Broken Promises (Kavala)

[Imass]

Winter 3 512
Continued from Here...

Imass opened his eyes and he was in a dream. So vivid was the reality presented before him that he could not distinguish the difference. He was lying on his back, staring up at a golden-red sky that stretched as far as the eye could see. Clouds high in the atmosphere drifted vertically across his vision at tremendous speeds. There was no end to the white puff streams and the sunset colored sky never changed. The Akalak stared at the surreal scene above him for what seemed like countless eons.

Eventually, Imass grew restless and his eyes began to tire of staring. Although weakened, he managed to turn his head sideways only to be greeted by the corpse of none other than Lurik. The fifteen year old Akalak had been slain during the Rite of Trial. None-the-less there he laid mangled and twisted like the day he died. His childhood friend's death usually brought rage into his heart, but now he could only feel deep sorrow.

The Knight stared at Lurik for a long time in shocking disbelief. The Glassbeak wound, still grisly, spanned down his leg. Even though the corpses looked mere minutes old, it did not draw blood. Imass could see every grotesque detail of the fatal injury; the debowled stomach, the lacerations across his manhood, and the red gash on his inner thigh.

Suddenly Lurik turned to face Imass. His cold, dead eyes stared, "Imass."

The Knight closed his eyes and started to pray to Yahal wildly. He repeated his short prayer over and over until suddenly Lurik's voice broke his concentration, "Imass, what happened to your head?"

The Akalak eyes flashed opened for a moment to confirm that Lurik was still before him. He closed his eyes again and began to repeat the prayer. He could not accept the fact that the corpse was talking to him. He would not allow it for his own sanity. He had nothing to say to the dead body, though Lurik would not be denied, "Look me in the eyes when I am talking to you Imass!! Is that not something that we once believed in?!"

Lurik's voice carried a heavy weight behind it this time. Imass opened his eyes immediately at stared. The mere action of looking into his friend's eyes brought pain to his heart, "I cannot bare to look onto thee a moment longer, but I shall endure for your sake Lurik."

"It is hard... but you will learn," Lurik said solemnly, "What happened to your head?"

Imass could hardly visualize what happened, but he knew the answer regardless, "....Murdock..."

"Why?"

"I ... I ... do not rightly know. He was my enemy. I hated him."

"And you do no hate him now?" Lurik's expression never changed.

"I feel no rage, no anger. It was robbed from me. All I feel is sorrow."

Lurik's mouth twitched slightly almost as if he was trying to grin, "You will learn Imass."

"He has no honor! No morals! He is a vile beast! I hated him. He killed my brothers and he had no honor.... There was no justice.... He learned the Secret of the Windoak..."

Lurik interrupted, "Why are you here Imass? Why?"

"I...died..."

"I SAID WHY!!!"

"I...."

"YOU FAILED! YOU ARE HERE BECAUSE YOU FAILED! Murdock learned the secret of the Windoak; he killed your family, and threatened the peace of Mizahar and you died! You had one Duty at that moment! It was to kill Murdock and you FAILED!"

"NO!!" Imass closed his eyes sobbing, though no tears flowed.

"You coward! Open your eyes and see! Look around Imass."

The Knight could barely move his head in this state, but he did it regardless for Lurik. Flipping his head over to the other side, the scene of another dead Akalak filled his vision. A seven foot warrior laid next to him; his shoulder, neck, and heart were cut with a single sword strike. The limb was hanging on by a flap of skin. There was no blood, but the corpse looked as if the Akalak died minutes earlier. Sorrow and fear surged through him as the corpse turned to look at him with dead eyes. He too was dead, but alive.

When Imass could bare it no longer, he started to look beyond the two corpses to his right and left. The Knight saw dozens and dozens of corpses all around him as far as the eye could see. They were ALL Akalaks and they were all dead. Some of the purple corpses were riddled with arrows. Some were chopped, sliced, and shattered. Still others seemed to have no wounds at all. One thing was constant though, they where all dead. After taking in the scene, Imass realized that he too was dead and laying on a plain of dead Akalak.

"What is this place Lurik?" Imass said finally.

Lurik twitched his mouth and answered solemnly, "This is the Vale of Sorrow... Akalak brothers whom died in failure spend eternity thinking about it here. You are doomed to this limbo forever Imass. You are a failure, just like me."

