Redemption Returns

XXV. 

Roxanne ran. And ran. And ran. She wasn’t really running anywhere except away from the tower and The Glare. She couldn’t handle the death and destruction that characterized his rule. It was too much to see the murder of a close friend, Thaddeus. She had nowhere to turn, with the recent revelation that the League was simply a front for The Glare. She had truly hoped that her time with Patrick would have resulted in the healing of the Schism, but he pursued a course that to her seemed destined to only widen the gap and ultimately lead to his destruction. She thought about seeking out the Keepers, but wasn’t sure if they were planning on action or were simply trying to lay low, out of observation, until they could integrate themselves back into society. She also didn’t want to lead any of The Glare, who may be following her, to them by accident resulting in the death of more of her close friends. She felt alone and friendless, the one friend that she had had left, a killer, through and through. No matter what she could have done, he would always be the same, he was beyond her ability to help, to rescue. Yet, she still cared for him and hoped that he could do what he had said he would. The equal distribution of Light for all. That was something worth fighting for and believing in. Perhaps her departure would hurt him enough that he would change his ways and rectify the mistakes that he had made, freeing the imprisoned Keepers and innocent people of Tiesa, working to implement the plans that she had been making with him before she fled.

Roxanne seemed destined to lose all that she loved. Her father was killed by a man that she admired. Her best friend sacrificed herself so that she could truly heal the Schism. Roxanne feared that Erin’s sacrifice had been in vain. How could she possibly heal the Schism now? The Glare would take action and couldn’t cooperate with her, the League was basically non-existent and she didn’t know if the Lighthouse remained in Tiesa or had any hope or plans of restoring order to the city. Should she have stayed? Looking past the evil and cruelty of The Glare, striving to be a voice of reason and good in the darkness? No, she couldn’t handle it any longer. She belonged elsewhere. Her efforts to change The Glare from the inside had been ineffective. Perhaps she needed to change it from the outside, but not with violence. That was the way that Bartholomew had begun to use and The Glare continued to use, that Roxanne believed only insured their destruction at the hands of the people that they marginalized. No, it needed to be an open dialogue between leaders of both groups, something that wouldn’t lead to the use of violence or anger.

Could it be done? Could she find the Keepers and help them reach a consensus with The Glare that would bless and enrich the lives of all that lived in Tiesa? A glimmer of hope grew inside her as she now had a directive and a mission. She needed to find the Keepers and help them to reach some sort of agreement with The Glare.

*

Bartholomew sat amongst the remaining Keepers and Light Police, absorbing the information that buzzed around him, even without his sight. He was determined to restore the Light to its proper position, in Radiant Tower, in the midst of the Lighthouse. To do that, The Glare must fall and be completely overcome. Bartholomew knew this, but others that worked with him did not. They hoped that the Light could simply be raised back over the city and that all would fall back into place. There would be no need to actively destroy The Glare, as the raising of the Light would bring about their ruin. This was partially true, but would only cause The Glare to fight back more fiercely. Both the Keepers and Light Police and the forces of The Glare were heavily wounded after the ambush and attack. Neither side was fully strengthened, although the Keepers had the advantage of what they felt was moral justice on their side, to defend those that had been killed in the name of The Glare for supporting the Lighthouse that may or may not have had any sort of allegiance or tie to the Lighthouse. The terror that was being inflicted upon Tiesa was cause enough for retribution. All seemed to miss the similarity to the terror that they had inflicted on Tiesa prior to the take-over of The Glare. All that is, except Bartholomew. He remembered and wanted The Glare gone, but knew that the leader, The Glare needed to fall before the organization would disintegrate. And the organization would likely collapse upon itself without a head, without the leader that shared its name. Bartholomew wanted as little bloodshed as possible feeling remorse for the deaths of Erin and the treachery of Roxanne. He knew that responsibility for her fell on his shoulders, as the one that sentenced her to death and effectively outcast her when she ended up surviving. There was nowhere else for her to go than the Glare. She was a traitor sentenced to death in the Lighthouse and she knew that the League was being watched. Why, Bartholomew thought to himself. Why did I do what I did? We could be in a much better place if I had listened to those around me. Instead I killed those closest to me and that could do the greatest good. Fairfax, Roxanne, Erin. Thaddeus is likely dead after saving my life. Would he have saved me, had he known that I was Bartholomew? The cause of the destruction and collapse of Tiesa? I know not. I can only hope that he would forgive me and has done so. The time to act was now. They would invade the tower and head straight for The Glare’s lair, holding him hostage and using him to bargain for their safety and the future of Tiesa.

