Hail to the Queen (Sage Trilogy, Book 3) (20 page)

The King
finally held up a hand and the Kingdom fell silent. He nodded in Catherine’s direction, and she began talking fast, just so no one else would begin another rally cry.

“We’re not here to take away from your accomplishments, nor is this a selfish undertaking. My Sages and I
are here because my Kingdom and yours are about to be under attack from Zen-echelon. We –“

“So are you
going to kill us if we say no?” a merchant shouted. “We heard about Languor!”

“
Why don’t you give us yours?!” Another yelled. “We’re the only Kingdom to properly use the stones! We can figure out a way to defeat Zen-echelon on our own!”

“Yeah,” yet another said. “What makes you Allayans so righteous! Give your stone to us and we have a better chance of success!”

“My people, please,” the King replied. “The Princess is not familiar with our customs. Perhaps we should give her a crash course. We will stick to the original proposition – a debate. And I think the topic has already been provided through your concerns. In your infinite Prattlian wisdom, you have determined that we should give the stone to these Allayans only if they are deemed worthy. Indeed, what makes them more qualified to bear this great power?”

The crowd shouted in approval as the King raised his hands in the air.

“Please put two podiums in the middle of the courtyard. Any Prattlian that wants to debate one of these Allayans may step forward. Age is not a factor. And Princess,” the King said as he turned to her. “You, or either one of your Sages may participate. It is your choice. I will give you a couple of minutes to strategize while we set up.”

Arimus, James and Catherine huddled
together while the crowds dispersed from their location to strategic locations around the centered podiums.

“This is absurd,” Arimus said. “Our greatest enemy could be on his way to wipe them off the earth, and they want to verbally spar.”

“We must follow their custom,” Catherine stressed. “If the situation was reversed, we would probably challenge them in our own way. No one just gives up their Kingdom’s primary source of power.”

“More importantly,” James said. “Who should debate this? I know the King promised it to us no matter what, but that doesn’t mean the people will be convinced. They may riot. It could be Languor all over again.”

“Catherine, you’re best with words,” Arimus replied. “Think of the speech you gave to our people back in Allay. Apparently it did some good. Think of all the new Sages that are rising up.”

“
But that wasn’t all me…was it, James?” Catherine smiled at him. James bowed his head and blushed as Arimus glanced back and forth between them.

“I don’t follow,” Arimus said.

“James gave the people his own speech,” Catherine replied. “About what it takes to become a Sage. Against all our secrecy and cries of discretion, he basically took the hidden world of the Sentinel Academy and made it public. All I did was tell the people that they needed to fend for themselves in our absence. I didn’t inspire them to become warriors. James did.”

“I was caught up in the moment,” James said as Catherine put a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t be afraid,” she said. “Just say what’s on your heart. When you spoke in Allay, you did it out of love and concern for them. Deep down, you knew that being villagers wasn’t enough – not for the attack by Alexander, and certainly not for any horrors to come. You wanted them to prepare themselves, and from what we hear, you succeeded. You planted the seed. I merely watered it.”

“Are you sure? That you want me to do this?”

“I’m with Catherine. Win this debate,” Arimus said with a grin. “And don’t screw it up.”

“Fine,” he sighed. “I’m a little nervous…but I’ll do it.”

They broke the huddle and James walked to the empty podium slowly. The crowd began murmuring amongst themselves, pointing toward Catherine who they no doubt expected to participate. At the opposite end of James was a merchant that appeared to be in his forties. Well groomed and boasting a brown beehive beard, he proudly approached his podium with hands in his pockets, his fingers rummaging against the fine green covered silk that draped over his body. The crowd began bumping elbows with one another and chuckling without restraint. James glanced around him anxiously. Apparently, this guy was no joke.

“The participants have been determined,” the King yelled out. “Now, in the interest of time and fairness,” he chuckled, looking at James, “we won’t form
at this debate as we usually do. Though I would love to see how the young Sage would have fared in an eighty-round battle, we will turn this into a five round affair. Each participant will receive three minutes to say their peace, in which case the debate will shift to the other side. At the end of five rounds, a winner will be determined, and the fate of the Prattlian stone will be decided. Is that adequate?”

The crowd cheered in unison and the King began stepping back.

“James…Yelon…you may decide who goes first.”

“Yelon can,” James said abruptly as the crowd groaned in disapproval.

“Apparently, you don’t even know how to debate who goes first,” Yelon sighed. “But fine, I’ll go if it pleases you.”

“Yelon,” the King said. “Your three minutes begins now.”

“Ahem,” Yelon said. “Well, the topic of today is whether Allay or Prattle should have the right to the stones. This is all assuming that Zen-echelon is in fact on its way to destroy us, and that these stones will not be used for selfish gain. This exchange of words is merely to determine the more suitable party for ensuring our victory. With that being said, let me give you a little bit of history about Allay. Amongst the five Kingdoms spread throughout the land, they are seen as the weakest, and have been for decades. Now let me clarify further - they were seen as the weaker Kingdom before we even had a guard! And why is this? Was it through no fault of their own? That their forces were simply decimated in the siege of 88? No. It’s because of their lack of organization and vision.

