Chapter 5 - Connection to Friends
#5 of Chains of Destiny
Chapter 5 - Connection to Friends
"Bare to arms men! We are to expect an aerial attack soon," shouted a general. The tides of the war could be seen at the edge of the war. Those who have experienced this war first hand, knows when one side will dominate the other easily for the time being.
The savior walked back into the forest and placed Leo down at the base of a young sycamore tree.
"Hopefully you will be here when I return with supplies. The commanding officer won't be happy if I arrive late," spoke the savior. He got up and took another look at Leo making sure he would be okay sitting there at the base of the tree. Turning towards the battle, the savior sprinted out of the forest and headed for the beast side of this battle. Narrowly missing a string of bullets from the human side, the savior made it to the beast lines and dived into the ditch to prevent further attempts at his death.
"You made it back scout and in one piece to," said someone.
"Ah! First Lieutenant Collins!" shouted the savior as he scrambled to stand up.
"How many times do I have to tell you never to call me that! It's just Collins!" scolded Collins.
First Lieutenant Collins is a jackal but a loose ended one. He was the leading commander in his home town but town militia and war militia were completely different. Collins stood 6 feet tall and wore light and loose colored clothing. He privately commands the scouts and does a great job within the area. Within his current term, Collins was able to get critical information, such as the aerial attack, easily because he trained his scouts under the ability of the ninjas.
"Don't forget to drop the formality when talking to me," added Collins.
"Yes Collins," replied the savior.
"Now, report Ryan. Were you able to find what I asked for?" asked Collins.
"I was able to find the resistance you were talking about. They are small and slowly growing. The leader is a wolf named Brian Go. From what I have observed they haven't done anything big. Just a few raids and guerrilla attacks on both sides," reported Ryan. "I also found something else."
"Something else? You don't mean Project Guardian right?"
"No, not Project Guardian. Project Time."
"So my vision was right. The spirits really do want to return what was lost 150 years ago. It seems that we have no choice but to keep Project Time a secret for now. Await further instructions about what to do about it."
"Roger that. I need supplies though. Food and clothing to be exact."
"Go to the supply line and request it. Tell them that I verified it and allowed it to pass."
"Thank you Collins."
Ryan ran past Collins and began to travel through the ditch towards the back for the supply line. He passed many people either firing at the enemy or taking a break. Because the ditches were low, death doesn't occur as often so an infirmary isn't necessary to survive on the front lines. After constants turns and short cuts, Ryan made it to the supply and retrieved adequate clothing and food rations enough for two people to last a week. On the way out of the ditch and into the forest he ran into a colonel whom he dislikes a lot.
"Well if it isn't Private Ryan. Where are you running off to with clothing and food?" asked the colonel.
"First Lieutenant Collins has asked me to observe the small resistance group further. He estimates that two weeks of rations will allow me to survive and the clothing is a change after the first week has expired," stated Ryan firmly.
"I see, I have an assignment for you. There is something known as Project Time. I want you to bring all project information to me. I know how well trained you are and if you fail me. Well...let's just say you won't like the consequences. Do you understand Private?"
"I understand perfectly clear Colonel Greaves. Permission to complete my missions?"
"Permission granted," spoke Colonel Greaves as he walked passed Ryan.
When Colonel Greaves was ear shot away, Ryan moved on and whispered to himself, "That bitch better die. I don't care if he is the Colonel or not, he pisses me off."
Colonel Greaves has a history of great military experience. He is a very intimidating fox. Not very smart or cunning when it comes to up front commands but the exact opposite when he begins to deceive people and do things secretly. When he was only a child, 40 years ago, his home town was eradicated by a select group of individuals known as the Six Scythes leaving Greaves and one other as the only survivors. Greaves was taken into a militaristic family and that is where his profound rage and drive for revenge erupted. His term within the war began 15 years later and he shot his way up to the rank of Colonel in only a year. He was cold hearted in his climb up to power, disregarded all humans and saw them as inferior.
Ryan swerved through the trees as he made his way to Leo. To everyone else, all the trees looked the same but Ryan knew each tree's differences and can distinguish where he was through out the whole forest. He was able to find the tree where he placed Leo and looked towards the base to notice that Leo was gone. There was one set of foot prints near by and it showed that either Leo moved or someone took him. Scanning the ground, the foot prints led to another tree and disappeared. Turning his head up to the top of the tree where the foot prints disappeared, Leo was high up in the branches resting peacefully.
