AMETHYST: The rise of Tetra

Chapter 26

    The council of Warmecks had existed from the beginning of time, and for generations the council had been selected based on the wisest of Warmecks. The flame itself would make the choice, and so it would be considered fair and appropriate. The Warmecks had a life that was far more organized and ready than any other on the planet, and despite existing in consciousness for years without wars, they knew now that this was the moment they had all been preparing for. Having heard the news of the upcoming war, the elders agreed to the meeting their commander had set up, and could only wonder what details had to be discussed now, being unaware that the great Alpha and Luna of Gloarian wished to train with the Warmecks and learn their ways. It had been a well known fact that this species on Tetra were certainly secretive of their lifestyle and training methods, and to open that to any other member of the planet, whether that be Ivory, Amethyst or Vermillion, would be a task that would be tough for the brave warriors. As born soldiers the Warmecks only shone with the ability of fighting, and to pass down their knowledge to an Ivory couple that were not only immortal, but had abilities they shouldn’t already seemed enough, so why did they need to learn to fight like the Warmecks? 

    Paulina had seen the potential in the special pair the minute they had walked in through the gates of their lands, though getting their mind in the right place and on track would be a process she would slowly ease them into, by tricking them into believing certain things that they wished not to face: such as the very fact that she would not take them under her wing if they failed the fights with the Warmecks. The truth was that the smart commander had already begun her training with the pair, and it all started with excavating the fighter spirit in them to use that for the rest of their training that would no doubt be tough. The council had been unaware of what they were to face, though Paulina knew without hesitation that this opportunity would only bring out more of the adrenaline within the couple, and that sooner or later the council would agree to their terms if they did a good enough job. It was all part of a plan the commander had kept to herself, and it was a plan she was damn well proud of as she saw it flourish with flying colours. The woman readied herself for the meeting, and set out to be entertained on another day to fool the exhausted couple and make them stronger. 

    Eliana and Razaar had suffered through several sleepless nights since the revelation of the war, and without the answers they needed there was no way the would be able to get the sufficient sleep they required, and so it happened that another night tossing and turning later, they rose to face a day of more battling. They had dressed in their usual uniform attire, eaten their breakfast, and headed together towards the office of the commander, avoiding the grazing of their hands knowing the thin line they were walking on. 

    Paulina had been expecting them, and upon their entry welcomed them with a nod of respect as she rose from her seat. 

    ‘I hope you are ready to face the council’ she stated, looking expectantly at the Hybrid leader. 

    ‘We are’ responded the leader, nodding her head plainly. In reality the pair were unsure of what they would be facing, and therefore knew not if they were, in fact, ready as the leader had stated, though with a straight face they followed the commander who travelled out of her office, and led the pair to the only Galon grounds on Tetran lands. 

    To do so, they climbed back down the mountain that had been the leftover pieces of an ancestral Doirekh, and did so with the same effort it took them to climb up in the first place. Paulina, along with her council, had descended the steepness with an ease that amazed the couple every time, though they carried on pretending they were doing alright, when in reality they were crumbling on the inside. 

    The challenges the Warmecks had set out for them had beaten all others they had encountered so far, including Lyra's devious actions, that they had -surprisingly- quite easily gotten past. Paulina’s elders had yet to make their introductions to the pair that were anxiously waiting for the day to be over and verdict to be on the table, though they were closer to that moment with each minute that passed. 

    As the familiar Galon came to view, a smile popped up on the pair’s face, and for some unknown reason they felt peace, knowing that for whatever reason, the flame would be there for them, and guide them in the direction they had constantly been pushed and shoved towards. Despite their rollercoaster of a journey with the flame it had somehow done more for them than the rest of their planet had. It was the very planet they were fighting for that had given them a hard time, and so they placed their fate in the one thing that despite the hardships had secured their drive, and pushed them forward in times where they were at their weakest. 

    Upon arriving, Paulina walked through the doors first, and bowed to the Galoness, whose eyes remained shut, though she opened the door of the courtrooms behind her, and allowed the individuals entry without a word of interaction. 

    Surprisingly, as Eliana was going by, the Galoness grabbed her hand, stopping her in her tracks and alarming the woman who had not been expecting it. 

    ‘Have faith’ was the only thing she whispered before letting go, allowing Eliana to go through. Razaar had been the only one to witness the scene, and with a frown of confusion stumbled in with his mate by his side, wondering how many riddles the flame would soon have to solve for them. What did the Galoness mean when she said “have faith?” Why were there so many unanswered questions that remained on the table?

    Regardless, the couple remained silent about it, and ventured to their seats in the courtroom, and Paulina tumbled into the seat of the spokesperson, curiously like Selina had. With the clearing of her throat, the commander then began the session.

