A shrug from the driver. “I think we’re going to die here.” Esgona, if shaken by the destination, didn’t show it outwardly, but his abrupt statement was chilling. The question was in the air about his next move, either continuing his uneasy alliance with Johan (and soon Aryu) or go his own way, seeking another direction.
“What do you know about this place, Stroan?” Johan asked, curious if the Rider had heard anything.
“I know it’s the central location for our army and those who’ve joined us. A jumping-off point to the battle with the Army of the Old in the south. It’s where we’ve established our base of operations and stored many of the equipment and troops yet to be deployed. Something about the city protects it from those distant attacks we’re all so familiar with, but I have no idea what it is. I’d love to find out before I put faith in it.” Johan assumed it was radar, a jamming signal, or some other such invisible defense that didn’t allow the Army of the Old to just toss weapons at them like they did back home. “I also know that the tower in the middle is a huge collector of sunlight, turning it into enough energy to power the city around it.”
“Solar power,” Johan said. It wasn’t a question.
“Yes, that’s right,” replied Stroan as if a question was asked anyway. “But also, it holds the headquarters of our armies at its base, a lookout tower at its peak…” He stopped for a moment, looking suddenly worried. “And our ‘last hope’ in its depths.”
The statement was left out there, waiting for the question that would bring it out. Stroan sounded melodramatic, though he didn’t mean to. It was the fear of this ‘last hope’ that held his tongue, afraid to speak of it just as he had feared speaking about the Army of the Old during their first meeting.
After the silence persisted and the city grew closer, Rider August Stroan knew he had to explain, but was also thankful they gave him the time to do so himself. They were truly friends of his now. “Should the city be overrun, a general fall back order is issued into the streets and homes of all those who live there. Then the city, evacuated or not, is eradicated.”
A chill ran down Johan’s spine. “How, Stroan?”
Stroan collected himself and Johan was instantly reminded of their first roadside meeting, as well as the reveal of the Ark 1. Stroan was always the first to know.
“With a High-Yield bomb.”
Johan went as white as a ghost. “What the hell, Stroan! We’re walking into a city with a bomb at its core? This is fucking madness!” He released Seraphina’s hand. “Why? Why would we dream of going there? That’s the evil I want to destroy! I don’t want it to protect my life!”
No one saw Chief Rider Caspar fall back behind them. How long he’d been listening was anyone’s guess, but he rode forward on his huge horse to pipe in at this point. “Easy, Johan, easy,” he said while ushering them along as others looked around at the sudden elevation in anger. “I allowed Rider Stroan to tell you all this for that reason you just mentioned. No one knows what they can do better than you, survivors of Tan Torna Qu-ay.
“I knew your home. I knew its people. I’d been there many times in my younger years. I mourn your loss more than many you’ll meet. It was a beautiful place. I’ve stood in Longhold Park and I’ve been to the pools below Tortria Den. I’ve been from one end of the Valley of Smoke to the other, but I wanted you to know what it was you were joining and the things it had to offer, whether you liked it or not. You have a right to know. The world beyond your borders is one you will fear. One you distrust. One you have been raised to call your enemy.
“I know how you feel and the hatred for the things you now must trust, but it is the way the world beyond your borders operates. We were in the dark, kept there by choice and foolishness. Now we must emerge, stronger and smarter, into the world as it is. Modern. Growing. Flying towards the things we’ve feared for so long. You may not know me, but you know my place in your world. You know of the Riders. You know of who we are and where we’re from. You know you have no reason not to believe me.
“This is the way of things, like it or not. The shroud is dropped. The truth exposed. You, the two of you, three when your friend returns…” They didn’t know how he knew of Aryu. Stroan telling him seemed most likely. A man with wings isn’t easily forgotten. “You may be the last of your people, last of your home. I’ve heard of your quest. I know you are men of the world.” A glance at Esgona. “All of you. These others with us still try to live behind the veil of the past, present company excluded of course.” Seraphina nodded but said nothing. “They can’t know what we know. They can’t see the world as we all do now. Look at me. Here I ride, side by side with a man I swore to be my enemy for all my natural life until only a short time ago. We must change. The world demands it of us.”
The words struck each of them as he spoke, but to Johan they were the strongest. To hear the thoughts and fears he’d given voice was overwhelming, and he found himself looking blindly in the dark for Seraphina’s hand.
