“In the arena, waiting for you.”
Savarta turned instantly and hurriedly walked away, as his men saw him enter the arena they stood up and walked to meet him.
“Has anyone here seen Talon!” he demanded angrily.
“What has happened, my friend” Arnel, Savarta’s most senior fighter asked him sincerely noticing his teachers rage.
“Has anyone seen him?” Savarta again shouted.
“Savarta!” shouted Arnel “calm yourself” he added quieter “no one here has seen him, what has happened.”
Savarta raised his hands to his face and sighed loudly, embarrassed he began to tell his men what happened the night before, as he finished he asked one of his men to notify the guard.
Shortly after the gladiators turned as they heard footsteps marching quickly from the direction of the corridor that led into the arena.
Savarta turned and saw General Krustov accompanied by two Captains enter into the sun. The General had a stern look upon his face as he hurriedly walked towards him.
“What’s all this about?” Krustov mouthed with authority and annoyance.
“It was last night sir whilst retiring to my room I saw a man hiding in the shadows, I confronted the man and saw that it was Talon, for no reason at all he just attacked me, I was taken completely by surprise.”
“And where is he now?” Krustov barked.
“He is missing sir, I was rendered unconscious, bound and gagged, my men freed me this morning.”
General Krustov stiffened as he looked across at his two captains; he was finding this mysterious to say the least.
“One moment.” Krustov said pausing Savarta.
“Last night you saw a man hiding in the shadows, you discovered it to be Talon, he attacked you, tied and bound you and now he is missing, is this what you bare saying.”
“Yes sir.”
Krustov shook his head in a gesture of disbelief.
“What was his reasoning for doing this?”
“I do not know sir, all I know is what I told you and that he is now missing.”
General Krustov looked around at the other Gladiators.
“Does anyone else have anything to add?” he asked them only for the men to gaze emptily back at him.
“This is astounding!” Krustov added.
“For no reason at all Talon attacks you Savarta, you a seasoned gladiator, now he is missing and no one knows anything, I find this highly suspicious.”
“No more than I sir.” replied a rather embarrassed Savarta.
General Krustov then turned to one of his captains and ordered him to arrange a search party.
“Search everywhere, I want to get to the bottom of this within the hour.” Krustov added as the captain walked away.
“I find it unbelievable Savarta that you of all men were rendered so helpless; you could not even alert the guards.”
“He moved so fast General, I did not expect this.”
The General once again shook his head.
“I will deal with you later!” he growled ominously to Savarta before nodding to the Captain standing beside him and walking away.
“Captain, Send troops to every outpost on the towns bridges, I want to know if anyone has seen someone matching Talon’s description” the General said as they walked off.
Suddenly the General stopped and turned back towards the gladiators, he motioned with his arm for Savarta to come closer, once near he leaned close and spoke quietly but sternly.
“If I discover that you aided in his escape Savarta, I will have you skinned and left to rot in the desert dust.”
“I knew nothing of this sir; I am as bemused as you.”
“That will be found out!” Krustov mouthed.
The General returned to his quarters and sat troubled behind his desk.
“Damn this Talon! Who the hell is he? What is he!” he said frustrated out loud as he sat back in his chair.
Suddenly the Generals door burst open, Krustov jumped to his feet angered and was just about to lambaste the perpetrator of their arrogance when he saw that it was the three wizards, he composed himself quickly and invited them in.
“We are here for Talon, we received word that he is here in Kallick Town, take us to him immediately General.”
Krustov swallowed hard, he racked his brains as to how to break the news but before he could reply another wizard spoke.
“He must be put to death, we have meditated on this. Talon’s destiny does not rest with the Empire, we have foreseen a threat to the guard, and even the Emperor is not safe from this”
Krustov once again swallowed hard, he could not believe what the wizard had just told him, and with baited breath he summoned up the courage to reply.
“Talon has disappeared holy one.”
“What do you say.” hissed the wizard with a sinister tone.
“He is missing Lord…last night he attacked a soldier and took him hostage, this morning we discovered that he is missing; I have raised search parties to scour the city.”
The wizards face contorted as he listened to the General, suddenly the atmosphere turned, Krustov could feel the wizard’s anger, it engulfed him as he felt his pulse begin to race.
The first wizard seemed just about to launch into the General when his colleague spoke to him in wizards language. Krustov sat nervously awaiting his fate as he witnessed the wizards talking amongst themselves in what sounded like hisses and clicks, once they finished the wizard turned back to him.
“We sensed that this might arise, you must use every resource to see that this man is found, stop at nothing or use no restrain, this matter has the Emperor’s eye upon it.”
“The Emperor.” Krustov replied shocked at the importance “why would the Emperor be so concerned in the fate of a soldier.”
“You fool!” snapped the wizard “This is not merely a soldier, if this man joins with the resistance in Zachania then all our fates could be at risk. This man has a destiny, and you fools are helping him fulfil it. In Zachania they will know how to nurture him, he will grow, his power will reach into every corner of Kratos, our whole existence is threatened.”
“What resistance?” replied Krustov now even more shocked at hearing the words Zachania?
