Guardians of Magessa (The Birthright Chronicles Book 1) (10 page)

"Well, now I feel like he was toying
with me during the sword fighting competition," Senndra said.

"That seems unlikely," Vladimir
countered. "Timothy isn't the sort of person to toy with an opponent. He
finishes them off quickly if he can."

"Then he must have been off his game
yesterday," Senndra persisted. "He is certainly a lot better of a
fighter than I am."

"It's true, he is," Rita agreed.

"Rita!" Senndra exclaimed,
looking at her friend in disbelief. "You're supposed to be on my
side."

"I am," Rita said, "but
he's better than you are."

"Which isn't to say that you're a
poor fighter," Vladimir pointed out. "You made it to the last match
and deserved to be there. There just aren’t very many people in the world who
can fight as well as Timothy. Give him a few years and he'll be able to take
down Lemin without a problem."

"Not without a problem," Senndra
disagreed. "Lemin's got too many tricks up his sleeve for that."

She watched as Timothy and the elf shook
hands. It was crazy to think that anyone would be able to beat Lemin without a
problem. He had seen more action in his life than all of the cadets in the
academy combined. No, she decided, dismissing Vladimir's comment, Lemin was not
someone to be trifled with, no matter your skill with a sword.

******

Five hours later, Senndra was again seated
in the stands of the arena.
Rita sat on
one
side of her, and Timothy was seated on the other. They had arrived at the arena
an hour before and had talked to pass
the time. Now,
however, they grew silent as they waited for the ceremony to begin. All around
them, the sound
of several thousand cadets was
deafening.
Rita sat on Senndra's right, looking around in awe. She was a vision if
there ever was one. She wore a very becoming blue dress that fell to the middle
of her calves, but the real eye-catcher was her hair. She had worked on it for
several hours and, with Senndra’s help, had made it perfect. With her beautiful
features and the halo of golden curls that surrounded her face, there didn’t
seem to be a single male in the area that wasn’t staring at her or at least
sneaking glances. The single exception was seated to Senndra’s left. Timothy
sat with his chin on his palm as he looked out into the arena, seemingly
oblivious to Rita. Vladimir, seated on the far side of Timothy, was another
story. Senndra had decided to give him a chance in light of their almost normal
conversation at the sword fighting arena earlier in the day. She didn't mind
that Timothy had invited his friend to sit with them; as it turned out, he was
nice enough even if he wasn’t exactly normal. On the other hand he might be a
bit
too
normal, Senndra realized, noting the way he was practically
gawking at Rita. Oh well, given enough time, he would get used to her.

The ceremony started abruptly when
an old man ascended the stage. Senndra immediately knew by
his robes that he was a priest of Elohim. He lifted his hands for silence and
gradually got his wish. He looked to the sky
, closed his eyes, and stood
thus for several minutes. All of the cadets stood, closed their eyes, and
waited for the priest to begin speaking.

“Almighty, magnificent God,” he began when
he finally broke the silence, “we praise and thank you for your wondrous works.
We thank you each day for what you have given to us. We ask you for forgiveness
for our sins and pray that you will help us to obey your commands and edicts in
the following days.

“I now thank you for all of the cadets
gathered here today. I thank you for the commitment they have made to serve
their country in the military and pray for your protection over them. I ask
that you be with the ones that are completing their
training,
as well as the
ones that will continue their training. Protect those who
will be going into danger and help them to use what they have learned here to
serve you by protecting their country.

“I also ask for your blessing on the
ceremony today. May everything go as planned as the extraordinary cadets of
this academy are recognized for their achievements. In your name I pray, amen.”

Senndra opened her eyes and looked at the
stage again. The priest climbed down, and another man took his place. He waited
for the priest to leave the arena before he began.

“Welcome to the one hundred and
seventy-fifth annual awards ceremony of the Academy of Belvárd. Please stand
and recite with me the pledge to the nation of Magessa.” All of the cadets rose
to their feet, saluted their country’s flag, and following the lead of the man
on the stage, recited the pledge to Magessa.

Once the final words were spoken, the man
stepped off the stage and another came to take his place.

