Chapter 7: Teacher

“Where do we go from here?” Divarus asked. “The war has stopped for now...but that man told us we needed to train. I am wary of following his instructions...”

“You don’t want to become stronger? Better able to protect this world?” Thevor asked confused.

“It is not that. But he has the power to freeze an entire battlefield. His name was...X. Which means he doesn’t want to tell us his true identity. Whatever he or it is, is an extremely powerful being. I can’t just trust him blindly.”

Thevor nodded. “I understand, but you pointed out why we need to listen to him. We don’t have a choice in the matter. If we don’t comply, he may be able to destroy us. Although his power may be limited to time and space in that manner, we can’t take that risk.”

“You are right about that.” Divarus admitted. “But still, where do we go from here?”

“You follow me.” said a voice from behind them. The human and Scalon turned around and looked at the speaker.

Myrus, Elven Empire

Kaedra wiped the tears from her face. She stared down at the body of her husband as the storm’s rain pounded the earth. This was the result of the war between the Scalons and the elves.

“Kaedra.” said a voice from behind her. “You have my empathy.” It was her good friend Deyla.

“Deyla...you haven’t lost...” she began crying.

“My husband? No. But my son has been killed.” she said as tears welled up in her eyes.

“This is all my fault.” Kaedra said. “All this death and suffering.” she continued on looking at the others grieving for the loss of their loved ones. “This is all my fault...”

“Kaedra, you can’t say that. You didn’t cause this war.”

“But I did nothing to help. I didn’t fight to stop it...I didn’t fight at all.”

“No one expected you to.” Deyla said trying to comfort her friend. “This wasn’t your fight.”

“My husband, your son, countless other family members...gone. How is this not my fight? I am suffering because of it. That makes it my fight.” Kaedra said angry. She couldn’t bear to stand here any longer and so she ran off into the woods.

She heard Deyla scream for her to come back, but she refused. Kaedra ran through the forest as fast as she could. She needed to leave these lands, or else she would never be able to live with herself.

“Do you truly want to prevent this from happening again?” said a male voice.

Kaedra screamed as she looked up and saw a man in a dark cloak floating above, completely unaffected by the rain. “Who...who are you?”

“Answer my question. Do you truly want to prevent this type of suffering?”

“Yes!” she screamed. “No one should have to endure this torture.”

“I feel how passionate you are about this.” said the man as he lowered himself to the ground. “Come with me. I will show you how to stop this. All of this.”

He extended his hand. Kaedra reluctantly took it. If he was dangerous, then she would be killed and be relieved of this suffering. But if he was truly a friend, then she would be able to save the lives of many.

“How will you do that? How will you teach me to stop war?”

“By making you into what I am. And having you teach a future generation.” And with a flash the two were gone.

Outside of Battlefield, Present Day

“My name is Kaedra. And I am a dimensional mage, here to guide you.” she said. Are these two truly going to stop this war? Why would X pick this time? These questions popped into her mind.

“So you are like him, then?” Divarus asked. “Like the one who stopped this battle?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me. Why are you doing this?”

“I am doing this to prevent history from repeating itself. To change the nature of Terra. To stop the wars. X’s goal may be different than mine...but I assure you this is what I am here to do.”

“Kaedra, you will be the one to teach us the power of the Heldum Blades?”

“Indirectly yes. Those Blades...the power has a mind of its own. I can not teach you to control it, but I can teach you to be what it desires. The Heldum Blades desire those of strong will and mind. I will show you the powers you already possess. The Blades will grant you their power once you have found yours.”

“That seems like a waste of time.” Divarus said. “If you can freeze an entire battle, why not just end it? Why do this to us?”

“The minds of human and Scalon alike are the greatest strengths you have. I can tell you that those Heldum Blades can only help you for so long. Eventually you will have to rely on your own strengths. So if my helping your personal health is an issue, then we have a lot of work to do.” Kaedra said angrily. This Scalon was not being cooperative. She could already tell he would slow down the training.

“So shall we begin?” she asked.

“Yes.” Thevor said. Divarus hesitated for a few seconds before nodding.

“Where do we go now?” Thevor asked.

“As far away from civilization as possible. But still within favorable climates. We are going to head into a grove hidden within the mountains to the south.”

“Draconic land?” Divarus asked nervously.

“Not quite. And even if it were, a dragon would never be able to spot that grove. Neither would a demon. However I will guide you there. And that is where you will be healed. And once that is done, we can continue on with the actual training.”

“Healing?” Divarus asked.

“You are both broken from your personal experiences. Divarus, you are an orphan. And Thevor you saw the death of your parents. These events have plagued you and corrupted your decisions. They have changed you for the better and worse. My job is to change you completely for the better. Think of it this way: You can polish both a vase, broken or unbroken, but it is more useful to polish the unbroken.”

“So we are broken?” Divarus said irritated. He did not like the idea of being controlled like this.

“Yes. And you Divarus...you are more broken than Thevor. And unless you start wanting to help yourself, there is nothing I can do for you. Now let us go. We have a long journey ahead of us.”