Blade(Part 1): Dawn

Chapter 7: Zabaia

Zabaia made a cup out of his hands and dipped them in the godstream. The young Guardian then poured the pure water into his mouth. It was cool and refreshing, and made him want to sleep through the night. He couldn't, though. For the past six months, he had trouble falling asleep, because he knew he would see them. Philip. Christy. His Captain and Lieutenant were sometimes in the reflection of every pond or mirror Zabaia looked at.

"I'm sorry," he would always whisper. He would never forget his friends, whether they were dead or alive. Shala and Alexius were both still alive, but Zabaia had no idea whether they were safe or not. They were looking for themselves, just as he was. Whether he would find his way again was a wonder, but he trusted that his two remaining friends would. They probably already had, while Zabaia was still searching for a purpose as a Guardian.

As he stayed kneeling beside the godstream, he began to hear the sounds of hooves and the neighing of horses approaching him from behind. The horses' hooves kicked up the sands of Weshiola, the former Alessian colony, but stopped right behind Zabaia.

"What do we have here?" one rider demanded. Zabaia wouldn't look behind to answer. He knew exactly who the riders were. The accents in their voices suggested that they were mounted cavalry of the Skaolan Empire.

"To drink from a godstream is a sin, boy," another rider growled. Zabaia rolled his eyes. He wasn't surprised at the soldiers' ignorance, but he was annoyed by it.

"The gods gave us these streams so we may use them," the Guardian corrected. "Including you."

"And do you believe the gods favor you?" the same soldier argued.

"The gods favor no one," Zabaia growled. "Not even your King."

"Careful, child," the soldier warned. He must have been the others' Sergeant.

"Your words give us reason to kill you at this very moment," the Sergeant declared. "And I believe we will. What is your name?"

"Zabaia of Weshiola," Zabaia answered.

"Zabaia of Weshiola," the Sergeant declared, climbing off his horse, and drawing his Skaolan khopesh. "In the name of King Aziz of Skaola, I hereby sentence you to death for blasphemy, and slandering our King's name, and since you wear Guardian colors, treason." Zabaia didn't stand, or turn around.

"Do your worst, Skaolan," he challenged. The Skaolan Sergeant raised his curved blade, and before he brought it down, Zabaia quickly turned around, blasting forth an icy mist from both of his hands. The Sergeant froze where he stood before Zabaia completely shattered him with an aura blast. Four of the other five soldiers climbed off their horses, drawing their own blades, while the last one remained mounted, aiming his rifle forward. Zabaia stood to face them as he formed his aura blade in his hand. It was in the form of a scimitar with a sharp curve at the tip. When one of the soldiers rushed at him, swinging his khopesh, Zabaia swung his curved blade upward, severing the Skaolan's hand before scorching him with a blast of fire from his own free hand. The soldier that was still mounted on his horse fired a red plasma bolt that shattered against Zabaia's aura shield before the Guardian blasted chain lightning. His sparks went through the foot soldiers, and then the mounted one, killing them all.

"Serves you right," Zabaia growled. He looked down to see how badly the soldier's blood had stained his blue Sorcerer robes. It was only a small splash, easily washed out with water. Zabaia would wash the blood out of his robes in the godstream, but he didn't want to defile the tears of the gods. There were canteens of water that the Skaolan soldiers had, so he picked them off of their bodies and poured the water onto the red stain in his robes. The blood washed out, dripping to the sands of Weshiola's deserts. He then took one more sip of water from the godstream before climbing on one of the soldiers' horses. Thebas was only a few miles away. He would probably arrive there in a few hours. It was one of the most heavily guarded cities in the colonies, though. Zabaia wasn't surprised at that, since it was the capital city of Weshiola. He began his ride along the banks of the wide godstream. After an hour of riding, the gates to the city of Thebas came into sight. The walls were built out of bricks made from the sands of Weshiola, and the bars of the portcullis that prevented any entrance to the city were made from mithril. When he approached the gates, the Skaolan soldiers positioned at the top of the portcullis trained their rifles on him. Zabaia stopped his horse.