"An Ever Turning Table" (Caans/Hawthorns)

An Ever Turning Table


‘Is this really where you were told to meet them? Doesn’t it seem a little backwards to you?’

Ledgic looked away from the entrance to the Caan village and peered at Eothan through the dark. He was all too used to arriving at this place after dusk and yet this time would be different. Omanos had been taken by a few remaining Hawthorns a little over a week ago, and rather than inform Ledgic, Tobias Galenos had taken it upon himself to locate them. When he had finally told Ledgic and the others, they had sent him back to Lakeshire. Now he, Eothan and Zech stood and waited for a signal they were assured would arrive.

‘If they’re in there, they got some questions t’answer. Tha’ ain’ their ground t’stand on’ said Zech as he folded his arms and grunted. The village was not a special place to him, he didn’t care for it in the way that Ledgic and Valerias did. However, his parents were buried there and that small piece of the decaying ruin was sacred to him.

‘I think perhaps it would be best to focus on the task at hand, gentlemen. Retrieving Omanos is the priority here, we needn’t concern ourselves with where these Hawthorns have chosen to take him’ said Eothan as he moved to stand between Ledgic and Zech. ‘I understand that these ruins are of some value to the remaining clan members, but do not let bones and ghosts take precedence over someone you both care about’ he said sternly as he looked from one to the other.

Zech simply grunted and stared at the entrance once again, while Ledgic’s eyes moved to the sky. The most obvious signal would erupt there, he thought, and it was better to keep his own focus than listen to the babbling of his companions. He narrowed his eyes as a bolt of flame shot into the sky and expanded briefly before disappearing completely. He lowered his gaze and without a word, he walked away from Eothan and Zech and entered the ruined village. The other two were quick to follow but Eothan made sure he wasn’t the last to enter, if anyone was to get stabbed in the back, he figured Zech would handle it.

As Ledgic stepped into the light being created by a Hawthorn’s spell he glanced at his surroundings. His face had already contorted into one of distaste at the sight of eight people, two women, five men and a child. To his surprise however, each of them looked as though they had recently survived a war and that there was no power between them. He was sure he’d be surprised again if one of them chose to attack but he ignored the compulsion to draw his weapons. He watched as one man, showing some resemblance to Landrus Hawthorn, stood up and moved toward him. He outstretched an arm as if going to shake Ledgic’s hand as Eothan and Zech stepped into the light as well.

The arm quickly lowered and the man stopped in his tracks. He let out a faint sigh and stared at Ledgic intently. It was quite some time before either men spoke, the air filled with the howling of the tortured wildlife of Duskwood. Zech peered around and made himself aware of each person before him, while Eothan idly lit a cigarette and placed it between his lips.

‘I am glad you decided to meet with us-‘ ‘Let Om’ go now, if ye wanna talk then I’ll be wantin’ ‘im safe first’ said Ledgic as he quickly interrupted the man in front of him. The Hawthorn seemed to grow slightly as he turned and clicked his fingers. One of the other men stood up and walked into the darkness, soon returning with what appeared to be an unharmed Omanos Galenos. He sat back down and allowed Omanos to talk past Ledgic to have his restraints removed by Zech.

‘Can we talk now perhaps?’ said the Hawthorn as he shrugged and thrust a hand toward Omanos. ‘I have given you your friend back, we have not harmed him. I simply needed a way to bring you out without immediate violence’.
Ledgic scoffed slightly and twitched his fingers around the hilt of his right dagger. ‘Wha’ makes ye think I’m na’ gonna get violent now? Y’did go n’ kidnap someone I care abou’. Plus… yer a Hawthorn, an’ tha’ jes makes ye target practice’ he said in a cold and quiet tone, a tone that suggested he was about ready to slaughter all of them without hesitation.

