Zachania

by Joseph Henry Gaines

  “It shall be done.”

  “Yes now tell me of your secret army.”

  “They are in place all over Zanlia but the Zanlian’s are very secretive and distrustful of strangers but day by day we are making progress.”

  “People hiding something usually are.” Grarlin answered.

  Krustov was now starting to relax as he felt his life was no longer in danger so he began to ask questions himself.

  “Your highness I know of the build-up of the royal guard on the Zachanian border, are we going to attack Zachania?”

  Grarlin looked at the General slightly angered at his intrigue.

  “That is not important to you or your mission, you have your orders and station, do not disappoint me again as there are plenty of Generals who would like your position.”

  Grarlin’s demands did not take long to start taking effect as hundreds of Zanlian’s began disappearing as the town was blanketed in smoke from hundreds of burning boats, even the yards, were boats were built, were torched to the ground.

  Nearly a week had passed since Grarlin’s conversation with Krustov and the day before last saw the town’s first public execution. Four men were stripped and hung in the library square witnessed by over a thousand Zanlian citizens who had been forced to watch the barbaric spectacle.

  On the eastern region of Zanlia, there was a deserted beach where a gathering of men, five men who were the heart of the Zanlian resistance were meeting to discuss the drastic persecution that was happening in Zanlia. The most powerful of the men was Falkan from the western region of Zanlia, he was the eldest son of four, and his family had strong ties and allegiance spanning back hundreds of years to their Zachanian cousins. Then there was Dudron and Arrof who started out as thieves and smugglers and over the years had grown to hate the Empire because they had murdered dozens of their fellow crooks. There was also Osto a mountain of a man who was also a smuggler coming from generations of family smugglers who detested the Empire for he witnessed with his own eyes the murder of his father and brother when they were caught on a smuggling run. And lastly there was Kasoon who had become rich holding illegal gambling taverns in back rooms of the ghettos of Zanlia. His hate for the Empire comes from being betrayed by two royal guards, Kasoon specialised in running ‘jonek’ games, a card game outlawed, but many of his customers used to be members of the royal guard, but on one evening two guards lost all their wage and after drinking all night they killed Kasoon’s two brothers who were running the game, that night was ten years ago and Kasoon’s resentment had never weakened.

  “Falkan I am afraid for my farmers, yesterday forty-five of them were taken away for questioning and only thirty returned, I tell you if this continues it will only be a matter of time before they arrest me.” said Kasoon looking anxious as he walked in circles.

  “Kasoon please sit down and try to relax, I too have suffered but we must remain calm” answered Falkan looking strong and relaxed as he always did no matter what was happening. Amongst the thieves and criminals Falkan was called ‘the General’ and it was well known in the underworld that if anyone had a problem then Falkan was the man to see. Family feuds then Falkan would make the peace or if a man was being hunted by the Empire then Falkan would be the one who would give him a few Krasos and smuggle him out of town.

  “I have just returned from Vilsillius and there is no unrest there, it seems that the Empire only want to harass us.” replied Osto.

  “The Empire have always been harder on Zanlia, you know this.” added Falkan.

  “Yes Falkan they have but never has it been like it is now.” replied Osto.

  “I say enough of this! I have taken too much, we should slit the throats of a few captains and let it be known that we will fight back.” snapped Arrof obviously angry.

  Falkan looked across at Arrof and thought to himself that he can’t be hearing such madness

  “Arrof an action like that would only result in more killings, if we killed one soldier then they would kill fifty Zanlian’s, if we kill two soldiers then they would kill a hundred, think man, think with your head and not with your heart.”

  Arrof still standing scowled at Falkan, but not too much as he knew of Falkan’s power.

  “Falkan I hear you but I would rather die fighting than live as a coward.”

  Falkan suddenly snapped at Arrof looking at him very coldly.

  “I forbid you or your family from taking any such action, is that clear Arrof.”

  Arrof scowled again, then he looked Falkan deep in the eyes, both men held the stare until Osto reached out grabbed Arrof’s arm and ushered him to relax and sit down.

  Falkan reached out and took Arrofs hand.

  “Arrof you are my friend and brother, and I fully understand your concerns but if we start killing soldiers then matters will become much worse, we must endure and see this through.”

  “You want us to just act normal when they are killing our friends Falkan” added Kasoon.

  “What I want Kasoon, is for Zanlia to be free but if you want to live then you will wait, killing soldiers will bring us nothing but our doom.”

  So it was decided that the men would try to act as normal and hope the Empires persecution would quieten down but for how long these fighting men would wait, no one was certain.

  Chapter 17

  Talon sat on a small ledge shielding himself from the bitter winds that swept the peaks of the mountains of Zachania, the wind was stinging his face and after nearly a week of searching he was feeling dejected and weakened. Talon had searched in every nook and cranny but so far he had found nothing to encourage him he was close to finding Apollo’s cave.

