by Brian Murray
The Chosen smiled and stood. “I, the Chosen of the Phadrine Empire, with this shake of hands with King Logan of the Rhaurien in front of these witnesses hereby declare the formation of a new friendship, truce, and peace between our two nations.”
The two leaders shook hands. An historic new relationship between the two nations, once enemies, had been formed, and all felt the emotion of the moment.
The baron remained in his chair and could not stop a tear of joy from rolling down his cheek. General Gordonia stood and smiled. General Brooks glared at his counterpart, but slowly a smile formed on his craggy face and he held out his hand. General Gordonia accepted the offer and they shook warrior style, gripping each other’s wrist.
Everyone shook hands before the king sat down and said, “Now we have to plan our little adventure. I have already put my army on stand-by and we will be ready to march in two weeks.” The general nodded in agreement, and Logan continued. “Rowet, you mentioned you could get an army across the Steppes. General, would you reach the map on my desk, please.”
The fruit tray and drinks were removed so that the map could be spread out on the table. For the next hour, the men planned the Rhaurn’s route to Kal-Pharina.
***
The meeting finished in the early hours of the morning. King Logan returned to his bedchamber where his wife, Larene, waited up for him.
“Logan, you look tired,” remarked the queen softly.
“Aye, my love, I am very tired but this is just the start.”
“What do you mean?”
“I am taking my army to war.”
The queen said nothing for a long time. “When do you leave?” she asked.
“In two weeks.”
She changed the subject. “Have you had any news about Zane?”
All the king could do was shake his head.
“Well you go, get our son, and bring him home. Do you hear me, Logan? Bring my boy back to me.” Tears welled in the queen’s eyes and Logan drew her into his arms, hugging her close.
“I will, Larene. I promise,” he whispered.
***
The Chosen walked back to his room, with a renewed swagger in his gait. Entering his room, he saw his daughter asleep in a chair, waiting for him. He spent a long time watching her sleep before she awoke.
“Hello sweet one,” said Rowet softly, crouching down to stroke her long hair softly.
“Hello Daddy, how are you?”
“Everything is fine now, go back to sleep.”
Ireen smiled and fell back asleep instantly. Rowet pulled up a chair and sat watching his daughter. Just like her mother, he thought, and her image came into his thoughts. For the second time since her death, he mourned, and the tears flowed. The Chosen, Emperor of the Phadrine, fell asleep in the chair opposite his daughter, dreaming of happier times with her and his wife. In his sleep, he smiled.
***
A vicious slap stung Thade’s face. The feel of a leather gauntlet scraping skin from his cheek woke the former gladiator. Thade tried to move his hands, but his wrists were tied behind him to the chair on which he sat. He opened his eyes and looked around. It seemed he was in some kind of tent; the fabric walls rippled gently from a breeze outside. Exhausted, the young warrior closed his eyes again.
“He’s awake,” someone said.
“Are you sure? Test him.”
The first guard closed his eyes and concentrated on pulsing pain into his captive.
Thade grunted and stirred.
“Yes, he’s awake,” said the Dark Brethren, opening his eyes and grinning.
“Good,” replied another man.
“How many men are you travelling with?”
Thade said nothing as he slowly opened his gritty, heavy eyes.
“So you wish to test your strength, good. You are young and have much strength, so we will dispense with the mental torture. I personally prefer physical torture. I hope you approve.” Humour filled the captor’s voice.
Thade just shook his head, trying to clear his grogginess and prepare himself for what would come next.
Twenty minutes later, Thade bore the cuts and bruises of his captives’ brutality. Twenty minutes of beating. No talking. No questions, just pure, vicious violence.
“We will now ask you some questions, yes? What is your name?”
Slap. Thade’s head snapped to the left, his sweat-drenched hair flailing.
“How many men do you travel with?”
Slap. Thade now faced his right. He spat blood onto the floor, while more trickled down his chin.
