Zachania (27 page)

“My friends, I
have known you all for a long time and I know each one of you is
deeply proud of Zachania, this is why I have asked you here to
listen to what I and my Grandson has to say” Zalon then stood down
from the chair and ushered Talon to come forward, Talon nodded at
his Grandfather and stood beside him.

“Gladiators I
have only known some of you for a very short time but my
Grandfather tells me you are all proud men, that is good and it is
your pride that I now appeal to, what I am about to ask you will
change all of your lives.”

“It will change
all Zachanian lives” Zalon suddenly interrupted proudly.

Talon checked
that his Grandfather had finished speaking before re-addressing the
men.

“A time of
great change is upon us……no longer can we be imprisoned in our own
land, I am here to show you how we can fight.”

Talon was
suddenly interrupted by one of the gladiators stepping forward.

“No man here
hates the Empire more than me, my ancestors were tortured and
killed but what can we do, we are just twelve men.”

Zalon then
jumped forward meeting the man head on.

“Once this
thing is started it will gather such momentum that the people will
join us in droves, this meeting was called because every journey
has to start with a first step, this meeting is that step, we have
a plan and we are ready to begin.”

The room then
fell into silence as the gladiators thought about what they had
just heard until Graval, Zalon’s finest gladiator and closest
friend broke the silence.

“My ancestors
have slept in their graves without revenge for too long, I will
listen to this plan of yours Zalon and then I will join you and
your Grandson.” when Graval finished he walked over and stood
beside Talon and his Grandfather where he turned facing the other
gladiators.

The other men
looked at each other until four of them did the same and stood
beside Graval.

“I hear what
you are saying but what will the counsel say?” said one of the five
remaining gladiators.

“The council
will listen to us whe…” Zalon was interrupted by Talon before he
could finish who stepped forward and raised his voice.

“Where is your
pride? Your ancestors fought and died by the side of Apollo, they
died in their thousands on the battlefields of Zanlia.”

Talons
Grandfather raised his voice and began to quote from memory a
passage from the book of Apollo ‘The ZARZAR’ an ancient book
scribed just after the Great War by Zachanian warriors who
personally fought with Apollo.

“
Ready yourself for
war Zachanian’s, be ready, be strong, for the time of my return
will come when we will unleash a wrath that no army can
withstand.”

“The dying
words of Apollo.” Graval said solemnly.

“Zalon, Apollo
has not returned.” added one of the five men.

“Show them
Talon.” Zalon said pushing Talon’s arm.

“Behold the
sword of Apollo!” Talon said revealing his sword and holding it
above his head

The men stared
at the sword with amazement and disbelief as the room fell into
silence

“APOLLO HAS
RETURNED!……HE HAS RETURNED IN ME…..NOW WHO JOINS ME!” Talon
shouted.

One of the five
men suddenly dropped to his knees.

“The
Zararhakzar!” he said before rising to walk towards Talon where he
kissed him on the cheek.

“Who is with
me?” Talon again asked now for all the men to join him.

Talon then
asked the men to offer him their hands where he cut each man’s hand
with the sword of Apollo.

“Now
Zachanian’s your blood is on Apollo’s sword, you must each swear
that your loyalty and honour is to our ancestors and this
campaign.”

Each man then
touched the sword and swore an oath leaving Talon who let his
Grandfather hold the sword as he did also, there was now an air of
excitement in the room as each man congratulated each other as if
they were already hero’s, Graval was the first to break the silence
realising the enormity that they had just sworn to.

“So where do we
begin?” he asked through gritted teeth.

Talon turned
and then out of nowhere asked Graval to kneel, Graval paused
feeling slightly embarrassed as the other men looked on warily,
Zalon looked anxiously at his Grandson wondering if his Grandson
knew that to ask a gladiator to kneel was the greatest insult
anyone could say to him. There was an air of silence as Graval
looked at his fellow fighting men before reluctantly kneeling
before Talon, which seemed to annoy his fellow gladiators.

