The Destiny of Amalah

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The Destiny of Amalah Page 32

by Thandi Ryan


  ‘Each year, we award one trainee guard the honour of being the trainee guard of the year. It is one of the hardest things to achieve, for they are scrutinised in everything they do and the competition is fierce. They are not assessed on strength only; for brute force alone, will not make a successful officer or guardsman or woman.

  What we look for, is great physical ability, exceptional skills when living in the fields and off the land, intelligence, spirit and a sense of leadership. All of these qualities will make a great officer. This year however, something happened that has never happened before.’

  The guard leader paused and the guests watched him intently, waiting for him to go on.

  ‘There were two exceptional guardsmen. Both of them displayed admirable qualities and worked exceptionally well throughout their time here. They showed they had more than the requisite skills, such as: field craft, leadership, humour, compassion and above all a great team spirit.

  It was impossible to choose one without choosing the other, for they were equally as good as the other and so, it is with great pride, that I present the awards of best guardsmen of the year to Waldon Blake and Kenaz Omiyemi.’

  Kenaz and Waldon stood up and walked back to the stage and as they rose, thunderous applause broke out from the guests, the guard and the teachers. They joined the guard leader at the pulpit and shook his hand and then they turned to face Amara, Michael, Garrick and Häkan and Amara handed them their medals and shook their hands.

  ‘Well done to both of you,’ she said proudly. ‘I can’t tell you how proud this makes me and how proud I am of you.’

  ‘Thank you,’ they replied.

  ‘I would hug and kiss you both but I think we would both be in trouble , if we broke protocol,’ she whispered.

  Once again the two men shook hands with Michael, Garrick and then Häkan; who all congratulated them on their achievements. Waldon and Kenaz then left the stage and returned to their chairs and when they were seated, the guard leader spoke again briefly, before he invited everyone to join him in the officers’ mess for evening meal.

  Everyone rose and began to file into the dining room and Waldon and Kenaz, who had been seated at the front row waited for their friends to catch up with them before they made their way in. The four friends walked steadily forward among the guests until they saw Waldon and Kenaz and then they broke out from the crowd and walked towards them.

  ‘Well done,’ Ellora said beaming at the two boys before she hugged and kissed them both.

  ‘Congratulations,’ Kalon said, as he shook their hands and hugged both of them.

  ‘Amazing,’ said Rakan, following Kalon in turn.

  ‘I’m proud of you,’ Rufus said lastly.

  The two young men led their friends into the dining room and talked merrily as they walked, and once there, they all joined: Amara, Michael, Garrick, Häkan, Raynor and Thaddeus on the top table along with the guard leader and the other senior teachers of the guard. The evening went well and when it came to an end in the early hours of the morning, the families and friends remained in the schools accommodation and when the morning came they returned to Amalah City.

  The six friends continued to spend as much time together as they could, and the days went by quickly. All too soon it was time for Waldon and Kenaz to return to north Amalah to receive their assignments; then the day finally came when Kalon and Ellora had to say their farewells to Rakan and Rufus as they headed back east to Lansten.

  ‘Take care of Ellora little brother,’ Rakan said to Kalon.

  ‘I will,’ he said warmly. ‘I promise.’

  ‘I’m glad you found each other,’ Rakan said to the two of them.

  ‘As am I,’ Ellora said holding onto Kalon.

  They said their farewells and once again, Kalon and Ellora were left in Amalah City by themselves.

  Rakan and Rufus headed back to Lansten once again. Rakan would miss Amalah and everyone in it but at the same time, he was missing his magic a great deal and he was eager to return to the school and to Rail, who had guided him so well and taught them so much.

  They arrived in the east and this time they were the last to arrive. They stepped onto the green field and waited for the teachers to work their magic and make the pink bubble appear that would take them back to Lansten. The students, new and returning, watched in awe as the teachers worked their magic and the bubble ascended from the ground and encircled them and when it was sealed, it began moving southwards to the school and Rakan and Rufus talked and watched the scenery as they were transported back.

  They arrived in the late evening and went straight to their room to unpack their things and when they had, they joined the others for a late supper and then retired to their rooms.

  ‘Here we are again,’ said Rakan.

  ‘Indeed,’ replied Rufus.

  ‘Are you not happy to be here?’ Rakan asked.

  ‘I am ambivalent.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because here I get to learn and practise magic and find out what my power is, where it came from and what I am supposed to do with it.’

  ‘But?’

  ‘But Amalah, Amalah is my home; it is where I was born and raised. Where my family and friends are and what I know. I did not realise how much I had missed our friends until my return – I missed them dearly.’

  ‘As did I.’

  ‘I like the school and what we learn and Rail and the students – I do.’

  ‘But?’

  ‘But home is home and it is where I wish to be and besides in Amalah there is so much to do and so many places to go. Here we have six towers and are surrounded by snow.’

  ‘Rufus, do you want to return to Amalah?’ Rakan asked, quite concerned by his friends revelation.

  ‘Yes I do,’ Rufus said bluntly.

  ‘Oh,’ Rakan said, taken aback by Rufus’ reply.