  Talon pulled himself into a gap between the rocks and decided to see the storm out and as he sat he noticed that he was feeling negative so remembering his Pangkor teachings he tried to rid his mind of these thoughts, after a short while Talon began to meditate, cleansing his mind, after an hour or so he was deep into meditation. Talon then tried to imagine he was an eagle flying high above the mountains searching every detail of every mountain, soon he could feel himself flying, in his mind the dream felt so real, even the wind blowing on his face and the calmness of flying high in the sky, then the bird was blown by a sudden gust of wind and was forced to land on a small ledge, when the bird landed he saw that the ledge was the entrance to Apollo’s cave.

  Talon suddenly snapped out of his trance.

  “Apollo!” he whispered opening his eyes.

  “Could it be you? You said your spirit could not enter Zachania” added Talon still whispering.

  Then with a new found zest and confidence Talon rose and left the ledge heading for the valley below, he found his horse and set forth trying to remember the landscape he had saw in his trance. He rode for miles as his mind wandered from the dream and his thoughts of Apollo. Talon also thought about when he was young playing in his father’s gladiator school in Tallasian, it seemed like a thousand years ago as so much had changed in his life.

  “Would you be proud of me father, I wish you was by my side.” he thought to himself

  Before thinking of his mother, and family.

  “Mother, dear mother you never hurt anyone, I miss you with every breath I take and my brothers Tols and Kramos my dear brothers, I swear I will avenge you”

  After a few more hours riding Talon turned into a landscape that looked familiar, he knew he had never been here before so it must be from his dream. He dismounted his horse and walked over to a mountain.

  “This is it, I can feel you Apollo.” he said silently.

  Talon started to make his way up the side of the mountain on a path that had obviously been made; he reached half way up before taking a short rest to gather his breath and thoughts. Turning he looked at the sight of the valleys below and sighed at the beauty of the panorama, then turning back to the mountain he began studying it looking for any clues which would lead him to the cave. He noticed some strange formations in the rocks nearby so without pause he m
ade his way across the boulders towards it. As he pulled himself over a large rock he suddenly felt his adrenalin rush as in the distance he saw an opening, Talon smiled as he began to feel excited at the chance that this was the cave, the opening became larger as Talon approached, Talon soon reached the opening and dropped to his knees, this is it he said triumphantly as he saw a carving in the rock face above it, he looked up at the sign and it was the same sign that was on his pendent, Talon had made it, he had reached the cave of Apollo.

  He reached up and ran his fingers across the carving; he was feeling a mixture of relief, happiness and wonder as he took his first step into the cave.

  The cave was dark and damp with a musty smell where Talon began to take a path that angled very steeply downwards, he had to steady himself with his arms as he descended. The further he went the darker the tunnel became with only a glimmer of light shining from the entrance. Talon reached into his bag to find something to light his way but as he shuffled his hand in his bag he suddenly lost his footing and began to slip, he tried to correct himself but the darkness was acting as his enemy as he could not see anything to grab onto, he began to fall as the downward angle of the descent made him tumble down head over heels. Talon yelled as his body crashed from side to side until he finally stopped with a thud, he was lying face down in a large puddle “ouch!” Talon said as he felt the cuts and grazes on his arms and legs.

  Talon felt for his bag and was pleased that it was still on his back so after a short while he lit a piece of cloth and wrapped around the end of his sword. As the flame began to light the cave Talon’s first sight was thousands of cobwebs. He walked forward and started wiping away the cobwebs with the flame causing them to disintegrate as the fire touched them. He made his way over a to a far wall where there was an indentation carved into the rock, Talon ran his fingers across it and thought it was like a key hole, he thought for a moment as he lowered the torch to get a better look and realised it was same as the markings which were in the Pangkor temple in Zanlia where Talon used his pendent to open it. Quickly Talon removed his pendent from around his neck and pushed it into the holes, it was a perfect fit, he twisted it till there was a large crack and with a puff of dust the wall pushed back to reveal a large hole with steps running down into the darkness.

  Talon carefully walked down the steps till it opened up into a small room, on the wall were two fire staffs so Talon lit the torches with his burning sword and as the torches lit up the room he saw it was full of books, garments and weapons.

  Talon slowly proceeded looking at the artefacts scattered across the room then he stopped and admired some shields and swords some of which were so exquisitely made he sighed at the craftsmanship.

  “These must be Apollo’s own collection.” he thought as he pulled a shield from the wall and noticed Apollo’s sign engraved upon it, then a large chest caught his eye so he opened it and saw inside were items wrapped in cloth, he picked one of them up and opened it to reveal the skull of an animal.

  “The treasures Ganasis spoke of.” Talon whispered as he eagerly grabbed for another, he then unwrapped the cloth to reveal a large glass jug with a cork stuck in the end, Talon lifted it to the light and saw that it contained soil, he then reached for the last cloth noting how heavy it was as he picked it up, carefully he unwrapped the cloth and sighed as he revealed the most beautiful of books.

  “The spell book!”

  Talon’s eyes widened as he lay his hands upon it, he felt a tingle sensation like there was a power emanating from it, Talon walked across the room and placed the book on a table and opened it where found a loose piece of paper on the first page, holding it up he saw that it was a map from the early days of Kratos.

