“We make them like that so they spin fast and travel far, all of my men carry them.” added Heikan before being interrupted by the sound of someone entering the room, Talon turned to see a very strong looking young man walk over and bow his head before them both.
“What is it?” barked Heikan.
“Father, I bring you the news that the men are ready to march.” he replied though still keeping his eyes on the ground showing great respect.
“Talon, meet one of my sons Kraal, he is a good man and a good soldier, he will not let us down and do not let the fact that he is my son hinder you in your commands, if you want him to do something then tell him so, he is no stranger to orders.” snapped Heikan.
“Do you hear me boy! You will do whatever Lord Talon commands you to.”
“Yes father” replied Kraal still with his head bowed.
“Where is Kinlan” Heikan then asked referring to his champion and most trusted soldier.
“He is in the courtyard readying horses for you and Lord Talon.”
“Good, then tell him we will be with him shortly” replied Heikan excusing his son.
“I am very proud of him Talon, he possesses a maturity much beyond his years” added Heikan once his son had left.
Talon smiled and then affectionately slapped Heikan on the back.
“Time to leave my friend.”
Heikan nodded and then stopped as he took one last look at the room.
“It may be a long time till I see this room again.”
“Yes but the next time you see this room let us pray that you see it through the eyes of a free man.”
Chapter 24
Three days after the Zachania soldiers had entered Kratos there was now no sight or sightings of the Empire. The Zachanian armies had been working nonstop with their digging of the ditches which now stretched as far as the eye could see in both directions.
King Arun was with Ganasis and Lord Zargar safely at the headquarters on the Zachanian side of Death Valley which had now been named Fort Arun by the soldiers of Zachania.
“Talon and Heikan should reach us today Ganasis.” uttered Arun sitting at the head of a table in the Fort’s map room.
“If they had made good time then they should be here by noon.” answered Ganasis as he lifted his head up from a map which he had been studying.
Just after noon passed Lord Zargar entered the map room and informed the King that Lord Heikan’s army were approaching, the three men walked out the Fort where in the distance they could see the powerful army for themselves, Lord Talon and Heikan were at the front riding proudly.
“Greetings sire” Lord Heikan said once he dismounted his horse.
“Welcome Lord Heikan.” replied the King before then turning to welcome Talon and then ushering them inside.
“Talon.” Ganasis suddenly said as he pulled Talon to one side and then waited till they were alone to speak.
“It is Lagain he has fled.”
“That is not what I wanted Ganasis” added Talon biting his lip in frustration.
“I know that.”
“When did he go?”
“Two days ago, he was seen riding through Death Valley and then he headed south.”
“South!” ……. “Why would he head south?” replied Talon.
“Maybe I will find him when I go there.” he added.
“The King has ordered his death on sight.” replied Ganasis.
“What! ………. Why would Arun want that?”
Ganasis took a slight look around just to make sure they were alone before he replied lowering his voice.
“Before Lagain left he wrote two letters, he left them with a guard and instructed him to deliver them to the King at dawn, when Arun opened one of the letters he actually went blue in face with rage, I have never seen him furious.”
“What did the letter say Ganasis?” interrupted Talon.
“Lagain accused him of being an unworthy King; he said that Arun was a foolish and weak young boy who would lead Zachania to its doom.”
“What!” sighed Talon in shock interrupting Ganasis Again?
“There is more” Ganasis added.
“Go on.”
“Lagain also stated that he will come for his revenge for what the King has done to him, he has declared himself as the future King of Zachania.”
“He’s gone insane Ganasis.” Talon said now slightly amused at Lagain’s words.
“Insane, yes Talon, his pride has drove all reasoning from him, I dread to think what he will say about you in the other letter.”
“What other letter?” Talon snapped back.
“There were two letters, one for the King and one with your name on it.”
“Then where is this letter?”
“I have it here Talon.” Ganasis replied as he pulled the letter from his sleeve and handed it to him.
“Read it!” replied Talon not taking it from him, Ganasis unfolded it and looked around again to see if anyone was near then started to read out what it said.
‘To the Zararhakzar ……….be sure that your time of shame and ridicule will soon be upon you, the people of Zachania will soon discover how weak you truly are and how your heart is full of doubt, you do not possess the heart of a Zachanian and that is why you did not have the stomach to order the deaths of the prisoners …..Every day of my life now, I will wake and curse your name, my life now is nothing but revenge, I have no family, no position, no feelings, all I have now is my vengeance …. Count your days well Zararhakzar for I will be coming for you’.
“Absolute nonsense Talon, Lagain has gone completely insane.” barked Ganasis as screwed the letter up and shook his head. Talon reached across and put his hand on the wizards shoulder and smiled at him.
“Come let us join the King.” he added ignoring what Lagain’s letter had said.
The holy town of Zanlia was now under strict military rule as General Krustov had ordered his soldiers to turn the town into a Fortress, all the men of Zanlia were ordered to remain in their dwellings with only women permitted to venture outdoors.
