Minzkala

by Amy E Hix

  Then Kraevit ordered Greshan, “Take her to the holding cell. I’ll get Hanbrig.”

  Several hours had passed when Hanbrig, followed by Kraevit, entered the holding cell of the Enchantress. The young girl was in the corner of the cell, crouched up on the floor, her arms wrapped round her knees. Her blonde hair hid her face. She didn’t look at them.

  “Tell me your name,” Hanbrig ordered.

  Nothing. She continued to look at the ground, unresponsive to anything they said to her.

  “Tell me your name, or you will not eat.”

  This time, she looked straight into his eyes, a fierce determination flowing from her. Though she was frightened, she would not relent.

  “Very well. Come, Kraevit,” Hanbrig turned to leave the chamber, Kraevit following.

  An intelligence officer was placed outside her cell in the event she began to talk. He was only relieved to sleep. He made attempts to make conversation with the girl. He asked her where she was from and asked what her people liked to eat, hoping to illicit a response. She remained unresponsive, staring into the walls of her cell. After three days, he began to speak out loud more often. He thought out loud to himself, using her as an audience. Surely, she would break.

  The Enchantress found it hard to look on the face of the Digvi’jan. He was hideously ugly, with red skin and a square chin line, his face constantly carrying an angry look. He stood around nine-feet tall, and his yellow eyes signified the evil that haunted her lands. The Digvi’ja wanted all the inhabitants of Gael to fall under their rule, subjected to their own desires. Because the people resisted, the Digvi’ja hated them and grew more determined to simply kill them all.

  One night, the officer began to talk about some of the Warlords’ complaints in Byhalia. It was more like he was talking to himself than to her. He had grown accustomed to her silence. He pulled an apple from his pocket and began to eat it as he continued bouncing his thoughts off the wall.

  “I know what will happen if they keep it up. That’s why I keep my mouth shut.” He almost didn’t hear the soft feminine voice speaking to him.

  “You can call me Shift,” she said in a low, begrudging voice. She had grown weak and dehydrated. She thought if she could just stay alive, it would give the Minzkalans time to find her. Then she could be free again. The guard’s apple reminded her of her need for food.

  He turned his head to her, “Shift, huh?” He wanted to run out of the chamber and tell Hanbrig at once, but he didn’t. He was scared she would clam up again. He thought he might get her talking about more than just her name, but all his questions got the same response as before…silence.

  “Well, Shift, here,” he pulled out another apple, “you’ve earned it.” He continued to sit with her until the night guard arrived. But before getting any sleep, the officer stopped by Hanbrig’s chamber.

  “Her name is Shift. Shall I send her food?”

  Hanbrig looked up from his writing and told him, “Yes. Did she say anything else?”

  “Nothing. I tried.”

  “Well, give her food anyway. We’ve received word from Chesed’reg to keep her alive. We’ll be moving her in the morning.” The guard nodded in acknowledgment as Hanbrig closed the door. He stopped by the provisions area before returning to his own chamber for the night.

  “She must have been discovered.” King Naethan said. He and the Court members were at the palace in Minzkala discussing the missing Enchantress.

  Shift had been working on an assignment for the King when she was captured by the Digvi’jan Warlords. She was the first trained Enchantress to use her skills for the Minzkalans. Prior to this mission, she had led the Court members on a rescue mission to retrieve the King of Rhalas. Because of the report from Aland in Jalathiel and many more like it from other cities, Shift had been sent to gather information about the Digvi’jan clan and their intentions. The Byhalian Island was not the primary home of the Digvi’ja, but they had a base there because it was closer to where they supposed Minzkala was located.

  The Digvi’jan Warlords were the leaders of the group known as the Legion. They were a hideous race. Their skin was red and wrinkled. They had long faces with squared chins and yellow or tan eyes. The look on all their faces seemed to delineate the fierce hatred they possessed, with their thick brows constantly aimed down.

  What started as a locally driven desire for power and resources had escalated, the ultimate mission now was to enslave all the people in Gael. The Digvi’ja were brutal, and often tortured those who resisted. Entire villages and cities were being attacked. They killed without a conscious. As resistance grew throughout the land, the Digvi’ja enlisted the help of smaller pockets of thieves and murderers. With each passing day, the Legion grew stronger; hoping to one day rid all of Gael of any obstacles that remained in the way of their full and total control.

  Still, there remained hope for the world of Gael, from Celestra. Celestra was two-hundred and sixty million miles from Gael, separated by the cold depths of space. When the Ancients heard of the evil that plagued the lands of Gael, they traveled to Gael and built a small city. Minzkala was established initially as a temporary source of aid for the people of Gael to use in their defensive efforts against the Legion. But defense was not enough anymore. It was only a matter of time before they would be overtaken. They would soon have to take a proactive stance against the Legion.

  Zaaid, a member of the Court and a Pyromancer, spoke up, “Want me to see what I can do?”

  “Yes,” the King replied, “You and Pinky go together. None of the other Enchanters are ready yet.”

