Ground of oam oams cry, p.1
Ground of Oam (Oam's Cry), page 1
Ground of Oam
P. A. Lackey
Copyright 2013 Andrew Lackey
Cover art by Nicole Lackey
Prologue
Chapter One: Compass In Hand
Chapter Two: In the Presence of the Oam
Chapter Three: A Monster In The Shadows
Chapter Four: To War or Not To War
Chapter Five: Head Wound
Chapter Six: Something Felt in the Distance
Chapter Seven: It Was All Intended to happen
Chapter Eight: Lost In The Battle Field
Chapter Nine: Reduced To Rubble
Chapter Ten: The Orbule Eye and Escape
Chapter Eleven: Worse Than Death
Chapter Twelve: Tregger Woodshaw and the Pretty People
Chapter Thirteen: Nigarious the Prince of Raiders
Chapter Fourteen: The Memory
Chapter Fifteen: Reconsider Your Enemy
Chapter Sixteen: Supper With The Enemy
Chapter Seventeen: Second Day Escape
Chapter Eighteen: Unexpected Help
Chapter Nineteen: Cooperation
Chapter Twenty: To the Top of Mount Pieriom
Chapter Twenty One: Old Place of Residence
Chapter Twenty Two: Infiltrated
Chapter Twenty Three: The Crossed Out
Chapter Twenty Four: The Mandy Residence
Chapter Twenty Five: Something Gone Wrong
Chapter Twenty Six: The Line Crossed
Chapter Twenty Seven: Warned To Flee
Chapter Twenty Eight: The Passage On the Arch
Chapter Twenty Nine: An Unknown Enemy
Chapter Thirty: Into the Great Fortress
Chapter Thirty One: A table of Riddles
Chapter Thirty Two: An offer backed by Threat
Chapter Thirty Three: The Imposter
Chapter Thirty Four: Something’s Changed
Chapter Thirty Five: A Ray of Hope
Chapter Thirty Six: Red Shadow
Prologue
Kinie Bralik moved across the forest floor quietly. He barely made a sound as his feet landed on the wet earth. The trees were tall and overcrowded the forest, and the sky could barely be seen through the glimmering tree tops. It was something to gaze at in amazement. Something the human eye would rarely ever see.
The trees were surrounded by a shimmering mist of pollen, and it caused the forest to have a sort of glow. It was beautiful, but deadly to some. People who had an extreme allergic reaction could die within just a couple of days. Tall pine trees were scattered through the forest along with the large Galback trees with their long strands of leaves hanging down from their branches like a weeping willow. The leaves were a bright yellow that also seemed to glow while the white trunks of the trees were thick as they twisted upward to the sky. There were many other types of trees that grew there as well, adding to the scheme of colors. The forest floor was covered in bright green foliage, some of it shimmering yellow like the trees above them. Wildflowers grew among it as well, covering the forest floor with numerous kinds of colors ranging from purple, red, pink, blue, and many others.
Although a peaceful and calming view, Kinie still felt uneasy, expecting something to jump out at them at any moment. He didn't always like all the traveling they did, but his father told him that it was necessary. He trusted his father and he knew the man would never let anything happen to him. His father was a couple of feet ahead of him remaining cautious as he always was.
Kinie was only ten years old, but he probably knew how to survive in the wild better that any other child his age because his father taught him everything he could. Kinie loved his father a lot although he wasn't his real father. He had been separated from his real family a long time ago. He didn't quite remember how it happened, just that it was a dark and dreadful night.
His whole family had been ill and his mother completely insane. It was an oppressive place they were in, but one day he somehow got out. Whether it was by his own will or something else, he couldn’t remember. Kinie missed his family, but he was still thankful to be free. The man he now called his father had found him and took him in after he discovered his amazing ability. No one knew what it was, but he was different. Kinie didn't know the name of the man whom he called father because the man never told him. He just told Kinie to call him father or dad.
The two of them kept moving through the forest quietly just like they always did. It was silent this morning. There were no sounds of birds or any kind of wildlife; Kinie knew that it either meant there was nothing around or that something was stalking them.
His father kept looking back from time to time making sure Kinie was still there. He considered Kinie as his own son and he loved him as much as Kinie loved him. The man would never abandon him like he did his other son. He regretted that decision from day one. He used to do everything with his true son, but one day he thought it would be best for him if he left. He thought it would protect him, but now he knew how foolish he had been. His son had been the only thing he had left and he gave him up. Kinie was like his second chance, and he refused to make the same mistake twice.
He wondered where his true son was at now. What was he like? He would be a young man now, and he wondered if his son had become the man he had wanted him to be. His son had always talked about how he wanted to explore the Islands and make new discoveries with him. It was his life's dream. Was his son even alive, the man wondered.
He felt a surge of emotional pain go through him as the thought came. He couldn't believe it. He refused to believe it, yet it was still possible that his son was dead. It had been hard to live in those times. How could he have abandoned him at such a time? There were a lot of people out there that wanted him dead for what he knew, but he was stupid for thinking it would protect his son from these people by leaving him behind.
