Zachania (67 page)

“DRIVE THEM
INTO THE HILLS!…..SHOW NO MERCY!” Heikan screamed as they broke the
Empires front line and entered their camp.

King Arun
cheered as he saw the Imperial soldiers running away in all
directions as they tried to escape Heikan’s relentless
warriors.

“We have done
it sire, we have won the day!” shouted Kinlan seeing the Empire
run.

Lord Heikan
then joined the King and Kinlan, the Lord was smothered in Imperial
blood, he hugged the King and grabbed hold of Kinlan.

“VICTORY!” he
shouted angrily still lost in the frenzy of battle.

Zachanian
soldiers were now celebrating all around; there was an overwhelming
sense of relief as the Empire disappeared running for their
lives.

“Check the
tents and surrounding area’s for any injured.” King Arun said
turning to Kinlan.

Kinlan smiled
and nodded then froze and was just about to carry out the Kings
order when he stopped in his tracks.

“What is that?”
he said as the colour drained from his face.

King Arun’s
expression also changed as they felt the ground beneath their feet
start to vibrate.

“What the damn
is it?” asked Heikan greatly concerned and puzzled.

“This feels
bad.” Kinlan sighed clearly showing the fear on his face.

King Arun then
lifted his head and began to gaze at a nearby hill where a noise
started to come from, Heikan stiffened besides him as the noise
increased.

“Horses?” asked
Kinlan even though he knew full well it was.

“By the gods
there must be thousands of them.” uttered Heikan fearfully.

Heikan’s army
stood frozen to the spot as all eyes were now on the hill, King
Arun felt a chill run down his spine as he saw thousands of
soldiers on horseback coming into view.

“By the gods!”
Kinlan sighed as he saw the sheer size of the army that was riding
furiously towards them.

Grarlin’s
Degrain’s had arrived, they looked terrifying as they rampaged
across the ground, the Zachanian’s stood aghast as this army of
monsters approached them like an apocalyptic storm, Heikan winced
as he saw their appearance.

“What monsters
are they?” he shouted as he noticed their horns and size.

“Retreat
Heikan!…get our men back behind our lines.” King Arun frantically
demanded.

Heikan shouted
for his men to retreat and moments later thousands of Zachanian’s
were running for their lives back to the trenches, Heikan stopped
when he noticed that some of his men were trapped and were trying
to fight the Degrain, he winced as he saw his men smashed to the
ground by axes that were the size of a man.

“My Lord we
must get back to cover, we will be butchered in this open land.”
Kinlan shouted as he pulled Heikan, the Lord ran for a moment but
then stopped, he told King Arun to continue back towards the lines
before he shouted to some of his men and began to form a group of
archers to try and help the men that were making up the rear.

When King Arun
reached the Zachanian front lines he was met by Ganasis who helped
him over some of the barricades.

“DEGRAINS!”
Ganasis shouted showing his fear in his voice.

“What can we do
Ganasis?” the King asked trying to regain his breath.

“FIGHT THEM!……I
will try to make a spell to delay them.”

Then a
terrified soldier ran over to the King, his face was distorted with
terror.

“SIRE THEY ARE
BEHIND US ASWELL!” he shouted before running off to find cover.

Arun and
Ganasis turned quickly in horror, Arun felt sick as he saw clouds
of dust coming from the horizon behind them, he turned and looked
at Ganasis, Ganasis noticed the Kings face, it was smothered with
disappointment, the King still looked determined but his eyes could
not hide a broken heart.

“We will die as
proud free men my King.” Ganasis replied to him.

Then General
Kanyan joined the King and Ganasis.

“That’s not
horses” he said as he squinted his eyes to look on the horizon.

Ganasis jumped
onto a nearby rock trying to get a better look, he raised a hand to
his forehead and winced as he studied the horizon, moments later he
turned to King Arun smiling from ear to ear.

“ARUN…..IT IS
Talon!” he shouted as before his eyes he saw Talon riding on the
back of one of the bear people leading an army of over one hundred
thousand beasts.

