Large audiences gathered to watch these executions, and they sat on circular arenas around each of these pools, and looked down at those being drowned. Most in the audience cheered on the executioners, and cursed at the drowning Olden, as the king and Deputy Yaw were giving them permission to openly hate a people that frequently outmaneuvered them in business and in magic. A good deal of the Olden in Kyllary were well off, and few of them were in poverty as a proportion compared with the numbers of poor among the Kyllary. This was in part because only the bravest, smartest, or richest Olden found the means and the reasons to migrate between the two continents despite the dangers they were facing. Still, the poor peasants in Kyllary perceived the Olden as somehow illegally bewitching their way into riches and power at Kyllary and resented this power, which they lacked.
When news about the mass executions reached the Country of the Olden, the Olden leaders sent strong warnings to the king’s attention that if he persisted in the violent course he was pursuing, they would be forced to launch the strongest weapons and magic at their disposal against him to prevent further massacres of their compatriots.
The king replied with strongly worded threats against the Country of the Olden, assuring them that nothing would make him happier than engaging in all-out warfare with them, instead of just battling over a few measly islands. “We are certain that we will be victorious, and we will see the final fall of the Country of the Olden and the joining of our two continents under our Kyllary government.”
To stress this point, King Lohsa approved the most diabolical and violent plans Deputy Yaw could imagine, and the slaughter of the Olden on Kyllary became more engulfing and indiscriminate with each passing day. Soon even poor Olden on Kyllary were found in distant villages and huts, and were brought into towns for the executions. Bodies were buried in mass graves, and even children and pregnant women were put to death, without sympathies for the ailing or the infirm. The Olden across Kyllary who had the means to acquire vessels or flying beasts to make the trip traveled back to Olden in enormous numbers, trying to escape these slaughters. A few, who didn’t have the means for more sophisticated travel, even tried swimming across and perished in the waves near Kyllary’s shore.
Both countries began rebuilding their armies and everyone knew that a culminating war was imminent. Young boys in their teens volunteered to join the army on both sides because passions had never been higher, and there were never as many reasons to fight for what seemed to both sides to be a necessary and just war.
It was on one of these militant mornings that Deputy Yaw finally signed the annulment of the marriage between King Lohsa and Queen Ronela and sent copies of the annulment to the two parties in their separate quarters. As soon as the paper was in her hands, Queen Ronela tossed a few of her essential clothes, books, and cherished items into a travel bag, saddled her trusted flying beast, and took off for the Country of Olden, without saying goodbye to King Lohsa or anybody else at the castle. Everybody from the servants to the advisers had become despicable in her eyes, as she couldn’t find a single person who viewed the slaughters of the Olden as the criminal acts that she perceived them to be.
The journey was perilous, as she had to make frequent stops on small islands, hidden beneath clouds, to feed the appetite of her beast, and her own hunger on that long trip. But, she pressed the beast onwards and refused to take so much as a brief nap before she reached her destination because every day she might have lost could’ve meant a catastrophe for her dear Gerp, who she had missed terribly, and who she kept seeing in the delusional visions she started having on the second day of this trip due to sleep deprivation and the exhaustion of her tortured mind. She was upset with herself for staying at the castle as long as she did, and for failing to simply depart when the slaughters of the Olden started. What did she gain by waiting for the official annulment? And yet, achieving the annulment was a hurdle that she simply had to see in writing, as only this piece of paper could’ve meant the possibility of a new marriage, this time for love to Gerp, and a new life based on familial happiness and trust.
Chapter 5: The Invasion
Ronela arrived at the first port she saw from the ocean in Olden. It was crowded with hundreds of ships, and a long strip for the landing of flying beasts, creatures, and magicians. Ronela asked men that were wearing customs uniforms about how she might go about locating Sergeant Gerp. After she was passed around different officials at the port, she finally found an army general that determined from his contacts where Gerp was stationed and gave Ronela the address for a central military base where all of the key commanders were gathering as part of their research towards the coming war with Kyllary. Ronela managed to find the base using a basic map of Olden that she bought at the market.
