The door to the building opened, and a familiar figure walked in. It was Takuya Imai. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dead silence greeted his appearance. A blast of smoke and heat entered through the door with Takuya, announcing his presence far more effectively than any spoken word. Everyone looked up, stared at him, and said nothing. Several orcs entered the building with Takuya, and then shut the door. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGideon,\u201d Takuya called, spotting him in Dan\u2019s cell and walking to the door. \u201cGood. I was wondering if you would make it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dan couldn\u2019t help but notice that Takuya wasn\u2019t bound, and that the orcs walked behind him with their weapons sheathed. He was no prisoner. Gideon seemed to notice this too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou traitorous rat!\u201d he bellowed, flinging himself at Takuya. The bars stopped his progress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Takuya laughed. \u201cGuilty as charged,\u201d he said lightly. \u201cOnce I knew that Utgar meant to take Hyleran, and that the city stood no chance, I had a choice to make: I could either close the gates and die in a fire, or join Utgar and profit from his victory. I chose the latter.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou honorless\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes, yes,\u201d Takuya said, interrupting Francois. \u201cI know. I have no honor. Pause for a moment, though, and note that I stand here before you, alive and free. Note also that you are the ones stuck in a cell. Who was smarter?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dan glared at Takuya. How could he have once thought the old samurai had a point? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve come to make you all an offer,\u201d Takuya said. \u201cUtgar himself gave me authority to offer this to you, so listen well. I\u2019ll only say it once. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUtgar is perfectly willing to send home any who wish it. If you join him now, you will receive a full pardon, and be sent back once all of the amulets are secured. If you wish to remain in Valhalla, Utgar will gladly provide you with land, and summon any family or loved ones you want to join you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was a pause. How many times would Dan be offered his horizon? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you do not<\/em> join Utgar,\u201d Takuya continued, seeming to relish every word, \u201cthen every last one of you will be slain without mercy. You must choose now. If you refuse, and then decide that the offer sounds better than you originally thought, you will be too late.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n There was silence. Caela continued to cry quietly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat about her?\u201d Dan asked, pointing to Caela. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe had her chance,\u201d Takuya said without sympathy. \u201cShe served Vydar, and then showed her true colors when he attacked the alliance. She is a traitor, and Utgar will deal with all traitors accordingly.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA traitor? What\u2019s Vydar then?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYour answer, Dan,\u201d Takuya said. \u201cThis offer expires when I leave.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Silence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet me add a little incentive,\u201d Takuya said. \u201cUtgar\u2019s armies are vast, and his commanders stretched thin. If you refuse to join him, he may not be able to control his soldiers. He won\u2019t be responsible for any misfortunes which may befall you at their hands.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n A few of the prisoners looked like they were considering Takuya\u2019s offer. Others merely glared at him, their answer clear. Dan glared at Takuya as well, but not for the same reason. He had just realized something about the old samurai. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Takuya was content. No, that was the wrong word. He was complacent<\/em>. He didn\u2019t want anything else. He was happy to side with whoever happened to be winning, perfectly happy to stay put in Hyleran. He was the complete opposite of Dan, who could never be confined, and always needed something new. In fact, now that he thought of it, the person Takuya was most like\u2026 was actually Heleer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It sounded ridiculous, but it was true. They were both complacent, both happy to stay put and pass up any opportunity which would change things. Takuya didn\u2019t care what happened in the war as long as he got to stay in Hyleran and grow fat off of its food. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This realization only confused Dan further. He wanted Heleer. No, he needed<\/em> Heleer. This was the last chance he would get to see her again. But it would mean forsaking his friends. It would mean abandoning them to Vydar. It would mean simply walking away, and leaving them to die. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ana wouldn\u2019t have done that. Dan had sworn he would be like Ana. But still, he needed Heleer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ana or Heleer? Ana or Heleer? <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo.\u201d It was Jaseff who spoke. Everyone, including Dan, looked at him in surprise. \u201cNo,\u201d Jaseff repeated, his voice quiet. \u201cYou\u2019ve forgotten one thing, Takuya.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd what\u2019s that?\u201d Takuya asked, a false smile on his face. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe can still win this,\u201d Jaseff said. He hadn\u2019t stood up, but spoke to Takuya from the floor of his cell. There was something in his voice, something which made Dan turn and look in his direction. It wasn\u2019t confidence. It was almost as if he was realizing something, and speaking as he did so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe alliance isn\u2019t gone, not yet.