“TALON IS HERE
ARUN!, he brings the beasts from the Forest of Deceit.” Ganasis
shouted as moments later thousands of the beasts jumped over the
Zachanian front lines and charged at the Degrain’s in the valley.
Talon jumped from the back of the beast and ran over to Ganasis and
the King.

“Never have I
been so pleased to see someone.” King Arun sighed as he picked
Talon up.

The bear men
launched themselves straight into the thick of battle, carrying
huge wooden clubs they smashed into the Degrain’s with terrifying
brute force. The Degrain’s were no match for the mighty army of
bear people who were leaping at the Degrain’s and smashing them
from their horses to the ground. The fiercely savage Degrain’s
refused to surrender or retreat and they battled as best they
could. The battle took the Zachanian’s breath away as they looked
on in awe at the brutal barbaric nature of the fighting; this was
not a battle of strategies but just a carnal lust for blood. Every
single Degrainian had to be put to the death because they would not
retreat, by evening the battlefield ran with rivers of blood, it
was a sight that would live with everyone who was present until the
day they died.

Zachania had
prevailed, against all the odds this morning, Talon, the King,
Ganasis and all the Lords of the council stood speechless as they
looked out onto the silent battlefield, all around for miles there
were dead corpses, miraculously they had their victory but it was
at a cost that took away any feeling of joy.

The Evening at
Fort Arun on the Zachanian side of Death Valley brought with it
songs of victory and celebration as the what was left of the
Zachanian armies cheered themselves and gave thanks to the gods
that they were still alive. It was a strange atmosphere for a night
after a victory, the Zachanian’s rejoiced and drank as much ale as
they could but there was an overwhelming feeling of relief rather
than outright celebration.

Inside the Fort
were the great Lords of the council, the King, Talon, Ganasis and
Zumal as well as their new friend, the leader of the Bear men,
Quankow. Quankow was seated next to Talon on a large rock which he
had carried because he was too big to sit in a chair, Quankow
seemed amused as he watched Kinlan drinking ale and doing
somersaults into the air, Kinlan was shouting and celebrating with
Lord Heikan’s son Kraal, they held their own drinking competition
against each other.

King Arun
laughed as Kraal tried to do a somersault from a table after
drinking a large jug of ale and fell flat on his face, Kinlan
shouted out the name of his house as he won the competition.

“HEIKAN!” he
shouted before reaching for another jug of ale.

Lord Heikan sat
proud watching his men celebrate, he sat almost King like as he
thought to himself this was the proudest day of his life, it did
not matter to him about the Degrain’s or the bear beasts, he was
proud at what happened earlier in the day when his own Heikan army
broke through the Imperial battle lines and sent them running into
the hills, it was a glorious day for him, one which would add
greatly to the reputation of the House of Heikan army and a day
that would cement his own personal legacy.

When King Arun
rose to his feet he had to ask for silence three times, finally
when he had everyone’s attention he held up his jug.

“Gentlemen, a
toast to our great victory and a toast to our new friends.” he said
turning to Quankow who was sitting oblivious to what King Arun had
just said, Talon noticing this turned to Quankow and told him with
his mind that his King was thanking him, Quankow bowed his head in
acknowledgment and smiled back to the King.

The ale and
wine continued to flow as the Zachanian’s rejoiced and celebrated,
Ganasis soon grew weary of all the shouting and drinking and he
asked Talon and Quankow if they would join him outside where it was
somewhat quieter, the three of them excused themselves and then
found a secluded spot outside where they sat down under the night
sky.

Talon just sat
down when he was approached by three drunken soldiers.

“Sire” one of
the soldiers said as he knelt before Talon.

“You called me
sire” Talon replied looking confused and a little embarrassed.

One of the
other soldiers who was clearly drunk then grabbed Talon’s hand and
kissed the back of it, the ale had taken away his inhibitions and
he paid homage to Talon unashamedly.

“You are our
Lord King, you are the Zararhakzar.” he said bowing his head.

Talon smiled
feeling embarrassed again and was thankful for Ganasis’s
intervention.

“Ok that is
enough of that, go and enjoy the night, we have things to discuss.”
said the wizard helping the men to their feet before turning back
to Talon.

“You better get
used to that Talon.”