“I will begin
Graval by rewarding your loyalty, you will be my second in command
behind my Grandfather, will you rise and join by my side, if I fall
then you will carry the sword of Apollo.” as Talon finished he
tapped Graval on each shoulder as if knighting him.

Suddenly the
atmosphere in the room relaxed as Graval got back to his feet.

“Our first
battle will be on the fields of Zac, we must rid Zachania of this
scourge, tomorrow the field’s burn!” Talon added which caused the
men to cheer.

The men stayed
and talked for a while and were then told to meet at Zalon’s home
at dawn, they all left except for Graval who joined Talon and his
Grandfather in Zalon’s home, Graval was sitting admiring Talon’s
sword as Zalon busied himself heating some milk by the fire.

“Here’s to the
beginning.” Zalon said when he poured out three cups of the
milk.

“The
beginning.” both Talon and Graval replied.

The full moon
shone brightly on the cool Zachanian night lighting up the roofs of
Zachra and reflecting off of the marbled roof of the King’s
Palace.

Inside the
Palace sat a young man in his twenties sitting at his desk with his
head buried deeply in his book. The man was only interrupted when
another man entered the room and called out his name.

“Prince
Arun.”

The Prince
stood up from his desk and hurriedly walked over to greet the
man

“My loyal
friend Pelkan.”

Pelkan was
dressed in merchant’s garments and his long hair and beard was left
unkempt, as the Prince embraced him Pelkan realised the state he
was in and felt embarrassed about touching the Prince. Pelkan then
took a step back and held out his hands as he spoke.

“My Lord I
apologise for my appearance but I have news that I feel is of the
utmost importance and I did not want it delayed by my cleaning and
changing.”

Prince Arun
nodded accepting his apology before ushering him off to a secluded
part of the room.

“Tell me Pelkan
what of Zanlia?” the Prince asked speaking in a low voice.

“I barely
escaped my Lord, Zanlia is under martial law, and the Empire is
everywhere.”

Prince Arun
looked alarmed.

“So my fears
are coming to bare truth.” he said slightly sighing.

“Your fears are
not unfounded, the Empire’s presence has increased tenfold in the
last few months and their soldiers are grouping along Death Valley
in vast numbers, I fear that an invasion into Zachania is now
inevitable.”

“Do we have any
proof Pelkan?”

“Sire is the
gathering of thousands of soldiers on our border not proof
enough.”

“What of our
friends in Zanlia.”

“Gone sire,
like I said Zanlia is like a prison.”

“The King must
listen now Pelkan, this build-up of soldiers on our border can only
mean they will attack.”

Both men rubbed
their faces and fidgeted as the Prince suddenly turned looking very
serious. Prince Arun was one of those men who always looked
serious, behind his blue eyes it always looked as if his mind was
busy calculating situation.

The Prince was
a keen an able scholar and thought and acted way in advance of
twenty-eight years of age, as he pushed his hand through his blond
hair and fidgeted again with his blond moustache one could be
mistaken by his youth but his eyes showed as he turned coldly to
Pelkan that he was a very serious and accomplished man.

“We must inform
the council immediately!” he said which was just as much an order
for Pelkan as it was an answer.

Strong and
honourable men represented the royal Zachanian counsel from long
distinguished Zachanian families. At the head was Prince Arun and
its other members were the heads of the five ruling houses, each
house was dedicated to the book of ZARZAR and Apollo’s teachings
and they were extremely proud of their family’s history.

The five
Zachanian families were all loyal to the King but they were
responsible to themselves, they all commanded their own armies and
each family’s heritage was well-documented going back hundreds of
years back to the wars against the Degrain’s and the Empire.

From the town
of Zachra there were two families, the Tanaga’s headed by Sol
Tanaga and the house of Heikan which was ruled by Bolsan Heikan.
Then there was the house of Korvak from the town of Zafra headed by
Kaan Korvak, and from the town of Zabac came the house of Zargar
led by Makros Zargar and then the house Krazmos was from the
northern town Kan ruled by Bokli Krazmos.

