The Iron Forest: Ancestor's Legacy

Arms crossed with an aching back against a steel wall, Victor sat, wishing to be somewhere else—anywhere else. It wasn’t the prison cell that bothered him. Somewhere beyond the Iron Forest, a war was brewing, with Sana making her way back to lead her people and stop the Chotukhan from awakening Abaddon. She needed him. She relied on him to persuade the Shainxu’s help.

“Jinlin, could you please sit down? Your fidgeting is driving me crazy,” Victor snapped. The cell had walls of gray steel with overhead lights made from rows of LED’s. Instead of bars, a pink translucent force-field blocked the entry. Its constant hum added one extra annoyance to Jinlin’s constant ranting.

“I’m trying to think.”

“About what?”

“About everything, my boy. How are we going to get out of here? What are we going to say to the Quorum without the key? Why does hot water freeze faster than cold water?” He pointed a finger at Victor. “There are many questions that need answering,. The longer we spend in here, the more time is wasted. After all, I’m not getting any younger.”

“Sorry I asked.” Victor sighed. He leaned toward the entry and glanced down the hall that contained their cell. Several more lined the opposite side, but didn’t appear occupied. “There’s no guard.”

“No need for that. It’s not like we can go anywhere. Besides, we are in the Citadel.” The wizard scanned the surrounding room. “An entire army alongside the Counsel of Mages will make sure no one leaves this place without permission.”

Victor studied the force-field and tapped the sheet of translucent light. An arcing flash shot pain up his hand and chromatic waves outward. “This was state-of-the-art technology during my time. How did your people come across it?”

It was strange to see this type of technology in a world using bows, swords, and spears. The force-field, using light to replicate matter, was first introduced during his time as a better barrier than glass for the domes. They needed something to separate the clean-filtered air inside from the toxic air outside without the upkeep.

“We spent centuries digging up what the Ancients left behind. One circuit at a time, we uncovered its secrets and rebuilt what was lost. The other clans feared and rejected technology, to include Gaia. We made a pact with the mother goddess to keep Abahar isolated from the outside world.”

“Have you met Gaia?” Victor asked, resting his hands behind his head.

Jinlin shook his head. “No. But I hear she is a beautiful woman with a smile that could dull the sharpest pain.”

“Who is she?”

Jinlin paused. “According to the Quorum, Mother Gaia is everything that is right in the world. She watches over us and protects us from the wrath of Abaddon.” He glanced through the force field for any eavesdroppers.

“And Abaddon?”

The wizard took a deep breath. “Abaddon only wants to destroy the world. Without Gaia, we would not exist. Before the War of Five Winters between the Chotukhan and Shankur, the Reapers would attack the villages every few generations. After the war, they stopped and only remain in the Outlands.”

Victor thought for a moment about the Reaper that attacked him during his second day on earth. “Sounds like population control.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

Victor shifted in his seat. There was no method of telling time in the cell. It could have been hours. “How long do you suppose we’ll be in here?”

“No telling. Justice comes swift to the Shainxu. We studied the laws of the Ancients and learned much about the… due process.”

“So, we’re going to get a trial?”

“Only after they chop our heads off.”

“What?”

Jinlin laughed. “I’m just joking, my boy. Of course, we’re getting a trial. We will be presented before the Counsel of Mages, and they will hear our case.”

“Yeah, but for what crimes? All we did was show up to the Iron Forest unannounced—hardly a matter worthy of incarceration.”

“Bah. This is just the Shainxu way of welcoming visitors to Abahar. They’ll hear our case and send us on our way.” He stiffened at the squeaky sound of approaching footsteps from down the hall.

A man in robes of red with black patterns woven that resembled a circuit schematic appeared, stroking his long white beard. His over-sized nose and bald head reflected the white light from above. “Master Jinlin, it has been many winters since we last met.”

“Not enough of them, in my opinion, Master Quintu,” Jinlin retorted with a frown.

Victor rolled his eyes. “Is there anyone in this place you haven’t pissed off?”

The old wizard shrugged. “I see you’ve taken my place at the counsel. Have you come here to gloat?”

“Unfortunately, no. Your seat was filled by Master Corbus. I replaced Master Gihlan.”

