PROLOGUE – Before the Crash

The sun broke over the small village of Tel, sparking life into the forest that nearly encircled it. The jays in the forest sang to the village, dancing in the slight breezes that whipped about. Trees waved to and fro to the rhythm of morning. The river kept the time, steadily rushing away from the forest lake that reflected the sun’s light back up at it.

Normally that spark would signify the beginnings of the day for the little town, but today, as special as it was, everyone was up and about already. A dozen men and women were clearing off the village green for the start of Festival, and a good one it would be this year. Tel’s harvest far exceeded anything they had grown before, and so Festival had to as well. Games, competitions, dancing, plays, food, the whole lot of it. The planned celebration was so large, Lord Gregori Mensch himself, Lord of the Mahn, named for the large Mahn Forest that ran everywhere but south from Tel, was rumored to be taking part in the festivities, coming out from his secluded mansion. That, in turn, drew even more people from surrounding villages to Tel to celebrate. It was bound to be the greatest Festival of all time.

Xia sat on the top of the hill overlooking the entire village. The first sunrays fell on the dew that covered the soft grass threading through the village, making Tel glow festively around the villager’s ankles. The small lake that lay near town, Mahndestine Lake, glistened and played with the sunlight, scattering it in all directions. The trees in and around the town seemed a natural extension of the thick forest at the same time as part of the town, seeming as if the town itself sprung naturally from the forest, followed by open fields south towards Xia’s hill. Xia loved to see the town in the early morn as such, but the best came when it was just a little wetter, when he could see a small rainbow arch over the village. It put him at peace.

There was no rainbow today, though. Xia had been up here a little longer than usual, waiting for a rainbow to start Festival for him. No, too dry for that. No rainbow… on today of all days… He was rather disappointed.

Xia stood up, and dusted the dewy grass from his earthy pants, its threads matching the dirt under the grass he sat upon. Stretching his hands tall, he brushed the needles of the tree that shared his hill. Well, best not read too much into it. I’m sure it will be a great Festival!

Xia was always calm and collected. Growing up as the son of the Mayor of Tel had taught him to be analytical on all things. “A rushed decision is a bad decision,” his father always said. Being up here got him away from all that, and he could enjoy the sounds and hues of life without having to analyze everything. Looking one more time across the horizon, he took a deep breath and began making his way back to the village.

The path that guided travelers to Tel lay by the foot of the hill, and passed by the vast farming land that fed the village. The aged farmer, Terov Lants, was already out this morning, to no surprise, carrying vegetables from his storehouse to be strapped into his cart. Short, fat, and with a small grey mustache that rolled around his cheeks, the man had a way with vegetables, people coming from other villages in the country to buy from him. The legendary sizes of his plants drew them in droves. Because of him Festivals in Tel were the largest in the countryside, and he took full credit for it. Of course, Xia thought, holding back a small laugh, this year’s success only made his head larger… He had carrots, squash, and tomatoes in their splendid colors and ripeness, all sweet enough to eat right out of the ground. Of course there was Xia’s favorite, Terov’s specialty that grew nowhere else, large green melons filled with dark red fruit on the inside that was juicier than anything he had ever tasted before. His mouth watered at the thought.

“How do things look this morning, lad?” Terov stood up from his cart, and bent over backwards to stretch out his back as he waved to Xia. Terov made a point to reach out to the boy each morning as he made his way from his hill.

“Looking fine, Master Lants!” Xia called, walking to the fence that separated the path from Terov’s land and waving. “Today will be a fine day for the Festival’s beginning!”

Terov smiled. “Good! I’ll see you up there then this afternoon with all this!” He motioned to his cart. The greens and yellows of his crops were easy to see in the morning light.

“Very good, Master Lants, I’m sure my father will be pleased!” Xia waved once more and continued towards the village. The path ran north, with Terov’s farm spread out to the east, and open field to the west. The western grass came almost to Xia’s knee and covered near to the horizon, broken only by the river that ran south from Mahndestine Lake.

As he came to the gate of the waist-high wooden fence that surrounded the small village, a younger man, apparently holding the guard position for the morning, waved and approached Xia. The town’s militia, as it were, all wore mismatched pieces of armor and weaponry, whatever suitable pieces that could be found in the village. Xia never understood why such a small town in the middle of nowhere needed any type of standing militia, but his father always said, “Out here, its not men killing men I’m worried about, its beasts killing men.” Be that as it may, nothing from the wilderness had ever attacked a village, in Xia’s memory, but supposedly it was a problem along the trails at night.

