A New Ally

Xanthos was starting to worry about Korax. Cordia had taken him in the middle of the night again and they couldn't find him. But there was nothing he could do, or rather, know to do. Jaxx knew this, having been lurking in the background making sure that his theory was right, to go see Xanthos. He walked all the way to the General's office from the Med Center, where he's stationed, which was kinda far to be honest. He walks into the office / tent and says, "General Black, I know what predicament you are in, and I can help you."

"Wait... you're telling me... that you're...?" Xanthos says, surprised. Jaxx nods, relieved that he didn't panic. Xanthos pauses, then nods. "Makes some sense, considering your hair and eyes... and blood..." Jaxx's hair and eyes are silver... as is his blood. He nods.

"You cannot tell anyone. Not a soul. Or... as we agreed on before..." Xan nods again, looking down at the floor.

"So... Cordia is a slaver of sorts? He was about to put the finishing touch on that mark as you said, but before he could, you... and he's gonna do the same with Korax?" Jaxx nods again.

"Cordia has only been doing this for a few years, and I have been warning all the boys he has been trying to make into his own personal slaves, for things usually not pleasant, and the beatings breaks the will of them, making them more susceptible to what he does to them, and after maybe a month or two, he will brand them. Like what he did with me. But after they recover, they get branded again, but from what I've heard, it is laced with a type of potion or enchanted with some sort of magic and it makes them like his slaves, again, for unpleasant things." Xan doesn't respond for a moment and then he sighs.

"God this wouldn't have happened if..." He mumbles. Jaxx rolls his eyes, thinking 'Humans... so dramatic...'

"It is not your fault, General." Xan frustratedly sighs.

"Yes it is! How wouldn't it be?" Jaxx sighs, frustrated that humans clearly cannot handle the fact that things happen no matter what.

"Things happen. Deal with it." Xan sighs and looks up at Jaxx.

"So what do we do?"

I sit in my tent, having not been in it for a long time, and try to think about what had happened with my vision the other day. All I've been able to figure out is that it only happens when I'm angry. I try to remember the things I've read about cases where when people experience extreme emotion that something physically changes inside them. But I don't remember anything like what I experienced. I cross my legs and open a bag of things I was allowed to bring with. I opened it and pulled out a picture of me and my parents before I left. They looked so happy. I smile and put it down and pull out a book.

'Wait, this wasn't here before...' I think to myself as I look at the cover of it. Leather, slightly worn. I look for any signs of what it is, but can't find any. I open it and it's like some sort of personal journal. I start reading.

I may never meet who they are, but all I can hope is that they are safe. I just want someone, anyone, to know this. I need to find him before they do, Otherwise... everything would be lost, and our world would be destroyed as if it were no more than a meteor burning through the atmosphere. This is the only reason I'm still living, I must do this, or I may never meet Zuli, and that is a fate I do not want to experience. Things are depending on me, and I have no idea if I will ever find someone that fits it. Praise to Zuli that I do, or else all will be lost.

I close the book. "What the hell was that...?" I toss it off to the side and pull out a book that I had brought here to remember my family. It's just a small one, but it has all the memories of my life at home contained within. I opened it and saw a picture of a very young version of me running through one of our fields, and mom had written underneath it 'My precious child, running around happily' and I smiled sadly. The pain of having not seen my family for at least a month or more finally hits me, but I take a deep breath and try not to let it show on my face, even though I'm alone. Suddenly, someone opens the flap to my tent, and I turn and look at them, closing the book as I do and pushing it into my bag. "What?" I say.

"Come with me. My name is Jaxx. I have a lot of information for you."

"Wait, so you're a Zulis ? But aren't they all dead?" I say to Jaxx. He nods.

"Yes and quite possibly I am the last one. We may live for an outrageously long time but we still can be killed. We got caught up in this war same as you, and some of us support the Cordraxians and some the Gragzuls. But there was quite a lot of racism against us Zulis because Cordraxians, much like humans, tend to treat things that are different from them with hate or disgust. But, there's nothing to be done about that, and now I am probably the last of my kind." He doesn't sound impressed or happy about that at all, and me and Xan just look at the floor.