“Master Gihlan?” Jinlin snapped. “What happened to the old kook?”

“Nobody knows. It has been a winter since we last saw him. I was going to ask you if you’ve seen him during your time outside the Iron Forest.”

Jinlin shook his head. “I have not. The only Shainxu I’ve seen since my exile was Lady Tani.”

Master Quintu nodded. “The Quorum is assembling. I suggest you keep your mouth shut to any of your opinions, Master Jinlin.” He tapped a keypad near the cell’s entry. The force field flickered as the humming stopped.

A mix of steel and polished granite surrounded them in an aesthetic blend of classical renaissance and modern technology as they walked through the great hall. Paintings and statues of long dead mages decorated the walls with rows of electroluminescent lights along the corners of the ceiling. Victor remembered the interior style became popular to revive the style of antiquity among an overabundance of technology. His family home where he grew up had a similar appeal.

“Wait here until the counsel is ready for you,” Master Quintu commanded. He leaned toward one of two sentries posted at each side through massive wooden doors at the assembly hall’s entrance. “See to it they remain here until called.”

The one sentry nodded, gripping his rifle tighter. “Yes, Master Quintu.”

What caught Victor’s attention was the bronze statue positioned within the waiting hall. A life-sized depiction of a man holding a cowboy hat atop a bucking bronco. Streaks of green and blue covered its surface from centuries of oxidation. He approached the statue and rubbed the animal’s forehead.

Jinlin also studied it. “Ah, a mythical kabōn. I always wondered what those creatures were like.”

“You mean horses,” Victor corrected. “They were not mythical at all, but quite common. In fact, long before my time, people used to ride them to get from place to place.”

“Most of the kabōn, I mean horses, look like they were trying to knock the rider off its back.”

Victor snickered. “At first, they put up a fight, but over time, they learned to accept it. We called it ‘breaking in a horse.’” He wondered about the domesticated animals he has yet to see since arriving, but the doors creaking open interrupted his asking of them.

“The Quorum will see you now,” a man in a brown tunic said.

Rows of seats surrounded the assembly hall in an arched fashion similar to an amphitheater. Mages, both men and women, in red robes filled the chairs in what Victor counted as at least four dozen members. At the head of the hall sat the more prominent ones below a square faded blue banner, covered in white stars. They were escorted to a single row of seats on the right-hand side, just below the first row of mages.

“Are all these people part of the council?” Victor asked Jinlin.

“Every one of them. Fifty, to be exact.”

“Why fifty?”

Jinlin pointed to a star-covered banner that hung overhead. “The five-pointed star is the Shainxu sigil. Each one is represented on the sacred cloth given to us by Gaia.”

Victor’s face twisted, seeing the remains of what used to be red and white stripes on one side of the large nylon square. He began to correct Jinlin about the real origin of the flag, but held back for a later revelation.

The assembly hall rumbled in idle discussion from under-toned conversations. Jinlin diverted Victor’s attention to an elderly wizard whose robe was trimmed in gold. “That man is the Grand Master Mage. He is the oldest of our order and the supreme leader, but the three men below him are the ones who actually make the decisions.”

Victor leaned forward. He recognized one of the three mages as Master Quintu. “And the one in red and black?”

“Master Corbus. He is head of Abahar’s defenses and keeper of Gaia’s gate. The one in the middle is Master Seshin. He says little unless it involves the healing properties of plants.”

Three raps from the Grand Master’s stone sphere against hardened oak brought the hall to a sudden silence. “Continue with the proceedings,” the old man said with a raspy voice. It was close to a whisper, but the shape of the auditorium amplified the sound.

Master Quintu stood to address the assembly. “Members of the Quorum, one of our former mages has returned to the Iron Forest despite being exiled for heresy.”

Victor leaned toward Jinlin and whispered, “They’re talking about you.”

“You don’t say.”

Victor added, “You didn’t tell me they all speak in English.”

“You didn’t ask.”

Master Corbus continued. “Not to mention he has brought an outsider to the city gates, who claims to be a living member of the Ancients.”

That statement warranted a mix of both mumbling and laughter from around the hall. An echoed rap of the spherical gavel returned the room to silence.

