Ember Sword Chapter 7: The Garden of Starzhen

 

Matthis sat on the balcony of his small living space in Starscrape. He had been in the Sevrendi capitol city for roughly a week. After being sprayed by the spore, his team came across some Sevrendi locals who found him in his bad conditions and brought him into the city. Matthis was starting to become bored in the city. Madame Caza and Captain Dodd spent most of their days with the advisors of Sevrend. Rosa spent most of her days in the tavern and Eames was offering the other energy wielders lectures of his light energy. Matthis was tired of being in the humid jungle and longed to be back with Sarh in Maja. 10 years earlier, Maja and Duskeron was the last place he wanted to be. 

Matthis watched the busy city below him, observing each Sevrendi trying to find the hooded person he chased through the jungle on their journey here. The locals said the jungle can be the biggest friend or foe depending on where you were. Matthis thought the hooded sevrendi was responsible for the vines and the spores but apparently, the jungle attacked foreign bodies. Matthis was still on the prowl though from his balcony. By noon, he became bored once again and went to the guard quarters to practice his swordsmanship in the training yard. Walking through the city with the massive sword on his back made him stick out. People stared with concerns, guards stared with caution, and children in the streets stared in awe. When he made it to the training grounds, he could hear the chuckles and whispers of the other sevrendi warriors. "How can he carry that thing?" "He must be overcompensating!" "Typical dusker." Matthis didn't mind the chatter. Some of the other guards saw him in action and knew not to speak. Matthis swung his sword with ease and swiftness giving it some practice formations. The guards were shocked at how fast he could be with such a massive sword. Matthis fed into the astonishment. Practicing all of his different stances, swings, and positionings. Before he finished he swung at one of the training dummies chopping the head of the wooden dummy with ease. 

After his training, he was hungry and decided to meet up with Rosa in the tavern where she spent her day drinking and scamming sevrendi out of a game of cards. The tavern was empty, as expected for early afternoon. Rosa was sitting at the bar by herself, fiddling with one of her daggers. Matthis sat beside her. The bartender already knew Matthis's order as this was his daily routine. "When are you going to actually eat food instead of drinking all day?" Matthis asked Rosa as she finished her drink. Rosa belched, "Sevrend has some interesting spices in their spirits. They could be as rich as Maja if they exported this to all of Thanabus!" Matthis laughed, "ya, I don't think the republic would entertain the idea." Rosa turned to face Matthis, "I think today is the last day of negotiations." Matthis looked concerned, "you think we are going to have to face off with the republic?" Rosa shook her head, "With or without Sevrend, if they try to take Duskeron, they won't stand a chance." Matthis raised his glass and clung it with Rosa's glass. 

As Matthis was finishing his food, some young Sevrendi boys walked into the tavern. About 3 or 4 of them looking a little younger than Matthis. They were all cracking jokes making crude remarks. They all stopped when they saw Rosa and Matthis. One of the older boys was staring at Rosa, finding her attractive and feeling that he needed to look tough. He was going to provoke Matthis. He smirked, "well, that's quite a sword you got mate." Matthis ignored them still eating his meal. The Sevrendi walked closer, "I saw you in the training grounds earlier with that sword, I bet you're the bane of wooden dummies." The other boys started to snicker. Matthis looked at Rosa, she backed her drink letting Matthis know he was on his own for this one. The boy stood next to Matthis now at the bar, "is that sword only good for chopping trees, must make those solarwoodlings shake in their boots." The boy continued "I heard you duskers were tough, yet you have to come to Sevrend with your tail tucked between your legs because some frosty boys want to take your precious metal." Matthis was starting to get annoyed. The boy laughed, "who are you going to call dusker if I take your precious drink?" The boy grabbed Matthis's drink and took a swig. Matthis saw the boy cringe from the strong spirit but then maintained his composure. The boy tried to fix his mistake of taking such a big gulp of the drink, "that big sword is probably fake just like Duskeron!" Matthis knew he was looking for a fight, but this kid wouldn't stand a chance. "Tell you what kid, why don't you lift my fake sword." Matthis lifted it with one hand and laid it among the bar. The boy looked back at his friends. He took a deep breath and attempted to lift the sword with both hands. Not even a budge. The boy continued to with all his might. His face was starting to turn red. Matthis laughed, "you can't handle my drink, you can't handle my sword" and Rosa chimed in "and you sure as hell couldn't handle me." The boy's friends busted out laughing. Even the bartender had to stop what he was doing because he was laughing so hard. The boy turned red, "shut up! all of you! I can take any of you on." Matthis laughed, "you brave kid I'll give you that". Then a voice from the entrance responded, "but you are over your head if you think you can handle a dusker." Everyone turned to the entrance and there stood a Sevrendi girl. 

