Dominion Ch. 10

"Good. Well, I have a plan concerning this issue with Nora," he explained as he looked between the young Tourik and Okuo. "It is a conversation I must have with Farias, and Farias alone. I will contact him once I've left Pakaur. So tell me, who is the chosen one?"

"A young Kyaga by the name of Jaxon Tyre."

"A Kyaga half-breed? Truly?" Trysten's smile widened as he turned back to face the waterfall, "Tell the Republic that I have a plan of action ready, and that I will be initiating it soon. They should act accordingly."

Before any of them could respond, they were all back inside of Farias' chambers again. Jahren huffed in anger and began pacing the floor as Farias chuckled and turned to Okuo.

"I'm not sure what I expected, but it certainly wasn't that," he shook his head as his laughter bubbled even louder.

"He's changed," Jahren murmured, but it didn't hold the anger Farias expected. He sounded disappointed, almost sad, "Maybe I was wrong about him."

"No, Jahren, you were not wrong about him. He has certainly changed though," Okuo explained with a sad smile. "As I've always said, if you could walk through the minds of others as I can, you would see the world very differently."

"But he was so abrasive! So cynical! You have more compassion than I have ever known!"

"I wasn't always this way, child. It took a long time for me to stop hating the world for all the bad, and learn to love the world for all its good instead," he began as he readjusted his position in the chair he was sitting in "Trysten knows that a lot is riding on him, and he is very stressed because of it. It has taken a lot of self control for him not to give into his anger and act on impulse as you desire us to, Jahren. As much as he wants to take action, he knows that a single mistake on his part could end with terrible consequences that would deeply effect the people he cares about."

"Why did he seem so upset about our arrival?"

"The Maeleq seek to contain him within Pakaur. They fear his strength and wish to keep him under their control. He has been planning an escape ever since he entered the marshes, and if they discover his plans he may never succeed. One wrong move and he will be out of our reach and unable to be of help to anyone."

"I see," Farias murmured, resting his face in his hands as he took a deep breath. "It makes sense. Of course he would be so irritable. I would be too, if I was in his situation."

"I suppose you're right," Jahren murmured in agreement. He frowned as he thought back to the things Trysten had said to him, and he was completely right.

Jahren was always quick to jump to action without considering all angles and understanding the true consequences behind his decisions. All he saw was the issue right before him, and he never thought to consider anything else. Trysten was a master tactician, and his gift with strategy was one of the biggest reasons the Dominion was still standing so successfully against the Republic. Though the Republic out populated the Dominion five to one and had a larger variety of citizens, the Dominion always seemed to outwit them in every attempt they made at bringing their corrupted government down. He knew a large majority of that had to do with Trysten and his keen mind.

He clenched his teeth and balled his fists as the truth of it all sank in. Trysten was trapped like a caged animal, and he was doing everything he could to discern the right choices that would benefit everyone in Aeradil. He wasn't thinking short term, and he wasn't focusing on the small details that could consume him. He brushed aside the attack on the Daegra as a triviality because he couldn't allow his emotions to cloud his judgment. And yet Jahren had the nerve to tell him he was heartless!

Trysten was right to call him an irrational, temperamental, egotistical, judgmental, stubborn, small minded infant.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Jahren," Okuo admonished him lightly. "However that looked back there, he understood your heart. He doesn't hold any of it against you."

"I hope you're right, Okuo."

At the moment, Jahren didn't feel worthy of that forgiveness. He made a fool of himself once again, and he wondered just how many more mistakes he would have to make before he could learn to control this temper of his.

Stupid, angry mutt.