World of Taroo

by Jimmy Eriksson

  It had been a few days since he brought Theran back home, and many people had paid their respects to the fallen son. On the way, he thought about what had happened and knew all too well Theran had it coming and was a fool to have rushed in to the Grasoll land as he did. He could not understand why Theran decided it would be a good idea to attack innocent villages. Even so, Arobe still did what any other parent would and intended to protect the name of his son. When he came to the hallway, he could hear the sound coming from a horn. He looked out the window as he walked to the stairwell that lead down to the entry of the castle. He could see the flags of his home country and the soldiers marching in through the city gates.

  In the front, there was a face he had not seen for a few years. His brother Amaya was riding in the front and was hailed as a hero from the people in the castle. The people were well aware about Amaya and many had seen him before when they had visited or moved from Redonia. Amaya looked at the kingdom and had never before been inside it. He left with his mother when Arobe was given the castle to run and had stayed in Redonia most of his life. He thought the walls looked familiar and turned to the master of knowledge. Master Hoseki also took notion of the walls and asked Arobe about them when he was there not long ago. Arobe told him then that he tried to replicate the big castle in Redonia, but since the specific material was of short supply in the land, he could only use the closest material.

  Amaya rode up to the castle and saw his brother standing at the massive open wooden door leading in to the castle. Amaya jumped off his horse and walked up to his brother. He was the first to break the silence and greeted his brother with open arms. Arobe turned away and asked them to follow him in to the castle. Amaya followed and got to see his nephew being lowered down into the floor. Arobe said he would burn the Grasoll land for what they had done to his son.

  After a brief conversation, Amaya said he wished to discuss the reason all of this occurred. Amaya said he would like to hear more of the Alumrylite stone found which was exactly why Arobe thought he would come for. Arobe took him to the library and showed the information gathered through the books and other information obtained from the forest people. He told Amaya he had everything Theran took from the village in the forest brought to Darcolia from Castle Kiwen.

  Amaya listened to one of the wise men that the forest people were the ones that were in possession of it, and that they in turn stole it from them in Redonia hundreds of years ago. Amaya was told about the prince getting it to then losing it back to the forest people and it finally ending up in the hands of the Grasoll lands. Amaya looked at his brother and told him he should have never sent the prince to complete the task of getting the earth stone. Arobe looked angrily at his brother and said Theran wanted to prove he was capable of acquiring it. He then said King Lenchi would die for killing the prince. Amaya looked out the window and then told Arobe that the king was dying and the one that gave the order to kill his son was actually Kemi who was now also running the kingdom.

  Arobe looked at his brother and wondered how he knew. Amaya turned and smiled then he walked towards Arobe and said he had had spies in the kingdom for many years. One of them worked close to Kemi. He also had spies in other kingdom, and they lived like any other person of the kingdom but would always stay loyal to Redonia. Arobe asked if there were any spies in his kingdom, and Amaya looked at one painting and said of course. Arobe was quickly next to Amaya and grabbed his clothes. He lifted him against the wall and held him there. He was screaming with a dark voice that he wanted to know who so he might kill them. Amaya smiled and said the spies left as soon they heard about his arrival and they would return with him to Redonia. Arobe threw his brother on the ground and Amaya rolled away easily and up on his feet.

  Arobe drew his sword, and when he did, so did his soldiers and Amaya’s soldiers did the same. Amaya told his brother to calm down and that the only reason he sent the spies was because of Prince Theran. He wasn’t sure about the loyalty as Theran turned out to be more of a brat than a prince. There was worry that if Arobe died, the prince might ruin the kingdom and they wanted to have more eyes on him. Amaya told his soldiers to put back their swords and they did. Amaya then said there was another reason for his visit. He told Arobe their mother was sick and she wanted to see him one more time before she passed on to the afterlife.

  Arobe was fuming but he was still the king and would act like one so he put his sword back and so did everyone else. Hoseki said they must leave in five days when the water would be turning their currents towards Redonia. Arobe said he would go and think about what he must do. He told Amaya to keep away from him until then but to feel free to wander the castle.

  After three days, he sat with his brother and Hoseki who was happy to hear he had decided to join them to their homeland. Arobe could not deny he had missed his mother, and she did deserve to have her two living children by her side before she passed on. Amaya asked what he planned to do with Kemi and Arobe said there was no hurry to attack the Grasoll kingdom, and he would rather let Kemi sweat for a little while before he saw her again. Amaya said he was doing the right thing and asked if he would consider bringing the hidden power of their people to war with him but Arobe told him no.

  Hoseki knew Arobe was an old-fashioned warrior and believed one must use weapons that were equal if there was to be an honourable victory. When Amaya pointed out that Kemi was using the earth stone, Arobe said he had his own ways to fight without magic. Amaya said no more and instead helped Arobe to address the people in Darcolia who would not see their king for a while. After Arobe had said what he needed to, the people of Amaya came out to introduce the high commander that would be in charge of the kingdom until the king came back. Behind them stood a man not too happy about what was happening but stayed quiet then left with a few men that were dressed in black clothes.

