Azra of the Burning Sands (Genesis Project)

by Arlin Fehr

  ‘Let’s get back to the palace, the walls are lost.’

  ‘Last I saw of your men, they were already being lead back there by your captain, John Fort.’

  ‘Good man. Let’s join them.’

  ‘Gladly.’

  Victory and Retreat

  ‘No one knows where this power came from... these Archways... they are ancient, from a time before time... blessed by the Heavens that we were granted this great gift too...’

  -Altharia Sullok, one of the founders of the Anciantos Empire

  OUTSIDE JARRIDON – BAZRA DESERT – HALLI

  Shakla’s mount carried him over the top of the last dune, and quickly down the other side. The walls of Jarridon stood before him, one of the guard towers spewing fire from its windows, a pillar of black smoke stretching to the skies above. The fire had been Shakla’s doing – a flaming arrow fired through the window, and set ablaze by Shakla’s Mahgic wind, in a hope of drawing the Wyzard within the walls out into the open. It hadn’t worked, but it had given Shakla’s forces a potent opening to take the walls.

  Now his men controlled this wall face and one of the three gates of the city. Shakla rode up to the nearest gate. It creaked open in front of him, his Raiders now in control of the mechanisms of the great wooden gate.

  He rode into the city. One of the desert Raiders ran up next to his mount. He turned his head to look at him, and tasted the air. Smoke, blood, and death were prevalent.

  ‘Lord Shakla, we’ve taken the wall, and the remainder of their forces have retreated to the Baron’s palace.’

  ‘What of the others?’ asked Amahl, from his position next to Shakla.

  ‘They’ve taken the far wall. We have won the walls, and our foe flees like a desert Kam into hiding, in the safety of their burrow. They have shown themselves to be cowards.’ The raider spat on the ground.

  ‘A trapped beassst isss sssstil dangerousss,’ Shakla warned.

  ‘Yes lord...’ replied the man.

  ‘What of the citizens of the city?’ Amahl demanded.

  ‘They’ve hidden themselves away. Their houses and shops sit empty.’

  Shakla turned away from the Raider and looked down the main street, leading from the gate to the open courtyard in front of the Baron’s palace. The street was empty, and as far as he could see; so was the courtyard.

  He looked back at the Raider and Amahl.

  ‘The citizensss are not the prizsse. Asssemble the men at the gate. We take the palace.’

  ‘Yes, Lord Shakla.’

  *

  BARON’S PALACE – JARRIDON - HALLI

  ‘They’ve started to move to the courtyard,’ Azra said to those assembled in his lobby, opening his eye’s from a trance.

  ‘It’s time to consider leaving, Wyzard,’ said Cina grimly.

  Azra glanced at the door to the left of the stairs leading upward from the lobby. That door lead to the downward stairs and the Archway, as well as the catacombs beneath the city, that were filled with the people from the empty metropolis.

  ‘I will check the Archway,’ Azra growled. ‘Jahnyz, you seal the entrances.’

  ‘What should I use?’ asked his apprentice

  ‘Use any pieces of metal around the palace that you can get to easily. Use them and transfigure them into bars and blockades.’

  ‘That won’t keep out arrows.’

  ‘It won’t keep ours in either. We can hide behind cover in here. They have to cross the open plaza to get to us. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’m off to the Archway room.’

  Azra turned from his companions and opened one of the two doors behind him. He walked swiftly down a corridor of polished stone blocks, and came to an crossroads near the end. A staircase lead down a level, running under the staircase upwards that was in the lobby. Around him, more doors and corridors branched off. He started down the stairs.

  At the bottom of the stairs, there was a wide, open, room. In an alcove to his left, bathing the room in a soft blue light, Azra saw the shimmering shape of the Archway. To the right, sat two closed double doors made of a dark wood. Those lead to the tunnels beneath the city.

  Azra walked up to the Archway. Its ornately carved stone frame was shimmering in the soft light cast by the swirling blue and white expanse of energy filling the space between the frame’s edges. Azra placed a hand against the Archway and closed his eyes.

  He felt his connection the Archway and the connection had with the capitol of the realm, thanks to the focus crystal sitting in a slot for it near the top of the frame. The connection was strong and unbroken.

