“The Prophet Jaakob certainly had a lot to say about the Divine Ages,” Indenuel said.
“A truly gifted individual. He saw into ages we can only dream of,” Navir said. Indenuel picked up the slip of paper at the front of the book. “Ah, yes, a hundred years ago one of the High Elders organized this book. Page numbers, key moments he mentioned, things like that.”
Indenuel lifted the page closer to the light. The book was broken into eight sections. The Warrior, The Princess and the King, The Nobleman, The Twins, The Prophet, The Generals, the Spring Ball, and The Savior’s Coming.
He stared at the book, the realization hitting him. Here, on this desk, was incredible knowledge of the future. The next hundreds of years was there, maybe even a thousand.
“Shall I leave you to your studying?” Navir asked with a small smile on his face.
He glanced at Navir before turning the page and seeing the heading.
The Warrior.
Indenuel swallowed before he got comfortable in his chair and began to read. Navir got up and entered the library, placing the parchment back and returning with another book for himself.
There was about a hundred and fifty pages dedicated to the Warrior. It was the strangest reading experience Indenuel ever had. Jaakob described Lucia in detail not only physically, but also in the way she fiddled with her fingers when she got nervous, the tired yet hopeful look in her eye, and the quiet yet resilient woman she was.
She will run away to a small village to keep her secrets and her shame to herself and not spread them to her family. Despite the gossip of the village, no one will know she is raising the Warrior. Not even the boy himself.
Indenuel licked his dry lips, wondering if Lucia had living family. Whenever he asked her about them, she simply told him they all died. But what if that, too, was a lie?
Indenuel kept reading. There were moments Jaakob described which awakened memories. He could see his village in his mind’s eye through Jaakob’s words. As it described the hurt the Warrior would go through as he tried to hide his powers, it sent a chill through his spine. This prophet knew him personally, even if Indenuel never knew of his existence until today.
Jaakob spent most of his time describing Indenuel growing up. When it got to when he would be discovered, he again felt as though Jaakob simply watched his life unfold the past couple months.
He will be discovered a month after his mother’s death. His village will be on the brink of starvation and extinction when he will finally reveal himself and his powers.
Indenuel winced again, wondering if Jaakob knew the actual reason why Mountain Pass was about ready to die. In fact, a lot of the times he used corruptive powers were never talked about. Despite Jaakob seeing everything else in his life, the corruptive powers were never mentioned. Not even once.
He will leave his town with the High Elder as his only companion as they make their way to the capital.
Indenuel froze, staring at that sentence. He read it again and again, a growing dread in his stomach.
“So…” he paused, then placed the book gently down on the table. “So, Martin knows this prophecy?”
Navir looked up from his reading, raising an eyebrow. “Of course he does. All of us have studied these words, especially the prophecy of the Warrior. We practically have it memorized.”
Indenuel tapped the table with his finger, feeling uncomfortable about the thoughts in his head. “Martin knew he and I were the only ones that would leave Mountain Pass?”
Navir frowned. “I don’t follow.”
“I wanted the children to come,” Indenuel said. “I practically begged Martin for them to come with me.”
“Ah,” Navir said. “I see. Yes, Martin most likely followed the prophecy to the letter.”
“They should have come with me. There could have been a way,” Indenuel said, feeling his voice rise in anger.
“Well, the laws of the land remain. The children needed to stay with their rightful guardian, which is the healer in the town.”
“You don’t know the healer of my town,” Indenuel said, his voice quiet. “Martin should have told me. He should have said we needed to follow the prophecy.”
“Oh? And what would you have said to all that?” Navir asked.
He sighed, glaring at the book in front of him. “That it was full of sh-” he stopped, looking at Navir. “That there could have still been a way those children could have come with me. We weren’t alone the entire time. Martin’s family joined us. They weren’t in the prophecy either.”
“‘They will gain a small following of individuals, some who will help strengthen the Warrior physically, emotionally, and religiously as they travel to the City’s capital,’” Navir said, pointing at the book.
He frowned, then glanced down and sure enough, a few lines later, was verbatim what Navir said.
“So, in essence, Martin made me leave those children behind because they weren’t mentioned in the prophecy?” Indenuel asked, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.
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Navir noticed his tone, sitting up a little straighter. “I believe Martin would be the best person to ask that, as I cannot pretend to know what he was thinking.”
Indenuel sighed before picking the book up again. The last forty-five pages described his training and growing into his calling as the Warrior, even his struggle with the sword. He waited for Jaakob to write about his experience hurting the recruit with corruption, but it was never there. A slow, yet steady growth in the sword was all it said. Could Jaakob see instances of corruption? If he was a prophet, he might not have been able to see it. He might have only seen the good.
He'd seen my heartache, Indenuel thought. He would have seen the corruption, too.
Corruption is different than heartache. Corruption is evil.
Indenuel chewed his bottom lip, shame creeping to his cheeks again. He came to the last few pages for the Warrior.
The Warrior will grow strong, as will his powers. Despite his slow yet steady growth in his sword, he will study for months before he realizes he already knew everything he needs.
Indenuel frowned. That paragraph seemed so confusing and vague. What is that even supposed to mean? That he actually didn’t have to study the sword? He doubted that.
The final battle will be grueling. He will stand, alone, against an army of five hundred.
Indenuel was sure he’d tare his entire bottom lip off with his gnawing. Alone? He would be alone? But that wasn’t possible. Tolomon said he would be there at the final battle. The only reason why Tolomon wouldn’t be there would be if he…
His gaze fell on the crack in the door, to where Tolomon waited just outside before he forced himself to keep reading.