  ‘But I will not. Not yet anyway. I will finish my time in Lansten, that I promise, but I am not as glad to have returned as you are.’

  ‘I miss them too you know.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘I Miss Kalon and Ellora, father and Waldon and Kenaz, and I miss not being in their lives when things happen, good or bad. I miss father and his friends and the Empress.’

  ‘But you love it here too.’

  ‘Yes I do but it would not be the same at all if you were not here.’

  ‘I will be,’ Rufus promised.

  The two of them retired to bed early that night, knowing that from tomorrow, their holiday would be over and they would return to their gruelling schedule. The new day for Rakan and Rufus began how the year was going to be; frantic and relentless, but they took it in their stride and were glad when the day was finally over. At the end of the evening, Rail came to see them to welcome them back; when he reached their room, he knocked on their door and Rakan invited him in.

  ‘Rakan, Rufus, how good to see you and welcome back.’ The two young men thanked him and Rail continued: ‘the next two years are going to be gruelling. Do you still want me to guide you and teach you as well?’

  ‘I do,’ Rakan said.

  ‘And I do too,’ Rufus added.

  ‘Good I am so very pleased, I will give you one weeks grace and then next week we shall pick up where we left off.

  ‘Thank you,’ Rakan said.

  Rail nodded and smiled. ‘Good night young sirs I will see you in my class two days from now,’ he said, before he bowed his head slightly and exited their room.

  The next day Rakan and Rufus attended all of their classes again but this time they were set work to complete and that day onwards, it was the same every day of the week until the weekends. On Saturdays they took time out of their busy studies and relaxed and had fun but by Sunday night they would be working hard to prepare for the next day. The next week they began their classes with Rail and soon they were fighting hard to find spare time to relax.

  They continued to grow in both their knowledge and power as the weeks passed and a
s the months went by, they learned more herbs and spices and trees, and potions and lotions and spells; and then, they moved onto rocks and stones and gems, and discovered their magical properties. Rail took their knowledge and showed them how to use it but after a while he began to teach them other magic’s and spells – magic that was forbidden by the school.

  Adriel was good at scheming – he gained their trust week by week and taught them well and slowly but surely, in his own devious way, he introduced them to dark magic, piece by piece. Small things at first; things that seemed insignificant: he allowed them to conjure and take things for personal gain. Then he moved onto transmogrifying animals. The magical feats that Adriel allowed Rakan and Rufus to perform grew in size and gravity.

  Adriel played mind games with the two men and artfully manipulated them. Subtly labelling those in Amalah as jealous and scared or resentful and as he taught them more and baited them to darkness, he swore them to secrecy about some of the things he was teaching them. Rakan and Rufus were not stupid though, they had questioned Adriel at first but then, as they grew more powerful and Adriel continued to teach them, they stopped asking questions, they turned a blind eye and they began to wilfully ignore the ever present danger that Adriel posed to them, and so the manipulations and mind games continued.

  ‘The others here would not understand,’ he told them on some occasions. ‘They don’t have your skill or your talent or your power,’ he would constantly say, massaging their egos.

  He would tell them whatever he could to twist their minds and in secret, he continued to show them the darkest of magic’s and give them a free reign of it; allowing them to use magic for personal gain and as he taught them, the two became corrupted and seduced by their own power as it grew day by day.

  When the end of the second year came and it was time for the two of them to return to Amalah, Rail took them to one side.

  ‘Do not discuss what I have taught you here in Amalah,’ he ordered them.

  ‘Why not?’ Rufus asked.

  ‘Because if it were discovered, you would not be allowed to return and I have so much more to teach you.’

  ‘But Rail…’ Rakan began.

  ‘But nothing Rakan, trust me I have your interests at heart. When you return I am sure that you still will have to be under supervision when you use magic’s. If anyone there were to find out about the magic’s you have invoked you would not be allowed to return and all the work you have done and everything you have achieved will have gone to waste if you cannot return to complete it.’

  ‘Very well,’ Rakan said reluctantly. ‘But it pains me to have to hide and curb my powers.’

  ‘One day you will not have to,’ Adriel promised. ‘One day you will be truly free and you will fulfil a great destiny, but for now you are vulnerable, so please -refrain from the magic’s I have taught you.’

  ‘As you wish,’ Rakan agreed.

  ‘I will,’ Rufus said.

  ‘Good, now good journey to the both of you,’ Rail said before he turned and left them alone to pack and return to Amalah.

  When they arrived back in Amalah City so much had changed but many things remained the same: Amara was still governing Amalah and the nations, Kalon and Ellora were still together and Waldon and Kenaz were now officers of the guard and stationed at the palace – and to their surprise – their fathers’ had relaxed the rules on their use of magic but not completely.

  Since his return, Rakan had noticed that his brother was restless and when they were alone one night, he asked him what was making him that way.

  ‘I have been thinking about my life and which direction it is going,’ Kalon began. ‘And of late, I have come to realise it is going nowhere.’

  ‘What makes you say that?’

  ‘The fact that all of you have moved on and are doing something with your lives. Waldon and Kenaz are part of the guard and you and Rufus are on your way to becoming sorcerers.’

  ‘Ellora is still here.’