“I think you all know what I’m going to be
doing,” he said once he reached the top of the stage. This man was a skilled
orator and instantly had everyone on the edge of their seats. “It's time for
this year's Extraordinary Performance awards! We'll recognize the top ten
percent of the cadets currently enrolled here as well as bestow the coveted
'Cadet of the Year' award. The awards are based on physical and academic
performance as well as leadership ability. The cadets that you will see tonight
are truly the best of the best and will be leaving tomorrow to visit Saddun,
the academy in Gatlon. Though we are the best there is,"- there were mild
laughs of agreement across the crowd - "there is much to be learned from
the cadets at Saddun. Oh, and it's going to be really fun! So without further
ado, I'd like to present the winners of this year's awards. Please come forward
when I call your name.”

“The Cadet of the Year goes to..."
the man looked down at his paper, flipped it over, and then began to go through
his pockets. There were groans across the audience; this wasn't the first year
that he had made this show. "Here we go!" he said as he pulled a
sheet of paper from a pocket. "The 'Cadet of the Year' goes to Senndra
Felling, for excellent show of physical and mental strength!”

The man continued down his list of the top
ten percent of the students at the academy as Senndra descended the steps
toward the arena. All she remembered was that Timothy and Rita were also
listed. She was not surprised that Timothy was selected, though she had been
uncertain about Rita. She was glad that her friends would be going with her to
visit Saddun.

Senndra reached the arena and, directed by
helpers there, walked to her station in front of the stage. She reached her
spot and turned around to face the stands. As she watched, cadets from every
corner began to stream down the stands as they were called. The names seemed to
go on forever, and Senndra recognized several. It appeared as though all of her
friends would be going on this trip that promised to be a fun and welcome break
from classes. If there was a better way to get to know Timothy and Vladimir,
she couldn’t think of it. A great experience with low stress and fun activities
awaited them in Gatlon, and she couldn’t wait to begin.

The buildings steadily shrank as Senndra
rose into the air. From her vantage point, she could see the entirety of the
mountain on which the academy was built. The campus sat on the top third of the
mountain, with the hatchery at the top of the campus and the dorms at the
bottom. In between these two points were the mess hall, sword fighting arena,
archery range, medical building,
classrooms, an
armory, and a store.

Senndra was riding astride a bright red
dragon, which was about eighty-five feet long from his nose to the tip of his
tail. The tail composed roughly one third of this length. A ridge of blunt
bumps ran from the top of his head and grew sharper as they progressed toward
the end of his tail, culminating in a double set of two spikes. A saddle was fastened
between two bumps near the dragon’s neck. His wing span was twice his body
length, and the wings beat effortlessly, propelling him
upward in ever-widening
spirals.

As the dragon rose higher, the temperature
steadily dropped, and Senndra was glad for the bulky clothing that she had
complained about having to wear earlier that morning. A dull blue dragon
crossed just in front of Senndra’s, enabling her to identify the rider as
Lemin. He seemed relaxed as he sat in the saddle. The only things that kept him
from plummeting to his death were straps fastening each leg to the saddle,
leaving his hands free.

Lemin passed and another dragon crossed
Senndra’s line of sight. This one was dark green and carried Vladimir. He had
apparently taken to riding a dragon
better than
Senndra and had even been able to lose himself in a book. Senndra glanced
around and saw the cloud of dragons and their riders. There were ninety-eight
cadets and twelve instructors, making for a total of one hundred and ten
dragons of all colors and shades. The dragons continued to circle the mountain
until they reached an acceptable height for flying. Then they turned east and
began their journey toward Saddun.

The land looked like a map lain out on a
table. Belvárd was directly below Senndra and stretched out in all directions.
She could see mountains to the west which marked the edge of Belvárd, and she
knew that mountains also bordered the east and north sides. Sulmon was across
the mountains to the west, and Gatlon those to the east. Plains covered the
land to the north of Belvárd. As the dragons traveled east, Senndra could
gradually make out more physical features on the horizon. Slowly, the Pelé
River came into view. Branches from the river stretched all the way to the
mountains. The agriculture of the region was centered on the river, the sides
of which were lined with farms. Docks bustling with activity were stationed
periodically along the waterway to aid in the transport of goods. In about the
middle of the river was a large dock around which most of the river trade took
place. The dock stretched over the river, with places for boats to moor
underneath it. It doubled as a bridge, and farmers with wagons loaded with
produce could be seen moving over it toward the market just west of the river.

