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  The Centurion, replied only with a blank stare as Salius went on, “See, many years ago I had a friend named Silara. She was the daughter of the family who had owned the neighboring farm, and, after our families became close friends, she and I spent countless hours together as children. I still remember vividly how we used to run through the fields out by our homes, playing games, and exploring till the sun fell and the moon rose. She was kind, always wearing a joyful smile on her face, like her mother; happy, and carefree. On many an evening, after our two families ate supper together, Silara and I would lay outside and gaze upon the night sky. Silara knew all of the constellations, even though it was my mother who was the educated one, and she would recite them to me for hours as we watched for falling stars. But, all that changed when a centurion arrived unexpectedly on a warm summer day.

  “If I recall correctly, about a week before, as I discovered after the incident, while Silara and her family were in town, a centurion came across Silara's mother. Thinking she was beautiful, the Imperial officer began to aggressively flirt with her in the Minos general store. She would have none of it, so, eventually, Silara's mother struck him before leaving in tears. He allowed her to leave, and the family thought that the incident was behind them, but they thought wrong. A week later my father, mother, and two younger siblings, leaving me to stay with Silara's family, left to go into town for the day. Well, later on, at about noon, Silara and I, after hearing an

  unusual

  ruckus off in the distance, began charging through the grain fields back toward her home to see what all the commotion was about. After nearing the house, I froze upon witnessing one of the soldiers suddenly begin to hack away at Silara's father with a sword ill-equipped to handle an execution by beheading. I could hear his gurgling screams and pleas as the soldiers took turns hacking at his neck, trying to find a blade which was sharp enough to cleave through the bone. He died before they finished, and as I was close enough to hear the words you spoke, I listened as you rebuked your soldiers for not keeping their swords sharp. Then as you grabbed the dead man's beautiful wife, picking her up as she had previously been held down by your men, you mocked her with a smile saying, 'Well, you're not married now'.”

  Salius' rage grew as he continued to recite the incident, “As you attempted to take her honor, Silara's mother fought back. But, as she fought back you threw the small woman through the air. You killed her on accident as she fell headfirst onto a large jagged rock,” Salius paused for a brief moment before going on, “Frustrated by the accident, you then set the house on fire before you and your men mounted your horses. Silara, overcoming her shock ahead of me, had already bolted toward her now deceased parents. Before I could stop her you rode forward, trampling over Silara on your steeds, silencing her cries of pain and loss which still to this day echo through my mind. You rode away as I held her. She wheezed painfully while staring up at the sky, the life fading from her eyes. At the end she tried to tell me something, but she couldn't, she was too broken to speak, her lungs and bones having been crushed well beyond any chance of life. After a moment she quit trying, and as a tear rolled down her cheek she breathed her last agonizing breath in this world."

  Salius stopped as his voice choked up, eyes

  moistened

  with sorrow. Then suddenly, being filled with all manor of emotion which could be caused by such tragedy and injustice, he lashed out, shouting with a suppressed rage that he did not know had been so deeply entrenched within himself, lurking for years in the shadows of his soul, "Silara, deserved more than that!”

  Salius paused again before he went on through clenched teeth, as the deep sadness and raging furry became nearly more than he could bear, “But, the story doesn't end there, no, and you're going to hear it before I let you die. See, I wept for a few minutes before the rage set in. I wanted vengeance, I wanted justice, so not thinking clearly I picked up a dagger that one of your soldiers had left behind and ran to the stable which was nearby. I was barely able to mount a horse, but having had a few previous lessons I managed. Little did I know, the horse I picked was the most skittish horse which Silara's father had owned and was not yet meant to be ridden. So as I charged after you, full speed, screaming with fury while I rode blade in hand, the horse bucked before tumbling over me, permanently paralyzing me from the waist down.

  “I was lucky my father found me or else I would have died that day, and you would have lived.”

