by Asher, Yarid
Leosher nodded and kept on walking to sit on his throne but changed his course again when he saw that it was still in the yards. He decided to go and take a bath again. He plunged into the water and again made them muggy with blood but this time he kept his clothes on, for he knew there were children in the castle. He kept his royal clothes on and did not even bother to take the regal cloak off.
After he was done taking a bath, he went back to his room and wrote a rough list of rules that he wanted in his kingdom.
All rich residents must pay money to keep their gold.
All males shall be available at any time to serve their king.
All shall be loyal to their king.
All must travel to other countries with permission.
The king’s advisors must know about all trades going on within the kingdom and beyond the kingdom.
All shall do what the king wishes for them to do.
None shall question the authority of the king.
All criminals shall be put to death, no matter the crime.
Poor shall receive free food from the kingdom’s reserves, once a week.
All under the age of 12 shall receive education.
All must live near the castle.
The family must listen to the Father and if the father is dead, the son shall be the head of the family.
These twelve laws were the main laws that Leosher wished to be in his kingdom. He gave the piece of parchment to Virgil who was standing in the court hall. He had finished all of his tasks and now he was enjoying the evening feast that the people held in the court hall. There was dancing with joy and delicious food. Men drank rum in the corner and children played in the center. There was a cheerful atmosphere all over the castle and all the residents of The Empire loved their new kingdom.
The women of the kingdom shared their recipes for their delicious foods and the old shared their wisdoms. Many children sat around Lamfari as he told them the stories of his journeys to the far lands and many children sat around Barian, Usere and Urey as they told about their journeys and the fight against the Leviathan. Neiham and Azar sat with the Union where they discussed all that had been going on. Adne was happy and was now a regal and all of the residents respected her, for she was the mother of the King of The Empire. Everyone enjoyed and the smell of delicious meat, charcoal and sweet rum in the air was the best anyone had ever smelt.
“Listen well brother,” Leosher said to Virgil while handing him the parchment “This is a rough list of the rules I wish to be abided in my kingdom. I give you and the rest of the closest, Azar, Neiham, Barian, Usere and Urey, the authority to add some other laws.”
Virgil nodded and put the parchment in a pouch he had and continued enjoying. All enjoyed and loved the evening, for this was their first worriless evening. They had never had so much food to eat, not even the rich. They had never felt safer and the warmth of the fire under the pots and in the lanterns made it amazing.
Leosher looked for Meagon and went outside in the grounds with her. They both sat on a stone table in the moon light and looked around at the blue and white flowers that covered the grass.
“How are you?” asked Leosher in a softer voice than usual “It has been a long time since we sat together, alone.”
“I know,” she smiled “I missed you.”
“Do you like this castle?”
“Yes,” she smiled again and looked around “This dark sky and the bright moon light and the cool breeze makes it even more beautiful than the morning and the sweet scent of the flowers is even better.”
Leosher got up and took his boots off “Put your feet on the cool grass,” Meagon followed him and took her sandals off. Both of them rubbed their feet on the ground and enjoyed the sweet tickle under their feet.
“Meagon, can I tell you something?”
“Yes, Leo, you can tell me anything.”
Leosher blushed a bit “I am a king now. Call me Leosher, King Leosher.”
“No matter how regal you become, I will always call you Leo, in private of course.”
“Okay let us get serious now. I have to ask you something.”
Meagon blushed looked into Leosher’s eyes and smiled a bit “Go on.”
Both of them got closer and closer “Will you be my Queen after I am done with my quest of being the ruler of Thraenus and Aseroth?”
“Yes Leo, I will be your bride.”
There was a huge smile on both of their faces and both kissed and enjoyed the full moon night. The brisk breeze and the cool grass beneath their feet made it even more romantic. They both talked and enjoyed the moon light until midnight. It was now time for everyone to go back. All those who lived far, were to live in nearby towns.
Now no one was afraid of traveling at night, for they knew no one would take them hostage, rob them or kill them but before going, Virgil announced all of the laws. No one hated the laws and all thought that the laws were soft enough to let them enjoy life and were harsh enough to threaten the evil-doers in the community.
The night was splendid but every good thing must come to an end and the midnight was this party’s end. Adne, Meagon, Buntius and Lamfari stayed in the castle as well as the warriors and the Empirion soldiers but all the others left and took all the commotion with them. Leosher went back to his bed chamber and went to sleep as soon as he layed on the brisk and soft bed. He did not even take the cloak off; he simply unsheathed his weapons, took the sheaths off of his body and slept.
CHAPTER 12
It was dawn and the suns shone into Leosher’s bed chamber through the huge window doors that opened up to the balcony. They struck his eyes and he had to get up. He sat up with his legs haging down from the high, white bed, and rubbed his eyes. He sat there for some moments until he gained his conscious and soon he got up and changed his white toga and wore the royal clothes. He opened the huge doors to go outside in the marbled halls and he swaggered to the dining halls with his cloak dragging behind him.
