Chapter 10

The Defiant One

The first word out of Azon’s mouth was, “No.”

Shaking his head, he said, “Absolutely not. You just woke up after a two year coma, and on top of that, I don’t think your muscles, inhibited as they are, will allow you to protect yourself.”

In an absolute dreaded desperation, Ornias spouted fiercely, “But I can provide assistance in other ways, I have read strategy books and understand important strategies that can be employed.”

He produced a deep inhale before continuing, “Also I may yet still find a way to protect myself, we cannot just decide on my limitations because of my muscles.”

It was then that Azon realized Ornias had truly resolved himself for this, and resigning to his conviction, he said, “Okay… okay… I see your point. How about this, you can come, but you must stay exactly by my side at all times.”

Ornias had a glimmer of hope spring through his eyes, but Azon continued the good news by saying, “In addition, I will let you be on your own, if you can prove to me that you can take care of yourself.”

A resounding joy filled him, and he said with confidence, “I will undoubtedly show you my capabilities.”

“This boy doesn’t let the hard times hit him”, Azon thought, and replied to the determined boy by saying, “Good, now we will be leaving in four hours, so gather what you need to bring, and don’t forget to tell Cecilia...”

Turning around Ornias clenched his fist and bit down on his lip, as he headed back inside the house. His thoughts were muddled over how he could pull off what he wanted to do. It’s because he wanted that big burly man who killed his actual father to die, and he was going to see to that.

The task would not be easy however, because he was going to be monitored by Azon at all times unless he could prove himself. So he had to find a way to utilize some cultivation techniques and prove to Azon his independency.

Placing these thoughts out of his mind for now, he gathered up what items he thought would be useful and left his room. Then came the hard part, he had to tell Cecilia that he was leaving with Azon. So returning out of his room, he moved into the living room area.

In the living room, he found Cecilia, reading a book. Slightly biting on his lower lip, Ornias struggled over how to tell her, and had to basically force himself to speak with her about his departure. With fists clenched he strode in the in front of Cecilia, and waited till she placed down her book and gave him her full attention.

A stiff hoarse voice resounded out of his mouth, as he said, "Mother, I decided I am leaving with Azon as well."

However the words out her mouth was different than what was expected, as she said, “Before that, Ornias, darling… I didn’t tell you when you woke up because it wasn’t a good time… but I’m pregnant.”

The sudden unexpected news caused him to scream, “What??!!”

A pained expression appeared on her face, as she said, “You see, I found it out before Azon returned with the mage who cured you. I was late in my cycle and I knew immediately that I was with child.”

“Does Azon know?” Ornias questioned.

With a slight nod, she said, “He knows.”

Complicated emotions swirled inside Ornias as he tried to decide what to do now. After all, he couldn’t just leave his mother who raised him whole life in this situation. The revenge would have to wait and he had to re-evaluate what to do about Azon.

The big burly man was not solely responsible for his family’s extermination, because it was by Azon’s orders. Yet with the revelation of Cecilia’s pregnancy, he just couldn’t see himself kill that child’s real father, like his father was killed.

Reading the atmosphere, Cecilia was very wise and said, “Ornias… I want you to go with your father. Support him, and make sure he comes back alive to his child.”

Biting his lip, Ornias felt speechless, and had too much to process. However, he was truly grateful for Cecilia being supportive and understanding to let him leave with Azon, even if it was for different reasons.

A tight embrace was expressed between mother and son, and tears welled in Cecilia’s eyes, as she said, “Stay safe, and rely on your father’s strength if anything becomes dangerous.”

A meek grin appeared on Ornias as he nodded, and he glanced one last time at her and that at her stomach before turning to leave. His belonging were placed in the hallway before entering the living room, so he just scooped them up and left with no further exchanges between mother and son.

As he arrived back outside, he spotted Azon holding the reigns on two horses by his favorite tree that he always sat under. Those horse were two fine large breeds that were bred for stamina and not speed.

Noticing the approach of his son, a slight smirk appeared as he asked, “You tell your mother?”

