The Destiny of Amalah (11 page)

The funeral was to be in Amalah City in one week, which gave the emissaries three days to ride out and then back again. When the guard rode through the villages on their return journey they noticed that most of the people were heading in the same direction as they were; the people were heading to Amalah to say their final farewell to their Emperor.

Back in Amalah, the palace staff were tasked with assisting the Guard with the Emperor’s funeral and simultaneously preparing for the coronation and also dealing with the numerous visitors had come to the palace to express their condolences to the former Empress and her two children.

‘I’m deeply sorry,’ they would say, handing the women flowers.

‘He saved us,’ some said.

‘I remember his bravery most of all,’ another said.

All had kind words for Kai and all of their expressions brought home how much the young women had lost. Over the next few days, as the visitors poured in to express their condolences; Michael, Garrick or Häkan, remained by the women’s’ and brought the gathering to an end when the women grew tired.

The nights were the hardest for Elana, she had tried to sleep in the same bed that she had shared with Kai for so many years but she could not. She would look at the empty space where he used to lie and she would yearn for him and cry herself to sleep but then the nightmares would begin and she would wake up screaming and wait for him to comfort her only to realise the cruel blow that she had been dealt by realising that he was not there.

The seven nights since Kai’s death had soon come to pass. The emissaries had returned to Amalah City and hundreds of thousands of people had now descended on Amalah.

The Emperor’s body had been lying in grace and his soul was being protected by his spirit guides as he waited to be laid to rest. At dawn Kai’s coffin would be carried to the temple of the gods and there it would say until Elana, Amara and Ellora and the council arrived.

On that morning, Raynor and Thaddeus were the first to arrive at the temple to perform their magic before the ceremony. They arrived while light was still trying to breakthrough and the rest of the people on the nation were just waking.

Thaddeus and Raynor acknowledged the guardsmen who were standing guard over Kai’s coffin and then went on to perform their tasks. The two men wore rich red robes, which were worn by sorcerers of their standing. They carried a pitcher of blessed water and small cloth sacks that contained their flagons of potions, herbs and stones.

They sprinkled the coffin with the blessed water and then opened the cloth sacks that they had been carrying onto the table beside the coffin. They took out stones of jet, ruby, crystal and sapphire and two flagons of white sand. Thaddeus stood at the head of Kai’s coffin, while Raynor stood at the foot of it. They walked outwards until they reached a monolith and then began pouring the white sand onto the ground.

They kept walking within the temple until they had formed a pentagram and then they strategically placed the stones along the points of the pentagram and in between each monolith, they placed a quartz crystal and at the head and foot of Kai’s coffin, they placed their sapphires.

When the stones were in place, they both stepped outside of the temple and commenced a spell in the oldest form of Latin.

‘Nihilum mutatio ut qua contingo pro vicis
quod tot volo necdum curo haud an fortasse volo.
Ut qua contingo obviam deus templem hic diel
Oportet necadum defluo pro quos quicum eminus ill quarum solum caecus.
Quae illic esse visum veritas ut ostendo per populi
Pro Amalah per imperator epitaphium undique.’

The white quartz rocks glimmered brightly and then a dazzling beam of white light encircled the temple and shone through the monoliths, connecting one white stone to the other until a seamless circle of white light appeared. When the circle of light was complete, streaks of light then channelled through to the centre stones and the temple began to vibrate. Suddenly a beam of light filled the Henge and streamed upwards into the sky and a massive rectangle of white light with a transparent centre appeared high in the air and the image of the centre of the Henge appeared. It was from that screen, that all of the people who had come to Amalah would be able to see the tribute that was to be made to Kai.

With their preparations complete, Thaddeus and Raynor sat on the outskirts of the Temple and talked as they waited for the ceremony to begin. A short while later, the two men watched as the people began to make their way to the temple. The city began to move and stir with quiet hushed tones.

When Elana, Amara and Ellora arrived, Amalah City was already crowded. The route from the palace to the temple was lined on both sides with people who had come to say farewell and pay their respects. Many had been travelling for days; many had slept in inns and houses but many more had slept on the green hills of Amalah. Some had even slept on the pathways, only to rise and remain in the same spot.

Whilst the people had all come to pay their respects to Kai, they had also come out of curiosity for the new Empress. They wanted to see who would be the new leader of the nations and of the people. Outside of Amalah, only the leaders and traders had seen the Empress and her sister and this was an opportunity to satisfy their curiosity. As the three women made their way to the temple; the crowds talked in hushed tones as the woman passed them by.

The three women held hands as they approached Kai’s coffin, which was perched on steel stilts and surrounded by red and white flowers. Elana, Amara and Ellora stood a few yards away from Kai and they were still holding onto each other in their grief.

Michael was by Amara’s side as her advisor and her friend. Garrick, Häkan, Raynor and Thaddeus were also present, as friends and in their official capacities. The council members stood behind the family and friends in their ceremonial dress. Rakan, Kalon, Waldon, Kenaz and Rufus were also present with their parents and they stood quietly, lost in their own thoughts.

Rakan looked at Ellora and she caught his gaze, she held it for a while and felt comforted by his presence. Rakan smiled slightly and she smiled back, thinking how lucky she was to have him as a friend but her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the celebrant’s voice, as he began the service for Kai:

‘Loved ones of our Emperor Kai; family, friends and citizens of the nations. We are here to say farewell to our brother Kai, not to mourn his death but to celebrate his life.’

The masses of people fell silent and looked to the screen when the celebrant had started to speak and they listened to his every word, as he continued to speak of Kai, of his life, his family, his friends and his work. Michael then stepped forward and gave a moving eulogy that was partly prayer and partly reminiscent of Kai’s life and their friendship. When he had finished Garrick stepped forward and did the same; as did: Thaddeus, Raynor and finally Häkan.

