Zachania

by Joseph Henry Gaines

  Chapter 4

  The Magnificence and size of Kallick Town’s architectural structure shone like a beacon across the whole of Kratos, every aspect of this military town praised the Empire’s might. It was the military show piece of the island, said to rival the mystic and secretive Palace lands which lay to the east.

  As Talon rode into the region the first thing that struck him was the giant wall that surrounded the inner city which was exclusive to only the soldiers and servants of the Empire. Talon crossed one of the many bridges that surrounded the city and showed his passes to the immaculately dressed soldiers of the royal guard.

  Once he was inside the wall he was astounded at the city’s splendour, never in all of his life had he seen or imagined such impressive buildings which dwarfed him as he rode by. Everywhere he looked was military presence, the inner city was heaving with soldiers all of which were dressed in shining uniforms. Statues of soldiers, some as large as his home back in Tallasian lined every corner and open space. He was also struck by the cleanliness, every road was cobbled, there were giant flags hanging from the buildings, even the horses were dressed in military covers.

  Talon began to feel excited as he allowed himself a smile. This did not seem at all as bad as he had imagined, he even found himself feeling keen and eager that he soon to become a part of it all. When Talon reached his fourth stop point he hunted for his passes with a new found enthusiasm. The soldiers gave Talon an escort to the north eastern sector of the city, commonly known as cadet village because of its four military schools and libraries. Once again Talon rode feeling amazed at the village, everywhere he looked he saw stone, nothing like in Tallasian which was mostly built from wood. Again he saw statues of soldiers reaching high into the sky, stone carvings of scholars adorning walls, and when he saw the library he had to stop and take in the sheer size of the giant building which was carved in marble the colour of purest white.

  When Talon arrived at the school that was designated to him, he was shown into the schools great hall. Talon smiled to himself when one of his escorts told him that this was the school of Chow, the oldest in the city and commonly regarded as the best. Its Principle was the old and wise General Chow who was held in great esteem by all who knew him. Talon and his two escorts waited in the hall for his audience with the General, he waited patiently until he heard the sound of footsteps coming from an adjacent passage. Talon’s first impression when he laid eyes on the General was how militarily he looked, Chow had the face of an old man but the body and poise of someone much younger, he strode into the hall with two companions behind him who showed there obvious difficulty in keeping up with him. He was dressed in what Talon was soon to discover as a Generals uniform, a hard leather vest and a pleated kilt with a large General’s sword strapped to his waist. He wore boots of the finest leather. Talon was greeted warmly as the two men exchanged polite conversation about the journey and Talon’s background etc. then after a brief ceremony Talon was sworn into the royal guard.

  Three years passed very swiftly for Talon as he excelled in his studies, Talon was now twenty one years of age, he had gained maturity and discipline and now looked every bit the soldier that he was.

  He had also proved to be very popular amongst the cadets at the school, and had made many friends, all of which seemed to look up to him and trust in his council.

  Talon had now learned all there was that the school could offer him; and was in need of further tutelage, education that the school of Chow could no longer provide.

  At the end of every Imperial calendar year in the month of Uprek, three candidates of the schools highest merit would be granted a great honour. The three cadets would be chosen at the ‘Grand Festival of Pass’ to expand their Imperial careers in the Emperor’s mysterious Palace lands. There future would be secure as they would be immediately given the rank of Captain in the elite Imperial Palace guard. Many secrets, traditions and ancient knowledge of the Empire would be made available to them.

  The rank of Imperial Palace guard Captain would hold rank over every soldier based in the provinces of Kratos. Even some General’s based in Kallick town could not enter the Palace lands.

  The honour was immense, behind the great wall of Tash, the paradise known as Palace lands was a gateway to greatness.

  This year’s Grand Festival of Pass was presented with all the usual pomp and splendour. Generals from all over Kratos lined the stage in their most ceremonious costume.

  Traditionally the three chosen cadets would not know of their advancement until the schools principle General Chow proclaimed them, though this year it was no secret as to who the chosen ones were going to be.

  Talon had been told all through the year that he was a certainty to be chosen, both teachers and cadets had remarked on it.

  One of the schools teachers had even told Talon that he was ready to be chosen the year before but could not be because a cadet had to serve three years of study.

  The young cadets congregated in the schools great Gusack hall. Talon stood out amid his friends as they all waited for General Chow who was dressed in the traditional Festival of Pass Renthall raiment to read out the names.

  The cadets stood in absolute silence as Chow unrolled his scroll and placed it on a podium before him.

  “Welcome cadets to yet another end of school year and another Grand Festival of Pass. It is a time when all of you can weigh upon the past year and the work that you have accomplished. A time for you to judge how your tutelage has progressed. And a time for the pedagogues of this great establishment, to feel pride at the achievement that they have helped three young gentlemen, begin their careers in the highest status of the land. These three young men, who soon I shall declare have been granted the opportunity to walk upon the road of greatness. And make No erratum, that is precisely what they are being awarded with today.”

  “Get on with it man!” One of the cadets standing at the back of the hall suddenly shouted in a jovial kind of tone which in turn had the whole hall both teachers and cadets burst into fits of laughter.