It was visible from miles away, as it was surrounded by a tall stone fence, and was guarded by giant elephant-like creatures that started honking and yelling when they smelled and saw Ronela approaching them.
The beasts’ call brought half of the stationed army to look out at who was approaching over their great stone wall. Ronela stopped her two-headed beast in midair to avoid having somebody fire at her by mistake.
“It’s me… Ronela,” she called out to the guarding officers. “I’d like to speak with Sergeant Gerp…” she added.
There was a bit of rushing about along the wall and inside the enclosure. They had been warned that Ronela was coming to meet with Gerp, but apparently these “they” were a few of the top generals that needed to be informed of incoming fliers and not the vast majority of officers that were guarding the base.
Ronela just recalled that her joints were aching from the long flight, and she slumped against her beast, as she waited. She looked at the jungle around the base. It was thick, the sort of jungle that she had missed after her trip to the Teag Islands. The vegetation and trees of Kyllary were thinly planted, and there were more fields and woods in Kyllary’s forests.
Sergeant Gerp was finally found deep in the meeting chambers, where he was studying Kyllary maps and the last known positions of Kyllary’s main armed forces. He rushed outside the bunker, and blushed scarlet as he realized that hundreds of officers were staring at him fly up on his beast to meet some lady in courtly dress, who seemed to be visiting him for a tryst, as opposed to for some political purpose.
Gerp waved for Ronela to fly after him to a spot outside of the base, as he wasn’t able to voice anything at the moment. Ronela jumped out of her reverie, enlivened at seeing Gerp again. He looked dashing in a brand-new uniform, decorated with a few more ornaments, which suggested that he must’ve been promoted after the success at the Teag Islands. Ronela studied Gerp’s muscular back as he flew ahead. His loose shirt and pants were flapping in the evening breeze. He was flying at top speed at first, but then slowed down as his embarrassment wore off, and the memories of his last intimate meeting with Ronela were rushing back. He slowed his beast until it was flying level with Ronela’s and looked into her big eyes.
“I’m sorry I stormed in there like that. I didn’t realize it’d make such a scene,” Ronela said, lowering her eyes.
“It’s all right. They’ll recover. But, how are you here? How did you manage to get away?”
“My annulment has been finalized,” Ronela said, brightening.
“I didn’t realize you were seeking an annulment… The king must’ve kept it pretty private?”
“Yes, it’s been a challenge to get it, and it had to be done in secret.”
“But, why have you come here? It’s not a safe time to travel. As you must know, we’re preparing for war…”
“Yes, I know that was is inevitable. That’s why I came. To be of help to your country. It’s despicable what King Lohsa and Deputy Yaw are doing. They must be stopped.”
“Yes. We’ll do our best to set things right…”
Gerp fell silent for a moment and started a descent on his beast towards the jungle. It looked for a moment as if he was just going to crash into the tree l
ine on this sudden descent, but Ronela followed him down, trusting that there must be a reason for this sudden change of direction.
The red sun was beginning to set, and the jungle was outlined in a soft evening light. There were a few clouds scattered across the sky, and Ronela and Gerp flew through one of these low-flying fluffy clouds as they were approaching the tall ancient trees.
Gerp made loops around a few of these trees as he climbed down the levels of the jungle, and Ronela followed him down. After a sudden turn she saw what Gerp must have been aiming for. Enormous dry tree leaves were positioned in a row over what had to be the roof of a little jungle house. When they flew a bit lower, Ronela clearly distinguished the wooden columns on all sides of the rectangular house that stretched passed the suspended-in-air floor down to the ground that was many feet further down. Vines and the branches of trees blended with the sides of this house, and it seemed to have been erected there many years ago, and to have become a part of the jungle. Gerp landed his beast on a little walkway that extended from this house to a neighboring tree with a lookout post, and Ronela also landed on this narrow strip. Looking down, she noticed that there was a little pond below with an enclave opening to an underground cave at the side of a hill. Gerp took her reins and tied the beasts to one of the columns of the house. Then, he took Ronela’s hand and escorted her to a polished table inside the house. They sat on a couple of finely cut wooden chairs, and both looked out at the now bright-red sunset that was made more exotic through the dense leaves of the jungle.