“Dad, where are we going this time?” Kinie asked. He was persistent in finding out. He always was.
“It doesn't matter. We just have to keep moving,” the man told him. It was the same response every time. It annoyed Kinie, but the man was too cautious about what he told him. The boy let out a sigh when he heard it.
“Quiet,” the man suddenly said, freezing in place.
Kinie froze, listening to his surroundings. He didn't hear anything, but he could tell that his father had heard something. He wouldn't become alert for nothing. The man slowly moved forward. He put his back against a tall pine tree and peeked around seeing that the ground sloped downward from there. The man looked back toward Kinie and motioned for him to come closer. Kinie did so carefully and the man got down on his knees facing him.
“Hide here. I'll be back,” the man told him. He didn’t like to leave the boy by himself, but it would be safer that way. He got up and walked off, soon disappearing through some bushes.
Kinie didn't like being left by himself, but he knew his father would be close.
Kinie got down on his belly and inched forward peeking through the thick foliage on top of the slope. He wanted to see what his father had been looking at and he spotted something a few yards forward. There was a large Galback tree and at its base was a man lying with his back against it. He looked as if he was seriously wounded and there was blood on his clothes as well as his face. He looked unaware of Kinie and his father; he just gazed off into the forest. Kinie could see his chest slowly rising and falling. He looked out of breath.
“Who’s there?” the man said, so suddenly that it made Kinie flinch.
The man was now alert but still leaned up against the tree. Kinie could tell that he must have been badly wounded. The man just stared straight ahead away from Kinie. He quickly raised up a small handgun toward the direction he was staring. Kinie's heart began to race.
“It's okay, I mean you no harm,” a voice said. Kinie recognized it as his father’s, and he saw his father step out from the trees in front of the man. His hands were raised showing that he was unarmed.
“Who are you?” the man asked, with the gun still pointed at Kinie's father.
“I am just a traveler passing through,” Kinie's father responded. “You are wounded, I can help you.”
His father was trying his best to get the man to lower his weapon. He studied the man to see that his lips were parched indicating that he had not had a drink for a while. The man’s clothes were covered in blood, but Kinie's father couldn't identify the wound that was causing the bleeding.
“How is that?” the man asked, his voice full of doubt and distrust. He didn't trust anyone much anymore. His only goal was to survive and finish his job. He hated being vulnerable like this.
“I use to be somewhat of a doctor,” Kinie's father replied, his hands still in the air.
Studying the man he tried to figure out where he was from and what he would be doing out so far from civilization. It was a dangerous place out here in the woods, and it was rare for a person to ever wander out alone. Plus, there was not much reason to do so.
Kinie still watched from a distance behind the bushes, his heart still racing in panic. He didn't want to see his father get hurt. Kinie didn’t know what he would do without his father, and he seemed to be the only person he had left in the world.
“How can I trust you?” the stranger asked, his hand holding tight to the gun.
He was ready to fire if Kinie's father made a wrong move. The stranger didn't know why the man who claimed to be “somewhat of a doctor” would be so far out in the woods. He studied the man carefully like the
“You don't look like you're going to live much longer,” Kinie's father quickly blurted out, when he saw him look toward Kinie's position. He didn't want Kinie's presence to be known, especially to a stranger. The stranger looked back toward him not noticing Kinie who was well hidden.
“You have nothing to lose,” Kinie's father continued, hoping that the stranger would listen and lower his gun.
There was nothing but silence for a while as the stranger seemed to ponder the thought. A slight breeze blew through the trees causing the leaves to rustle. It was the only thing that made a sound at the moment.
The sun was almost touching the middle of the sky making it nearly noon. The forest still shimmered with light and the Galback trees stood silently in the forest as if listening to the surroundings.
The stranger stared at Kinie's father. He then slowly lowered the gun, and it seemed that he was beginning to trust him. Kinie felt a little calmer now, but still worried for his father. He almost wished that they could just leave now. He hoped that they would, but his father started moving slowly toward the man, lowering his hands in the process. He knelt down next to the stranger.
“What happened to you?” Kinie's father asked.
The man didn't answer, but only stared at him still not sure what to tell him. He didn’t fully trust him yet.
“I need to know, if I am to help you,” Kinie's father demanded.
“I was attacked,” the stranger replied.
He wasn't willing to give out any more information than that, and he didn't know how much Kinie's father knew. He might not know about the type of creature that did it and if not, it might be better if it stayed that way.
Kinie's father lifted up the man’s shirt to check the wounds causing a cloud of pollen to be stirred up. The man was covered in the glowing mist of pollen that had settled on him. It was like a fine dust which layered the man’s clothes, except it was a bright shimmering yellow color.
It was the pollen off of the Galback trees. It would land on the other trees and pollinate the seeds. The interesting thing was that it didn't just pollinate other Galback trees, but any kind of plant that could take it in. This caused a wide variety of new species of plants which the forest was full of.
