Zealot

by Joshua David Smith

  Bartering his way to the city had been more difficult than Salius had anticipated, but after a day or two spent in Paleo, Salius by the grace of luck was eventually referred to a captain who was already preparing to set sail for Castia. So, near a month later, Salius had arrived four days ago, and after asking around in the city for a path to the supposed special prison, he came upon a man by happenstance who claimed he had been there before. Then, Salius had set out the next morning at first light, following a nearly invisible, narrow dirt path which appeared little more than a dear trail due to the thick overgrowth.

  Salius buttoned his coat as the rain only fell harder. He had anticipated the arrival of a downpour this morning immediately after leaving the inn, but Salius had decided on pushing forward in spite of the approaching gloomy cloud cover, heading out of the city and straight into the dense jungle forest.

  The presence of wildlife, although it was sparse due to the current weather, was a welcome change after his last experience in the forest. However, this forest, being more tropical and less mountainous, was different than the last. He noticed that while being far more densely packed, the environment which surrounded him consisted of such a vast combination of greenery that Salius would have surely stopped to indulge his naturalist curiosity if he wasn't so caught in the grasp of the apprehension caused by what loomed ahead.

  As he walked through the forest, Salius' mind could not dwell on anything but that which was approaching. His mind's thoughts were those of an assassin, he yearned, not to kill, as Salius did not enjoy killing, but to complete the mission, to be free, and to earn the gifts which he had received. All good things came with a price, and in his case that price was about to be paid.

  Salius did not find himself pitying the woman who was about to die, due to the fact that apparently she deserved nothing less; her death was, in fact, just. However, the mystery surrounding her intrigued him; how could she live so long? Was she a witch? If not, how did she receive the power which she used to forever alter the world for the worst. But Salius, pushing forward, chose to keep his mind on the task at hand; no distractions, he just wanted it to be done... and soon, it would be.

  But, while continuing along the path at a quick pace, judging that it was presently somewhere around noon even though it was difficult to tell due to the thick cloud cover, Salius began to consider what he would do once he was finished, should he survive. Only two things came to mind; on one hand, he naturally wanted to return home, but on the other, he would be a great help to the rebel cause, assuming it was still alive and well. Salius had been pondering this since leaving Castia, and the more he thought about it, the more he came to realize that his gifts should not be wasted in the fields of West Librium; no, they should be used for something just and noble, or perhaps like Planter had said, to restore what once was.

  Finally, Salius came back to focus on the moment, as he could see many buildings begin to appear suddenly, whilst standing upon the summit of a small overlooking hill. Salius immediately crouched behind a few tall bushes as he peered down at the many Imperial buildings below, most of them being military barracks. His plan had been simple; Salius would sneak in under the cover of night, then, after finding her he would deliver Mara, infamously nicknamed the Empress, unto death. But, as Salius came within sight of the prison, he saw what he did not expect to find.

  It appeared in all ways to be... abandoned?

  Salius whispered, barely audible enough to be heard by his own ears over the sound of falling raindrops, “Where is everyone?”

  Upon closer examination, as he gazed out over the seemingly abandoned compound, Salius noted that the man-made clearing in which the compound sat had been taken over by thick overgrowth, indicating that the prison had been abandoned for some time; potentially many years. Puzzled, Salius decided to wait out of sight, watching the area for any sign of anything that may indicate a continued Imperial presence. So, Salius, deciding to allow caution to remain supreme, waited.

  At least an hour had passed, and aside from a few squirrels, and a jack rabbit which scampered out of one of the nearest concrete brick buildings, Salius had seen nothing, no sign of anyone. Therefore, deciding that he could retreat out of harms way in a flash if the situation required, Salius walked out from behind the brush and headed down the hill. Salius unsheathed both weapons, dagger in his left, finger on the trigger, with sword held at his right side, at the ready. He moved forward, keeping vigilant watch of his surroundings just in case he had been wrong about civilization's absence.

  Making sure to keep up a steady march, Salius passed by the first abandoned building, then a second. He headed toward the center of the complex due to previous recognition of a building which seemed to be different than the others. It was longer, taller, had barred windows, and gates on at least one side, judging from his previous hilltop perspective.

  Salius went by building after building, glancing from side to side at open and closed doorways, along with unbroken windows, some shuttered, some not. While passing through, Salius didn't get the sense that there had been any sort of a struggle or battle, nor did it seem as though the compound had suffered any relevant damage due to the earthshake which had struck Castia over half a century ago. No, it appeared for whatever reason, that the prison had simply been freely abandoned.

  As Salius neared his destination, he approached the closed gates of the large prison building with no delusions that Mara was still present. Trying to keep feelings of the letdown temporarily at bay, Salius instead allowed curiosity to manifest itself, influencing his decision to enter the building anyway. He hoped, however unlikely, to find clues, perhaps in the woman's cell, which would indicate her current location.

  Staring down the building before walking up to the door-less entrance which was closed off by a lowered, steel, barred gate, Salius spoke out loud, “Amazing, all of this for one woman?”

