Zachania (57 page)

“Then you are
blind Akraf, you have to abide by the Empires laws do you not, you
are ordered to obey them, under their rule there are no elections,
religion is all but forbidden, free passage is restricted and what
of the taxes you have to pay, what would happen if you stopped
paying the Empire this levy, what of your subjects then if you
decided not to pay, this is tyranny and your only path to freedom
is us.. The royal warriors of Zachania, who will not bow down to
this evil emperor.”

When Talon
finished he sat back slightly embarrassed at losing his composure
and showing Lord Akraf his deep emotions. Lord Akraf waited a
moment for Talon to regain his calm before replying to him.

“Talon, I have
never liked the Empire, for years they have bled me in taxes but
apart from that they have left me alone, I must remain neutral for
the sake of my people, this is not my war, what would become of me
and my family if I side with Zachania and then Zachania is
defeated.”

Talon became
rigid as he heard the words Zachania and defeat but still feeling
blushful at his last outburst he calmed his reply,

“Then what my
friend are we to do?” he sighed with frustration.

“I do not know
the answer to that Talon and I am sorry if I have not said what you
wanted to hear.”

“Am I your
enemy Lord Akraf?” asked Talon which surprised the Lord.

“No Talon you
are not, not yet that is.”

“I do not wish
to be Lord Akraf but I must have full and unhindered control of
Vilsillius.”

“You have
control; the army you marched into my town achieved that.”

“I also want
your assistance.”

“That I cannot
give, you have our obedience but we will not help you.”

“Lord Akraf my
fondness for you will come second here, my allegiance is to
Zachania and I will do whatever is necessary for my homeland.”

“All I am
willing to give you Talon is my word that you will not be resisted,
that is all I can give you, I am sorry if it is not what you want
me to say but my allegiance is to Vilsillius.”

Later in the
evening Talon found Lord Heikan and Kinlan enjoying a drink with
some of officers in Heikan’s army, there was a jubilant and
triumphant mood about them, Talon had just finished his talks with
Lord Akraf and was in need of a large jug of ale.

“Come Talon sit
with us” Kinlan said as he offered Talon some ale.

“How was
Akraf?” asked Heikan.

“He is not
going to do anything; he says he wants to remain neutral.”

“String a few
of his men up and let’s see if that changes his mind.” Heikan
added

“no my Lord
Heikan, god no, it has been a long day, we have won enough for one
day, let us see what happens after a few days, maybe his resolve
will soften.”

“Well my offer
still stands Talon” replied Heikan.

“Kinlan, have
you sent word back to the King” Talon asked turning to Kinlan.

“Yes Talon I
have, word was sent that Vilsillius is now part of the Zachanian
Kingdom.” Kinlan replied smiling broadly.

“Good it will
be good news for Arun.”

“Talon, I was
thinking about what you asked me earlier, about finding a
building.” Kraal suddenly said reminding Talon of something he had
said earlier.

“Yes.”

“I was thinking
that the barracks we defeated today would be perfect, it is large
enough and secure.”

“For the
prisoners?” asked Kinlan.

“I don’t know
why I didn’t think of that, thank you Kraal it has been a long day
with many things on my mind.”

“Why don’t you
get some rest Talon? We can handle things” added Heikan as he
noticed Talon yawning.

“So it is
agreed then, the barracks will be turned into a prison to house the
prisoners, if you can start preparing things in the morning then
we…” replied Talon getting to his feet,

“Talon don’t
worry, get some rest, we will take care of it” Heikan interrupted
him.

Talon smiled
and patted his friend on the shoulder; it had been an exhausting
day and a day that would be written in history books of Zachania, a
great day which will be celebrated for a very long time.

A terrible
storm raged in the sky over Zanlia, rain driven from the strong sea
winds crashed into the town. The storm added a sinister feeling to
the deserted streets as the Zanlian townsfolk remained under strict
curfew.