  When everything was settled, the royal guards began to escort the two kings. They headed through the mountains to the ships that awaited them in Gemcorr as well as food made from the Redonian kingdom’s head chef that was on one of them. Arobe stood on the deck looking over the ocean and said to Hoseki he was so rarely in Redonia that he felt like a stranger every time he came back. Hoseki told him many of his relatives held him as a traitor since he chose to ignore Redonia so much but Amaya came up and said they would soon all be silenced.

  Amaya said he was tired of the royals that took too long to decide on things. Arobe looked at his younger brother and then at the sea again. He said that Amaya would have to play the same games their relatives played to acquire more power. Amaya agreed and told him he might had to start soon. Arobe remembered when he left for the first time from his home land and how he was hurting from the inside. He picked up something from his pocket, and both Hoseki and Amaya saw what it was. ‘Another one,’ said Amaya and that he thought there were none left. Arobe told him one of his men found one inside a rock that fell from the ceiling of the cave. He had it polished and made into the shape they saw.

  Hoseki put his hand on the shoulder of Arobe and said he would go down for some more wine. Amaya looked at his brother and could see he had sadness in his eyes. He started walking away but said he knew how much it hurt and he missed her too. He left Arobe alone who was inside his own thoughts of what happened on that night when his fate was decided for him. He was so young when he was forced to become a man and never thought he would lose someone he loved as much. He put the gem back into the pocket and thought about what he should do to take revenge on Kemi. Her having the earth stone made the situation more dangerous if they figured out how it worked. He must build his armies up and knew Kemi would prefer to stay out of Darcolia even with her big army. The wall that protected the land was strong, and if she attacked, she would sustain heavy losses. He had time, he knew and thought to himself that he intended to be prepared when the time came.

  Death Decides the Fate

  There was calm around Heiwan village outside the big castle walls. Ever since the village was built, it h
ad housed Gon and Senji. Their two children were born in the kingdom but loved their village more since it had less people. And this day started like many others with many people waking up and embracing the beautiful surrounding. Gon still went up and cooked some dishes to sell from his window. It had been a while since he retired from the castle kitchen but still he got requests to make food at times for the castle or anybody else that had heard about his cooking. Money had not been any concern, and Gon was happy to be able to do whatever he wanted without feeling the need to make much money.

  The years seemed to have flown past him and his daughters had grown so quickly. When he decided to stop working, he could spend more time with them. Working so hard as he did, made the days seem to simply pass him by. Senji had taken the two girls aged nine and seven and was walking around the village to give out the breakfast that had been ordered from the other houses. Gon liked Heiwan which he called home and rarely thought about his wins in the big tournament that made him famous in the first place. The trophy was collecting dust and stood in the corner with flowers inside of it.

  Gon hadn’t seen Jay for a long time now since the last time he had come by a while back. He knew Jay was busy but would love to hear about how he was doing. Since the tension had stepped up between the Grasoll land and Darcolia, he hadn’t seen Kemi either but knew she was in the castle planning for an attack. Ever since the king got ill, Kemi had begun to build up the kingdom’s war capability and was pushing the troops to reclaim lands from King Arobe who ruled ever more ruthlessly. He wondered how long the old king would hold on but when he last saw him, he was in a bad state. He knew the king had been sick for a long time, and he remembered Senji telling him they were giving many strange potions to keep him alive.

  Gon remembered how Jay had told him about how he killed the evil King Arobe’s son, and how he was going to ask for help in the kingdom of Domoro. Heiwan village was on the side of the great kingdom of Grasoll outside the walls but the whole area had troops around it and the war was far away. Those soldiers whom he spoke to told him that the Darcolian kingdom was showing little movement forward which relaxed him. He didn’t worry too much and believed the Grasoll kingdom knew what it was doing.

  Gon had not trained as much lately and spent most of his days enjoying the quiet life with his wife. Wine was something he had consumed a lot for some time, and even if it became a little much sometimes, he was still able to keep it under control even if he, at times, had fallen asleep outside. With him having a fair bit of money, he had been able to drink more of the Redonian national beverage that was Redoli. He sometimes got a bottle from a man he used to serve in the restaurant. The man said he lived in the Redonian kingdom and made some extra money by selling some bottles of the expensive drink. While he finished the last of the requests, he looked out the window and watched the villagers. The surroundings made him think about the old farm he left so many years ago and he gave a smile as he saw his children come running towards him.

  From the outside, on the top of the small mountain that was located on the side of the Heiwan village, a couple of men dressed in black were observing the village. The men were assassins and were being led by a man very few would dare stand against. With this man followed a reputation of someone that was both effective at getting information out of people and a ruthless killer. His archery skills had earned him many rewards in any competition he had entered.

  Femil was a man known to some as the man without conscience and had been working for Arobe for over 15 years but was born on another island far away. He and another nine men were fully covered up in black clothes with nothing to lose and were able to sneak in to the Grasoll lands with little trouble. The men were getting ready for the night which they knew would kill some of them. With them were also four dogs that were trained to attack on command. They had been starved and were eager to set their teeth in anything.