  Being able to see inside the building through the steel bars, Salius pulled the trigger, leaping forward into the long prison house hallway. Immediately upon looking around, he felt a sense of darkness; it was a smothering darkness, and a strange feeling. Salius, then realized that most who enter such places reported similar feelings; after all, prisons are dark and desperate places. However, whether the feeling was a creation of the mind or something else, Salius continued on, making his way through dimly illuminated, winding halls.

  Windows in this building were sparse, so, rain or shine, Salius didn't imagine any significant amount of natural light would ever put away the gloom which lingered here. There were more closed gates as Salius passed through, making him thankful that he had his dagger, for without it he wasn't sure how he would be able to push on. Strangely, he saw no rooms of any kind. He glanced up at the ceiling occasionally to see open holes where one could poor down hot oil, shoot arrows, or drop large rocks in case of invasion, and Salius took note of the fact that this meant somewhere there was an entrance to a second floor. Often, Salius also saw metal lantern holders attached to the walls, most were absent of lanterns of course, but here and there a lantern which appeared to still contain oil rested on its perch. There were many hallways leading throughout, but none were so complex that Salius felt he had reason to fear becoming lost. However, in light of caution, earlier, Salius had sheathed his sword and brought out of his satchel, a loaf of bread, tearing off pieces every so often, letting them fall to the ground, marking his path.

  It had been maybe twenty minutes since Salius had entered the building which he still believed had, at least at one point, housed Mara as its only permanent inhabitant. Salius continued at a steady pace, searching for a room, a prison cell, something which might bring light to his situation, or more importantly Mara's location. Suddenly, upon rounding another corner, about ten feet away, Salius saw a room, the entrance to which existed on the wall to his left. The tremendously thick door, which would be barred from the outside, stood wide open, and Salius paused outside of the entrance for a moment before slowly stepping insid
e the room, looking both ways. Salius, after of course discovering that the room was completely empty, was disturbed and further puzzled by what he then saw.

  Aside from the wooden door, the room was complete with a small window that peered out over a small section of the compound, letting in at least a small amount of natural light, enough of which to see what was etched into the walls of the small, ten foot by ten foot wide, room.

  Salius remained shocked in disbelief by what he saw carved into all four walls of the room, over and over and over again. It was a single word, a name, an identity which he assumed was only his.

  Then after placing his hand onto the closest wall, moving his fingers across the etched words, the one word which had been written over a hundred times, Salius voiced the word with little more than a hushed whisper, “Zealot.”

  Chapter 25

  Day 31, Chapter 20 Continued...

  As Zackarius' bonds were cut according to his command, Salius spoke in reference to Zackarius' understandable outburst, in which he voiced that ancient Gahnen saying, “Interesting that at this time you should utter a phrase which is exclusively forbidden by the Empire.”

  Zackarius paused, instantly surprised and befuddled by Salius' ability to speak the Imperial standard. After a few moments, Zackarius broke silence, saying, “Well, with all due respect my Lord, we are not in the Empire.”

  Salius grinned before responding, “Very true; tell me, what is your name?”

  “I am Zackarius, trusted messenger of his lordship, Legatus Tiberius, once the Praetorian Protector of the Empire; now its harbinger. And you, my Lord?”

  “That is quite a title... I am King Salius, Lord of the Unkneeled,” replied Salius before he stopped to gaze across at Zackarius with a curious expression. Then after a moment or two passed, Salius continued, “Legatus Tiberius was actually brought before me this morning; he is currently confined, waiting for me to call upon him, to make judgment. I am actually headed back to the seat of decision right now, and I wonder if you might tell me a little more about Tiberius along the way, it's potentially possible that your words might even help to bring your commander a more favorable outcome.”

  “Of course your majesty. Um... my Lord?”

  “Yes?”

  “Please don't mention to Lord Tiberius what I had spoken earlier; I know we are rebels now, but I'm not sure he would take kindly to my repeating their sacred anthems yet. I mean, it's, it's just perhaps a little to soon is all, and besides, when I uttered it I was under the impression that you were going to have me executed.”

  Salius chuckled as he turned to walk toward the city gates, with Zackarius and the Kings-guard following in tow, before he spoke, “It will remain between us.”

  Zackarius breathed a subtle sigh of relief before giving reply, “Thank you.”

  Salius nodded his head in acknowledgment before going on, “By the way, I should probably inform you that if I hadn't stopped him, it's entirely possible that that man might have killed you for kneeling. See in Golgaleth culture, kneeling is the greatest disgrace, hence their sacred right of execution called the Falling. So in the future it would be wise to refrain.”

  “Yes my Lord. Um, the Falling?”