“
The Quietus are our closest neighbors, and yet we’ve survived countless attacks. Not because of our physical strength, but our collective strategy. We study them constantly; scenarios are revised and practiced every day. And when they do sniff us out, to see if we can be caught unawares, they are distraught to find we never are. Even before our guard was created, we were able to outsmart them, forcing them back home in droves, disappointed…and empty handed. As much as it may pain us to say it, we treat them with respect. And this, is something Allay does not possess. Although they had hundreds of Sages at their disposal, warriors of power limited only by their imagination, they were devastated within a day, leaving the rest of their Kingdom crippled and even more confused than they previously were. They paid for their lack of vision. Their disrespect and underestimations. They thought themselves strong, when they were weak, and this illusion is what I intend to make clear today. The Princess and her Sages come with good intentions, but no vision, no respect for their enemy. They simply believe their strength exceeds our own, and that every other Kingdom but they, should give up their right to lead the charge against this obscure and dangerous enemy. Thank you.”

The crowd clapped as all eyes turned to James. He tapped the podium absent-mindedly as he stood up tall, looking at the man that had just torn down his home with so many words. He took a deep breath and let his heart do the speaking.

“My opponent is right in some points,” James admitted, bringing forth a number of gasps. “I think his assessment of why Allay failed against the Quietus is spot on. And the only reason I say so, is because I was a shining example of everything Allay claimed to be, but wasn’t. See, I wasn’t trained to be a Sage since birth. I was a villager, and I could barely even be called that. I was lazy, self-centered, and thought I was entitled to riches, glory, and respect…I was a fool. And the only reason I’m standing here before you today is because my father signed me up for the Academy. He figured it was better that I die fighting for something than waste away on my bed at home. I barely even made it to the school itself. The only reason I made it there was because I didn’t have the money to take me elsewhere…I learned a lot, on my journey to become a Sage…one painful lesson was that I couldn’t just become what I wanted, or accomplish what I desired, simply by wishing it. I had to work, and I’m sure you as Prattlians know this all too well. But it didn’t come easy. It had to be beat into me, over and over, ripping apart not just my body, but more so my attitude, and my character.

“Change in a nation can occur with a simple declaration of its leaders…but change in a person, in a people…takes time, and suffering. Something that the Prattlians haven’t had to do. You can afford to read from day to night and have debates because you’ve had a system in place that hasn’t been challenged to its breaking point. Our entire world was turned upside down, and we had to adapt and scrounge for survi
val. Everything that Yelon said about the Allayans is true…but the assessment is outdated. We’re different now. We’re hungry now. And we know the horrors that this world can bring. Could you use the stone to better fight Zen-echelon? Perhaps. But how long would you have to study it and strategize before you came up with one legitimate tactic? As Allayans, we don’t have that luxury.  We have to act immediately, and take on the consequences as they come. Can you accept that burden? Can you carry the memories of the lives you lose on your shoulders? Because we already have. We’re ready to act – now. And not just talk about it…”

“My, my,” a voice ran throughout the courtyard. All eyes turned to the entrance, where a man stood in a large fur
, blue robe. His face was smooth but covered in jagged scars. His eyes – green but hazy. Something was strange about him…

“Who are you?” the King of Prattle asked as the stranger smiled.

“My name is Thorn, and I am the King of Zen-echelon.” The crowd scurried away from him as King Nathaniel’s eyes widened in alarm. He pointed at one of his guards.

“What happened to our surveillance?! Where are the guards at the entrance?”

“All dead,” Thorn replied calmly. “And your surveillance doesn’t help you out one bit if your enemy happens to be invisible.”

“Where is Kyran and Scarlet?” Catherine shouted as Thorn turned his attention towards her. Arimus blocked her with his body.

“Hello, Catherine!” Thorn shouted out. “Arimus, can you please get out of the way? I just want to talk.”

“From what I’ve heard,” King Nathaniel said. “You’ve come to kill us all.”

“That is the plan,” Thorn chuckled. “But plans can change.”

“What do you want?”

“The stones. All of them. If Catherine gives me hers, and you relinquish yours, then I will spare your lives for no less than a month. Think about it. With an actual deadline to look forward to, you can live life to its absolute fullest. Go on vacation, party, eat, be merry! None of this mundane living and simply existing! For the first time in your miserable existence, you can truly live!”

“I’ll have to decline.”

“Well, that’s unfortunate.”

“WHERE IS KYRAN AND SCARLET?” Catherine screamed, pushing Arimus aside.

“They’re alive,” Thorn smiled. “But let’s just say that they didn’t succeed in their mission.”

“WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THEM?
AND WHERE ARE MY PARENTS?”

“That’s far too many questions, Princess. And I simply don’t have the time. There is so much work to be done, starting with this…” Thorn looked around. “…lovely Kingdom here...but I’m getting ahead of myself. Before we do this, I would like
to introduce my sergeants. Boys, please come forward.”

From behind Thorn and the open door approached two figures. They remained in the shadows for a second, and then revealed themselves with one final step. Th
is time, it was Arimus who nearly threw Catherine aside.

“DOMINIC!” Arimus roared as t
he young Sage flashed him an amused smile. James looked at his rival in shock but then scowled when he saw the other sergeant in attendance.

“Al
exander?” James mouthed. Alexander the Prattlian, alive and well, winked back at him.

“GYRUIN!” King Nathaniel cried out as James suddenly noticed the man hanging at Dominic’s side. The young Sage was holding him tight by the
back of the neck, and from what he could sense, Gyruin was fading fast. But no one could react in time. The moment James even considered making a move, Dominic took a regular, steel blade from his hip and stabbed it straight through the Prattlian’s chest…killing him instantly.