"He's smart," murmured Ryan as he began to skillfully climb the tree without making a sound or dropping anything. Perching on a branch near the branch that Leo was on, Ryan jumped up and landed softly on the second branch barely causing the branch to shake and disturb Leo's sleep. He stored the food in the clumps of leaves that will allow any storage.
Once the storing was done, Ryan sat down in front of Leo and placed the clothes down upon his legs. Convinced that the clothes aren't going to fall off, he moved into a upright sitting position but grazed Leo's skin and bright light shined for only a moment.
"What was that?" questioned Ryan silently.
"That is a memory flash," replied Leo as he woke up. "It occurs when two memories are the same or similar in meaning. I see that we have something in common. Who are you anyways?"
"My name is Ryan. I don't have a last name because I lost my parents when I was only a baby," replied Ryan openly.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Leo Lionheart. Where am I?" asked Leo as he looked around and spotted the clothes on his legs.
"Those are for you. We're in the Sycamore Forest near the city of Syros, the forest city. You're not around here are you?"
Leo leaped down to the ground with the clothes so he can put it on. Ryan followed suit and waited for a response.
"No, I'm not from around here. I came from a different world...or dimension I guess you could call it," replied Leo as he pulled the shirt over his head.
"I thought so or else you wouldn't be traveling towards a battle."
"A battle?" questioned Leo as he listened around him while pulling up the underwear and pants. He heard the gun shots and creaking of war machines and artillery.
"Didn't know there was a battle going on. Well...how do I look?" asked Leo.
Ryan examined Leo's clothing; the T-shirt he wore was dark green that clung to his body quite too snuggly but it was long which really matter the most to Leo. Leo's pants were big and baggy and dark camouflage blue but a belt held it easily and kept the pants from falling. Leo didn't want to wear the shoes because he didn't want to believe that this world is also an illusion.
"You look perfectly fine. I guess you don't like army boots do you?"
"I have nothing against it. The reason is because of something that happened to me recently."
"Well, we shouldn't just stay here. I have something I need your help for."
"What do you need me to do?"
"I want you to help me observe a small resistance group. They haven't been doing anything much but I can't be too careful."
"I can help you. It's not like I have anything better to do anyways," replied Leo as Ryan began to walk into the forest.
Both Ryan and Leo walked for a while in silence until a soft red light could be seen in the distant. They both approached the light quickly and silently and stopped to climb a tree that over looked the red light. When they could see the light, Leo saw that it was really a fire and a small camp.
"This is a new resistance group that was formed just recently. There are suspicions that they are helping the beasts but from what I observed, they aren't aligned to either side so I don't know what to say," said Ryan. "Want a closer look?"
"Ya, I don't see how this small group can cause much harm," replied Leo.
"From what I've seen, they ambushed both sides using guerrilla tactics but that barely did anything. They also attempted to sabotage the supply lines but failed miserably," spoke Ryan as he descended the tree.
"Seems like they aren't very well coordinated," commented Leo when he reached the ground.
"They aren't but I was able to persuade them that I was one of them, a liberator. They say that it's their job to bring this war to an end because it's hurting more than just the other side. It hurts the people of both sides more than we believe," said Ryan quickly as they entered the camp.
The camp was small. From what Leo could see, it only consisted of 50 members at most. It was a small group when compared to the warring sides. The members were beast men who lost their homes to the war or were frustrated with how long the war was taking. Tents were sporadic but near each other like mushroom clumps. Most of the tents were for sleeping quarters but some tents contained food and ammunition. One tent was designed for the leader.
"Commander Go, I have returned with someone from a near by village willing to help with the effort," spoke Ryan at the large tent.
Leo looked towards the people around him. They were all depressed but mainly consisted of young men who were of many races. Horses, bulls, canines, felines, rabbits, rodents, and birds were scattered about the camp.
"Enter," spoke a voice from inside the tent.
"Come on Leo," nudged Ryan as he walked in.
Leo followed suit and entered through the tent flaps. The inside was practically bare besides a table and bed to one side. There was a Grey wolf sitting at the table hunched over papers with a lamp giving him light. In his right hand was a pen and in his left was a document that he was reading. The wolf wore blue jeans, a dark brown T-shirt, black boots, and glasses. He was also tired which Leo noted quite carefully. Placing the paper down, the wolf got up and was almost as tall as Leo. Turning around to face Ryan and Leo, Leo couldn't believe that the lively eyes that Brian used to have was almost stone cold.
"Leo! What are you doing here?" asked Brian in complete shock.
"I was about to ask you the same thing," remarked Leo sarcastically. "Let's just cut to the chase, I'm here just because I didn't want to be and I don't know why."
