more talking!" he said with an eager grin. "Time to prove who you are! I hope your magery is as good as your mouth!"

His heart thumping, Oliver pulled out his wand and twirled it as fast as he could, Casting a shield just in time to block a lightning bolt Cast from Lennox. He backed up, keeping his distance from the Forid king and his electrified staff.

Oliver'd only practiced with lightning once or twice in the past couple days, and it was frightening beyond all reason. If lightning struck the heart, there was no coming back from that. Maple could only heal a person as long as their heart was beating.

Lennox cast a shield with his wand and began pushing against Oliver's. His hands sweaty, Oliver tried twirling his staff to Cast ash and willow, but it slipped and fell to the ground.

Lennox laughed. "Really?" He effortlessly pushed Oliver's shield upward and Cast fire low, directly at vulnerable Oliver.

Suddenly, a red shield appeared out of nowhere and blocked the fire. Out of reflex, Oliver brought down his own shield and returned to neutral against Lennox, whose face looked completely confused. "What's this?"

Oliver turned to his right and saw a six-foot, magical extension Cast by elm, but could not see the wand that Cast it... nor the person holding the wand. Invisible, Oliver thought. Someone was casting birch and helping him fight Lennox! Good! I flaming need help!

The invisible mage Cast mahogany next. Oliver could tell because electricity started sparkling midair. Whoever it was Cast a lightning bolt at Lennox, but it barely missed, inches from his ear.

Lennox backed up, raising his shield defensively. "Another contender?" he asked loud enough for the surrounding armies to hear. "You knew your false guardian would fall, so you sent an invisible assassin? This is low, even for you, Salveria! The true Guardian should fight his own battles!"

Lennox twirled his multi-colored staff in another Carving routine. That made Oliver pause because it was impossible. That staff was already casting ash and elm, fire and wind. It couldn't cast anything else. At least I don't think it can.

He was wrong.

Lennox finished an inverted Carving for elm, and a magical extension shot 12-feet, not out the tip, but out the bottom of the staff. Oliver shook his head, not believing his eyes. He'd never seen anyone cast magic out both ends of a staff before.

"Smoke and ashes!" the invisible man cursed. Apparently, he'd never seen it before either.

"Silas?" Oliver asked, recognizing his voice.

"Ah, General Silas," Lennox said. "Is that you, hiding from me? Not one for a fair fight, I see! Perhaps you can give me a real challenge! Not like this Life-forsaken pretender you've sent me!"

In response, Silas cast a lightning bolt at the king's face. Lennox blocked it with his other shield, the six-foot extension cast from his wand. "Oliver, attack!" Silas said.

He did. They both did.

Oliver pushed his six-foot shield at Lennox and twirled his staff in the ash and willow Carvings. Silas, still invisible, swung his shield horizontally and cast lightning bolts intermittently. But Lennox, with his two shields and a jet of fire shooting out one end of his staff, managed to block every attack and push the two Salverians back.

With a quick combination of jabs and pushes, a tendril of flames clipped Oliver's shoulder, making him flinch in pain. The next second, Lennox swept his twelve-foot extension low, knocking Oliver's feet out from underneath him. Oliver's back hit the cobblestone street. His breath got knocked out of his lungs.

Lennox moved in to burn Oliver to a crisp, but Silas jumped in front of Oliver, keeping Lennox at bay with a flurry of attacks. Looking up, Oliver realized he could see Silas again. The General tossed an extinguished birch wand aside.

"Get up, Oliver!" Silas shouted mid-fight.

Oliver did, though slowly, wheezing for air. He refocused on twirling his ash-willow staff. A moment later, a jet of fire shot out its tip.

Working together, they started pushing Lennox back. Even though Silas was now visible, Lennox had a tough time withstanding all the fire and lightning coming at him from both sides. The king tripped, falling to the street. He desperately raised his shields up as Silas came down on him for a finishing blow.

At the last second, Silas raised his shield just in time to block a streak of lightning. Oliver looked up.