General Lagain
pulled himself closer to his cell window as the rain began to seep
in, the cell was pitch black and only lit from the frequent
lightening which flickered across the cell revealing the dying body
that Lagain had pushed up against the far wall. He squinted through
the rain and saw in the distant horizon that day would soon be
arriving.

Lagain walked
over to the body and kicked it hard, once, then twice before
shouting at it to stop making noises; he stood back and cursed the
body then sunk to the ground wondering why he was in this
position.

Lagain sat
motionless for a couple of hours, almost in trance state as he
contemplated what to do.

“Open the
door!” Lagain then heard as he realised there were people outside
his cell, jumping to his feet he saw the cell door open and Grarlin
the wizard Grand walk in.

Grarlin
immediately noticed the dead body on the ground before looking up
to see General Lagain smiling.

“You killed
him?” asked Grarlin with a slight smile though showing absolutely
no interest in his voice for the dead man.

Lagain then
grabbed hold of the body by its hair and dragged it into the open
doorway before standing up to face Grarlin, Lagain then wiped the
hair from his own face and accidentally smeared some blood on his
face which was on his hand.

“What do you
expect if you cage a royal General with a common thief?”

Grarlin smiled
again as he stepped over the body.

“I want to
speak with you Lagain.”

“Then make
yourself comfortable.” added Lagain slightly mocking the wizard
inviting him into the damp stinking cell.

Grarlin walked
closer to the General and looked deeply into him.

“What do you
know of a man they call Talon?”

“I know him.”
replied Lagain almost seething his words.

“And the
resistance in Zanlia.”

“I know of them
also.”

“Tell me all, I
want to know everything.”

As noon broke
over the sky of Vilsillius, Lord Heikan along with Talon and his
son Kraal began feasting on a platter of freshly caught fish. They
had spent all morning with Heikan’s commanders going over dozens of
different plans, The Zachanian Lord Heikan yawned and stretched as
his growing frustration became apparent.

“I enjoyed the
battle much more than I enjoy this.” he said loudly as he nodded
down at the countless notes that were scattered upon the table.

Kraal smiled at
his bombastic father knowing exactly what he meant.

“The good news
is father; there have been no reports of any kind of unrest.”

“Good, we have
broken the back of this damn town.” Heikan replied before tucking
into another fish.

Talon nodded
silently as if agreeing but had a look on his face that he wanted
to something.”

“If Vilsillius
is under control then we must give careful consideration to
advancing further south.” he suddenly said mentioned advancing for
the first time this morning.

“I like that
idea Talon but we must first make sure we have total control here.”
replied Heikan.

“Of course
Heikan, but the towns which are left along the coast will not need
such an army to conquer.” Talon answered.

“How many men
are you talking about?” replied Heikan before chewing another large
piece of fish.

“Give me ten
thousand men and I will deliver the whole of the south-west coast
to Zachania.”

“Ten thousand?”
asked Heikan.

“It’s a quarter
of our strength father.” added Kraal only for his father to give
him a angered look, letting him know that he knew exactly how many
men Talon was asking for, Kraal looked a little embarrassed before
Talon began speaking again.

“We must
control the entire south, otherwise we leave ourselves open for the
Empire to flank us.”

“But the Empire
are based in the north, any attack from them will surely come from
that direction.”

“You are wrong
Lord Heikan, I know the Empire’s tactics, if they march on us from
the north then they will almost certainly want to coincide an
attack from the south.”

Lord Heikan
winced as he thought about what Talon was telling him.

“I know you are
right Talon but I feel hesitant about separating the army, you know
full well that Tallasian has a powerful military presence there. If
they have heard about what we have done here in Vilsillius and I
wager that they have, and if they decide to attack us from
Tallasian then I do not want my warriors scattered along the
coast.”

Talon nodded
before giving Heikan a reassuring smile.

“Relax my Lord
I will not let that happen, I will post lookouts between us and
Tallasian, we will know immediately if there are any signs of
action.” Talon said calmly as if he was in total ease with his
plan.

