by W. C. Jasper
The ring was made from a beautifully polished alloy of black gold. So unique and stunning was the black gold that it seemed like a newly discovered material. The ring was sizable and had a round signet frame on the top which had a forward-facing countenance carved upon it. This was the family crest of the House of Rash-Yaph. This was the same symbol that everyone in the House of Rash-Yaph, including General Thayman’s family, wore on their rings. But none of their rings were nearly as beautiful as this particular ring. Such was the signet of the House of Rash-Yaph - a visage with the left half of the front of a lion’s face and the right half of the front of a wolf’s face joined as one. The wolf’s face was carved with platinum, while the lion’s face was carved with yellow gold. The very sight of the countenance was majestic, and the purity of the metal shone like a source of light.
“It truly is!” exclaimed the Prince as his face radiated his delight.
King Jeraash replied, “You wanted something more.”
“What!” squealed the Prince, “I never said that!”
King Jeraash chuckled as his serene eyes expressed that he saw this coming, “If I needed my child to tell me what he was thinking, I would not be a very good brother.”
King Jeraash put his index finger on the signet frame and flipped it open with his thumb and revealed it to be a locket. The inner side of the top frame that opened up had a carving of a lion cub sitting on its father’s head, and the other side had a carving of a wolf licking its cub. The Prince’s eyes welled up and he kissed his brother and hopped in joy, “It’s perfect, Brother! And it is undoubtedly the most beautiful piece of jewellery I have seen as well! It is perfect! I could not have asked for something better myself!”
“Brother mine,” said King Jeraash, smiling affectionately, “Nothing, and no one is perfect.”
“Jeniah is!” replied the Prince at which King Jeraash chuckled and answered, “Well, you do have me stymied there. I cannot deny that. Well, here’s the chain.”
Prince Jared put the ring on the platinum chain and looked at it once again, admiring its beauty.
Chapter Twelve
The Women Of War
And
The Valley Of Domb
On the fourth day of SHAR 3306, Prince Jared and General Hana arrived at the military base at the start of the eleventh hour. Thaymas and Akini had accompanied them on the Prince’s bidding. The Prince and General Hana were busy in conversation with their respective Captains, discussing routine military affairs extensively as the rank of Captain was the second-highest rank in Jerudia’s military. Thaymas and Akini sat on the ground next to each other on the open training grounds, watching and observing everything. Suddenly, Thaymas heard a loud clap and turned to see someone standing behind Akini with their hand on her shoulder. “So! This is General Thayman’s son, huh? He certainly does not look as impressive as I had expected,” said Kaveri Sahaya, the 34-year-old second in command of the Women of War with an unimpressed tone. Kaveri was a very kind person and did not intend to be mean to the lad. But, as a Captain, she just stated what she genuinely felt at the moment.
Thaymas, who now had a far more impressive physique than when he had arrived in Jerudia, and was always spoken of to be a handsome and talented lad, was quite disturbed by that remark. Thaymas and Akini stood up and Akini greeted them like close friends with hugs and kisses. Thaymas’ vision started gauging the 34 warriors standing in front of him, dressed in their grey and black uniforms. Their uniforms were tight-fitting clothes made of a fabric that allowed complete freedom of movement and housed numerous tools. Thaymas realised at once that at least 14 of them surpassed him as warriors; and their leader, Kaveri was even considerably stronger than Akini. Thaymas, who had now progressed greatly after the reproach he had received from the King and Prince, was once again facing a very familiar, cruel realisation. He was once again meeting face to face with the fact that despite how vigorously he had trained in the last few months, he was still far behind the people whose company he was keeping. It was all the more frustrating to him that Akini, his fellow pupil, was far stronger than him and was respected by all these great warriors.