  Even General Chow began laughing as he raised his arms in applause.

  “Once a year I get to wear this ridiculous costume, so if I have to wear it then I am going to make you look at It.” the old General replied sarcastically back to the cadets.

  “And if you interrupt me again I may even dance in It.” he added as the cadets then began a slow clap and shout out for him to dance.

  The mood of the hall remained jovial for a few moments as General Chow made no attempts to quash it as the Grand Festival of Pass was always a celebration, a time of great rejoice when teachers and cadets mixed with no rank between them. It was a gentleman’s affair which always had an atmosphere of equality.

  The General waited for a few moments letting the boys have their fun until he finally silenced them by holding up his hands “I see you are all very eager to begin with the celebrations, so without further ado here are the names.” he added as he lifted the scroll up from the podium into his hands.

  “The first name upon this list, belongs to a gentleman who has astounded all who have tutored him with his ability to learn and the enthusiasm that he has shown.”

  “Flaffy, the dog!” A cadet mockingly shouted out as he called out the name of the General’s dog.

  Chow nodded his head and smiled broadly before deciding to just get on with it quickly.

  “The three cadets chosen for the Palace guard are Talon Tallasian, Rensus Kallick and Callia Kallick.” he shouted above the laughter.

  The whole hall then suddenly burst into cheers as Talon and his two colleagues were hoisted up onto the shoulders of the cadets and paraded around the hall, where everyone began congratulating them. The celebrations continued until it was time for the wine and ale to be served which was a good reason for the mood to relax.

  Once a few rounds of drink had been served, the General of the school, General Chow and his special guest of honour an old and powerful General of the Empire
began to seek out the three chosen cadets.

  The first one they looked for at the behest of the guest of honour was Talon who they found amid a bunch of men huddled around him at the far end of the hall standing next to the bar which was serving the ale.

  General Chow gestured Talon to come over to him then began his greeting by introducing the respected General at his side “Talon, this is General Krustov, you will be seeing a lot of him in the Palace land.”

  “It is a great honour to meet you General, I have studied your soldiers doctrine on countless occasions.” Talon replied humbly as he bowed his head gently.

  “Ah…my book on the principles of a soldier! ......... Written in my youth while I studied at the school you shall soon be attending.” Krustov answered before he turned to Chow.

  “Are you still using that old book Chow.” he added.

  “That book will be used for as long as there are military schools.” Chow replied.

  “Nonsense!” Krustov barked in cheerful embarrassment.

  “On the contrary General your doctrine is a masterpiece of literature, it cuts through all the nonsense and gets straight to the point, it reaches the feelings of a cadet and echoes what one is thinking. I owe much of my advancement to the hours spent studying it.” Interrupted Talon

  General Krustov calmly raised his head, as he felt impressed at the cadet who stood before him “ articulate, confident ... And full of self-belief, this cadet is worth watching.” he silently thought as he studied Talon’s face.

  “General Chow has told me many good things about you Talon, he tells me that you have been his finest student since many a year, I will look forward to seeing you in the Palace land, and I hope that you are prepared for the task that awaits you. The Palace land can be quite daunting you know.”

  “I feel that I am ready sir!” Talon replied as he showed a confident nonchalance in his tone.

  “Yes I believe you are.” Krustov silently thought as he smiled and half turned around lifting his arm in a waving motion to Chow to move on.

  General Krustov waited for Chow to walk by before he turned his head back towards Talon

  “I shall celebrate well tonight sir.” Talon suddenly commented to Krustov’s shock as the General leaned towards him.

  “How did you know that I was going to tell you to celebrate well?” Krustov snapped in surprise.

  Talon raised his shoulders and smiled confidently “it seemed the thing to do General!” He replied

  The old General held his beard as he gazed deeply into the eyes of Talon, he felt suddenly fascinated by him and which was worse he began to feel intimidated by him, Krustov nodded his head in mutual respect for him before he finally

  Turned and walked away.

  As the General walked away he found himself puzzled by the confidence and mature arrogance of Talon. It was not just a man feeling proud at being chosen, this was something different. It was not like a braggart who was boasting his success, it was more of a confidence, a self-belief that he was totally in control of every situation that arose, but the way Talon did this in a very mature and unthreatening way left Krustov deeply impressed.

  As Krustov mixed with the other cadets he could not help himself being drawn to Talon, he could hardly take his eyes of him. Krustov positioned himself in the background and silently studied the young cadet; he stood motionless for ages as he watched his every move.

  Krustov called out to General Chow who he noticed passing nearby.

  “How does he get on with the other men?” Krustov asked Chow as he pointed out Talon.

  “He leads them.” Chow replied as Krustov suddenly noticed Chow’s pride in Talon, almost like a father’s pride.

  “How do you mean?” Krustov asked.

  “He is like a magnet to them, somehow he always seems to know what the other cadets need or want to hear.”

  “Yes, I have noticed how the other cadets flock to him. Chow I want you to bring me his papers first thing tomorrow morning.”

  “Is anything wrong?”

  “No not at all, I just want to discover more about him.”