Ornias glanced at him and nodded, and strode over to the horse that Azon held the reigns to, and in a swift motion, he leaped on top of it. Following suit, Azon leaped onto the other horse and directed it towards the encampment of the Crimson Claw Bandits.

Although Ornias got on the horse casually, he had actually only rode horse a couple times in his life, and Azon had to hold the reigns of his horse, while they moved toward the encampment.

As they rode towards the encampment, a half evil grin spread on Azon’s face. His ploy to not get involved in that argument, payed off. He was glad he made Ornias do it, since he already had plenty of earfuls from Cecilia as of late.

“It must be her emotional levels due to her impregnation.” He thought to himself, but he knew nothing about women and their emotions to begin with.

They had sexual intercourse before he left to Caelestis and getting Greystorm. Yet it came as a shock to Azon, when he discovered his woman was giving off an unusual aura. It was then that he discovered she was pregnant and asked her about it.

This news was delivered at a bad time and he couldn’t do anything about his role in this upcoming war. The only thing he could do was make it a quick and easy war, but time would tell.

Both men had different thoughts as they rode into the camp, one on revenge and one on responsibilities. But both men were troubled over the recent news of Cecilia’s pregnancy. These were thoughts that most assuredly would trouble them during the entirety of this war against Tolboud.

As these motions towards war were coming into play, at this same moment in time, a dark shadow on the ground sailed through a heavily forested mountain side. It moved with a terrifying speed and weaved out of the way of obstacles before heading into a lit cave on the mountainside.

This shadow approached a fire that blazed strong, then slowly emerged from the shadows and took the form of the strange man that Vanrus had given that letter to earlier.

Inside this cave there was another man who appeared unwell and was sitting cross legged near the fire in meditation. An uncomfortable frown was on the man's face and an oppressive pressure was emanating from him.

The strange man who emerged from the shadows approached the man near the fire and knelt down onto one knee in his presence. It was obvious who the master was and who was the servant between the two men.

Without moving or opening his eyes, the sickly looking man by the fire said, "Kaframa, what is the reason you intruded my meditation? I’m in a rather foul mood of late and I don’t wish to be bothered."

Lowering his head and speaking formally, the man known as Kaframa replied, “My lord, Teronus, I have a letter addressed to you personally from the son of Chalmon.”

An eyebrow rose on the face of Teronus but his eyes remain closed as he said, “That Fortis clan’s boy addresses me personally?”

Snickering with a distasteful resentment, Kaframa said, “He seemed desperate that he would send a letter to his clan’s arch-nemesis.”

Kaframa pulled the letter out of his satchel kept his head lowered and motioned the letter towards Teronus. Yet Teronus didn’t even move from his spot and instead the letter itself began to darken till it was pitch black and then dissolved, seemingly disappearing into thin air.

The letter then re-materialized within the hands of Teronus. After holding the letter in his withered hands, he finally opened his old eyes as he skimmed through the contents. After finishing the letter, a smile wove across his face, and he seemed pleased.

A burst of laughter escaped his mouth, as he said, “Kaframa, you brought me some unexpectedly good news. To think I was troubled over this very matter, now it will be resolved finally.”

Confusion was apparent on Kaframa, as he said, “My lord?”

“Ah… sorry, the contents” Teronus apologized, and then said, “Chalmon’s, poor excuse for a son, has done us a favor. He has set up a detailed plan to eliminate my biggest headache, but he asks for our help in the matter.”

Trying to appear helpful, Kaframa asked, “What is this help that he requires, my lord?”

A smug grin appeared on Teronus, as he muttered, “Brilliant… absolutely brilliant….”

Then actually looking down on his disciple for once, he said, “Kaframa, First you must know the reason he specifically gave me the letter.”

A deep breath of air filled his lungs as he started to long windily explain, “You see it is because not only do I bear a grudge against Azon for killing my Original Disciple, there is another reason.”

