John Harken

Everyone went back down to the Hall after seeing the scouting party off. This time Malachi didn’t allow Reuben to rush off into unknown territory alone. Insisted the man take back up. The scout’s apprentices went with him, plus Analia and Amiyah. A solid number to take a look, but not fully engage. They were encouraged to flee if seen. Safety no matter their confidence. Three of them could be considered powerhouses and the other two were at least reliable.

Once through the teleporter, the Sixty scattered. Only the Council stuck around to discuss the coming days. The priestly man watched them settle the details. Confirm a three-day break and all-day bbq celebration on the morrow. Nothing about what Xavier had said. Its omission was stark. Clawed at Harken’s patience. Two times the one who brought them here had spoken yet nothing was said. No discussion. It was breathing a fury within him.

“Alright, that’s all I have to say,” said Malachi with a stretch. “We’ll meet with the scouting party tomorrow morning and have a bigger meeting on the last day of the break. The rest of the day is yours!”

“Two half days in a row?!” smirked Clarissa, her tone insidious. “Don’t spoil us too much!”

“Taunt if you must, red, but I can easily threaten you will more work,” retorted the leader of the Sixty. His grin was as devilish as one of her patented smiles.

“Uhp! Whatever you say boss!” jerked Clarissa, polite as can be. “Just ignore, little old me!”

“If only,” muttered Malachi and Julia in unison. They smiled at each other with joyous awe. The redhead stuck her tongue out.

“Alright, they're getting all cutesy, time to bail,” announced Warner with a roll of his eyes.

Looking like she had bit into a sour grape, Molly said, “I must agree.”

The Council was scattering and Harken found he had no words. Not that there wasn’t anything to say or knew not what he wanted to say. The issue was this embargo was strangling. They refused to speak more deeply on their Purpose and Xaiver was madness. It was like a spreading stopgap. Clogging everything inside, building up pressure. Harken was drowning in his frustration.

He looked for some sign, his chest clenched at the idea of doing nothing. Through the merchant stalls, the priestly man saw Roseline dancing under the Painted Sky. She swirled, her cloak and long sleeves spun out like ribbons. It was a calming sight. The dance paused and the nascent seer caught his eye through the obstructions. A smile under her pale moon eyes.

It was an omen to speak.

Or at least it gave him the courage to break the taboo.

Harken brought his staff down upon the stone, sending the last of his faint anger into the act. The Council turned immediately. Hands twitching for weapon or spell. Calmly, he declared, “I call for an official meeting tonight, now. What Xavier has said must be spoken about. It must be broached! For many reasons, but most of all so we are no longer oppressed by it hanging over our heads.”

A pause of silence and grim faces.

With irritation and a smile, Malachi responded, “Come on Harken, we just cleared the second floor. This can happen some other time.”

“No,” he stated plainly, unmoved. “You keep saying later… we’ll talk about it later, but I refuse to allow this to be pushed back any further. It needs to be talked about now! Now is the time, none of us have anything better to do.”

Warner was diplomatic. “Hark buddy, not sayin’ I have anything better to do, but do we need to dig into that tonight? I’d hate to set a precedent that we gotta tear everything apart every time that guy talks to us. Sounds exhausting, honestly.”

“It doesn’t have to be every time, but we haven’t done so once yet,” pleaded Harken. “We need to! To discuss why we are here and what Xaiver has told us. There are answers to our questions… all given freely! Yet everyone is so terrified by it that the Sixty is hiding from the words of our benefactor! We must confront this! Tonight is the time.”

“Half an answer,” growled Julia. “There is no context to this being the “seed of a new human race” thing. What happened to old humans? Yeah, we’re terrified! That is a burden forced upon us. It isn’t fair. Especially when it comes with an unknown amount of danger attached to it!”

“Then let us talk about that! Not swallow our words. This fear will swallow us if we do not!”

“Guys, why do we not just talk about it?” asked Damien innocently. “Seems like it is on all of your minds. That is what friends are for, right? Sharing the bad stuff?”

Molly smiled sweetly at the obsidian acolyte. “I can not express any excitement for the subject, but Damien is correct. And grudgingly so, Harken. It should not be put off any longer. To do so would become detrimental. Let us share the burden.”

“Fine, you win,” conceded Malachi. “We’ll talk in our chamber. No reason to distress anyone, but ourselves for now. We’ll do an open thing the day after tomorrow. Give people their celebration before we make ‘em think deeply about being the scions of a new dawn.” The leader of the Sixty was already planning for the future with this resolve to discuss Xaiver. Harken respected the graciousness of that loss.

They strolled to the room. He was impatient to get started since their agreement, but knew better than push his luck. Everyone would arrive eventually. Even Clarissa, who tried to slink off but for Julia’s quick grip. The redhead whined as she was dragged before giving up and accepting there was no escape. Her reaction was much less gracious, not that this was any surprise.

In the council room, everyone took a seat and a tempestuous silence built up as everyone tried to decide how to start. Or how not to be the one to do so.