  The two Pyromancers were Gnomes from Gael. Both had been leaders during the battles that caused the Gnomes to lose their homes and nearly wiped out their entire race. They served King Naethan in the highest positions in Minzkala. Zaaid and Pinky could cloak themselves in such a way that they were almost invisible. But they had to be careful. They could be detected if they were close enough to the enemy. They planned to use the less-traveled areas of the ruins in Byhalia to locate and rescue Shift.

  “We know one thing,” the King continued, “They won’t kill her just yet. At least that’s in our favor.”

  Zaaid and Pinky set out at once to find the Enchantress. They traveled west across the Faxiech Ocean to the Byhalian Island ruins.

  Once there, they combed the small stronghold for any signs of Shift. Through the cellar and into the dungeon, they slipped past the Warlords that roamed the place, being careful not to get too close. They found a chamber room with a holding cell, but there was no one there. They were about to leave the chamber when Pinky noticed a small bowl on the table outside the cell. When he investigated its contents, he found the pieces of Shift’s jewelry, the headpiece still intact. As he picked it up to place it in his bag, the headpiece vanished from sight with him.

  They decided to explore the rest of the ruins, hoping to find evidence about Shift’s location. They entered a large room with a long table in the middle. The table was littered with maps and goblets. “Looks like a meeting room,” Pinky whispered to Zaaid. They decided to wait for the Council members to return. They climbed the rafters and found a good hiding spot. Then they waited in the room for what seemed like hours. Finally, the Council entered, and Hanbrig was with them.

  Zaaid and Pinky listened as he discussed the movement of their minions into the Mourtaire Forest, which bordered Minzkala from all directions. The Digvi’ja had burned down the entire forest a year earlier while searching for the city of Minzkala. But the Ancients had a special shield for their city, brought from their world of Celestra, one that could not be penetrated using conventional methods. It was a magical border, called the Orb, which only allowed certain things to pass through. Zaaid and Pinky had almost given up as the Council began to close their conversations when Greshan asked Hanbrig about the Enchantress.

  “We sent her out this morning. To where?
I don’t know,” Hanbrig answered him, “Chesed’reg himself made the trip. He’s making the girl a high priority. It’s the first time we’ve captured one alive and untainted.”

  Zaaid and Pinky both knew that Chesed’reg conducted his operations from Vaidha, the home city of the Digvi’ja located on the northern continent of Vahael. They decided their work in Byhalia was done. Following their return to Minzkala, trips to the northern city of Vaidha would prove to be futile in their attempts to rescue Shift. For months, the Court members put forth every effort, but the months grew to a year, and the Enchantress remained missing.

  In time, the King and his Court decided that something must be done about the threat posed by the Digvi’ja. With the Mourtaire Forest invasion and the countless missing Maralunians, it was clear that defensive measures were only holding off the inevitable. To ultimately stop the source of evil, the Ancients would have to rise from their peaceful slumber and empower the good people of the land to rise with them.

  The streets of Minzkala were busy as leaders from around the world of Gael began to arrive. King Naethan had arranged for them to hold a diplomatic convention, hoping to initiate steps toward their confrontation with the Legion. It had taken nearly three weeks to assemble, and they came from every corner of the civilized world, from cities and villages, large and small. Nearly three-hundred of the fiercest men and women in Gael stood in attendance as the convention began, prepared to contribute and to learn, and to band together against the Legion.

  Many had never been to the Ancients’ city and were beside themselves with all there was to take in. The world of Gael and its own planetary system were all they had known before the arrival of the Ancients. For many, even the thought of intelligent life from somewhere other than Gael seemed impossible. In the years preceding the convention, rumors of the new race had proven to be a reality, and the people of Gael began to try to wrap their minds around the inconceivable means by which the Ancients now stood beside them, ready to aid them in battle. Visits from members of the Minzkalan Court served to earn them the trust of the people. Gifts of armaments and combat training worked to pull them out of the pit of despair and gave them new confidence and hope.

  The conferences consisted of booths and workshops to help the military leaders organize locations, facilities, and recruitment efforts. They shared information on the enemies throughout the regions and strategized the combat procedures they would use. They made lists of potential allies and told stories of the old lands and ancient civilizations. Some brought in books and paintings, and there was an old map of the world of Gael, more complete than any other. It contained even the smaller islands south of Byhalia and to the west of Vahael. The cartographer in Minzkala replicated the map and distributed the copies to the regions’ military leaders. There were rumors that the Legion had been rebuilding ancient fortifications to serve as their military bases. The maps gave them the advantage in locating possible locations.

  On the last night, there was a feast on the palace balcony, overhanging the city of Minzkala. King Naethan told them about his plan to train a small, elite force of warriors that would aid him and the Court of Minzkala. He asked them for recommendations, and many approached him afterwards to contribute to his list. Once they were home, the leaders would assemble their own teams. And at some point, they would gather together in the city of Rhalas, the closest fortified city to Minzkala, and wait for King Naethan’s charge.

  Four

  An Official Invitation

  Back in Jalathiel, Aland greeted a tiny faerie who called herself Nalla, sent from Minzkala on behalf of King Naethan. She had orders to recruit five elves from the tree city. They were to be sent to training sites in various cities throughout Maralune for a brief period before continuing the journey to Minzkala, where they would join an elite unit of warriors.