Kaveri was 5 feet 8 inches tall, had light skin and dark, short, silky straight hair covering her forehead and reaching the bottom of her chin at the sides. Her eyes were focused, strong, and bold; and she wielded dual longswords - the Aleesia twin swords. She held the rank of Captain, and under her were two Lieutenants - 23-year-old Yuroichi Lika and 27-year-old Ribon Nochi. Yuroichi, standing at 5 feet 6 inches tall, had light golden eyes, reddish-brown straight hair tied up in a ponytail that reached below her shoulder blades, and intoxicatingly flawless skin in the colour of the dark brown of a grizzly bear’s fur. And Ribon, standing at 5 feet 10 inches tall, had periwinkle eyes and shiny, silky hair as black as the night; and her skin was a little lighter in shade than Yuroichi. Yuroichi, who was built lean, carried a Katana-like sword crafted by General Hana; and Ribon, who was built curvier, carried a longsword and a bow.
Sensing their power and skill, Thaymas felt far too weak and inadequate in front of such fearsome warriors. After exchanging greetings with Akini, Yuroichi and Ribon extended their warm greetings to Thaymas. Yuroichi had a rather cheerful personality and sparkling demeanour, while Ribon, who was just as kind and nice as her, was more reserved in her demeanour. Prince Jared turned back to look at the Women of War and signalled for Kaveri, Yuroichi, Ribon, Thaymas, and Akini to come over. General Hana looked over at the Prince, nodded, and she too, came over to join them with her Captains. As the three groups gathered together, a fourth group had joined them - Captain Yaakub, who was serving as General Thayman’s proxy as the chief commander of his military arm along with all the Captains of the unit. Leaders of all four military units now stood assembled at a spot right in the middle of the open grounds of the training base: Prince Jared’s SAS Arm (Stealth and Sound Arm), General Hana’s GSS Arm (Garrison And Strike Squad), General Thayman’s Infigence Arm (Infiltration And Intelligence Arm), and Queen Maomi’s Women of War.
Thaymas wondered as to why such an important meeting was taking place out in the open ground and his face showed it as well. He was spooked momentarily when he felt a hand grab the side of his neck from behind. Prince Jared had once again sneaked up from behind in his typical fashion, he pulled him close by his neck and with their faces side by side, whispered, “Your concerns are logical, but with Boris betraying us, we don’t know how many ears are eavesdropping. Out in the open, no one can eavesdrop without being seen.” Thaymas was still not used to the Prince’s uncanny ability to sneak up on him, but he did his best to not let it throw him off-balance at the moment.
Prince Jared began briefing the Generals and Captains on the sharing of responsibilities in the absence of the three Generals. Yaakub and General Hana shared details of how further delegations were mapped within their military arms. Thaymas noticed that Yaakub, who was only a 27-year-old Captain was not only being respected as the proxy for General Thayman but that his fellow Captains, who were much older than him truly held him in high regard and had great respect for him. Thaymas was surprised that Yaakub, who was the very sculpture of austerity and sincerity, could possibly be even more serious than usual. As the meeting dragged on and on, Akini proceeded to sit down on the ground while Thaymas, who also wanted to sit, kept wondering if he should.
After a 50-minute long briefing and discussion, the party was finally dismissed. General Hana and Captain Yaakub went away with their Captains while Prince Jared took leave from his Captains and walked towards the Women of War. As soon as Prince Jared removed his generalship pin, Yuroichi hopped and embraced him and kissed him. Kaveri and Ribon proceeded to greet Prince Jared’s Captains and exchange pleasantries in a dignified fashion. Prince Jared held the back of Yuroichi’s head and kissed her forehead. It was quite obvious to Thaymas that she was like a younger sister to him. Kaveri and Ribon proceeded to embrace and kiss the Prince in a comparatively dignified fashion. Prince Jared remember
ed that he needed to relay Satya’s message to his sister and excused himself and Kaveri from the group. Akini proceeded to introduce Thaymas to the Women of War. Prince Jared’s Captains, who were now well acquainted with Thaymas, joined in on poking fun of him with the Women of War. Thaymas felt like someone caught within enemy lines trying to find an escape as Akini enjoyed Thaymas’ ridicule like it was the greatest pleasure she could have asked for.