For the last three days the Imperial Generals had been worked to the point of exhaustion by the evil wizard Grarlin who had returned from the defeat at Death Valley in a fearsome frame of mind.
“Your highness.” sighed Krustov who had not slept for two days.
“I have just received word from Kallick Town that five hundred thousand Imperial Palace guards will be here within ten days.” he added.
Grarlin for the first time in three days seemed to sigh a sigh of relief, he had been relentless in giving out his orders to the Generals, the wizard rose from his chair and walked over to a window where he looked upon the hills.
“We will show Zachania, in ten days’ time we will march south with an army so vast it will make their towns shake, in ten days’ time we will not leave one Zachanian alive.”
“We will annihilate them your highness” replied General Krustov.
General Sanda who was present and silently listening then began to speak.
“What if they decide to attack us before our armies arrive” he said which made Krustov turn slightly angered towards him.
“We already have three hundred and fifty thousand soldiers here General, surely that is enough to thwart any attack” growled Krustov as he then banged his hand on the desk in anger.
A silence then followed as the men gathered their thoughts which was only interrupted when there was a bang on the door.
“Come.” Krustov snapped.
Two Imperial soldiers then entered holding a man as prisoner.
“Sir we have a prisoner.”
“I AM NO DAMN PRISONER!” barked the chained man.
“SILENCE!” Krustov snapped back at him as the General walked closer to examine him.
“Where did you find this man?” Krustov asked one of the soldiers.
“Sir he was taken prisoner near the Zanlian mountains, he was questioned and he claims he is a Zachanian
General,, he has resisted all of our further questions.”
General Krustov then looked at the man with intrigue; he could clearly see by the way he was dressed that he was not just an ordinary soldier.
“Who are you?” asked Krustov.
“My name is General Lagain; I am a General in the 7th royal army of Zachania.”
General Krustov raised his eyebrows and then started to snigger, slightly at first then he began to laugh at Lagain which soon had the effect where all the men present except Grarlin started to laugh, Lagain looked upon those who were mocking him as a rage began to erupt from inside him.
“Is this it? Is this the Generals of the Empire! A bunch of fat old men who snigger like women, no wonder we defeated you so easily.” Lagain shouted showing his arrogance which quickly had the effect of instantly sobering the Generals.
“What did he say?” General Sanda suddenly said in total disbelief of what he had just heard.
“I said be careful who you mock General, for you did not mock me when I killed fifty thousand of your men” replied Lagain now speaking slow and very coldly.
General Krustov was just about to strike Lagain when Grarlin pulled Krustov arm and walked in front of him.
“Why are you here?” Grarlin then asked Lagain as he took Lagain’s face into his large hand.
“I am here to assist you.”
“And you think we need your help, why not send your head back in a box to your precious Zachanian’s.”
Lagain swallowed deeply as a terror fell over him at the presence of the wizard before him, he could feel his hands begin to tremble as he replied in the only way that he could.
“Your army was beaten at Death Valley, I know why.”
“Then how can you assist us?”
“I am a General of the Zachanian realm, I know its strengths and its weaknesses.” Lagain added as he then shook his head forcefully which released it from Grarlin’s grip.
“So you are going to share this with us.”
“I might!” snapped Lagain now sweating as well as shaking.
Grarlin winced at the General’s reply before bending down to eye level with Lagain.
“I could suck these secrets from your mind and then fry your brain with a simple touch.” Grarlin said before rising and then circling Lagain, the wizard studied the General before him and could clearly see his fear but he could also notice the defiance in him which was not usually a mix that went with terror.
“You intrigue me Zachanian ……. I sense a determination in you… I also sense that that you are telling the truth, but you are reckless and you are driven by revenge, will that revenge serve us or you.”
“If my enemy is your enemy then revenge is revenge.” Lagain replied as the room fell into silence.
“What shall we do with him?” Krustov then asked Grarlin who was still looking at Lagain.
“Put him in the cells until I decide, I will think about it overnight” replied Grarlin where he then nodded at the soldiers who straight away grabbed hold of Lagain and led him away.
There was full moon over Death Valley shining brightly over the cliffs, it was a hot and sticky night which had made Talon and Ganasis walk outside their tents to try and get some breeze, they walked to a nearby hill where they both sat down and enjoyed the sea breeze.
“This damn heat is almost unbearable Ganasis.”
“I thought you were from the south-west Talon, you should be used to this heat.”
“You never get used to nights like these Ganasis.”
“Is tomorrow on your mind my young friend, it has been a while since you were in the south.”
“My mind is ok Ganasis; I was however thinking of the town of Varanasa, I have many friends in the Pangkor temple there.”
“How will they feel when you lead an army back into their land Talon?”
Talon didn’t answer straight away instead he looked up to the night’s sky and pointed to one of the bright stars.
“Ganasis you see that star.”
“What about it?” replied Ganasis?
“A Pangkor monk once told me that the stars never change, no matter what happens down below, the star will still be shining high above in the heavens.”
Ganasis then looked across at Talon who was still looking up at the stars.
