The Leopard Stratagem (Leopard King Saga Book 2)

by T. A. Uner

  “How old were you when you killed your first man?” Caltus asked.

  Tullus didn’t like the question but answered anyway.“Fifteen. Shortly after I was rescued by a Roman legion patrolling near my parents’ vineyards.

  Caltus looked at Tullus in awe.

  No doubt he has never killed, Tullus thought. Well, Caltus my young friend, killing is nothing to be in awe of. It’s like taking a piss, you do it only when you have to.

  “I wish I could become a soldier. My grandfather doesn’t even allow me to own a weapon. He says I’m too, intellectual, for war.”

  Tullus nodded. “Perhaps that is for the best.” Tullus unsheathed LeopardClaw and stood to face Caltus. “Now, Caltus, watch me.” Tullus thrust LeopardClaw at Caltus, causing the boy to bristle. “Raise your weapon!” Tullus commanded. Caltus raised Cutter. Tullus swung LeopardClaw and the two blades met head on with a loud cltank! Cutter sailed through the air and landed in front of Celestra, who was watching the exercise.

  Caltus rubbed his wrist. “That’s not fair Tullus, you fight with a greatsword!”

  Tullus sheathed LeopardClaw and walked over to where Cutter was sticking out of the ground. He retracted it and handed it to Caltus. “It’s not the size of the weapon that matters, it’s how you use it. Now Caltus, we shall try again.”

  “That’s enough for today, lads.”

  Tullus turned around. Hradack approached them, Mithras by his side.

  “I was only teaching Caltus basic sword-fighting techniques.”

  “I know what you were doing, Tullus.” Hradack turned toward Caltus. “You have chores to tend to.” The boy nodded in an obsequious manner and walked towards Tullus, Cutter in hand. He extended the blade to Tullus.

  “Thank you for letting me use Cutter, Tullus.”

  Tullus smiled. “You keep it. Cutter is a very special sword. I’d like you to have it.”

  Caltus’ eyes widened in disbelief. “Oh! Thank you Tullus, thank you!” he ran off, a large smile plastered across his lips, Cutter in hand, while Hradack looked at Tullus reprovingly.

  “It is bad enough he longs to become a soldier. Now here you are, encouraging his fantasies!”

  Tullus found a wooden bench while Celestra curled up by his feet. “The boy has a right to learn how to defend himself. You were a soldier once. You know I speak the truth.”

  “I was an Air Paladin, not a Soldier!” Hradack found a large thick log across from Tullus and sat down. Mithras strolled over toward Celestra, who growled at the Jaguar, before they both disappeared into the woods.

  “I see my Mithras has taken a liking to your Leopardess,” Hradack said, grasping his wooden staff, sunlight glinting off its wooden Leopard head.

  “I still do not see why you are against the boy learning basic swordsmanship.”

  Hradack scoffed. “Swordsmanship? Bah! Weapons often lead to killing.”

  “Weapons don’t kill people. People kill people.”

  Hradack sighed. “You are only a King in name, Tullus. You still have much to learn along your Soultrail.”

  “Then, tell me. Isn’t that why I am here? And what is this Soultrail? Paullus spoke of it once.”

  Hradack lit his pipe and exhaled fumes. They formed into a Leopard head before floating away.“A Soultrail is the life-path laid out for everyone on Earth. We all walk upon it, ignorant of it at first, but as we age we come to realize it’s worth and seek to fulfill it to the best of our abilities.”

  “I see.”

  “And now, your first lesson.” Hradack smiled and raised his staff. “Lignum!” Tullus heard creaking behind him. He stood and whirled around to see one of the nearby trees uprooting itself from the ground before ambling over to where Hradack sat.

  “Hello StrongRoot.” Hradack shook hands with the creature. Tullus noticed Strongroot’s eyes had stars in them, much like Celestra’s.

  “Leopard Master,” the Wood Elementus said respectfully, “how may I be of assistance?”

  Tullus laughed. “Your Wood Elementus is quite good with manners. You should have seen the one I summoned upon the Via Appia. Its eyes were red and it looked cross.”

  “You must have mixed emotion with your Elemence incantation. I told you emotion and Elemence do not mix. You’re lucky it didn’t turn on you.” Hradack finished his pipe and stood.