“My friend, we are Dark Brethren, believers of the Path and followers of the black banner. Our time is coming, He is coming and you will know our name. Your friends, whoever they are, however many there are, cannot stand against us. Our power will dominate all.”
Thade started to chuckle, but the sound lacked mirth.
“What do you find so funny, my friend? Was it something I said?” The torturer grabbed Thade’s chin and forced him to look at him. “Answer me!”
Unable to stop, Thade continued to chortle.
“Your contempt will see you dead,” hissed the Dark Brethren.
“Dax,” whispered Thade, his glazed eyes focussing on the speaker.
“Dax. Who is Dax?” pressed the torturer sarcastically.
“Be scared, for Dax will kill you.”
The torturer violently slapped Thade backhanded, knocking him and his chair to the ground.
“SIT HIM UP!” screamed the torturer, and quickly someone righted Thade’s chair.
“Hit a nerve, did I,” whispered Thade, his voice hoarse and cracking. Slap! Thade’s head slumped forward with bloody drool swinging from his chin.
“Dax . . . Who is this man?” asked the questioner, not realising Thade was unconscious.
“Someone you do not want to meet,” came a cold voice from the shadows.
“Who is this man Dax?” asked the torturer, slowly turning towards the voice.
“Your death,” replied the voice from the shadows.
Before the torturer could draw his sword he was dead, and in a heartbeat the two other soldiers followed him to the afterlife.
“Thade, can you walk? Thade it’s me, can you walk?” A man reached for some water and poured it sparingly into Thade’s mouth. “I need to know now. Can you walk and ride?”
Thade spluttered on the water and hoarsely spoke. “I think so.” Thade thought he recognised the man’s voice, but it could not be Tanas, he had fallen into an underground river. Was his tortured mind playing tricks on him?
“Good,” answered the man. “I would hate to have to carry you.” As the man untied Thade he continued, “There are two horses outside to the right. When you mount, head south towards the others. Do you hear me, Thade?”
“Aye, horses outside . . . head south.”
“Whatever happens, get to the others, do not stop as you will be of no help to me in your state, and don’t fall off the damn beast.”
“Don’t fall off the horse, aye,” repeated Thade warily.
“If we get out of this I swear by the Divine One I will beat you myself.”
Thade chuckled at the comment. “You mean try,” he said.
The man put a cloak around Thade’s shoulders and pushed a dagger into his hands. He lifted Thade to his feet. The former gladiator almost fell.
“Do not let me down now. You have to walk out on your own and mount your horse.”
“Aye, and head south to our friends.”
“Here, have another drink.”
Thade didn’t need asking twice and greedily drank the water.
“Ready?”
Thade nodded.
“Then let’s go, and do not fall off the horse.”
The two men stepped outside the tent into the night. Through his blurred vision, Thade could just see the horses to his right. He made his way slowly towards them, begging his legs not to let him down.
A guard approached him.
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br /> “What’s going on here and who . . .”
His voice trailed off as Thade plunged a dagger into the man’s throat. The guard slumped to the ground noisily, dragging Thade’s dagger from his grip. Thade ignored the noise and reached for his horse’s reins. With a huge effort and a grunt, he mounted the horse. He swayed in the saddle for a few moments then heard his rescuer mount the horse next to him.
“Now Thade ride like hell, I need to cause a diversion in the camp to give us a little head start.”
Thade lurched back as the other man slapped the horse’s rump. Thade looked up and prayed his eyes were not blurred or the sky obscured by clouds. He spotted the bouncing south star and galloped through the camp.
***
Dax, Gammel, Zane, and the others crept up to the camp. Together they had to try and rescue Thade, then head for Ubert.
The plan was simple: Dax would sneak into the camp, find two horses and leave quietly without disturbing the camp. The rest would remain by the horse pickets and steal more horses. Before the enemy knew what had happened, they would be in Ubert . . .
