Isaac Zehen - Preserver of Fate

We all live according to a set pattern of circumstances, which mark our path, and define our existence from the first breath we take, till the moment we close our eyes forever. This is our creed and by its ways we shall exist.

"Brother, have you decided the course of action yet?"
"No, not yet. Our mind must be free from doubts, our soul must be one with the essence of life, so that nothing can interfere with our mission."
"But, if we wait, he will escape and it would be hard to catch up!"
"Sarek, my young friend, never forget that we will always be ahead of them. Our ability to see into the eyes of destiny makes us prepared to the unseen. Do not forget your training and use your skills well."
"Yes, brother Isaac, you're right."

The two men remained silent, sipping their tea by the flickering campfire. Although it was already night, the three moons of Femora, lighted the sky enough for them to see any incoming visitors. Isaac was wearing his usual cloak, a dark gray cloth held together on the front by a broach. The broach, an eye engraved in gold with lightning in sliver embossed inside the pupil, symbolized his origins, the house of Muchaan. As his hood was down, Isaac Zehen was contemplating the stars, imagining all sort of creatures living up there. His yellowish eyes moved from star to star and although the younger man was agitated, he seemed quite relax.
After drinking all his tea, Isaac opened his backpack, put back his cup and without speaking Sarek heard in his mind, "It is time, novice Sarek. The reading shall commence when the question is decided. As a trial for your mind, I shall ask you to pronounce the question."
They did not need any words or gestures to communicate; their mind was capable of that and many more. All the Femorians, are telepathic and some also possess abilities of telekinesis.
From one of his pouches, attached to his black leather armor, he produced a small wooden box. He closed his eyes and the lid opened as if by magic, in it were three silvery coins, the coins of I-Ching.

* * *

"Please bring forward your son, Kahil Zehen, his fate will be decided by the seers." Closing his scroll of newborns, the seers' attendant, led Kahil to the Star chamber, were the Question was asked and the child's destiny revealed, as usual, in an enigmatic matter. The great seers of the house of Muchaan were seated in their respective holy chair waiting for the next newborn.
Planet Femora, is geographically divided into small continents and each one has a leading house that organizes and decides for the rest of the mainland. All houses have three men of great knowledge and power, called the Rashadi. Each Rashadi, has a hierarchy of sages to whom he can delegate the various responsibilities and various studies undertaken by the house.
"Why do you bring your child to us, Kahil Zehen, son of Ikitu and grandson of Sefitor?" asked one of the Rashadi.
"I am nothing but a servant of the golden path, and I'm here to introduce my son to the way. We await your sight of the path." This was the answer of Kahil, more tradition then anything. This was the law; every newborn had to be brought to the seers in order for them to declare his fate. He/She would then live his life according to what they say. Disobeying the mystic sight would mean going against the natural flow of destiny and the Universe. Kahil passed through all this, his father did and it goes on from the start of the 2nd turning of the moons. This time, the reading for his son was to be done by the Rashadi themselves, since he together with another 49 men, were randomly picked from the land. This was something the Rashadi did once every year to keep in touch with their people.

The child was then put in the middle of the room on a small altar, and the seers, one by one, went around the child, while their attendants burned some incense.
Each one took in his hand three coins with a hole in the middle, and threw them in the air. The coins floated in mid air and started to rotate on top of the child and suddenly a flash of light and the coins were not there anymore. They looked at each other, a bit worried, turned towards Kahil and said, "Kahil, the sight has been made and path is set. Your son, Isaac Zehen, shall be a Preserver of Fate." The man was surprised to hear the reading, he thought that his son would be a farmer like himself and his father before him.
"A Preserver, my son, are you sure?" asked Kahil, with sadness in his voice.
"Yes we are! In his future we see great prudence in his decisions, but this may bring fatigue and exhaustion to his mind, body and soul. Finally, as his fate is to battle the unworthy and the evil of the land, he will have to either end corrupted or recover from his wounds."
The father of the newfound preserver of fate, was very sorry to leave his son to them, but he would never disobey the sight, so he bowed and before going, he said, "Would I ever have the chance to talk to him?"
"He is no longer your son, he is the son of fate, and his mission to protect our kind from the dark creatures that roam the land. Be proud of him, you will definitely here about his deeds."
"Call brother Guntus, his apprentice awaits him." The attendant opened the door for Kahil, showing the way out. "May your life be happy my beloved son," thought Kahil while leaving the room.