The counsel was
centuries old where each family had always had a representative and
they followed a strict code from the teachings of Apollo that
instructed them to be ready for a time when Zachania would revenge
itself.

Prince Arun
sent his envoys to the relevant towns to inform the heads of the
council to report to Zachra for an urgent meeting of the counsel
before making his way to his father’s bedroom, as the Prince
entered the King’s room he witnessed the same scene he saw almost
every evening. The King had collapsed by the side of the bed and as
usual the room stank of smoked Zac, the Prince picked up his father
and put him safely in bed.

“Father Will
you not stop taking Zac?” the Prince sighed in a caring tone.

The King just
gave his son an intoxicated smile as the Prince placed a pillow
under his head and kissed him goodnight.

As Arun left
his father’s bedroom and began making his way down the corridor to
his own room he bumped into his sister, the Princess Su-Maria Von
Koh-Sumai who was commonly known as the most beautiful women in all
of Zachania, her long blonde hair perfectly complemented her
stunning large green eyes and she had a smile that could melt even
the strongest warriors heart.

Arun smiled
broadly, it had been a long day and the sight of his sister put him
at ease.

“My beautiful
sister.” the Prince said greeting her with a hug.

“Stop it Arun.”
she replied embarrassed at his compliment.

“How was your
day sister?”

“I have been
weaving cloth for a dress that I am making, how was your day.”

Arun
shrugged.

“It was
ok.”

“What is wrong
Arun?” asked the Princess sensing something in her brother’s
demeanour.

“Nothing
darling, get some rest.”

“Is it father
Arun? Has he been taking Zac Again?”

Prince Arun
kind of shrugged before trying to reassure his sister everything
was fine,

“Do not worry
my dear, go to bed; I’m just tired that’s all.”

As dawn broke
over Zachra there was a slight chill in the air from a mist that
had come down from the mountains and engulfed the town.

Out of this
mist rode twelve men on horseback, it was Talon and his men on
their way to burn the fields of Zac, and the look on their faces
was a mixture of seriousness and excitement.

The men rode
furiously for a whole day until just before nightfall when they
reached the first fields of Zac, they dismounted their horses and
gathered around Talon who in turn was studying the fields, and he
picked up some soil and then threw it away before turning towards
his men.

“This day will
be written in history, this day begins the salvation of Zachania. I
want you all to savour this very moment for it bonds us together,
hold your heads up high for it is us twelve men, us brave twelve
men who begins the battle we have waited centuries to begin.”

Talon then
pulled some torches from the bags on his horse and lit one, the men
also had torches and they lit theirs off Talons torch, Talon then
began to burn the Zac followed by the other men and soon the whole
field was ablaze as far as the eyes could see. For miles the fields
burned sending smoke high into the sky, farmers and merchants ran
to try and put out the fires but no matter how much they tried the
fields still burned and by morning the Zachania’s crops of Zac had
been destroyed.

The same night
back in Zachra the council was having their meeting totally unaware
of Talon’s actions on the fields of Zac. All the rulers of the
families were present; some were keen to hear what Prince Arun’s,
General Pelkan had to say, while some were slightly annoyed at the
inconvenience of being called out urgently.

Once the usual
greetings were made General Pelkan took to his feet.

“I have just
returned from Zanlia and the news is grave, the town is gripped in
terror and the Empire is now present in vast numbers, every night
people are being killed and tortured though no one seem to know
why, but I have news which is more alarming gentlemen, the Empire
have now amassed over fifty thousand soldiers on the border of
Death Valley”

The Prince
suddenly interrupted Pelkan.

“We must
prepare for war; there can be only one meaning for this build-up of
soldiers that they are going to attack!”

The first
member of the council to answer was Bolson Heikan from the house of
Heikan

“Prince Arun
this is monumental news indeed and it cannot be taken in vain, I
have over two hundred thousand warriors who are ready to fight but
apart from the build-up of the Empires military there is no sign,
the ancient scriptures tell us of Apollo’s return and of the
Zararhakzar leading us to battle but listen my brothers, the sky is
silent we have no sign.”