“Ho, Xia! I was beginning to think you weren’t coming down off that hill this morning. I wouldn’t put it past you to sit up there through Festival!” Fenix stood a head shorter than Xia, and his dark red hair, almost brown, deeply contrasted Xia’s blonde curling hair. The bright red breastplate covered with dark leather and matching leggings made him look silly, to Xia’s eye, but no one could argue that the short sword on his hip seemed a part of him. Xia always thought he had fit in the guard, more so than the others.

“Ho, Fenix. Are you on for today?” Xia asked, motioning at Fenix’s sword.

“Only for a bit. The Captain has us working shorter shifts so we can all have some time for fun, but…” Fenix put on his finest impression of the militia’s captain, standing haughtily and lowering his voice, “…the town must not go unguarded.” Xia rolled his eyes. Fenix had always wanted to avoid the work his father did, as Master Builder for Tel. When Xia’s father mentioned a militia, Fenix was one of the first few to volunteer, to avoid being cast as a carpenter. But, to Fenix’s regularly expressed disappointment, all he did was get into trouble and dream of going on adventures with him and his sword as the hero.

Xia laughed. “Keep mocking Captain Ternagis like that and you’ll never be promoted.”

“Ah, phooey,” Fenix replied. He drew his sword and pointed it out in front of him. “The only thing I’ve gotten to swing my sword at my entire time in the militia is that stupid tree they make us practice on.” He began to demonstrate the practice moves, stepping forward with each stroke. “Swing… step… parry… strike…!”

A deep voice rang out from behind the two young men. “And, if you swing at anything besides that tree until you have to, you may end up cutting someone’s arm off.” With a yelp, Fenix lost the grip of his sword, sending it flying away from him. Xia dived out of the way as the sword barely missed him and with a loud metallic thchank embedded itself into the ground. Xia looked up from the ground to see Captain Ternagis himself standing against the gate.

“Oh, sorry there, Captain, I was just kind of bored and…” Fenix’s voice trailed off. He held his hands up, shrugging, grinning as if he had just tried to get away with stealing his mother’s cookie jar.

Matthew Ternagis was the tallest man Xia had ever seen. He had seen at least fifty years, but his gruff face and his deadly stance proved he had many more in him. He wore a decorative uniform, donned for display during the Festival. His soft brown boots clashed against the darkness of the uniform’s pants, and his jacket bore all of the decorations and awards he had received from his service with the King’s Militia, done up with gleaming golden buttons. Combine that with his dark black hair, slicked back and always wet, and you had a frame of blackness that set off a pale white face. Word had it that he had served in the King’s Militia at the castle far from here most of his life, and retired to this village. When Xia’s father wanted to form the small militia here, the Captain had volunteered to make sure it was done correctly.

Captain Ternagis drew up Fenix’s sword from the ground, spun it in his hand, and handed the hilt back to him. He spoke sharply, “I don’t care to hear it. That sword is not a toy or a plaything. If you cannot muster up the responsibility and maturity within you to handle it, I will give it to someone who can.” He turned, and briefly nodded at the sprawled out Xia on the ground. “Young Master Townsend.” Then, Ternagis swiftly turned and walked off into the village.

Xia whistled as he pulled himself off the ground. “See, you keep going like that, and you’re not going to get anywhere.”

Fenix sighed. “Yeah… I better get back to paying attention; I don’t want to be distracted and…” He checked to see that Ternagis was out of earshot, and then switched to his impression of the Captain. “…render the town unguarded.” Shaking his head, Fenix walked back and slumped against the gate.

Xia shook his head, and laughing entered the village.The main path of the village was dirt, packed down from the years and years of use by the town’s inhabitants. Buildings lined either side of it, each one easily identifiable. A small house, with medicinal herbs hanging in the windows and several chairs sitting on the front porch for waiting, belonged to the village doctor, Victor Johens. A much larger building, with steam and smoke rising from several smokestacks, the clang of hammer on metal ringing out into the day, and the horse stables in the back belonged to the blacksmith. A small store, painted bright colors and an empty stand in front went to Terov; he would be there selling his vegetables later.

