War Of Freedom- Fallen (book One)

Ch 7: The Loyalty Of Heart

Anger was the first emotion Jadenyx felt upon realizing the extent of Danivol's baseless hatred. Izanat said it was just childish jealousy of a father on witnessing another kid shining brighter than his own son. Though this conclusion washed away all the anger, frustration replaced it. 
 
Only if General Branstiwik hadn't barged in like that, the azuraei would have let him go. Or maybe it was wishful thinking. He might've drilled a hole in the pot with his recent adventure. And now their relationship  started dribbling one drop at a time. 
 
Clutching all the wielders with a whip of Vycelar, he searched for the cage's keys, which might be hanging from their waist belts. A pair of hurried footsteps thumped against the rock floor, forcing Jadenyx's head towards the sound. 
 
Vulca's Curse! If that person was none other than General Danivol Branstiwik, he'd fry his brains out. But the man who entered had a lean body compared to Danivol. 
 
Rushed inside was General Niwal Giwis with his long sword, glowing in Vycelar from hilt till tip. It was pointed, ready to strike down his opponent.

His sharp gaze, actively searching for havoc, settled down once he registered the scene in front of him. Then astonishment surfaced, pulling one corner of Jadenyx's lip up.

"Did you think I couldn't beat them when restrained?" He asked.
 
General Giwis released a short 'ha!' in response, then added, eyeing General Branstiwik's underlings, "Is it him again?"
 
Jadenyx tsked. "No doubt. His Excellency wouldn't have thrown me in this if not for him." 
 
The general sheathed his sword and pulled his deep blue velvet shoulder cape aside in order to lean on the cage.
 
Despite entering his early forties, the general had very few wrinkles on his face. Jadenyx was amazed at the youth radiating from his face. He was neither too muscular nor too thin, but he had an apt build for a warrior. To amplify his ability as the general of swordsmen, he maintained a strict routine of exercise and diet. 
 
The boy aspired to have such a physique when he grew up. He was almost there, if not for his sudden spurges of sweet ingestion. He'd argue it happened only on special occasions, but one could make any normal day into a special one if the end goal was to celebrate. 
 
He fancied the man as well as his uniform. It was a royal blue monochrome uniform from top to bottom. The only other color present was gold: golden hems, golden buttons, and golden cufflinks. Even the outline of the Savernian emblem on the upper part of his right sleeve was stitched with golden threads. Its golden antlers spread till the base of the neck, pectoral, and back of the shoulder, with eyes boring into Jadenyx.  
 
It was just a figment of his imagination that the stag's eyes held judgment—more of a mockery than judgement—for Jadenyx. Nevertheless, it stopped him from being a devotee to any religious figure. 
 
He shifted his focus onto the thick band of golden swords, with twigs twirling around them sewed into the sleeve. Below it were a couple of concentric rings of silver and gold—a testament to his numerous achievements in the vycelar combat arts.
 
There was one silver ring added to the batch. "Did you achieve a new token?" He asked. 
 
"Nah, I just accessed a new Vycelar bank." The general shrugged. 
 
Jadenyx raised his hands in disappointment. "And the azuraei awarded you a token and a uniform ring just for expanding your vycelar pools? I haven't got a single ring on my uniform!" He sulked.
 
"It's for overcoming my abandonment fear," the general stated in a low tone. 
 
Jadenyx pursed his lips, feeling guilty for throwing a tantrum. 
 
Losing both his parents in his early twenties pushed the general to question the reason behind his existence. He wandered the streets of Kamtazi in search of something to fill a void in his heart. Luckily, the azuraei discovered him with his feet dangling from the verge of a cliff moments before a disaster and appointed him as the protector of the crown prince. Izanat had turned one that year. 
 
"You got one for overcoming the fear of spiders, right?" The general asked. 
 
Jadenyx was bummed to answer. "Yeah. Just a tiny one." 
 
"You would've gotten many rings by now if you had joined the junior army. It's not too late now. I'll put a word if you show interest."  
 
"And achieve what? Get bound to one single place forever? I'd lose a vast majority of vycelar pools if I did that. All the rings I'd acquire in the process would be worthless."
 
The general pulled out a cigar and lit it. The whole room fell silent to the crackling sound of the burning tobacco. The soldiers didn't squirm or protest anymore. The red-haired wielder dozed off, like his work for the day was done. 
 
In the midst of the maddening silence, the general asked in a low tone. "Don't you think Vycelar is a sadist?" 
 
"What makes you say so?" Jadenyx questioned. 
 
"It submits to you only when you suffer through your fears. And fears are endless in one's mind." He stated, releasing rings of smoke at the end.
 
"So is Vycelar," Jadenyx added, his voice upbeat. "Its charm is entirely different. It carves us to become masters of ourselves. And acts as an endless reward for becoming one." 
 
"Vycelar became a natural law purely because of its existence," he stated. "Have you ever thought how the world would be if Vycelar, Basigor, or any special energy for that matter never existed?" The general asked. 
 
