Age of Azmoq_The Valantian Imperium

by Rajamayyoor Sharma

  And her parents. She could never believe that they were her actual parents. Their repulsion of the poor, the different, the less fortunate. Their pride about some ancient lineage that they were a part of, which somehow made them superior to everyone. She never identified with those emotions. She was tired of it. Kazena wanted to leave that place.

  And she did. She took the only thing she really admired in that place. A couple of swords that were perfect mirror images of each other. According to her parents, they were the symbol of their lineage. The swords were exquisite. The blades were completely black, unlike any other sword she had seen. Despite being black, they shone. Each sword was about a foot long, about two inches wide. They had a black stone embedded in the hilt that couldn’t be seen in the black blade unless someone looked for it.

  She always felt that her lineage was special. But she didn’t think it was special in the way that her parents thought it was. She always felt her forefathers were kind and gentle people who were respected and not loathed. She wasn’t sure if this was true, she just hoped it was. And so, when she ran away, she took those precious swords out of their case. This was a double blow—she took what she wanted as she felt it was hers anyway, plus the biggest source of her parent’s false pride would disappear.

  After she ran away, she realized the situation she was in. She was a young girl on the street, for the first time in her life. She had to grow up faster than she would have otherwise. In the years that followed, she learned to fend for herself. This was largely helped by the discovery that her swords were “magic.”

  When she was with her parents, one of the only times she was happy was when she danced. When on the streets, struggling during the first few days to get food, she felt like dancing in the early hours of the morning to lift her spirits. As she looked across the street to the bakery, she twirled around, thinking about the food in the bakery. She took a sword in each hand and continued to twirl. When she stopped, she saw herself in the bakery. It was empty, there was no one there.

  She was confused as to how she got there, but she was too hungry to care. She ate whatever was available. Once she had satiated her hunger and stuffed her clothes with food, she tried to leave before anyone found her. But the baker entered. She was shocked. She didn’t know what to do.

  That’s when she began to wonder what had happened, how she ended up in the bakery. She thought that twirling with the swords might have been the key, but nothing happened when she tried again. The baker was too surprised to act when he saw that the intruder had started to dance. She was afraid that she would get caught, and punished. She wished she was still outside in the alley she could see.

  And suddenly she was there. The baker was taken aback with what happened. He never told anyone about the intruder. That’s how she discovered the magic of the swords. She slowly learned its abilities. She got more and more proficient with stealing food, soon progressing to, well, stealing whatever she wanted. As she grew, she learned that her swords were not magic, they were made of a miracle metal, Azmoq. She slowly learned that she could use the swords to make herself invisible to everyone. The swords created lenses by varying the air density around here. By aligning four lenses back to back, she could become invisible.

  This added to her ability as a thief. And her reputation. A thief who always managed to disappear without a trace, no matter what security people put in place. No one knew her identity, or anything about her. She loved that. Being the greatest thief there ever was, became her identity. She could move around Vanualon without a fear in the world. She met people, made friends, some more special than others, and parted ways many a times. She had no fear as she knew she could always escape.

  She always kept her swords on her. She created special arm bracers with the help of one of her special friends, and hid her swords on her back. They had an inbuilt sliding mechanism which allowed the swords to slide right into her hands whenever she wanted. She never removed them, even when she slept.

  She soon got bored of exploring Vanualon, so she moved on. Next four years, she visited various places in the mainland, stealing from places that seemed like a challenge. She stole an ancient book on herbs from the rulers of Vesturia, a diamond studded ice glove from the Hvitian tower of Valkia, a magnificent ancient sword adorned with many stones from the richest fence in Amurazon, the city of thieves. She started to realize that she wanted to store some of these artifacts that she stole, while others she wanted to sell.

  As she moved around, she came to Ganolfan and Capitol hills. The beauty of the area immediately fascinated her. She decided to stay there for the foreseeable future. She would usually buy a house in which ever place she would go to, but that was difficult in Capitol hills. You needed the best of references and everything scrutinized to the last detail, before a house was sold to you in Capitol hills. The difficulty in getting a house increased the allure of Capitol Hills to her. She began to scout for houses which she would like, while trying to figure out what she needs to do to get around the system. She then saw the house she wanted.

  It was on the side of one of the hills, facing the open ocean. It was a three-story house with a large garden in front. She could see the sunrise from the living room. It was elegantly decorated. She wanted it. The owner was a man who never lived there, and talking around she realized that it was a “ghost house.” She decided to start staying there anyway, without going through the trouble of buying it.

  Her life was now perfect. She could steal whatever she wanted, as long she could see where she was jumping to. There were challenging steals, and she enjoyed them. She sold some, she kept some. She knew some people in Capitol Hills. She had fun meeting them too, from time to time. She even met a nice old man who would also squat in her house. He was an ex-army man, who had quit the army after the Battle of the Bloody River and then travelled the world, searching for peace. He was pleasant company whenever he came. It was like a home away from her home. But even more so.