\u201d The words came slowly, but with each sentence, Jaseff sounded more sure of himself, more sure that he was right. \u201cAs long as Einar still draws breath, as long as there is a single soldier who is loyal to the alliance and what it stands for, as long as there are those who still believe in a free Valhalla\u2026 there is still hope.\u201d Dan saw him look up at Takuya. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou had a choice, Takuya,\u201d Jaseff said. \u201cWhen you found out Utgar was coming, you had a choice.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Takuya said nothing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou could do nothing. You could let Utgar win, and hope that he pardoned you. Or you could fight.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFight for what?\u201d Takuya laughed. \u201cSome false sense of honor? A foolish hope that we would win? The battle was lost before it began, Jaseff.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jaseff shook his head. \u201cNo, it wasn\u2019t,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cNo battle is lost before it begins.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen, then?\u201d Takuya asked, his voice mocking. \u201cWhen your lifeless bodies lie on the ground?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jaseff stood. \u201cNot even then. A battle isn\u2019t lost when the odds are against you, or even with defeat. A battle is lost when only one thing happens.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd what\u2019s that?\u201d Takuya asked, a satisfied smile on his face. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jaseff turned and looked at Dan. \u201cYou lose,\u201d he said, \u201cwhen you have to choose between waiting for something to happen, and making it happen.\u201d Dan recognized his own words. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jaseff turned back to Takuya. \u201cThat\u2019s<\/em> why you should have fought, Takuya. That\u2019s why your men did<\/em> fight: because they knew that the war rested not with Utgar, or how many were in his army, but the choice that they made. Every fight rests on a single choice. And I\u2019ve made mine.\u201d Jaseff glared at Takuya. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m tired of waiting. I want to defeat Utgar, and I will.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n There was a moment of silence as Takuya and Jaseff stared at each other. And then a samurai in Jaseff\u2019s cell got to his feet. And then another at the far wall. And then another. Soon nearly everyone was standing, echoing Jaseff\u2019s response. They shouted their anger to Takuya\u2019s face, determination burning in their eyes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dan was not among them. He had heard Jaseff\u2019s words, and felt his longing for Heleer increase. Victory was<\/em> still possible. He could still see Heleer, if he chose to. All he had to do was say yes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But then he looked at Jaseff, and saw a determination there he had never seen before. In his face a light burned, and Dan realized Jaseff had changed. He was still afraid, he was still cowardly, but he had chosen to be brave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And Dan had inspired him to make that choice. He had. He had given Jaseff hope that he could still be brave, even without Trela. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dan glanced behind him, to where Caela still sat, head bowed, knees drawn up to her chest, no longer crying, but now silent. She had no hope. She was defeated, seeing no way out. He had been like that once, a very long time ago: trapped, not even knowing that he was a prisoner. There had been no hope for him. No hope for a better future. Until\u2026 Darren had come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Darren had opened his eyes. Darren had shown Dan a glimpse of what awaited him, and what could be his, if he but fought for it. Dan looked at Caela with pity. No one deserved that. No one deserved to be devoid of hope, to be lost with no chance of a better future. It was there. The better future was just waiting for someone to claim it. Dan knew it was. Caela just couldn\u2019t see it, just as he hadn\u2019t been able to see it. Well, Darren had opened Dan\u2019s eyes, but he wasn\u2019t here. Dan was. And right now, Caela was him, and he was Darren. She needed to see her horizon. They all did. Only then could they choose to fight for it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd you?\u201d Takuya said quietly, causing Dan to quickly look back at him. \u201cYou haven\u2019t spoken. What is your choice, Dan?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dan looked into Takuya\u2019s eyes. This would be his last chance to see Heleer. This would be his last chance to achieve his horizon. But if he had learned anything on this world, it was to live for others, not yourself. Caela needed him. His friends needed him. The whole alliance needed him. He wouldn\u2019t leave them blinded, surrounded by walls of despair, unable to get out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He looked Takuya full in the eyes, and then said one word: \u201cNo.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then he raised his gloves, and unleashed a blast of energy straight into Takuya\u2019s smug face. The door to the building opened, and a familiar figure walked in. It was Takuya Imai. Dead silence greeted his appearance. A blast of smoke and heat entered through the door with Takuya, announcing his presence far more effectively than any spoken word. Everyone looked up, stared at him, and said nothing. Several orcs entered … Continue reading Chapter Fifty-Five – Resolve<\/span>
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