Xia passed by many people each morning, smiling and waving to him. This morning, he had the unfortunate luck to pass by a gaggle of the working men’s’ wives, who promptly called him over as he walked. He waved courteously, and moved to greet them, but he made special attention not to be too friendly. He and Fenix were the only two young men their age in the village, but there was an overabundance of mothers who had the perfect idea of who to pair them off with. As the wives began chatting idly with him, Xia hung his head. It would seem even more so today. Because of Festival, everyone was dressed in their finest clothes, and they were quick to mention Cheryl’s dress looked incredible on her, and Danni’s new outfit was simply marvelous, and any number of seemingly small suggestions that made Xia want to shut his ears. He stood and withstood it for several minutes. And then, all of a sudden, there was a comment that set Xia’s face aflame, and his quick departure was followed by their laughter.

After stopping to talk to some of the other villagers–and avoiding others, blushing even as he walked past–Xia stopped at the end of the path. The largest building in town, the Inn, towered to Xia’s left. All these years, and it still amazed him how many people it could hold. It was the only building in their town that had three stories stacked one on top of another. Three! Xia had learned that most other villages had fancy names for their travelers’ inns, and this one probably had such a name at some point, but if it did, no one remembered what it was. It was just “the Inn.” City folk had come through the town on their way to Srynn in the south before asking for the name of a good Inn, and people would just point them down here. The city folk were always confused until they found only one inn in the town.

Across from the Inn lay the Mayor’s Office, where he and his father lived at night and his father conducted business during the day. It stood with only two stories, the top floor their residence, and the bottom the public Office that anyone could access during the day. Two small steps led to the elevated door, and a small shield engraved with the emblem of a star hung on it, dangling, and making a metallic jingle each time it was opened and closed.

Briefly peering in the window, Xia saw a meeting in progress, and his father presiding. Ducking out of sight, he hoped he hadn’t been noticed. They were most likely discussing the distribution of tasks during Festival, and Xia didn’t want to waste any precious time with menial labor. He turned and moved…

…directly into someone, knocking the person over, and falling on top. Blinking, he saw a smiling Cheryl looking back up at him. He hesitated, caught in her smile for just a moment before realizing he was lying on top of her. Embarrassed, Xia got up and offered his hand to help her up. She graciously accepted, all the while smiling, and he pulled her up. She looked down at her dress, her hands out wide. “Now, hon, you done and got my dress all dirty.” She turned and twisted her body to view it, stretching the already clinging yellow dress so that Xia swallowed and turned away hastily, blushing deeper. “Oh come now, Xia,” her soft voice said, “it’s not that bad, really.” Xia took a breath and turned to face her again, only to find her a step closer than before. Startled, he nearly jumped back. “I was told I might find you up here.” She pursued him relentlessly, him staying one full pace ahead as he backed away. “I see you’re not with anyone today, with Festival and all…” She smiled sweetly, tilting her head slightly.

Xia tripped backwards on the stairs leading up to the Mayor’s Office, and landed sitting on them. Cheryl smiled down on him, and bent down to whisper in his ear. “Perhaps you’d like to celebrate with me today?” Xia, turning a color crimson that had yet no name, stood up, knocking Cheryl back a step, and, seeing it as his only escape, ran up the steps and into the Office with a curt, “Excuse me…”

Xia slammed the door behind him and fell against it as if needing to hold it closed. Feeling no attempt to open it, he opened his eyes and peeked out the door’s eyehole, to see her still standing in front of the door, but not following further. Relieved, he looked about the large room, paved wall to wall with books of all kinds from all over the world, with a desk in the rear and a round table in the middle. Many people were seated at and around the table. Xia’s father, the Mayor himself, sat in his large wooden chair, and the Master Builder, Coole, Fenix’s father, next to him. Xia recognized the other men from the village as well, and they were all looking at him quite seriously.

“Ah, Xia!” The Mayor stood up, motioning to an empty chair on his other side. “We were just discussing the construction of the theatre stage and the seating benches for tonight’s performance. You’re just in time to help out.”

Xia’s heart sunk. He had been hoping to go enjoy some of the festivities for the first day, but now he would be building for most of the morning, probably even into the afternoon. Glancing outside, he saw a smiling Cheryl studying the door to the Office, with her hands on her hips. Building is just fine. “Yes, Father.” Xia took his seat.

“Now,” Coole continued, “as I was saying, we want to construct the main block stage in the middle of the town green. The performers are doing something different this time, a play of sorts that is viewable from all angles, instead of a stage on one side and the audience on the other, so we’re going to need to put together enough benches to surround the entire stage…”

As the meeting droned on, Xia caught himself staring out the window. Cheryl eventually left, and he watched at the various passersby, and caught glimpses of the Festival he was missing. Races, contests, food… he sighed in spite of himself. He saw Danni pass by the window in a beautiful pink dress, with small gloves and some kind of chain threaded through her hair. She was by herself, and obviously looking for someone. Xia tilted his head to one side as he took her in. Danni did look beautiful, and without having to wear the ridiculously revealing dresses that Cheryl wore. That sparked a thought in Xia’s mind. What was that they said about her? Xia thought back to women’s comment earlier, and grinned. They are shameless! “She might need a hand getting that dress on, Xia. Why don’t you see if you can help her?” He smiled, shook his head, and returned his attention to the meeting.