"That doesn't seem much like a reason," stated Brian.
"Ya, ya, ya. I don't know why you resorted to calling yourself Brian Go when your real name is something else," said Leo.
"I figured that my other name didn't matter as much so I call myself Brian Go," answered Brain.
"You two know each other?" questioned Ryan who was out of the conversation.
"I'll fill you in outside," spoke Leo before Brian was able to say anything. "I'm getting sick of this tent. I'll be outside if you need me."
After Leo left the tent, Brian returned to reading his documents after sitting back down. Ryan, acknowledging that Brian didn't want to be interrupted any further, followed Leo out of the tent.
"Something inside him has changed," murmured Brian.
Leo waited at the base of a tree looking up into the sky. It was morning and the sun sneaked shines through the trees. The camp fire was extinguished and the resistance members began to pack up their things.
"It seems like they're moving their camp spot today," said Ryan as he approached Leo.
"The battle, what's that all about?" asked Leo when Ryan stopped in front of him.
"Well, I shouldn't be talking about it here in the first place. Come, I know a good place where I can tell you what's going on," replied Ryan as he began to walk into the forest with Leo following right behind him.
Ryan didn't go far but far enough to not lose sight of the camp and ensure that no one would over hear their conversation.
"Those people get agitated when someone starts talking about the war and try to shove their problems down someone else's throat. Anyways, the battle is connected to a current war that is still in effect. 150 years ago, something was lost on that day and both sides blamed each other. This was a major conflict because it changed the economy completely. Since the economy change, the war made a lot of bad hits on everyone from both sides, it wasn't really good to look at overall," explained Ryan.
"What was lost and who are the two sides?" questioned Leo.
"Well, the thing that was lost is the art of magic. It is said that there are four major spirits that regulate the magic around the world, making it possible to use. As for the two sides, they are the Country of Star and the Country of Goliath. Country of Star consists of only humans and the Country of Goliath is all beast men," replied Ryan. "I would tell you more but I don't know much about what's going on."
Leo knew that Ryan was lying but made no action to point it out.
"Time for me to question you," said Ryan happily. "How do you know Brian?"
"I knew him last year actually. He came from the same dimension as I did. During the time that we both were in the same dimension, Brian was a very open hearted person but here, he's completely different. I don't know what happened to him but it makes me worry. Anyways, I met him last year through a group of friends. We didn't really hit it off that easily but we eventually did. I actually found him as a sweet person if I do say so myself," said Leo.
"Worry?" asked Ryan.
"When I first saw him today, I had to fight back a depression as best as I could until I couldn't hold it back any longer. With people I talk with often, I develop a spiritual link with them. The stronger the link the stronger the feelings that I end up sharing with them but only depression and sadness travels on that link freely," replied Leo. "The way he looked at that desk told me that something bad happened and the link enforced the feelings of this bad event."
"What is wrong with you?!" shouted a voice as someone stepped out from behind a tree and punched Leo hard in the face. Leo faltered but refused to fight back for he knew who attacked him. "Why the hell are you telling him all of this?!"
"Brian! Stop!" shouted Ryan but two resistance members grabbed him prevented him from moving.
"Don't try to stop him, you'll only get hurt trying," spoke one of the members.
Pulling out a gun, Brian aimed it towards Leo and began to fire. "There was no need for that son of a bitch to anything of our past!"
Leo didn't make an attempt to dodge any of the bullets letting them hit his body. Once the small attack stopped, Leo staggered for a moment but quickly regained his balance and looked directly into Brian's eyes. "That son of a bitch wanted to know our relations, is there any harm in that?"
"That son of a bitch is a human for God's sake! A human!" shouted Brian as he began to fire at Leo once again.
Leo took the shots and his wounds began to bleed heavily but Leo showed no sign of fatigue or fear. This time Leo didn't stagger but he continued to look into Brian's eyes. Ryan looked at Leo's eyes and saw that they didn't have any warmth or compassion in them. Rather, the warmth and compassion was replaced by cold, uncaring eyes. "Humans make no difference to me. To me, they are nothing but worthless things, just like beast men. It's like our relation, it means nothing anymore."
"Grrr! Shut the fuck up! You don't know what you're talking about! This fucken relation is what got me into this fucken mess in the first place! I should have never talked to you in the first place!" shouted Brian as he began another firing frenzy but his gun was empty on bullets but he didn't care that much.
"You are so fucken naive. You don't know when things are good and when things aren't good. This stupid "resistance" is only made so you can escape that fucken problem that resides inside your god damn heart. You couldn't face the fact that you were lonely in this god forsaken world when you came here."