“So, your marriage has been annulled?” Gerp said, pensively.
“Yes. It has been,” Ronela said, reclining on her seat, and taking in the chance to rest after that long flight.
“I see that you’re still wearing your marital nose ring…”
Ronela looked down at her pierced nose, “Yes, I guess I am. I’m tired of it, and hope to take it out soon. I just didn’t want to toss it out myself, in case it got infected.”
“Perhaps we should get a professional to replace it with an emblem of Olden?”
“Why would I replace it with… ” Ronela looked up at Gerp, catching his implications.
“Yes, what I’m trying to say is if you might be interested in marrying again?”
Ronela thought about it for a moment. What was she doing flying across the sea to this foreign continent? Why did she feel she had to help the Olden in this battle? Why had she thought about Gerp’s nude body for most of her trip across the ocean? “Yes, I think that marrying again would be something I’d enjoy.”
“Then, how would you feel if I asked you for your hand in marriage?”
“I don’t know yet, why don’t you try it the formal way?”
Gerp smiled and lay down on his back with his hands stretched upwards and clenched, “Would you please marry me, my darling Ronela? Would you do me the honor of becoming my partner in this lifetime?”
Ronela giggled, as she always found this formal proposal style to be overly dramatic and nonsensical, but it was adorable to see Gerp down there on the wooden floor, in that beautiful light. She crouched down in her already soiled royal dress and climbed over to him on her elbows. “Yes, Gerp, I will marry you. I’d like to be friends with you across this lifetime, and I hope that both of us will never see a reason why we should ever part.”
Gerp smiled softly and, hopping onto his own elbows, kissed Ronela gently on her soft lips. They made tender love on that wooden floor until the last rays of the sun hid the elegant outlines of their bodies from their sight. They cuddled for a bit, trying to make out the black outlines of the jungle, listening to the purring water in the pond below, and the soft blowing of the wind, and the puffing of the flying beasts, which were growing hungry and restless, and were sniffing each other seductively for some time now.
Gerp and Ronela returned to the army base, and when they informed the officials of their intentions, there was a lot of sniggering from those that had been whispering that the visit was no military maneuver, but instead only the flights of fancy of a young girl in love with a sergeant. Some of the older magicians and generals took the matter very seriously, as they saw it as a clear political match that promised good tidings for the coming war with Kyllary. The general in charge of the base presided over the marital services, changing Ronela’s nose ring for one with the image of the Olden continent, and placing the same symbol into Gerp’s nose.
After a passionate wedding night that Gerp and Ronela spent at their jungle house, without being overseen by a crowd of courtiers, or the pressure of performing every imaginable sexual position, the couple woke up to the same thought that they could not abandon the preparations for battle for another hour. After a brief breakfast on jungle fruits they could pick by leaning out of the jungle house, the newlyweds flew back to the base, and joined the generals at their morning debriefing. Ronela offered key bits of intelligence that the Olden couldn’t have known about without having been inside of the royal castle. Ronela had done some spying around the castle in her last few months there, and had acquired key bits of intelligence about army bases, new units being trained, and other military details.
It was decided that the Olden wouldn’t wait for the Kyllary to attack them, as seemed imminent if they did nothing, but instead that they would take their troops and would attack key bases and positions in Kyllary. An attack on the enemy’s soil was a tricky business because the home country always had the advantage of not having to move an enormous fleet overseas. But, the magicians devised enhancements to rapid travel through space that could accommodate whole armies, and with the help of these magical portals, the Olden army could simply step through a barrier and appear at a key location for a surprise attack. The troops were cheered by this innovation. They put on their silver helmets, sharpened their spears, and adjusted their heavy armor with jovial comradery. They knew that they were fighting for their Olden brethren that were perishing by drowning and in the raids across Kyllary. The tales told by those who managed to escape were becoming more harrowing with each passing day.
