Mik and Kai looked beyond the campfire noticing they were all alone, all other nearby campfires were out completely or in the waning stages. Kai looked down at his watch, stomach tingling when he realized it was 0200 hours. Mik smiled, chiding, “Chow time in four hours. You should get some sleep. We can continue this discussion tomorrow after our duties.” Kai, knowing the following day would be brutal without at least a little sleep, but torn at the mere thought of departing from this conversation, sat frozen in time. Concluding, despite a gnawing disagreement in the back of his mind, it would be best to allow time for rest. The two former strangers stood, nodded, and departed in opposite directions, Kai to his tent, Mik to wherever it was Mik went at night.
As Kai unzipped the door to his single man combat field tent he couldn’t help but lose himself in his own thoughts. By all notions it appeared Mik was telling the truth, however, the prospect of some far off land full of beings with apparently far greater intellectual and physical capabilities than his own people was overwhelming to say the least. It was hard not to envision some type of extraterrestrial race though what Mik had described was hardly tiny gray men with shiny silver discs as their mode of transportation. By all counts these had been men and some animals with near human characteristics, capable of breathtaking design both structural and weaponry, while also possessing physical attributes far beyond any human. Come to think of it, Mik had even alluded to advanced levels of transportation, though Kai had been so enveloped in the story he had forgotten to ask about it. What about the weaponry? Mik had also described various types of armor and weaponry, but Kai had so many deeper questions. Kai’s thoughts fell back to the beginning of the conversation, when he had noticed that symbol peeking above Mik’s cloak, apparently hovering within his armor. Had that been this triangle without points that was routinely seen throughout Doxa? What of their physical capabilities? Mik had mentioned extensive training, that which would have taken hundreds of years as Kai understood time, but Mik did not offer the level of their capabilities. What was the son’s name? Who was he and what was he actually capable of? App and Mik seemed to be the physically superior beings in a fight, and yet the son was capable of quashing all physical resistance apparently not only without trying, but at a speed nobody else could see. Kai’s mind was so overwhelmed with further questions and it wasn’t until the alarm on his watch began screaming at him that he realized he had drifted off to sleep at some point.
Kai mindlessly saw to the camp duties assigned to him, as not just his mind but his soul found itself questioning all that he knew, or at least what he thought he knew. The camp itself was a loosely affiliated group of individuals that had been dubbed the “Free Sect.” In theory they were a conglomerate of independent fighters believing in the ultimate goal of freedom at the individual level. They found themselves standing toe to toe in a David versus Goliath match, with the full might of the United World Order mockingly amassing on the other side of the valley. For a brief moment Kai’s mind left Mik’s story as he processed what lay ahead. Undoubtedly there was no defeating “The Order”, as they had unaffectionately nicknamed it. As a brushfire in the hills of California, it had consumed everything in its path. While its imagery and propaganda had been pushed through every channel of media from social media to flyers on light poles, showing a beautiful, crime-free, utopian society, free of any wants or fears, the reality had been far different. A group of elites, with a nameless, faceless leader, controlled the majority of the civilized world. The battle lines had now been drawn, and the hodge-podge fighters of the Free Sect were the last candle burning in the darkness.
With the end of free humanity but a few days away, some suggesting the United World Order may require as much as a week to move the combat forces necessary to snuff out the final light, Kai’s mind should be consumed by the task at hand, however as he unloaded a truck of the latest delivery of supplies, he found his mind wandering again. He passed the remainder of the day, eyes in a thousand yard stare like a zombie, mindlessly seeing to his tasks. His mind had latched back onto Mik’s story, but more importantly Mik himself. What was this man, if he was a man at all, actually capable of?
At long last the work day ended and Kai wandered back to the group of fires. A hooded figure, a wool-blend cloak hanging loosely over a muscular figure, sat staring into an already blazing fire. Underneath the hood were blazing blue eyes, so vibrant they were visible even in the waning twilight hours. A smile broke as Mik extended a cloaked arm, palm facing upward, waving in an open gesture, indicating Kai could have any seat around the fire he chose. As lifelong friends might, Kai clapped Mik on the back, and with the grunt of a man who had lived far more life than his age indicated, took a cross-legged seat to Mik’s right.