* * *
The Preservers of fate, are the law enforcers of Femora. Each house, has its own set of such warriors, always ready for new missions given by the seers of the respective house. There are not many of them, since Femorians are a peaceful race and most of them are farmers. The only weapons that are allowed, are hunting weapons like bows and spears, but nonetheless they must be made of wood, i.e. no swords, daggers or any other kind of war weapon. These have been banned long ago, and anyone who is caught with one or even refuse to follow his fate, passes through the Jarad, i.e. the process of removing the Gift (any psionic ability) from the offender. This is normally done by the village sage; he inserts a long needle into the back of the victim's brain, so while keeping the man alive, his mind will no longer be the same. These men, become what are called as Slaviin, and considered as inferiors, or slaves in some parts of Femora. If the sage cannot handle these infidels alone, the Preservers are called; having complete authority with a no questions asked policy.
Some of the houses are having problems with these inferiors, rebel groups are being founded and attacks to the seers' power are being attempted. Again, the Preservers are summoned for investigation and if needs arise, total annihilation of the rebels may occur.

* * *

"Where is the abusive?" was the question Sarek produced to Isaac.
"Sarek, you have much to learn about divination. Specific questions will lead to nowhere! You must search your heart and be more mature and open upon your quest." Isaac picked the three coins, ordered to Sarek to light the incense and stated the question, "Would it be wise for me to track the man of no fate today?"
The coins were then thrown six times and the result was, "PO! The mountain is on top of the earth. We have to wait here and strengthen our current position. The reading is telling us to remain calm and not to try to put anything right. This means, that we must not continue our mission, but instead follow someone else and help him."
"What?! What about our journey? This cannot be true, I am not waiting her for something to happen!" exclaimed the tempered boy. He woke up and picked his things, preparing to leave.
"Boy, you saw the reading with your own eyes. You may fall apart if you meddle with destiny. I am here to teach you and help you, but I can never protect you from yourself. We must be prudent and wait." This was the passive answer from Isaac.
The novice, feeling oppressed with all this, turned away from his master and went toward the south path. The Preserver remained still, returning his precious coins inside the box. While preparing some food, he heard a scream, definitely Sarek's voice. Although, a bit reluctant, he woke up and ran towards the noise. To his surprise and disgust, he found a man devourer, cutting the boy's corpse apart. Without thinking twice, his hands went towards his back, were his Mystar, was strapped. In one second, he had in his hands the weapon and without hesitation, the Mystar were flying towards the creature.
(Note: The Mystar is an ancient weapon given to the Preservers. It is made up of two identical parts, which can be thrown to the enemy with great accuracy. Each one has a set of blades which makes the whole thing rotate when thrown. The Mystar work like a boomerang, i.e. they return to the Preserver, hitting or not. The Preserver can also join the two parts, into one so that it becomes like a staff with the ends having a blade. Lastly, he can summon his inner psychic abilities and fire a bold of energy through this weapon.)
The blades hit the creature in full since it did not notice Isaac arriving. Unfortunately, the boy was dead, too late.
"If he only listened to me. The path is already set for us, but we have the ability to foresee its weaves changing through the Universe, so to make best use of our life. Rest, young one, be one with the Universe." After cleaning his weapon from the blood, he picked the corpse of his apprentice and burnt his body together with all his belongings. Isaac watched his friend burning, eyes full of tears; the boy could have been a good man.
"I must be patient, somebody else needs my help, and I will follow. The turning has been decided and I shall obey fate."

* * *

Friend or foe

Isaac was taken from his father and given to Guntus Chandar, Preserver of Fate, as he was to become his tutor. Even Guntus had a son of his own in the same period but to Guntus' disappointment, his son's reading was different from Isaac's; his child had to become a sage's attendant. Julius, Guntus' son, and Isaac, grew together, one learning the ways of the Preservers and the other, to assist the needs of a village sage. While they were young, this made no big difference for the boys, but Guntus was much more dedicated and caring towards Isaac as he saw himself in his apprentice.
One day, in the temple of fate, where Preservers trained, Isaac was doing his daily exercises with a wooden staff in the shape of a Mystar. Julius was waiting for his friend to finish, since today, was the night of the stars, and as tradition all the children would go to the hilltop and watch the falling stars in the sky.
"Hey, fighter, are you ready for battle?" asked Julius teasingly to Isaac. While saying this, he picked a piece of wood and moved infront of his friend. They were only ten, but they both knew that this was forbidden.
"Come on, Preserver, show me what you know!" continued Julius.
Isaac, at first was preparing his fighting stance, but he stopped and put down his wooden weapon, as he was supposed to stop people doing this.
"We can't Jul, the law says we cannot!" replied Isaac.
At that moment, Guntus came forward with his Mystar in his hand. Julius tried to make a run, but his father gestured and the boy was thrown in the floor.
"Apprentice, this man here is disobeying the law. Beat him until he has learned the lesson!" ordered Guntus ignoring the terrified expression of his son.
"But…he is your son, and my friend!" disagreed Isaac.
"This is an order, novice Isaac, do it now, or you shall be punished!" shouted the older man.
"He was only playing, please let it pass." Tried the boy again. Julius was silent all the way long.
Guntus looked at his son, and with a gesture of his hand, his son was on his legs. "You challenged, a Preserver, did you? So, show ME, what you know," with this he slapped the boy on his face very hard, so hard that his lips started bleeding. The boy, now in a mixture of pain, anger and hatred, woke up and charged his father swinging his improvised weapon. He obviously did not move too far until he was hit again and crushed again to the floor. Although, was know also bleeding from his now, Julius, looked at his friend in agony, turned towards his father, spit blood on the floor and charged again. All this paralyzed Isaac; he did not even try to stop his tutor from hitting his best friend, so for the third time, Julius was flat on his back. "And this will happen to anyone who disobeys the laws of Femora, have you understood Isaac, even to my only son. Now go back to your room, today you're staying in to meditate on your doubts. As a Preserver, you must have no doubts, too many lives depend upon your actions." He then picked his unconscious son and went out of the temple's courtyard, towards his house. From that day on, Julius was no longer the same, he hated his father for preferring Isaac and gradually, he started to hate Isaac too. In the meantime, the young novice was getting stronger and his training was almost complete.