  Salius stopped to glance at Zackarius before resuming his kingly saunter, “Yes, of course, why should you know, obviously you haven't been here long. See, the Falling is an important piece of extremely ancient cultural significance to the Golgaleth. It begins either at sunrise or sunset with the accused standing up while placing his head over what you would refer to as a chopping block. The accused is then struck in the head by the executioner from above at full force by club or hammer. Then comes the important part. If the executed falls to his knees first as he dies, then it is believed that in the next life he will be nothing, the lowliest slave, being denied the right to be Golgaleth; however, if he falls so that any part of his body above the thigh touches the ground before his knees then he will enter the next life again as a giant of men, as Golgaleth. It is also believed by the Golgaleth that there are individuals within the other races which are capable of living such valiant, strong, unkneeling lives that they too can be given the right to enter their new life as one of them. Those non-Golgaleth that are thought to have such quality are referred to, in their tongue, as Oböjd, which in the Imperial standard means roughly, unbowed. That being said, Golgaleth therefore believe that their knees should never touch the ground in life, and those whose knees do, deserve to be slaves. As for me, they have already declared that I am Oböjd, which in their culture is a rare honor.”

  “I see,” answered Zackarius.

  After a few moments passed, with both Salius and Zackarius walking in silence, Zackarius was the first to speak, “My lord, if it pleases you, and with all due respect, would you enlighten me with explanation as to how you can understand the imperial standard, and also how you know so much about the Empire?

  “Along with my height I presume...? Very well, like you I came from a place outside of the wall,” Salius paused for a brief moment before resuming, “You see, well over a year ago I set out on a journey, and after hitting a dead end, instead of going home I headed off in search of a people or purpose were my gifts could be of use. I didn't get far before the ship which I was on was blown way off course due to a wild storm and subsequently crashed onto the shore of the Island. Long story short, I went beyond the wall and happened upon these people; then, with a little time and blood, I purchased the throne. It's amazing how quickly circumstances change my friend, and that is especially true beyond the wall,” there was a short pause before Salius continued as they made way through the large city which was currently still under construction, “Now, about your commander...”

  Salius stood in the sacred room of the Unkneeled, leaning on a pillar, overlooking the courtyard. The courtyard was a large circular area in the middle of Jhorna, the ancient, now resurrected, Golgaleth capital. It was separated from the rest of the city by a slightly larger, more fortified wall than that which existed at Jhorna's border. Once going through the gates of the courtyard one would walk down a long cobble stone path which ended at the entrance to a surprisingly tall circular tower, standing at a height of near sixty feet. Then, upon entering, one would be met with a stone, spiral staircase that led all the way up to the ceiling, which opened into the center of the sacred room from which the king ruled the fourteen Unkneeled.

  Salius glanced back at the fifteen large, empty, stone seats which sat near the edge facing each other, going all the way around the open, circular room. Then, he looked at the stone pillars which held up the stone roof. The whole building was an impressive monolith which had stood throughout the long centuries and appeared as though it would stand for centuries more.

  Salius moved his gaze again, looking back over, the courtyard at the huge dining hall, the guards quarter's, the small wooden palace, and many more buildings which existed therein. He began to feel weariness from the long day approach, and Salius straightened his back immediately in effort to keep it at bay; he had but one more task to complete before he would allow himself to delight in the notion of rest.

  Suddenly, Salius turned around, sauntering over to his throne as he heard men climbing the long staircase below. There were fourteen other seats in the room, but the one built for the king was just a little bigger than the rest.

  With no one else currently in the room, Salius smiled as he dwelled upon the incredible, true notion, that just over a year ago he was the lowly son of a farmer. But, here he was now, after a bizarre and in all ways surreal series of events, a king in his own right, sitting on his throne in judgment of the legendary Praetor Tiberius, Protector of the Empire.

  What a strange world.

  Not long after taking his seat, Tiberius rose in the middle of the throne room, escorted by four of Salius' Kings-guard. Tiberius gave a slight bow before Salius, showing respect, and as was proper Salius motioned his hand, indicating that Tiberius had permission to rise. Salius then spoke, �
��I trust you were treated well while in confinement?”

  “I was.”

  “Good,” there was a brief pause before Salius went on, “Tell me Legatus, do you know who the Unkneeled are?”

  “

  Respectfully

  , no, I do not.”

  Salius took a moment to reply, “Many years ago, long before the Empire, the Golgaleth were united under one king, and this king ruled over the fourteen Unkneeled. The Unkneeled were the lords of fourteen houses which ruled the whole of their race. That government lasted for centuries, but after the great war, the seven remaining Unkneeled were without a king, their kingdom in tatters. After a few years of containment on the island, the seven united factions which remained, became divided in petty squabbles that became minor, but destructive, wars which led to lost culture and the emergence of small chiefdoms,” Salius paused, “My current goal, Tiberius, is to restore that which was lost by reforging this kingdom, and afterward, once it's strength is reborn, I will march on the Empire with a glorious army, the likes of which the world has not seen in five centuries. Four ancient houses of the Unkneeled remain amongst the cacophony of chiefdoms, and two have already joined me... The day grows long Tiberius so I will make this as quick and painless as possible. If you are indeed at war with the Empire then give me your service. I need an experienced military commander like you on my side. Your servant Zackarius has revealed to me your goal, and you and I both know that you have no chance on your own; you don't have the men, the money... I am your only hope.”