I was in a building that the guards used to sleep in. Today was the day we would be leaving the only home we had ever known. At least Nidae was used to traveling long distances and shouldn't have as much of a problem as the rest of us. I got off my bed and saw that Nadia had already gotten up. Great, I would have to deal with the joker.
"Nidae," I said gently and shook him. "Wake up."
"It really happened?" Nidae asked once he finally woke up.
"Yes."
"Then what difference does it make if I wake up or not?"
"I don't have time for this. If you want to stay then you can stay."
I then proceeded to put on the rest of my clothes. As I straightened up my shirt, Nidae started moving around. As I watched him he quickly got dressed. For someone who didn't take life so seriously he was extremely proficient. Though that was to be expected as his job was a little more than hectic. He couldn't always be certain what night he could rest and what night he would have to risk his life. Hopefully he stayed with us until the end.
"I thought you were giving up." I said once he had finished.
"I still think this is useless." Nidae retorted. "I just want to feel like I'm fighting back."
"We drove off the Rethi once before. We can do so again."
"Well...I'm not saying Fang isn't a hero...but maybe one of us could equal him. It's just everyone thinks it's disrespectful to believe so."
Nidae was right. Though I was loathe to think so, there had to be a Dreth that equaled the legendary hero. The only other thing to believe was that there was no one to save us now. We walked out together into the morning sunlight. Donta and Hawn were finishing up breakfast while Nadia was double checking the supplies. All three looked at myself and Nidae. I had a small breakfast and ate it as quick as I could. Traveling around Gaia would not be easy. We would be lucky if all we had to do was travel to New Venice. Frank's ghost wouldn't let me find peace until the Rethi threat was gone. No matter what the others chose, I would continue fighting.
"So this is it." Nadia said sadly. "We're leaving it behind."
"We're leaving behind ashes." Donta pointed out. "Native Lakes, our home, is gone. There's nothing back there for any of us."
"The only reason I stayed was Frank." I said sadly. "Without my love for him I would've moved up to a more prestigious position. I could've lived on Ant itself from how the Council talked about my abilities."
Living on Ant would be much different than living in Noco. The good thing would be no more humidity. The bad thing, though, was that it would be cold. Extremely cold. Ant was located at the bottom of Gaia. In the days of the Rethi, no country owned Ant. At least not completely. It made sense why the Council would choose such an isolated location. The Descendants, their only enemies, couldn't easily get there. Nor could any that dare chose to fight them.
"After all this is done, you have a clear path." Hawn pointed out. "Donta and myself also have positions that would suit us. Nidae, have you ever run into a village you like?"
"Nothing will ever be like Native Lakes." Nidae answered. "Although that's probably just my humming nostalgia."
"What will you do after, Nadia?" I asked and turned to look at her.
"I don't know. I could be a guard but...I don't know if I'll care for anything like Native Lakes. I know there are a few universities that would take me." Nadia replied.
I remembered the excitement when she had gotten an offer from a respected university. A few of my students dreamed of going to the university she had been accepted into. For them her declining the offer was pure insanity. Tolk had told me that he had been disappointed about her declining the offer. But she, like me, had too many ties to Native Lakes to just go away.
We finished packing and walked to where Native Lakes once stood. It was eerie seeing the remnants of the only home we ever knew. I remembered the first sparring lesson I attended as a child. My parents wanted me away so they could have a night to themselves. A Snow Leopard had been spending a week there and saw me. It was at that point the Council of Ant had started asking me to join their ranks.
"I did that." I said softly. "When we get to New Venice you can blame me for this destruction."
"We're not going to blame you." Hawn replied. "Not because I have forgiven you. Once we reach the Snow Leopards they'll want someone to put the blame on. We should all be focused on the Rethi and not punishing our own. If our attention is divided then we could fall."
So he would allow me to escape judgment for some time. If I lived through the upcoming Rethi attack then I could win back my honor. I could prove that I would never cause the destruction of another village. I would show Gaia that I was loyal. If I died fighting the Rethi then maybe Fang would take pity on me in the afterlife.
After spending a moment more looking at the destruction, we started to walk away. I had gone on enough scouting missions to know when Native Lakes would be out of view. At that exact spot I turned to look one last time. Goodbye.
"You never answered the question, Buteo." Nidae said as we walked.
"What question?" I asked.