"Shut the hell up!" screamed Brian as he threw violent punches and kicks at Leo who deliberately chose to take them. After a few minutes of violent attacks, Brian stopped and dropped onto all fours crying his eyes out. "Why did I have to be alone?"
Leo's eyes were still stone cold when Brian dropped but he didn't seem to care as he turned around and walked into the woods. The resistance members let go of Ryan thinking that he would run after Leo but he didn't. Instead, Ryan just stood there in shock that Leo would leave his friend on the ground and insult people like that, especially the cause. Brian continued to cry as the resistance members helped him up and began walking back to camp with Ryan tailing behind him building up confusion and anger over Leo's action.
"What the hell is wrong with you Leo? Why would you just leave your friend there crying his eyes out like a god damn three year old? Why are you being so god damn insulting?!" shouted Ryan letting out most of his frustration and anger.
Leo walked for a while with his stone cold eyes staring ahead until he came to a sudden stop. Half-way through his walk, Leo began to cry silently. The tears became a small stream running down his face and falling to the ground. He didn't know where he was but he didn't care much for it until he heard a snap nearby. Turning towards the sound, an old man walked out from behind a tree.
"My, my. Look who we have here," said the old man happily.
"Who are you?" asked Leo meekly.
"My name is Simon. I live in Syros with other people. Why don't you come a have some tea with me? Will that help you?" asked Simon.
Simon wore a tattered green T-shirt, brown jeans, and wore out shoes. He didn't need a cane to walk but the age stood out in the exposed portions of his body. His hair was thin and a pleasant shade of gray and silver.
"Yes, I would like some tea," said Leo as he followed Simon.
Simon led Leo to Syros, the forest city. The city was built into the heights of the trees and bridges were walkways from one tree to another. The structure was over all genius because it was never too hot nor too cold during the summer or winter and they received plenty of water during the raining seasons. People either climbed ropes or used a pulley system to get themselves into the trees or into the high canopy.
Simon took Leo a pulley system which basically was an elevator for those who were too old to climb the ropes. Once they were inside the pulley system, someone pulled the up into the trees, arriving in front of large house which happened to be the center of the city and the mayor's house.
"Do come in, my son won't mind your stay. If you haven't noticed, Syros is occupied by those of both races, humans and beast men if you hadn't noticed. Here, both races live in peace with one another so it's a haven for many who have lost their homes," said Simon as he led Leo to the back.
There were numerous halls all around Leo, some leading to different rooms while others lead to the up stairs. It was quite dark, mainly because of the wood that was used, mahogany. Furniture lined the walls with antiques or family pictures resting on them.
Simon went through an archway that leads to a large garden. There were many pots that lined the wall filled with many types of flowers.
"This garden is amazing," commented Leo.
"Why thank you. Ah, it seems that our tea is ready," said Simon as he walked towards a bench with a platter. The platter held two cups, one for Simon and one for Leo. "Drink, it will help calm your soul."
Leo did what he was told when he picked up a cup to examine it. The cup was a regular mug to Leo's surprise but the design was the most intriguing thing that he has ever seen. It was dotted with butterflies of many colors, making it look as if the butterflies themselves moved around. Leo didn't look at the color of the tea when he drank it but after a small sip, he looked at its colors to see that it was black.
"Ah, black is a sign of sorrow but I have never seen something this black before. You must be very troubled," said Simon looking at Leo's tea. "The tea I use is from this garden. It is clear in the beginning but the moment someone drinks it, the tea changes color to show that the emotion that is the strongest. My tea is still clear which means I am still calm but happy and pleased with myself."
Leo placed the tea back on the tray and sat down on the bench, across from Simon. He was in no mood to talk and they both sat in silence. Simon kept on sipping his tea, allowing Leo to think for as long as he wants.
"I suggest you start from the most recent and work your way back. You still are connected with your friend, are you not?"
"How do you know about my links?" asked Leo in shock still in his stone cold state.
"I know many things. With age comes incredible wisdom but I believe you already know that."
"When I saw my friend, I noticed he was different from before right from the start. I guess the moment I saw him, all this energy of depression just entered my system and I fought to control it. I couldn't control it for long because he sprang out and attacked me while I was talking with someone else about him."
"Ah...I believe we have discovered the legendary Chains of Destiny even though it is currently a chain for now."
"The Chains of Destiny?"