Kai continued to carry the distracted stare, his mind already racing with which question to ask first. Mik, observing the mental overload, asked, “How’d it go today?” A bewildered and non-present Kai stared blankly at Mik, as a husband who was just asked a question by his wife but was busy thinking about the baseball game later in the day. Kai responded with a vague, “Huh?” Chuckling, Mik repeated, “How’d it go today?” Kai, in almost disbelief Mik would even ask such a simple question when he obviously knew Kai had been thinking about the story the entire day, found himself shaking his head and smirking, said, “It was fine. If I’m being honest, I was a bit distracted all day.” Mik, now mirroring the smirk, “Oh really, and why is that?” At this point neither man could contain himself and both burst out laughing.
“I have so many questions, but I have to know, is the symbol at the top of your chest the same symbol you described in the story?”, asked Kai. Mik nodded, pulling his wool-blend cloak down slightly to reveal a triangle without points, appearing to float in a fixed point inside of the armor. With the cloak pulled down lower than before, Kai could see what appeared to be electricity coursing through the armor, giving it a near fish scale-like appearance. Kai immediately asked, “What does it stand for or represent?” Mik stated, “That will be made clear in time.” Kai, undeterred by the vague answer, asked, “The spheres that produced the armor, what exactly were those?” Mik responded, “Energy spheres, capable of transfiguring matter from one state to another, in this case, Doxian armor, into a state where it could be stored and charged in a more condensed and efficient location. These spheres in particular were only given to the Twelve, as they contained more power, and were created by the son himself.” Kai’s eyes lit up as he exclaimed, “What is the son's actual name? What is this secrecy shrouding everyone's name?!” Mik, once again taking a wise, grandfatherly approach responded, “Oh young Kai, this matter should not be viewed as secrecy but a matter of understanding. If I taught you advanced calculus while speaking in Mandarin, backward, would it make any sense to you? It is the same with names. Furthermore, knowing someone's true name grants you power over that person. Using that person's true name could escalate to that person using your name, much like an enemy nation firing the first nuclear weapon. It can and does have catastrophic effects.”
As Kai let these new facts sink in, Mik stoked the fire with a stick from the ground causing embers to rise into the night’s air. Kai, finally formulating a thought, albeit a strange one, asked, “Are you telling me someone’s real name is like a magic spell?” Expecting a laugh, Kai was surprised to find Mik actually contemplating the question, as Mik slowly and somberly responded, “While certainly not in the sense your media would describe or portray magic, I suppose some of the properties of the power of a name could be viewed as this, or perhaps understood as this, yes. It is not a witch in a pointy hat, standing over a cauldron, however, yes, a great deal of unseen power can be manipulated or used for or against a person with the knowledge of their true name. I cannot express the seriousness or gravity of what we are discussing. In Doxa it is not considered the proper manner of things to even speak on names. It is best we leave this portion of our conversation for now.”
Accepting he had pushed the discussion of names to its outer limits for now, Kai moved on, “Can you tell me of the training? You mentioned, while outside of time your best estimation is it would have taken hundreds of years by my people’s standards to complete the sheer quantity of training. What were some of the other things you or the other Twelve learned?”
In a somewhat serious tone, as one who had not recovered from a very serious conversation though a lighter topic had been introduced, Mik said, “While I cannot speak to all of the individual training I can certainly speak to my own, what was shared with me in conversation with the others, and of course that which we conducted as a group. Is there something in particular you are wanting to know?”
Kai quickly responded, “You mentioned several of the Twelve having an expertise or a specialty. What was each of the Twelve’s specialties?”
“Some shared the same expertise, others their expertise's, while different, were very much correlated, though all were trained in the art of warfare as well. The emphasis on combat was somewhat confusing through the duration of the training of the Twelve because the emphasis on combat was never explained, and we never received any news indicating these skill sets would be needed.”