The dining room was beautiful. It was filled with flowers and had giant door-like windows with white and crystal blue see-through curtains. They fluttered in the morning breeze and the flowers bloomed and made the atmosphere pleasant. The floor was cobble stoned and there was a big dining table in the middle. It was a long, heavy table made with red wood and had dozens of chairs around it. It was a bit gothic style with strange carvings on the chairs, for this was Geluna’s table and had not been replaced; only refurbished and cleaned. The new workers of the castle had also placed a huge chandelier in the ceiling, above of the table. It was made with blue and yellow crystals with light blue flames blazing within it.
Leosher came and sat on the first end, on the throne like chair of the king and waited for all the others to come out there for breakfast too. Just as he sat there, his servants, many of them who were humans, came out of the grand kitchen with trays and trays, all filled with food. There were meats of all kinds, fruits of all kinds and bread, all prepared especially by Adne as a coronation gift for her son.
Adne followed the servants out of the kitchen and she was wearing the same, fancy clothes from yesterday. She walked to her son and kissed him on the forehead and sat on one of the chairs and soon, all of the warriors came out of their chambers as well, including Virgil. Meagon and Buntius joined them too and all began enjoying the breakfast.
“Tonight, we shall journey to attack the Strinthiun castle” Leosher said while taking a bite from a loaf of bread “We shall conquer the kingdom of Colossus too.”
“But brother,” Virgil interrupted “Strinthius is 4 days’ worth of journeying. We will need a place to stay.”
Urey coughed and laughed “You all might be forgetting something. My brother and I are from Strinthius and we were bounty hunters. We have men who shall accommodate us. Just tell us the route we shall travel.”
Usere gnawed on a buffalo leg “There is only one way to get to Strinthius and that is to go back towards the outskirts and cross the mountains and then travel th
rough the strip of land that connects Strinthius to The Empire.”
Barian joined in the conversation too “If we sail, we will get to the land of Strinthius faster. I suggest we take the biggest ships we have and go by sea.”
Leosher thought for a moment and looked at Virgil “Bring me the map.”
Virgil got up and brought the war maps from the soldiers’ quarters and put them in front of Leosher.
“I believe we should leave now,” Adne smiled and got up “We do not belong here.” She looked at Buntius and Meagon and both of them followed her out and left the warriors alone.
Leosher had the large parchment map in front of him and he started planning.
“If we take the sea route, we will go directly to the castle but we will not have the necessary provisions to fight a battle,” Usere said while caressing his beard “I think we should take the land route.”
“I agree,” Azar said and took a long puff from his pipe and got up. He walked closer to the map and traced the route with his finger “If we go through land, we will be able to go to the Gelun trade market to gather provisions and modern weapons and then climb over the middle mountains in about two days’ journey. Afterwards, we travel through the tribe of the Nephilims of the west, and to the Elf land, where Usere and Urey can meet their family and provide proper accommodations for the Empirion army. If we take the land route, which we should, we will get to Elf land in about 3 and a half days, if we leave now, and we can attack the castle on the fourth day and on the fourth day, Leosher will be the king of Strinthius and “The Empire” should be expanded by about twice its size.”
Azar was quiet satisfied with his plan and cleverness, for he was the wisest in the group but then Barian took a big gulp of rum from his leather flask that was hanging from his waist and coughed and stood up “My lord if I may,”
“Yes you may.” Leosher smiled and let him continue.
He took another gulp and walked over to the map “We should travel through the water, for it is shorter. We will reach the castle of Colossus in two days. They would not be expecting us to come through the sea route but we will, and therefore we would be at a fantastic advantage. The other fact is that their harbor protections are weak therefore it will be easier to penetrate into the castle.”
Leosher liked both plans but he had to choose one. He sat on his chair and leaned on the arm of the chair with his hand under his chin and weighed the plans and after careful examinations, he finally broke the silence
“We shall go both ways.” All were surprised to hear what he said but then he completed his sentence. He looked at Azar “We shall leave right now, and travel on the land. We will get to the Elf land by the night of the 3rd day and we will wait until the night of the 4th day,” then he looked at Barian who was still standing with the flask in his mouth “You will leave this castle in two days and attack the castle on the night of the fourth day. That way, we will surprise them from both sides and then we will marvel at our victory.”
“That is brilliant,” Virgil sat back down on his chair and smiled “Now it is settled. Barian shall lead the navy to fight and we all shall leave today with the army.”
Neiham, who had been sitting quiet for a long time finally broke her silence,
“My lord may I ask something?” Leosher nodded in approval and she continued “Last night, I discovered something. It was a mixture of components in powdery form. It could light on fire and blow up.” Leosher sat up in his chair and increased his attention “I call it flash powder but what I mean to say is, that we can have it on our ship and instead of shooting harpoons on the castle, we could shoot metal balls which would be more destructive and efficient.”
Everyone liked Neiham’s accomplishment and appreciated her. Leosher himself liked it a lot and had a smirk on his face and soon he got up and looked at everyone “This is why I have an enchantress and a potion maker on my advice group.” Then he looked at Neiham again “You may put this technology on all the ships we have, but I have one question for you, what will you call the device that will shoot the balls?”