"The Chains of Destiny are said to be the most powerful source of power that is known amongst people. It is created through friendships and as a friendship grows, so do the chains themselves until you can see them clearly and not as an influenced emotion. It is said to be home to a large amount of power but that cannot be achieved without befriending more people. It is rather a complex system but I know that there is something far stronger than the Chains of Destiny."
Looking back at his tea, Leo took another sip. The tea water turned from black to blue.
"The tea water changes as you drink. It helps identify where your main emotions are concentrated. Now it is a blue color which stands for remorse but since it is a light blue, you have remorse for not only your friend but yourself as well."
Leo didn't really believe Simon until he thought about it. The stone cold eyes of his soften and tears began to flow more freely than earlier. The thought of Brian's pain was overwhelming and the idea of the pain that was inflicted in Leo's heart, surfaced a sad memory.
"Do tell me what's bothering you?"
"I remember something from when I was young. I remember the day I attended my parent's funeral. That day was painful for me to live through. It seemed as if the world would no longer exist if they weren't around. For the next week or two, I didn't want to do anything or go anywhere until my brother read me their will which I refused to read. It read 'Under the possessions of the youngest child, we leave the wisdom that we bestowed upon him with the greatest amount of effort possible. We also leave him a portion of his inheritance should there be any left. Most importantly though, we leave him the power to move on.'"
"Those are some powerful words. Do you understand what they mean?"
"No, but I learned that there is something in this world for everyone and decided that the past can be dwelled upon yet could not be stood upon."
"Interesting. I believe I helped you recover enough, don't you agree Guardian Leo?"
Leo looked up in shock at hearing his name and saw that Simon was gone. The sky above had turned to night. A crescent moon shined onto the ground. The tea was still there so Leo took another sip and the tea changed colors again. This time, a clear color. Little did he know, the gun wounds he received earlier, during his small squall with Brian, had been completely healed, leaving no signs of such a squall ever occurring.
"It seems like my mind is now at rest once again. Hopefully, things will become better from here on out," murmured Leo as he continued to look into the night sky.
He brought up his right hand and extended it to the sky and whispered "Crystelus Ka' Re'thel." The crystal spell circle appeared over head and under the moon light, it glistened and casted a reflection on the ground. Marveling its reflections, Leo whispered, "Rek Fa Tel Le Re' Ye'kl" and many crystal butterflies descended from the sky and rested in the garden.
The butterflies reflected thin invisible strings that couldn't be seen by the naked eye. Many of the butterflies landed on the thickest one though. It was a chain that went from Leo out above the trees and towards the direction of the small camp. Two other chains, not as think as the first one, shot out in two different directions, one towards the battle grounds and the other towards an unknown location.
Back at the encampment, Ryan didn't know what to do. The encampment wasn't going to go anywhere and Brian was still crying only not as much anymore. Thus, Ryan decided to sit under a tree and sleep, thinking about what became of Leo. Hours later, when Ryan awoke, the encampment was still there but the people were gone, all except Brian who has fallen asleep in his tent. It was night when Ryan woke up. Starring off into the night sky, he thought about all that has happened during that small squall. He kept thinking about it until a thick chain of yellow light descended from the sky and went right through the tent.
"Could that be..." began Ryan as he proceeded to the tent and entered. The yellow chain ended at Brian's heart but Brian didn't seem to notice that it was there. "It is...it's the legendary Chains of Destiny."
Ryan didn't need the crystal butterflies to see it but he did not know that. For as long as he could remember, Ryan is able to see the unnatural within the world such as fairies.
"The legendary Chains of Destiny withstand time and space itself. I know it is real now. Project Time is no longer a project anymore. It's time for the mystic arts to return to this world.
Out over the battle field a chain flew. It crossed over the Country of Star border, trees, and mountains until it came upon the vast sea that bordered the Country of Star. The chain linked onto a person playing a guitar on a rocky shore.
"He's here. He's come to take us all home. I'll be waiting for when you arrive, so we can make a difference," said the person.
The third chain flew across the Country of Goliath, a land that is full of deserts. Out on the Sand Ocean, the largest known desert, the chain attached itself onto a drifter who seems to notice the link.
"He's here. I knew that it wouldn't be that much longer till he came. This war will end. This war will no longer pursue," said the drifter and she continued to walk on the sand dunes, towards the battle field.
"These are only chains. What is stronger is the drive I suppose," said Leo looking at the chains.
The butterflies were resting on the crescent moon's reflection when Leo looked at them.
"Only time will tell if anything here will have a nice ending or not. I'm stuck in a war but I know there are those out there that can help me. Those, that know of the mystic arts," smiled Leo as he dozed off to sleep. "Those like the ancient beast, Bahamut."