He pointed to himself as he said, “This other reason is because I am a member of the Church of Ascension. He wants me to use my influence with other members to get rid of this pest, that neither of us can touch, and I know just the man to let in on this information.”

Ignorant over the matters revolving this situation, Kaframa said, “My lord, I beg you to forgive my impudence, but why cannot you personally get rid of this Azon? Also, as I see it, Vanrus seems to gain greatly from this endeavor while you, my lord, only gets a justice well deserved.”

Teronus gave him a sharp glance, before nodding his head and saying, “It’s true. I’m sure he is only trying to serve his own self-interests, but this is a rare chance to kill Azon.”

A frustrated grunt came from Teronus as he stated, “As for the reason I cannot kill him personally, it’s because our great ancestor of the five clans would know. He decreed back then, that although he would allow Azon’s exile, he would not stand for his death. It’s because he stated that any man who sought Azon’s life within our five clan’s, would die, regardless of who it was, and even if are members of the church.”

Appalled Kaframa, spouted out, “My lord, how can he dare be so overbearing towards members the church? The words he speaks is blasphemous and punishable by death. Lesser men have had their entire clan’s extinguished for defying the church's heralds and Laws, how could he state something such as that?”

“Ah… Kaframa… you’re pushing a topic that I cannot discuss with just anyone….” Teronus replied, and in an attempt to divert the subject, he said, “Enough of that, let’s go pay a visit to my good friend, Novaron in Domington, and see how his genius magician for a disciple is doing.”

After speaking those words, Teronus took a minute to put out the fire himself, then melded with the shadows around him, and left the cave. Kaframa dutifully followed his leadership, and also became one with the shadows, and flew out of the cave.

While Teronus and Kaframa flew at great speed towards Domington, Azon and Ornias had settled themselves inside the main encampment area of Fengle’s Grove. There was three more hours before they would depart and Ornias needed to hurriedly discover a way to separate from Azon.

The problem was that with the third trial ending in failure, most of his pivotal fighting capabilities became useless. The muscles were where the strength and power of every attack came from.

Thinking hard he pondered, “How can I show my strength, if it’s because of the pills I am taking, that I can even use my muscles to perform basic functions?”

Suddenly a radical idea sprang forth inside his head. The very notion of it was heretical and went against the very creed of the Laws. The Laws of a Warrior and the Laws of Cultivation, both state that a failed trial will cut you off from those connections.

However, if he could use the pill to communicate with his muscles then how come he personally couldn’t? He wondered.

It didn’t make sense to him. Therefore what he decided to do was strain his mind to the deepest depths it could reach, and grasp his muscles once again, by utilizing the connection the pill made.

Entering into a senseless Zen-like state Ornias patterned his breathing and delved deep into the recesses of his mind like he had never done before. “It must be possible”, he spoke out loud, and thought to himself, “How else could this pill do it?”

He knew that on the surface of the mind, was where one would create, the realm of a warrior and the realm a mage. From there the individual would then make each realm have their own distinct ways to cultivate the individual's power.

The warrior realm always had something like the nine doors to represent the warrior rankings and only from there it was possible to further develop ones fighting prowess, by delving into the secrets behind each door for that corresponding rank.

The mage realm differed greatly because it was created for the purpose of speaking with the elemental essences. They would gather the elements together in a room and unlock their true powers of understanding collectively.

For instance, if attainment in one element reached the third rank and an individual trained in two elements, the other element would communicate with the element that reached the third rank and it would also open up its secrets of the third rank.

What Ornias sought however, was access to his muscles again. So he entered into the realm of a warrior and was placed once more in front of those nine doors. Starting from the far right he passed by the first two rooms which had dim lights shine from within. The lights would have been brighter but his cultivation capabilities were affected due to the failed trial.

Then after passing the first two doors he stopped and a bleak grimace appeared on his face as he stood in front the third door. The door to the third rank was open but the room beyond was dark.

There was but a single ray of hope however, because a visible yellow string of light entered the door and seemed to extend deep into the room. The aura inside the room was foreboding and with a single strand of light piercing inside, it didn’t brighten the insides of the room at all.