  The Centurion, began laughing before he spoke as Salius stood, walking toward the broken villain who lay across the ground mere feet way, “I do remember you; that was what, ten years ago? I remember the girl too, pretty thing; and her mother, too bad she died. Good for her, bad for me.”

  At that, Salius leaned over grasping the hair of the Centurion's head. Placing his dagger's point over the man's heart, Salius replied before plunging his blade into the man's chest, “Blood for blood.”

  After stabbing the man many times in anger, Salius stood, wiping the now deceased officer's blood from his eyes.

  It is done; the old Salius dies with you, and a new Salius rises.

  Salius then, after taking the dead man's unneeded coin purse, leapt away toward a creek which was in the vicinity to clean himself off and get changed, hoping to arrive back at his father's farm before sunrise.

  Chapter 13

  406 days before day 1

  A gusty, partly cloudy day beckoned Salius out of his fathers abode and into the outdoors. The wind had a bit of a chill today, not that it bothered Salius as his light wool coat was sufficient for the days wondering. However, the chill did serve to complement the solemn melancholy which he had awoken to not long ago.

  After the successful completion of the task which Salius had set out to do on the previous night, he had returned just before the sunrise, sneaking back into his room without allowing anyone the knowledge of his late arrival. No one bothered him about waking up a few minutes past noon, although he knew that that would change should it become a habit. But, it wouldn't become a habit, not just because of Salius' discipline about such things, but more because he knew, even though he had not mentioned it to his family yet, that he would not be here for much longer. He loved his family, but he was about to take the path which was placed before him, a mysterious path, a path which would take him far away from everything and everyone he had ever known. To fight his call to task would be foolish, as all that had happened within this past week, even though most of it truly surpassed his understanding, gave proof, lending credence to all which the stranger who had called himself Claudius had told him. No, he was an agent of a king now, as the stranger had made it indirectly clear that accepting the healing which had been given to him was no different than taking an oath of service. After his transformation, Salius knew one thing with absolute certainty; everything had changed and everything was about to change.

  Salius walked through the tall grass before stopping near a patch of beautiful violet roses dotted with pink wildflowers. Removing the dagger from his satchel Salius bent down to cut the stems of eleven roses before gently placing flowers into his satchel which hung at his left side. He then moved to pluck a few of the pink wildflowers before he continued his solemn patient gate toward the burnt ruins. As Salius walked forward from the place he had just been standing, somewhere in between his home and the long abandoned neighboring farm, he was close enough now to be able to visually recognize the ruin that was once a tall beautiful farmhouse in which had dwelt a kind pleasant family, and for him, many of his most happy memories.

  He walked for some time before arriving at the three tombstones which rested near the two burnt but still standing walls of the ten-year-old ruin. Salius glanced around at the wild, unkept, overgrown brush which threatened to bury even the memory of this place.

  Moments afterward, the tombstones, which were covered by the overgrowth before Salius had cut it away just a few moments ago, now drew his attention as he stood before one grave in particular.

&n
bsp; Salius removed his satchel, which contained the flowers that he had brought, from his shoulder, placing it gently on the ground beside himself as he sat in front of her grave. After taking a moment to close his eyes, feeling the gusty prairie winds rush up against his face, he then opened them before he began, “How long has it been since I last came to visit you my friend?… Too long I suppose.”

  Salius let a few moments pass before continuing with a peaceful smile, “Sometimes I wonder what you would have looked like had things been different. You would've been beautiful, of that I am sure...," he let his words trail off before going on, "Do you think we would have married, had children, and worked a farm of our own? Or do you think perhaps we would we have chosen to remain friends, going our separate ways?... Well I suppose it doesn't really matter now, does it. But still, I do think on it from time to time.”