Everyone was staring wide-eyed at Xia. His father was shaking his head with a smirk on his face, and Coole was just outright smiling at him. One or two men covered smiles behind a cough.

Xia’s face went red. Did I say that out loud?

“Well, in that case, let’s get started on this as soon as possible. We want to make sure young Xia has enough time to see his Danni before the main events begin!” his father said. Coole cackled in laughter.

Xia slumped into his chair, his face feeling as it was going to set everything on fire within a certain distance.

“Status report.” “Nothing yet, sir, we still have not been able to pinpoint his location.” “Damn it.  How close have you been able to get?” “There is one system of planets near the Denig system that seems a likely target.  He is definitely in that area… we just…” “Don’t know which planet he’s on.” “Well, not exactly.  See, a ship of some kind was in that area recently up until a few hours ago.” “A few hours, what do you mean?” “It just, disappeared…” “Disappeared?  Sounds like our man.  No mistakes this time. Call in the Scout to check it out.” “The Scout?  Shouldn’t we check it out first before bothering them?” “Do I need to explain myself to a Captain?” “…” “That’s what I thought.”

With over a dozen men helping with the setup of the stage, it was done long before lunchtime. Xia breathed in the sappy smell of freshly cut wood and placed his hands on his hips as he surveyed the finished product. It was a beautiful piece of work. The wooden stage stood waist-high from the ground, with two small steps embedded into one corner of it to allow the actors to move on and off the stage. Four wooden posts, as thick and tall as small trees, one from each corner, stood as a way for curtains, flags, or other materials to be draped from any side as props for the play. The rows of benches were aligned all around the stage several paces back. The actors had requested this so they could perform various parts of the play on and off the stage without being in the audience itself.

“Good job! Good job!” Coole called out to everyone who had helped. He clapped Xia on the back. “And you run along, lad, before you get caught up in another chore your father needs.” With a wink and a chuckle, Master Down moved towards the other men clamoring around the stage, including the Mayor. The Mayor saw Xia, and began to call out to him, but Coole put his arm around him and pulled him in the opposite direction, pointing out something on the stage. Xia’s father let himself be led, but not without shooting glances over his shoulder towards his son.

Eager to be off, Xia strode briskly down to the far end of the green. The footraces had already begun, and people were cheering and screaming as the contestants shot around the corner on their way to complete laps about the green. A younger boy was keeping pace with two of the older men in the lead, and those two didn’t like that one bit. They were pumping their legs hard to make sure the boy could not catch up, but they glanced back every so often to see him still there. Reets was one of the fastest people in the village, his running ability was well-known, but he was several years younger than Fenix and Xia.

Looking around, Xia spotted Fenix cheering alongside the ropes that set off the course for the race. He was jumping up and down with his hands in the air, screaming. Fenix’s brother was participating in this race. “Come on Furst! Move those legs!” Xia pushed through the crowd to meet him. Fenix was still in his mismatched armor from earlier that morning, but Xia noticed something was missing. Fenix wasn’t armed. “Ho Fenix! Where’s your sword?” Xia screamed over the cheering crowd. He had to call three times before he got Fenix’s attention.

Fenix looked startled as his friend called out to him. Then, realizing who it was, he called back, “The Captain took it back from me! In case the games pull out more immaturity than you can handle, he said.” Fenix rolled his eyes.

Xia doubled over in laughter. “What brought THAT on, you suppose?”

“Shut up, Xia!” The crowd cheered as the race’s participants rounded by again on their next lap. The two young men waited for the cheer to subside. “Are you busy right now?” Fenix asked.

“No, I just finished building the stage on the green. I need to get busy doing something else before my father finds me.” Xia shook his head, and then paused as Fenix grew such a grin that Xia immediately became worried and took a step back. “…Why?”

“Great! I got something you can do!” Fenix grabbed Xia by his arm and led him back across the green.

“Wha–?” Xia almost tripped as Fenix dragged him. Tugging his arm free and regaining his balance, Xia followed his friend back towards the main path. “Uh, Fenix, the idea is to get away from my father.”