The next building to come into view could
be identified by the large flags that flew from it. The crest on them was
circular with four axe heads equally spaced on a plain wreath, forming a sort
of cross shape. Each axe head was emblazoned with a triangular, knotted rope of
burnished silver. In the center of the wreath was a more intricate knot
resembling a four leaf clover. The whole figure, also known as the cross of
Elohim, was set on a green field and marked the structure as the temple. This was
also the symbol and flag of Magessa, but it had not always been so.  Nor had
the humans always lived in and controlled the country. The nation had started
out as a single family living in Magessa. At this time, a famine struck the
land, so Meander, the king who ruled the country of Volexa Temp, approached
Derek, the patriarch of the family. At one point in time, Derek had helped
Meander by gathering an army and attacking Meander’s enemies. If it had not
been for Derek, the country of Volexa Temp would not exist, so Meander offered
to return the favor. Since his country had not been touched by the famine, he
said that he would feed Derek and his family until the famine passed, at which
time he would give them land to farm. Derek accepted, and he and his family
moved to Volexa Temp, where they lived in peace for many years. Several
generations lived and died and Heflik, a king who knew not the works of Derek,
came to the throne. He saw in Derek’s descendants the threat that they might
become greater than his people, rise up and overthrow him. To repress them, he
took away their land and made them slaves.
 From sunup to sundown, they
were forced to work on Heflik’s building projects and to work in his fields;
yet the nation, being blessed by Elohim, grew larger and stronger than ever.
Heflik saw that his plan to weaken the children of Derek was not working, so he
ordered that all of their baby boys be killed at birth. The children of Derek
cried to their God to help them escape the clutches of Heflik, so He sent to
them a man named Benjamin.

The children of Derek
would not allow their sons to be killed, and it was only a short time before
Heflik discovered that his orders were not being followed. The Derekite mothers
were forced to hide their babies so that they would not be found and killed by
Heflik's soldiers. It was at this time that Benjamin was born. His mother hid
him for several months in her house until he was too big to conceal. She
smuggled him to some of her friends that worked in Heflik’s palace. These
people promised that they would keep Benjamin safe and put him in the royal
nursery among the other children. There were so many royal babies that the
addition of one more child went unnoticed, and Benjamin was brought up in the
palace as one of the sons of Heflik.

Sometime after his
twentieth birthday, he was surveying one of the building projects of Heflik
when he saw a task master strike a Derekite. He had seen this happen many
times, but this time a strange feeling came over him and he struck out at the
task master. The man died from the blow, so Benjamin buried him. The next day,
as he was going about his own business, he heard two servants gossiping. One
told the other that Benjamin had killed one of Heflik’s men, and Benjamin knew
that his secret was out.
He quickly gathered
together a few possessions and fled from Volexa Temp.

Benjamin traveled
north into a great desert called the Sea of Sand. For seven days he pressed on
until he ran out of water. Thirst overcame him, and just as he was about to give
up all hope, he saw trees in the distance. At first he thought his mind was
playing tricks on him, but
he trudged toward the
trees anyway. Finally, his strength gave out and he fainted. He was awakened
that night by his thirst. The sun was not beating down on him anymore, and he
found the strength to rise to his feet and trudge toward the trees again. When
he was still quite a distance away, he saw that the trees were not the only
sign of life in the vast sea of sand. Shrubs and grass covered the ground
surrounding the trees. He staggered into the oasis and found a stone well at
its center. Water from the well refreshed him, and he was now able to examine
his surroundings. Trees encompassed the perimeter of the oasis, and the shrubs
that Benjamin had seen were actual crops. He was standing in a field of ripe
grain.

He quickly became
acquainted with the people that lived in the oasis. They were known as Sea
People because they originally lived by an ocean that was several hundred miles
to the northwest. Benjamin lived with the Sea People for twenty years,
following them wherever they went and watching their flocks of sheep.

One day while
performing his duties, Benjamin came upon a circular-shaped mountain range. The
tribe that he lived with had noticed it as soon as it came into sight, and
although they tried to climb it, they were never able to make it all the way to
the top. They could make it about halfway up, but even though they continued to
climb, they never covered any more distance. Because of this, the Sea People
regarded the range as holy and rarely went near it except in extenuating
circumstances. Today, however, the sheep brought Benjamin to its slopes. Under
normal circumstances, he would have stayed with his sheep, but the mountains
held some unknown attraction to him. Not even knowing why he did it, he worked
his way up the slope of the mountains. He reached the peak much sooner than he
had expected and looked down into the bowl that was formed by the mountains.
What he saw would be etched in his memory for the rest of his life. The
mountains surrounded a large hole in the ground out of which columns of fire
and lava spewed into the sky. Benjamin stared at the fire fountain, fascinated
by what he saw. In fact, the sight before him was one that few people had or
would ever see. After a moment of staring, he made his way down the mountain to
the edge of the fiery hole. When he had reached his destination, an
especially-large fountain of fire shot out of the ground and Benjamin thought
he heard a voice.