"But," Jaxx says, "we have to do something about Cordia. I have tried for years to get him out of this army, anything other than killing him, but my options are growing slimmer by the day. Any ideas?" Xan and I look up at each other, our eyes meeting, both with the same emotion in them. Mischief.

"Are you serious? You think that is going to work?" Jaxx says, sounding surprised. Xan and I nod, smiling. "I have never thought of doing that, so maybe it will work." Jaxx pauses. "Maybe. Cordraxians may be clever but I still doubt your thinking capabilities compared to those of my own." Me and Xan roll our eyes.

"Whatever. We just need to do it, and carefully at that. This could lead to an all out camp brawl if we mess up one little part. The Devil's in the details." I say. Jaxx nods back.

"Seems we have a plan."

We walked to the area where Cordia's tent was. We planned to just make it so that he would get confused or stuck, and then we would swoop in and grab him before he could go anywhere. It was a rather elaborate trap, but we aren't sure if it'll actually work. We set it up and waited. After a while, Cordia walked into his tent, which set off the trap, but instead of doing what we thought he was gonna do, he walked out of his tent, a giant red mark on his face, clearly pissed, and yells, "Who the FUCK put a hot iron in my tent, hitting me in the face? Huh?" All the men in the area walk out of their tents, and look around at each other, confused. They know no one's stupid enough to do that, but someone clearly did. Cordia's face contorted with anger. "Who did it?! I bet it was you!" He points at the person across the little path from him. "You've always hated me!" He storms over to the guy and decks him, knocking him to the ground. Everyone flinches and the person next to Cordia shoves him as someone helps the guy he punched up.

"What the Hell is your problem? None of us did anything!" Cordia proceeds to punch him, and he falls down. I look at Xanthos and Jaxx. Xan is frowning slightly, and Jaxx is downright unimpressed.

"I told you this might not work." He says, a slight growl in his voice.

Finally, to make it seem as though he just got here, Xanthos, having run to the end of the tent lines, and runs over. "Hey! HEY!" Xanthos yells, and he prys someone off Cordia. "What the Hell is going on here? Huh??" They all look at the ground, most bleeding in various places, and Xanthos glares at Cordia. "Can you tell me what the Hell is going on here?" Cordia doesn't say anything, looking at the ground. "That's what I thought. My tent. 9 AM. Don't be late. Your enlistment is on the line." The steel in Xanthos' voice is almost terrifying. "Now, get out of here. Now!" Cordia walks away. "The rest of you," Xan looks at the rest of the men, "go to the Medical Center and get yourself patched up." They shamble off, slowly, some limping. After a bit, Jaxx and I walked over to him. "That was a lot..." Xan says. I nod and watch the men walk away. I notice my vision is tinted red again, and Jaxx looks at me and speaks.

"Are you feeling well Adraxian? You look unwell." I look away quickly.

"I'm alright, just a bit stunned about how many guys Cordia fought. I mean, it was basically this whole tent row, so..." Jaxx nods.

"I would assume so."

As Xan, Jaxx, and I walk to the rank house to go get some food, because the lunch call rang out, I see Korax. I go over to him. He looks at me, smiles weakly, and keeps walking.

"Hey," I say calmly, "you alright?" He nods silently. "You sure?" I say. He nods again. I look at him skeptically but don't say anything. I go back over to Xan and Jaxx and sigh. "Something...," I say, "isn't right with him." Jaxx looks at me.

"Well, he was being beaten to break his will and going to become Cordia's slave, so..." I look at him, and he looks away, something making him back down. My vision is a slightly darker red, and I feel something I've never felt before gathering in the pit of my stomach. I slow down and Xan looks at me.

"Are you okay? You are looking like you might get sick." I nod, taking several shallow and shaky breaths and I suddenly collapse, passing out.