As he stood outside he noticed that the string of light was inconsistent at times, and the light would disappear, before returning moments later. Any sane person wouldn’t be willing to venture in that room after noticing that or else they would feel like they would lose themselves forever and never return.

Ornias almost lost heart himself, but he thought, “What is there to lose anymore? My real family is already dead, and I lost all martial capabilities to do anything about it.”

The final resolve pushed him into a state of madness as he entered the door and followed the thin string of light. Walking deep into the room, it felt as though many hours had passed, and the entrance to the room became no longer visible.

The light strand was the pill accessing the far recesses of his mind. Yet it was a strange thing because the strand of light would disappear at times leaving Ornias to just stand there till it reappeared. If he would venture on his own he knew that he would get lost for sure, so he had to play it safe and remain still until it reappeared.

The further he continued the thicker the feeling of despair and foreboding felt pressured down on him. Finally the sentiments of sanity started to leave him, and he felt like he was losing grip of reality.

He caught himself almost walking away from the strand of light suddenly, as if he did not have control of his own body anymore. The directions he ventured towards started to become skewed and forwards became backwards and left became right.

When the strand of light bent to the right he would have to move his body backwards and to the left in order to continue. This loss of direction was frustrating and took a lot of concentration on his part.

Then just as he started to get a hang of the change the directions, it began to alternate in random ways. At one moment going forward meant moving left, then it meant going right. This struggle to stay sane and keep moving in the correct direction became even more taxing on him.

Yet his resolve was strong and he persisted to push forwards along the path the string of light shined. This time as the strand of light disappeared, it was gone for a considerable amount of time.

When it reappeared instead of being where it was before, the strand of light appeared three meters to his left. The sudden change of where the strand of light appeared caught Ornias off guard and he forgot which direction to walk and began to distance himself further away from the strand of light instead.

Panicking he stopped himself and attempted to correct himself and started to walk towards the strand of light, when it disappeared yet again. The speed it disappeared before was not this quick and it frightened him, because he might truly become lost in this vast nothingness.

When the strand of yellow light appeared again it was ten meters to his left now. The distance away from him increased even further than before. This cause Ornias to become terrified and he began to run toward the strand of light, but the directions changed again.

Instead of running to the strand of light he ran backwards and slightly to his right. An anger filled his gut, and he couldn’t help but stop and try to get his bearing again. Just as he figured out the new directions and began running to the strand of light, it disappeared again.

“Why?” he screamed, “Am I forever doomed to never obtain the connection with my muscles ever again?”

The strand of yellow light appeared twenty meters to his right this time and Ornias felt powerless. Even if he ran over to the strand of light after knowing which directions to go, didn’t mean he would make it there before it disappeared again.

Sure enough the strand of light once again disappeared. Yet, when it did reappear, it reappeared over forty meters away to his right. A helplessness filled Ornias and he did not know what to do. If he chased after the strand of light he would be forever chasing after its shadow, and not after the goal at the end of the strand of light, his muscles.

A sudden insight sparked inside him and began to run straight ahead instead of towards the strand of light. The strand of light continued to disappear and reappear but Ornias paid it no mind anymore. Instead he continued to run straight ahead and kept his eye on whether or not the strand of light turned or continued straight ahead.

He may not be near the light but he was following its projected path. “That would be good enough.” He thought. After all he was only after where the strand of light was heading.

In this manner another passage of time zipped away and once again the difficulty raised up a notch. Clouds of pure pitch black darkness rolled in and blocked most of the vision of the strand of light.

It became very difficult to determine where the strand of light was, and when it disappeared sometimes Ornias would continue running forward, even if the light strand started to bend right or left.

Once again the distance from the strand of light became increased and he would have to correct himself and attempt to run in the correct direction, whilst knowing where the strand of light was.

It was difficult and a lesser man would have already given up and became lost in the mists of darkness to forever be lost within his own mind. Ornias persisted however, and he attempted to maintain all these new variable while attempting to keep an eye where the strand of light was located.