Ser Imass began to weep, but no tears came to his eyes.

[Kavala]

The sounds of sobbing filled her conscious, and then drew her deeper into the dream. When the world became tangible about her the Konti paused to assess the situation. Where was she? What was she doing? Was she well armed? Kavala took a deep breath, eyes scanning the Vale, and then looked down at her body. Unformed, she stood in a smooth black bodysuit. She was partial to them in life, but in the dream world they did not provide her with much of what she needed to survive. Nysel's Dreamwalkers knew that things were not real, but unreal things could be made tangible in the realm of dreams. So the Konti stood quietly a moment, forming her night armor over the top of the body suit and then adding her long black boots that protected well up to her knees. Over the top of her torso armor a weapons belt carefully enfolded her form. Perfectly weighted throwing daggers gleamed along its harness and a belt pouch loaded with a blow gun and poisoned darts materialized as well. On her back a crossbow folded itself and two sheaths, one along her thigh and one along her back also materialized. Twin tamo daggers bristled from both arm sheaths. Better. Confident. The Konti continued forward, looking for the source of the duress. She came upon the bodies soon enough, which reinforced her decision to arm herself as being wise. The Konti paced between dead bodies, all Akalak, all fallen. There had to be a hundred or more, stretched out, discarded when they should have been buried with honor or set to the torch. Her heart felt the overwhelming sorrow of the place but she would not open her psyche too it. Instead, she paced, from one corpse to another, methodically checking them for life. None had any, but Kavala had to be sure. And on the edge, just before she passed from the Vale to the next pocket within the dreamworld, she saw that there was indeed one alive. His eyes were open and he was weeping without tears. He was sprawled on the floor, his view only that of the corpses surrounding him. Kavala knelt before him and laid her hands on his body, feeling for injury and tapping her gnosis. Power flared through her body, burning white hot and pure as she spread Rak'keli's love to the Akalak beneath her hands. She did not rest until she could do all she could do for his injuries. Then, when he was finally whole, she settled before him, sitting cross-legged in the middle of his vision. There was no Lurik, no one else but the bodies around them. Kavala waited, saying nothing, letting the Akalak get his bearings and speak first.

[Imass]

Frozen in the Vale of Sorrow the Akalak cried bitterly for the actions of the past. Visions of Murdock filled his mind. The evil mage represented everything that Imass had once hated. The Knight's life was governed by a set of principles and the rogue shattered them all to pieces. Imass valued courage and strength, but now cowardness and weakness controlled him. He believed in standing up to his enemies regardless of the consequences, but now he could not even bring himself to confront Murdock in his mind's eye. Righteous anger was replaced by despair, duty turned into fear, and conviction melted away into doubt. His mind was lost in the bitter confusion of failure and his body screamed in the agony of helplessness.

Natural instinct made him reach for a sword, but their were no weapons to comfort the warrior in the Vale of Sorrow. Opening his eyes reminded him that he was a failure and closing his eyes only brought vivid visions of despair. He saw the Windoak in his mind's eyes and he remembered the vows he took under the tree. He had dedicated his whole being... his life... his whole entire existence for this tree. He said words that fateful day that bound him by duty and honor, but words were wind. When it came time to follow through with action he had failed. The laughing face of Murdock consumed the image of the Windoak and he cried even harder. A cycle of pain an anguish filled the Akalak's mind so he opened his eyes once more to be reminded of the failure he was.

Warmth and love entered his body suddenly. The Knight did not resist. The healing power of Rak'keli began to flow through his body like fire and it felt good. The cosmic energy filled his limbs, body, and head. The radiant love reached every corner of his corpse and it felt like nothing he had ever felt before. He could feel new skin replacing the burnt skin that consumed his face. He could feel bad blood leaving his body and wounds being sealed. Although his body was feeling pleasure, his mind was still trapped by despair. The Akalak could not even enjoy the healing love that Kavala had bestowed on him.

Next, Imass found himself sitting up and starring face to face with the Konti who had healed him. He forgot the bodies around him and stared deep into the Konti's eyes. She was the same age as Imass, but for some reason wisdom shone through her azure blue eyes. The Knight raised his hands up and spoke, "Why have you healed me?!? Why didn't you just kill me?!?" Imass could not bare to look at her any longer so he cast his eyes down. "I have failed myself and my people... kill me now so I no longer must live in dishonor!!!" The Knight spotted the gleaming daggers on her body and in a fit of despair he shot a hand out in attempt to grab one, "CUT MY THROAT!"

