Trojian Horse

“Enter Arien,” the voice said. He was instructed to move closer and not be afraid. “I won’t harm you.”

Arien felt like he was opening his eyes for the first time after a very long slumber. He opened his eyes to find he was under a perfectly shaped stone dome with smooth sides. It was brightly lit though there was no obvious source of light instead it seemed the light oozed from the walls themselves. At first, he struggled with the brilliance of the room but gradually his eyes adjusted to the brightness. The walls of the cave were of a brilliant gold that reflected the light to add to the majesty of the space. In the middle of the dome was a large, cubic crystal rock, almost completely transparent save for an opaque ball of light in the very centre of the rock. Directly above the rock at the top of the dome was a large five-point star etched into the stone. He was spellbound.

“Come closer Arien, we have much to discuss,” the voice said breaking his trance.

The voice seemed to be coming from the rock though he wasn’t immediately sure.

“You’re right, that is where the voice is coming from,” the rock said to him.

Arien paused a second opened his mouth but nothing came out.

“Yes, I can hear your thoughts though I would prefer you actually speak to me.”

“I…where am I?” Arien asked.

“Perhaps you remember a place very similar to this. I thought somehow this would make you a little more comfortable. This is what the place should have looked like, although somewhere else it is exactly like this.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You wouldn’t. At least not yet…”

“Why am I here?”

“In a place very similar to this a little while ago we met for the first time. You were very young then. Let’s say you’re almost on the other side.”

“The other side?”

“I’m really trying to find a nice way to say this…”

“To say what?”

“You’re dead Arien…”

“Oh.” Arien collapsed to the floor and crossed his legs. He fell deep into thought thinking about what exactly that meant.

“Take your time…time doesn’t really move the same way here.”

After a very long silence Arien felt he was ready to hear more.

“I can’t quite remember how I got here. Can you tell me?” he asked.

“I could. Not to worry though, it will come to you. I think I still owe you an answer for an earlier question though.”

“And what question is that?” Arien asked.

“I want to tell you why you’re here.”

“Oh yes, go on.”

Arien shifted a little closer to the rock while trying his best to maintain a healthy distance from it. There were no openings in the cave. No exit, no entrance just smooth rock walls all around.

“You’re dead, but whether you stay here is entirely up to you.”

Arien cringed involuntarily each time he heard the word ‘dead’. It seemed unusual to be talking about his own demise in such a casual way.

“Before I ask the obvious question of what that statement means, I want to know where here is?”

“That’s a very difficult one to answer. I’ll try to put it in a way you may understand. We are sort of in a place that’s in-between. It is somewhere between the world you remember and de…an alternate reality.”

“You make it sound like death is a vacation,” Arien said quite seriously. He cringed as the word death escaped from his lips.

“You mortals fear death in a rather irrational way. Nothing you do can delay the inevitable. You do so much to avoid it taking you too early, which is commendable, but then you pretend that there is something you can do to stop it. At best maybe you’ll live to old age, which varies greatly by species, but ultimately the time will never be enough will it? They’ll always be something you wish you could do ‘one last time’…”

“What?”

“Never mind. Strictly speaking that doesn’t really apply to you anymore. Well, that depends on how this conversation ends of course.”

“I don’t quite follow...” Arien stated.

“I’ll try again. This place is a waypoint and you get to choose where you go next. You can go back or you can move on.”

“Back? To Trojian?”

“That’s right. I must warn you though that each choice will have consequences though. So, think hard.”

“Okay. What happens if I move on? Where do I go?”

“Oh, somewhere wonderful. Like I said, it’s an alternate existence. As one of the wielders of the Thalios you get a rather different choice from other mortal beings. You wouldn’t believe how many previous wielders have chosen to move on. There is no shame in it.”

“Why would they choose to not go back?”

“Going back means you are going to be confronted with a lot of pain, you will carry the weight of the universe on your shoulders and you will enter into a war that you have previously been oblivious of. In other words, it may seem like a good idea now but you may think otherwise when you go back.”

“Are you trying to convince me not to go back?”

“On the contrary, I want you to go back. Desperately. We need a new champion.”

“We? It sounds like you don’t want me to go back.”

“I need you to understand what you will be facing if you go back.”

“And what exactly is that?”

“As I said before, war, pain, a distinct lack of peace. Being imbued with these powers will result in you knowing a lot more than you care to know. You will have a power unlike anything you have ever felt before though. You will be capable of things that you never dreamed possible but the enemies you face will grow more powerful as well. It will be an entirely different arena.”

“I don’t know what to think now. I was fairly certain I was going to go back before but now I’m not so sure,” Arien said. He buried his face in his hands and sighed.

“Like I said before there’s no shame in it.”

“And if I move on?”

“Your family and friends on Trojian will die,” the voice said.

“What? How am I supposed to make a choice between two terrible choices?”

“That is the life of the hero. Choosing the better of bad choices. They will die though, undoubtedly. Reeger will run rampant for a while but soon others will rise against him and the Thalios will find its way to another who will take up the burden.”

Arien sighed.

“Take your time.”

“What is this Thalios? I only heard about it days ago, at least a few days, I think.”

“Hours ago, actually. Time is an oddity. The Thalios is me. It’s because you and I are one that you can be here. Your death enabled you to tap into this part of your reality. As you may be gathering I only ever meet the wielders under these circumstances. I am capable of granting you life, if you should choose it, and not just giving you back your old life but allowing you to live as long as you wish.”

“Forever?”

“Yes, forever. Although forever isn’t as enticing as you might think. Other wielders have given the power up when they felt they had outlived their usefulness and moved on.”

“So, if I give it up I can’t just carry on living till I die naturally?”