“Master Jinlin, you are aware your banishment for speaking against Mother Gaia has earned you the punishment of exile from Shainxu lands? And returning could warrant a harsher sentencing, even death?”

Jinlin nodded at Master Corbus’s words and stood. “My purpose for returning to the Iron Forest is of grave concern.”

The counsel waited.

“As you know, King Akutu has died, and the crown passed to his son, Shunlin. I come here to warn the members of the Quorum that he now holds the Cypher key entrusted to the Shankur and intends to awaken the sleeping god, Abaddon.”

The mages erupted in a burst of deafening shouts. Their chatter continued despite the Grand Master Mage slamming his gavel.

Master Corbus stood. “Silence!” he shouted, which quietened the room. “Master Jinlin. What proof do you have of this?”

“I have seen the key with my own eyes and was there when it was lost to the Chotukhan.”

“Don’t forget about Sana and her village,” Victor whispered.

Jinlin glanced at him in annoyance. “Yes. Yes. I was getting to that.” He continued. “The Shankur already suffered a loss at their capital of Maholin, after Chotukhan burned it to the ground and the villagers slaughtered. In retaliation, Princess Sana, daughter of the late Chief Baju, is gathering her banners and marching toward Gathal to the drumbeat of war.”

More mumbles ensued, but subsided before the gavel was needed.

Master Corbus leaned back in his chair, interlocking his fingers. “I agree, this news you bring is most dire indeed and we will look into it with utmost haste. I vote to establish a board of inquiry to ensure the matter is accurate before taking any further steps.”

Most of the mages nodded in approval, while others chattered with either disagreement or indecision. Victor steamed with fury at their nonchalant attitude toward the situation brought before them. He could see Jinlin started to boil with anger as well.

“I’m afraid that’s not acceptable,” Jinlin protested. “We need to act now. This is not a war about territory, politics, or resources. It’s about the survival of human existence. It is our duty as children of Gaia to help Princess Sana and stop King Shunlin from waking Abaddon. Without the Shainxu, her endeavor will end in futility.”

Opinionated shouts rumbled the halls like thunder from a storm. Some mages threw fists in the air, while others crossed arms to show their displeasure. Victor looked around to get a sense of what was said, but the chaos seemed unintelligible. He understood the language since they spoke in English, but several conversations going off at once blended them together into a constant thunder. The four presiding mages struggled to quell the noise.

Master Quintu stood to address both Jinlin and the Quorum: “Members of the Quorum, the Shainxu have remained apart from the quarreling between the Shankur and Chotukhan for centuries. I agree the accusations against King Shunlin are of a serious nature and must be handled accordingly, but we will not get involved in a war based on a worn-out exiled mage and his lunatic friend.”

Jinlin scoffed. “Worn out?”

“Lunatic?” Victor repeated. “Listen, I think there’s been—”

The assembly hall doors bursting open interrupted him.

“He speaks the truth!” a woman shouted. Victor turned to see her marching in with a confident strut and stern gaze that demanded everyone’s attention. Her red silk robes hissed as they trailed along the stone floor behind her. “My apologies for arriving late, as the trip from Gathal is long and tiresome.” She took position in the center of the hall. “Master Jinlin,” she added in greeting.

“Lady Tani.” The old mage gave a bow.

“I can bear witness that what Master Jinlin claims is true. King Shunlin is planning to wake Abaddon and rest assured; he has no love for the Shainxu.”

The hall paused to await the response from the presiding mages. Victor’s heart thumped with anticipation. Time seemed to halt to a standstill as the panel moved back and forth on the subject. He felt a tinge of anger that Sana’s life, as well as his own, rested on the opinions of a few men, but he still tried to maintain hope.

They whispered to each other one last time before each rested back into their seats except for Master Quintu who stood and said, “Members of the Quorum, we have decided not to intervene without a direct threat to the Iron Forest.”

“No!” Victor jumped to his feet, ignoring all the eyes fixed on him. “You can’t sit by and do nothing. Many men and women will die.”

“You speak our language?” Master Seshin asked, looking caught off-guard.

“Of course, I do. I was born over three thousand years ago when everyone in this country spoke English… Well, almost everyone.”