  Tullus watched Celestra and Mithras emerge from the foliage. “Where have you been, Girl?”

  Celestra growled before stretching out her haunches while Mithras took his place next to Hradack.

  “This next exercise shall assist you in your development,” Hradack said.

  The wood Elementus turned to face Tullus. Right before his eyes its twisted wooden arms and hands began to twitch, its leafy surface straightening, forming into two sharp glaives.

  “Attack!” Hradack ordered the creature.

  The wooden glaives nearly clipped Tullus' arm off. He unsheathed LeopardClaw and stood ready. The Elementus’s right glaive slashed at Tullus' head. He ducked and landed a cut upon it. The Elementus laughed. “He thinks he can hurt me without a blessed weapon, doesn’t he, Hradack?”

  Tullus landed another cut upon the other glaive but LeopardClaw’s blade failed to inflict damage. The Elementus jabbed its other glaive at Tullus who parried it. The sounds of battle disturbed the air as the glaive met LeopardClaw’s blade. The Wood Elementus was unrelenting in its attacks, and Tullus' forehead, beaded with sweat, ducked to avoid the other glaive, but it caught his mail shirt and slashed a cut across it. Tullus summoned his Vigor and pressed his attack but his cuts did no damage to his wooden opponent.

  “What is the purpose of this exercise, Hradack?” Tullus said. The Leopard Master scratched his beard and stroked Mithras’s back. Celestra growled at Hradack.

  “Stop!”

  The wood Elementus ceased its movements. Tullus caught his breath.

  “Well, I’m waiting for your answer, Leopard Master.”

  Hradack smiled. “Have you ever tried fighting with two blades simultaneously, Tullus?”

  “Never.”

  Hradack smiled. “Never say never. You never know when never may come.”

  Tullus looked at Hradack disbelievingly.

  The Leopard Master didn’t appear perturbed by Tullus’ indifference. “In the days of the Air Paladins we called it ‘Paladin-Style’. That way it was easier to defend ourselves, plus, our attacks were twice as devastating.”

  “This is a waste of time. What good are two blades if my sword cannot damage my opponent? I thought you said conventional weapons couldn’t harm magical opponents?”

  Hradack appeared untroubled by Tullus' grievances. Instead he uttered the Ligum spell and another Wood Elementus appeared. This one was leaner than StrongRoot, but its starry eyes looked at Tullus mischievously. “Hello QuickTwig,” Hradack said. The second Elementus nodded at Hradack before StrongRoot clapped it on the back.

  “Let’s use a different-style training opponent for you. For now we are building up your Vigor, which is vital to effective Elemence. Now, draw your dagger!”

  Tullus sighed and drew LeopardTooth.

  “Begin!”

  QuickTwig swung his right glaive at Tullus who parried it with LeopardTooth. The force of the attack knocked LeopardTooth from his grip. Tullus cursed. It was the first time an opponent had disarmed him. Hradack looked at him ruefully, while QuickTwig and StrongRoot chuckled.

  “Pride-fear is your weakness, Tullus,” the Leopard Master said.

  QuickTwig spoke, “Leopard Master, I thought you said he was a good swordsman?”

  Tullus suppressed his anger at QuickTwig’s remark. He wanted to cast an Elemence spell and counterattack the Elementus but was low on Vigor.

  All part of the plan, ehh Hradack?

  “Try it again, toothpick,” Tullus said to the Elementus.

  “This one is touchy,” QuickTwig said before thrusting his glaives at Tullus' torso.

  Tullus leaned back, rolled away from the
attack and snatched LeopardTooth. He brought both LeopardClaw and LeopardTooth down on QuickTwig’s elbow, separating the glaives from its arms. QuickTwig grinned. Moments later, new glaives sprouted from the spot where Tullus had hacked off the previous ones.

  “Continuing this exercise is foolery,” Tullus complained. “Even if I could use two weapons against an enchanted opponent, it would prove useless in battle.”

  “Use the Fortitudo spell, if you must,” Hradack said. “Don’t lose faith, any opponent can be worn down with persistence.”

  Tullus shook his head and sighed. He knew his body would pay the price for this spell later. “Fortitudo!”

  A surge of Vigor coursed through his veins as his muscles stretched under his skin. He readied himself against the Elementus, again.

  “Begin!”