Bartholomew was drawn into his thoughts. He finally committed to action and knew that he must address the Keepers and the Light Police to present the plan that needed to be enacted immediately.

Bartholomew stood and brandished his staff, shining Light into the sky. A sure signal that he wanted to address all that supported the Lighthouse or opposed the Glare. The people began to gather, waiting with anticipation to hear what Bartholomew would share with them. They were hoping that action would be taken soon, that he would lay out a grand plan for the recapture of the Lighthouse and ultimate rebuilding of all of Tiesa.

“Friends, I hope that we can regain Tiesa and spread the Light once more over all that are in need. Protecting those that need protecting and hearing the voices of all. As the Chief Keeper, I forgot the purpose of the Light. I thought that it was to bring glory to me. I wanted loyalty and allegiance, prosecuting and killing those that I had once called ‘friend’. The Glare, who claimed to want all to have the Light, to do with it as they wished, now does the same. Bringing in those that disagree and imprisoning or executing them. We cannot have this. We cannot lurk in Shadows, afraid for our lives. That is not living. The Glare must be stopped. He has taken the lives of our friends and family and will not stop until we are no more and all of Tiesa praises his name. The equality that he spoke of is only possible with diversity of thought, something that Tiesa needs desperately and that I unfortunately did my best to squash before it could become anything worth thinking about.”

The crowd was unsure how to respond to the remarks of Bartholomew. They weren’t expecting the guilt-ridden speech that he gave, confessing his sins and deepest, darkest secrets. Things that they may have been aware of, but never knew until now. He was open with his flaws and hoped for something better. Perhaps people could change.

A green cloaked figure was approaching the gathered crowd from a fair distance. She was drawing closer, but seemed unlikely to reach the spot before the speech would end.

“Keepers and Light Police and all of you that are here today. We need to destroy The Glare. If we can capture him, we can control the entire organization and save Tiesa. Action must be taken immediately. The patrols are out in full force and they leave the tower vulnerable and largely unprotected. It is unlikely that many prisoners are kept after our escape, it seems that The Glare would rather execute those that disagree with him than give them a chance to change their minds or escape from his clutches. We will spread ourselves out around the tower, with a large force going in through the main door and charging their way to The Glare. We’ll cover all of the secret entrances and exits and be stationed around to warn each other of danger and any approaching patrols. I will confront The Glare myself.”

Gasps came from the crowd and leaders amongst the Keepers and the Light Police began to protest, “No, Bartholomew, you can’t even see. You have done your part already. You don’t need to do more. We’ll take care of it and if you want to see him, we can bring him here to you. You don’t need to be in danger, in the middle of the fight.”

Bartholomew raised his hand to silence the crowd.

“You are too kind. I must do this. It is the only way I can achieve redemption from the transgressions of my past. I brought Tiesa into this dark place and I have the power and responsibility to bring it out again. I will confront The Glare and I will be in the center of the fight. There is nothing you can say or do that will convince me otherwise. We leave immediately.”

The crowd roared and scrambled to prepare to leave and attack The Glare once more. This time it would be their last. If they failed, then all would be lost and Tiesa would drown in Shadow, the Light spread so thin that no one could see.

