Chapter 16
During the day of testing that Soaryn and Aerd had to do to be allowed to train with the ishkanshoos Enho and I went for a walk around the Krall Oasis. While we were walking around I left Sten, Zelphar, Dakagrett, and Komad to protect Ulellinn, Gwendolin, Raethien, Zaenia, and Satyros. Enho and I walk around the Oasis till sunset when she showed me a rock formation that looked like a decrepit statue. We climbed to the top of the rocks and sat there watching the sunset. As the sun began to sink below the horizon Enho was the first to break the silence we had been sitting in.
"Kaor, why do you always seem so distant and sad" She asked me in a slightly curious tone.
"I've never really been close to anyone other than my younger brother, Kernon, and how do I seem sad" I responded.
"Oh I never realized that you had never been close to anyone other than Kernon, and you seem sad because the way you look at everything around you. There is always a look of sorrow when you look at anything" Enho told me in a concerned tone.
"I see, the reason I look at everything with the appearance of sorrow is that because everything dies and it bring even more sorrow" I responded in dejected tone.
"Everything and everyone dies at some point and that's why we have to make connections and hold those we love close" She said this and as she uttered the last word she grabbed and held onto my hand.
"Why are you holding my hand, you do realize that it's the hand of a monster of a man who is second only to Draco" I asked in slightly irritated tone.
"I wanted to know what you hand felt like and I don't care that it's the hand of a 'monster' as you put it. I only want you to know that I fell for you during the training. I also knew that if I was willing to work hard and get stronger that I wouldn't be able to get close to you" Enho told me in the most sincere tone I had ever heard.
When she said those words I felt something I had never felt before. It was like my heart was trying to beat out of my chest and slight nausea. I didn't know how to respond other than clasping my hand ,that she was still holding, around her hand. After I did that she laid her head on my right shoulder and we watched the sun finish it's descent below the horizon. We stayed sitting there until a blue moon was high in the sky. We then climbed down from the rocks and laid in a nearby clearing to gaze at the stars. Eventually she laid her head on my chest and closed her beautiful amber eyes. I held her close and closed my eyes. When we woke up it was to the sound of birds singing in the trees around us. Shortly after we woke up, I went and grabbed a rock from where we had watched the sunset the night before. I used some of the abilities I had gotten from my brands to make a locket. It shone with a dull indigo sheen and I had carved a tree from the Oasis into the front side of it. I then carved an image of us together in one side of the interior of the locket. After I had finished, I went over to Enho and gave her the locket that I had made for her. Her response was to hug me tightly and I hugged her back and said,"I guess I'm close to more than one person now". She responded by looking me in the eye and we put our foreheads together. We stood like that for a long time until Aerd and Raethien stumbled into the same clearing we were in. After they saw us Enho and I let go of each other and acted like nothing happened. Enho and I never stopped going to that clearing to watch the sunset and to look at the stars for the next two weeks.
After another two weeks of training Soaryn was able to go against Sten and force a draw. Aerd had learned a spell from Galli that could control electric charges. This was when Zelphar began his plan of betrayal. It started with framing Komad with a plot to assassinate Gwendolin. The evidence was a written order that one of the assassins had on them. The handwriting was the same as Komad's and it bore the sigil of the Lightburn, the name of my squad, which was convincing enough to put suspicion on him. This is because only members of Lightburn are allowed to have sigil imprint. Our guests from Druiga left shortly after the failed assassination attempt. Shortly after they left Zelphar discovered that there was a significant amount of ammunition and a rifle missing from the armory in the caverns. All of the ammunition that was missing were magic bullets for a rifle that Komad had designed for use by the Lightburn. The rifle was called Asariel, apparently it was named in honor of an elven legend about the first spirit of darkness. The asariel rifle is incredibly heavy required an extensive set up process because Komad designed it for stopping invaders. Each of the bullets used by an asariel was around six inches long and weighed close to a pound. The missing ammunition and rifle were later found in Komad's home. This was when Draco ordered me to bring Komad to him.