  She slowly started to get interested in the High Seat, the absolute pinnacle of the continent’s power. People even in Capitol Hills couldn’t visit the magnificent city. But she managed to get an invitation. It was a different type of challenge, but she managed it. She just needed to be inside the High Seat once. Then she became a frequent visitor in the Forbidden City, unknown to anyone.

  Soon her reputation was established there as well. She stole multiple items from the city, exploring it more and more in the process. The High Seat was alerted to her presence when someone observed a pattern of “misplaced” items. There was a thief in their midst.

  But no one could ever be prepared for her.

  Returning to the present from her thoughts, she admired her greatest triumph—the theft of the ornamental spear from the heart of the Imperium Chambers, from the room with a misleading name—the chamber of philosophy.

  But that precipitated a move from the Valantian Imperium that she never anticipated, nor had ever seen.

  The High Seat mobilized the entire army present in Ganolfan to search for her. There was no reason given to anyone for this search. The Imperium never had to give a reason. Everyone without an accurate alibi for the evening of her success were rounded up for questioning. The whole of Capitol Hills was occupied, with over 25,000 soldiers moving on the streets. It was impossible for her to even move a few feet without encountering a soldier. She could just not leave her house.

  Three days after the incident, she heard a knock on the door, and then someone entering. Almost frozen with fear, she peeked to see who it was. It was the old man. He had come to warn her. A contingent of 100 soldiers were coming here. An army division of 5,000 was right outside, combing every place. Saying this, he departed, just as the soldiers tried to break in.

  She had nowhere to run. She couldn’t disappear as all places outside would be occupied. She decided there was only one thing to do—try a long-distance jump. The longest she had succeeded was for two kilometers, but she had to go more than that. So she beg
an to rotate where she stood. She continued to rotate, thinking of a safe place in the mainland to visit. She quickly zeroed in on Welehölla, the largest city in the mainland which was ideal to disappear in. She focused on the spot she wanted to jump to, and kept spinning, faster and faster. Suddenly, her concentration broke, and an image came to her mind. That of a dark, ominous looking city. She had never been to such a place. She heard the door break, and soldiers pouring in. It was time. She jumped.

  And landed in a dark alleyway. She looked around. There were no soldiers. She was safe. But she wasn’t sure where she was. The skies were dark, the street looked grimy and different. Even the buildings looked different. This wasn’t Welehölla. She wasn’t sure where she was, or if she was even in the mainland. She was to survive for the next two years in this new, unknown place, discovering things that shook her belief in the leaders of Valantia, her understanding of the world.

  When she returned to Amurazon, on a ship, she immediately got down and started her search for the revolutionary army. She had to contact them. She had to tell them what she had discovered. She had to tell someone.

  Section V:

  The convergence

  Chapter 29: The retaliation

  The repercussions of the Round Lotus Barracks attack were felt in the High Seat…

  This was the worst news so far in my reign, right up there with the unsolved theft a couple of years back. And that wasn’t really my fault. I mean it happened on the day I became the head, but there wasn’t really anything I could have done to prevent it. And I did an admirable job of covering it up, with no one else coming to know of the intruder or the theft but for the Imperium members and the people who worked in the chamber of philosophy.

  But this. I was sure no cover up was possible. Apparently, the barracks lit up as it exploded. By the time we dispatched a cleanup crew, tens of thousands, I knew that if not hundreds of thousands would have already heard of it. We needed to act rapidly and smartly. Additionally, and more importantly, we had to figure out what had happened. What weapon could be powerful enough to destroy an entire barracks, over 2,000 men and seven members of the Final 100 in an instant? This seemed stronger than anything that the Swords of legend could do. Not that I or anyone could tell for sure, the swords of legend had been used so rarely in the past. Still, I couldn’t think of any weapon we knew of, that could cause such destruction.

  But there was one silver lining. My term was over. It was my last day. Now Magnot would take over and all would be back to the way they were, two years back. For me. Although, not completely. Back then, I just wanted to retire, relax and not be on this Imperium. Go somewhere in the mainland where I could just live out the rest of my life in peace.

  But now, I couldn’t dream of leaving the Imperium, even if I was asked to. Things were changing rapidly, for the worse. Reports of a new Azmoq reserve, destruction of the complete army contingent within a barracks, rumors of super strong men emerging and murdering hundreds of soldiers were all unsettling after almost ten years of complete peace. Thankfully, after our encounter, almost two years ago, there weren’t any further sightings of the sages of silence. Perhaps “Anirved” was more injured by the retaliation he faced here than we thought, and didn’t subsequently dare to show his face again anywhere.

  I headed to the chambers, where I waited for all to come. I was early, eager to start my day and get the handover done with. Then I could sit back and relax. All the Imperium members arrived, on time. Except Magnot. Which was a little odd. He should have been on time. It was his day. But he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. We waited for over 10 minutes, he still hadn’t come. I was a little worried. I called for the security captain to reach out to Magnot in his chamber. The captain went out and returned in about half an hour.

  “Peace through stability my lord! Lord Magnot is not in his house. Nor is he along the route he takes to the chamber. He is missing.”