“Harken, this is your show,” decreed Malachi, cool and distant. There was a strain to his eyes. The priestly man now saw the extra burden Xaiver’s revelation brought to the man. He wasn’t just leading them to safety and the sky. With the Purpose of reviving humanity laid upon them, the duty as the leader had become so much more ponderous.

In that, the priestly man felt sympathy. No regret at all for pushing this conversation to happen, but he understood better now the resistance. It was a terrible burden. All the same, Harken had faith that Malachi would rise to the occasion.

“Xavier was the last human,” began Harken. “We know there was a war that wiped out humanity and recently learned that it pushed them to live down here. Somewhere. That is at least my interpretation of what he said about “only the military may see the sky.” It seems that this war went on for a long time, for something like The Pit was built because of it.”

His overture to get the discussion going started to falter. No one seemed inclined to pick up the metaphorical baton. They agreed to be here, but couldn’t be wrangled to respond. There was a real fear that this would end up being him talking to himself.

To his great relief, Molly spoke, “The Pit does have some evidence to suggest it has been in use for generations. Despite the inefficiencies and lofty goals as a war training mechanism. An offly grandiose thing for molding soldiers. Regardless of these so-called Braves. Highly effective or not. It appears to me to be a bit of a mess.”

“He did say they only needed to pass the first floor to be eligible to join the military,” pointed out Harken. Trying to stay calm over the excitement of finally talking about all of this.

“With the sky as an incentive,” grumbled Malachi. “How annoyingly similar to us.”

“That part aside,” Molly continued. “If they were fighting for their existence, why limit the numbers with the trial of The Pit? Shouldn’t the whole populace have been conscripted?”

“If Reuben was here, he would tell you that an army is much more than the soldiers fighting,” informed Vincent. “I can’t say how similar to a modern military they were, magic makes things wonky, but in most cases the number of soldiers working the utility side dwarf those with weapons in hand. My bet is the trials were for those directly engaging in combat. Probably kept casualty counts down for them to be pressed and squeezed beforehand. The rest of the population would have been on a wartime footing to keep supplies and services running.”

“All of that is speculation,” dismissed Molly. “Doesn’t explain Xavier’s suggestion that they did not give it their all.”

“Hubris,” answered Clarissa. “Seems like you have a bone to pick with that guy. Which I get, dragged us here, blah, blah, blah. But he was pretty clear they didn’t really think genocide was on the table. I think we’re still missing some key elements to understanding what you're barking at Molly. We don’t even know why “Armies of the World” fought a war of doom. As humans, we want to empathize and side with Xavier’s people. Makes sense, but they could have been the bad guys. The morality of these previous humans is still in the air. Coulda been fascist for all we know.”

“I think we can assume who the bad guys are with who put genocide on the table,” said Harken. There was no reason to doubt the good intentions of Xavier. The man seemed genuinely relieved to see them succeeding. To have given humanity another chance on this world.

“Best to reserve judgment until we know why the war began,” Clarissa stubbornly replied. “We’re good people, doesn’t mean anyone else in this picture is.”

“I believe you’re being too pessimistic,” disagreed the priestly man. “Xavier comes across as a man of good intentions. He has offered as much as has been asked.”

The redhead snorted, “We are talking about the man that kidnapped us to another world right? I’ll admit, I’m enjoying the ride, but it’s hard to forget how we got here.”

“If there had been another way, he would have taken it…”

Warner interrupted. “Nah, that doesn’t size up. Or at least I would be real hesitant to accept that. He stated we were specifically chosen. That suggests to me a whole lot of observation. If spying on us was a possibility, wouldn’t asking us be possible too?”

“We do not know enough about the limitation of dimensional transference,” stated Damien. “I can not deny your point, Warner, but our information is too inconclusive to make that judgment. As suspicious as it is, more information is required in this case.”

“Isn’t that the case for everything,” frowned Julia. “What Xavier has told us is rather slim and without a lot of context. My feeling from listening is that it's a combination of genuine rambling and a purposeful effort. He is trying to ease us in. See things his way.”

“Definitely controlling the narrative,” remarked Malachi. “The holographic effect makes it hard to read him, but he does seem honest despite that. No, Harken, I’m not fully endorsing the man. My duty is to our people. Should his plans be a concern for the Sixty then… well, we’ll pull him down.”

Harken found himself at a loss for words. Frozen in confusion. They were discussing it finally and fear had been expected, but this was beyond the pale. Looking around the table, he found faces full of challenge and indifference. They seem to neither care nor endorse a positive outlook to what Xavier had given them. Ready to see their benefactor as only an obstacle. If not the villain.

It made sense now why the subject had been avoided. Sternly left unspoken. Why they watched him carefully, ready to cut off any conversation about Xaiver’s words. His optimism and faith were expected.

Expected and shunned

“You all surprise me,” he said first, almost in a hush. Continuing as he firmed up his voice and raised the volume to a confident level. “A miracle! This place, and to come here, is a miracle. Many of us dreamed of it, but never believed it was really possible. Not in our heart of hearts. An impossibility! And yet, it happened! Xavier is a miracle marker. Our benefactor in this extraordinary world. Can we not show some faith? Is his dream not noble?”