The boy's demeanor changed, "well if it isn't my little sister back from the academy." The two embraced and the other boys gathered around them. The girl laughed and faced her brother, "Faux, why would you want to pick a fight with two duskers?" The boy that was provoking them earlier had a name now. Faux laughed and slapped Matthis's back, "I was just giving them a hard time is all, a real sevrendi welcome!" The girl rolled her eyes and walked up to Matthis and Rosa, "Faux is an idiot, let me buy the next round." She turned to Faux, "father is looking for you, why don't you go find him before these dusker knock you teeth out." Faux shrugged and he and his crew left. At the entrance Faux turned back to get a glimpse of Rosa, she made eye contact, he gave a wink, she rolled her eyes and shooked her head. The girl bought the next two rounds, "sorry my brother can be difficult to outsiders. He wants to be more than just a Sevrendi merchant's son." Rosa chimed in, our great nation was built on merchants, it's an honorable trade and a great way to get rich." They talked throughout the afternoon. The girl was a student at the academy in Solarwood but was a native of Sevrendi. She apparently was one of the few sevrendi energy wielders but was only a freshman. She had returned back for the summer but would be returning in the fall. She said that her best friend was a dusker and one of the toughest students at the academy. As the sun was setting, Dodd walked into the tavern. Many sevrendi workers were in the tavern now off of their work duty. "I need you two to come back to Caza's room, we must discuss something before we leave," Dodd expressed to Matthis and Rosa. Matthis turned to the girl, "we must be going off now, it was nice talking to you...uh...I actually never got your name." The girl laughed, "my name is Lisbeth and I'll see you around." 

Matthis, Rosa, and Dodd entered Caza's room. Caza was sitting in the lounge chair while Eames was sitting on the balcony. Caza's room was a lot bigger and nicer than Matthis's cramp room. Soon everyone was in the room some sitting some standing all focus on Caza. Rosa crossed her arms in the corner, "so are we finally going home?" Caza nodded, "yes, we have come to an agreement with Sevrend." Eames leaned forward, "are they forming an alliance with us?" Caza glanced at Dodd and back to Eames, "I'm afraid what was decided is only for Noss Scarrow to know at this time." Matthis, "well, if we can get out of this jungle, I don't really care what was said. I'll start packing." Caza interrupted him, "before you leave, I have a strange request of you Matthis." Matthis gave a puzzled look and all the others in the room mirrored his expression. Caza continued, "you see, I had a specific request for you to privately speak with her." Matthis raised an eyebrow, "who is her?" 

It was nightfall as Matthis walked alone to the ruler's quarters among the city. Caza was told that she wanted to meet with Matthis and to bring his sword with him, even though weapons were prohibited near her tower. Soon, Matthis came to the ruler's gate and was escorted by one of her guards. While walking, Matthis asked the guard, "so what is your ruler's name?" The guard snapped back, "you will address the leader of the damned as The Wisp." Matthis shrugged, "that's a bit ominous but okay." What exactly did she want from Matthis? He was a sword-for-hire from Duskeron. He stayed out of politics for a reason and wasn't sure how he had any involvement in the alliance. Soon he reached a tall door. The guard told him to continue to speak with the Wisp. 

Matthis entered a large hall that appeared to be a throne room. Unlike the gold trim that surrounded Noss's throne room, this was made of wood. As he proceeded forward he noticed the torches lit to illuminate the room. The walls were dimly lit but he could see the paint of the walls. Images of violence were on the wall as depictions of warriors striking down others through swords, bows, and energies. Many well-outfitted soldiers were cutting down images of women and children. There were images of fires as villages were set ablaze. Matthis became distracted by the painting that he didn't notice that he was now in her presents. "I never took you for someone who admired art," said the Wisp. Matthis stopped and snapped his attention back to her. "Forgive me...I uh...got somewhat distracted." Matthis was standing in front of a hooded figure. He recognized her. His heart sank, "you are the one from the jungle!" She tilted her head, "I hope you don't plan to strike me down as you wanted to in the jungle." Matthis glared, "why did you attack us in the jungle?" The Wisp gave a chuckle, "I wasn't, the jungle gives and takes, always hungry...he is always hungry." Matthis looked puzzled. The Wisp stepped down from her throne, "walk with me Matthis, I want to show you something." 