“Benjamin,” the voice
said.

“Who is there?”
Benjamin responded.

“It is I, the Lord God
of heaven and earth.”

“Where are you?”
Benjamin asked, searching the rocks around him. It almost seemed as if…but that
couldn’t be. The voice couldn’t be coming from the fire. And yet it was. The
hole belched forth another fountain of fire, and the voice spoke again.

“Benjamin, take off
your shoes, for you are on holy ground.”

Benjamin obeyed the
voice. Although he had never been taught about Elohim, he miraculously knew who
He was. “Here I am, Lord,” he said. “What would you tell your servant?”

“My people are in
bondage in the country of Volexa Temp. For years they have cried out to me to
save them, and I have heard their cries. I am sending you to Heflik, king of
Volexa Temp, and you will tell him to free my people, the Derekites.”

“But Lord, I am an
outcast from that place. If I show my face there, they will kill me.”

“Do not be afraid. I,
the same God who has sent you to Volexa Temp, will bring you out of it again. You
have nothing to fear from Heflik or his armies. You will enter the country and
go first to my people. Tell them that their salvation is near if they will but
turn away from their sin.”

“What am I to tell
them if they ask who has sent me?” Benjamin interrupted the voice.

“Tell them that Elohim
has sent you. Tell them that Elohim has heard their cries, and He will lift
them out of bondage. Now I lift them from the bondage of slavery, but I will
soon lift them from the bondage of sin.”

“And how will I prove
that you sent me?” Benjamin argued. “Without proof, they will not believe.”

“I will give you two
signs so that my people may know that I have sent you. First, take that rod
over there.”

Benjamin looked around
him and saw a stout wooden rod laying only a few feet from him. He could have
sworn it had not been there a short time ago, but he concealed his surprise. He
lifted it in his hands and was surprised at how light it was.

“Take the rod and
break it in two,” the voice commanded.

Benjamin grasped the
ends of the rod in his hands and brought it down over his knee, snapping it as
though it were a dry twig.

“Now, fit the two ends
of the rod together and hold it so that your hand covers the crack.”

Benjamin did as he was
commanded. He fitted the rod together and held his hands over the crack. When
he peeled them away, he gasped at what he saw. The rod was whole again.

“It may seem
impossible to you,” the voice told Benjamin, “but with God all things are
possible. Here is the second sign. Circle your hands around the rod at the top
and slide them toward the ground.”

Benjamin did this and
as his hands passed over the stick, it changed from its brown color into a
bright white—so white that light almost seemed to be shining from it.

“Do what you have done
again,” the voice commanded. Benjamin did so, and the rod returned to its
normal color. “These are the two signs that I give you so that my people will
know that I have sent you. After you have convinced my people that you are sent
by me, you will approach king Heflik and command him to let my people go. He
will not listen to you, but do not be discouraged. Every time he refuses, I
will send a plague on Volexa Temp so that the world may know that I am God.
Now, go and do as I have commanded you.”

Benjamin turned around
and scaled the slope that he had recently descended. When he reached the top,
he looked down on the desert that spread out before him. Turning left, he could
see the city of Volexa Temp in the distance. He now knew where his mission
would lead. He had only to get down the mountain and begin. He began the
descent and again completed his trip much quicker than he had expected he
would. His sheep had scattered to look for food, so he rounded them up and
headed back to the Sea People’s camp.

******

Night had fallen by
the time Benjamin entered the outskirts of Volexa Temp. He had been traveling
for three days and was exhausted, but he had a mission to fulfill. Fields of
wheat and other crops were located on the east side of the city. The settlement
of the Derekites was located here. Benjamin entered the town and wandered the
streets, wondering where he would find the elders of the town. To his surprise,
he stumbled on them by accident as he rounded a corner. A group of men were
standing around a fire and talking in low voices. Immediately, Benjamin knew in
his heart that these were the men to whom he was supposed to speak, so he
strode into their midst. Finding an overturned barrel to stand on, he got the
attention of the men.