We were all walking side by side. I was unlucky enough to be walking with Nidae on one side and Donta on the other. Gaia must have already started her judgment on me. Hopefully my torment would be over soon. Though I had brought back her deadliest enemies. I didn't think luck was on my side.
"About your red butt." He replied in mock concern. "Did you get it looked at? What did the doctors say?"
"Please don't start that up again." I said sternly.
"Why not? You don't have to be shy."
"The last time you asked about my butt was right before I discovered the Rethi."
Not just the Rethi. Some other creature had been at the crash. That feather had not come from Gaia. No one had been interested in something so spiritual when a more physical threat was present. There was a time for prayer and a time for action. With our ancient enemies coming onto our soil, not many paid attention to the strange feather.
"So you haven't had it looked at?" Nidae inquired.
"Have you had your head examined?" Donta asked. "Is there an actual brain in there?"
"I have daily head exams."
Donta and I let out a sigh. I distracted myself by looking around. I wondered what the buildings had been used for when Rethi lived on Gaia. I had been able to examine documents but there was always a chance that things had be misinterpreted. I had no contact with any universities. Nor had I had any interest about learning more than I had to. I was educated enough to be a teacher for teenagers.
"It's quiet." Nadia remarked. "Why is it so quiet?"
"Gaia might be fooling us." I pointed out. "There could be a silent predator that has been watching us the entire time. Waiting for us to lower our guard and then attack us."
I paid attention and Avealed enough so my wings appeared. I spread them open to test the wind as it would help me fight. There had been instances in my past where I had been too calm. Confidence could be a horrible trait at times. All through this I had continued to walk. Donta looked at me and her right hand Avealed into a bear's claw and then back into a Dreth hand.
"How many fights have you been in, Hawn?" Nadia asked.
"Not many." Hawn replied with a shrug. "Native Lakes has never been involved with one of the larger conflicts. Which is one reason Donta wants to move."
"Calm is not good for a Warrior." I said dryly.
"The Council wants you as a Warrior. So there is something in you that is like me."
"The difference is that I choose to deny it. I am a protector, not a fighter. I don't yearn for blood."
"Warriors will be the ones to defeat the Rethi. If you plan to fight you better start rethinking your world view."
Hawn said that last sentence with worry. No matter what I had done, I was willing to go up against the Rethi. I was willing to risk my life for the good of Gaia. He was a Warrior and understood that during war the past didn't matter as much. What mattered was that you were willing to die for the greater good. Hawn might be grateful when I died but, for now, we were allies.
I could tell he was nervous by the way that he was Avealing. His skin changed in waves. His skin would peel upwards and change into the orange fur of a tiger. Then it would peel down and become Dreth skin again. He glanced at his hand and sneered. After a few minutes his skin stayed Dreth.
"So, our fearless leader is nervous?" Nidae asked.
"I'd be a fool not to be somewhat nervous." Hawn said and tried to hide his anger. "If things go wrong then the Rethi will reclaim Gaia. We'll be lucky if they let us live. They might see us at our lowest point and decide to make us slaves."
"Is there really slavery outside of Gaia?" Nadia asked.
"Many species exist and not all of them would have the institution of slavery." I replied. "The Rethi already think the universe is theirs. It would make sense for them to have slaves. The Pre-Drethiveal religions talked of Rethi being told by their gods that they owned the world. That everything else in existence was theirs. They owned slaves of their own kind because their religions told them that was right."
"You know a lot about the Rethi."
"Legends of Fang always interested me. You can't study Fang without learning about the Rethi."
The Snow Leopards had tried to recruit me. For many years I had a friend in that organization. Every question I had was answered. They had eagerly told me about the Rethi. Donta had an angrier than normal expression on her face. She had figured out that the person who had the most knowledge on the enemy should be kept alive. She looked angrily at me and then looked away.
The humidity was horrible and yet noon loomed a few hours in the distance. None of us would be too bothered by it. We usually spent our days outside anyways. But the humidity mingled with our fear and made everything worse. Was Gaia testing or punishing us? Was she making sure that we were ready to fight or making us feel her pain?
"It is very quiet." Hawn said to break the silence. "It was quiet for some time before the Rethi attack. They must have been planning their attack for a long time."
"Why did they target Native Lakes?" I asked.