  ‘She is the princess.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘She does not have to go anywhere. Her life and her destiny are already set and it is right here in Amalah City.’

  ‘Don’t you want to share your life and destiny with her?’

  ‘Yes, more than anything. I love her more than I could ever have imagined, right to the core of my being and with all of my heart.’

  ‘But you seem to be unsure Kalon.’

  ‘Of Ellora and my love for her – no. But I need to do something for myself, to carve out something for myself. I need to be more!’

  ‘I understand,’ Rakan said, nodding his head. ‘Do you know what you want to be?’

  ‘I have an idea but I must speak with Ellora first.’

  ‘I hope you find your way brother, I really do.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘I have missed you Kalon.’

  ‘And I have missed you Rakan, so much.’

  ‘I love you brother and I always will,’ Rakan said looking at his brother with affection.

  ‘And I you.’

  The two brothers spent time under the night sky talking and reminiscing about old times and sharing memories, good and bad and remembering times with their friends.

  ‘It’s been so long since we spent time together. Just the two of us, as brothers,’ Kalon said.

  ‘Too long,’ Rakan agreed.

  ‘Will you return to Amalah when you have finished in Lansten?’

  ‘Yes definitely.’

  ‘Good, it’s not the same without you.’

  ‘I know how you feel.’

  ‘Well I will bid you good evening,’ Kalon said, as he stood up to leave his brother. ‘I have to find Ellora and speak with her.’

  ‘Good evening Kalon and send my love to Ellora.’

  ‘I will.’

  Kalon left Rakan alone in the garden and took his horse and rode to the palace. He entered the gates passing the guards who waved him in and went to Ellora’s room to see if she was there. He knocked twice on the door and she came to the door and answered it.

  ‘Kalon,’ she said pleasantly surprised.

  ‘Ellora,’ he said as he took her waist in his hands and pulled her towards him and kissed her, she kissed him back and then invited him into her room.

  ‘What brings you here so late?’ she asked.

  ‘I needed to talk with you.’

  ‘It sounds serious.’

  ‘I have been thinking a lot lately, about where my life is going and I have to say it does not look like it is going anywhere.’

  ‘Kalon….’ Ellora began, trying to reassure him

  ‘It is true. The only thing I am sure of is you and my love for you but still, I need to achieve something, to do something with my life.’

  ‘I see,’ she said looking into his eyes. ‘I also understand.’

  ‘You do?’

  ‘Yes I do,’ she said laughing softly. ‘Everyone in this world needs to feel needed and wanted and worthy in life. We all need to have a purpose in the world we live in; to carve out a future and a destiny for ourselves – as people, it’s who we are.’

  ‘Ellora…’ he began.

  ‘I’m an empath and a woman,’ she said.

  ‘A good one too.’

  ‘What do you want to do?’ she asked.

  ‘I have given it some thought and I have decided I want to follow Waldon and Kenaz and join the guard.’

  Ellora’s face dropped and she felt sad at the thought of Kalon not being with her for such a long time.

  ‘Ellora, I know we will be apart, but not for long and I will not be far away,’ he said softly as he held onto her.

  ‘I know, I know, but still, the thought of you leaving me for so long tears at my heart strings,’ she said beginning to feel overcome.

  ‘I know my sweet princess, it tears me apart too, but I know that this is something I must do.’

  ‘I know,’ she said, emotionally as she sat down at her dressing table and looked in the
mirror. Kalon followed her and sat down with her, he picked her up easily and sat her on his lap and she put her arms around his neck. ‘You’re everything to me and I love you,’ she said passionately. ‘I know what you must do my love and I would never try to stop you, but still it saddens me.’

  ‘As it does me,’ he said, before he held her tightly and kissed her again and again.

  ‘When will you join them?’ she asked.

  ‘With the next intake.’

  ‘When will that be?’

  ‘Two months from now.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Yes,’ he said.

  Ellora rested her head on his shoulder and held onto Kalon, and Kalon held on to her and stroked her hair.

  ‘I will miss you so.’

  ‘I am not gone yet,’ he said.

  ‘But soon you will be.’

  ‘Then let us make the most of this time together.’

  Ellora smiled and kissed him on the forehead, she turned around to face the mirror and picked up her hairbrush and then Kalon took hold of her hand and held onto it for a while before he took the brush from her.

  ‘Let me,’ he whispered.

  She leant back against him and he brushed her long mane of curly black hair and ran his fingers though it. They stayed like that for a while in what was a truly sensual time for them both and when he was done, he placed the brush back on top of the dresser and put both arms around her waist while she placed her hands on top of his and leant into him and they sat in silence for a while.

  ‘Don’t leave me tonight.’

  ‘Ellora?’ he said questioningly.

  ‘Kalon, stay and hold me.’

  ‘I will.’

  Ellora stood up and holding onto Kalon’s hand she made her way to her bed and he followed, she climbed in and Kalon got in besides her and pulled her close to him and she rested her head on his chest and they held onto each other.

  ‘I love you Ellora, with all my heart – I love you.’

  ‘And I love you too Kalon.’

  ‘Let us spend whatever time we have left together alone,’ he said to her.

 

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