The second wizard eased himself forth gazing at the General he spoke slowly.
“Listen to me Krustov, when the Empire occupied the realm of Zachania, we did not just leave of our own accord, we were driven out, only the emperor and a few know this. Zachania was guarded by strong magic, inside their land they are invincible, they are protected by powerful wizards.”
“I thought the Zachanian’s were buried in history.”
“No one knows for sure what is there, but we know that they exist, we also know of an ancient Zachanian prophecy that foretells that a man born outside of Zachania with Zachanian ancestors will one day return to lead the Zachanian’s back into the land of Kratos, we believe that Talon is this man.”
“You fear all this because of an ancient poem my Lord.” replied Krustov.
“Do not mock the arts General; these things have come to bear before.”
“What do you want me to do Lord?”
“Time is now of the essence, you must double our force in Zanlia, it is there that the spirit still lives, send in your secret army now, penetrate the people, we must know of everything that happens there, infiltrate the smugglers, they will lead us to information.”
“Send three legions to our outpost at Death Valley. And send a legion to Tallasian, you must also capture the parents of this Zachanian, lead this legion personally General, I will give you all the powers that you need.” added the second wizard.
The General nodded his approval; he was still not sure just what was going on but knew he must obey.
“I will see to it immediately Lord.” he said.
The first wizard suddenly stiffened and straightened his robes.
“Now who was the one who let this Zachanian Escape?”
“It was Savarta, the teacher of the Palace lands gladiator school.”
“Send for this man now.”
After a few moments Savarta entered the room and cowered almost immediately he saw the wizards, the first wizard walked towards him and placed the palm of his hand upon Savarta’s forehead.
“Speak the truth, or I shall burn your brain within your skull.” the wizard hissed.
Nervously Savarta began to explain everything that had happened, as he finished the wizard pushed him forcefully against the wall, he then reached out his hand till it was extended about a foot from the gladiators face.
“Look into the palm of my hand” the wizard ordered.
Savarta looked up, he had a deep fear now showing on his face, then suddenly the wizard swiftly closed his palm and pulled away his hand, Savarta dropped screaming to the floor, Krustov rose to his feet as the wizard turned towards him, opening his hand the wizard then threw Savarta’s eyes onto the General’s desk.
“He who sees and fails to tell shall not see at all.” the wizard said.
Krustov retched at the sight before him.
Control yourself General, you are a servant of the Emperor!” one of the other wizards shouted.
“By the gods, man!” Krustov shouted raising his hand to his mouth as if trying to stop himself vomit.
“Be silent!” the first wizard screamed in a voice that sent shivers down the spine of the General.
“You will wear those eyes around your neck General as a reminder to those who fail the Empire.”
Krustov tried to compose himself, he struggled with the nausea that he felt but the fear and shock of the wicked act he had just witnessed seemed to sober him upright.
“That’s better General, before this saga ends you will smell death in their thousands.” said the wizard who threw the eyes. He wiped his hand, then reached into his cloak where he pulled out a round shaped crystal that was on the end of a piece of leather twine, the wizard then ordered the General to pierce Savarta’s eyes and add them to the strap. Once done he instructed the General to place the crystal around his neck, Krustov obeyed and retched once again as the crystal and eyes rested on his chest, he could feel blood still dripping from the eyes, they dripped down his tunic and onto his leg.
“Does this satisfy you holy one?” Krustov snarled only for the wizard to sneer back.
“With that crystal you will be able to communicate with us, never take it off, do you understand.”
“I understand.”
“You have your orders General, we must all make haste, the Emperor must hear of this immediately.”
As the wizards left, Krustov shouted for one of his aids, two soldiers ran into the room and stood in disbelief, they looked at Savarta now unconscious covered in blood and looked up at their General, blood down his uniform and wearing Savarta’s eyes.
“Pick him up man, take him to the surgeon.” Krustov shouted.
The General then slumped back in his chair and sighed loudly as the two soldiers picked up Savarta, he just sat motionless for a few moments trying to gather his thoughts of all that has just happened and what he had just heard, he breathed deep as the shock began to subdue, moments later he began writing out his orders.
Chapter 8
By mid-morning Talon had crossed marshlands that lay to the south of Kallick Town and had already entered the wilderness of the valleys. He felt more at ease walking across the forests than the stark landscape he had crossed the night before. As he walked he purposely tried to quicken his pace, he ran a few hundred yards then walked a few hundred, he knew that there would be soldiers looking for him, but he was unaware that General Krustov along with a legion of men was behind him on horseback. Talon was already beginning to tire but his determination pushed him along, he was at risk and his family could be in danger, rest was a luxury he could not afford.
General Krustov whipped his horse fiercely; along with three Imperial captains he led the soldiers from the front. He pushed his horse to the limit while he could not help thinking of the young soldier Talon, all along he knew that this man was different, from that very first meeting he could feel the strange aura that surrounded him. It quickly crossed his mind that he could have prevented this by taking more notice in Talon but reason quickly snapped that thought away as he told himself that he had no way of knowing the gravity of the situation.