“Don’t worry, your father has nothing to do with this.”

“Nothing to do with what?” Xia asked his friend, but Fenix just shook his head and motioned him onward. “Fenix?” Sure enough, though, as Fenix and Xia reached the path, Fenix turned away from the Mayor’s Office and led his companion south towards the town gate.

The two of them arrived in front of Terov’s vegetable table. He was negotiating with a customer. The customer had a hand out with gold coins in it, and Terov was pointing at it. “Come now, have you seen carrots like these? Look at them! You’d be lucky to pay twice that for them! I’m only asking five specs a piece; otherwise I might as well eat them myself!”

The man looked up at Terov, then, coming to a decision, reached into his pocket and pulled out two more small golden coins, and added them to his hand. Terov’s smiled for a moment, and in a flash was holding the man’s coins, pocketing them, and handing him a wrapped bundle of carrots. “Thank you very much!” Terov said, bowing. “You’ll be pleased, you will!” Bending back, rubbing his head, he noticed the two young men standing nearby. “Ho Fenix, Xia!” A grin appeared on his face that matched Fenix’s. Xia felt he was more than worried. He was scared.

“Hey, Master Lants,” Fenix said, beaming, “we have an appointment to keep…”

“An appointment?” Xia asked. “Master Lants? What’s going on?”

Terov smiled and looked at the two young men, “Oh, yes, an appointment, indeed.” He rubbed his hands together and opened the door to his shop. He bowed as a servant would, and opened the door as if for a noble. “Please, come, come in, everything is as you requested it, young Master Down.” Terov chuckled.

“As you requested?” Xia questioned. Fenix pushed him into the shop. Xia became angry, and spun to face his friend. “What is the meaning of this, Fenix?”

Fenix laughed and walked out the door. “I’ll be right back.” Fenix shut the door behind him, leaving Xia in the shop.

“Fenix? This isn’t funny!”

“They sure made a big deal about it, didn’t they?” came a slender voice from behind Xia. He swallowed his heart and turned around to see Cheryl sitting at a table. His face paled. “What’s the matter, hon, you look sick, here, sit down…” She patted the bench next to her.

Smiling sickly, Xia desperately reached for the doorknob behind him and turned it. Locked. I’m going to get him for this.

* * * * *

Fenix walked by the vegetable stand, and tossed Terov his key, who promptly snatched it from the air and dropped it into his apron. “Thanks, Master Lants.”

“No problem, Fenix. He’s always walking around moping; this should help cheer him up a bit.” He let loose a guffaw, and slapped his thigh. “I wish I had someone do that for me when I was a lad.” He laughed until a tear came to his eye. Fenix chuckled, and walked back towards the green.

A group of the townsmen was standing next to the newly constructed stage on the far side of the green. One of them called over to Fenix. “Hey, Master Guard, come on over here!” Laughter piped up from some of them. Fenix smiled, and joined the men.

“Morning, Father. Morning, Master Townsend.” Fenix saluted to the Mayor.

“Now, now, none of that here,” Mayor Townsend replied. “This is a day for celebration. We’re just having a little chat about the town. We were curious on how your service was doing.”

Fenix shrugged and said, “It’s not as fun as I thought it would be, but I feel good being part of something important.”

“Some of us were betting on when you’ll quit and come back to building…” Fenix’s father smiled.

“No way! I like this!” Fenix motioned to his armor.

The other men started laughing. One of them reached over and clapped Coole on the back. “Looks like you’ll need to find a new apprentice, Coole!”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Coole replied, “I’m going to have to find an apprentice in one of the other villages, unless young Master Townsend volunteers, Sam.” He smiled and looked at the Mayor.

Sam grinned back at the Master Builder. “Don’t count on it; he’ll make a fine replacement for me when I retire. I can’t have him spending all his time building. Speaking of which, where is he, Fenix? I haven’t seen him OR Danni lately…” He winked at the men, who burst into laughter.

Fenix grinned, “Really, now? Well, Cheryl and Xia are a little occupied right now, thanks to me and Master Lants.” The look on everyone’s face in response to that statement was going to be memorable in Fenix’s foreseeable future. They laughed harder. “I guess we just won’t tell Danni about that.”

“Tell me what?” Fenix’s eyes went wide and his smiled dropped as he heard her voice from over his shoulder. The other men laughed even harder. Coole could barely breathe, and a tear came to Sam’s eye.