The attack had come from the woman on the horse. The queen. With narrowed eyes and scowl, she lowered her staff to cast another bolt. Oliver barely blocked it in time.

Lennox sat up and shouted, "ATTACK THEM! THEY SENT TWO WHEN I ASKED FOR ONE! CHARGE!"

“To the palace!” Silas yelled, blocking another lightning bolt.

Oliver turned and ran, grateful Silas had rescued him, grateful to be alive. When he looked at the palace, what he saw made his heart drop.

The Salverians looked at him in disgust. Frowns and scowls aimed at him were all he could see. They hated him. They loathed him. And rightfully so. He’d failed them. They knew now that he was a fake.

He could play the part… but he couldn’t save them.

They probably would’ve killed him right then and there, but Silas roared, “RETREAT!”

The Salverians poured out of the palace in a panic. Soldiers carried injured men and women over their shoulders or on makeshift stretchers. Lightning bolts—followed by earsplitting thunder—struck down a few men as they ran. The enemy charged after the fleeing mages, staying on their heels.

“Keep running!” Silas said.

They did. They sprinted west. Out the city gates and down a steep, grassy hill. The mages who still had magic in their weapons Cast shields for defense, or they Cast lightning at whichever Barklian or Forid was closest.

How could this happen? Oliver thought. Cambium shouldn’t fall. We were supposed to win this battle. A stark realization pierced his mind. Maybe I changed the future? Probably for the worst! Now… because of me… the city of Cambium may never exist in 4027!

Silas and Ashley ran past him, telling everyone to keep running. Although Oliver was anxious to escape, he kept his distance from the rest of the Salverians ahead of him. He feared once they were safe, they would turn on him for deceiving them. I need to run from them, too. I need to run from everyone.

He looked over his shoulder and up the hill. The Salverians had pulled far ahead of the Forids and Barklians who were just exiting the city gates. They didn’t run down the hill, but watched them run, raising their weapons in the air, cheering. Lennox was among them, issuing inaudible orders.

Oliver slowed his pace. Maybe it would be better if I turned back and let them kill me, he thought. I’ve only made things worse by being here. I can’t go home. The Forids want to kill me. The Barklians want to kill me. Flames, now my own country wants to kill me. Not a single Secular exists in this era, and now I’m not even sure if I am one. I mean, flames, for a moment there I thought I was the Guardian of Magic! What was I thinking?

He felt a hand pat him on the shoulder.

It was Ilan running down the hill beside him. “Don’t worry, Oliver,” he said. “We’ll stop them at Magen City.” He flashed a hopeful smile, and then brought his focus back to jogging.

Oliver was in shock. Not just because the man was insanely optimistic, but because of what he saw in Ilan’s face. The dimple in his cheek. The twinkle in his eye. A few things didn’t match, but most did. He knew why Ilan looked familiar to him.

“Ben,” Oliver muttered under his breath.

“What’s that?” Ilan asked.

“You remind me of Ben.”

Ilan raised an eyebrow. “Who’s B—?”

He was cut off as an arrow tip protruded through his chest.

Shock washed over Oliver like a cold storm. “NO!” he screamed. He reached to catch Ilan from falling.

Thump.

A blast of pain made Oliver freeze. He looked down. The feathered end of an arrow was sticking out of his side. Right where his kidney was supposed to be.

He glanced up the hill and saw a small group of Barklian archers shooting arrows into the sky. White-robed mages Cast lightning bolts down the hill, but they veered off course, very inaccurate at long distances.

Another arrow pierced Oliver’s left bicep, making him yelp in agony. He fell to his knees, his eyes wide in shock.

The grassy hill was strewn with several dozen arrows around him. A few more embedded themselves into the soil between him and the man on the ground in front of him.

The man was on his stomach, arrow sticking out his back, his eyes up, his mouth agape as if he were wanting to scream in horror, but nothing came out. Another arrow struck one of his calves. He clenched his eyes shut.