  This evening down in the village had some lights shining in the night. A birthday for one of the older people was held and Gon had made a cake big enough to feed the whole village and laughter and singing could be heard throughout Heiwan. Senji and Gon talked to the old man’s family and let their glasses collide in a cheer and on the side of them, the few children living in the village were playing nicely beside them. After a while, Isabel, the youngest of the children, fell asleep and Sophia, the older, was nodding her head a lot.

  Senji told Gon she would take them home to sleep. Gon asked if he should come and raised himself up, but Senji put her hand on his cheek and told him to stay and enjoy the party. They kissed and Gon told her he would be home soon and waved goodbye to them. As Senji was walking with the children, Sophia pointed to the small mountain and she wondered what the light was. Senji said maybe some of the villagers went up to set off fireworks. They arrived home and Senji tucked them in bed. She sang them a song, and as she was about to leave, she stopped at the window and looked out. She stopped her singing suddenly and for a few seconds’ time felt as if it was going slow.

  On the small mountain looking down at the Heiwan stood six men with arrows with fire burning on them. She saw them raise the arrows to the sky and when they went off, she could only watch as the arrows glided towards the village. The arrows hit the houses and every arrow hit a house and they were followed by another six arrows hitting various targets. Senji closed the window as soon as the first arrows hit the surrounding houses and woke the children quickly and brought them downstairs. The girls were scared and were calling for their father.

  At the party, the villagers were quick to react, and Gon especially rushed up as soon as he saw the first arrows hit. He turned to the direction of his family but saw from the side of his eye how four men and a couple of dogs came running out from the forest. He saw them let the dogs go and fire off arrows at them. A man got hit and went down. Gon grabbed the table with the cake and flipped it on the side and grabbed the old man who had his birthday this day and pulled him towards him. The old man breathed heavily and Gon saw how the man had an arrow sticking out from the side of his body. A woman got attacked by the dogs and the villagers tried to help but in the chaos, with the men then drawing swords, some of them got cut down. Some of the men picked up anything they could find and tried to defend themselves and others had to flee.

  Gon grabbed the old man and was about to lift him when the man stopped him. He told him to run home to his wife and daughters to make sure they were safe. One of the savage dogs came running, and Gon grabbed the cake knife that had fallen to the ground, and with one move, he stabbed the dog with it. The knife went through the dog and in to the table. The dog died immediately and the old man told him again to hurry away. A man from the village fell down next to the table and an assassin jumped over the table. Gon grabbed the man by his hand as he swung it and punched the man hard in the stomach but the man drew a knife with the other hand and tried to stab Gon.

  The old man felt he would die soon and grabbed his cane and hit the man in the back of the head. The strike was well placed and the man lost control, and within hundreds of a second had Gon’s hand over his throat in a squeeze. Gon ended the assassin’s life. The assassin then turned to a shield since a dog attacked and Gon had to back to not get bitten. He threw the then dead man over the dog when he got a chance and killed the dog with a chair he hit over its head.

  When he turned to the old man, he could just see as the man got a sword through his chest. The other men on the small hill had then reached to the village and were attacking from another direction. Some of the villagers were retired soldiers and had their equipment still; many were old but could still swing their swords well. Some of the houses burned strong and lit up the sky. ‘The people in the castle town would be able to see the fire and were most likely on their way,’ said Senji to the children as they hid in the side of the house that had the kitchen.

  The house was not hit as bad and only the small shed was then burning next to the house. Gon ran towards his house and met several of the villagers c
oming to aid the others in battle. Some of them had to run back as one of the women running towards her house let off a scream. As she turned towards the others and Gon, she got an arrow through her leg. When she fell and tried to get up again, her life got taken by one of the assassins that stuck his sword through her back and into her heart. Gon grabbed a barrel as he ran towards the five new assassins. One of them stayed to attack Gon and the others scattered to try to kill as many as possible. Gon blocked the assassin’s sword three times until the man tried to stab through the barrel but got stuck.

  Gon lifted the barrel and the sword followed out of the attacker’s hand, and as he tried to grab it again, he got his legs swiped by Gon and then Gon continued with slamming the barrel over the assassin’s head. The barrel broke and the man fell to the ground. Gon cracked the head of the man by a well-placed stomp of his leg as he set off again to his house. Sergeant Femil was standing and looking out over Heiwan village from the top of the small hill and fired arrows to try to hit the people that scattered around or tried to flee the village.

  He hit a man running from an assassin that fell down as the arrow hit him on the hip. He got killed quickly, and Sergeant Femil injured another woman that was hiding behind a couple of barrels by hitting her in the back. She pretended to die and lay still. Gon’s house was now on fire, and Senji understood they won’t be able to stay much longer if the fire continued. She heard the door slam open and looked upon a man that was seeing her and the children. He quickly moved against her and raised his sword. The two children screamed and Senji was just able to block the strike with a small chair. The sword got stuck and the assassin tried to pull it out, but when Senji was holding it tight, he pushed forward and kicked her so she fell backwards. She threw a knife that she found on the floor next to her so the assassin had to block it. She was on her feet quick and started throwing anything possible at the man. He had to back off as Senji threw whatever she could find in a fast speed towards him but things were getting low and the man knew it.