  Tullus scored two hits against the Elementus’s glaives but both cuts quickly disappeared after his opponent regenerated. He continued his attacks, but to no avail. QuickTwig kept parrying his attacks and stood resolutely before him. After a while, the effects of the Fortitudo spell slowly wore off. He felt the Vigor seeping from his body. The tired feeling of the aftereffects of casting a spell finally caught up. His arms grew wearier and wearier, and even holding his weapons was a challenge. They felt like large, heavy blocks in his grip. Sluggish and cumbersome. QuickTwig sensed this and moved in to attack.

  Tullus hated what he was about to do. Still he bit his lip and took a knee. “I yield,” he said.

  QuickTwig turned to look at Hradack. The Leopard Master nodded before the creature trudged back toward the forest and assuming its original shape. StrongRoot waved goodbye to Hradack and followed suit.

  Tullus stood up and sheathed both LeopardClaw and LeopardTooth.

  “Pride-fear is weakness,” Hradack said as he stroked Mithras’s back, “one must learn when to overcome it.”

  “Pride-Fear? Explain,” Tullus said.

  Hradack said, “Fear of loss, fear of losing face. Pride is tied to fear.”

  Tullus reseated himself. “It would’ve been a better lesson had you shown me how to inflict more damage to the Elementus without wasting precious Vigor in summoning the Fortitudo spell.”

  Hradack smiled. “Give me your weapons, Tullus.”

  “Why?”

  “Please trust me, Tullus.”

  Tullus picked up Leopardhide, the shield which his German friend, Vulcan, had crafted for him. He placed it at Hradack’s feet before unsheathing LeopardClaw and LeopardTooth and laying them beside it. Hradack closed his eyes and mumbled some words. He took LeopardClaw and pressed it against his forehead. He then repeated the same action with LeopardTooth and Leopardhide before he opened his eyes.

  “Your weapons have now been blessed, Tullus. You may now inflict damage on magical opponents. Also your weapons can never be used against you by your enemies.” Hradack looked at LeopardClaw and LeopardTooth proudly. “But I have a feeling you would never let it come to that.”

  “Thank you. But I wish you would’ve taught me the incantation. I could’ve used the practice.

  Hradack chuckled. “Only one who has mastered the first three levels of Fortis spells can summon the power to bless objects.”

  “I see.” Tullus nodded. Celestra and Mithras growled.

  “Now that I’ve explained Pride-Fear to you, it is time I told you more about the past.”

  “Another history lesson, Hradack? I came here to expand my knowledge in Elemence, not become a historian.”

  “Nonsense,” the old man replied. “Learning from history helps us avoid repeating its mistakes.”

  {II}

  Tullus built a fire inside the stead’s brazier as Hradack lit his pipe. “You smoke too much old man.”

  Hradack smiled. “It calms symptoms of the curse I carry.”

  “I don’t understand why you cannot heal yourself. You’re an expert in Elemence.”

  Hradack inhaled a lungful of lavender before exhaling thin, white tendrils of smoke. “Alas, he who cast the curse upon my soul was an extremely powerful magic-user, a man who was once my mentor. And, when it happened I had not attained the level capable of ridding the curse. By the time I had achieved the level of Grandmaster it was too late.”

  “Grandmaster?”

  “One skilled in all seven levels of Fortis Spells belonging to Elemence.”

  Tullus nodded. The soft glow of the fire warmed Tullus' sore bones; it felt relaxing after a challenging day of exercises. “How did you contract this curse?”

  Hradack exhaled again, and Mithras eyed the Leopard Master. “During my sky joust with the Red Rider. Years ago. He inflicted it on me before he died.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Hradack chuckled. “It’s quite alright, Tullus. I’ve learned to live with it; and as long as I remain true to my Soultrail, I am content.”

  Tullus observed the evening sky through the window, a violet pattern of swirls filled with flickering stars.

  “Many years ago, before you were born, I was tasked with a mission of the utmost importance by Zedion Firmitas. Do you know of him?”

  “Decimus mentioned his name once, bits and pieces really. When I was a boy, my father took me to Rome. There I saw an old statue of him. It was defaced. I hear he was a coward.”

  Hradack gave Tullus a stern look. “That, my dear boy, is another story.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “My mission,” he continued, “was to destroy an object of great power. A Door used during the Serpent Crusades by The Eye.”