  Azra left the room and started back for the lobby.

  He entered the lobby and found Jahnyz sealing off the last of the doorway. She held a decorative shield and sword from off the wall, and another hand outstretched towards the doorway she was sealing. The shield and sword began to glow, and turned to molten liquid. Jahnyz then used her Mahgic to form it into bars across the doorway, standing vertically. They stretched the whole length of the door, and seemingly fussed with the frame. She then used her Mahgic to cool it again, forming an effective blockade.

  Azra looked around, and found Kia and Lady Cina nearby. He walked briskly up to them.

  ‘What do you have to tell us?’ Cina asked.

  ‘The Archway is still connected with the capitol. I couldn’t detect any foul play, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any.’

  ‘I’ll have one of my men go through ahead and come back again. That should show us,’ Cina said.

  ‘Then gather your men and let’s go.’ Azra walked up to John, saying, ‘Hold here until I get back. If you are pushed hard, retreat to the basement, but the enemy must not get past to doors to the tunnels. Not until we can get the citizens on their way out of the city via the tunnels.’

  ‘Yes sir.’

  Azra went back to the Archway room and waited for Kia, Cina, and her men to arrive.

  They were soon there.

  One of the soldiers stepped forward.

  ‘Are you the one who’s going through first?’

  The solider just nodded, no emotion on his face.

  ‘I commend your courage. So, as soon as you pass through, you must immediately see that the other side is safe and step back through the Archway. As soon as you are back, we’ll send through the rest of you. Ready?’

  Again, a nod.

  ‘All right, through you go.’

  The solider stepped into the shimmering expanse and disappeared completely as he passed through. Everyone waited in silence. After a short moment, the solider stepped back into the room again, materializing from the Archway.

  ‘Is it safe?’ Azra asked.

  ‘Yes. The palace guard waits for us on the other side,’ the soldier said in a low growl.

  ‘Good.’ Azra turned to Cina, an asked, ‘Is this satisfactory?’

  Cina nodded and grabbed Kia by the hand. She started to lead the Princess to the Archway. Kia broke away and moved closer to Azra.

  ‘You’ll come soon won’t you?’ she asked.

  ‘As soon as I can.’

  Cina grabbed onto Kia again, determination in her face, and together they disappeared into the Archway. The soldiers from her personal guard followed.

  The Serpent’s Deal

  ‘What mean you, you are not from this world... the Anciantos Empire is vast, spanning many stars... there are many not of this world...’

  -Amahl, leader of the Zharin Raiders, when first he met Shakla

  JARRIDON – BAZRA DESERT – HALLI

  With his niece safe through the Archway, Azra left the room and ran up the stairs to the lobby of his home. As he went through the door to the room, he noticed something wasn’t quite right.

  Everyone was looking in the same direction. All were silent. Azra turned to follow their collective gazes.

  Outside, on the far end of the plaza, at the head of a large host of desert Raiders, the snake man Sorcerer atop his black lizard mount was visible.

  Amplif
ied by his own Mahgic, the Sorcerer’s voice carried clearly across the empty plaza.

  ‘Sssoldiersss, I ssseek an audience with your leader.’

  John and Jahnyz looked at Azra. Azra took a breath and walked forward slowly. He felt Jahnyz starting to cast protective spells around him. John rushed to the upper levels with more archers.

  Azra walked up to the sealed main entrance and raised his hands. The barricades that had been placed over it, slide aside and the Wyzard of the Burning Sands took a step out onto the front steps of the palace.

  Summoning his own Mahgic, Azra increased the volume of his own voice.

  ‘What do you want, Sorcerer? Why have you attacked this city?’

  ‘Don’t be ssso demanding. I am in control here. I am Ssshakla, leader of the hossst you sssee before you.’ The Sorcerer shifted in his saddle, sitting up taller.

  ‘Control has yet to be surrendered, Shakla,’ Azra pointed out. ‘You still have yet to take this palace, and we are ready to face you.’

  ‘Your diplomatic ability leavesss much to be desssired. I have given you my name, and yet you do me the dissshonour of withholding your own.’

