The Faithful Ones

Part 3- Chapter 32

"I can see Icendell!" shouted the man in the crow's nest. Everyone waited patiently for the Merfolk's Voyage to come in to the port, and eventually were able to step onto the mountainous land.
"Remember that the Creator's love is greater than anything. I'll teach you a new song," said Mel as they walked. The Northesians, dwarves, creatures from the Archipelago, and the Faithful Ones sang as they travelled. When the sun set, everyone was tired, and there were unfamiliar stars above them.
"The Creator once made -- and kept -- a promise to an old man that he would have as many children as there are the stars in the sky. Everyone who trusts the Creator is one of those children, who are also, and more importantly, considered children of the Creator," explained Mel.
"Wow," said Rose.
"Mel, remember in the Sylvan Land how you said you'd explain something once we got here? About the artist's impression of you killing the Raging Wolf?" Raine said quietly. Mel took a deep breath and exhaled.
"Alright. Faithful Ones, come over here for a bit," she said after a moment, standing and moving a few paces away from the rest of the army.

"I have something to tell you all. The very beginning of it is with Jes and the words she puts on the page, but aside from that it started the time when I told Gatûkai-Zhëtzen the story of the Creator's death and resurrection, and even further from there it starts when we decided to free the Northesians and especially when I held a secret in my eyes I dared not share. But now I must share it. I have never wanted to kill anyone or anything, and I never have-" Mel began.
"Wait-" interrupted Amedël.
"I'm explaining it. I never said I would kill the Raging Wolf, only that I would free the Northesians by convincing him to undo his dark spell. That is what I did," she continued.
"But you can't have. The Raging Wolf would never have given up his title, he would never have been persuaded to undo his spell. The only way the Northesians could have been freed -- which they are, because how else are they here and not stuck in Northesa? -- is by killing the Raging Wolf!" argued Sunny.
"Sunny's right, the Raging Wolf must be dead!" agreed Bouniek.
"The Raging Wolf wasn't someone to be reasoned with," said Blaze.

"Listen to me, please, let me finish. I didn't have to kill him. That is a cruel and heartless thing to do, to take someone's life because you don't agree with them. How can you fight for freedom but kill those you fight against, and end all chances to let them share in that freedom? Isn't death a kind of prison where there are no more chances to love and live and be kind any more? If you had been in his place, a ruler who just wanted to protect your people but the work was hard, wouldn't you want to make it easier for yourself? Yes, he couldn't resist the power he had been given in being given a kingdom to rule. But he is flawed, like all of us, like every single person you'll ever meet. So when I went into his throne room, I told him I can't and won't kill him. I asked him to tell me why he cast the spell, saying he was not as fierce and cruel as everything we'd heard made him seem, and he explained why he had done it. After that, I gave him one of my arrows as a symbol of my grace and mercy, along with a second chance, a chance to begin anew. A chance to begin anew is what everyone who trusts the Creator is given by Him, even after everything they've done no matter how evil it is. Why should we refuse the Raging Wolf that, even though he trapped his people, even though he did bad things, even though, even though, even though? Why shouldn't we be kind, good, gentle, and loving, why shouldn't we give him joy and peace, have the patience to tell him there are other ways to live, have the self-control to let him live instead of letting our emotions rule? Why shouldn't we let the 'bad guy' live, why should we persist in our hatred, why should we end a life that was so beautifully created, why shouldn't we let this lesson be taught?" Mel looked around the circle, addressing each of her friends and letting them search for the answers, and after a long moment of quiet, she said, "I had to trick you, I saw no other choice but to let you feel this anger and betrayal now, and I'm sorry. I really am."

"Where is he then? He's still dangerous you know, just because you gave him a second chance doesn't mean he didn't mess it up. And how will all of them react when you tell them?" Freya gestured to the army.
"How could you just lie to us?" accused Taigat-Zhëtzen.
"So you're telling us we didn't have to fight?" asked Raine.
"Calm down, all of you. Mel wants to speak," said Salma sternly. Everyone stopped and looked at the peaceful girl in surprise, and listened to Mel.
"He is in Icendell, and we need to find him. I don't plan to tell the army -- no, it's not right, but their reactions will be so much worse than yours."
"You'd still be lying to them," replied Sunny.
"Mel did what she had to, and she's right about it all. Now, I know we're all annoyed at her, and that's alright, but we need to accept this. Trust her," Rose said. Mel breathed a sigh of relief, tension slipping away from her shoulders.

