“By Zachanian law and as your King I deem that this fight be legal, let combat prove who speaks the truth.” he shouted as he looked at Talon and Lagain.
Lord Zargar then quickly took two swords from two surrounding soldiers and threw them onto the dirt between Talon and Lagain.
A moment later Talon and Lagain stood facing each other now both wielding swords. They then began to circle each other looking for an opportunity to attack, Lagain was still playing the fool laughing and mocking as Talon remained emotionless.
“Talon will surely kill Lagain.” the King sighed to Zargar standing next to him.
Talon circled Lagain once more, before swishing his sword in the air in a circular fashion before he lunged forward quickly at Lagain. Lagain raised his sword to block Talon’s blow but the force of the attack knocked Lagain’s sword flying from his hand, then in what looked like a continued action Talon spun and crashed the hilt of his sword into Lagain’s mouth. Lagain covered his face as Talon then brought a knee up and struck him so forcefully under the jaw that made the General crash painfully to the ground.
Lagain choked as he spat out blood looking disorientated and dazed from the speed and force of Talon’s attack, Talon then raised his sword and stood over the battered General looking as if he was about to behead him. Lagain gazed up at him fearfully as Talon raised his sword slightly higher, with his other hand Talon grabbed Lagain’s hair and lifted his head higher then Talon paused as his face grimaced, he looked at Lagain coldly in the eyes and using his powers he tried to put a thought into the Generals head.
“TALON SPEAKS THE TRUTH!” Talon SPEAKS THE TRUTH!” Talon silently thought.
“SAY IT.”
“SAY IT” Talon thought using his mind powers, then Lagain coughed and spat some blood before he attempted to speak.
“Talon speaks the truth.” he sighed quietly.
“LOUDER!” Talon now shouted at him.
“TALON SPEAKS THE TRUTH!” Lagain then shouted.
Talon then lifted Lagain’s head again and let out a loud roar, everyone stiffened as it looked for all to see that Talon was about to bring his sword down onto the General’s neck. Lagain closed his eyes and fearfully froze as he was about to meet his death, but then Talon threw his sword into the ground and just pushed Lagain into the dirt. The General realising he was not going to perish just collapsed on the ground exhausted. He was beaten, humiliated and battered. The crowd of soldiers who was gathered around began to cheer Talon, they ran over and picked him up and then began to chant ‘Zararhakzar’ Zararhakzar’ over and over again.
Lord Zargar then ordered two soldiers to detain the General, they picked him up and the King then ushered Talon to come closer.
“Do you wish to accuse this man Lord Talon?” asked the King.
“No sire I have no accusations.” added Talon which had the effect of making all the soldiers began to cheer again, then Talon was hoisted up into the air again and the chant ‘Zararhakzar’ was shouted once more. Talon smiled as the soldiers passed him from back to back, Talon had proved his innocence but more importantly he had gained the respect and adulation of the soldiers.
Chapter 23
“TALON!” Ganasis snapped as he tried to rouse Talon from his sleep.
“By the gods I feel exhausted.” replied Talon who had gone to sleep barely a couple of hours ago.
“Get some cold water on your face, it will liven you up my boy.” replied Ganasis smiling.
“I will be outside, the escorts are here to take us to Zachra” he added reminding Talon that they were to travel back into Zachania where a meeting of the council was going to be staged.
“Where is Arun?”
“He is readying himself in his room.”
“Good, give me a few moments Ganasis, I will meet you outside.” replied Talon before pulling himself up and walking over to a table where Ganasis had left him a large bucket of water, Talon straightened in anticipation of the coldness and then poured the water over himself and washed.
“Ganasis!” he joyfully cursed as the freezing water struck his body.
Once he dressed he went and found the King who was in his tent fastening his boots.
“Talon, how is your head!” asked the King reminding Talon of the Ale they swigged last night, Talon gave him a slight smile and then sat down next to him.
“Tell me Arun, when General Lagain came to you and accused me of endangering Zachanian lives, did it ever cross your mind he was speaking the truth? Did you doubt me even in the slightest?”
“Course not Talon, how could I believe such nonsense, in fact I actually called Lagain a liar.”
“You did.”
“Zargar had to calm me I was so furious.”
“I am sorry for putting you in that position Arun, but I believe we have made the correct decision about taking prisoners.”
“I have already written a decree and sent the order for it to be circulated throughout the armies Talon.”
Talon smiled and looked at the ground where he hesitated before asking the King his own personal feelings.
“And you Arun, in your heart do you believe to be right.”
The King turned and looked Talon, he had never seen him so apprehensive before and in that moment he suddenly realised for the first time just how young Talon really was.
“If I didn’t think it just then I would not have given the decree. What you said last night Talon, holds so much substance, Zachania is at war now, and the way we fight this war is just as important as winning it, if we battle with no honour then what have we achieved?”
Talon smiled at the King as he now felt assured that his mind was the same as his.
“I’m pleased Arun, we fight this war together, it is important that we think alike.”
The King smiled and then rose to his feet stretching his arms.
“Come we must make journey to Zachra, Talon, the council will be waiting for us” he sighed as he affectionately patted Talon’s shoulder.
