The Trial Of A Soldier

Cage stares at those beasts as the guards demount them, throwing up dust with their landing. They are similar to tigers in anatomy, but are much larger than any he has seen. Shiny black scales cover their limber bodies, painted white around the neck like a collar. The scales shrink to the size of a pebble around their narrow faces, and they rise and fall with each vibrating huff. What seems to be ears sprout from between the scales, long and skinny with pointed tips. All seven of the beasts stare at Cage, frozen in place as if they are assessing their prey. He shivers.

One of the guards steps up to Kyro and Ingen as they stand before Cage. He has long black hair with grey streaks that drop past his shoulders, thick eyebrows with the same grey and black, and a web of old wrinkles spanning his blue face. He wears a metal band around his left bicep, the only clothing article other than his white robe.

The guard, who stands nearly as tall as Kyro, looks between the two Rajin men, his expression twisted with a taunting smile. He finally settles on Kyro, "I was wondering if you would ever return. We thought of pulling the plug," he says.

"I imagine you thought that many times, Perlo," Kyro responds.

Perlo scoffs, "You know me well," he says, looking up at Ingen. The guard puts out his hand, "both of your partners are dead, I see."

Ingen shrugs the bag from his shoulder and offers it forward as he stares down at Perlo, "Yes," he says.

Perlo takes the bag and holds it to his side. The guard looks tiny before the violet-skinned Rajin. A child to a man. Perlo looks back at Kyro as a smirk grows on his lips. He leans close, whispering, "Couldn't save him this time, could you?" he asks.

Kyro's jaw flexes at the remark, and he looks past the guard, toward his sister who stands back near the other guards. Cage has a similar reaction to Kyro. He stares at the guard's narrow, wrinkled face, and finds himself wishing to see it caved in, beaten until the man is unrecognizable. The sudden urge startles Cage, when had his thoughts become so violent?

Ingen steps up to Perlo, craning his neck to look down at the man. His face is relaxed as if the emotion has left him, "Careful now, Perlo," he whispers, "Will the Epochs be able to activate the tracker before your life ends?"

Perlo scowls, "You think you can kill me? Execution would be your only reward!" he says, sweat beading on his wrinkled forehead.

"And?" Ingen's lips curl as he speaks. Though a hand on his bicep causes him to cease provoking Perlo further. He steps back and glances at Kyro, his grin showing no signs of leaving.

The Captain grimaces, grey eyes lingering on Ingen. He then glances at Cage, doing a double-take with furrowed brows, "Who-"

"Are you finished, Perlo?" A feminine voice interrupts, and all turn to look at the approaching woman. Her silver hair glistens as she walks, her yellow eyes squinting at Perlo. She wears a form-fitting red dress with a foreign flower embroidered on the right breast, the fabric soft and shiny as it stretches gently over firm muscles and curves. The woman is as tall as Cage himself, perhaps even taller with the raised pads of her shoes.

"Y-yes, Yoru," Perlo says, "I was just asking who-"

Yoru raises a blue, lithe finger and walks over to the boat Cage and the others just traveled on. She leans over the side, grabbing the black orb from its place, "You have what you need, Captain. You may leave," She says as she walks back over to Perlo, offering the orb up with a stone face.

"But-"

"Perlo," Yoru hisses, turning to glare at him, "Leave."

Perlo thins his lips to a line, glancing at Kyro and Ingen as he takes the orb. The latter still holds that grin, amused by the Captain's frustrated expression. Perlo clicks his tongue and turns, the last thing he sees being Ingen's wave of farewell. The other guards saddle up on the scaled beasts, and Perlo soon follows. The three Rajin and Cage watch as they ride back to Yellen, clouds of dust flying in their wake.

Silence falls. Some of the despot Rajin walk through the collector village with no aim, some still sit, and some stand staring at nothing. Each of them has one thing in common; a look of resignment. Like everything has been lost, including their will to live. Is everything really that bad? If so, then why? Why are Kyro and Ingen different? Why are they the only ones that still look somewhat hopeful?

"Yoru, I-"

"I know," Yoru looks up at Kyro, expression soft. somber.

Kyro lowers his head, and his entire body sags as if the life has been taken from it, "I am sorry."

Yoru continues to look up at Kyro, silent. For a single moment, Cage sees the woman's expression falter. Her eyes water at the corners. Her lips quiver. But only for a moment, "I know you are sorry. We will talk," Yoru says, patting Kyro's chest with a slender hand. She peeks around her brother, brows furrowed, "Who might this be?"

Cage musters a half-smile, waving, "I'm Cage," he says.

"Cage..." Yoru mutters, eyes narrow. She looks at Kyro with a skeptical expression, "Why is he wearing a collector suit? and why in Betor's name was he on Kalar?" she says.