They camped outside the city, as they had done at Port-Clare. The guards at the city gate looked at the army and asked the Faithful Ones what they were doing.
"These people helped to free Northesa from the Raging Wolf, and they didn't want to stay so they've come with us. Some may decide to stay in Icendell, but the rest will keep following us," Raine answered.
"Oh. Very well then, but we guards won't do any guarding of your camp," the guard replied.
"That's alright," Raine said, and went back to help her friends.

There was a market being held in the Trader's Square, according to the guard at the gate when the Faithful Ones entered the city in the morning. They'd been planning to try to find the shops they needed to go to, but a market made everything easier, so they followed the street signs to the square, which was filled with people and stalls with sellers shouting out offers. Freya, Salma, and Blaze went to get provisions while the others bought cloaks to keep warm in the coming autumn months. Raine found the stall they needed, and they tried on different cloaks while they waited for the rest of their group to join them, which they bought with some coins they had left over from Port-Clare and several more Tania had given them. Raine, Rose, Sunny, Salma, Freya, Matthew, and Blaze picked dull-brown, mushroom-stem-coloured cloaks with embroidered hems in the colours the Spirit had marked them with -- Raine's had no embroidery, since she decided she wanted to embroider it herself. Mel's was dark green with cloud-grey and dandelion-yellow embroidery, Amedël's was emerald, Bouniek's was dark grey, Zadut's was red, and Taigat-Zhëtzen chose brown.
"Good choices, they suit you," said the seller, whose name was Katie, "Where are you from?"
"Westheath. Have you heard about the Faithful Ones?" replied Raine.
"Yeah, the trader-captain Carlos brought tales of them when last the Merfolk's Voyage put in at port. He said that they'd killed the Raging Wolf, can you believe it, and that he'd taken them to visit the Archipelago."
"Of course I believe it, we are them."
"Surely not," breathed Katie. "Mel, can you show me your leopardess form?" Mel nodded, shimmered, and shifted forms. Katie stifled a squeal of delight, laughing, and thanked Mel.
"It's ok," she smiled in return, shifting back to elven form.

"Oh, Mel, the man selling cured meat told me about a man he went hunting with. He told me that his friend had an arrow he never uses, but he keeps it in his quiver anyway. The description of the arrow fits yours," said Freya, giving her a bowl of soup.
"Then we've found the Raging Wolf. We'll have to wait until the next market to find this man and ask him where to find the Raging Wolf," declared Mel.
"I also told the man to tell his friend that a leopardess says hi and is in Icendell as well," Freya added, and there was a pause.
"He's going to panic when he hears that."
"Did I tell the man to say the wrong thing?"
"Not really, although he'll think I've come to kill him. But anyway, if you didn't get food you wouldn't have found out about him, and why would we buy provisions if he didn't run away from us?"
"You have a habit of being confusing sometimes," Salma said.

Raine played her panpipes for her friends, Fariet and Tósatarleh sitting close to her. They sang, played their star-spotting game, and talked to Tania. Raine felt guilt about not telling her about the Raging Wolf, but she knew it would be better if they didn't tell anyone who they'd fought alongside, at least not yet. She hoped they could tell the army one day soon, but she wouldn't do it before Mel said it would be alright. Tania and some of the dwarves would probably accept it more easily than those who didn't know Mel all that well, but nevertheless it would likely be more difficult than the Faithful Ones had been when Mel confessed. Raine looked to the lion constellation for reassurance, something she'd found herself doing over the past few months. She remembered with a smile the story she'd read in the Caverns about the children and the lion, a story that was similar to her own. How beautiful the stars were. Mel had said once that the skies in Jes' world were filled with smoke and a bad kind of fog, so it was rare to see as many stars as anyone could in Raine's world unless one was far away from civilisation. It was a strange thought, to imagine not being able to see the stars in all their wonders. Stranger still to imagine a world with no light at all once the sun set, although that couldn't be something anyone had encountered. She was glad that the stars provided enough light, even without the moon to shine upon the earth, and then her mind turned to the idea that there is always hope even when everything seems as dark as it can get. Raine plaited her hair where the Spirit had marked it, remembering the moment the magic had chosen her to bring hope to the world, as her friends chatted and the fire flickered.