The dark clouds suddenly drifted away and the strand of yellow light became quite visible again which made Ornias question why the difficulty suddenly decreased. Yet as he trekked onwards, the darkness of the room he was in became increasingly brighter.

Before knowing it the room turned into a very bright room and Ornias now understood why the dark clouds were not here. Because the strand of light was no longer visible in this brightness that room displayed. If the clouds were here, they would reveal the location of the strand of light.

Anyone else would have been unable to continue any further than this, and would have been lost in this area, but Ornias had something no other human had. As the sheer brightness of the room flashed before his eyes, Ornias had his second vertical eyelid close and it blocked out all the excess light.

The yellow strand of light that before was not visible in the bright room, could now be seen giving off a different color of light than the rest of the room. Ornias couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh of excitement. These eyelids truly were beneficial to him.

This made everything much easier and he continued to follow that yellow strand of light for quite some time until it lead all the way to a steel door. The strand of light went underneath the door and inside the room beyond.

A familiar and lost feeling could be felt on his body as he stared at the door. His connection to his muscles were behind that door, he knew it. The body tingled with anticipation as he reach forward and opened the door.

Within the white room that was about twenty four square meters across, there were strands of light that protruded from the ceiling and strung down into a ball in the center of the room that eerily resembled a beating heart. The strands of light glowed yellow and the ball pounded like a heart would while producing colors of yellow and then sometimes blue.

The strand of yellow light that had mischievously guided him all the way to this room was connected to just a single strand that formed into the ball of strings. The sight of this surprised Ornias and he inched forward and touched the heart of all the strings of light.

A sudden pain erupted throughout his body and he quickly retracted his hand. The muscles that he thought he had lost the connection to, began to reawaken. The feeling was amazing, and after the pain subsided, now when he flexed it no longer felt like it wasn’t some foreign object, but rather his own.

With just a glimpse of touching that beating heart, he didn’t know why, but in this room he had just entered, he knew it was a treasure trove of information that was waiting just for him. It was not free information and he knew he had to learn it one by one, but it far exceeded the capabilities a regular trial of the muscles could give.

An understanding of things that may have either been forgotten or suppressed by the rest humanity was now in front of him. The trails allowed quick easy access to all capabilities that the muscles could provide for the user, but the user never once learned the truth of the matter, or practiced its fullest of capabilities.

Not only does the knowledge about the full capabilities of the muscles lie in this room, there was other hidden information. Information on the possible connections with the elemental essences to combine with your muscles and even pairing the muscles understandings with other parts of the body were also here.

A question sprang into his mind over this matter. Because as he saw it no one would want to pass up the true function’s the body can utilize, yet everyone was. The Divine Laws that dictate everything and the Laws of cultivation that were set in place by the church of Ascension seemed to contradict what Ornias had experienced.

In fact what he had just done was a form of defiance against those very laws. These same indomitable laws that have ruled humanity since the great war of beast and men, were in fact contradictory to the reality of what Ornias was seeing.

As he placed his hand on the heart at the center of the room again, he began to grow to understand them in their entirety, unlike what the Laws the church set in place. After placing his hand on the beating heart, a complete and total understanding to the basic functions and connections the muscles once again started to pound through his mind, making a mental schism suddenly erupt in his mind.

A pain that could only be compared to his greed to obtain three trials, began to penetrate the deepest recesses of his mind. It felt as if it was destroying something and loud popping noises could be heard inside his body.

After the pain and the noises stopped he laid down in the room panting heavily. A change had occurred within his body. Propping himself up against the walls of the white room, he stood up and tried to find out what was different.

With but a thought, he left the room of muscles that he painstakingly attempted to get to before, and reappeared in front of the nine doors again. This time there was dim light coming from the three doors on his right, but something still felt off.

