Dawn of the Valiant (The Valerious Chronicles: Book One)

by Julian Saheed

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  A crisp wind caused Christill to shiver. He opened his eyes and saw a long valley sweeping into the distance, spotted with groups of dark green trees. Once again his head was clouded with pain. Once again he could not remember what had happened the night before. Each and every day had been the same. He would awake in tremendous pain and be forced to trek through the Ranges until night. Then the questioning would begin, followed by the torture. Christill swore that he would get his revenge on Rhucia one day, but every moment that passed made it seem less likely. It was after the beatings that Christill lost his memory. He suspected that Novokai had a hand in that which only swelled his detestation of the disciple.

  He rolled into a sitting position and, taking notice of his surroundings, suddenly felt his heart sink. Behind him loomed the peaks of the Southern Beon Ranges and in front of him the valley that he had just spotted marked the beginning of Dargon. Sometime during the night they had left the inner Ranges and were now camped at the very border of the two nations. The sight of Dargon's harsh wilderness disheartened Christill more than he would have thought possible. All hope that he had harboured disappeared and a harsh reality began to sink in. There was no rescue party.

  He was stirred by Novokai's voice off to his left. Although faint, he could make out the disciple talking with whom Christill assumed to be Rhucia.

  "That is not the point. As long as he believes that Dievu was out to harm him, we might be able to sway him to our cause," said Novokai.

  "I don't see why you want to waste your time on him," replied Rhucia.

  "A Valiant is no common thing you fool," said Novokai harshly. "If I can manipulate his mind enough, I will have him under my control. He would prove a valuable weapon when I finally take the throne from Zephra."

  Christill heard what sounded like a sigh from Rhucia.

  "You are foolish to challenge him, Master," replied Rhucia cautiously.

  "Mind your opinions you insolent rat," commanded Novokai. "I know what I am doing and once a proper chance arises you will bow down to me as your king, not that fraud Zephra."

  Christill was surprised at what he was hearing. Novokai was planning to claim the throne of Galdovan. Though he did not know much about Zephra, he knew enough to realize that Novokai could not overpower Zephra by himself. But what help could he possibly provide. That didn't matter. He would never allow Novokai to manipulate him. He was drawn from his thoughts as they continued to speak.

  "And the Queen. Have you extracted all of the information that Zephra asked for?" asked Rhucia.

  Novokai laughed smugly. "Yes I have the information. But Zephra will not get it."

  Rhucia's tone betrayed his confusion. "What do you intend to do?"

  "By the time that I am through with the Queen, she will be as simple minded as you, Rhucia." Novokai answered. "Zephra will not be able to get a speck of information out of her damaged mind and I will simply claim that I was unable to retrieve any."

  "That is extremely risky," pointed out Rhucia.

  "Zephra will not question me. He knows that I still have enough powerful allies to threaten him."

  The conversation stopped as Christill heard their footsteps approaching. He quickly dropped back to the ground and closed his eyes. Novokai and Rhucia walked passed him, seemingly unaware that he was awake. Once Christill was sure that they had passed out of sight he opened his eyes and scanned the camp. It did not take him long to find what he was looking for.

  Queen Triel was sprawled on the floor in a terrible state and was being watched over by an assassin who had his back turned to her, busy eating a bowl of steaming stew. Christill looked to the west and noticed that Novokai and Rhucia had left the camp. With luck he could make it over to the Queen without catching any of the Primals' attention. He waited until the moment seemed right then began to move towards her. Crawling slowly amongst the rocks, Christill reached the spot where the Queen lay, certain that he had remained unseen. Lying as flat as possible, he nudged the Queen with his shoulder. At first she did not reply, but a second nudge caused her to turn her head slightly and open her eyes.

  "Christill!" she breathed, the shock clearly registering in her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

  He moved as close as he could to her and whispered, "I was captured a few days ago. Though how many...I cannot tell. That is not important right now. We need to get out of here."

  Christill noticed moisture forming in the Queen's eyes and could see her utter desperation. "There is no escape for me," she solemnly whispered. "I cannot move my legs."

  Gazing down at the Queen's legs, Christill cringed. Large dark blue and red bruises marked the points were her knees had been broken.

  "You must do something for me," she said softly, as tears began to stream down her cheek. "The pain is so great. I wish it all to end. Will you help me?"

  "You cannot mean that," Christill objected.

  "I will not endure the torture that has been dealt out by that man any longer. Help me, Christill. End my life now while I still have a shred of dignity left."

  He shook his head. "You cannot mean that," he repeated, his voice faltering. "I will not do it whilst there is still a chance to escape."

  "There is no chance," said the Queen.

  "Dievu will come for us," he tried to reassure her. "He will not leave us to a tortured death." Christill spoke the words, but knew there was little truth in them. Dievu had likely not survived the fight with Novokai, and that meant that there was little hope of a rescue.

  The Queen's eyes closed as she tried to fight back her tears. As she moved her head, Christill could see that even the slightest movement caused her unbearable pain. He could only imagine the horror that she had been put through since her capture. Yet he could not do what she was asking.

  "Then leave, Christill. Whilst you still can, make your escape," urged the Queen.

  "I will not leave you," he replied. He turned as he heard footsteps from behind and before he got a good look at who it was, he was kicked in the face, causing him to scream in agony.

  As fresh blood flowed rapidly from his nose, Christill saw Rhucia pull the whip from his belt and uncoil it. "Well, what have we here?" he chuckled arrogantly.