Master Corbus scowled. “Sir, whether or not you speak the truth, you are in no position to question the Quorum’s decision.”

“Sir, I have seen what the machines have done and trust me, no one here stands a chance against them. Billions of people died during my time, and it will happen again if we don’t help Sana stop the Chotukhan.”

“The man is right,” Lady Tani said. “I spent much time in castle Gathal and with King Shunlin while he was still the prince. He is confident the Shainxu will succumb to the Chotukhan rule and has spoken of it many times. He poses a great threat to Mother Gaia and our people, especially if he wakes Abaddon.”

“I’m sorry, Lady Tani, but the best approach is to remain here within the protection of the Iron Forest and not get involved.”

“And that’s where you are wrong, Master Corbus. We are involved.” She glared into Quintu’s eyes. “I was sent to Gathal by Master Quintu under the guise of wedding the former prince. My true purpose was in search of Master Gihlan.” She paused, scanning the mages. “Well, I found him and I’m afraid he has turned his back on Mother Gaia and found the secrets to waking Abaddon.”

The Chamber burst in a chaotic roar that Victor felt in his chest. Master Quintu sat, rubbing his forehead while the other council members tried to get order. Mages all around debated and argued back and forth. All the while, Victor scrambled to figure out a plan that would help Sana. He needed a miracle.

“What about Gaia?” Victor shouted above the crowd. “Can’t we ask what she thinks of all this?” Even though he knew nothing about, nor believed in, the deity, it was worth asking.

“That is not possible,” Master Quintu said.

Victor’s face turned red. “Why not? What’s there to lose?”

“I think Victor has a wonderful idea,” Jinlin interjected. “Unless there’s something you’re not telling us?”

The Quorum hesitated before Lady Tani spoke. She turned to face Victor and Jinlin. “What the Quorum means to say is Mother Gaia has not spoken to anyone since the War of Five Winters ended.”

“Lady Tani!” Master Corvus growled.

She held up a hand. “The Shainxu have lost contact with Gaia long ago, but refuse to admit it to the people.”

“Lady Tani, this is hardly the time or place!”

“Perhaps I can speak to her? Technically, I am older than her. So maybe she’ll listen,” Victor said. And maybe she will give me better insight to what happened here after I left.

The chamber roared with arguments as Jinlin leaned over to Victor. “I have never seen this place so lively before. You appear to have stirred a hornet’s nest, my boy.”

The spherical gavel banged in a constant rap to silence the mages. They persisted with their chatter but tapered down when the Grand Master Mage stood from his seat. His frail old frame kept his back arched. He searched the faces of the Quorum, smacking his wrinkled lips in preparation to speak.

“We are only mortal men of this Earth that come and go like the seasons. The control we have over our fate has its limits, and from there, we must turn to Mother Gaia for guidance. It is true, she has not spoken to us in an age, but we all know the Mother Goddess is all knowing and will provide us with her sacred words when the time is right. Until then, if silence is her will, then so be it.”

He pointed a twig-like finger to Victor and Jinlin. “The gates to Gaia are our most sacred land and will not be defiled by any outsider despite his outrageous claims of being one of the Ancients. As for you, Master Mage, you have defiled the word of our mother once before and disrespected us by returning to the Iron Forest. You are both to be banished from the Iron Forest, never to return.”

He rapped the gavel and retreated out of the assembly hall with the aid of Master Corbus and Master Seshin. One by one, the mages filed out of the hall with mumbles.

Victor glared. “That’s it?”

Jinlin nodded. “The Grand Master has spoken, meaning the decisions are final.” He stroked his long mustache.

Victor turned to Lady Tani who glared at where the Grand Master sat. “Lady Tani, there must be something else we can do to sway their decision.”

She glanced at Jinlin. “It is impossible to sway decisions that were made long before the council began. Have patience, Victor. Going before the assembly of mages was a risk that didn’t pay off. I’m sorry to say, but our survival is in Gaia’s hands now.”

Betting everything on the will of a goddess seemed foolish, in Victor’s opinion. He never considered himself a gambling man, but it appeared he just pushed all his chips in on a single hand and lost.