Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Of Gatherings

Zaedus had taken control and filled a roll he previously had no intention of fulfilling. At first, the tribe did not accept him as the rightful ruler, but after a series of failed challenges, he remained. He led to a new home. It was temporary, but the conditions were adequate. They would have a place to life for now. The journey was not without a cost; about half the tribe had left. It divided them and it hurt Zaedus.

The quiet flame of optimism would not last forever and Zaedus new that. It was only a matter of time before humans found them. It was inevitable, but the end result was undetermined. He was hailed as a hero in Night Song, they would not trouble his people, but Illium was filled with humans who would not understand his tribe’s change of heart. To make things worse, many other tribes would never know about the peace with Night Song. It was a peace made of glass. Over time, it could take some strain, but a sudden shock would destroy it.

Zaedus brought together a small group of his 4 most loyal friends. He had known them for years and trusted them implicitly. They had never wavered in his footsteps and had followed him to there new home. In essence, they too were believers that a peace with humanity was attainable.

“Here we sit in the darkness,” Zaedus spoke, “attempting to bring the world into a new light. You have all followed me this far and now I have more to ask of you. I ask you to be aware of the dream we live in. This peace will not last forever and it may be extremely short lived.

“Aestus,” Aestus was a powerful warrior. She had proven herself in the battles against humanity. She stood 6 feet tall. Her skin was a forest green, but it was her eye’s that caught most. They were a cold steel blue. To those who did not know her, they showed no mercy, but to Zaedus they had a kindness hidden behind the blue. “Aestus you are respected among the other tribes as a warrior, but I need to be an emissary.”

“What will you have me do?” Aestus was unquestionably loyal to Zaedus’ rule. It was not always so. Only after Zaedus had bested her in a challenge did she truly respect him. Zaedus has spared her life for this reason. Thinking back, Zaedus was surprised he had been able to best her, for she was no doubt the better fighter.

“You will travel to the other tribes, and tell them to stop their battles with the humans. Tell them to come here. With increased numbers we shall become a powerful example of peace.”

“Susan,” Susan had been a friend of Zaedus all his life. He trusted her more than he trusted anyone. She was not your typical Reptilian. She was smaller, slimmer and lacked the powerful muscle, which characterized her race. She was not originally one of the tribe, but now she belonged as much as anyone else did. “Susan, your name leads your path. We need an envoy to humanity and that is you. You will go to Night Song. You’ll meet a small band of humans. Then you shall go from city to city telling of our peace.”

“You sound like a priest.” It was Hastock, Zaedus’ most vocal opponent, “Why am I hear Zaedus?”

“You are here because you are my opposite. You lived for the combat against humanity. You are my greatest threat. This is why you are coming with me.”

“What?”

“We cannot stay here. The ground is dead dust. We could never grow crops here. The salt of the ocean poisons the water. We will die here if the tribe stays too long. We shall search for a new place, far enough from the humans, but close enough to stay in contact.”

“Why me Zaedus, any one of your ‘followers’,” He said with a sneer. “would be better.”

“There will no doubt come a time when we will have run out of peaceful solutions. We may need to fight on our journey. That’s where you come in Hastock.”

“I will not side with you.”

“You think you have a choice?” Zaedus looked him in the eyes, “Now be silent!” He turned to the last member of his group.

“Sazler,” Sazler was meek. He had suffered under the rule of Salazar, but it had strengthened him. He had learned to go undetected and could make himself undetectable. Sazler was a good friend of Zaedus and shared his ideals. “You need to watch everyone, even me. You must make sure we never stray from our paths.” Zaedus handed him a small dagger. “If we stray, do not be afraid to end our lives.”

Zaedus walked away from the group, “At first light we leave to go our separate ways. The tribe can handle itself until our return.”

At first light, Sazler was nowhere to be seen. This was as expected. Susan had left for Night Song. Zaedus walked through their temporary settlement. He did not expect to see again for a long time. He saw Aestus gathering her last remaining supplies. He did not speak to her, for she new what to do. Finally Zaedus came to Hastock.

“I know what you’re planning,” He said. “If things get rough you’ll pin any human deaths on me.”

“I will not betray you Hastock,” Zaedus replied, “But if I plan to, you won’t be able to stop me. Grab your gear. Let’s get out of here.” Hastock threw on his pack and followed Zaedus.

“Where are we going?” Hastock asked his voice filled with skepticism. “Humans are everywhere; we can never find your ‘promised land’”

“I was going to keep our destination to myself, but…” Zaedus reached into his pack and pulled out his map. He spread it out on the ground. It was dry; his map would be safe from the dangers of the dirt. “We are in this together, so listen closely. We are here, west of Night Song.” Zaedus put his finger on their current location.

“We want to go here.” Zaedus moved his finger south east. Just beyond The Galena River, we have a mountain range. Its damn near impassable, but if we can find way we’ll have gone where no one has gone before.” His finger came to rest on a patch completely unmapped. “This our best bet for a home. It is going to be a few weeks journey, so let’s get going.”

“You’re a fool. We won’t be able to cross the mountains.”

“We’ll see Hastock. It’s our best shot right now.”

They left, beginning the long trek. They walked in silence. They were not comrades in arms, but Hastock’s presence was required for now, so onwards they went. The sun climbed into the sky, and Zaedus was glad reptilians handled the heat well. The day passed uneventfully. Soon they found the night to be the same and made a quick camp.

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