The Iron Forest: Ancestor's Legacy

Jinlin led Victor across high hills covered in splashes of spring’s new growth. He was exhausted, muscles still aching after their fall into the mine and the battle against the Chotukhan. He couldn’t stop thinking of Sana and the responsibility she’d placed on him. That, and he made a promise to her people—his people. The memory that returned, gave him a first-hand glimpse of the destructive power the machines possessed, and he knew, more than anyone else, why they must be stopped.

They traveled deep into the night with no incident. Despite not seeing anyone, Victor had a continuous fear that every sound meant an imminent attack.

“How much farther till we reach the Iron Forest?” Victor asked as he climbed up a grass covered ledge. The hardest part of these long voyages on foot had to do with not knowing where he was and where they were going. Before, he relied on roads and signs that pointed the way with the added aid of GPS, but those days have long passed.

“Not much further. I would guess a day’s walk from here. It should be downhill once we cross the next ridge,” Jinlin said.

Victor knew traveling all night was a mistake because of his exhaustion and the possibility of falling down a hidden precipice. Jinlin must have thought the same since he halted and decided to make camp.

As they sat around the fire to keep warm, hunger added to their exhaustion. Neither Victor nor Jinlin possessed enough hunting skills to make dinner a worthwhile prospect. What they needed the most was sleep.

Victor laid down on a mat made from spruce branches and dry grass. It wasn’t the most comfortable bed, but it fared better than resting on the ground. He wished he had a blanket to keep warm in the night chill, but the small fire gave off enough heat to prevent shivering. I could really use Sana’s warmth right now. He thought of how they had cuddled beneath the wolf-skin cloak not long ago.

Weary, he looked aside, expecting the wizard to be fast asleep, but instead, the old man peered back at him with his head resting on his hands. “What’s the matter?”

“I was thinking how I envy you.”

“You envy me?”

“Of course. You were here during the ancient times. I often wondered what the world was like and how great and magical things were. All we have are aged relics that barely give the slightest insight into your time.”

“I’m afraid my time wasn’t as glorious as you imagine. In fact, I remember the world quite the opposite.”

“In what way?” Jinlin asked, moving to rest on his side.

Victor paused to collect what memories he did have. “Things were hotter back then. Not just the weather, but the attitudes of people. Food was so scarce, nations and regions fought for what little there was. Everyone was constantly at war with each other… Until the machines attacked.” He recalled the memory of Teresa’s arms around him and her warm smile only to see her blood on his hands as he held her lifeless body. “Many died: Friends, family… loved ones. All of them gone.” A tear ran down his cheek.

Jinlin held his head low. “I’m sorry, Victor.”

Victor shook his head. “Don’t be. It was a long time ago. Since meeting Sana and living among the Shankur, I realized I still have friends, family, loved ones, and a whole life to make new memories.”

The wizard smiled at that. “Sounds like a blessing in disguise.”

“I agree. Sometimes I miss the way things were, but I’m starting to prefer this new world… Minus the killing and deadly machines running around.” He snorted. “It’s strange though. I remember most things about my life, but not the latter part. It’s almost as if my memory loss is selective.”

Jinlin rolled on his back to look up at the stars. “I wonder if you coming here had some sort of purpose. Perhaps it was all part of some great design. King Shunlin intends to wake Abaddon and maybe you were sent here to destroy him.”

“How?”

“I wish I knew. When we get to the Iron Forest, I hope you find answers there.”

Victor’s anxiety grew with the thought of meeting the Shainxu people. He knew if they refuse to help, then Sana and her army of Shankur warriors would be defeated. The worst part was knowing there would be nothing he could do about it.

*****

Over the next ridge, the pine and spruce trees became taller while the land turned flat with shallow hills. Sunlight struggled to reach the forest floor, leaving the land in a constant shadow. After cutting through a carpet of overgrown brush, they came upon the first road seen in days. At least that’s what Jinlin called it. To Victor, it was more of a trail than a road.

“We must be cautious from here on out,” Jinlin warned.

Victor paused, expecting some new danger he had yet to see. “Why? What’s there to worry about?”

“We are in Shainxu territory, my boy. My people don’t take well to strangers entering the Iron Forest without an invitation.”