  Salius paused, letting his mind wander as he looked about, taking in the scenery. Then, after glancing up at the cloud which had just moved out from underneath the sun, giving Salius welcomed warmth as the sun's rays again brightly illuminated the surrounding area, he laughed to himself before he again spoke, “I was just thinking about that time you stole from me to prevent me from receiving what I'm sure would have been the beating of beatings. Do you remember?... I had stolen that small knife from the general store while we were in Minos that one day. While we were there in the store, thinking myself clever and having had my eye on it for months, I decided to take matters into my own hands. So after slipping it into my pocket the shopkeeper grabbed me before I could make it out the door. Little did I know that you had slipped it out of my pocket when I wasn't looking, and placed the knife back on the shelf exactly where it had been sitting before I snatched it. Oh, the look on the shopkeeper's face when, after searching my pockets, he found nothing? Hah, I was just as surprised as the shopkeeper had been. Goodness, how many beatings did you saved me from anyway?”

  After he finished reciting what, over the years, had become a very pleasant memory, a blue and yellow colored butterfly flitted by, eventually coming to rest on Silara's grave. Salius continued as his smile faded, “They were good times... But, I suppose either by the point of a sword, failed outcomes, or by the passage of time itself, all things, all good things, eventually come to an end. The one thing which I've seen that can always be counted on is change.”

  After a moment of silence, Salius stood, and after watching the butterfly flit away he reached for his satchel. Pulling out the flowers, Salius carefully placed them onto Silara's grave before saying, “Well, I fulfilled the promise which I had made to you all those years ago upon your burial; I have given you justice. And now I have come to say my final goodbye and pay my last respects... I hope that I was as good to you after your death as you were to me in life... Well Silara, I guess this is where we finally part ways; I doubt I will be through here again.”

  Before turning to leave, Salius finished, “Be at peace my friend... Goodbye.”

  Then, facing toward his family's farm, Salius began to walk, head hung low, with the satchel hung around his neck. He breathed deeply, hoping to put the sadness of the moment behind himself as he took one step after another. But, the sadness lingered, like the winter rain storms which seemed at times as if they would stay forever, blotting out all pleasant memory of the sun. Salius knew that eventually it would fade, just like he knew in the winter months that the clouds would eventually part for spring to herald the coming summer. However, Salius also realized that summer only welcomes those who have endured the winter, so likewise, he must continue to endure both present sorrow, and the sadness yet to come. Salius, not wanting to dwell on the past any longer, reached for his blade, then after pulling the trigger he began leaping back toward the farmhouse.

  On his way back, Salius saw his father fiddling with a tool outside of his work shed which was near the small stable. Salius then diverted, leaping in his direction.

  Salius' father spoke, slightly startled by his son's abrupt appearance, “I'll never get used to that.”

  Salius attempted a smile as he responded, “A wise man once told me that enough time and repetition will make anything normal.”

  Salius' father Fasius replied while thoroughly wiping a metal piece with a rag, “Well, whoever said that didn't know what he was talking about.”

  “That's interesting, because it was you who said it,” answered Salius.

  Fasius, turning to face him, winked with a subtle grin as he said, “I know.”

  The forty-year-old man, after placing down his work, then asked, “So, what is it?”

  “Well father, we need to talk.”

  “I figured as much. Come pull up a seat.”

  Salius, after fetching a stool, then sat down a few feet away before he went on, “I've done some thinking; after considering all that has happened, and after considering what the man named Claudius had said, I've decided that I need to go. I need to set upon the task which I had accepted the moment that I allowed the healing to take place. I feel as if I have sworn an oath, and judging by the words which were spoken by Claudius, I believe that feeling to be well-founded.”