When nightfall fell over Zachra it brought with it a strange silence, the taverns were surprisingly quiet, there were many rumours circulating regarding the Zachanian’s first battle. Some were saying it was a great victory while some said the Zachanian’s lost many lives in their encounter with the Empire. The jubilant scenes from a few days earlier where Arun was crowned King and the sight of armies marching to war had quickly turned into a stark reality of a town which was now half empty because most of the sons and husbands where away fighting in the battlefield.
The atmosphere in the council room at the Palace was a complete contrast; all the Lords of the great houses except Lord Zargar were present and seated. They had been shown reports of the victory at Death Valley but when a soldier informed them that the King, Talon, Ganasis and Lord Zargar was in the Palace and making their way to the council room, they could not wait to rejoice at hearing the news from someone first hand.
When a soldier opened the large council room doors all the Lords rose to their feet and applauded as the King, Talon, Ganasis and Lord Zargar entered and took their seats.
King Arun raised his hands for silence as Talon looked across the table and smiled at his Grandfather who in turn nodded at him in a sign of respect.
“Gentlemen, at dawn yesterday, Zachania marched into Kratos; we attacked the Empire who was camped on the borders, by noon the battlefield belonged to us!”
Suddenly the room broke into roars of approval as the Lords banged their hands on the table and shouted congratulations to each other.
“LONG LIVE THE KING!” shouted Lord Sol Tanaga.
“ZACHANIA!” shouted Lord Heikan as he repeatedly banged both fists on the table loudly.
King Arun smiled with pride as the Lords crowded around him and Talon and began to pat them on the backs and praise them with embraces; Ganasis was the first to tire from all the fuss as he got up and stood on his chair.
“CALM YOURSELVES GENTLEMEN!” he shouted which quickly got everyone’s
attention.
“GENTLEMEN, THIS A COUNCIL MEETING AND NOT A GLADIATOR RING, PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEATS” he added sternly.
Moments later the room quietened down as once again the King began to speak.
“Thank you Ganasis.” he said looking at his wizard friend.
“Gentleman of the council, Ganasis is right we should look at this in context, this was only the first battle, we have many more to come.”
Lord Bolson Heikan was the first to speak.
“I congratulate you sire and your brave victorious army, what can you tell us of the Empire soldiers and their fighting ways.”
“Thank you Lord Heikan……… the battle began at dawn where we entered Kratos with four hundred thousand warriors, we captured their first outposts almost immediately. then we discovered that the Empire were waiting for us behind the hills, we engaged them and within the hour we had defeated them. We have counted that we killed over fifty thousand men and we have taken thousands as prisoners, their army scattered into three parties, the ones who fought and were killed, the ones who surrendered who were taken prisoner and the ones who fled, they escaped north, as we speak the province is secure and we are making preparations for further advancement.”
“No one can stop a Zachanian with a sword in his hand and vengeance in his eye!” snapped Lord Heikan proudly.
Lord Tanaga then rose and addressed the King.
“The news of our victory is indeed great my liege but what exactly are our plans for advancement.”
“As I said before our first priority is to secure and keep the territory we have won, then secondly we must begin thinking about Zanlia.”
Talon’s Grandfather then stood up and replied.
“Sire it was originally planned for my army to attack Zanlia by sea, May I report that my battleships are prepared and we are ready to make sail.”
“That is good news Lord Zalon, I speak for all the counsel when I say we are pleased that the battle ships have been constructed and we will take this into consideration when we make our plans, for now I want you to continue to build ships, I can see a long war ahead of us and the more ships we have then the better.”
“So I am to remain in Zachania and build ships?” snapped Zalon showing his eagerness to enter the battle.
“For now my Lord yes.” replied King Arun sincerely noting the Lords eagerness..
Lord Zalon sat back down and swallowed hard feeling frustrated that he was not at the front of battle, Talon looked across at his Grandfather and gave him a reassuring look as if to say don’t worry your time will come. Zalon then sighed a slight smile and then readdressed the King.
“Of course sire, I will see to your orders immediately.” he said proudly before sitting back down and looking back towards his Grandson who was smiling back at him, Zalon leaned back in his chair and then heard a voice within his head.
“You’re time will come!” Zalon stiffened in surprise before he heard some more words,
“What is the matter, do you not recognise your Grandsons thoughts.”
Zalon smiled broadly and uttered his Grandson’s name.
“TALON!” he said making the rest of the council members look over at him wondering why he had just uttered his name.
“My apologies, I was thinking out loud.” Zalon told them shaking his head slightly in embarrassment before the words.
“Grandfather speak to me with your thoughts.” entered his mind which made him reply with his own powers.
“Talon, you can use your powers.”
“Yes Grandfather” replied Talon smiling.
Zalon then burst into smile as he became overwhelmed that his Grandson had mastered his mind speech which again caught the attention of the council.
“Lord Zalon is there something wrong with you.” asked the King now feeling slightly aggrieved at being interrupted again.
“No sire, I am sorry.” replied Zalon feeling lost for words.