Jadenyx had no answer to it. He never thought about it before. He held his injured shoulder in place with his other palm. The pain seemed to magnify now that he was idle. If Vycelar never existed, maybe he'd have never been caged this way, and he'd have never met General Giwis tonight. 
 
"By the way, what brought you here?" He asked. "Don't tell me you came to save me." 
 
The general smiled. "Was your pride hurt? In fact, I rushed in to help when I heard the sounds. But. . ." He glanced at the soldiers bound together by the vycelar whip. ". . .you didn't need my help."
 
Jadenyx replied quickly, "I don't need anyone's help. I am capable enough." 
 
"Then you need to become strong...stronger than the azuraei himself. You can't achieve that if you act recklessly." 
 
"I'll. One day." One step at a time, he thought. 
 
"So, how did you manage to take down a silver-grade wielder from a cage?" 
 
Jadenyx shrugged nonchalantly. "Meh! A piece of butter." 
 
"That's impossible. Can you even lift your arm?" 
 
Jadenyx rolled his eyes. He tried lifting his less injured arm, but the general quickly caught on to it and commanded him to raise the wounded one. He wailed and failed to lift it.
 
"See, now! Tell me how you did it." 
 
"I followed your advice," Jadenyx replied.
 
The general asked instantly, "Which one? I give them often."
 
"The one where a predator embodies a prey to hunt another predator." 
 
Niwal Giwis widened his eyes as he stared at the boy. "What the!..." He dropped the half-lit cigarette with force. 
 
"Yes," Jadenyx replied innocently. 
 
To his reply, the general scolded, "That advice is for when you have another trick up your sleeve. Not when you are imprisoned like this!" 
 
Despite the scolding, Jadenyx replied in a cool tone, "I had a trick up my sleeve." 
 
"And what was that?"
 
"My Mapping Arts."
 
Niwal Giwis scoffed. "It's not that advanced to call it a mystery trick." Then he scolded him again, "The state in which it is in, is more of a liability than an advantage." 
 
"But I did turn it into an advantage."
 
"How exactly did it happen?" 
 
Jadenyx explained everything and watched the curses flow like an unstoppable river from Giwis' mouth. They were too profane to even get registered in his mind. 
 
"Have luck explaining your injuries to Lady Jurdith," He finally concluded his curses with this sentence.
 
Hearing this brought more fear than facing a silver-grade wielder did. "I had no choice. He fought like he wanted to kill me," the Vycelar Mapper defended. 
 
The Swordsman General argued, "What will Danivol get from that? He can't afford to ruin his relationship with His Excellency. He must've tried to cripple you instead." 
 
Jadenyx frowned, seriousness replaced his boyish expressions. "I don't deserve either. Neither death, nor becoming a cripple," he stated, his tone dead flat and sad.
 
Giwis calmed down. He glared at the silver-grade wielder with murderous intent. His nails digging into his palms from making fists. He stayed like that for a few moments, then sighed. "I can't meddle with his affairs." 
 
Not that General Giwis was inferior in Vycelar arts. In Vycelarship, his accomplishments were on par with those of General Branstiwik. Yet he never competed for the 'Supreme General' title. In addition, he has vast Vycelar banks compared to Danivol. 
 
When rumors about the new supreme general spread among Savernians, General Niwal Giwis' name was on the tip of everyone's tongue. Jadenyx was prepared to be on every roof with a flag, campaigning for him. The rumors died down as quickly as they surfaced when General Giwis announced his disinterest in the role. 
 
Jadenyx ate Niwal's brains out, asking for the reasons behind it. He felt a chronic sensation of loss from Giwis whenever he pressed the general's personal issues. He dropped it. 
 
In addition to this, the Savernian generals usually never fought with each other. If the situation turned worse from disagreements, the azuraei took the final decision. 
 
The swordsman continued, "His childish insecurities went too far this time. The azuraei won't leave the matter alone. I'll inform everything I saw to His Excellency and make sure..." 
 
"No!" Jadenyx protested. Then he resorted to whispering, "I don't want your help. Before I can think of doing anything to Danivol, I need to deal with Lucantis."
 
Giwis let out a short laugh. "That boy is too weak," he commented. 
 
"For now," Jadenyx whispered. "I'll train him enough to rebel against Danivol." 
 
Niwal didn't reply to that. Instead, he ordered one of his swordsmen, who trailed him—which Jadenyx totally missed—to get some herbs and bandages. 
 
As both the swordsmen tied bandages, Jadenyx spoke, "I think he is planning something bigger than what happened tonight. He was analyzing my skills. He couldn't have done that if he didn't imprison me." 
 
"You sure know a lot about the language of a battle." 
 
Jadenyx puffed his chest upon hearing the praise. The general punched it intentionally. 
 
"Ouch!" The boy cried. 
 
"I'll put a word in the prince's court. I am sure His Highness' spys will find out," the general said. 
 
"That is, if he stays in the capital." Jadenyx added.