    ‘Welcome everyone, to this hearing to discuss the training details for Mr Razaar Solonov, great Alpha of Gloarian and co- leader of the Hybrids and Miss Eliana Genova, leader of Hybrids and great Luna of Gloarian. Elder Sien and Elder Dren will be hearing your arguments today on whether or not you should be allowed to train with the Warmecks of the upcoming battle with the Vermillion. Before we begin, is there anything you would like to say?’ Questioned Paulina, thirsty to see the arguments the pair would make and get the strongest version out of them. She had known that her council members were certainly the toughest of them all, and they would do a good job building some sweat on the pair. Eliana and Razaar remained silent, and Paulina took that as her queue to proceed with the hearing. ‘Very well, Miss Genova and Mr Solonov, please select a speaker between the two of you and present your case’ she announced, and Eliana rose instantly, not allowing her mate the chance to do so. Though Razaar had known it would be best to leave his woman in charge, for she was, after all, a woman skilled with words. 

    ‘Thank you. I would like to start by saying that my mate, Razaar, and I were the very first ones to discover the hidden secrets of the Vermillion, and their intentions for the rest of the planet, and from then on it was only my mate and I, that planned to take the war to the strongest 6 of Zaleon. It was us who gathered the rest of the planet, and us who survived death and gained abilities we were not meant to. My point in all of this is that my mate and I clearly were born for something much larger, we have been at the root of this entire fight the whole time, and therefore we deserve to train with the Warmecks since without us this planet would be shoved at the brink of extinction’ she began, confident with her speech as she always was. Though little did the woman know that the Warmeck Elders were not as Sympathetic and influenced as the rest they had encountered. As she seated herself down, Elder Sien got the nod from Paulina to stand up and present his counter argument. 

    ‘Miss Genova, while we all appreciate that you and your mate have done a vast amount for this planet, let me ask you this: if you say that your mate and yourself have special abilities and immortality, then why is it that you must train with the Warmecks? Aren’t you already well equipped to fight the war to come? Why should the Warmecks train you? Why should we waste our time, that we could use to attack, and instead channel it to training you? If you have these special abilities then perhaps we should take it as a sign for the flame that you were born ready for this cause?’ The counter argument had been stronger than the Hybrid leader had expected, and just like that the woman was left speechless, for the first time in her life, for a good couple of minutes after. Elder Sien seated himself and as Pualina nodded at Eliana, she failed to stand up. The Alpha had noticed his mate’s discomfort immediately, and stood up in her stead, taking over as spokesman, something she was grateful for as all of a sudden the weight of the world came crashing down on her shoulders and she realised just how hard of a time she was having with her own people. 

    There they were, out to save the planet when the planet was not even willing to save them. Was it really worth it? Why were the immortal pair fighting so hard for a kind that perhaps didn’t deserve the care of the special pair. They were immortal, after all, it was true that they could get through the fight without dying, so why were they trying so hard to train and fight to the best of their abilities?

    ‘Elders, when we say we have abilities and are born for greatness, we do not mean it with arrogance, we only mean that we feel we have a greater purpose to fulfill, and that we clearly need your help to achieve it. After fighting two members of your own kind yesterday, we were defeated without a struggle, and it just goes to show how much training my mate and I lack, and need to be able to do our best in the upcoming fight. Miss Genova and I have to ensure the safety of the planet and destroy the system of the hierarchy that for years has dictated our lives now. We want to ensure that everyone on the planet lives, and the Vermillion can do no harm to anyone, that much has been made evident by the flame itself, but tell me: how are we supposed to follow through with that when we can’t even fight against the Warmecks? We are here because we want the greater good of the planet, not because of selfish reasons or to steal your skills and technique. We plead you to please rethink your decision, this is about the greater good of Zaleon, and for a successful war that is at large, nothing else.’ Razaar added, making somewhat of a difference to the expressions of the elders that sat on the other side of the courtroom. A moment of silence continued, and Eliana prayed to the flame that no counter arguments would be pushed, though as Paulina would have it, the struggle was not quite gone yet. 

    ‘We understand that, Mr Solonov, however, you have seen how the Warmecks fight, we are more than capable of protecting the planet from harm, then why should we waste our time training you when this is all we train for in life? We have the numbers and the skill, and could very well barge into war right now to come out on the triumphant end, what makes you think we should let you be the ones to train and take that right? How do we know what your larger purpose in life is? Perhaps your purpose was to gather the rest of the Amethyst, and that is why you are alive, Miss Genova. How are we supposed to take your word that you are doing this for the greater good of the planet?’ Elder Sien argued, and it helped the pair in no way, knowing that they were only crushing them with more and more opposing questions. 

    Paulina could see the pain on Eliana’s face, and despite sympathising with it she knew the woman would push through eventually, and only waited for that moment to arrive. Razaar had remained on his feet, ready to continue, noticing the lack of presence of his mate in the room, though before he could speak, the woman rose to her feet, and Paulina smirked, knowing that the best part was finally coming. 