“I shall call it, the canon.”
They all were happy that they had a new weapon in their arsenal, and after all was settled and all the plans were made, the meeting ended and all began to get the army ready for the journey. Neiham and Barian took the craftsmen of their kingdom to the harbors where they built huge ships with Leosher’s flag on them, a red flag with a golden Kris blade. The ships were being made with oak wood, the most prominent wood in the forests of The Empire. 16 huge ships, Galleons, were being made and all the ships were to have dozens of kegs filled with the powder prepared by Neiham, and there were to be hundreds of metal balls to be shot as well.
Leosher stood in the entrance of the castle, near the main gates and waited for his horse to arrive. He had all of his weapons and the most important one of them all on this part of his journey, the golden spear. He had made sure he had it with him this time, for he was not about to make the same mistake he did with Geluna.
After he had stood in the morning sun for about several minutes, his dark horse finally arrived. It was fully black with a shiny fur and a short, warrior like mane. It had a leather saddle on it with golden stirrups and had a satchel on one side for Leosher’s belongings, such as some of his weapons, for he was carrying the gauntlet, the Gladius sword, the spear and a scythe, four weapons in total. His brother held the horse in place as a respect to the king and Leosher sat on it and just as he turned around and saw that all the army was lined up behind him.
“Let us journey to the kingdom of Strinthius and bring the demise of Colossus.”
And just as he said that, the journey to the castle of Colossus began and Leosher was in front of the group. There were hundreds of men who followed him and praised him. Some carried their weapons and now but all had their armors on. The size of the army had increased because some of the male residents of The Empire, had joined the army too. The entire army was engulfed in black steel that matched the color of Leosher’s clothes and had his emblem on them, the Kris blade. His emblem was no longer his face, because it was too costly to make, and wasn’t as deadly looking as a Kris blade.
The army had many types of men. Some carried broad swords with them; some carried long spears and shields with Leosher’s emblem and the rest, Urey’s group, carried bows and arrows. Although half of the army did not have their weapons, for the armory ran out of metals to forge them, the Empirions looked deadly.
They traveled and traveled. It took them about 14 hours to travel through the grasslands and finally reached the Gelun trade market. It was a big town filled with traders and merchants and forgers. People from all over Thraenus came here for the grains and food in turn for Strinthiun money and Agnithiun weapons. All the shops were made with clay and wood. The streets were soil and did not have a hard surface on them. There were many barns and rest places for the weary travelers and their animals as well. It was very close to the sea and there were hundreds of ships docked in the harbor too.
Everyone in the market now knew Leosher and praised him. They offered him clothes and gifts; many offered him wine and water as well. Leosher smiled at them and did not take any of them, for he did not want them and instead quickly found a nice group of rest places for his men and sent them in it to rest and spend the night in. He himself planned to stay in the fanciest place he could find.
After all of the accomodations were done, Leosher went and talked to Virgil.
“Virgil, go to the blacksmiths and order them to make weapons for my men with my emblem on them—and make sure you do not pay them.”
Virgil nodded but did not like the way Leosher acted, for he wanted to pay the people their fare share but Leosher was forbidding him from doing so and he had to listen to his king, no matter what. He went to a blacksmith market and chose the one who did not have any buyers. All the others were filled with customers but this one only shouted for them to come to him but none did. It was an old man, about n
inety years old and in his last days, for humans did not live as long as the other species did. He had a young boy with him who helped him and the boy was about 9 years old and both were not being able to sell anything, for everyone wanted to get their job done by young and strong hands, not old and weak. He wore rags and had silvery white hair, just like Azar’s, and sat cross legged on a stool in front of his shop and tried to get people’s attention but none gave him any.
Finally, Virgil passed by and the man yelled out “Please, give me a chance and you will get the best work you have ever seen.”
Virgil turned around and saw him. He was shocked, for Virgil was the first one who had listened to him but he said again “Come to me and you will get a piece of work you will never be able to forget.”
Virgil smiled and finally walked to him “Why do others have much work but you have none?”
“It is because they think, just because one is old, he is useless but trust me, you will not regret coming to me.”
Virgil laughed and patted the young boy on his head “Do you help this man?”
The little boy was shy at first but he finally replied “Yes, but I do not get to help my grandfather a lot, for we do not get much work to do.”
The boy was wearing rags too but his grandfather provided him with the best he could afford. Both were extremely poor and barely ate something in a day.
Virgil looked at the old man “Where is this boy’s father?”
The man looked down at the ground and there were tears in his eyes “They were brutally killed by Geluna’s men, but now I feel safe, for I know the new king will take care of us all.”
Virgil smiled and thought in a sarcastic way “he sure will.” After, he looked around and sent a soldier to get Usere and Urey from their rest places. They knew all about weapons and the quality of metals, for they were bounty hunters and only used the finest weapons as their own. When they finally came down to Virgil they were shocked because he had chosen the oldest one, when he could choose the finest of them all.