Roxanne continued to approach the camp, but was forgotten by any that had seen her approach in the hurry to prepare and depart. Before she even arrived at the camp, all had left, either to participate directly in the attack or to scout for incoming patrols to warn the Keepers and Light Police of danger that approached. She realized the camp was deserted and saw them moving up ahead in the distance, pushing on to follow them. She followed and grew concerned as they neared the tower and the remains of the Lighthouse. She knew that an attack would prove disastrous for all, as the Keepers were not trained in battle and they were mostly wounded and weak from previous efforts. The Glare, while still recovering from the prison break not that distant in the past, were in much better condition to fight. The patrols may be out and for the Keepers’ sake, Roxanne hoped that to be the case. She began to sprint and take shortcuts, hoping to cut to the front of the attacking mob and talk some reason into the leader. She would push for a diplomatic resolution that wouldn’t end with the bloodshed of hundreds of innocents. There had been enough death and destruction in the battle for the Light already, by both sides. Now was the time for a coming together, not further pushing the divide, enlarging the Schism.

They reached the sight of the Lighthouse and staked out positions at all of the secret entrances and at various vantage points that would allow them to see the most and the farthest into the distance to provide the most warning for any incoming patrols of The Glare.

The crowd descended upon the tower, opening the door and climbing the stairs to reach the level that contained The Glare himself. Roxanne was too late. The guards at what remained of the gates and the door were taken out immediately, overwhelmed by the numbers that approached them. The bravery of the group was inspiring, but Roxanne feared for them and for Tiesa, should they fail. She continued to rush through the crowd, joining with them as they climbed the stairs, pushing through trying to reach the front, but stopped as a crowd of The Glare jumped through one of the side entrances and began to attack them from behind. They were forced to take a stand and fight as the front marched forward, searching for the Glare. Somehow they must have broken through the defenses or snuck up on them. Those on guard outside rushed to fight The Glare from behind. The tight quarters made the fighting difficult and led to Light shooting every which way and blinding many, friendly fire likely caused most of the damage, The Glare blinding themselves, while the Keepers blinded each other. Roxanne ducked down and tried to weave through the legs and feet of the Keepers and Light Police, finding slightly more success. She was pushing upstream, stuck and seemingly doomed to either fight or die there. She shot some blasts from her crystal up at the ceiling, sending chips of rock falling on top of The Glare, not wanting to cause serious harm to anyone. She pushed her way through and had finally broken free, running up the stairs, hoping to reach Patrick before the others found him and did something extreme that they would regret.

Her heart was pounding in her chest as she thought about permanently losing another friend in this blasted fight for the Light, all stemming from the Schism that had plagued Tiesa for over a decade. She thought as she ran what she would say. What could she say? She didn’t trust him. She didn’t have faith that he would succeed, yet she knew that his death would only further plunge Tiesa into the Shadows in the pit created by the Schism. There had to be a way to bring them together without death and destruction.

Roxanne reached the floor of Patrick’s office and turned to find him. She saw a gathered crowd of Keepers and Light Police standing near the corpses of a dozen or so agents of The Glare. She sprinted to the office and burst through the crowd to see Bartholomew standing, facing Patrick who was unarmed and alone. Bartholomew had his staff raised, the crystal leveled at Patrick’s chest. Roxanne tried to stop herself, ending up removed, not quite even with Bartholomew or Patrick. She stared in horror and relief, as Bartholomew spoke to Patrick.

“The time has come. The Light may have blinded me, as it blinded you, but in my blindness I truly see. We cannot have peace in Tiesa, unless you are gone. You are the last remains of a rebellious spirit that has plagued the Lighthouse and all of Tiesa since the Schism. Without you The Glare will crumble and we can reach a truce, healing the Schism. I wish there was another way, goodbye, Patrick.”

Tears streamed down from Bartholomew’s blind eyes, as he prepared to end Patrick’s life.

Roxanne screamed in defiance, “NO!”

Before he could register the scream, Bartholomew shot the Light from his crystal straight at Patrick’s chest, but Roxanne flung herself in front of Patrick, taking the shot for him. Her lifeless body crumpled to the ground in front of Patrick.