  Tullus remembered the Door he had left with Yeshiva. “The Eye?”

  “The Eye, or the Five as they called themselves, were a ruthless group of fanatics who broke away from The Elder Council, the governing body of the Paladins, and went on to create Serpent Eye, which was magic based on emotion. They soon adopted the sigil of the Swastika, once a symbol of good luck, it was corrupted by their evil. After they had recruited legions of followers and built a Sky Force, the Eye became leaders of a dangerous new regime called the Serpent Cult.”

  Tullus scratched Celestra behind her ears.

  “Anyhow, my air squadron fell under attack and I found myself the only survivor. Then, me and my faithful Combat Griffin, Trytus, found ourselves fighting for our lives against four Sky Fighters, the pilots who flew the Sky Serpents of the Serpent Cult’s Sky Force. The Sky Fighters were the main threat to Paladin air superiority during the Serpent Crusades, or Wars, as they are called by everyone else. They rode reptilian Creatures called Sky Serpents who breathed spitfire and could fire destructive energy beams. During the battle, Trytus was gravely wounded and later died. I had known him since he was a Griffling.” Hradack’s face became morose, but he continued the story as darkness began to cast shadows around them. “Alone, wounded, and without allies. I swore to complete my mission. I found the Door, guarded heavily by the minions of The Eye and eventually defeated them.”

  “How?”

  “Through determination, but afterwards I had little Vigor remaining so I did the best thing I could. I hid the Door by burying it in the desert until I could return to retrieve it. I wandered the oasis for days, until I found a convoy of traders.”

  Hradack paused and inhaled more lavender. “Can I interest you in some of this?” he asked Tullus.

  Tullus shook his head. Celestra growled again.

  “The convoy nursed me back to health. Actually Cornelia, my wife, was the daughter of a wealthy merchant and under her care I regained my Vigor. Afterwards, much to her father’s dismay, we fell in love and married. Later, I returned to the spot where I buried the Serpent Door only to learn that later it had been uncovered by a legion of Roman soldiers under the command of an officer named Decrius. As luck would have it I encountered Paullus, who had seized it from Camus Scorpio. The rest of the story you already know.”

  “Hradack, this Door you speak of is now in the care of my friend, Yeshiva.”

  Hradack’s eyes widened. “Is this Yeshiva trustworthy?”
>
  “Quite. He swore never to reveal its location until we could find a way to destroy it.”

  “Destroying the Door is quite difficult. It would take a skillful person rid the world of its evil.”

  Tullus pondered Hradack’s words. “Norbanus told me of a world called Kaotika.”

  “Yes, Kaotika,” Hradack said, “the land of the black sun. During the Serpent Crusades The Eye recruited their army exclusively from this cursed land; the demon realm it is called. A place of fire and ash, where nomadic bands of malevolent beings roam. It was, by chance, the members of the Eye who found this world; they were inveigled by Reptokk and accepted his teachings.”

  “Reptokk?”

  “Yes, he was a Serpent Demon and last reigning Powerlord of Kaotika. He was once corporeal, but gave his mortal soul to the Gods of Kaotika in return for omnipotent abilities. And he used them to conquer Kaotika. Which is no small feat.”

  Tullus rubbed his bearded face. During all his Vigor conditioning he had neglected to shave.

  “So it must be destroyed. But first, we need to advance your Elemence skills.”

  Cornelia arrived with a trencher of food. “I was wondering where you two were?”

  “We were training, Beloved.”

  Cornelia did not look amused. “This late? Caltus and I grew tired of waiting for you at the supper table.” She placed the trencher filled with sliced apples, pears, figs and two bowls of gruel on a table near the hearth before sitting next to Hradack. The Leopard Master kissed his wife tenderly on the cheek and placed an arm around her shoulders.

  “It’s always nice to see two people in love,” Tullus said. “I am still looking to be united with the woman I love.”

  Hradack smiled at Tullus. “What I’ve learned about relationships is, don't try looking for love. Let love find you. The love that fate bequeaths is greatest love of all.”

  Cornelia stood up and kissed Hradack on the cheek. “Tullus, make sure he doesn’t stay up all night boring you with his old stories.”

  Hradack smiled. “Be gone, woman,” he said jokingly.