“Ben!” Oliver shouted, crawling toward him, his heart racing. Not again! he thought. Not again!

His vision grew fuzzy as he moved. He was reliving a nightmare. A tree branch broke through the windshield and impaled him, right through the chest. Glass and blood were everywhere. He’d watched his brother’s anguished expression slowly fade to lifeless.

The pain begged him to lie down and sleep, making it fade away into oblivion. He wasn’t sure if he was thinking straight, but all he knew was he had to help him.

Finally reaching him, Oliver tried to roll him over with one arm, but the arrow in the young man’s back would only allow him to lay on his side. Do I pull it out? Oliver thought. Will that help or make things worse?

The man opened his eyes and looked up at Oliver. “Ben!” Oliver whimpered. It hurt to speak. “You’re okay! Stay with me!”

Oliver blinked. That’s not Ben.

Ilan coughed. The arrow through his chest had damaged his lungs. “Oliver,” he managed to whisper.

“Maple!” Oliver said. “I need maple!” He searched his robe and found it empty. He’d used his maple wand to heal his scrapes and bruises when he landed in front of the Cambium palace. “Help… help!” Oliver cringed; yelling hurt his side. He looked down the hill. Most of the Salverians were beyond shouting distance.

A surge of pain made Oliver double over, retching what contents remained in his stomach. His whole body trembled. He felt cold.

A slow movement caught his eye. Ilan was moving something with his right hand. A wand? Maple?

“Yes,” Oliver muttered, his spirits lifted. He can be saved! He can be saved!

“Oliver…” Ilan whispered again, trickles of blood at his lips, his skin pale. He finished the last twirl with the maple wand. And then he pressed the tip onto Oliver’s leg.

No.

A blast of chill followed by extreme heat ran through Oliver’s body. The pain was gone. The arrow in his side and the arrow in his bicep fell to the ground, not a puncture wound in sight. The fuzziness in his mind vanished.

“Ilan!” he shouted. “What have you done!”

Even through his pain, with two arrows in his body, his lungs punctured, and his skin as pale as snow… Ilan smiled.

“Save… them…” he whispered.

He closed his eyes and his smile faded.

Oliver watched in horror.

He jumped as someone ran up to him. It was Silas and Ashley. They’d turned back up the hill to help. A few more mages stood nearby, Casting lightning bolts up at the enemy archers and mages. Ashley Cast a red extension with her wand to shield them from oncoming arrows. “Ilan!” she shouted. “Heal him!”

Silas pulled out a maple wand and twirled it in a blur of speed. Once the Carving was done, he Cast maple on Ilan, touching his skin on the neck.

Nothing happened.

“No,” Silas said, keeping the wand there. “Son….”

Ashley stared down with wide eyes. “You didn’t Cast it right!”

“I did.” He looked up with a ghostly expression. “His heart…” Arrows and lightning bolts soared around them. “Oliver, help me carry him.”

With Oliver at the feet and Silas at the head, they hoisted Ilan up and carried him down the hill while Ashley shielded them. “Let me see,” she demanded, her palm extended. Silas gave her his maple wand and she inspected it closely while holding her shield up. Maple was a wood that was difficult to discern whether it was Casting magic; one could only feel it’s magic when touched.

She touched the tip to Ilan’s arm. Still nothing. Then she touched the tip to her own arm. She inhaled sharply and brought her posture upright, looking energized. The magic worked. But that meant…

Tears seeped out her eyes. “No. No! NO!”

She threw the extinguished wand to the grass and turned her head away, pressing her palm into her eyes.

Silas’s expression cold. He glared up the hill as they carried the corpse off the battlefield.

Tears ebbing in his own eyes, Oliver stared at Ilan’s lifeless face. He kept waiting for a smile to appear. Any moment, he would open his eyes and say he was just faking. He was too expert a mage to be killed by arrows. He was too selfless and idiotic to heal Oliver when he should’ve healed himself. He was too good of a person to die. Oliver watched closely. Expectantly.

Ilan never did open his eyes.