Thaymas was now mesmerised by the beautiful and extraordinary purple and black bow that Ribon carried. Thaymas had always loved archery. But after coming to Radaa and being taken under Prince Jared’s tutelage, he had realised that his skills as an archer were far too weak and that he did not have an aptitude for it. Prince Jared had ordered him to give up archery and focus only on his swordsmanship, close combat, physical training, and studies. But seeing this glorious bow had reminded him once again of his love for archery.
He politely asked her with a timid tone, “Uhm… If you wouldn’t mind… Could I please try your bow?”
Ribon slowly scanned him from head to toe. Ribon was as grounded and unexcited and tranquil as a human could be. Almost as if she weren’t even capable of anger. But she also had a remarkably polite personality and a very friendly demeanour. As her incredibly calm eyes like sleeping turtles scanned him, she responded in her ever-so-grounded and friendly voice, “You seem like a nice person. If you can prove yourself worthy, then I will surely let you try my bow!”
Thaymas straightened his spine at once and asked with a sincere voice, “Yes, of course! How may I prove myself?”
Ribon signalled at one of the newest recruits to throw over her bow and quiver. It was an impressive and lovely bow that could shoot arrows at a speed of 770 feet per second, whereas Thaymas’ old bow which he had used during his encounter with the Gessold soldiers shot arrows at a speed of 497 feet per second. It was only natural that the bows of those days shot arrows at a far greater speed and the arrows travelled far longer distances than those of today given the superior strength of humans and superior materials found in nature. Ribon handed the bow and quiver to Thaymas to allow him to get a feel of the weapon and started looking around. She walked over to a group of soldiers training nearby and picked up a megaphone and yelled out at some of the soldiers practising archery about 200 metres away, “You! Please halt your practice and turn the targets to face us!”
While the human physique of those days was capable of far more than today, they were still humans. And Thaymas had a good understanding of what was achievable for a human being, be it an average soldier, or an elite warrior who were considered monsters such as his father or Kaveri. Shooting targets at a distance of 200 metres away was not a challenge, and Thaymas knew it too. So he waited patiently for his instructions as he inspected and understood the weapon in his hands.
Ribon turned to him and spoke with a casual tone, “It is quite simple, Thaymas. The two targets on the left are yours, and the four on the right are mine.” Ribon grabbed an identical bow from the other newest recruit and started to get a feel for the weapon. Ribon continued speaking without pausing through this, “Now, do you think it is unreasonable for me to expect you to hit your two targets before I hit my four targets?” Thaymas, quite surprised, answered, “No! Of course not.” Thaymas knew very well that something was amiss, but he also knew that worrying about that now was of no value so he proceeded to focus on the task at hand. The targets had three sections - the bull’s eye and two circles around it.
Thaymas took his first practice shot and managed to hit the inner ring, and his next two practice shots hit the bull’s eye. Ribon took no practice shots, but simply continued to get a feel of the weapon. She shouted, “Nock!” and both of them nocked their arrows and took position. Thaymas’ eyes were set only on his target. His eyes perceived nothing else inside his field of vision. A little sooner than he had expected, Ribon shouted, “Shoot!” and within one second Thaymas managed to get out two shots and hit the bull’s eye on both his targets. He turned to his right to look at Ribon and found her already turned back and walking away. He then turned to look at her targets and was stunned to see that she had already hit the bull’s eye on all four of her targets. With his jaw dropped, he turned towards Ribon once again as she nodded gently and said, “Now do you see why you should not be holding this bow? Someone who does not even possess the ability to shoot two arrows in a single shot ought not to hold the legendary Uryo-Mi Hawkeye.” While shooting multiple arrows in a single shot is not something unheard of even in today’s Earth, shooting four arrows in a single shot and hitting four bull’s eyes at a distance of almost 200 metres was certainly not something many people could do.
Ribon asked for the bow and quiver Thaymas was holding and upon receiving it, swiftly nocked an arrow and aimed it straight at Yuroichi’s head standing about ten feet away from her. Yuroichi made no response and continued to look at Ribon, listening to what she was saying. Thaymas panicked, worrying about the future of Yuroichi’s pretty face.