He turned around to face Danni. I’m so going to get it for this. Danni wasn’t as tall as the several other girls her and Fenix’s age, but somehow her no-nonsense attitude always made her seem taller than she actually was. At least it did to Fenix. Especially when she has her hands on her hips like that. Fenix blinked, and blushed. He moved his gaze to Danni’s eyes. Stop looking at her hips!

“Uh, nothing… really… they just said that Xia…well, that you… well…” Fenix gulped. Mayor Townsend collapsed to the ground in wheezing laughter.

“Xia?” Danni cocked her head to one side, her gaze piercing through Fenix’s face. “What? What’s going on?”

“Well, they thought he was with you, but he’s not. I’m not sure, that’s what his father said.” Fenix pointed at the barely conscious Sam kneeling on the ground. Danni’s gaze spun towards the Mayor.

“Mayor, what is so funny, what is he talking about?”

Face red, Sam pushed himself off the ground. Trying to hold back the laughter, he said, “Sorry dear?”

Coole chimed in. “She’s asking why your son is so eager to see her again, but then ends up with someone else, Sam.” The Mayor began choking.

“Someone else?” Danni stamped her foot on the ground. “Will you men ever make any sense?”

Unfortunately, Xia chose that moment to run up, waving a small piece of brassy metal in his hands. “Fenix, we need to have a talk.” Xia shoved the door handle to Terov’s shop in Fenix’s face.

Fenix coughed and tried to respond, but Danni rounded on him faster than Fenix could move. “YOU! What is the meaning of all this nonsense? Who were you with?”

Xia could only stare. “Wha? What are you talking about?” Xia looked around and saw his and Fenix’s fathers laughing themselves to death, along with the rest of the men from the meeting, and a grinning Fenix, who shrugged. Then Xia turned beet red and lowered his voice, trying to explain. “Well, I was locked in the shop with Cheryl–”

“Cheryl?! I begin to think you’ve grown up a little bit, and the next moment you’re behaving as if you were a little child!” Danni stepped up to Xia. She barely came up to his chest, but that finger of hers was right on his nose. “Why don’t you become a little more mature? Become an adult like everyone else here!”

The group of men howled even louder. Danni swung to them. “And that goes for all of you too!” The men quickly became silent. Stamping her foot, Danni began to whisk away.

Fenix grinned, and realized he just could not help himself. “So, Xia, how was it with Cheryl anyways?”

Danni froze and turned around, staring through Xia. “Mature, indeed.” Xia’s face became a dark purple as Danni stalked off angrily.

The silence in her wake lasted only a moment. Sam spoke first. “Well, son, you’ve learned your lesson, I hope…” All the men began laughing again, and they went off together towards the crowds at the end of the green, leaving behind a poor, exasperated Xia.

Xia walked to the stage’s steps, and sat down. Fenix followed behind him, grinning like a town fool. “So… did you have any fun?” Fenix asked, as innocently as he could muster.

“Shut up, Fenix!” Xia threw the door handle at him. Fenix stepped aside, letting it fly past and land on the ground. “Do me a favor, and leave me out of the next plan you have that concerns me, okay? I have enough trouble trying not to trust everyone’s invite to have cookies or help out in the house for some old lady who just happens to have a daughter my age without me having to watch myself around my friends, alright?”

Fenix put his hands up. “Alright, alright, done. Sorry about that. You go up to your hill every morning, and you get all solemn on us. You mope around all day, and it makes us feel bad. I figured it would do you good.”

Xia looked up at Fenix. “Well, try something different.”

Fenix started grinning. “There’s a contest going on out by Terov’s farm for swordplay. I bet I could smack you around quite a bit.”

Xia smiled back and stood up. “Well, I haven’t had much fun yet today, maybe beating you for all my trouble would be worth it. Lead on, friend.”

“Sir, incoming transmission.  It’s from the scout.” “What are you waiting for?  Put him through.” zzz…crackle…“Commander… this is Terra Scout Cerberus, come in…” “Go ahead Cerberus.” “Commander, there is some kind of… tear… out here… like a portal of some kind.  I am definitely picking up the evader’s signal from inside it though.  It’s weak, but its there.” “Do you think you can get in and out safely?” “… I’m not sure.  I’m assuming so, if he went in there, I doubt he would try to kill himself.” “Good, push on, don’t let him escape.” “Understood.  Pushing through the tear.” “Captain.” “Yes sir.” “I want you to get the Union on the line.  Tell them that we almost have–” “Pressure’s reading all wrong!  Can’t keep…”…zzz…“must turn…” …zzz…crackle… “farther than we…” click. “What happened?” “We lost the signal sir…” “Just like that?  Lost it? Get it back!” “Gone.  Sir, his ship is no longer registering. He must be destroyed. I didn’t think a Scout could be taken out that easily.  The Union’s going to have our heads for that.” “I doubt he’s dead.  Assemble an offensive team.  There’s a possibility the Scout is under attack.  We’ll have to go in with full force.”