  That was the scariest news I had ever heard. The barracks explosion was nothing compared to this. If someone could come in and kidnap, or worst still, kill a Valantian Imperium member, right here in the High Seat, the days of this continent were numbered. There wasn’t any greater threat to us and our way of life than a threat to the Imperium. We had to find him. We had to mobilize the entire army across the mainland, Valantian or otherwise, to seek, search and destroy any potential threat seen. But first we needed to establish that he was definitely missing and what the sequence of events were, leading up to his disappearance. I instructed everyone.

  “Search the entire High Seat. Don’t indicate right away that any Imperium member is missing. Push people to look for anything suspicious. If they see him anywhere, they are bound to report it anyway. Also send in whoever is available from the Order of Seven.”

  There were two members of the Order available, Draconair and Meyhella. Draconair had become a formidable member of the Order. He had, in less than two years, clearly established himself as the strongest among the Order. It was a great idea to get rid of Titan. He was also the head of the task force created to locate the swords of legend. We hadn’t heard a report in a while. I would use this opportunity to get a report on that as well.

  Meyhella was one member of the Order I really wanted to avoid. She was extremely intimidating. She was of medium build, with dark, long hair, heavy black eyes, with black lines all along the veins on the edges of her face. Despite her frame, her strength was formidable. She was easily the strongest among the Order, without their blades.

  “We have a serious situation, Draconair. There is an Imperium member missing. Magnot hasn’t been seen in over an hour. We need to find out what happened to him and fast. Make that your top priority.”

  Draconair was composed. He was always composed. He was extremely tall and thin. He was always in a long black robe, spoke slowly and royally. That was the right word to use for him—royal. Regal. He wouldn’t look out of place as the king of a court, or for that matter in the Imperium Chambers. He didn’t seem like a warrior at all. I really admired the man.

  Draconair replied, in his normal, slow drawl. “I see… This iss… alaarming. I will get on it immediattely. He was fine… when I mett him a couple of hours ago… I wonder what could have gone… amiss.”

  Something about what he said made my skin crawl. What was he implying? Was it even possible that…? No it wasn’t. The Order of Seven had always been loyal to the Valantian Imperium. There wasn’t, ever, even a remote possibility that they could betray us. Plus we had a powerful safeguard against their power. The Final 100. The order was powerful, but not stronger than a hundred Azmoqian weapon wielders.

  Were they? I wasn’t sure any more. I had to play this really smart. One thing was sure – We had to increase the number of the Final 100 within the Imperium Chambers.

  My suspicion was getting stronger and stronger. I could see the other council members were uncomfortable with this open admission of potential guilt as well. With one statement, my opinion of Draconair changed drastically. Maybe because he looked regal, he wanted to be royalty. He should remember his place. If you put a mane on a mule, it doesn’t become the king of the jungle.

  I replied, with as much calm as I could muster. “I see… did you see anything… suspicious?”

  Draconair replied, with the same tone that now irked me. “Nothing out of place… although as our conversation progressed… he did seem a little… nervous.”

  Had he threatened Magnot? Was he threatening us now? If he so chose, he could easily dispose of us. Between him and Meyhella, they could dispose of all our guards and the Final 100 members present in the High Seat. I maintained my composure despite the overwhelming sense of dread. “Do you have a sense as to why he seemed nervous?”

  Somehow my question amused Meyhella. There was a hint of a smile on her face, which she tried to wipe off, but clearly didn’t care enough to wipe off completely. No one would have dared to smile at us before today. I tried to ignore it.

  Draconair shrugged slowl
y. “Myy apologiies… I reaally… couldn’t tell. It is not… my place… to question a council member… is it?”

  He had just admitted that it wasn’t his place to question us, but then went ahead and questioned all of us anyway. It was difficult to reprimand him for it, as it could have been a rhetorical question. His speech was so slow that it was difficult to distinguish a rhetorical question from an actual question. All his movements were extremely slow. Be it his shrug, his talk, his hand movements, even his walk. It was as if he didn’t care enough to move any faster. All those things had been endearing to me. Now, as I was getting threatened, I could understand the fear that those movements induced. It was like slow torture.

  “I see. Well, there was no way you could have known. Please start investigating all those who met or had contact with Magnot before you. I assign it as your first priority, in fact the Order’s first priority, to find out what happened to him.”

  Draconair bowed deep. “Of course. This is… the boldest… and the riskiest move… any enemy has made… in the history of this continent… it shall not… go… unpunniisshhed… Would there be… anything else?”

  The seven swords. They seemed so unimportant right now. The theft. It was so unimportant. I was experiencing something that I never had before today. Fear for my life. Nothing else seemed to matter.

  Except one thing. The explosion. If it truly was a new weapon that we could wield, maybe the council could control it directly as an effective counter balance to the Order of Seven, or whoever our enemy was. I had to get to the bottom of it myself.

  I shook my head and dismissed both the members of the Order and everyone else in the room. Including our scribe. There was something that only the 13 of us had to discuss.

  “Did that really happen?” Ashwatthama said, as soon as everyone left. “Or did I imagine it? Did the Order of Seven just hint at having kidnapped or killed a member of the Valantian Imperium? Were we just threatened by them? Or was that just my discomfort?”