Where the Light Resides

Chapter 6: Final Preparations

I sat down parallel with the edge, pulled my legs up, wrapped my arms around them, and looked out onto the field beyond. The stars off in the distance twinkled one by one as they appeared in the skies. In a matter of hours, the armies of light and darkness would meet on the battlefield, on the very field that laid before me now, quite possibly for the last time. It was entirely possible that by the end of tomorrow, either the ranks of the light, or the ranks of the dark would be eliminated, never to return.
The plans had been drawn two nights ago. Before that, though, the light primal orb healed Ossentra back to into life. I explained to her what was going on, and what would be required of her in the next few days. She stayed in the room and kept quiet, and I constantly tricked the chefs to give me double rations. Earlier today we had finished making our counterplans, and with the use of the light primal orb, she has now returned to her own base to prepare for the battle tomorrow.
I heard footsteps approach from behind me, and I jumped, grabbed the person’s arm, and flipped them over my back, leaving them hanging over the edge with only my strength keeping them from falling.
“Nastan,” Rastel’s voice floated up from below. “Could you let me up? I’m not here to kill you.”
“By the Gods, Rastel,” I said as I pulled him up onto the ledge. “Don’t sneak up on me like that. Especially the night before the war. If there’s anyone here who’s tense, it’s me.”
“I apologize my lord,” he said as he brushed the dust off of himself and sat back down.
“And for the love of power, don’t call me by that title. I don’t care how much power Master gives me over this clan, I am no different a man then you.”
“Are you kidding me? You still have the transformations given to you when you absorbed the primal orb, and you’re even the only person who has ever absorbed a primal orb! How can you possibly say you are no different from me?”
I looked down at the spikes that still protruded from my right arm. Since that day, three spikes had also escaped from the back of my left leg, and a spiked wing from both of my shoulders. I could tell that my body would never return to the way it had once been. Also, somewhere deep inside, I knew that my body would gain no more changes. The way I was today was the way that I would always look. “Says you. Just because of gained something doesn’t mean that person I am has changed.”
“You’re looking at this the wrong way, Nastan! This is a great thing! How else can we possibly expect to make it through tomorrow without your power?”
With a sigh, I looked at him and said, “We should get to bed. Can’t fight asleep, now can we?”
With a laugh, he said, “You can.”
“Well, not as well.”
He laughed again, and walked down back into the base. I looked out at the field again. It’s truly amazing how a place that is to be a battlefield can look so peaceful. If only it was going to stay that way…
Now the only thing left to do is to decide whether to go with the plans of the light or the dark. This will ultimately decide which clan will survive, and I can only hope that I can make the right choice before it’s too late.
I walked back inside and through the halls, and entered my room. On the bed laid the light primal orb, which would be the piece that would put one plan or the other into place. I placed it into my cloak, laid down, and, slowly, fell asleep.