The Reformation Wars: Beginning of the End

Chapter 17

Dustin followed Ken-Malé into a candlelit chamber deep inside the command center of the rebel stronghold. Despite the warm lighting throughout the oblong space, Dustin found himself pulling his outer garment tighter around himself, for a damp, chilly draft swept down from a black crack in the ceiling to chill all who entered. Most fascinating at all, however, were the two objects placed atop a plain wooden crate dead in the center of the room.

At Ken-Malé's urging, Dustin approached the crate and beheld the Alcontean relic which had been the source of so much conflict. At first glance, it appeared simply to be an ordinary olive branch with the fruit itself removed, but the leaves caught his attention. These were no ordinary leaves; they shimmered and glowed with green light like vegetative candles. Their glimmer was nothing short of enchanting, and Dustin felt a strong temptation to lay hands on the branch.

Nonetheless, he refrained and glanced at the object beside the relic, a thick open book in a fancified Alcontean script, aged parchment giving the pages a distinguished, ancient appearance. In the midst of the twin walls of text on either page had been etched a stylized illustration of the very olive branch Dustin had just been looking at, leading him to draw a connection between the two.

He turned to Ken-Malé. "What is this book?"

"The writings of Rikkard Paldez, Dove's foremost prophet."

"Dove?"

"The Alcontean god of peace." Ken-Malé answered simply, "He has manifested himself in times past as a dove bearing this branch in his bill."

"Jude mentioned earlier that this Dove is also the Alcontean god of war. How can that be?"

Ken-Malé immediately stepped over to the book and began thumbing backward through its pages. "I recently read a passage where Paldez explains that. Yes, here: 'It cannot be said in any true sense that one be peaceful, if they are merely unable to engage in conflict. Our god is a god of peace, not because he is harmless, but because he possesses the power to destroy, the potential to release all the horrors of war and violence, yet freely chooses benevolence and kindness'."

Dustin stood thoughtfully for a second before locking eyes with the rebel leader. "I suppose there is some truth to that. Doing no harm because one can't is worlds different from doing no harm because one won't."

"That's just it. I find the teachings of Paldez fascinating for that reason."

"Likewise. At any rate, I'm glad this artifact is in your hands rather than Innutuk's. How may I and my companions make ourselves useful around here?"

"Our scouts discovered an Innutukian camp in the wilderness not all too far from here, and as I mentioned earlier, food has been tough to come by as of late. We're sending out a party tonight to plunder their camp, if you'd like to accompany them."

Dustin smirked back at Michelle, who appeared enthusiastic with the idea. "We will most certainly lend our services."

****

Nathan's hurried trek across the wildlands turned out to be a simple affair of following the trail of prints left in the sand from Dustin's mixed entourage of camels and horses. His own camel deserved much commendation for maintaining an impressive speed throughout the whole ordeal with minimal complaint and few stops.

Even with the white cloth covering all but his eyes, Nathan keenly felt the sun's rays beat down on him as the day dragged on. On many occasions, he considered finding a spot to rest a while and cool down in the shade, but by that point, the tracks had started to become faint in the sand, and he feared any further erosion would lead to him losing them entirely. So he pressed on, even with his clothing becoming clammy from sweat and back radiating with heat.