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Pursing his lips to one side of his mouth, Kai subconsciously tilted his head to the side, clearly perplexed at the information. Looking at Mik, reminiscing on his original thoughts of Mik, Kai was fairly certain Mik had seen extensive combat, though was unsure where in his story this combat fit. He asked, “Was it ever explained to you?”
Mik somberly nodded, “Not long after we graduated our training Speaker provided some clarity, though I will say it took quite some time before it became fully materialized.”
Kai, not wanting to lose his train of thought, asked, “What was the actual combat training like?”
“Well, to say it was wide ranging is a gross understatement and vague by nature due to the extensive objectives we were required to meet. Eli was relentless in pushing us to not only train hard but to train perfect. Initially we focused on hand to hand combat learning Doxa’s version of martial arts. You will find many aspects of your lands martial arts to stem from aspects of it. We learned the basics of stagnant striking and blocking, control holds, movements, and tangible situational awareness. Once we had mastered this we moved on to mastery of weapons. While we were trained in all weapons, we each had a preferred handheld weapon as well as mastery of the bow. I personally preferred a double-edged great sword paired with my shield, a well-balanced loadout of offensive and defensive capabilities. I suppose this is a reflection of my personality. App on the other hand preferred dual double edged spathas. I suppose an all-out offensive mindset is a fair reflection of him.
Eli took a great deal of interest in each of our equipment sets, preferred weapons, and combat personality types. He would always say, “The will chooses the weapon!” He was such an expert not only in the types of weapons but his personality types adapted to the weapons and how to make the warrior most effective with the tools he utilized. It is a truly entertaining thought to think back on that first interaction with him in the Dynami forest. Do you have any moments like this Kai? A moment where you did not grasp the gravity of an interaction, only to look back and realize that it was truly a ripple in time that would continue to echo?”
Kai sat quietly, heart wondering if Mik was referring to their own meeting, or perhaps earlier in his life. Unsure which Mik was referring to, Kai said, “I suppose meeting my wife would be the greatest example I can think of. To go from a brief moment of teenage attraction to a life altering relationship and opportunity to be a father would be the closest I can think of.”
Mik mentally chewed on the response, allowing time and silence to carry the conversation. “This is such an intriguing answer, Kai. It is hard for me to fully understand this, though it is truly interesting.”
Kai, seeing the mind if Mik churning like butter sought to continue with Mik’s explanation and posed a further question, “Would you say Eli was the most influential in your training?”
Mik, seeing Kai’s attempted diversion, responded, “Oh, you will not divert my attention from such an intriguing conversation, though for now, I will answer yours, but we must return to you in a moment.” Kai nodded as Mik continued, “While Eli became a very dear friend, and spent more time in actual training and equipment application, the son was most influential, though not just in combat but in all aspects of training.”
“Eli would typically lay a foundation whether it be the basics of combat, the art of warfare, the roots of wisdom and philosophy, mastery over bearak and the heart of courage, and the son would come in and hone these skills to a fine point. Other Avopeia would regularly assist Eli. As the guardian of the Dynami forest Eli’s expertise was in combat, while his fellow Avopeia had developed extensive expertise in the sciences and would partner with the Malakh in their learning. In this time the city of Doxa was built to perfection. Great structures were raised, magnificent fields were sown, beautiful art was created, a mastery of the stars was documented, and of course the perfection of weaponry and technology. Armories were filled with all types of weapons and armor, storehouses were filled with all types of food and beverage. This time was a time of such noble courage, all of us working to desperately stretch our capabilities in preparation for our roles as leaders. We worked towards a common good, knowing once the other Malakh were spoken we would be called upon to lead and unable to focus on ourselves and Speaker as the time allowed for.