A large part of Terov’s farm was set aside for the big tournament. With the harvest having been completed, it was the biggest open space available to compete on. Xia and Fenix had each entered the competition, and were thrown into match after match after match. There were no prizes in this tournament, simply the right for the winner to declare himself the Champion of the Festival. Many different styles of contestants were put up against Xia or Fenix. Fenix had won his first few matches with ease, his training under Captain Ternagis had proven quite effective after all, and Fenix was enjoying the ability to show it off. Xia had a little harder time, having not touched a sword in years, but was still better than the few matches he had. The crowd supported Xia and Fenix, cheering to the utmost, especially so when their opponents were from outside the village.

A small carriage rolled up to the tournament grounds, and all cheering stopped as the emblem on the side of the wooden carriage depicted a green tree, Lord Mensch’s sigil. It had been expected for some time that he would arrive in town, but not out here at Terov’s farm. There were whispers speculating the reason for his arrival as the carriage door opened, revealing the Lordship himself.

Lord Gregori Mensch had governed over the forest villages for years, appointed by the King himself. Lord Mensch did not live in any village in particular; he lived on a plot of land hidden within the Mahn Forest. Rumor said his home was larger than the Inn and the Mayor’s Office put together. Xia didn’t know how much that was true, but it had to be pretty big.

Ducking under the low door of the carriage, Lord Mensch stepped out and down the tiny steps onto the earth. His dress impressed Xia immediately. The goldenrod color of his jacket and pants was one he hadn’t seen before on any type of clothing, and his boots were black, not the soft brown that most people wore. A cape was settled about his shoulders, matching his jacket, with black lining that revealed itself as the soft breezes moved it about. Xia took the man in. If he had to put an age on him, Xia would say that Lord Mensch was approximately the same age as Captain Ternagis, if not a little younger.

Lord Mensch strode onto the farm, his path clearing in front of him as the crowd of people parted to his gaze. Looking about, he noticed Captain Ternagis leaning against the storehouse, smiled, and approached him.

“Good afternoon, Captain Ternagis.” Said Lord Mensch, flourishing his cape and bowing forward.

“Good afternoon, my Lord.” Ternagis saluted.

Mensch nodded and waved away the salute. “I would like to join your competition.” He grinned and tapped the longsword hanging at his side.

Gasps followed by a shocked silence filled the crowds. Captain Ternagis looked around a moment before answering. “But my Lord, we are nearly done with the tournament. We are down to our final eight contestants.”

Mensch nodded and visibly thought about that for a moment. Then his face lit, and he turned around to address the crowd. “I would like to participate in the tournament!” he yelled. “Would there be a willing individual to allow me his seed?”

There was some discussion amongst the crowds for a few moments. Mensch looked amongst the crowd confidently, waiting for a response. Soon enough a call came from a far corner of the crowd. A man stood with the wooden sword they used in the competitions held above his head. The crowd moved aside to let the man pass. Xia didn’t recognize him, so he must have been from another of the villages.

The man reached Mensch, and then dropped to one knee, holding the wooden sword in front of him. “Lord Mensch, won’t you please accept my place in the tournament?” A verbal groan was heard in the crowd. The crowd looked at its source, and laughed as they realized it came from the contestant who was seeded to compete with the man giving his place to Lord Mensch.

Mensch realized this too, and chuckled. Leaning down, he accepted the wooden sword, and told the former contestant to rise to his feet. “Thank you, my friend. I appreciate this.” The man beamed with praise, then scampered back to the crowd.

Ternagis nodded. “Well, in this case, let me redraw the seeds, and we can continue!”

* * * * *

“Are the contestants ready?” called Ternagis. To be fair, the new seeds were chosen at random, and each pair was located in a corner of the open field. The largest crowd, of course, stood around the match that contained Lord Mensch. To everyone’s amusement, Lord Mensch had been seeded against the same person as before, so the attempted fairness did not help the poor contestant. He stood ready, but from his face it was clear he had no intention of winning this match.

Surrounded by a much smaller group of cheerers, Xia stood sideways, his sword held with two hands in the air and pointed at Fenix. “Don’t think I’m going to go easy on you, Fenix!”