The first part of the plan went well. The group reached the camp undetected and headed for the horses. Dax and Zane dispatched the two guards, and the others silently saddled up, Captain Waid helping Gan-Goran with his mount. Dax then nodded to Zane, took two horses, and moved further into the camp. Just then a horse galloped past and Dax would have sworn the rider was Thade. Moments later, an almighty clatter came from within the camp.
Men came out of their tents, running in all directions. Then a second horse galloped past Dax, and this time he thought he was going mad. Clansmen raced around looking for an enemy. Dax knew it was no longer safe to stay in or near the camp.
“RIDE!” he shouted to the others.
***
Zane looked as confused as Dax. One moment all was quiet and going according to plan, the next a horse galloped past; a battered and bruised Thade sitting in the saddle. Then something large crashed within the camp, and immediately clansmen were everywhere. Zane did not hesitate when he heard Dax shout to leave. He vaulted onto his horse and galloped after Thade. Moments later, another horseman overtook the prince, chasing after Thade.
The second horseman seemed to be dressed all in black and that greatly worried Zane. He gave chase. Within seconds, he left the Royal Lancers and Dax behind as his horse pounded over the ground. Over the next crest from the Kharnacks’ camp, he saw the second rider slow down. Only as he got closer did he notice that Thade had fallen off his horse. Even over the sound of his horse, Zane heard the second rider curse loudly. Zane watched the second man stop his horse in a cloud of dust and dismount quickly. He tried to lift Thade up from the ground but was unable to, so turned to face Zane.
Zane watched as the man broke his dark quarterstaff in half, to form two short swords. The man’s head was bowed, his face hidden under a wide brimmed hat, and his torn brown leather coat billowed in the wind. Zane slowed his horse and drew his blade.
Dax’s bellowing shout stopped the prince. “Tanas, get my boy back on a horse!” he shouted, reining in next to the prince. “Zane! How many blind warriors do you know, you dumb ass?”
Zane put away his sword, dismounted his horse in a run and helped Tanas throw the unconscious Thade over the horse’s saddle. Zane remounted and waited for Tanas to climb up behind Thade. They then galloped into the night, turning west, with the aim of reaching Ubert to the north. They slowed for a time to allow the others to catch up. Then with no time to waste, the group pushed on through the night.
***
The Dark Brethren realised something was amiss in their camp immediately following the loud clatter. In a tent, they found three comrades dead and their prisoner gone. As most of their horses had been chased off or stolen, they took smaller, hardier mountain ponies from the Kharnack clansmen. With patience and discipline, they prepared themselves for pursuit. Within half an hour, the Dark Brethren and several Kharnacks mounted up to start the chase. The Dark Brethren allowed the Kharnacks to gallop off in pursuit with one of their comrades, while they rode slowly behind.
***
Zane took point, as the group reduced their gallop to a walk to save their horses. They had looped around to the east and now climbed a trail that wound north higher in the foothills of the Great Mountains. The cold closed in around them as dawn broke. The riders moved carefully on a high, narrow mountain pass, a cliff rising up on their safe side and a sheer icy screed slope on the other.
Zane’s gelding put a hoof near the edge and stumbled. The prince pulled on his reins and righted the horse, then leaned forward and whispered soft, reassuring words to his horse. The gelding’s ears lay flat against its head but Zane’s soothing words calmed its fear. Slowly, they started moving again along the path. Then their situation got worse. It started to snow.
Within minutes the air thickened with large flakes of snow, and the riders could only see a few paces ahead. From the middle of the group, Dax called a halt to the march. He carefully dismounted and carried some rope to Zane. Shouting at the top of his voice over the howling wind, he gave instructions.
“We will lose each other as we cannot see. Zane, you go first and hold the rope. The group will follow your lead. We will loop it around each man’s waist. If your horse falls, call a warning and let go of your horse. The rest of us will pull you back up. If you hear a call, halt your horse and brace yourself for the jerk on the rope. Once stable, walk your horse forward slowly. If we stop, keep your blood flowing by moving and whatever happens, do not fall asleep. Stay awake and live, fall asleep and die. Got it?”