The sage at the temple of fate had a very beautiful daughter, called Eneri, having the same age of Isaac and Julius. She was rarely seen, because women where not allowed in the training grounds, but sometimes, while visiting her father, she would go around and spy the trainees, especially one of them. Isaac never noticed her interest in him, but when he first saw her at the age of 15, her beauty immediately stunned him. Fate again played an evil role in Julius' life, due to his increasing passion towards this girl. He too, knew the girl; she lived with her mother in the same village. Julius tried to catch her attention, but all her interest was dedicated to one and only one, i.e. Isaac. Sometimes, after the divination training session with the old sage, he would take a walk around the temple and talk about their lives. Their love was growing day by day, but it was also filling Julius' heart with more hatred.
"The day that my training shall be complete, I will ask your father for your hand. I love you Eneri. I shall have no other woman other than you, this is a promise", were the last words that Isaac told the girl, since as she was going to talk, they both heard the alarm bells of the temple. The girl had to wait outside, but Isaac ran as fast as he could to check out what happened. As he arrived in the courtyard, he found two brothers, the sage and his attendants surrounding a bleeding body. Guntus was lying there with 7 arrows impaling him to the ground with a note attached to one in his left leg. The dying man looked around and cached Isaac's face, "Boy, you must be strong and very cautious. Always watch your back, and never forget to be observant of the laws that you protect." He died. The sage cautiously removed the note, and started to read it in his mind, but made the information available to all Preservers including Isaac. The note read:
"Finally my revenge has been done. I spit in the face of destiny and it's idiotic defenders. Yes, it's me, Julius, who killed my loving father, and that's not the end of the story. Probably my great friend Isaac is watching the scene, unfortunetly I cannot see his face when he'll learn that his beloved, Eneri is not there anymore. Yep, I have taken her with me, she'll be mine whether she wants it or not! Hope you die very painfully.

Yours truly,

Julius."

The boy took the note from the sage's hand, and in great rage, turned towards the temple's gate to run after the bastard. One of the brothers stopped the young man, his training was not yet complete, he had a month more to go before having permission to leave. The other Preserver, prepared his weapon, looked at the sage for permission, and after the approval, he hurried for his search of the assassin. "Isaac, I know you are in great pain, this is the same for me, but you cannot do nothing about it. Now I have understood last week's reading, I should have analyzed the reading more in detail, but now it's too late. Brother Ishmael, will not find them, not today, although another one will someday," were the words of the old sage.

Isaac, became Preserver of fate, but never forgot Guntus for his precious training, Julius as his mortal adversary, and Eneri the only love of his life. He kept his promise, and did not look at any other woman. He never met any of the two again.

* * *

Character Description

He is always loyal to the laws of Femora and will never disobey for any reason, except (maybe) if he encounters Julius or Eneri. He'll never quit his mission unless ordered otherwise either by the seers or by fate itself. He has complete fate in destiny and in his divination although he also knows that sometimes the interpretation is very subjective and needs more exploration.
He will not attack for any reason, his weapon is only used for defending himself or if the mission requires its need (exception: Julius).
He'll never argue a mission, although sometimes he has some doubts on why people cannot live according to what they decide (this is due to what happened to Julius). He is not a fanatic, but will observe his beliefs.
He'll try to help anyone in need if this those not interfere with his mission or if the divination indicates not to.
He has no interest in woman, apart from Eneri. Sometimes he feels down, when something reminds him of her.
He hates assassins, and will stop anyone who breaks the law.
The only thing that he fears is that someday he may become corrupted as his ex-friend did.
Other enemies, all rebels of the seers.
He normally travels alone or with another Preserver.