“Everything is
ok here.” Heikan then said thinking out loud to his son Kraal.

“Vilsillius is
tied down Father; we are in total control here.” Kraal replied.

Talon then
leaned across and affectionately grabbed Heikan’s arm.

“Bolson my
friend, we are in no danger at the moment, I know this area well, I
know where the Empire has numbers and where they do not, I asked
for ten thousand men which is more than adequate to take the towns
left along the coast, I assure you we will easily take the rest of
this region.”

“Do I have your
word you will look after my men?” Heikan replied letting Talon know
he was agreeing with his request which made Talon laugh
affectionately for Heikan at his comment that showed the love the
Lord had for his men.

“I give you my
word!” Talon replied smiling.

Lord Heikan
half-heartedly smiled back and nodded at Talon, he had given his
permission for Talon to proceed but he was still awash with doubts,
he did not know the south like Talon knew it and the thought of
splitting his army was not something he had considered before, he
was also afraid that something could happen to Talon, and that
would not be a message he would want to deliver back to his
King.

“I agree then,
but I want Kraal to accompany you.” he replied.

The following
morning when Talon and Kraal rode from Vilsillius at the front of
ten thousand Zachanian warriors, Talon sat on his horse feeling
proud, he could feel the excitement rising through him as he looked
upon the mighty army that followed behind him. He began to think of
his father and his two brothers, Kraal was also deep in thought but
he busied himself by giving out orders to various scouting parties
that were ordered to inspect the terrain that was before them.

“You are quiet
my Lord” Kraal suddenly asked Talon noticing that he had not spoken
for a long time.

“Memories my
friend, being back in the south brings back a lot of memories.”

“You look
troubled by your memories Lord Talon.”

“Not troubled
Kraal, like all men, some memories are harder to put to rest than
others.”

It took Talon
and his ten thousand Zachanian warriors two days to reach the
outskirts of the holy town of Varanasa; it had been a journey that
had revived many memories for Talon, a journey where he had thought
for countless hours on where he had come from and where he must go.
When the order was given for the army to stop and make camp, Talon
began immediately with his plans.

“Keep the men
here Kraal; there is something I need to do alone.” Talon said
which shocked Kraal

“Are we not
marching into the town?” Kraal asked confused.

“Not this town
my friend, this is a town of peace and worship, it is dominated
only by the Pangkor’s, remain here with the men, I will return by
nightfall.”

“As you wish my
Lord” replied Kraal just before Talon kicked his heels into his
horse and rode off towards the centre of the town.

Talon was
suddenly filled with ease as he first caught sight of the Pangkor
temple, it had been a long time since he called this place his home
but still he felt relaxed as he pulled his horse to a stop outside
the old wooden gates.

Talon
dismounted and began to walk towards the door when suddenly he
heard a noise behind him; he turned anxiously until he heard a
voice he recognised immediately

“My friend has
returned.” said the voice.

“Chang” Talon
sighed warmly as he turned to greet his old friend and teacher;
they both embraced before Chang broke off and looked at what Talon
was wearing.

“I recognise
the face and I still see the spirit but not your clothes or sword
my brother.”

“These are part
of me now Chang.”

“Not to me
Talon…….you will always be that troubled boy who I found on the
beach.”

Talon smiled
then took off his sword and placed it in his saddlebag which made
Chang smile as he placed an arm around Talon and led him into the
temple grounds and across the gardens to the drinking well. Chang
then reached into the bucket and gave Talon a cold cup of
water.

“Drink, drink,
you look thirsty.” Chang said still looking delighted at seeing his
old student.

“You have aged
Chang.” Talon said jokingly.

“I knew one day
you would return Talon.”

“I have
travelled many roads since I left you my friend.” replied Talon
suddenly becoming more sincere.

“That I knew
also, I can sense this from you, your spirit is now overwhelming, I
feel your importance but I also feel darkness within you.”