“Ok then, shall I carry on.” asked the King with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
“Of course sire my apologies.”
King Arun resumed where he left off and then turned to Talon and Ganasis.
“Lord Talon would now like to put a recommendation before the council” he said as he ushered Talon to his feet.
“Fellow brothers of the council I would like to put forward plans for an attack to the south, and I need one of you to assist me attack and take control of the towns which lay along the coast, I am familiar with these towns.”
“Why the south Talon?” interrupted Lord Heikan.
“The south west coast is home to two of the richest towns in all of Kratos! They are also towns with hardly any military presence, Vilsillius especially is extremely wealthy, it is probably the trading capital of the whole island, where everything is for sale, tradesman from all over Kratos journey there to sell their goods ………. Goods and supplies we will need for this war.”
“What kinds of goods does Vilsillius trade in?” interrupted Lord Zargar.
“Most importantly it has the largest market for cattle available anywhere in Kratos, our warriors will need food, Vilsillius also has horses,, weapons, cloths, canvasses, fish, boats, leathers, need I go on.”
King Arun sat silently in thought as he nodded in agreement with what he was hearing, Ganasis then began to talk.
“What Talon is saying makes sense, of course our objective is to capture military towns and fight the Empire but we must not forget all the other towns which can aid us, after all our soldiers will, need food and clothes.”
The King who had been listening carefully had also been busy drawing a map of the south coast; he laid down his writing quill and turned to face Ganasis.
“I like this plan.” he said with a determination in his voice.
“Capturing the south west will also give us more of a platform to launch attacks from.” he added as he looked back down at the map he had just sketched.
“There is also the fact that it will be the complete opposite of what the Empire expects us to do, they will be expecting us to march north and attack the towns of Zanlia and Kallick Town, they will not expect us to go south as well.”
“It will confuse them.” added Zargar.
“They won’t know what to do, stand strong in the north or split their armies to counter our attack of the south” added the King before looking across to Lord Heikan who was sitting upright and proud and loving everything he was hearing.
“Lord Heikan will you take your army and attack the south with Talon?” asked the King although he already knew what the Lord’s reply would be.
Heikan hid the smile that was rising in his face and he stood up and stuck out his chest raising his head he replied.
“By the gods yes my liege, I would be honoured to fight by the side of the Zararhakzar and I swear that I will not fail you my sovereign King.” he barked as he glimpsed at Talon and noticed that Talon seemed pleased that the King had chosen him.
“How many soldiers will you need Talon?” asked the King turning to Talon.
“Just Heikan and I will do fine Arun.” Talon joked which made the King smile and Heikan look even more proud.
“Give me fifty thousand warriors and I will conquer the whole region.” added Talon once the moment passed.
“THEN IT IS AGREED?” King Arun snapped more of an order than a request of approval from his council.
“Agreed!” replied the Lords of the council almost together.
“Lord Talon, you have the approval of the council, both you and Ganasis are free to discuss preparations with Lord Heikan on your own later.” said the King before turning back to address all the man again.
“My fellow Zachanian’s, I now want to ask you all to join me at the front line, as this war proceeds we will have to hold many council meetings where many decisions will be made. It is important that we are all together, in three days’ time our place of strategy and military headquarters will be at Death Valley…… Gentlemen there
is no turning back now, we are at war!”
The council meeting continued long into the evening where many plans and discussions were examined, Talon and Heikan however excused themselves early as they went to Heikan’s castle to make preparations for Heikan’s army to attack the south.
As morning broke in Zachra, the King, Ganasis, and Lord Zargar once again made journey to Death Valley, Lord Zalon went back to Zafra where he would continue to build ships and Lord Talon and Heikan finalised plans in Heikan’s castle.
The castle of the house of Heikan was amongst the most splendid fortresses in all of Zachania, out of all the Lords, Heikan was the most war like. His family roots reached back centuries, where his forefathers and clan had been involved in countless battles and wars. The castle was a shrine for this and everywhere there were reminders of the heroic deeds that Heikan’s ancestors achieved.
Last night Talon had Heikan had agreed that Heikan would supply his own army for the incursion into the south, these were men that Heikan trusted and knew, men he knew would not let him down or be found wanting if the battles become severe.
When Talon woke he was taken to Lord Heikan in the castles weapon room where the Lord was picking some of the ancient Zachanian fighting tools to accompany him into battle.
Heikan smiled as Talon entered with one of his captains who quickly reported to Heikan that his army were ready to set forth.
“Talon did you sleep well my friend?” Heikan said after he excused the captain, only for Talon to just nod back as one of the weapons Heikan was holding caught his attention.
“This is a KLAFBOZ!” Heikan said noticing Talon’s interest.
The Klafboz was an ancient yet deadly Zachanian fighting tool, made in the shape of a cross with one of the arms wrapped in twine for a firm grip, the other three arms were crafted to form spikes on the end of them, the spikes would be dipped in poison and the weapon was used for throwing at the enemy.
“I have heard of this.” Talon sighed as Heikan let him hold it.
“Don’t cut yourself Talon, the points are stained with a deadly poison” joked Heikan
“It’s light.” added Talon.
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