Despite all of the training and learning, a great deal of time was set aside for fellowship and conversation. At times it would be as a whole group, while others far more intimate settings. The depths of our bonds grew to a point of brotherhood amongst the Malakh, a deep respect for Eli, and an outright reverence for Speaker and the son. Their wisdom, love, and selfless goodness were evident in all conversations. They shared of the times before the Twelve, the void the Twelve had filled and hopes for the future. In all conversations there was a genuine pursuit of real relationships and selflessness. It was perfect. The Twelve had even discussed with Speaker and the son the prospect of not speaking any further Malakh on multiple occasions due to not wanting to disrupt the perfection that already existed.
Speaker, in his incredible wisdom, continuously shared his vision and desire for us to maintain what we had shared in all the conversations and training while also encouraging us to greatly expand upon it once the other Malakh were spoken.
App and I did everything together. I did not receive the affinity for music App inherited but I thoroughly enjoyed all the music he created for Speaker, and regularly spoke with him regarding ideas for new songs. Then there were our talks and our training. As a childhood best friend getting to remain together through high school graduation, we made memory after memory. Some that were shared with others while some that would remain inside jokes for eternity. Did you have a friend like this, Kai?”
Kai, ripped from the trance of Mik’s story at the sound of his own name, mumbled, “I did. I was best friends with him from the age of five until even after high school graduation.”
Mik asked, “Are you no longer friends with him?” Kai responded, “While we don’t talk anymore it was not a negative thing in any way, we just kind of grew up, I suppose you could say. We became husbands and fathers and while the memories remain vivid, and surely defining moments in my life, our priorities shifted as our responsibilities grew.”
Mik nodded, “I see, that is one of the peculiar aspects of your people. The relational constructs naturally formed by the constraints of time that is. I suppose if your life is governed by time, you are only able to grant a certain portion to each being involved in your life.” As if he had arrived at a mathematical conclusion and finished checking his work, Mik looked up and stated, “This would make your time your most valuable currency. It cannot be created, purchased, or sold, only given to those you deem worthy or priority. This is very fascinating.”
As if in the presence of a great Ancient Greek philosopher, Kai stared at Mik, clearly in awe at the depth of the conclusion. Kai’s curiosity in further knowledge of Mik and the Malakh forced him to divert the conversation back to Mik before Mik pursued any further thoughts. Kai asked, “What were some of the other things the Malakh received training in?”
Mik, again noticing the intentional redirection, smiled, and said, “Well, as I stated Sid had developed a true affinity for the forging of metals and creation of weapons. He handmade each of the primary weapons of the Twelve. It was a long process of perfecting the art, however, with the guidance of the son, and great experimentation on his own, Sid developed an expertise, eventually creating Sidalcum, a Doxian metal. It was light as a blade of grass in your hand, strong enough to cut through your people’s diamonds like butter, and most importantly capable of not only containing bearak, but controlling and conducting it. While the Speaker himself did forge five weapons, weapons of untold power, which I will explain later, all other weapons of the Malakh were created by Sid. These Sidalcum weapons forged in the furnaces of Doxa have at times made their way into your people's mythologies, though without the bearak coursing through them they may not have been recognized for what they actually were.
Dear Asa, if you recall from the approach to Doxa, and had been mesmerized with the design and he had a truly natural gift with architecture. The fascination was only the beginning. While the Doxian pyramid, school, hanging gardens, quarters, dinner table, and the triangle structure I will explain soon were designed by Speaker himself, the rest of Doxa was designed by Asa. The living quarters of the rest of the Malakh, the structures that functioned as shops, though mind you nothing costs money as with your people in Doxa, additional training facilities, armories, storehouses, and virtually all other structures were fashioned by Asa under the guidance of Speaker himself. Incredible statues were formed in celebration of the animals and beauty previously spoken by Speaker. All forms of design pointed back to Speaker’s creativity and love for beauty. While Speaker is more than capable of designing any of the structures or weapons, is it not a far higher level of creation to create something that is then capable of creating incredible beauty?”
Kai asked, “What were some of the weapons or structures like?”
Mik, raising one cheek, as a fond memory passed through his eyes, responded, “These will be described in detail as the story goes on. Shall I continue?”