“Jinlin, aren’t you Shainxu?”

The wizard held up a low-lying branch for Victor to pass under. “I was, but my opinions did not agree with the leadership. They exiled me, remember?”

“What opinions would cause them to do that?” Jinlin’s hesitation to answer made him suspicious. “Jinlin?”

“I spent half my life searching for information about the Ancients. The few bits I found revealed that Mother Gaia may be designed for the purpose of our extermination. Yet, the Counsel of Mages consider the goddess to be our protector and guardian. When I mentioned this to the Shainxu Quorum, they said I was being blasphemous and had me banished.”

“That’s pretty harsh,” Victor said. He offered a hand to assist the old wizard up a waist sized ledge.

“Yes, but it was better than the alternative.” Jinlin grinned. “They could have executed me.”

Victor chucked. “I guess you’re right. That was a better alternative.” He rested his hand on a tree covered in vines. “What happens if you go back?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve never gone back before.” Jinlin glanced around. “But it hasn’t changed much.”

Victor noticed his hands turned a deep reddish brown. The tree he leaned on was not a tree, but a beam of steel covered in vines and shrubs. Rust crumbled at his fingertips from several thousand years of age. Many more steel beams stood around with piles of reddish-brown dust.

“It’s iron.” He studied the surrounding forest. “These aren’t trees. There old support beams.”

“That’s correct, my boy. Why do you think we call it the Iron Forest?”

“Didn’t think much of it. I thought it was just a name.”

The forest continued forever. Time and weather reduced man-made structures to rubble, leaving the metal frames to support nature’s relentless hands.

They walked to where the road opened. A clearing in the steel trees made way to a river that ran red as blood. On the opposite bank, ancient walls formed a barrier that weaved through a layer of trees. Two buildings of concrete, crumbling to reveal the iron frame, formed a massive gate.

Victor studied the structure that appeared wider at the top and several sizes taller than a man. Jagged metal pointed outward as a sign that those arriving were not welcome. “I assume that is the entrance to Shainxu territory?”

Jinlin nodded. “Right you are, my boy. Past this point is the land of the wizards.”

They approached the gate of corrugated metal topped with razor wire. Victor detected a sense of nervousness in the old man that appeared reminiscent to his own anxiety. Servos and gears whining broke the silence.

“Get down!” Victor shouted, pushing Jinlin aside. Streaks of green plasma burst from spinning barrels to hit the ground in front of them.

“Go no further!” a man’s voice called through a loudspeaker.

Victor dusted off his clothes. “Not very welcoming, if you ask me.”

“The Shainxu can be a bit jittery, but not dangerous,” Jinlin commented, getting to his feet. “All you have to do is call their bluff.” He clasped his hands and walked forward with his head hung low. Victor figured it was either a sign of submission or the old man was plain crazy.

“State your business,” the loudspeaker barked. To Victor’s surprise, the sentry spoke English.

“We have come from the west with terrible news and to present the Quorum a gift of knowledge from the Ancients.”

“And you are?” the loudspeaker bellowed.

The wizard hesitated, glancing at Victor. “I am Jinlin, master mage of the Shainxu.”

There was a pause, long enough for Victor’s heart to start skipping beats.

“Go away.”

Jinlin huffed. “Sentry Baku, I know it’s you. Open this damn gate before I blow it down.”

A thud and groaning creak echoed throughout the valley as the massive metal gate slid open. Metal on metal grinding pierced Victor’s ears in evidence the doors remained dormant for a long time.

He gasped at what waited on the other side. Two reverse hinged legs held up a chassis that bore two six-barreled machine guns. The beast lumbered with heavy steps through the entry, keeping its weapons pointed at them.

The machine stopped with the glass canopy opening to reveal a man in Shainxu robes. “You have a lot of nerve showing yourself around here, Master Jinlin.” The driver said. He had a round face with a sneer between a pair of muttonchops. “I have been given orders to not let you beyond the gates.”

Jinlin bowed with his hands tucked within his sleeves. “Forgive me, First Sentry Baku. I would not have taken the risk if it were not a life-or-death matter. Even if it meant my own life.”