  Fasius paused for a moment before responding, “You, even when you were a child, were not like your brother or sister Salius. See, both your brother and sister are happy here on the farm, they do their work and their chores living in full contentment with their lives the way they are. Your brother enjoys working on the farm, hoping to work his own and raise a family someday just like me. Then, your sister delights in the prospect of being a home keeper, in marrying a simple man with a steady simple way of life like your mother. But you are different, you've always been different. You have always had this unquenchable need to explore, to see, feel, and hear new things. You also love academia and the search for knowledge; in fact, I've known for a long time that books were your means for exploring this world without the use of your legs. But, aside from your love of the arts and academia, there has always been something that drives you, something which no one else in your family has, it is something that I can only describe as this... need for more. Because of this need, this desire for something of which you do not know, you unlike your brother will never be satisfied here... Son, I do not know how it's possible that these things have come to pass, nor do I pretend to know why, but perhaps the reason you are the way that you are is because you are special, chosen for a unique purpose... All things being considered, one piece of advice that I can give you is that nothing in this world is truly free, and to think that you have been given such an amazing gift without any strings attached would be foolish. My life experience, which has taught me this truth, makes me certain that since you have chosen to accept this gift, you must do what the giver requires in return; or else the giver might take what has been given away, and turn to give it to another that will do what he asks. And if this... King Unseen as you called him is actually not a king but is instead a god, well, this truth is all the more real concerning gifts which are given by them... What I'm saying Salius is that while your mother and I love you, I think that you should go and use this opportunity to find out there, whatever it is you're looking for. Then, maybe, when you are through, you will join us again.”

  A few minutes of silence then passed before both Salius and Fasius stood, and as they warmly embraced, Salius spoke, “I love you father.”

  “I love you too son, and you will always have a place in my house.”

  The following morning was warm and pleasant. The sun hovered in the sky, it's light reaching the ground unabated by clouds. A calm, unusually warm breeze for autumn, blew through the fields almost as if the air itself gave a kind of farewell greeting to the young Salius as he walked along the road.

  Salius, having woken up early in the morning, had wanted to begin his journey promptly. His mother did not take the news of his leaving so soon well, none of them had except his father; but, as he left, they all warmly bid him farewell, goodbye tears were shed, and his journey had begun.

>   After arriving at Minos, Salius had decided to wait for the next town before buying new clothes with some of the deceased centurion's coin, as he didn't want to risk the possibility of someone potentially recognizing him and wondering where he had gotten all of the coinage from, due to the possibility that it might cause trouble for his family whom he had so recently left behind.

  Having now recently exited Minos, Salius turned and looked back at the city, realizing that this was the point at which he would truly leave everything he had ever known behind. Then, not pausing for another moment, Salius, after taking a deep breath, turned east with dagger in hand. He immediately pulled the trigger without hesitation, launching himself on a journey which would lead him to places unimaginable, to outcomes unthinkable, to choices which can never be undone.

  Chapter 14

  Day 3

  ...Praetor, one of ours can be seen in the distance.”

  As Tiberius quickly awakened from a deep sleep, he spoke in reply to the man who had been given temporary command of the Andromeda during the previous night's escape from Kingsgate, “Where?”

  “Over there,” said the soldier who pointed as Tiberius rose to his feet.

  Tiberius' servant then continued, “There's only one my Lord Praetor, but you did instruct me to inform you immediately upon the sighting of one of your ships.”

  “Indeed I did, thank you Commander Raulph. Have the Andromeda on course to intercept, I wish to converse with her captain.”

  “Of course, it will be done immediately,” said Raulph in a thick Gahnen accent before shouting out his orders to turn to starboard, putting the Andromeda on course in obedience to Tiberius' command.

  Raulph had been Kanii's first officer for nearly as long as Kanii had been the Andromeda's captain. Tiberius had kept his eye on the man at first, unsure of the wisdom of Kanii's choice. But Raulph have proven himself more than competent, and significantly trustworthy, both as sailor and warrior. In fact, perhaps he was too successful in his position, as any attempt by Tiberius to give Raulph his own command would surely be met by never ending grief which Kanii would heap upon Tiberius in private. Kanii was very particular about who she wanted as her first officer, and she would not respond well to any order which would remove Raulph from her command. In essence the Andromeda's first officer was currently both incredibly fortunate due to his job security, and at the same time incredibly unfortunate due to the fact that he could not, at this time, climb any further up the ladder of rank and position. Of course, Tiberius didn't know whether or not Raulph even wanted a command of his own, even though the man in Tiberius' opinion was well-qualified.