[Kavala]

Kavala sat unmoved by his outburst. She studied him throughly, a snowy white eyebrow raised in confusion. "You look like a man, but you act like a child." She said thoughtfully, after his dramatic outburst had echoed through the Vale and dropped off into silence. "Healers do not waste life." She added, tilting her head and examining him even closer. "Do you think you are the only one who has failed yourself? Do you think you are the only one that has ever failed their people? Failure is a part of life, a valuable part, but wallowing it is a waste. Why do you not learn from your mistakes and move on? Become a better man... or better men. You have such advantage to other races, being Akalak. You have two souls, two men, two sets of ideals and experiences. Why don't you draw from them, learn from whatever this failure is, and move forward? Asking for death is a true failure to your people. Living, when so many of your people have gone from this world and are near extinct is by far doing more for them than dying... especially here, especially now." The Konti said, staying alert but relaxed. Kavala met his eyes but kept her voice low, calm, not willing to get caught up in his agony and despair. She was not sure why her Gods and Goddess' sent her here, but she was willing to be open minded about the experience.

[Imass]

Imass' hand was suddenly stopped by her calm, low voice. She didn't even move to stop him from grabbing her own dagger. There was no need though, because her voice commanded so much confidence it stopped him dead in his tracks. Looking at the floor, the despairing Knight tried to listen to the Konti's words. Her voiced soothed him, but nothing could stop the pain in his heart and the ache in his soul. Imass did not have the will power to look the healer in the eyes, but he responded to her in a normal volume, "You don't understand, healer, I broke my vows. I shattered all my promises. My vows where my life and everything my life stood for. Without my vows there is no honor in living. There is no redemption for me, that is why I am here," The Knight paused, "You may have repaired my corpse, but I am dead ... In my madness I forgot this fact... This is the Vale of Sorrow, Akalak whom have died failures come here. There is no redemption for me. There are no second chances for me. Only despair. I thank you for your healing love, but that was fleeting for once again my pain has returned. Murdock killed me and in my death I let down all of Mizahar. Soon the whole world will all die with me..." Imass trailed off into silence as he remembered the events that lead up to his demise.

[Kavala]

The Konti shifted from her cross-legged stance to a crouch on her knees. The gesture was fluid and showed the strength of her muscle control because she did not use her hands. Instead she leaned forward, caught the Akalak's outstretched hand, and rose to her feet. "Stand up." She said, moving a step away from him, not pulling on him exactly but encouraging him to move. If he did, she'd take two more steps back giving him room and releasing his hand. If he did not, she'd continue to hold his hand, urging him to rise. "This is nothing but a place of your own creation. This is not the Vale of Sorrows. There is no such thing. This is a pocket in the Chavena, Nysel's Dream Realm, and the place where all memories are stored. These are not bodies of fallen Akalak laying around. They are the twisted chavi, beautiful to behold, of those that are dead and have not yet chosen to return to living." Kavala asserted. Under her touch, his vision wavered and he could see what she saw. They were standing in a black not unlike that of the night sky. It was devoid of features except for a billion colored twisted strands of light that floated all around them. The dead warriors strewn about had become instead complex spirals of fractal repeating shapes that wove in and out of the black landscape like dancing flames across a campfire blazing in the deepest night. "See? You created failure with your mind. True failure is dying for no reason and without hope. While you live, there is still hope, still time to fix what you see is wrong and to salvage failure. Your race is noble. Both of your souls have tremendous power. Why aren't you using them instead of allowing life to lay you bleeding in a prison of your own making?" Kavala said, gesturing around her. Suddenly, she was light and ropes of memories all strewn together. She had no form. Neither did Imass after that moment. He was instead two intertwined chavi, woven together in a tight knot only the Akalak ever displayed. "Tears are unnecessary weakness. Despair holds no place here. You are light and power and everything beautiful. Use it. Be whom you were designed to be." Kavala said, her voice a thoughtform moving through Imass' light. Her colors, her brilliant colors, were sharp and soft and infused with pain and joy and failures and insecurities. But there was a brilliant glow of strength too.