Kyro pauses, staring down at his sister. If only he could answer that question, "It's a long story..." he says, seeming to have difficulty shaking off the melancholy, "...I suppose you should ask him."

Yoru gazes up, analyzing her brother's expression. She glances at Ingen, "You trust him?" she asks.

Ingen shrugs, earning a sigh from the Rajin women. Yoru rubs her temple with her fingers, and two silver bracelets cling together with the motion. Fine engravings stretch across the shiny metal, though Cage can't make out the details.

"I guess you trust him enough," Yoru says, looking at Kyro again, "Which hut is yours?"

Kyro points his thumb over his shoulder, "In the back. The one farthest from the city," he says.

Yoru sighs again, shaking her head, "Of course it is," she says. The Rajin woman turns to Ingen, one silver brow raised, "And yours?"

Ingen nods, turning and pointing, "There."

Yoru looks past Ingen to where he points, and the sight earns a click of the tongue from her. Ingen's hut is third in line on the left side of the dirt road splitting the village, "Saving your own nephew is a higher crime than murder. Why does it have to be this way?" Yoru whispers to herself, walking past the trio of men, glancing at Ingen, "I'll be using it for a little while. Don't get lost."

Ingen scoffs, "You still wish to nag me for that? It was years ago," he responds, half-turning to look back at her.

Unseen by the men, Yoru smiles as she walks, "I do, and I will continue to. Someone has to knock you from that pedestal you set yourself on," she says, "Kyro."

Kyro's eyes linger on his sister, and he glances at Ingen.

Ingen nods, patting Kyro on the back, urging him forward, "She is strong, Kyro. Believe in your sister," he says.

Kyro returns a nod, walking forward. He looks at the ground before him as he trudges along, eyes drifting between several critters crawling over and digging into the dirt, "I will," he says, taking a deep, shaky breath.

Cage and Ingen stand back, watching Kyro follow his sister into the hut. The blue-skinned Rajin raises a hand and moves the strings of beads aside, walking inside. Cage cocks his head back at the sight, "You don't even have actual doors?" he asks.

"No," Ingen says, walking over to the boat and grabbing his war hammer from it. The silver metal gleams in the sunlight as he lays it on his shoulder. He then walks to the back of the vessel and takes Kyro's sword. Ingen holds the hunk of metal by his side as he turns to Cage, "Criminals deserve no protection from nature. We are meant to die."

Cage frowns. He glances around at the silent Rajin men surrounding him. Their demeanors are beginning to make more sense to him. Though that question of why the two men accompanying him are different. Cage looks back at Ingen after a moment and finds he is no longer by the boat. The Rajin is near the hut that Kyro and his sister retreated to, and he stabs the tip of the sword in the dirt. Ingen turns and walks back towards Cage.

"Why did they not take your war hammer? " Cage asks as Ingen walks up to the first hut in line.

Ingen leans against the wall of the hut, setting the head of his weapon on the ground, hands atop one another on the end of the handle, "Only death parts a man and his weapon. It'd be blasphemy for it to be taken," Ingen says, glancing at Cage, "Even if I am a criminal."

Cage nods at the words. That must be why the dead Rajin on that battlefield had no weapons, he thinks, "Where will it go after you die?" the black-eyed man asks, "The hammer."

"It will stay with me, left to rust as my body feeds Raj," Ingen responds, gazing down at his hammer, "Or Kalar. I suppose I'm more likely to meet my end there."

"Oh," Cage pauses, noticing the Rajin's plain tone despite his depressing words, "What about the soldiers? I didn't see any weapons near their bodies."

Ingen pauses, staring at the one-armed man with furrowed brows, "Did you ask Kyro so many questions?" he asks.

"Yeah," Cage responds with an innocent expression, "Is that wrong?"

The violet-skinned Rajin chuckles, "Not at all," he says, his eyes shifting to look out at the land stretching past the collection of huts. He points with a meaty finger, "See that mountain, The big one covered in trees?"

Cage follows his finger with his eyes, and sees a massive mountain in the distance, surrounded by a forest that spans for miles. The gargantuan trees cover the mountain like a colorful head of hair, and blue-tinted clouds hide the tip from prying eyes. Cage nods slowly, mesmerized by the sight. The sheer amount of colors is strange to him, but he would be lying if he said it wasn't so much more beautiful than simple green.

"Mount Manifest. Every sword, spear, and hammer owned by a soldier that died on the battlefield is placed there, on the summit," Ingen says, lips curled slightly. His words overflow with a reminiscent tone, "On a Rajin boy's fourteenth birthday they are given a month's worth of food and water, and are locked out of Yellen. They must travel to the mountain and scale its height, and only once they return with one of the weapons will they be allowed back into the city."

Cage furrows his brows at the words, glancing at Ingen, "What if they don't return?" he asks.

Ingen meets his black gaze, that smile gone, "Then they are dead."