  On the map there was seven markings with words written under the signs, Talon noticed that the marking on the mountains of Zachania had soil written under it, then there was hair written under a marking on the Forest of Deceit, and a pearl written on the southwest shore, water from the well of the gods in the Suchian desert, and lava written in the province of Degrain

  “The artefacts Ganasis spoke of” Talon thought.

  Talon flicked through some of the other pages feeling his hands tingle as he turned the pages, Talon then wrapped the book back up and packed it in his bag along with the soil and the skull, he then gazed around the room and felt an eerie feeling as he looked upon the other artefacts scattered around the room.

  “These are all I shall take, the rest are yours Apollo.” he said out loud.

  Talon had succeeded in his task of retrieving the book but everything else belonged to Apollo, they were his personal belongings and Talon would respect that.

  As Talon returned to Zachra he noticed that everyone seemed busy, there was a sound of hammers and chisel’s on every street and even the women seemed to be busy making garments. Talon dismounted his horse and walked along looking at everyone preparing for war and he suddenly began to feel a feeling of guilt, then out of the corner of his eye he saw a frail old man struggling to polish a sword but his withered old arms had long lost their youthful strength and as he dropped the sword for umpteenth time. Talon stopped and rushed to pick up the sword for him, the old man reached out with his shaking arms and strained with its weight as he rested it upon his legs.

  “Thank you.” he gasped still breathless from reaching out.

  “That’s a fine sword you have there” replied Talon.

  “It’s for my Grandson.” replied the old man as he once again struggled to polish it.

  “Can your Grandson not do that for you sir” Talon said.

  The old man looked up at Talon.

  “My Grandson is with Lord Heikan, this is a surprise for him, it’s our family sword and I and my ancestors will be honoured when he fights the Empire with this sword.”

  Talon smiled sympathetically and sat down next to the man.

  “Let me help.” Talon said taking the sword.

  “I do not want to keep you from anything son.” the old man said.

  “Nothing is more important than restoring pride into a Grandfather’s heart.”

  Talon then began to wipe the sword but it was very old and dirty so it was going to take some time, the old man watched Talon’s hands moving up and down before looking up and catching Talons eye.

  “This sword is as old as the Degrain war.”

  “I can see the ancient markings.” replied Talon.

  “At last we will fight again.” the old man suddenly gasped.

  “Are you pleased that we are going to war.”

  The old man stiffened as if trying to look strong and he took a deep breath before answering

  “I am 147 years old and for every one of those years I have lived I have prayed for the time when we will repay the Empire for the dishonour that we have shown our ancestors.”

  “What do you mean dishonour?” asked Talon.

  “What else would you call it? The Empire murdered my family but they are not avenged, my ancestors lay in their graves betrayed by their sons and Grandsons.”

  Talon sat upright.

  “Your ancestors were not betrayed old man.”

  The old man raised his hand pointing to Talon while raising his voice.

  “Many fathers and Grandfathers were tortured and killed in the Great War and their sons were forbidden by the King to seek any revenge, instead they hid like cowards, my great Grandfather died a broken man, he once told me that he woke everyday cursing himself for not revenging his Grandfather, he died of shame.”

  “But the war was lost; our family’s had to do all they could just to survive.”

  “Tell me young man, if someone killed your father and Grandfather would you want survival or would you want revenge.”

  Talon lowered his head as he thought of his own family and how revenge was burning away inside him.

  “umm! I can see the answer on your face young man; you would not turn your back on your family.”

  Talon looked side wards at the old man an
d patted him on the leg to say he agreed.

  “You’ll have your revenge old man, we all will.”

  Talon sat with the old man until the sword was shiny and polished and when he said his goodbyes he left with some new ideas and views, before he met the old man Talon was looking at the people in the street feeling guilty that some if not all were going to have grief and maybe death and the blame would fall upon him but after a few words with the old man he realised that this was a war that had to happen.

  There was a feeling of hate and revenge deeply imbedded in all Zachanian’s. Talon now walked to the Palace looking at the people who were happy that their life’s now had a sense of purpose.

  When he reached the Palace, Talon looked straight for Ganasis who he found in the library, Ganasis smiled broadly as he heard Talon enter.

  “Talon when did you get back?”

  Talon walked over and slumped himself in a chair opposite looking tired.

  “Well did you find it!” snapped Ganasis clearly excited

  “aaarrrhhh I need a long hot bath Ganasis” replied Talon purposely avoiding his question playing with his friend.

  “Talon! Did you find it?”

  “Find what.”

  “arr your impossible, the book! Did you find the book?”

  “Oh the spell book, Apollo’s spell book, the book of all spells, yeah it’s in my bag” replied Talon playfully playing down its significance.

  The two men’s eyes met and Ganasis noticed a gleam in Talon’s blue eyes and a cheeky smile on his face.

  “We have it my friend.” added Talon sounding pleased with himself.

  Ganasis patience suddenly burst as he reached down to Talon’s bag and frantically reached in for the book, Genesis’s mouth dropped open as he opened the cloth and placed the book on the table, he just gazed as if mesmerised by it as he sighed out loud.

  “By the gods.” he said just looking at it, not taking his eyes of it for a moment.