He walked past the first three doors and walked in front of the fourth door. In a careful motion he opened that fourth room’s door and sure enough, there was a major difference. The trial of the mind for the fourth rank did not hit him, nor did he gain an instant understanding for all process involved with his nervous system, and pain receptors, like he was supposed to.

Instead the room was much like the room he had just entered for the muscles in the far back recesses of his mind. In the center of the room was a beating heart of strands of light and Ornias realized something major.

The action he had just done was a defiant form of not submitting to the Laws set by the church of Ascension. The church taught methods on how to cultivate, but what Ornias discovered was that it was better to cultivate using his own power instead. Therefore what he did was heresy, and the Laws he now traversed were his own Laws of Defiance.

However setting upon this new path, he knew that his current cultivation capabilities were insufficient and it would take longer to gain new understandings, but at least he could now continue down the path of a warrior in a different manner.

Accomplishing what he desired, he reawakened from his meditative state and discovered Azon yelling at him. This shocked him greatly, and he was slightly worried how long he was out for.

“Wake up… wake up!!!” Azon yelled.

With an apologetic face, Ornias opened his eyes, and replied, “I’m sorry, I’m conscious now.”

Snorting, Azon grunted and let out a “Humph.”

He realized he may have been out for quite some time due to following that strand of light, and asked, “How long was I out for?”

A fierce glare bore down on Ornias, as Azon said, “The whole three hours… you’re lucky I came into the tent when I did. Come… grab your stuff we are heading out.”

After grabbing his belongings, he followed Azon toward the horses. They mounted the horses and quickly met up with a huge force of men that the sheer number surprised Ornias to the core.

Roughly a thousand men had been summoned in this valley area at the base of Fengle’s grove encampment.

At the head of the large force of men there were ten captains who issued orders to those lesser men. Out of those men, a few familiar faces were among them, and Vanrus was one of them, in addition to that big burly man, Brumar. As Azon and Ornias approached he did well to hide his bloodlust, and remained silent.

Vanrus steered his horse and galloped towards them, and stopped in front of them. It was a slight surprise to Ornias when he learned Vanrus was one of Azon’s original ten commanders but he paid it little mind.

After he approached them, he said, “Remember I will take a small vanguard force and besiege the city from within and open the gate to the city. The plan is for you to employ your skills to the fullest, till the main Azarasi forces arrive.”

With a nod, Azon showed his understanding, and said, “I know the plan Vanrus, I just hope things go as smoothly as you say.”

A smirk appeared on his face, as Vanrus said, “Just keep the main forces of Tolboud’s response army busy long enough for us to fully claim Domington after our main army arrives. I believe you can do at least that.”

A trouble expression showed on Ornias, because that meant he would most certainly be in dangerous situations. His understanding of his muscles was not completed yet, and he had not achieved the true third rank of a warrior, so this was problematic for him.

He couldn’t help but question his own strength, as only a first rank warrior with his slight unpracticed abilities. After all he need time to utilize the true strength of his muscles again.

“With the first rank of a warrior or mage as the standard in any military organization, how would I fare against the Tolboud standard?” He wondered.

Breaking his thoughts, Vanrus said, “I think Brumar, Dolgon, and Cherbin should accompany you in a single squad. And I, of course, will only need to take two other captain with me to besiege Domington from within. The last group of men should be your rear guard and watch the back and only respond during crisis.

The assessment Vanrus gave was not a bad one, Azon nodded his head and said, “That’s sounds like a fair plan. Well let’s split up and we will see each other again once this battle concludes.”

A smug smirk spread on the face of Vanrus and he had his horse approach Azon before clasping his forearm and nodding as a show of respect. The he turned his horse around and a sickening grin of almost ecstasy appeared on his face as his plans were now taking fruition.

“Azon would fall in this battle and all the merits would go to me who held the city gates of Domington for our army. I may even be promoted in rank for this.” He thought.

As he strode away, Ornias stared after his figure and couldn’t help but get stuck on the words previously said by Vanrus. An almost similar grin that Vanrus was currently displaying also appeared on Ornias, as he thought, “Brumar will be in my company.”