Jeremy Laszlo - The Choosing

The twins walked down the path to where Ashton sat waiting patiently. They paused briefly, just long enough for him to put away his book and grab his things, then started off back down the trail, Ashton falling in alongside them. An hour passed with them walking in silence, the twins dwelling on their home, their father, their past. Ashton had inhaled loudly several times in this hour as if to say something, then thinking better of it decided to let the twins brood in silence. Again Ashton took a deep breath, hesitated, and tired of the gloomy silence continued.

“You guys have a very nice father.” Ashton stated whole-heartedly, and continued.

“He didn’t charge me a single copper to stay last night, nor did he charge me for my food or drink.”

Both Seth and Garret were looking at Ashton now, each with a small grin on their faces.

“You know…” Ashton continued. “You guys are really lucky.” Again the twins waited for Ashton to continue, looking at him with questioning glances. Ashton noted their looks and again continued.

“Twins are really rare. So it occurred to me that sure sometimes a kid might go to The Choosing with a neighbor, or a cousin, or even a good friend, but how often does anyone get to go with their brother or sister? It just seems to me that you guys are lucky kind of like you get to take a little bit of home, of normal everyday life with you.”

Garret thought on this a moment and nodded in response, his mood lifted a bit. Seth too pondered Ashton’s statement and realized that indeed he was quite lucky having his Garret along with him. Seth imagined what Ashton must have felt leaving home alone, traveling two days through the mountain passes alone until he reached Vineleaf.

“You know Ashton.” Seth began breaking his silence for the first time. “You are absolutely correct; we are indeed blessed to be twins. However, when I say it’s nice to not be going to The Choosing alone, I say it meaning not only am I glad to have Garret along as my brother, but to have you along as well as a friend.”

“That goes for me too Ashton.” Garret added.

Ashton smiled at them both, glad the silence was over. He had had enough silence traveling through the mountains by himself, he was glad to have company.

The three continued to talk, most of the day into early evening telling the stories of their lives up until this day. Seth spoke mostly for himself and Garret, with his brother adding in details he missed along the way. Ashton told too of his past with his family in Glenvale. His father had been a soldier in the armies of Valdadore, His mother a priestess of Lorentia, the Goddess of healing. When Ashton’s father was injured in battle, and near to death, he was given into the hands of Ashton’s mother to be watched over and taken care of. She had spent months healing his wounds, and in that time they had fallen in love. Not wanting to lose each other, and there initial enlistments to the Kingdom already passed, they left their services to the King and moved to Glenvale. Here they had two children, Alex, the eldest son now in service to the Kingdom, following his mother’s footsteps as a priest of Lorentia, and Ashton, the younger son, hoping to follow his mother’s and brother’s footsteps as well.

“How do you guys make a living?” Seth asked. “That is if I’m not asking anything too personal.” He added as an after-thought.

“Well my mom continues to heal people.” Ashton said with pride. “Though she only accepts donations because some people can’t afford much, or sometimes they can’t afford anything at all. My dad however no longer wields a sword. He spends most of his time helping people build houses, and it pays pretty well. Glenvale is growing fast, I guess it’s because we are so close to the ocean, and it’s the only pass around the mountains to the north.” Ashton ended, his childish face alight with a giant smile, thinking of home.

As it were however, against his awkward boyish looks, Ashton was nearly 4 months older than the twins. This had come as quite a surprise to the twins as they compared birthdates with their new found friend.

They continued walking and talking like old friends as they wound their way southward, following the narrow trail through the forest as the sky slowly began to darken. The day had been perfect for traveling, warm, but not uncomfortable, a slight cool breeze at their backs, sunshine, not a single cloud in the sky. Though the day was fading, rapidly becoming night, it appeared that they too would have a well weathered night. As daylight was fading the three companions decided they should look for a spot to make camp. Continuing down the trail they looked this way and that searching for a suitable spot to rest for the night. It wasn’t long before Garret spotted a small clearing just off the right side of the trail where a large tree had uprooted and leaned against its neighbors, making a large depression, sheltered from the elements on three sides beneath its roots. The trio could not believe their luck, and set to making camp.

The air was cooling off a bit as the last of the debris was removed from the hollow beneath the tree, but it wasn’t yet cold enough for a fire, so the boys unanimously agreed against starting one. The twins dug their blankets out of their packs and unrolled them and laid them in their makeshift shelter. Ashton pulled a large leather hide out of his pack, which he told them was from a small bear, and laid it in the shelter as well. They all pulled food from their packs and shared with each other happily, and talked about their hopes for The Choosing. Obviously Ashton wanted to join the white robed healers who followed the teachings of their Goddess Lorentia. Garret too had no problem telling them that he was hoping to join the ranks of the army and win glorious battles. It was then that Ashton told them that there were two gods that most of the army worshipped, Gorandor, the god of honor and valor, and Vikstol the god of battle. This brought Garret’s hopes to a screeching halt. Sure he had heard of the gods, though he didn’t remember any of their names until now, but he had never considered joining a religion. After all there were no places of worship in Vineleaf, and no one there that he could think of offhand that had worshipped any god. Thinking over it a few minutes while Ashton prattled on about the differences between the two gods, and the differences in their worship, Garret came to the conclusion that if these gods were good enough for those under the banner of the armies of Valdadore, than certainly one of them would be worthy of his worship. Only when it was Seth’s turn to tell of his hopes did their shelter seem a bit too small. Seth told them he had no hopes what so ever of glory, or honor for that matter. He wasn’t keenly interested in helping the injured, though he told Ashton it was indeed a worthy cause, just he wasn’t compelled to do it. Seth, ruining the spirit of their camaraderie temporarily told them he just wanted to come home alive, after his five years of service. He wanted it to pass quickly; doing whatever it was that he was chosen to do. He did not want to put down any roots, did not want to burden himself with choosing a god to worship. Most of all, if given a choice, as few were given at The Choosing; Seth wished he could perhaps do something for the families who would lose their loved ones in the Kingdom’s wars. All were quiet for a few moments, taking in all that Seth had revealed about himself. Ashton was the first to speak.

“That’s awfully sacrificial of you Seth.”

Seth refused to respond still consumed in thought. It was Garret who spoke next.

“How so Ashton?” Garret asked as his face puckered up in deep concentration.

“Well.” Ashton answered. “You are willing to sacrifice your life to the Kingdom by dying in battle. I am willing to sacrifice my own life to save another. Seth is willing to sacrifice happiness, to bear the burden of the Kingdom’s failures, the burden of families’ loses, the burden of broken hearts and anguished lovers. Seth is willing to sacrifice himself over and over, while we are willing to do it once.”