"It would be foolish to attack one village. It would make more sense to slowly get rid of every village in this area. The only odd thing then is why they crashed in the first place. I was able to get to the crash site and it looked like an accident."
"They could've made it look like an accident. They would've thought we would pity them even though they are our enemy. They were right."
"Yes they were."
Though how could they count on the right Dreth finding them? If Donta had found them first they would have been dead. Their bodies torn to shreds before they could even cry out for help. All the Warriors would have feasted on Rethi flesh. Sometimes reveling in the glory of Gaia meant blooding one's hands.
"I don't think the Rethi faked their crash." Nadia said. "All of the legends tell us how formidable they are. It would be poor tactics to hope for the rare Drethiveal to find them."
"They could've been watching us for some time." Donta pointed out as we neared the rest stop. "Buteo would've been a perfect pick for them. He was someone of authority and who had the power to bring them in after the crash."
Donta hadn't brought up the fact that this all depended on any Dreth not spotting them. After the Rethi had tried to conquer Gaia, new protections had been implemented. Protections that had constantly evolved through the years. Any Rethi that spent so much time as to observe us would've been detected. They might've been able to hide well but any Dreth worth the grace of Fang would try to investigate it. The Snow Leopards would've followed up on the lead and eventually contacted the Council of Ant. The only reason they would've allowed the Rethi to attack us was because they had an agenda where the killing off Dreth was needed. But the Council and Snow Leopards would never do something like that.
"Nadia might be right." I said. "It doesn't make any sense for the Rethi to have crashed on purpose. It's even harder to believe they escaped detection if they were observing us for so long."
"So we either have to believe us Drethiveal or the Rethi are idiots." Nidae said and pretended to think. "It's almost like we're stuck between two extremely hard decisions. I wonder why that is."
While I groaned at his joke, he had a point. This shouldn't be such a hard decision to make. I could either believe that my fellow Dreth were dumb or that the Rethi made a huge mistake. Maybe they were just flying by Gaia and accidently crashed. I should readily agree that the Rethi were the idiots but I couldn't. My confusion made no sense.
"Maybe you should just shut up." Donta said.
"Or is the truth that you're too scared to consider the real reason the Rethi crashed." Nidae teased.
"Hummit." Hawn said and shook his head. "Nidae, what is the reason?"
"Gaia is punishing us. She's missing her own children. I'm joking! Can't a humming Drethiveal make a joke?"
Nidae became extremely apologetic when Hawn started to Aveal one hand into a deadly tiger claw. Nidae had realized that his joke and teasing had gone too far. To imply that the Rethi should kill us all was beyond treason. Nidae shouldn't have allowed the stress to get to him that badly. The fear of the attack that had left Native Lakes in ashes was horrible. It would eat away at me if I allowed it to.
The rest stop was extremely close now. Even though it was nearly silent, we were walking slowly. Ten minutes ago we could've been at the rest stop if we were moving as fast as possible. Besides being alert for dangers, it was good to conserve energy. It wouldn't do to wear ourselves out before the real war began.
"So you're going to fight after we get to New Venice?" Nidae asked me.
"I have to." I told him. "I allowed the Rethi to return. Therefore it falls on me to fight them."
"Not just for duty or honor." Donta added.
No, it was also for revenge. To see the people that had killed my husband die. To watch as their entire raced burned from existence. Fang would then allow me to be with Frank after the war. To lay with him for all eternity is what I wanted now. To not be haunted by the past would be divine. I resisted giving Donta the satisfaction of me agreeing with her.
Finally we walked up to the rest stop. Back in the time of the Rethi it was a bunch of shops. The biggest being a shop full of foods. The exact name had been lost to time. The hotel that was at the very front of the rest stop was finally crumbling away. It had been destroyed during a hurricane and requests to rebuild it had been denied.
"I remember coming back to Native Lakes and stopping here." Nidae said with a sad smile. "Everyone staying here knew how to celebrate."
Near the back of the rest stop was the former food shop and smaller shops on either side. The smell of fresh food reached our noses and I thought of stopping here. But I knew that suggestion would be denied. We had all the food we needed and to get anymore would be the height of greed. Rest stops existed so the weary traveler would have food. It would be cruel to deny anyone the comfort needed to survive.
I looked ahead of me and saw Frank. He was resting against the hotel. My legs yearned to run towards of him but I controlled myself. Soon I would rest with him. Until then I would fight.
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