Galderon Chronicles: Emergence

chapter nine

Zenon rounded the corner to the side of the house his expression pinched when he saw the state of Baltha. His eyes ran over him a few times before he finally said, "what is all the ruckus about?"

"I think I messed up, and it might not just be my hide on the line this time," Baltha said.

Rowund rounded the corner with a frown looking distracted. "We have a problem," he said, before seeming to notice everyone. "Are you just getting home Baltha? I believe I asked you to-" he took a step closer to Baltha and for a moment, I could have sworn something flashed in his eyes and the
Space around him crackled. "What happened?" He said in a quiet deadly voice that made me take a few steps back. I suddenly wanted the manic smile and step back.

Baltha swallowed and dropped his head. "When I got to the meeting point, Theo was waiting... with some enforcers."

Zenon's eyes flashed for a moment and his jaw tightened, but Rowund was eerily calm. "And?" He asked.

Baltha sighed. "And we had an altercation. I escaped, but they saw my face. I don't know if they managed to put a trace on me." He swallowed hard. "Can you check?" He added in a small voice looking at Rowund.

Rowund stepped closer and pointing his palm towards him, began running his hand over Baltha's body like he had done to me the say before.

They all looked so worried, but I was simply confused as Yar. "Uhm... does anyone want to explain anything further for the benefit of newbie?"

"Can I just break it to you, that half the time, we have no idea what you're saying," Rossi said.

"Well, I don't know anything about anything going on either. For example, why are we scared of enforcers? Isn't their job to uphold the law? We're not breaking any laws, are we?" I said, but they all exchanged looks that immediately filled me with apprehension. "Are we?" I repeated, looking at Rowund expectantly.

He sighed. "Laws are made by men. In an ideal situation, it would be fair to all, but, people are not impartial, so laws are made to suit their maker," he said.

I distractedly rubbed at my chest, the minor ache acting up after my brief knife throwing practice. "What exactly does that mean?"

"The shifter clans decided that the predatorial shifters are too hot headed and ruled by instincts and so clash with the other races on the council, so a new law was enacted, non predators sit on the council, and predators act as enforcers," Baltha said.

I frowned. "Surely all predators can't be enforcers at once. That makes no sense."

Baltha shrugged with a sardonic smile. "The law doesn't have to make sense, but  you're right, not all predators. But apparently, when  you lose your parents, you lose the right to decide how your life goes."

It took a moment for what he said to sink in. He's an orphan? I guess I never really thought about why they all live here. "But surely, they can't just force you all to become enforcers."

He sighed. "There used to be more of a choice, but things have been changing for the past twenty years. More children are suddenly finding their parents dead from suspicious accidents or unknown causes, hence, more soldiers for the council. Coincidence? I think not."

"Uhm... that's..." I stood there not knowing what to say. I grew up more or less isolated, never meeting anyone meant I didn't really know or care about the rest of Galderon or how it all worked. I didn't even know much about the races. Worrying about my heart and when I would die, and trying to escape my life in stories were my main focus.

"We have a slightly different but still important problem," Rowund said. We all focused on him, but he turned to me. "I have been carrying out some research about your condition, and I have some theories, but first, was your condition always so bad that you would faint every time you did a rigorous activity?" He asked.