While the infantry walked through the portals, the Olden magicians devised supernatural ways to speed up their fleets, so that they could arrive soon after the appearance of the infantry. They manipulated gusts of wind that glided the ships above the surface of the water, like arrows to their destinations. Olden magicians were a long way ahead of Kyllary’s because they did not have the same rules against innovation in witchcraft. Deputy Yaw and other deputies before him had strict rules that forbade the invention of new spells, favoring the spells that had been crafted centuries earlier. The Olden, in contrast, were always striving to perfect their spells and magical tricks, and to invent brand-new ways to manipulate the elements, and life to their advantage. Some of them even used what, on Earth, is called science despite its deficiencies.
Finally, the preparations were made and the invasion began in precisely timed waves. The ships were sent across the water first, as they would take a bit longer to arrive. Small and giant flying vessels and beasts were sent next, also enhanced with spells that expedited their progress. Finally, the infantry walked through the space portals, and appeared inside the walls of the capital of Tur. Ronela and Gerp joined this last wave on their flying beasts, and there were a few other generals and commanders that took flying vehicles and beasts with them in this wave to give this group the strongest and most diverse set of operating capability.
The infantry appeared just outside the barracks of the army that was stationed in the capital, and stormed their homes in the early morning hours before they were fully awake. The infantry’s appearance made such a ruckus that in moments Kyllary troops were up and out of their tents and meeting Olden’s swords, spears, and charging beasts with their own weapons and furious animals. Olden flags were waving high in the air above the heads of the fighters. Olden knights were striking down enemies with every blow, but the Kyllary started meeting their marks too and men fell on both sides rapidly and without a clear winne
r by the number of dead on the field.
Ronela was at Gerp’s side and they defended each other’s backs as they made one furious blow after another. Ronela recognized some of the men that she was piercing with her lengthy spear, as men that had stood guard outside her quarters, and as men she had seen on board the ship she took to the Teag Islands, and as men that stood guard or chatted with her and King Lohsa at dinner parties, balls, or political meetings. She was particularly startled when she ran through a Great Council member after he nearly hit her with his long silver sword. Gerp was less disturbed by the faces behind the helmets, as they were strangers to him, and he only saw them as the men that were assisting in the genocide of his Olden people in Kyllary. Their flying beasts had maddened eyes, and were hopping up onto their hind legs with an urge to hop up over the bloodbath across the field of battle. One incoming spear flew so close to Ronela’s shoulder that it would’ve pierced her through if Gerp didn’t block it just in time with his heavy metal shield.
In the heat of this battle, Gerp and Ronela still had the presence of mind to recall the timing of the attack, and noted when a supernatural gust of wind indicated that the ships had arrived at Tur’s central port. The bursts of fire, explosions, screams, and clashes of metal coming from the direction of that port indicated that the naval battle had begun. The ships stationed at Tur started firing back, and both sides executed complex naval maneuvers that made an easy victory on either side impossible. The Olden ships were quicker and had more firepower, but there were more Kyllary ships at the port, so it was an even fight.
The flying vessels and massive fire-breathing beasts arrived shortly after the fleet of Olden ships, and invaded the coastline, some joining the infantry and others joining the navy in battle. A few of them fired at the castle, battering the walls, and collapsing them, so that the infantry could enter the castle for an offensive that would near them to seizing the throne and the king hiding inside the castle, giving orders for his commanders to execute. King Lohsa and his council were taken by complete surprise by the timing and the enormous strength of this attack. Kyllary was almost always the country that was charging on offensive, but suddenly the Olden actually carried out what the Kyllary believed to be empty threats and were attacking Kyllary on their home turf. Surprisingly they had the innovative strategies that seemed to be breaking through what King Lohsa had assumed were impenetrable defenses around the city of Tur.
The Kingdoms of Laruta: Book 1: Campaigns Against the Olden (Grim's Labyrinth Series) Page 7