Fenix swung his sword about, then matched Xia’s pose. “Does it really matter?” Fenix had viewed the seeds, and realized that whoever won out of Fenix and Xia had to face the winner of Lord Mensch’s match, which they assumed would be Mensch himself.

“Even if we lose the next match, I can say I beat you!” Xia called.

“Ha! I guess I can’t let that happen!”

“BEGIN!” Ternagis cried. Xia and Fenix began to circle one another, practice swords poised to the ready, steadily inching closer to one another. The crowd hooted and taunted, pleading them to strike one another. The two men simply kept their eyes on one another.

Xia struck first. In a flash, he swiftly dived forward, stabbing downward with his sword. Just as fast, Fenix kneeled and moved his sword so it met with Xia’s with a loud wooden “clock.” Fenix smiled up at Xia for a moment, who smiled back, and then their match truly began.

From Fenix’s kneeling position, he pushed his sword forward, knocking Xia’s away. He attempted to stab up at Xia, but Xia was no longer there. Xia had allowed Fenix’s sword-thrust to push him away and out of reach of the uppercut stab. Spinning, Xia came to rest at the ready, facing Fenix.

Xia jumped at Fenix while he was still on his knees. Fenix looked up from his last blow in time to see it coming, and pushed back, his hands on the ground, and Xia’s practice sword swiped by. Off-balance, Fenix kicked out, catching Xia’s shin, and Xia flailed forward and onto his face. Fenix used the spare moment to push himself to his feet.

On the ground, Xia rolled over and came up on his knees. The two men facing each other again, Xia slowly came to his feet. A bloody scrape ran along his cheek, beadlets of red appearing. Fenix motioned to Xia’s face with his sword and smiled. “Sorry about that…”

Xia smirked, and moved forward. “Clock clock clock.” The two swords flew fast, striking each other at various angles. The wielders’ eyes were deadlocked on one another.

Fenix, not content with absorbing these blows, went on the offensive. Each sword strike was aimed at Xia’s torso or head, and he tried to take a step forward with every few strikes. It was all Xia could do to parry the vicious attack. After several blows, Xia was forced to break his gaze on Fenix and concentrate on each attack, and into putting his effort into blocking each one. As Xia defended himself, he was driven backwards into the crowd. The onlookers parted slightly to allow the combatants room.

Xia, meeting elbows with the spectating villagers, realized the danger of his position, and made a desperate effort to keep Fenix from pinning him where he could not fight back effectively. At the next rise of Fenix’s sword, Xia pushed forward, striking faster than he had ever before. To his amazement, Fenix met his wooden blade, strike for strike. Xia put his all into one final blow…

…and missed as Fenix pulled back instead of meeting the blow. Caught off guard, Fenix drew his sword down on the back of Xia’s head, knocking him to the ground.

“HOLD!” called the villager Ternagis assigned to watch Xia’s fight. He ran across and grabbed Fenix’s sword-hand, and raised it to the sky. “Fenix Down is the winner!” The crowd cheered, reaching forward and slapping Fenix’s back.

Fenix offered a hand to Xia, who graciously used it to pull himself up, rubbing the back of his head. “You alright, friend?”

Xia groaned slightly, and broke a grin. “That hurt. I was not expecting you to pull back all of a sudden.”

Fenix smiled back. “Ternagis taught me to take a step back every once in a while. It gives the opponent false hope that he may be forcing you back.” The crowd chimed in, various bystanders calling their favorite parts of the match.

Ternagis approached. “Time for the next series. Good job, Fenix, and good try, Xia.” He dragged Fenix off. “Don’t let me down, boy.”

Lord Gregori Mensch himself, as was expected, stood at his end of the playing field, leaning on the practice sword he had defeated his opponent with. He casually smiled as Fenix was drawn up in front of him. “Come now, this boy is even scrawnier than my last opponent. Don’t we have any men competing in this tournament?”

Fenix looked at the tall man, desperately trying to convince himself that he was not as tall as he seemed. Unfortunately, he was failing miserably. Trying to cover his discouragement, he said strongly, “A man’s strength is not measured in his ability to bandy words with his opponent.”

A small hush fell over the attending crowd. Fenix could hear people breathing, looking to see how Mensch would react to the taunt. “As you wish, allow me to let you measure strength.” Mensch said, standing ready.

* * * * *

Xia helped pick Fenix off the ground. “How you feeling there, friend? Are you okay?”

Fenix nodded painfully. “Yeah… I think I did pretty well, don’t you think?”

Xia didn’t answer.

“Xia?”