“Aye, I understand,” shouted Zane in reply.
Dax passed down to each man and gave the same instructions. When finished, he shouted a command and the group started their slow march, each man and beast covered in an icy blanket of fresh snow. No one was prepared for the harshness of the weather, and all suffered bitterly.
Thade, with his fresh torture wounds, felt the cold more than most. He had woken around dawn, finding himself lying across a saddle. After vomiting, he thanked the man in the saddle with him, finally convinced it was Tanas. The men had stolen two extra horses and a mule and Thade now rode one of the spare horses. He began to tire and swayed in his saddle.
Dax, riding behind, saw Thade sway badly in his saddle and almost fall off his horse more than once. He pulled the rope twice to call a halt at a wider part of the pass. Taking his horse to the rear, he tied it to the back of the group, then walked back and mounted Thade’s horse behind him. He tugged the rope once and the party continued.
“If you fall off this damn horse you take me with you. Now stay awake, damn you boy, or I will throw you off, myself!”
“Only if you have the strength, old man,” joked Thade weakly. He added, “Thank you, Dax,” and his head slumped forward.
“Taking you back to Cara battered and bruised is bad enough, but with broken bones? Can you imagine the cussing I would receive? No, thank you very much. You stay on the beast or I will leave you where you fall.”
Thade laughed weakly. For his effort, he received a mouthful of snow, and his laugh turned to a miserable splutter.
For the next few hours, the group wound along the dangerously narrow passage. At times they could not see the width of the path, just wide enough for their horses with the riders’ legs brushing the crumbling cliff face.
Suddenly, the path widened and Zane lost the cliff face. He had been using his sword as a tool to follow the route. Now stabbing out with his sword, he felt nothing. With an obscene curse, he tugged the rope twice to halt the group. He dismounted and walked several paces towards where he thought the cliff face should be, and where the snow stopped. Prodding with his sword again, he still felt nothing. He then discovered that he had found a cave. He went back to his horse and led the snow-covered animal to the cave with the others obediently following. Soon, all the men and horses were inside.
Dax walked up to Zane and placed
a hand on his shoulder.
“Well done,” said the older man softly. He turned to the men in the darkness of the cave and said, “If we do not find some firewood we will die.”
“I think I can help there,” said Gan-Goran. “The mule I stole is packed with firewood. I thought it would be good to steal it, bearing in mind where we were going.”
“If I could see you, old man, I would kiss you.”
“Enough of that and let’s get the damned fire lit. My old bones are feeling the cold standing here talking nonsense in the dark.”
“Aye.”
Within minutes, the men huddled around a life-saving fire. They decided to wait in the cave until the firewood ran out or the weather broke, whichever came first. One of the men huddled at the mouth of the cave on guard with the horses tethered at the rear, away from the howling wind. Soon, due to exhaustion, everyone, including Gammel on guard at the cave mouth, fell asleep.
Zane tossed and turned as he dreamed. An image of a beautiful woman glowed in front of his dream eyes. She looked like an older version of Aurillia, and in his sleep he smiled. The woman was dressed in a shimmering white gown that blended with her flowing, silvery white hair, yet she did not appear to be old – quite the opposite. Her flawless skin lacked lines of age. She spoke, but Zane could not hear anything she said as the sound drifted in and out. When her voice became clearer, her tone was musical and sweet sounding, yet sad and tired. She spoke to the dreaming prince but her words were incomplete:
“He is blocking me with dark power . . . remember fate cannot be stopped . . . Death will be the start of dark times . . . and this will arrive soon after you have been crowned king . . . will spill innocent blood and that will be the start. The . . . and Caynians will rule your lands and beyond. Remember your friends, all of them, for you will need them in the darkness . . . only then will you be ready . . . Death will bring you to . . . dark place . . . only then . . . the light shine again. Now wake up my child, the weather has cleared and you are under a sleeping spell. Wake up child and remember your friends and the light will return . . .”
The image faded.