Free The Rising Sun: Episode 3 by J Hawk Page B

To our brotherhood … and to the empire
itself.”
     
    Tesmor, the Nyon master, gazed at the young
disciple before him. He nodded slowly, coming out of his thoughtful
reverie.
     
    “Thank you for bringing this to my
attention, my young disciple.” he said. “But I guarantee you, such
trivial issues are no cause for your anxiety and concern.”
     
    Mantra’s jaw hung open, with no words coming
out. He was clearly expecting a more serious take on this
issue.
     
    “Redgarn is a young, and quite honestly, a very accomplished member of our brotherhood.” said Tesmor.
“These are nothing but youthful ponderings of his and they will
pass. They shall be no cause for worries…”
     
    “But master,” said Mantra softly. “Surely
you don’t believe this is of no -”
     
    Tesmor held up his hand, shaking his head
gently. “I appreciate your concern and your alertedness for the
welfare of the pillars that keep our world together. Your heart is
in the right place. But do not let irrational anxieties cloud your
mind, Mantra.”
     
    “Irrational?” asked Mantra, the note of
alarm in his voice now growing louder. “Master Tesmor, I -” He
stopped, as if the words choked in his throat. Something daunting …
something terrifying seemed to brew deep within those familiar,
hazy eyes. “I don’t know how to explain this, but…” He looked away,
his eyes fluttering, as if in remembrance of a bad dream. “I fear …
dark stirrings around us, master. I can sense them. I can hear
whisperings of a breeding evil … waiting…” He stopped and pulled
himself together with a deep breath. “I can pick up the bodings of
a great darkness ahead. And that’s why this alarms me.” He turned
back to Tesmor, who was watching him with concern. “For it aligns
with this turbulence that I can sense, master.”
     
    “The brotherhood has endured for ages,
Mantra.” said Tesmor, with the tiniest hint of complacence in his
kindly voice. “Do you really believe that something can catch us so
unaware?”
     
    Mantra looked at Tesmor uncertainly, clearly
half in a mind to answer, ‘yes’
     
    “You fear that the Nyon, and the ancient
empire, both of which have stood across millennia, are now about to
face an imminent threat from the childish meanderings of one of our
own?” Tesmor shook his head and gave an airy chuckle. “The empire
cannot be de stabilised. And neither can the Nyon. We have both
stood the test of time. And if you believe that there some sort of
inner conspiracy brewing amidst us … and that too led by Redgarn,
the foremost and most admired of our new graduates,” He held up a
forefinger, wagging it in a nanny sort of way. “I know Redgarn as
well, Mantra. And he is one of the greatest prides of our
brotherhood. And great minds are meant to wander into thought,
bound to explore unopened territories of thought. They are meant to
test and try to build ideologies of their own. They are bound to
explore and reinvent old thought patterns.”
     
    “Master Tesmor,” Mantra shook his head, his
voice now growing heavy with desperacy. “This is not re invention,
this is madness! I was there, when he made this speech. He
declared, in front of a whole circle of our age group that the Nyon
were meant to rule, and that the empire was meant to serve us! That
the Kings of the empire had deluded us, and that we needed to rebel
against -”
     
    “Mantra, calm down.” said Tesmor, holding up
his hand. “Whatever he said to you, I believe is nothing of value.
And nothing worth worrying over. The group of you have just entered
full fledged Nyon-hood, and the stress of the new life must be
taking its toll on him. Give him time, and he will come back to
realise things himself.” He patted Mantra on the shoulder. “Redgarn
is the greatest of our students, and the gem of the new generation.
And want me to believe that he will turn against, and backstab us?”
He gave a firm shake of his head. “No. not Redgarn. Never.