Chapter 379: Zach

Chapter 379: Zach

Responsibility

They walked along the riverbank. The gentle sounds of the water filled the air, the chirping of birds in the trees nearby, the sounds of training in the distance. He rested the palm of his hand on the pommel of his sword, feeling the reassuring sensation of peace from the soul trapped inside of it. On one side of the river was a small town, built what seemed yesterday to Zach, but was in fact a decade ago. Even now, he still struggled to account for the passage of time, every once in a while he would be overcome with a feeling that he had just blinked and that the world around him had changed. Perhaps it did, it was what Ravallim had taught him, everything is change.

The town was still expanding, wooden buildings springing up what seemed like daily. On the other side of the river was the small fort that the Wardens called their home. It was not imposing, nor did it hold the sense of importance that Zach was told the name of the Wardens once held. It was to be expected, of course. They had lost much of what they once were, but they remained. Such as they were.

A few Wardens had returned after the war, when the teleporters were turned back on and the wars ended, but most had not remained. Their numbers fluctuated, some returned for a time only, while others left entirely, until they numbered roughly a hundred. It was a fraction of what they used to be.

Zach glanced up at the fort on the hill. He knew that there would be people there, Wardens, training in the yard just outside of the fort, obscured from his sight by the trees surrounding the hill. They kept up with it, preparing for the future, even though it was uncertain. He felt Naha over there in the same direction. He had started keeping his True-link perk on at times, just to be able to tell where she was. It grounded him.

Bera kept his pace, which was leisurely, he did not invite for her to speak, letting her choose the moment herself. He could almost feel it when she made the decision, the river of time flowed ever onward, but the moment was marked on its banks, as all choices were.

I wanted to bring up the old matter, again, she said, her voice even and steady. Not showing even the ounce of the frustration that she had to feel.

Ive given my answer already, Zach told her.

This made her sigh. It would help us immensely. My powers are meant to be used as support; they are not for leading. The Wardens need you.The source of this content no/v(el)bi((n))

You can put others in the position, Okim is a solid pick, Zach told her.

Bera stopped walking and Zach did the same, then turned to face her.

You know that it isnt the same. Your name would bring people to our faction, and we need them.

Zach tilted his head. I am already part of the Wardens; my name is already helping.

It isnt the same and you know it. Youve seen it.

Then take the spot of our leader and change it! She stomped on the ground with one of her hooves. We will change into what you want us to be.

Zach smiled. I do not think that you would like the changes that I would make. We, you, would not be Wardens anymore.

If that is what needs to happen, then so be it, Bera said firmly.

You say that, but you dont really know what I am talking about, Zach added.

Then explain it to me, tell me and let us choose.

Zach looked back at the river, thinking. It was hard for him to accept the way that this world worked. The way that everyone attached themselves to those who had power, how they looked at them to lead them. Perhaps it was inevitable, it was a reality of the world, that those who had power could enforce their views. Zach had always wanted to use his to protect people, it was all he ever wished for. Back in the mind prison, and even before. It was one thing about him that never changed, and that he did not believe ever would.

But there were many different ways to protect people. And when different leaders said people they referred to different things. Some meant only their people, others only their race, those that they liked, or those that were loyal to them. So many factions, so many differing opinions and sides. It was impossible to protect everyone. And Zach had seen what evil looked like, a band around the neck. He had struggled to find a way to keep them all safe, to prevent such things from happening.

Until he realized that he couldnt, no matter how much power he had, he would never be able to reach to them all. Not even if he could command Time to stop. So, he had spent the years contemplating, learning, mastering himself and his Aspects. And thinking, trying to find a purpose that he could put his all in.

He had found it, and Hiro was his first step onto a path that he was planning on embracing. The Wardens if he was being honest, he struggled with them, with what he owed and what they deserved. They were people like him who wanted to do good, and who had suffered because of their desire.

It would mean the end of the Wardens, Zach said slowly, feeling the thrum of encouragement from the sword on his hip.

All things die in the winter and then in the spring they feed the growth of something new, Ravallims voice whispered in his head.

The old soul was right, as he often was.

We trust you, Bera said slowly. We believe that you would not lead us awry. And we need something to believe in. We are barely hanging on as it is; the end of the Wardens is coming one way or the other.

Zach took a deep breath, and then he nodded his head.