Matthis and the Wisp would soon be walking outside. On top of her tower, was a large garden riddled with different flowers, hedges, and rocks. Everything glowed with different colors. The colors would fade and glow brighter while they walked as if they were aware of their presents. Matthis was taken back at the beauty of the garden, being in Sevrend for a week, he didn't see much of this in the city. As they continued through the garden the Wisp asked, "what do you know of Starzhen? I heard some of your people are somewhat fans of him." Matthis paused to think of a response, "some of the dusker fanatics believed that Starzhan's catastrophe was a good thing as they believed Thanabus was becoming too weak. That was a long time ago." The Wisp asked, "what do you think of Starzhan?" Matthis was really puzzled by this question, "I'm not really into history but I know he was to blame for making Thanabus into the bad place it is now. He caused a catastrophe after all and unraveled what Thanabus was" The Wisp stopped and faced Matthis, still covered by her hood, "what exactly was Thanabus before the catastrophe?" Matthis shrugged he didn't know where she was going with this. The Wisp continued to walk and Matthis followed. Soon they were in the center of the garden. In the middle was a stone circle engraved with different symbols and runes. The Wisp spoke, "I admire the old principles of Duskeron. Starzhen did, in fact, bring death and destruction with the ember sword to many, but also brought liberation and freedom to many more." She continued, "Starzhen brought Sevrend our deliverance and without his intervention, we would never be more than prisoners, sheep serving the false Gods that live to the north." Matthis knew who she was referring to. She pressed on, "Starzhen was a great equalizer for Duskeron, making the rulers based on their success and wealth rather than their blood." The Wisp was right on that one. Duskeron success was from the wealth of the nation and Noss Scarrow did come from money. The Wisp sat on the rock, "you see Matthis, the spot here is to be exactly where Starzhen first made his impact on our little moon. Where he crashed and burned claimed to be dead." She turned to the glowing garden, "but look around you, he is still with us in this garden, without Starzhen, there would be no Sevrend."

The Wisp motioned Matthis to sit on the stone with her. She had him place his sword in the middle of the stone. They now sat legs cross facing each other. First, there was silence, then the Wisp spoke, "What did you see when walking through the throne room?" Matthis shrugged, "I saw images of war and violence." She tilted her head, "are you a man of war and violence?" Matthis thought about that question. The Wisp continued, "you seem to welcome violence with that mighty sword of yours. perhaps you take pleasure in striking fear into the hearts of your enemies." Matthis thought of a response, "I'm not some deranged killer if that's what you think." The Wisp smiled under her hood, "no, you're not. You are merely a sword of Duskeron, a fine piece of metal forged to become death and destruction in the name Noss Scarrow." Matthis shook his head, "I fight for the right price." She paused, "perhaps you don't fight for him or money, but someone closer to your heart." Matthis gave a concerned look, no one knew about Sarh and him, not even Caza, what was the Wisp implying? The Wisp pressed forward, "the paintings on my walls are constant reminders of what catastrophe came upon Sevrend. You see, I too fought for someone I loved, and the republic took that away from me and my people." The Wisp leaned in, "what the republic did to our people was more destructive than what Starzhen could ever do to Thanabus." My catastrophe was not from Starzhen but from other humans on this moon." She straightened her posture, "you and I are much alike Matthis. You relish in the heart of war because that is what you have been made to be. Perhaps without violence, you and I would lose our purpose...our identity." Matthis shook his head, "I don't think so." The Wisp tilted her head, "Without your sword, you don't think Duskeron would outcast you? You would have no value to them. I know these thoughts have danced in your mind." The Wisp was getting too personal with him now and his patience was running up, "forgive me, but what is the point for all of this?"

The Wisp took a deep breath, "I spoke with Caza and agreed to aid Duskeron in any way we can as long as I got to speak with you tonight. I simply want you to do an exercise with me on this stone. After you and I complete the exercise, you are free to leave and Duskeron will have the full force of Sevrend." Matthis nodded, "so what is this exercise?" The Wisp leaned forward, "I want you to close your eyes and breath. I want you to surround yourself with the garden. I want you to feel Starzhen around you." Matthis closed his eyes and began to breathe. The Wisp continued, "you see, the darkness within us can make us strong. You saw my catastrophes upon my walls, memories that I only saw when I embraced the remanence of Starzhen himself." Matthis took a deep breath, he was starting to feel drowsy. The Wisp's voice sounded distant, "embrace your darkness, Matthis, reflect on your own catastrophe."