His powers and his sword will be at their strongest. Him against five hundred. He will have suffered great losses but will remain focused on his duties to the Master of us All, and it is through His power the Warrior will vanquish the army in a single night, and the world will know a peace it hasn’t felt in a long while.
He shut the book like there was a bug crawling in it he wanted to kill. Navir glanced over his own book. “Indenuel?”
He breathed deeply, again looking at the crack in the door. Tolomon, sensing the urgency, looked through and met his gaze. It was one thing to read this, another thing entirely to realize it was part of his future. Him? Alone? Against five hundred? Impossible!
Tolomon opened the door even wider, his gaze hopping from Indenuel to Navir, waiting to be commanded.
Navir slowly rose. “It’ll be fine.” He squeezed Indenuel’s hand. “He was right about everything else, so he will be right about this, too. You will win. You will bring peace to us all.” Navir was probably trying to comfort him, but honestly, Indenuel was more worried about what this meant for Tolomon, the man who would never leave his side.
He still stared at his bodyguard, terrified. The Warrior would suffer great losses. That’s what it said. Tolomon gave him a curious look.
“Alright, that’s enough for today.” Navir moved the book closer to him. “You still need to recover. Go home, get some rest.”
Indenuel nodded again, blinking as a warm tear fell down his cheek before he flicked it away. Was he really in that bad of a panic? Navir led Indenuel toward the door before returning for the book, picking it up like it was a baby, heading back toward the library.
“I shall have the guards return to their posts,” Tolomon said.
“Yes, thank you,” Navir said.
Tolomon bowed before they headed up the spiral staircase.
I can’t know for sure. It could mean a number of things. It doesn’t mean Tolomon’s going to…
As soon as the guards disappeared downstairs to their posts, Indenuel couldn’t keep it in any longer. He leaned against the wall in the worship hall, taking steady breaths. Him against five hundred. Five hundred Kiamese soldiers. All alone. Without Tolomon.
“What do you need of me?” Tolomon asked.
Indenuel reached out blindly, taking his arm. Indenuel shouldn’t say a word. Not a hint, not anything, but he needed the assurance. “Please don’t leave my side. In the final battle, please be there.”
A flicker of realization crossed Tolomon’s eyes. “I will do my best.”
“I can’t do it without you.”
Tolomon tried to smile. “If the prophecy says you’ll do it, then you’ll do it. Doesn’t matter if I’m there or not.”
He closed his eyes, once again reminded they were at war. People died in war.
“Look, the truth is, Graduates may be incredibly skilled soldiers, but we are soldiers, all the same.” Tolomon’s voice was low and had a brotherly quality to it. “People consider me a legend because no other Graduate has lasted past the age of thirty-five, and here I am, two years shy of forty. Whatever happens, whatever you read, I’m not worried. I know what I signed up for.”
Indenuel nodded because he didn’t trust himself to speak. Tolomon helped him stand up a little straighter. He forgot he still had a hold of Tolomon’s arm, so he let go and dried his eyes. There was no proof. Jaakob never specified why the bodyguard of the Warrior would somehow be missing from the final battle, and he tried not to spend any more time worrying about it. Yes, Jaakob knew about Indenuel and Lucia, but maybe there was a reason Tolomon wasn’t mentioned. It didn’t have to mean death.
***
Martin walked into Navir’s study and saw him, Fadrique, Dalius, and Cristoval already there.
“What took you so long?” Fadrique asked.
“I came as quickly as I could,” he said, not in the mood to get into a conversation with Fadrique today.
“Shut the door. This is important,” Navir said. Martin shut the door. “Indenuel has been in the High Elder’s library.”
Martin’s eyes widened. “How? None of us told him.”
“Captain Luiz apparently told him,” Navir said. “I made sure to be as gracious as I could so he wouldn’t get suspicious, and we’ve figured out a system. He’s to stay in the reading room and we will bring books to him, which means we still get to choose what he reads, and we never give him any suggestions of what to look for.”
“Did he read anything?” Martin asked.
“The Divine Ages, and Prophet Jaakob’s expansion of the Warrior.”
Martin nodded. “We probably should have given him that first. It’s good for him to know those prophecies.”
“But not good that he knows about the library. We are still to act as though there is no library. As far as Indenuel is concerned, the Divine Ages are the only thing in there. Understand?”
Martin nodded again. He couldn’t imagine what kind of stress Navir had been placed under with Indenuel sitting right there, knowing exactly what was in the library behind him.
Navir sighed, sitting down in his chair. “The prophecy scared him enough I’m hoping he doesn’t come back for a while.”
Concern trickled into Martin’s soul. “The prophecy scared him?”
Navir shrugged. “I have no idea. He was shaking when he left.”
“I know that look. Don’t ask him about it, Martin,” Dalius said. “We can’t do anything that will remind him of the library.”
Martin placed his hands in the sleeves of his robes. “I won’t bring it up unless he brings it up first. You have my word. I’m not trying to keep the library secret, I know what is in there. If the prophecy scared him, then the rest will terrify him.” It was the only reason why Martin kept the words of the library sacred. His mind again went through the long list of doctrines that had shaken him as a High Elder. He was looking out for Indenuel’s state of mind.
“Oh, he will bring it up to you,” Navir said. “That’s the other reason why I held this meeting. He was annoyed you left the children behind because the prophecy said it would just be you and him.”
Martin sighed, drawing it out before nodding. “Alright.”
Fadrique smiled. “Good luck tackling that tantrum.”
He said nothing, simply giving Fadrique a smile before he turned and left. He couldn’t worry about Indenuel right now. There were other things on his mind.