“They had been
drinking Ganasis.”

“Maybe so, but
after what you did today, you are all most a god in their
eyes.”

“Please
Ganasis; I have enough on my shoulders.”

“The weight of
leadership is a heavy one my friend.”

“Ganasis, why
did you ask me to come outside?” Talon replied changing the
subject.

Ganasis looked
over at Quankow and then back to Talon.

“I wanted to
ask Quankow some questions.”

“Quankow does
not use our language, but I can speak to him with my mind.”

“mind-reading.”
snapped Ganasis.

“Yes.”

“May I try?”
asked Ganasis looking excited.

Talon turned to
Quankow and told him with his mind that Ganasis was going to try to
communicate with him, Quankow smiled and then turned to face the
wizard.

“Quankow do you
hear me?” asked Ganasis wincing his face with concentration, Talon
smiled as he heard the wizard’s thoughts, Quankow tilted his head
slightly.

“Think slower.”
Talon then said to Ganasis.

“My name is
Ganasis” thought the wizard only to stiffen when he heard thoughts
enter his head.

“I know, I am
Quankow.”

Ganasis broke
into a massive smile.

“I know.” he
thought back which made them all smile.

“Quankow, I
want to thank you and your tribe for helping us today, what you did
we can never show our gratefulness enough.”

“It was
Apollo’s wishes.” Quankow thought back while nodding his head
accepting the thanks Ganasis gave him.

“Quankow, may I
ask you some questions about your race?”

“You may
Ganasis.”

“How old are
you Quankow?”

“I am nearly
fifteen hundred of your years” Quankow replied making Talon’s
eyebrows raise.

“Does your
entire race live so long?” asked Ganasis.

Quankow smiled
before sending his thoughts back.

“No, I am
eternal, over one thousand of your years ago the god Apollo saved
my life by giving me a drink from the well of the gods, I was
healed by the water but it also gave me eternal life.”

Ganasis
suddenly tensed as he heard the mention of the Well of the
Gods.

“How much did
you drink Quankow?”

Quankow hunched
his shoulders.

“I am not sure,
maybe three or four mouthfuls.”

“It should have
killed you.” snapped Ganasis abruptly.

Again Quankow
hunched his shoulders.

Talon then
tapped the arm of Ganasis.

“Why are you so
interested in the water from the well of the gods Ganasis?”

“I have tasted
it too.”

“You have
Ganasis.”

“As a child,
nearly a thousand years ago.”

Talon suddenly
smiled as he could not imagine Ganasis was ever a child.

“Baby Ganasis.”
Talon smirked.

“Yes Talon I
was a child once, did you think I was born like this.” replied
Ganasis with sarcasm.

“What
happened.” asked Talon once he had stopped smiling.

“When a wizard
reaches his time of death, he seeks out and chooses a new-born boy,
if the family agree then the baby is taken to the Well of the Gods
where one drop of the sacred water is placed in the baby’s mouth,
if the Gods decide that the wizard has lived a good and just life
then all of his knowledge is passed to the baby, the baby then
falls into a deep sleep for ten years, when he awakes he has all
the powers of a wizard, just one drop of the sacred water can
prolong life for a very long time.”

“What happens
to the wizard who finds the baby?” asked Talon.

“He stays with
the baby for the ten years, when the baby awakes the wizard drinks
a drop of the sacred water and he slips into death, his soul is
then taken to the VOLASKAN.”

“The Volaskan
Ganasis.”

“Yes it was
every wizard strives for, it is where the soul exists on a higher
level with the gods.”

“And what if
the gods decide that the wizard has not led a just life
Ganasis.”

“Then both the
wizard and baby dies and his soul is thrown into a void for all
eternity, a place of everlasting pain and suffering.” replied
Ganasis with his face contorted at mentioning the void.

Ganasis shook
his head and then turned back to Quankow.

“Quankow, you
say you are eternal, how can you live with that knowledge.”

Quankow smiled
slightly at Ganasis question, he had indeed asked himself this
question countless times before.

“Apollo has
given me a cup of the water, if I ever I feel I can live no more
than I can drink the water and go to my rest.”