  Aland sent for the first of the five, a Blade Maven by the name of Vamble. After meeting the faerie and discussing the summons in depth, Vamble agreed to fight for the Minzkalans. Vamble was older but had not yet started a family of his own. He lived with his father. His mother had died when he was a child. He was an only child, just as his mother had been. Aland often assigned Vamble to special missions when a stealthy approach was necessary. He was a loner for the most part but had a magnetic personality and great skill in battle. The combination of his character and skill made him a great role model for the younger warriors.

  When Vamble left them, Aland then led Nalla to the home of Scout Captain Takari. As they entered the large hut, they sat down with Takari and his wife, Alyne. Nalla was impressed to see the young boy she remembered years before in Minzkala, now grown with a family of his own.

  Nalla presented the couple with the orders from King Naethan. The two read as the summons began with compliments paid to their sons:

  …the fearless determination of these young Elves in their encounters throughout Evergrove leads us to believe they are capable of aiding us in the challenge we now face. We would be eternally grateful if even one of them decided to join us in the campaign to stomp out the evil presence of the Digvi’ja and their cohorts, finally ridding the lands of the tyranny that has besieged them…

  Sigge and Raffe entered to find the visitors sitting with their parents. They were asked to come into the room and sit. Their mother handed them the copy of the summons from King Naethan.

  “Of course, we’ll go,” Sigge spoke for himself and Raffe, “Want me to get Kal and Cyrow in here?”

  Takari nodded with a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. When Kal and Cyrow entered, they noticed the expression on their mother’s face. It was one she had when she was proud of something they had done, but her look was more sentimental now, with tears forming in her eyes. The truth of the whole affair was beginning to set in.

  Tekari handed the order to Kal, and he and Cyrow read it silently together. Hesitant to respond, they looked to Takari for his input.

  “I think you both are pretty young to be going out there. But I agree with everything the King said about you. You four boys have something the rest of us don’t. I’m not sure where it came from, but I know what he means when he says you’re all capable.”

  “Then we will go,” Cyrowsious told the Faerie, “It will be an honor to fight beyond our lands for Minzkala. The Digvi’ja must be stopped.”

  Kaliesto

  I had no doubt this was our calling. Sigge and Raffe were the natural choices. Cyrow was extremely skillful despite his young age. And I knew we all felt the purpose of the endeavor. We often talked about what must be done as far as the grander scheme of things was concerned. There seemed to be no corner left untouched by the Legion’s forces. It was imperative that we deal with them, or else face a world filled with evil and fear for generations to come.

  My only hesitation was with how our parents would respond to all four of us going at once…and quite possibly not returning. That, and perhaps the idea of me becoming a huge disappointment. I wasn’t as skilled as Sigge, Raffe, or Cyrow. I fell back on archery because I hadn’t found my niche yet. If I joined this elite group with these amazing people from another world, I would be expected to stand out, to make a difference somehow. What if I couldn’t?

  My father grasped my shoulder and pulled me close, seemingly knowing what I was thinking, “You’ll make us proud, I know you will.”

  He had always taken a special interest in me. Being so much smaller than the other three, I often struggled with being good enough. But my father said I had an inner strength that was unmatched, and that size was a very small obstacle in the way of becoming who he thought I would become. I battled with self-worth like everyone else, but I had learned to set it aside.

  We read further to find our assignments for the mission. I was to travel to the city of Men, Kenkara, away from my brothers. Cyrow would train in Vicete, while Sigge and Raffe would go to Vamei, home of the Skadowan Elves. After a month of training, we would receiv
e further instructions.

  That night, my father and mother spent the evening in the den with us, spread out on the floor near the fire. We stayed up late, reminiscing our childhood.

  Occasionally one of us would tell mother of a very hairy situation we had overcome, one that she had not been previously aware of. The stories added to her concern over what we would soon face, but it eased her mind somewhat to hear about how careful and successful we had been in handling things. At least I hope it did.

  Late that evening, a knock came on the door. My mother opened it and found Loren, a petite bard, standing there. She was the daughter of family friends and our childhood playmate. Loren had no siblings of her own and was like a sister to us. My mother said she was adopted into the family, the daughter she had always wanted.

  “My parents said it was all right if I came over for a bit, to say good-bye to the boys. That is, if you don’t mind.” She knew what the answer would be, but she had been raised to be courteous.

  “We wouldn’t have it any other way,” Alyne smiled and grabbed her up, leading her over to the fire beside us.

  The hours passed by much too quickly for everyone there that night, but we thought nothing about our long journey the next day. We wanted to spend every moment with the people we loved most. Loren eventually left to return home, but not after giving tearful hugs to all four of us.

  I stepped outside the door to see her out. Loren and I had a special connection. We were inseparable growing up. Everyone in the village spoke of us ending up together. There were feelings I knew I had, but they were still too new to express. As I stood there to say goodbye, I noticed every strand of her hair as it was touched by the wind, the melody in her words, in her laugh. I felt a great pain for the things that would be left unsaid. I stood there and watched her walk away until she was out of sight.