“Unfortunately, not. There is nothing natural about your life anymore. If you give it up, you will die. Again. But this time you will move on.”

“I see. And what if I’m…killed?”

“Well, we will keep meeting to make this choice. You will be powerful but not invincible. That kind of power has corrupted others before you. Each time we meet in this manner there will be a price to pay.”

“What kind of price?”

“Each time you go back someone else will take your place. It may be an enemy, it may be a friend. That’s the risk you have to take.”

“It seems an impossible choice now,” Arien said horrified that he could be guilty of someone else death. “If, as you say, I have so much power in me how did Reeger...”

“You were not ready. You didn’t quite know what you were fighting for. You probably still don’t but you are starting to grasp the weight of the burden you carry.”

“Is it too late?”

“To save them? No, it’s not.”

“And what do I need to do if I go back?” Arien asked.

“If you go back you will not just be Arien or Zibulo, you will be Justice. There is much evil brewing in the galaxy and it will continue to spread if it is not checked. That will be your job.”

“Is Reeger a part of that evil?”

“Indeed he is. But he is only a symptom of a larger infection. There are things out there much worse than he is. Perhaps you will soon discover that for yourself. However, Reeger will be the first of the trials you must face. There are evils festering in the darkness waiting to get out and you will be all that stands between them and freedom of all beings.”

“I have to go back and fight him?” Arien asked feeling a pang of fear.

“You do, and you must defeat him. Then you will have to leave your family.”

“And go where?”

“On your only mission. Eradicate the evil from the galaxy.”

“I don’t know if I can do all of that, much less defeat Reeger. Well, you must know what he did to me the last time.” Arien hung his head feeling terror slowly begin to overwhelm him.

“I told you before, the Arien who came here will not be the Arien who goes back. You got a taste for the power you are capable of when you fought Reeger the last time. You need to tap into that power and being here means you have managed to connect to it. You know it’s real.”

“Why do I have to leave them?”

“I know you don’t want to but the kind of evil you will battle is not something you will want near them. Incidentally the weapon that Reeger used to kill you is the very thing that saved you.”

“That is just confusing. How does that make sense?!”

“The sword of intention or the Kata. You are linked to its destiny and it yours. It actually released the power of the Thalios into you much like placing a cube of salt in water makes the whole body of water a little salty. The Thalios is that cube and the Kata is the water. When he used the blade on you, your innate power enabled you to adjust the Kata’s power into something that preserved your life.”

“So you are saying that Reeger actually saved me? It didn’t feel like he was trying to save me.” The sarcasm was evident in Arien’s voice.

“He wasn’t. And he wouldn’t know that he did. He doesn’t understand the kind of power he is dealing with here.”

“That just doesn’t make sense to me,” Arien declared.

“I mean that if he had used anything else you would have had to pay the consequences of our meeting. You are connected to that sword. I’m sure you have felt it with Turo’s blade.”

“That’s what that was. I thought I was imagining it. I’m not sure Turo believed me.”

“She had her doubts but she will become a believer.”

“A believer in what?”

“In you, Arien. In the prophecy.”

“What prophecy?”

“You were not in this form but a part of you should remember it, surely? You heard the prophecy just before you came here right. Think on it…yes, I can see it coming back to you. You are the one but Reeger is not the other, though he thinks it is so. He is serving forces he does not quite understand. In addition, it is not complete.”

“So what does the rest of it say?” Arien asked a frown forming on his face.

“That is for you to find out. And the only way you will find out is if you go back.”

“I see. You always meant to do this to me, didn’t you?”

“I have no idea what you mean. The dead have no business with the living. You need to choose where you belong”

“How many have there been before me?”

“Countless,” the voice answered. “Only three have ever chosen to accept the task. The last wielder gave his power to you.”

Arien was stunned by the statement. He strangely felt a connection to this former wielder.

“What happened to the last wielder?” Arien asked.

“He gave it up. He gave it to you.”

“How? Who were they?”

“You’ll have to find that out when you get back. You are the third wielder to accept after all.”

“I haven’t accepted!”

“Yes, you have. Time is running out. You must go back now to make it in time.”

“In time for what?” Arien asked.

Arien sat in silence for a few moments contemplating the paths he could take and the repercussions of each course. He cared for his family though he doubted his own ability to save them. Reeger had defeated him once before and he was still struggling to come to terms with tasting death.

“Will I see you again?”

“If you decide to go back and live, you won’t see me. At least not in this form. You must master the secrets of the Thalios and trust those around you. You will need to bring the Aldebaran together.”

“The what?”

“They are closer than you think. Just stick to your mission and it will all become clear in time. Trust yourself Zibulo. Trust yourself Arien. You will be Justice.”

Arien felt a surge of power coursing through him. He stood up straight and closed his eyes embracing the changes he felt happening inside him. He felt a new strength in his limbs, a strength so great, so new he felt it would tear him apart into a thousand tiny pieces. His skin felt hot to the touch as he were an ember that kept growing hotter and hotter until it glowed white hot.

Arien screamed as an intense seared through his flesh. He fell back onto the ground writhing around in pain then suddenly the pain was gone and all that remained was serenity. He was shrouded in a white blinding light and though he could see nothing at this point he could hear everything. He could Hethios, Roue, the Queen all the voices of the Vulpeculae crying in pain with one voice. He heard the voice from the rock telling him that he only needed to follow the voices and he would find his way. ‘Pick one’ he was told and he was instructed to follow it. He searched for Hethios’ voice and focused on it until he felt himself being pulled from the world in-between into an old existence though he felt this time things would be different. Suddenly he felt cold and opening his eyes he found himself shrouded by a blue ball of light below the surface of the water and he was racing to the top at a terrifying pace. Hethios voice was much closer now.