Elements of Change

I Will Stand

Remec's house was small and comfortable, with a warm fireplace and the subtle feel of neglect. It was in the cobwebs that lingered in the corners and the bare larder that Remec had filled this morning when they went into Mountain View together. It was in the slight dust that covered the shelf and the old smudges of ash beside the fireplace.

It wasn't about the time they'd spent at Mountainkeep either. Remec was a traveler. He returned to this place when he was done, but it showed to anyone that stepped foot in his home. That was good. It meant that none of his neighbors would question why he was gone so often now.

"Here," Remec handed Ezo a mug of tea, and he sipped it while waiting for Remec to take a seat across from him.

"The tunnel is holding up well," Ezo said. He wasn't happy to be away from Kammon right now. They finished yesterday, and Kammon looked a little rough. Ezo hadn't realized it then, but Kammon had been widening and smoothing the walls behind him as they worked. It wasn't too much for them to handle, but Ezo had wanted to do the work himself with as little help as possible.

"You're leaving soon, aren't you?" Remec asked. Ezo had noticed that about his uncle's friend. He was usually direct with his words. Ezo appreciated that.

"Kammon needs a few days to recover from the tunnel before we travel, but yes. It's time for us to get back to the world. I want to take Kammon to Riverkeep, and we have some friends we need to check on."

Remec took a drink from his mug and stared at the fire. Ezo wasn't sure what was on his mind, but he'd asked Ezo to join him at the house alone for a reason.

"How long do you intend to travel with Kammon?"

Ezo stared at Remec, taken aback by the question. "What?"

"You are trusting him with Jacob's secret. And with Riverkeep. I understand why you've spent time with him, Ezo. Kammon is handsome and charming when he wants to be, and from what I know, he's one of the few people in the world who can understand your abilities."

"But?"

"Ezo, you know what he is."

"He's a good person, Remec. You've spent a month with him."

"He is the Calamity! And the day I met him, he used magic to choke someone until he passed out."

"Would you rather he killed him? Because Voth wasn't going to stop."

"It isn't just that, Ezo. He's probably killed more people than the rest of the War-Sworn combined."

"He was just a soldier, under orders," Ezo defended.

"He was a killer and became Disavowed. Who knows what he could do now?"

"Are you serious?"

"Ezo, Jacob used to talk about him. He scared your uncle."

"Why?"

"Because of what he was. What he'd done."

"If Jacob was scared of him, it was because of what the Imperium had made him into. It was because they took a child and indoctrinated him until becoming War-Sworn was the only option he could see. Don't use Jacob as a way to spread your own fears."

"Ezo, he has killed people."

"And he saves people!" He'd raised his voice, but after listening to Kammon at the river the other day, he had to defend him. "Don't you ever talk to him like that," he cautioned Remec. "That's what he thinks of himself, too. He blames himself because he didn't question the orders he'd been trained to take since he was seven years old! You can't ignore how he saved my life the night we met. Or how he saved an entire town."