  Azra bit his lower lip in frustration. Now wouldn’t be a time he’d be worrying about proper protocol. Still, he wanted to hear what this Sorcerer had to say.

  ‘I am Azra Hemnoth, of the Burning Sands. Baron of the Bazra Desert in the Kingdom of Hallon.’

  ‘Asssra Hemnoth... How very intresssting.’

  Something about the way he said that put Azra on edge.

  Azra squinted. A Zharin Raider was rushing up to Shakla. The Sorcerer saw this man and bent down as the Raider said something too him. Due to the distance, Azra couldn’t hear anything.

  A chill ran through the Wyzard.

  Behind him, he heard the door at the back of the lobby slam open, and the sound of armoured boots rushing across the marble floor to where he was.

  ‘We will continue our meeting in a moment, Asssra. I have a sssmall mater to look into,’ Shakla said, his Mahgic imbued voice carrying.

  The snake man turned his mount around and rode through the midst of his forces, leaving them arrayed at the far end of the plaza.

  Azra turned around to see who was coming towards him.

  An enraged looking Cina was standing right behind him when he turned. Azra’s blood drained from his face as she grabbed his robe and pulled him forward.

  ‘Where is Kia?’ she roared, anger clear on her face.

  ‘You took her through the Archway yourself!’

  ‘She wasn’t on the other side when I came through. She didn’t come through with any of the soldiers either. She is gone!’

  ‘Shouldn’t our Guardian Marks tell us where she is or if she is in danger?’ Azra asked, pulling Cina’s gauntlet’s fingers off of his robe.

  Cina let go of his robe quickly, and closed her eyes. Azra, growing concerned, did the same. He concentrated on activating the Guardian Mark, in the hope of it showing him the location of Kia.

  The fact that it hasn’t activated must mean she isn’t in danger. An unpleasant thought came to Azra, Or it’s being blocked... by a powerful Mahgic user.

  ‘Asssra, I have returned, and I have a deal for you and your people.’

  Cina and Azra were startled by the loud hissing voice carried across the plaza, and both looked up in unison. Shakla sat atop his mount, with Kia standing timidly at his side, flanked by several guards, and with a chain around her neck. The other end of the chain was in Shakla’s hand.

  Azra heard Cina draw her sword and turned on her, grabbing her arm. ‘Don’t! She’ll be dead before you even get across the plaza. You’ll be dead for that matter!’

  ‘Use your Mahgic and place me over there!’ Cina demanded.

  ‘He already fooled me with Mahgic far beyond my own by stealing Kia right out of the Archway. I don’t know what I can and can’t do without him being able to stop it. You could be whisked away to the Zhakim Island for all I know!’

  ‘We have to do something!’ Cina said urgently.

  ‘You think I don’t know that? Let’s hear what he wants,’ Azra pleaded.

  Cina sheathed her sword and stood in brooding silence.

  Azra turned to Shakla and amplified his voice again, saying, ‘What’s your deal?’

  ‘Your help, for her life,’ Shakla stated simply.

  ‘My... my help? What in the Divine’s name do you need my help for?’

  ‘My original plan wasss to sssteal sssomeone of value and ussse that asss leverage againssst the king... However, negotiationsss with a Lord of the Land are hard to preform without the right set up. Being able to ussse you inssstead, here and now, isss of a more usssefull and timely manner.

  ‘My true prissze isss not any ssspoil of war. I do not come here in hopesss of ssslicing my own little empire. I only ssseek cssertain piecesss of knowledge. You can help me with that, and then you can get your Princesssse back, and I will leave here forever.’

  ‘Why me? Why not look yourself?’

  ‘My movementsss cannot be asss open asss yoursss. I wasss going to take your Archway and ussse it for my sssearch, after dissspatching your defendersss, asss I know more about their utility than you. If you had been more knowledgeable, you would not have had your Princesssesss sssnatched from your grip. Though, even with the Archway, and my prisssoner, sssearching on my own would be difficult and ssslow. My time is preciousss.

  ‘Ssso, again, Baron Hemnoth, you help me find the knowledge I ssseek, and you can have your Princesss back, and I will leave your realm forever,’ Shakla said.