Zech rested a hand on Ledgic’s shoulder upon hearing this and leant in to mutter ‘Patience’. Normally he wouldn’t go as far as to try and treat Ledgic as a child, but where the Hawthorns were concerned, Ledgic didn’t have any mercy anymore. Everything that Zech had told him, all of the information he had provided that Ledgic had studied, and made him one step closer to the weapon that Kaden had wanted upon Ledgic’s birth. There was some guilt in adding fuel to that fire, but he felt that Ledgic had needed to know about everything surrounding his past, it just so happened that the Hawthorns were on the wrong end of that information.

‘I would hope you don’t decide to kill what is left of the Hawthorn house, Ledgic. If anything, we should have attacked you the moment we lured you here. After all, you are the man that murdered our people, that flung them into the abyss of Netherstorm and perhaps mostly importantly, you murdered my father’ said the young Hawthorn and he stared intently at Ledgic once again.

‘Excuse me’ said Eothan as he slipped round to stand beside Ledgic. ‘I think you’ll find it was a group effort. As much as I can appreciate directing malice at one person, this time Ledgic was far from the only person to cause that damage. What happened to your family and your father was not murder, it was a culling for the greater good. I’ve been inside the minds of your people, and you’re a plague, one that even a man of my disposition feels the need to cure’. The Hawthorn looked at Eothan through narrowed eyes and clenched a fist at his words. Eothan smirked widely and lifted a hand that instantly engulfed itself in a large amount of shadow energy. ‘Go ahead; I’ll happily reunite you with your over-confident moron of a father’.

Ledgic quickly slapped Eothan’s hand with his own and Eothan watched as the shadow energy dispersed. He peered at Ledgic in confusion, despite Ledgic not taking his eyes off the Hawthorns.
‘Befer this turns inta’ some sort o’ pissin’ match, I wanna ‘ear what ye ‘ave t’say. Why did ye draw me ‘ere if you weren’ lookin’ t’hurt Om’?’ he said sternly as he lowered his arm again.

The Hawthorn turned and looked at Ledgic with the same confusion as Eothan had, though it was not due to Ledgic’s desire to actually listen. He hadn’t seen someone disperse shadow energy before and it was fairly perplexing. ‘My name is Rufus Hawthorn, and as I said, my father was Landrus. The people you see before you are all that is left of the Hawthorn house and we are obviously at a loss. The strongest of our people were killed during your “culling” and now we find ourselves beneath you in strength’ said Rufus as he stood up straight and looked at the four men.
Zech and Omanos stepped back into the light and stood on the left of Ledgic. Omanos was rubbing his wrists while Zech folded his arms and began scanning the Hawthorns again. ‘He spoke a lot of wanting to know your secret, Ledgic’ said Omanos as he leaned a little toward a man he considered family. Ledgic glanced to his left for a moment before looking back to Rufus with his brow raised. ‘My secret?’ he said simply.

‘You always survive. Your people were wiped out; you have been under fire from the survivors of your clan, from members of my house and countless others in your lifetime. Teach us how to survive and you can consider this family feud dead and buried’ said Rufus as he took a step towards Ledgic. His words were not met with happiness as the remaining Hawthorns stood up and began shouting in protest.

Eothan put a hand over his eyes and sighed deeply, while Zech reached up and gripped the hilt of his blade tightly. Ledgic’s eyes widened as Omanos raised a hand that flashed with the light and looked past Rufus to see them hit with a judgement spell that sent them to the ground. He turned to look at Omanos who slowly lowered his hand and met his stare. ‘Continue your conversation, but do not expect me to pay any respect to my captors. This situation is yours to control Ledgic, but you taught me the value of rising above those that seek to harm you’ he said quietly.

Ledgic nodded and looked back to Rufus, who had turned to look at this people. They were strewn across the ground and coughing loudly, as if they had been hit by an incredibly powerful force. The ash and mud surrounding each of them had been disturbed. He turned back to look at Omanos in anger but was quickly distracted by Ledgic’s arm shooting across his field of vision.

‘Just consider yerself lucky ye ain’ in th’same state, Rufus. Wha’ exac’ly is it ye wan’ me t’do? There ain’ na’ secret t’me survivin’, I’m jes good at gettin’ up’ said Ledgic as Rufus turned his head to stare at him again.