    ‘We are both immortal, Razaar and I cannot die unless we are both killed at the same time, and our breaths end at the same time. This information was given to us by the flame, and was given to us in private, though I think it’s time you knew the truth. We were not afraid of death the first time we barged into battle, we were only thinking for our people. Now it is not any different. You could use this information to end us whenever you want, though ask yourselves why we got it in the first place. Why would the flame grant us this connection to begin with? Why give us abilities? You doubt us when we say we have a greater purpose, and perhaps it’s best if we leave the fighting to your kind, and all I’m going to say is that the Warmecks are all the best fighters and the bravest people I have ever met. You’re disciplined, you’re efficient and frankly unbeatable, but no one on Warmeck lands has the ability to live an immortal life so long as their mate lives, and that is proof enough that Razaar and I have a greater purpose. We have not been gifted with the ability to fight, because you have, and you should use that very knowledge as a sign to help us. This isn’t about us having an advantage over you, or taking away your spotlight, we are here, with a greater purpose to serve the flame and to save our people. We don’t care about anything else, because if we did have any evil intentions we wouldn’t be here, begging for your help, we would be with the Vermillion, threatening them to hand over their titles and taking over their lives, or perhaps joining them. Yet here we are, time and time again fighting with leaders to get them to listen to our needs. We have fought with every leader of Ivory, fought battles to win their trust, gotten seduced, thrown into turmoil time and time again and yet here we are, still fighting, still wanting to participate in this war. After everything we have endured in the past couple of months, ask yourself why Razaar and I are still here, fighting to be the best version of ourselves at the battle. I’ll tell you why, because we care about the people on this planet and the safety of it. If Razaar and I wished for anything else we would have given up ages ago, but we haven’t. We are managing with your strict rules of separation and anything else that comes in our way without opposing the idea of it. When we first arrived on your land we thought that our training was just a given, something that had already been approved, until we found out that it wasn’t. So Paulina told us to fight your kind, and despite knowing how futile it would be we did. Then we were told to come here and argue with you, and despite being exhausted to the core, here we are, so ask yourselves, why don’t we deserve to train with you? What have we done not to earn that right?’ Her speech had been the only thing Paulina wished to hear, and as the fighting spirit came out within the woman who was born truly for greatness, Paulina smiled, and the Elders took that as their sign to give in. The news of their immortality had been a great shock to them all, including Razaar who had not expected the word to be out so soon, though the woman had acted upon instinct, and it was one she certainly would not end up regretting. One way or another she would get through her challenges, and she would keep pushing till her very last breath. 

    Elder Sien nodded at Paulina, and with her smile she stood up, ready to finally deliver some good news to the pair. 

    ‘Miss Genova, you are a brave couple indeed, and you are right, there is so much potential in the two of you. You may not be able to fight, but I can tell that you are passionate, and that was all I was looking for. I hereby grant you permission to train with the Warmecks in the weeks leading up to the great war of Zaleon. Your mate and yourself will have joint training as I have explained, and we will take you through every individual creature of Crest, and equip you with the skills, tools and knowledge you need to defeat them. You may return back to our lands now, and get some rest for the rest of the weekend. You'll need all your energy when we start training, and I expect you to work this hard to achieve the outcomes we hope you will achieve. You have entrusted us with a secret that is significantly large, I appreciate that, and I give you my word that no one outside this room will know of it unless you want them to’ vowed Paulina, and for that the pair were grateful. Smiles had taken over their faces immediately as they released a breath of relief. 

    One more problem down, and now the only thing left between the war and them was their training. Having heard of it, they knew it certainly would not be easy, though they trusted that they would get through it like they did everything else so far, and the hope that had previously died down in their system revived with a certain energy that they cherished in that minute. 

    Eliana now understood the words of the Galoness, and was grateful that she did have faith indeed, and pushed herself to blatantly blurt her final speech that no doubt did the trick for the pair. So far she had been the most gifted with speeches, and her bluntness had been the key to her success, knowing that she did everything for the right reasons, and she truly only wanted the best for the rest of the planet. 

    Razaar could not have been prouder of his mate, and wished somewhere deep down he would be as gifted with words as his mate was,  though nevertheless he was glad to have her as a mate, and knew that with her by his side he would never have to worry about anything. 

    The news of the short period of freedom Paulina had granted them was perhaps the best news of all, even if they had to spend it partially apart from one another, at least they knew that part of the fight was over. Their next task would be to take the harsh training that Paulina would thrust upon them, but it was of essence if they were to beat the Vermillion. 

    Time was rushing forward and with each passing day the flame waited with great agony for the day the Vermillion would face the rest of the planet, and Eliana and Razaar would rise to fulfill their destiny once and for all. The Cassandra hidden in Eliana had so many times made an appearance, and Leopold could not have had enough of it, finally being able to feel her presence agan, even if she wasn’t really there.

    All he knew was that the very way Cassandra had saved him, so would Eliana do with Razaar, though ultimately the goal was for everything to end in the happy manner that poor old Leopold could not have with his Cassandra.