The Sentry shook his head. “I’m sorry, but the answer is no.” He leaned back with a raised hand to lower the canopy.

Before the glass closed, Victor darted forward. “I am Commander Victor Murphy. I lived in this world over three thousand years ago and wish to speak to the Quorum.”

Sentry Baku started to give a response that Victor assumed would be denial or an assumption of insanity, but rolled his eyes. “Follow me and don’t stray.” He glanced at Jinlin. “You too.”

Jinlin looked at Victor with half approval and half worry.

They followed Sentry Baku through the gate that creaked to a slow close. The metallic slam behind brought about the reality they entered a point of no return.

Beyond the wall, Victor agreed with Jinlin why they call the Shainxu lands the Iron Forest. Countless buildings long since crumbled to piles of brick and stone, leaving the bare bones of metal girders and beams. Trees overtook the landscape where roots could penetrate the concrete pavement. Thousands of years had passed and still the battle of nature against man-made structures raged. And nature was winning. An ancient lamp post hung sadly overhead.

“This was once a city,” Victor observed. The surrounding mountains and the valley to the south created a bowl that showed he stood on the ancient city of Colorado Springs.

Jinlin hummed. “That’s correct, my boy. I can only imagine what this place looked like during your time.”

Victor had trouble imagining the forest without the trees. In his perspective, not much time passed, but the years since he walked the streets of this city made his mental images somewhat blurry. He recognized the crumbling piles of concrete as the empty shells of buildings, but none of them had any indication of what they once were. Even the streets deteriorated to random slabs of asphalt covered stone. Road signs faded to empty sheets of metal resting on posts corroded down to jagged nubs.

As they walked, it was difficult to tell if the sun was setting or if the tree-covered buildings did a better job of blocking out the light. The forest seemed darker the further they continued. After passing through what Victor assumed was several city blocks, a new form of light filtered through the trees.

“We have arrived,” Jinlin announced as they passed under a steel arch bordered by massive pine trunks. “Welcome to Abahar, jewel of the Shainxu.”

Victor gasped at the beauty hidden within the Iron Forest. Buildings of glass, a dozen or more stories tall, overlooked a crowd of men and women walking the streets. Neon lights of red, blue, and green bathed the city in colorful hues that felt surreal. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Standing before him was a living, breathing, modern city. If he didn’t know any better, he would think he was standing in Hong Kong or London, not somewhere in the forests of southern Colorado.

“Does it take your breath away, my boy?” Jinlin chuckled.

“This is amazing. It’s as if we jumped into the future… I mean the past… or whatever.”

Sentry Baku stopped and crouched, blocking them from moving further. “Quite right. The Shainxu has been working on this for centuries. The Iron Forest holds many secrets buried below the dirt and trees.”

Victor stepped aside to allow an old woman to pass. “Where do you get your power?”

“It is a gift from Gaia. She provides us with what we need to live a more modern life.”

Two men in red robes beneath carbon fiber armor approached with weapons that looked like half spears and half rifles. They lifted their helmet visors to speak.

“Are these the two?” The elder asked, getting a nod from Baku.

The other guard pulled out a hand terminal and held it to Jinlin. A holographic display projected a portrait of the old wizard with information streaming below: “Master Jinlin. Banished from Abahar for crimes against Gaia.”

The wizard scoffed. “Crimes! I committed no crimes.” He folded his arms, keeping his head held upward. “I only expressed my opinion.”

Victor received the same inspection, but the hand terminal buzzed with failure to identify. “Hmm. No information is available. Looks like we have an outsider.”

Jinlin scowled with impatience. “Are we done here? I have important business to discuss with the Quorum.”

The sentries glanced at each other before looking to Sentry Baku.

“Take them away,” Baku commanded.

“What?” Jinlin gasped.

The guards placed cuffs on their wrists despite Jinlin’s protest of, “Sentry Baku, we must see the Quorum at once!”

Sentry Baku held up a hand. “You will get your opportunity to speak with the magistrate in due time. Until then, I suggest you remain silent.”

“Where are we going?” Victor asked, trying not to struggle.

“You are to be held, under watch, within the Citadel.”

So, we are being arrested. Damn! Not good.