“What I think he was trying to say Ganasis, is that the Pangkor’s have no interests in wars and battles, no matter what happens around them, they will remain the same.”
“The Pangkor’s have always only been interested in harmony” added Ganasis as he the rose to his feet and looked around to see if anyone could hear them, before sitting back down close to Talon.
“Talon, do you remember the talks we had about Apollo’s spell book.”
“Of course Ganasis.”
Ganasis then reached into his sleeve and produced a map.
“You see on this map Talon … there are two artefacts located in the south-west, one is the pearl situated near the coast then there is fur from one of the beasts that roam the Forest of Deceit” he said holding out the map at different angles as he tried to catch the moons light on it.
Ganasis then leaned back and waited for Talon’s reply but quickly noticed a troubled look on his face.
“What is wrong Talon?”
“It is the Forest of Deceit, I have been there, I barely escaped with my life.”
“What happened” Ganasis asked placing his hand on Talon’s arm.
Talon winced as he remembered.
“Something strange Ganasis, it was when I escaped the Empire and I was returning to Tallasian, I was walking beside the forest for cover when I saw some Imperial soldiers on horseback. I ran into the forest to hide until they rode by, then as I was leaving the forest I heard a noise. I turned and saw a huge beast so frightening it froze me to the spot; I was then struck by the beast and sent high into the air back into the forest, and moment later the beast was in front of me and I was totally at its mercy… I closed my eyes as I waited for it to kill me…. but then it just walked away from me…. it attacked me then strangely it just left me”
“It just let you live, fascinating.” remarked Ganasis.
“It was not an encounter I relish again Ganasis.”
“Then what of the artefacts Talon?” replied Ganasis after a short pause.
“Don’t worry Ganasis, whatever I need to do, I will do.”
Chapter 25
THE SOUTH-WEST
The sun had barely been in the sky a couple of hours as Talon and Lord Heikan led their army into Kratos, last night’s heat had been unbearable but today was going to be even more of an ordeal as the sun shone down on them from a cloudless sky. Lord Heikan had briefed his officers the night before where he told them that he wanted to be proud of his army and that he wanted Kratos to remember the name of Heikan as an example of what Zachanian warriors are. Victory was their only option Heikan explained and nothing less would be tolerated.
They had decided that they would first march to Vilsillius; the largest trading town in Kratos, where the march would take approximately three day. After the first day just before sunset Lord Heikan spotted the remnants of an ancient village where he decided that they should make camp for the night.
“Shelter Talon!” he said pointing to a nearby hill.
Talon looked up at the ruins and agreed as he too was feeling tired from being under the blistering sun all day.
Lord Heikan gave the order to Kinlan to instruct the army to make camp and to set up lookouts on the nearby hills. When they reached the ruins Talon wasted no time in dismounting his horse. He stretched and yawned as a soldier took the horse away then walked into one of the ruins. The walls were all cracked and the roof was half destroyed and Talon found himself wondering if the dwelling was safe, but his tiredness got the better of him and he placed his saddlebag down beside a wall and then began to explore the ruins.
Lord Heikan had now joined him and had already removed his battle vest, Heikan ba
re-chested and now swigging from a skin of ale noticed Talon’s interest in the ruins and walked over to him.
“As long as we don’t snore then these walls will still stand Talon.” Heikan mocked thinking Talon was concerned about the walls collapsing in on them. Talon gave a slight smile at Heikan’s joke but it was not the state of the walls that had caught his attention, it was the strange ancient markings that were on them.
“Heikan, have you ever seen writing like this before.” asked Talon as Heikan joined him in studying the wall.
“Imperial?” Kinlan suddenly asked as he threw his saddlebag down next to Talon and Heikan’s.
“These are not Imperial markings, they look religious to me.”
“Leave them be then.” Kinlan added in a tone without any real interest.
Talon leaned in closer and examined a few markings that had not been damaged.
“This is similar to the Pangkor language.” he added before he pointed to two symbols.
“Ground ……… and death” he said slowly.
“Ground death!” snapped Heikan mockingly “it must have been those coward Imperial soldiers fleeing the battle at Death Valley” he added with a laugh.
Talon who was still examining the markings then turned to Heikan with a concerned look upon his face.
“If I am right, this an ancient burial ground for druids”
“A burial ground, Ha then tonight we sleep with the dead.” Heikan said once again in a mocking voice.
“This is not a matter to take lightly Heikan; these markings on the wall are warnings not to disturb this ground.”
Lord Heikan who was now sitting down still swigging ale looked up at Talon.
“What does that mean?” he said nonchalantly.
“It means we should think about moving camp.” replied Talon with a serious look on his face.
Lord Heikan straightened and grimaced at Talon’s answer, he was feeling tired from the march and did not relish the thought of having to spend a further few hours looking for a new place to camp.
“Talon that is out of the question, some of our men are already sleeping, we have posted lookouts, and the horses are being fed and rested.” Heikan yelled.
Zachania Page 40