  “As you wish.” Chow replied a little puzzled.

  “Speak to no one on this matter; just be at my office first thing.”

  “Of course General!”

  As General Krustov left the hall he turned to take one last look at Talon. Talon was standing in the centre of a crowd of cadets as they were congratulated him when suddenly Talon turned to look directly into the eyes of the General. Talon smiled warmly at him before turning back to his friends.

  The General left the hall with a mixed feeling of anxiousness and intrigue “how could he have known I was looking at him” he asked himself.

  It played deeply on the mind of Krustov and he could not believe that with only one meeting with this cadet he could feel himself feeling intimidated and upstaged. There was a strangeness to Krustov thoughts as he contemplated on how this twenty one year old cadet could make one such as him with all his experience and wisdom feel afraid. Talon was like a magnet to the cadets but to Krustov he brought fear; fear that this cadet seemed to be reading into the very depths of Krustov’s thoughts “I must study him with caution.” Krustov whispered to himself.

  Later that evening Talon and a group of his friends had ventured into a military tavern in the centre of Kallick town which was commonly known as a rough part of town, but Talon and his group now full of ale were keen to continue their celebrations deep into the night.

  Once inside the tavern they began drinking heavily as they threw their Krasos around the bar in boyish and arrogant manner. Talon however sat quietly as he enjoyed the antics of one of his friends who began to sing a song.

  Across the tavern sat a group of seasoned soldiers who were drinking quietly to themselves. It was obvious that they were growing tiresome of Talon’s rowdy friends. The rowdiest one who had just sung out loud a song was now fast becoming very drunk, he began to sing again as he was asking everyone in the bar if they would like a drink. He was the son of a rich General and he was throwing his gold Krasos onto the bar in an arrogant and pompous way.

  Once he had asked everyone in the bar what they drank, he turned his attention towards the seasoned soldiers, he staggered his way across the room and threw his hands hard down onto the table

  “Join me for a drink.” he drunkenly shouted “anything you want!” He added

  The soldier seated in the middle looked at his fellow soldiers and laughed before turning angrily back towards the joyful cadet.

  “Get out of our face boy.” he growled to the drunken boy who was way too drunk to realise the soldiers menace.

  “I just want to buy you a drink, anything you want.” he persistently replied.

  The soldier rose swiftly to his feet now clearly angered as he reached across the table and grabbed the cadet around his throat, the cadet was then pulled forcefully across the table and twisted onto his back so he was lying face up

  “So you want to drink with us then do you boy?” the soldier shouted as he forcefully pushed his tankard of ale down onto the boys mouth and then pushed hard forcing the cadets mouth to open. Talon’s friend began to cough and choke as the soldier grabbed his companion’s drinks and repeated the violent act.

  When the soldier had run out of ale he lifted the drenched and coughing cadet’s head up by holding tightly onto his hair. “You still want to drink with us do you boy!” He shouted violently.

  Suddenly the man’s arm was grabbed violently from the side which made him relinquish his grip of the cadet; he turned angrily in the direction to see Talon standing beside him.

  “I will drink with you!” Talon calmly remarked

  The soldier smirked as he gazed Talon up and down in disbelief at this young fool’s arrogance.

  “So a man appears from within this crowd of fools.” the soldier replied as he grabbed hold of Talon’s friend once again by the throat. Talon gazed deep at the man before him; it was obvious that this so
ldier was a man of violence. A man full of courage with no objections or shyness to battle, yet Talon felt a weakness in him, he sensed a feeling of uncertainty in the eyes of the soldier before him, it was like a taste of the man’s aura, and Talon felt sure that this man’s uncertainty would give him notice of his actions.

  “Take your hands of my friend NOW!” Talon ordered.

  The soldiers face now turned to one of surprise at the severity of Talon’s demand, it was not what the soldier had expected and a short silence fell between them as the atmosphere turned to expectation.

  Talon sensed that the man was about to strike. His young mind was suddenly filled with voices, he could hear the thoughts of the soldiers companions urging there friend to teach him a lesson, then just before the soldier struck out, Talon sensed an overwhelming feeling of the soldiers rage.

  As the soldier tried to strike Talon, Talon’s intuition helped ready himself, somehow Talon knew exactly what the man was going to do, the blow was parried and Talon pushed the soldier flying onto the ground.

  One of his companions tried to grab Talon, but Talon once again felt the attack before it happened. He stepped gracefully to one side avoiding the soldiers lunge and in one swift movement forced his elbow to smash into the man’s face, sending the soldier reeling to the ground holding his face in pain. The third soldier moved angrily to confront Talon, but Talon just took one step back and stared at him sensing a deep fear within the third soldier. Something inside in the blinking of an eye told Talon that this man did not want to fight, he gazed deep into the man’s eyes, it was a stare of strength and certitude as he looked deep into the very depths of the man’s soul.

  “Don’t be afraid of me!” Talon suddenly said “I will not harm you unless that is what you seek” he added calmly.

  The soldier seemed to freeze with fear and stood speechless as one of his companions; the one who Talon had pushed first had risen to his feet and was reaching for his knife.