  ‘Agreed.’

  Azra heard Cina suck in a sharp breath

  ‘Very wissse. I will leave thisss city in your handsss. In two daysss, you will come to the desssert ssstronghold of the Zharin Raidersss. You will come alone, or ssshe diesss. We will talk more then.’

  With that, Shakla turned his mount around, and, with a sharp pull on the chain, lead Kia away, into the host of Raiders. After he was out of sight, the Raiders turned and started to leave.

  Cina grabbed Azra’s shoulder and turned him around. ‘If we are quick, we can still beat them to the gate and trap them inside the walls.’

  ‘To what end Cina? So we can all die? So we can watch him kill Kia?’

  ‘He may still kill Kia!’ Cina roared.

  ‘I don’t think he will. I think he was telling the truth. Kia’s just a means to an end. He wants to make sure I do his dirty work. If he kills her, he knows I’d be no further use to him.’

  ‘If she dies, I hold you responsible,’ Cina said darkly.

  Azra took a step towards her, his features twisted in anger, and he snarled, ‘Your threats mean nothing to me! I hold myself responsible!’ His fury left him just as quickly as it had come, his face falling in anguish and his voice softening. ‘I hold myself responsible. I can’t lose her, and my desire to never see her harmed is deeper than mere duty. I know the risks I take.’

  Cina looked taken aback.

  She turned without a word, and stepped back into the palace.

  Azra looked across the plaza. He saw the Raiders disappearing down the main street, still walking toward the main gate. Soon they would be gone, and with them, Kia would be out of his protection.

  He didn’t like the feeling.

  No, he didn’t like the feeling one bit.

  END OF VOLUME I

  VOLUME II:

  Desert Prison

  Snakes

  ‘Fear a gentle, soft-spoken evil more than a loud thunderstorm... It is the quiet, hidden, evils that are hardest to fight, hardest to see, and hardest to survive...’

  -The Wisdom of Zug Twill

  THE WESTERN WASTES – BAZRA DESERT – HALLI

  When night came, the Raiders settled camp under a great, white, moon, out in the arid wastes of the desert. They settled camp at the foot of a tall dune that was wrapped around a pillar of red rock.

  Kia was shocked at how cold the desert had gotten after th
e sun went down. Her legs were tired, burning, from walking all day, hands bound to a chain, chain held in the firm grip of the hooded, snake-man, Sorcerer. More than once in the long trek, Kia had stumbled. The Sorcerer, astride his great, black, lizard, had just continued forward, dragging Kia behind.

  She’d had no choice but to get up again and keep moving.

  She’d shed most of her armour in the long walk, so she could keep up, and survive in the searing heat, but now, in a grey tunic and dark slacks, she was shivering, teeth chattering in the freezing air of the evening.

  The Sorcerer guided the setting of camp from the back of his lizard mount and Kia stood beside the beast, shivering away, hands ever bound tightly in front of her. When a large tent had been erected in the middle of the camp, the Sorcerer bellowed out a call, and all the Raiders had encircled him, the lizard mount, and Kia.

  The Sorcerer looked down on the grubby, tired, men and beckoned a tall man, with striking blue eyes. The man bowed and pulled the hood off his head and the wrappings from his face. He had a neatly trimmed beard, sharp features, and an unexpectedly smooth face. It stood apart from the scarred and marred faces of most of the other Raiders Kia had seen.

  ‘Amahl, leader of these people, General of my forcesss... witnessss,’ the Sorcerer said, glaring down on the man with his snake-eyes. Then he looked out at the hordes of Raiders. ‘All give ear! No harm isss to come to thisss girl!’

  The Sorcerer pointed at Kia.

  ‘Spoils of war!’ one man bellowed out from the crowd. ‘Let us have some fun with her, Lord Shakla! She is Nobility! Our sworn foes!’

  The man had pulled down the wrappings from his face and Kia could see he was a hard-looking individual with a scraggly beard that was quite patchy in places. There were scars and sores on his face, and he had a cleft lip.

  It was not a face that was easy to forget.

  ‘No, Captain Rathet!’ Shakla said with finality, but he didn’t shout. ‘Ssshe will not be touched.’