As Thaymas was wondering what was happening, the arrow flew at Yuroichi with a blazing fast speed. Just as it was about to reach her, it suddenly curved around her as if it had been imbued with some form of magic and regained its original trajectory and continued curving to the other side. Thaymas’ jaw dropped once again as he marvelled at it. While curved archery shots are performed even today, this was the first time Thaymas was witnessing it. It flew on ahead and reached Prince Jared who was standing about 100 metres behind Yuroichi. Prince Jared was looking the other way, speaking with Kaveri, when he caught the arrow in his hand without turning back. Holding the arrow in his hand in its original trajectory, he continued his conversation with Kaveri and finished his sentence with.
Upon finishing his sentence, he turned back and yelled out, “A few minutes of peace! Please!” and threw the arrow back at Ribon all the way across over 100 metres. Ribon caught the arrow, put it in the quiver, and asked Thaymas with a gentle tone, “So tell me now, Prince Thaymas, should you be holding this bow?” “No, Captain Ribon,” said Thaymas, dropping his head in disappointment.
The Women of War were invited for lunch at the Royal Palace that day in order to hand over the security of the Royal Palace to them. After a joyful and laughter-filled lunch, King Jeraash took them, and Thaymas and Akini on a complete canvassing of the Royal Palace. He also introduced them to the lions and the wolves. Kaveri and Ribon had companion lions, and Yuroichi had a companion wolf. The Women of War were often away from the Royal Palace on missions. Their primary assignments were about rooting out hidden crimes, oppressive patterns, and unjust cultures forming within Jerudia. Even though their military unit was named ‘Women of War’, they primarily served as a detective unit-cum-strike squad. This meant that Queen Maomi was effectively an unofficial fourth General of the army. And it was divine providence that Kaveri and Ribon were two of the greatest detectives, making them perfect to serve in this unit. King Jahous had taught his sons well that humans will always turn to evil and oppressive ways in their natural way of life and it was up to the rulers to actively seek out such saplings of festering evil and destroy them before they grew into giant trees. Queen Maomi, having seen during her teen years how much evil existed in the world, had decided to make sure that such patterns never took root in Jerudia. Under Queen Maomi’s command, the unit dealt with a wide range of issues such as sniffing out cases of domestic abuse, catching con-men acting like godmen, prophets, and soothsayers and taking undue advantage of the public, and fraudulent practices in businesses.
Kaveri was a natural genius, whose talent and skill in noticing and deducing the truth of things like a detective was frightening and awe-inspiring. This was no surprise to those who knew her brother, Satya Tyagi, who himself was a prodigy in intellect, combat, as well as wisdom. While Ribon worked on finding hidden crimes, injustices, and evil; Kaveri worked the cases in which King Jeraash himself deemed that enough evidence was not available to declare a judgement. This was of great val
ue to the Royal Family who wished to not allow even one case of evil/injustice go unaddressed. While Kaveri could never match Satya’s unnaturally paramount wisdom, her skills as a detective were even greater than his.
After a thorough look at each and every corner of the Royal Palace, Kaveri locked herself in a study room. She was by herself for one hour 20 minutes, at the end of which she emerged with a complete and detailed blueprint for the security plan. Every possible vulnerability including any possible openings during shift-changes was addressed with exhaustive detail. General Thayman took a look at it and exclaimed, “Ho! That is far too much, my dear. It’s not as if anyone will actually be stupid enough to attack us.”
“And yet,” replied Kaveri, “not too long ago, intruders with explosives beyond our imagination had entered the Royal Palace.”
General Thayman, continuing to go through the blueprints, digressed, “Oh well… there are far too many factors to consider about that incident, but that’s fine. Do tell me, is that the reason you have decided to keep the gates closed?”
Kaveri replied, nodding her head slowly, “Yes, it is. I understand that the King wants the people to know that he is always in reach of anyone who needs him. But when he is gone, that reasoning will no longer stand.”
“Hmmm…” said General Thayman and returned the blueprints to her, “It looks great. Consider it approved by the King. I will let him know that it has been approved.”