The Man from Eden (1)

Hours into days, Days into Weeks, Weeks to months. it had been quite a while since that first battlefield and all the spilled blood. 
      How long---how long had I been in God's testing ground? the thoughts bobbed in my mind like booies that rocked with the waves; was this truly heaven? In my old life--the small bits and pieces I can truly recall heaven was more of a thing dangled in front of the faces of the masses. certainly where I was now wasn't exactly what one would classify as "heaven" 
Laughter--rough and loud, shook my mind and roused me to my senses. there my eyes fell upon the sight. The King sat upon his throne, eyes clouded with joyous tears, his mouth stretched wide open, all the small imperfections of his face began to show in even greater detail--his crow's feet, his laugh lines and wrinkles yet as he laughed he seemed...morbidly at peace. 
"Oi Tokugawa!!!" he called. his voice wasn't a command but a crack ridden dance of laughter and sighs. lifting his hand--a part of me: recoiled. the old self flinched. silently the man wagged his hand and beckoned me. each leg moved, it was like an unconscious response. 
The old self--the person I forgot I was...they were still here and making their presence annoyingly clear. 
In a blink i was beside the king; his hands opened, clutched between his index and thumb was a paper. a newspaper it seemed. he pointed at the paper, his fingers tracing every word. the headline story was nothing to waste one's time on...a simple story about a boy who was lost in the woods for a few days--yet that wasn't what the king found so humorous. yet that wasn't what caught my eye. a small story nearly a footnote down at the bottom of the page. 
"Hornets? Terrorists or Heroes?" 
Hornets the word lingered on my mind, long after the page was turned, just what sort of people are these "hornets" the grin--that crescent shaped grin painted my face once more. Hope? Despair which were they obedient too?
I must've been absent of mind--not paying attention to what came out of the crescent mouth of mine. "hornets" it flew. the king jostled, turning the newspaper over in his hands. a tad puzzled but nodding he reclined.
"Aye...Hornets. saved my ass more than once from the Burn. yet can't really save us from Goldmouth...but that's a log for another fire" Leonidas sighed. "but their means are more...how do you say physical not political." his look of disappointment melted away that same joy radiated like the warmth of a thousand fires. "Oh I'm friends with the leader. Aits Ordanin...I should introduce you to him sometime. he's a great guy" as the conversation continued the King's mind also continued to wander.  topics ranging from his many friends, the state of the world and much much more. finally he ended his long spiel with a small lamentation. his soft voice broken down into a sigh. 
"Toku...can you do an old man a favor?" 
"anything for you my liege" the king stiffened at my response, his eyes however, his glance softened. the look of a man not embittered by the world but just the eyes of an old man. 
"I need you to just go to Olympius sometime soon and talk to Odin"
"when shall I set out my lord?" 
"two months from now...after the summit with Kaos" he sighed. "politics amirite?" 
"yes my liege" 
"Oh and another thing...Crokus...the new lad. He wished to spend a moment with you. he should be in the bazaar" Leonidas smiled. "just wanted to get to know you is all... perhaps share a summer melon or two" Leonidas' eyes softened, a smile once again crept upon his mouth. those same laugh lines highlighted his age like the rings of a millennium's old oak tree. yet--he still looked at peace. the king raised his hand, several small wags of his hand he urged me away. 
How could he be so at peace when this is where he resides? the plants that colonized his land, sinking their fibrous fangs deep into the flesh of the castles walls--a war that a loss for the side of humanity. profits? losses? margins? bottom lines? important business buzzwords--at one point these words were like my very own testaments--my duty as an apostle of the free market. yet these words, they meant nothing to the king on the throne. perhaps such words meant nothing to the people of this kingdom. 
                                                                          ***
     Before I realized I had arrived right at the bazaar, a curious set of turns, narrow alleys and a myriad of domesticated grasslands birthed the writhing view of tents and bustling vendors. the bazaar was nothing short of a couple tents stitched and conjoined into a single bulging mass, several smaller tents and their respective vendors were propagated inside like colonies of rats hoarding whatever was the greatest "treasure" 
laughter--pure, sweet laughter it bubbled throughout the bazaar, the joyous faces of all those in attendance--such...such pure hope. beautiful hope. among the bustling crowds was a man, pressed against a stall, his eyes squinted and a hand hovering over his saber. in my head he checked all the boxes that come with the ideal "knight captain" His eyes lifted, a small nod was all he greeted me with before he stood, lightly checking the stall with his hip. the rotten stench of unearned authority radiated off of him--perhaps he was nothing but a corpse...it would be fitting given his rank and quite off-putting smell. sweat glistened on his forehead in small pearly beads. 
"Tokugawa innit?" he spoke. yet no matter how mighty the shade he stood under he always seemed to pant and wipe his forehead down after every single breath. "listen. I don't wanna take much of ya time right? but we gotta talk shop" he shot me a look that belied the congenial invitation extended by the king. "look...first thing's first: I need to know what your breath!" 
breath? the word felt foreign yet familiar as if I had heard that exact question, that exact word before. "c'mon! what are ye daft!? What's ya breath mate?!" 
"I apologize...I don't know." 
"don't know?--" he huffed muttering a great handful of things before finally shaking his head. "and ya full name?" 
"Tokugawa...just Tokugawa" at my response, it seemed a vein popped out from underneath his skin. bulging, and writhing with an unfurled rage, roughly he grabbed me. 
"are ya trying to bloody mess with me?! cuz that's what it seems like!" his grip tightened. "why the snuff does Leonidas trust you! You are a walking liability!" 
"Sir! I understand how you feel but please understand...I don't mean any harm" 
"BULLSNUFF!!!" the man screamed. with a shove I was sent sprawling onto my back. the sunlight shot back into my eyes, a glint of silver--the man had drawn his saber. a scowl across his face was all the evidence I needed to parse his intentions. "You heard of the Man from Eden right?--Megiddo?!" 
"I...I believe it...its been brought up in conversation" 
"history repeats itself they say. you suspicious worm I'll end you and keep this world from another tragedy" frantically I waved my hands, hoping to stay the man's hand. hoping my show of faux surrender would be enough to assuage him that I was no threat. 
"Sir! please...I...I am no threat. I'm simply on a pilgrimage from my god" 
"a religious nut case! God You must be from Hades...I can't stand those freaks!" 
"I assure you sir! I am...I'm not from Hades!" I begged and pleaded yet the man's cold eyes drilled bore holes deep into my being. a crowd began to form, shouting bazaar goers, they all congregated here to watch my execution--perhaps that's the thought I would've had; if God hadn't blessed me.