There was something deeply aggravating about the Caan clan, or rather, the more prominent members of the clan’s history. His father had told him stories about the original Kaden Caan and his descendants, and he had met Iriden Caan and actually managed to discover what fear was, despite his father’s protests. The members of that specific bloodline within the clan were always the last to fall. Here stood the last of that pure bloodline and he was still standing, and on his hands was the blood of the Hawthorn house that he had ripped down stone by stone. On top of that, the lives of the remaining Hawthorns rested in those same hands, it was a sickening feeling.

‘Our survival is unfortunately entangled with you, Ledgic Caan. We will only survive if you decide to allow it, so… I want you to spend time with us once we have found somewhere to settle. I want you to teach what is left of our family to be better than we have been. You have managed to change what it means to be a Caan, perhaps you can help me change what it means to be a Hawthorn’ said Rufus as he gestured behind him, to the people that were slowly beginning to get to their feet again.

‘They may disapprove at first, as some of them are still loyal to my father. However, they must accept that he is dead and that I am in charge. Please, Ledgic, do what I have heard you are capable of. You are unlike any of your kind, you have the ability to show compassion, so I ask that you do now’.

Ledgic gestured behind him and turned along with his companions as they walked into the darkness again. They stopped just far enough away to be out of earshot and Ledgic folded his arms as the group stared at him through the dark. ‘You’re honestly considering what he’s said aren’t you?’ said Omanos as he flung his arms in the air.

‘I am all for redemption Ledgic, it is a massive part of who I am as a servant of the church, but you can’t possibly believe that he wants to do anything but take revenge’ he said bluntly as he looked at Eothan and Zech who had remained quiet. ‘I guess I’ve gotta believe tha’ everyone can change. Think back t’everythin’ I’ve told ye abou’ me’ life in this village… I coulda been everythin’ Landrus were n’ worse. I’m na’ anythin’ like tha’, maybe I can make sure this lot go th’same way I did’ said Ledgic as he closed his eyes and shrugged vaguely. ‘I’ve gotta try a’least’.

‘It’s a bad idea and you know it, Ledgic. Unfortunately for the rest of us, you seem to delight in walking into bad ideas all the bastard time’ said Eothan before letting out a long and recognisable sigh. ‘If you truly think you can change these people, and that they aren’t seeking to murder you in horrible ways, then I suppose there isn’t much we can do to stop you’.

Zech grabbed Ledgic by the shoulder to get his attention and closed his eyes briefly before speaking. ‘Don’ be a feckin’ idiot ‘ere, Ledgic. Think o’ yer family at ‘ome, ye’ve got a wife n’ kids, ‘ow th’feck are they gonna feel if ye walk t’yer soddin’ death? Don’ be sa’ damn pig’eaded and just kill Rufus. We can take tha’ lot easy, Om’ floored most of ‘em on ‘is feckin’ own’ he said bluntly. He grunted as Ledgic swiped Zech’s arm away from him and looked at him intently.

‘Tha’ ain’ th’way t’solve this, ye think by killin’ ‘em then I’ve sorted everythin’ between our families? Feck off, I’ve come way t’far in me’ life t’think tha’ way anymore, death doesn’ solve everythin’. I’ve got a chance to set thin’s right here, finally fix somethin’ tha’s been broken since day one o’ our feckin’ clan. Sa’, I’m gonna try, I’m gonna take time an’ I’m gonna see if I can’t ‘elp these people. I ain’ gonna involve ye lot either, ‘cause righ’ now I can’t trust ye na’ t’do somethin’ stupid’ said Ledgic as he slowly looked at each person.

‘Go ‘ome. I’ll come see each o’ ye when I’m done ‘ere an’ fill ye in’ said Ledgic as he pushed Zech backwards and turned on his heels to walk back into the village, and potentially, walk to his death. Zech, Eothan and Omanos watched as he disappeared from their vision and all they could do was curse under their breath.