Kinie's father looked at the wounds. His whole body seemed to be bruised. There were clearly some broken bones, but most of the open wounds had stopped bleeding. The man was in horrible shape and it was as if something had tossed him around repeatedly. Kinie's father didn't quite know what could have done this, but he had a suspicion.
“How did you survive the attack?” Kinie's father asked with a lowered tone.
The stranger then realized that the man knew more than he had first thought.
“I killed it,” the stranger responded, confirming the man’s suspicion. He was curious to know how the man knew about the creature. His body ached when the supposed doctor studied the wounds.
“You killed it?” Kinie's father asked doubtfully. The thought of it seemed unbelievable because of how many had died trying to accomplish such a thing.
“How did you do that?” he continued, before spotting something that took his breath away. His muscles became rigid as soon as the answer came to him. “You're one of them.” It couldn't be, he thought.
Kinie still watched curiously. He could tell that something was wrong. Kinie couldn't hear much of their conversation except for a few fragments and he was beginning to feel uneasy. He watched as his father examined the man’s wounds. The two of them began to talk about something. Kinie didn't know what, but it seemed serious. It was as if the two of them had become allies all of a sudden. His father must have discovered something. Something that would make both men realize that they were on the same side. Kinie listened as hard as he could, but still got only fragments. He heard something about a mountain and something called an Orbule Eye.
Kinie hated not knowing what was going on. Sometimes his father would let him in on the secrets. But then, sometimes he wouldn't. The two men seemed to talk for a long time. Kinie then thought he heard one of them mention a name. Archaies was what he heard. Kinie was sure of it. Then he heard it said again.
His head began to ache all of a sudden. Once again he heard it, but now it wasn't from the two men who spoke. It was from someone else, or something else. Kinie began to hear many voices repeating the name. They were angry voices filled with hate. It was happening again. Kinie covered his ears trying to block out the sounds. It didn't work though because it came from inside his head. He tried to ignore it, but it was useless.
Meanwhile Kinie's father still spoke to the man unaware of Kinie's distress. He knew about Kinie's ability, but he wasn't sure what caused the flare ups. He knew that somehow it was connected to what was going on. Something involved with what his enemies were after. Kinie had the ability to see visions of the past, present, or future. That was how he was able to avoid his enemies so well, as well as learning information. It was always a random thing though. There was no predicting the flare ups.
Kinie still tried to block out the noises, but it had never worked before. When the visions came they came without warning. His head began to ache even more. Everything quickly went dark. The only thing that could be heard was the angry voices, but then they began to die out. Only a few remained. Then he thought he saw something. Soon all the voices were gone, and he only heard the silent breathing coming from someone. Kinie couldn't see much except for an iron door. It looked like he was in a dungeon of some sort. There was someone else there. He could feel him. He then realized that he was seeing out of someone else’s eyes. He was seeing what they were seeing. The man, whoever he was, just gazed at the iron door.
Kinie felt the man’s presence so well that it seemed as if he were there. He felt as if the man felt his presence as well. It was as if the man knew Kinie was watching. The iron door opened making a squealing sound. A figure stepped into the room and the door closed behind him.
The figure was tall, but Kinie couldn't make out any more details than that. He knew who it was though because he had seen this man before in his visions. A man with many names and faces, and Archaies was the name many knew him by. Kinie's father spoke of him a lot. He would say how dangerous the man was and he would talk about how he had been deceived by him like so many others. He told Kinie that he was dangerous to the humans, that he was their destroyer and was not to be trusted.
“Well, if it isn't Archaies the so called deliverer,” the man in the dungeon said.
“You know who I am?” Archaies asked, taking a few steps forward, his face still in the shadows. Kinie had never gotten a good look at him before because his face was always hidden in some way. He was cautious about showing his face, especially in the presence of this man to whom he spoke.
“I have known who you are for a long time,” the man responded. “I know that you were made to kill people like me and that you are the one that killed my master.”
“That was a long time ago, so let’s not hold a grudge,” Archaies responded. Kinie could see that a small smile formed on his face. Kinie felt hatred towards Archaies, and he could feel that the man whose eyes he looked through felt the same.
“Now, I suppose you know why I am here,” Archaies said.
“Yes, I do,” the man responded. “But it's hopeless, you won't get it. Besides I am no use to you. You should just kill me now.” The man almost seemed desperate to die, but not out of fear or despair. It seemed as if he wanted to die for revenge upon the man named Archaies.
“Now we both know that that would be a big mistake for me, and the others,” Archaies responded. “I believe that you can help me. Of course, either way I will get what I seek whether you do help or not. But if you do help me, then maybe I will work something out for you.”
The man seemed unconvinced. “Archaies, I am the last of my kind. Kill me and you will have completed what you were made to do.”
“Don't waste your time trying to fool me,” Archaies scolded. “We both know that you're not the last of your kind. There is still the remnant that escaped.”