At the end of the service, six of the Emperor’s guard stepped forward and lifted the coffin from its mount and slowly carried Kai out of the temple as Elana and her two children looked on. The guard proceeded to the bottom of the hill and carefully placed his coffin on the specially built carriage.

Elana, Amara, Ellora, Kai’s close friends and the council followed the guard and Kai’s body out of the temple and waited behind it until it was ready to take him to his final resting place.

As the carriage began its slow move to journey’s end; the three women and Kai’s five close friends led the way forward. En route, the people who had lined up on both sides of the beaten path bowed their heads or waved. Some remained silent others sobbed and others blew kisses at Elana and her children.

Sometimes Amara would make contact with one of the mourners and they would nod their head or show their grief and somehow they all seemed to express their condolences to her with their expression; except for one man – he simply stared at her. No feeling emanated from his soul, she sensed that, and it unnerved her.

Amara looked at the man more closely trying to ignore his cold hard stare. He was quite old and although the mans cloak covered most of his head, she could see that he was bald. She saw that he was pale and had cruel features and everything about him emanated malevolence. His hard and narrow eyes glinted and made him look cruel. His long nose and thin lips seemed emit cruelty and selfishness and his dark clothing seemed to enhance the negative feelings that Amara already had about him.

As Amara observed him, she knew that he was definitely not grieving for her father and he had certainly not expressed any sympathy for her. Amara continued to study the man and then she was all too suddenly aware of Ellora pulling her hand and talking to her, she quickly turned to her sister and looked at her.

‘Ellora wait,’ Amara said quickly and softly, as she turned back to look at the man, but all too quickly he had disappeared from her sights.

She scanned for him in the crowds but he was nowhere to be seen. She looked again but it was to no avail and when she finally gave up hope of finding that one face in the crowd, she turned back to her sister, but it was Ellora who spoke first.

‘You sensed who was not a good man?’ Ellora said, slowly but surely.

‘How did you know?’ Amara asked, clearly shocked by her sisters’ precision. ‘You were not even looking at him.’

‘I sensed you,’ Ellora whispered. ‘I sensed what you were seeing and feeling,’ Ellora said slowly.

‘Since when?’

‘Since father died, I don’t know how or why but suddenly I was able to sense what people were thinking or feeling – those who were close to me anyway.’

Amara looked searchingly at her sister: ‘Why didn’t you say anything Ellora?’

‘I was scared, I did not want people to not be around me, and they would not, if they knew I could sense their feelings. I lost daddy I didn’t want to lose anyone else.’

‘I will always be with you Ellora and I will never leave you no matter what. You are my sister and I love you Ellora, never forget that.’

‘I love you too,’ Ellora said squeezing her sisters’ hand. ‘So who was he?’

‘I have no idea but I certainly wish to know.’

The two girls continued to follow their fathers’ coffin all the way back to the palace. Amara watched the crowds intently, wondering if she would see that man again. She did not – but he – he saw her every move and he saw Ellora and the five boys. He looked upon them with avid interest before he turned away from the crowd that he had come to despise in the short time that he had walked among them.

‘Your daughter does not recognise me Kai,’ Adriel said with disdain. ‘Did you all come to forget me? You the mighty saviour,’ he spat. ‘With your warrior friends and the righteous boy? Fools one and all,’ he said, smiling to himself, as he began to head away from Amalah. ‘It is almost time Kai,’ he whispered to himself, as he looked again at Amara, Ellora and the five boys and then smiled to himself.

‘Soon, your daughters will be in despair and those celebrations will become a thing of the past,’ he said balefully. ‘In the next war, I will destroy you all. If any of your old friends survive, they will wish they had died with you,’ he whispered, his smile becoming wider at his vision of the future.

‘Adriel!’ A voice snapped.

Adriel stopped still as he heard the voice speaking clearly in his head.

‘Yes master.’

‘Tell me what you see Adriel?’ the voice enquired.

‘I see great power in those six, power that is yet to come. I can assure you master that it will come and when it does; we will wait and then, we can turn it to our side and bring darkness to this world like never before.’

‘Excellent,’ the voice said satisfied ‘When?’

‘A few years from now, more than five less than ten,’ Adriel replied.

‘Good, because Adriel I have time, I have all time,’ the voice said coldly.

The voice went silent and Adriel’s head became clear again and he hastily made his way to the woods and found his horse. He untied and mounted it and headed out of the city back to Lansten, from where he had come.

When Kai’s coffin reached the palace gates the mourners were still lining the path from the temple to the palace, but now only family, friends, the council and the guard followed him to his final resting place. When the gates closed the people still remained in place, watching and waiting for something to happen, or for someone to say something to them but nothing changed and they remained; looking at each other for solace or for answers and soon it became clear that this day was Kai’s and they would remain where they were until this night passed as a last vigil to their Emperor.

Inside the palace gardens Kai was being laid to rest, the service was short but warm and touching and as Kai’s body was lowered to the ground Elana could no longer control herself. She burst into tears and then she sobbed and called Kai’s name and rushed forward to try and stop his coffin being lowered any further but Garrick had seen her and he moved quickly, catching hold of Elana and holding firmly onto her.

‘I know,’ he said looking at her with great empathy. ‘Sarah...’ he faltered. ‘I remember when Sarah was lost to me.’

Elana looked back at Garrick and she let him lead her away from Kai’s coffin and he held onto her until the service was over and Ellora held on to Amara and Rakan as the service went on.