Talon crouched behind a tree that lay on a small hill hidden by the undergrowth; he was looking at three soldiers resting their horses in the small valley below.
“I must take one of their horses.” he silently said to himself, he looked up to the sky and saw that the sun was still in its highest position, there was no time to wait till nightfall, he would have to make his move now.
Suddenly he realised again that he may have to kill, he had never taken a man’s life before and thought unnerved him. He thought of his family’s lives in danger, he thought of his own life in danger, silently he convinced himself that he must do whatever was necessary in order to survive. Slowly Talon crawled towards the soldiers hiding himself in the long grass, he noticed that the first soldier was asleep, whilst the other two were feeding their horses a few yards away, Talon reached for his dagger and pressed the sleeping soldier, he crawled to the side of him and placed his dagger at the man’s throat, he readied himself for the kill but something inside him prevented him from pushing the blade, Talon gritted his teeth but somehow he could not bring himself to kill.
“I cannot kill this man in cold blood,” he thought silently.
Taking great care Talon crawled around the sleeping soldier till he positioned himself between the horses and the other two soldiers, slowly he rose to his feet and began to advance hidden by the horses, he decided that he would pounce with all his might, if his stealth and technique was correct then he would be able to render both men unconscious.
He advanced a few more paces, he could feel his heart beating faster, mentally he tried to calm his breathing, then as he was about to attack he felt an agonising pain strike him in the back, he turned quickly to see that the sleeping soldier was now awake and was holding a blood covered blade that he had just thrust into Talons back. Talon with the speed of lightning kicked the blade from the man’s hand, then instinctively he thrust his own blade deep into the soldiers chest killing him instantly. Talon froze as the man fell to the ground.
The sight of a man he had killed made him feel nauseous. Only the sudden sound of footsteps snapped Talon from his thoughts as he turned to see the two other soldiers running towards him.
Once again with the reflexes of a wild animal Talon reacted, he threw his dagger into the chest of one of the charging men, before diving to the ground to pick up the blade that had just moments before been thrust in his back, in one swift movement he jumped back to his feet and parried the soldiers lunge, then thrust the dagger into the soldiers back, then with devastating speed he grabbed the man by the throat and in one short pull snapped the man’s neck.
As the soldier hit the ground Talon stood frozen to the spot, he gazed wildly at the three men he had just killed, he could not understand if it was rage or reality that he felt, but it dawned starkly upon him that in barely a few moments he had ended the lives of three men. Suddenly he jerked and fell to the ground, the pain in his back and the thought of what he had just done made him retch. The pain he felt now was increasing as he reached behind and wiped his hand across his back, he was bleeding heavily, he walked over to a small fire that the men had been cooking on and reached in and pulled out a burning piece of wood. Then painfully he raised his clothes, he could not see his wound but he felt it with his free hand, he gritted his teeth as he knew what he must do next, the wound was bleeding too much and the stem of blood would have to be stopped, using his free hand as a guide he pushed the burning piece of wood into his wound, the agony was overwhelming. Talon held the wood there until he could bear no more, and then dropped in agony to the ground. After a few moments where
he regained his breath, he reached around and felt his wound, he sighed with relief that the blood flow had stopped, it pleased him that he would not have to repeat the act. He rested for a further few moments until he rose back to his feet “never again shall I show mercy, from this day forth the man who stands in my way will die.” he mouthed angrily.
General Krustov had made up a lot of ground and was now only a few miles behind, Talon was now on one of the soldier’s horses but his tiredness and the pain from his wound had an impact on his direction, trying to remain as hidden as possible Talon drifted off course.
Krustov however kept his soldiers on the Imperial roads, they were the most direct routes and they crossed the easiest terrain, after several days of riding the General and his men reached the town of Tallasian first.
When Talon reached his birth town he rode quietly under the blanket of night, by dawn he had made his way to his father’s house using the back roads and alleyways, conscious to stay away from any military positions.
In the dawns light he dismounted his horse and crept up the small hill that hid his father’s abode, and then as he reached the crest of the hill he noticed the smoke. Panicking he ran up the hill to view his home, what he saw made him drop to the ground, before him he what was once his family’s home was now burning ash, the house, the courtyard, stables and stores were all destroyed, nothing was left, even the tree where he used to sit with his Grandfather was burnt .
“NO!” Talon shouted “NO!” he repeated again and again as the horror struck him, he dropped the ground in grief and exhaustion, broken he drifted into sleep.
General Krustov sat resting in the royalty suite in the Imperial Tallasian castle, pleased with himself for fulfilling his orders he poured himself a large cup of ale before reflecting on what had been a good days work.
Deep below in the dark and damp dungeons of the castle were Talon’s father, mother and two brothers. Talon’s father Tallonus was segregated as he had tried to fight back when the General and his men captured him in his home. Tallonus was tied and gagged to a wall; his body had been beaten as an attempt to quash his spirit. The General was waiting for the wizards to arrive, they had contacted him with the crystal that he was given and informed that were on route to the castle, after the treatment of Savarta, Krustov feared the worst was about to happen to Talon’s family.
Zachania Page 12
