Fearless (A Mulan Retelling)

Chapter Thirty Four

"Sir!" said a messenger as he burst through two very large doors, "I have word from the caverns!"

The room behind the doors was dark. In fact, the only light that could be seen were the flickering candles that lined the walls. Even so, the room itself was not the darkest thing there. That title belonged to the man stationed within it, who gestured for the messenger to come forward as he sat atop his opaque and eloquent cathedra.

The small man quickly obeyed and moved forward. His feet were fast to move and once he stood still, he looked the obscure man in the eyes. Yet, he did not do so for long. With a bow, the messenger spoke.

"Tokenmaster..." The words almost sounded reverential.

"Such formalities, Darris," the Tokenmaster spoke in a lilting baritone, "You have known me for quite a long time, now. My name is not sir, nor is it Tokenmaster... it is Erodyne Maug-Rin. So say it."

"Erodyne Maug-Rin." Anyone could tell that Darris was anxious as he spoke the words.

"Very good, my friend," Erodyne said, his voice flowing smoothly, "Now, stand. You say you have news for me, so speak it."

Darris stood as swiftly as possible and then answered Erodyne's question.

"It has been a few days since the reinforcements came from one of the Eldian camps, and the Tokens are losing ground, and men. If our soldiers are to stay at the caverns without aid for much longer, we will surely lose this war before it truly begins. The men need help, Tok... Erodyne."

Even at the news of possible defeat, Erodyne still wore the crooked smile that he was most known for. And then, he stood from his seat. As he got to his feet, the full length of his hair fell to his hips. It was as dark as coal, just like his eyes. He put a hand on Darris's shoulder, as if to comfort him.

"Everything will be quite alright," he said calmly, and then paused, "Do you doubt my words?"

"No, Tokenmaster," Darris said quickly.

"Erodyne," the man snapped.

"Erodyne." Darris corrected himself immediately, not wanting to displease the Tokenmaster.

"Follow me, my friend," Erodyne said in a pleasant tone as he whisked by Darris, "Come see what I have to show you." Darris could feel the whoosh of air from the Tokenmaster's movement. It only took Darris two seconds to comprehend the order; therefore, he stalked after Erodyne with as much haste as he could muster.

Darris noticed that he was being led into the center of the fortress, a place he had not ventured to often. After all, he was a messenger... not a Token soldier.

As he walked, he began to hear loud clanging and shouting. Before he could ask Erodyne what it was, he was pulled into a room. A big room.

The first thing that Darris noticed was that he and the Tokenmaster were standing on a balcony above the room. The second thing he noticed was the massive horde of soldiers that were training in the very, very large room below. There had to be over five hundred practicing below.

"Do you see what I have here?" Erodyne said charmingly, "And this is not even close half of what I have within the depths of my disposal. The Token army will not fall to the Eldians. Not soon, at the very least. When their army is spent, I will send all of the rest. It is a good morale breaker, I suppose."

"Will it be enough men?"

"Yes, Darris. You should not fret so hard, it makes you older," Erodyne laughed without mirth, and then gestured to the army below, "You see, my dear friend, these are not ordinary men. These are the best of what I have. Those that fight at Krenshai Caverns are mere shadows of these men."