It wasn’t a rebuke, just a desperate question to understand. No one looked away, but lips stayed sealed until Phelian.

“Frankly, I’m surprised by you. Everyone knows my love for this place, and hey, Xavier seems pretty swell to me. Maybe things were done a little shady, but I think he did pick the right people. My confusion comes from your perspective on Xavier. I expected disappointment, if not something more extreme when you saw it wasn’t a god that brought us here. From some of your speeches on divinity and miracles, it looked like that was your summation. Aren’t you frustrated that it was a human, not a god?”

Harken smiled, it was an honest question. Though not really the response he wanted. Still, it was worth answering. Might even help the Council see things his way.

“Actually, it was a relief,” revealed the priestly man. “A god would have been acceptable. Not my preference since that would bring certain obligations, like devotion. My will was mostly ready for that, but luckily it wasn’t necessary. I searched my whole life for a true blue sign of the divine. In The Pit, I found it. The act of bringing us here, is no less a miracle if done by human hands. Mana makes gods of us. I trust Xavier’s divine act. His intention to bring back his species is admirable. He deserves our trust.”

Malachi grimaced, “Trust? Divine doesn’t mean moral.”

“The only thing we can accuse Xaiver of is bringing us without consent,” stated Harken. “Which might have been beyond his ability to acquire. Should we not offer some semblance of trust in face of no other charges?”

“And we’re to also ignore that once here our options are to fight monsters or die?” reminded Julia. “Which means grueling experiences to be good enough to survive. Is that the act of a kind man?”

There was only one thing to say to that.

“If you were all asked by Xavier to come here, to reseed humanity in this world, would even one of you have said no?”

“Shit, I think he’s got us,” laughed Clarissa.

Harken ignored the redhead. He wanted to hear from Julia. Of all of those on the Council, she was the only one that might answer differently. Her answer was almost certainly the same as the others, but it was still a roll of the dice.

The shieldmaiden looked away from his gaze. An answer in of itself.

“Perhaps, then we can have an understanding? Or at least review the words of Xavier from a more neutral approach?”

“Sigh, I suppose we can discuss this with a little better civility,” agreed Malachi. “It would be easier to blame that man for the horrors of this place… Well more so. As a villain in our story rather than a man trying to make us strong enough to face what killed his people. There are several levels of discomfort in that.”

“Kinda worth the price of admission, isn’t it?” winked Warner. “I know having Mana surging through me is pretty damn awesome. Feels good.”

“The realization of a lifelong dream,” remarked Vincent.

Molly shrugged, “It does not excuse anything, but it is remarkably fulfilling to be here.”

“I feel pushed,” said Julia, staring down at the table. “Not a fan of being put on a pedestal and told to be the beginning of something. Yeah, I’d be scared of that, but maybe intrigued enough to come. Hah, don’t think I would have thought of being on the frontlines like I am. Picked the shield 'cause I didn’t want to get hurt…”

“If it means anything, you have thrived here I would say,” smiled Malachi.

“Yeah! Ju Ju, you rock girl!” cheered the prime archer.

“Thanks, mostly it just makes me feel conflicted,” explained Julia. “Somehow my life is better in this hole.”

“I feel the same,” said Malachi, taking her hand. “The people around you make a big difference.”

Warner coughed and said, “I suppose those two and the whole new humanity thing, makes sense of why there are sixty of us.”

“What do you mean?” asked Vincent at the same time as Phelian.

“Figured it was obvious, but thirty men, thirty women. That’s thirty breeding pairs.”

“Huh, I just assumed it was a game reference,” murmured Phelian. “You know, the same number as most big raids and stuff.”

Clarissa mirthfully sneered, “Breeding pairs? Damn that dude must not have a gaydar. Or at least a bad one. I ain’t outing anyone, but let’s just say Phelian and Hector are not alone.”

“Really?” asked Warner. “Sorta figured it was a blimp since both have dated women. Like Xavier got confused.”

“Well, I for one, bat for all the teams,” confessed the redhead. “So totally more than a blimp.”

“It is good to know his information on us is not total,” expressed Molly. “Must have only been visual surveillance.”

“That’s one way to look at it, I guess,” said Malachi. “Or Xavier has no sexual inclination.”

In good humor, Harken countered, “Now that, we definitely don’t have enough information to discern.”

“I vote we move away from discussing the sex life of someone that looks older than sliced bread,” said Vincent honestly.

They all agreed to that with smiles and a laugh.

Harken felt good. Already they had breached the wall and released the tension that had been building. That resentment against Xavier would not have done them any good. In the long run, the Sixty would have suffered for it. They would have begun to question their Purpose and reason for running the gauntlet of The Pit. There was a long way up, the sky might just become a dream to them if something ate at their motivation.

The Council went over the words of Xavier for several hours. Taking the time to write them out exactly as could be remembered. Much was still uncertain or without context. More questions than answers. It might have been hesitantly, but Harken was satisfied that he had gotten them to accept the good intentions of their benefactor. He had faith enough for them.

The subject of being the new human race was barely touched on. In reference only, never directly. It was understandable. Speaking of it was too close to making plans for After The Pit.