Blade(Part 1): Dawn

Chapter 25: Shala

Shala nervously paced around the hallway in front of Commander Hammond's office while Dameon was talking to her. She sensed no anger or doubt from Dameon or Hammond, which was good. They weren't being impolite to each other, at least. Hopefully, though, they were agreeing that something needed to be done to fight against Skaola's empire. The last time Shala brought up the subject, though, Commander Hammond made it very clear that they wouldn't fight against them. Now that Shala had returned to the Celestial Sword, though, and saw the state of the Guardians that defended the colonies, her anger from six months ago might have been out of check. There was no possible way that the Guardians alone could free the colonies. It was hopeless.

"What was I thinking?" Shala whispered to herself.

"You know, that's what I wondered when I fought against Aziz's armies ten years ago," Major Ling suddenly said.

"Hello, Mai," Shala greeted. There was no other woman that Shala was happier to see. Mai Ling was a woman from Koesh, who became a Guardian Knight of the Defender class by the time of the Colonial War. She was the first Guardian Shala had ever met, but the circumstances under which she met her were far from ideal. It was at the height of the war. Shala's village in Esmijan was burning, and Skaola's soldiers were in her house with their blades drawn. Her parents that had adopted her were cut down, with a crying Kai in the corner of the house. Shala saw Kai's head fly off from one of their blades, then the Skaolan soldiers turned towards her. Before they could raise their blades, one of their heads was crushed, the fragments of his skull, and the matter of his brain splattering all over the place. As the second soldier turned towards Shala, he was smacked in the chest by a tall girl of seventeen in heavy, silver armor wielding a strange wooden club that was covered with metal studs. The Guardian introduced herself as Captain Ling, then she picked up Shala, letting her sit on her arm as she carried the little girl out of the house, away from her slaughtered family. When Shala was ten, Mai became a Guardian Knight Major, and Shala herself became a Guardian, to be trained by Major Ling, along with the rest of her team, Alexius, Zabaia, Philip, and Christy. What Shala owed to Mai was too long a list. She smiled as she threw her arms around the Major. She felt Mai's hand on the back of her head.

"It is wonderful to see you again, Shala," said Mai. There was almost a tear in her eyes as she let go of Shala.

"And look at you," she continued. "A Ranger? I thought that's what would be chosen for you."

"Well, I've definitely learned how to move through the shadows," Shala assured. "But I will admit, things still haven't been easy for me."

"These last ten years have been trying for all of us," Mai reminded. "But the last six months have been worse. These are just bad times for the Guardians. How come you're the only one who's returned, though? Where are Zabaia and Alexius?"

"I don't know," Shala admitted. "I haven't even heard from either of them since we split up. I came back because I ran into someone."

"Who?" asked Mai. Shala remained silent. As much as she trusted Major Ling, there were too many things that could go wrong if she told her that her brother, who she'd thought was dead for ten years, was fighting for King Aziz, or worse, a Shadow of the Abyss. Instead of answering the Major's question, Shala shook her head. It was enough to say that she didn't want to talk about it.

"Well, I'm due to patrol the perimeter," said Mai. "Why don't you come with me? Let's catch up."

"Sure," Shala accepted. They both climbed onto horses in the stables and rode into the jungle. Shala couldn't remember the last time she rode a horse, other than when she patrolled the jungles outside of the fortress. Horseback riding came naturally to Shala, though, while talking about what happened during her time away from the Celestial Sword didn't. Many things she had done to fight against the Empire of Skaola went against Commander Hammond's orders not to fight against them. Major Ling could surely sense Shala's nervousness towards the subject, though.