D. MacHale - The Soldiers of Halla

“How?” was the simple, stunned question that came from Aja.

“With an army that is seventy thousand strong” was my answer.

There was another moment of stunned silence.

“The exiles?” Kasha said with confusion. “That isn’t possible. They are on Eelong.”

“They are,” I admitted. “I might be totally wrong about this, and if I am, I’ll back off, but if we have the power of Solara at our disposal, why can’t we use it the same way Saint Dane does?”

The Travelers exchanged confused looks. Nobody had any idea what I was talking about.

Except for Loor.

“Is it possible?” she asked tentatively. “Could we do it too?”

“Do what?” Aja snapped at her.

Uncle Press was next to join the party. “I can’t think of a riskier move, on many levels.” “But is it possible?” I asked him.

Uncle Press thought for a moment, then nodded. “It may be, especially in light of what happened here after the victory on Eelong.”

“Exactly what I was thinking,” I added.

Aja was getting frustrated. She didn’t like being behind the curve on ideas. “Would someone please explain this to me?”

“Solara has been rejuvenated,” I said. “Positive spirit has flooded back in. We could use that power to continue being Travelers and jumping around Halla and trying to protect the exiles, or we could make one grand move and try to end this once and for all.”

Elli gasped when she realized what I was proposing. “You want to create a flume to move the exiles.”

“Exactly,” I answered.

I sensed everybody stiffen. What I was proposing was nothing short of desperation. No argument there. I looked to Aja. She stared back at me. I was waiting for her to say how crazy I was. How dumb a move it would be. How it would drain every last bit of spirit from Solara, and that if we failed, it would mean Saint Dane would be free to create his own universe. She would have been right on every count.

“It’s brilliant,” she declared. Gotta love Aja Killian.

“Can we really do this, Press?” Gunny asked with concern. “It’s quite the tall order.”

“Not long ago my answer would have been no,” Uncle

Press said. “But we’ve been handed an opportunity. The victory on Eelong gave it to us. The exiles gave it to us.” He looked to Elli and added, “Nevva gave it to us.” Elli beamed.

Uncle Press continued, “What we’re talking about here would deplete the spirit of Solara, but if what happened on Eelong is any indication, defeating Saint Dane where he lives, controlling the heart of Ravinia, and taking back Third Earth might just turn things around.”

“Then let’s do it!” Siry shouted enthusiastically. Siry never needed much convincing when it came to taking action.

Uncle Press cut him off. “Hang on. If this is going to work, two things have to happen.”

He walked up to me and spoke with dead seriousness. “This is still about the exiles. Do you think they can be convinced to go on the offense like this?”

“I don’t know” was my honest answer. “All I can do is ask. They could turn me down cold, but I don’t think so. I’ve seen them in action, and they have a score to settle.”

“What is the second thing?” Alder asked.

Uncle Press looked around at the group and said, “Defeating Saint Dane on Third Earth cannot be our entire goal.”

“What else is there?” Kasha asked.

“This is not about a battle. Or a territory. This is about taking the positive spirit that exists inside each and every one of those exiles and using it to take back Halla. It’s not about a place. Or destroying an army. Or even revenge. It’s about free will triumphing over oppression. For that victory to be complete, the exiles must triumph… and Saint Dane’s spirit must end.”

“Hobey,” Spader gasped. “You think that in order to win this battle, we have to destroy Saint Dane?”

“I do,” Uncle Press said sadly. “Bobby’s right. He controls the worlds of Halla. If he were to continue, I have no doubt that he would simply regroup somewhere else. This battle must not only rebuild the spirit of Solara, it must end the dark spirit that Saint Dane has been nurturing-the spirit that he embodies.”

Uncle Press looked at me and added, “If you think that’s possible, then you have my blessing, and the blessing of each and every spirit of Solara.”

Yikes. Putting it that way, I kind of had second thoughts. Could we really do it? Could we not only beat Saint Dane, but end him as well?

Uncle Press added, “I can’t see the future. I have no idea how this might come out. I only know the way things were meant to be. It’s clear to me now, more so than ever before. I believe the conflict has been leading to this moment from the beginning. This is why you’re here. This is why you’re all here. To do anything less than take all that Solara has left and use it to defeat Saint Dane would be denying our destiny. You’re right, Bobby, this is our moment. Let’s seize it, and end this once and for all.”

I knew it was the end.

I felt it in the core of my being. There have been many times over the past few years that I felt we might be nearing the end, only to have another wrinkle appear. Another surprise. Another door opening that we didn’t even know existed. Each time, the struggle continued. This time would be different. There would be no second chances. No do-overs. No hope of salvaging victory from defeat. We were gambling it all, which meant there could be only one of two outcomes: We would either vanquish Saint Dane and begin to rebuild Halla, or Solara would be destroyed along with the Travelers. There would be no in between.

Uncle Press was right. It had all been leading to this moment. Every battle, every territory in jeopardy, every twist had been nothing more than prelude. As I looked back on it all, it seemed impossible that it could have been any other way. Saint Dane had brought out the darker nature of mankind, promising Utopia in exchange for freedom. In the end it proved too tempting for too many people.

I wondered if the Ravinians, those who benefited from his evil quest, felt that it had been worthwhile. Would they have made the same choices if they could have seen the future? We’d never know.

Now the last hope rested with those who did not accept that vision of Utopia. Would the spirit of mankind, the spirit of free will and compassion, be strong enough to triumph over the dark power of repression and persecution? That’s what this battle would be about, and it would start with the exiles. If they backed down, the battle would be lost right then and there, for it would mean they no longer were willing to fight for what they believed in. Their spirit was keeping Solara alive. I feared that if they did not accept the challenge, it would be a sign that that spirit had already diminished. If they accepted it, I believed that act alone would help to reinvigorate Solara. I felt certain that if the exiles accepted the challenge, Solara would be able to provide us with the means to fight one last battle.

As to who would win, I had no idea.

Being there, at that moment, felt right. For me, that is. In the beginning I had been frustrated that I didn’t know every truth. Uncle Press told me that I needed to learn through experience, and he was right. I had to go through it all to become the person I was. If not for all that I had learned, all that I had seen and suffered and lost, I would not have had the strength or conviction to fight the battle before us. I had truly become the lead Traveler. The others looked to me for strength and guidance. I didn’t have all the answers, but I had grown confident enough to make choices. And I chose to fight. I believed that this was the way it was meant to be.