Zachania (50 page)

“Make sure my
orders are carried out Ganasis.” he said as he turned and walked
away.

“Ha, the
Zararhakzar! I insult him and he walks away!” Lagain suddenly said
as he watched Talon walk off.

Ganasis then
walked over so that he was standing before the General and spoke so
all the men could hear him.

“Do not be so
arrogant with your words Lagain, if my Lord Talon wished it then
you would be lying dead at his feet, be thankful and nothing else
that you still draw breath” the wizard said before walking off in
the direction Talon went.

“I will take
this to the King!” Lagain shouted only to be ignored.

Talon smiled as
he saw Ganasis enter the hut where he and General Kanyan and four
other Zachanian officers sat around a large table studying maps and
reports, Ganasis pulled himself a chair and listened to what Talon
was saying to other men as he Talon poured himself some water and
continued to speak sounding very pleased with himself.

“So my dear
friend, we have won our first battle! The reports I have here are
that the Empire are fleeing for their lives” Talon added in a tone
of voice which surprised Ganasis especially as he just had a
confrontation with General Lagain but now seemed totally ignorant
of the fact.

“Yes Talon we
have done well.” replied Ganasis before looking at the door where
different soldiers were coming in and out bringing reports to
General Kanyan, updating him with all the latest news from the
field.

“Excellent!”
General Kanyan snapped reading one of the notes that had been
passed to him before he turned to face Talon.

“My Lord as we
speak we are taking prisoners in their droves, we are also clearing
the dead from around the hills and making preparations to have them
burnt.”

For the next
two hours reports continued to come in as General Kanyan sat
reading and then relaying new orders. Only when they heard the
sound of several men on horseback arriving outside did they get up
from their chairs. Kanyan rose first followed by Talon and Ganasis
then they walked outside the hut to find some of the Captains of
his cavalry dismounting

“We have
victory sir” the first Captain said smiling and greeting his
General with an embrace.

“The Empire
have scattered from all directions, they are beaten sir” he
added.

“We have
detained thousands sir, the ones that got away have headed in the
direction of Zanlia” added another captain.

“What of our
men Captain?” asked Ganasis concerned about casualties.

“Minimal sir,
we have won a great victory today” replied the Captain.

“Yes we have
given the Empire a bloody nose, one which they will find hard to
forget.” added General Kanyan proudly as he patted the captains
firmly on their backs and ushered them into the hut.

“Have we taken
a count on the Empires dead” asked Ganasis.

“The count is
on-going as we speak but at first reports they have fallen in vast
numbers, tens of thousands are expected to be counted.”

Ganasis nodded
his head and allowed himself a slight smile.

“Excellent news
my General.” he replied before turning to Talon noticing he seemed
distracted from the glorious news.

“What’s
wrong?”

“Nothing is
wrong I am just trying to think what the Empires next move will be”
replied Talon as Ganasis scowled his face and rubbed his beard.

“I would say
that they will regroup and recruit more numbers from Zanlia and
launch an attack from the north and maybe the east as well” said
Ganasis.

“I think we can
be certain that the next time the Empire attacks then they will
increase their numbers against us.” added General Kanyan.

“You discussed
such events with King Ganasis.” replied Talon.

“Your right, I
did Talon and it was decided that our first action would be to
secure our position here, it is imperative that we keep the ground
we have won today.”

“Are we not
advancing?” Kanyan asked Ganasis.

“First we
secure this position; I want a ditch filled with spikes dug in all
directions.”

“Such a task
could take weeks Ganasis.” replied Kanyan slightly shocked.

“Whatever time
it takes, it must be done General, this ground here will be the
heart of our campaign, we will strike from it and we must not allow
ourselves to be cut off from Zachania, whatever happens we must
have control of this border.”

“I will begin
with this immediately Ganasis.” replied Kanyan as Ganasis sat down
and began to draw a map.

“This is a
rough sketch of where the ditch should be General, use it to
visualise my wishes, I have also put marks where we should place
lookout positions, I have not had time to study the surrounding
landscape so I will leave it up to you to decide the exact
positions.”

General Kanyan
took the sketch from Ganasis and gave it a quick look over.

“Understood, I
will make the order my first priority.”

“Excellent!”
replied Ganasis before picking up a report that had just been
delivered.

“The prisoners
we have captured are being rounded up and taken to the southwest of
here, near the ocean” he said turning to Talon.

“Do we have
their numbers?”

Ganasis looked
on the table at the numerous reports that soldiers had been
bringing to him and reached for a report, he held it up and read it
before replying.

“Nothing exact
Talon but by this report they have captured in their hundreds.”

“Good” Talon
sighed before getting to his feet and stretching his back and
legs.

“Are you
alright Talon?” asked Ganasis.

“Fine my friend
I just want some fresh air” replied Talon as he headed for the
direction of the door where he stopped and called one of the guards
closer.

“I want you to
find General Lagain and ask him to come here.”

Hearing what
Talon had asked Ganasis rose to his feet.

“Talon, Lagain
has returned to Zachania.”

“What!” snapped
General Kanyan sounding confused and slightly angered?

“Lagain and I
had a disagreement General, it seems he is not in agreement with
the taking of prisoners” added Talon.

“And he aired
his disproval upon the battlefield!”

“That man was a
disgrace Kanyan! I do not want him anywhere near the front lines
again” snapped Ganasis raising his voice.

General Kanyan
noticed the fury in the wizard’s stance and quickly realised that
Lagain must have done something totally unacceptable, he shook his
head despairingly and addressed Talon.

“My apologies
Lord Talon, Lagain can be hot tempered at times, I will reprimand
him personally and make sure that this kind of thing never happens
again.”

“Don’t worry
General; I fully understand that emotions can run high during the
heat of battle.”

“Your too kind
Talon, he lost all control” remarked Ganasis.

“His temper
frayed” added Talon trying not to make too much of it.

“He said he was
going to the King about us Talon” Ganasis replied which only made
Talon realise that the King would be more interested in learning
how the battle went from Ganasis and himself.

“Kanyan are we
secure here?” Talon turned and asked the General.

“Yes my Lord,
feel free to return to Zachania, I will attend to what is needed to
be done here” replied Kanyan.

Talon
acknowledged the General before turning to Ganasis.

“We will return
immediately then.”

As Talon and
Ganasis rode their horses back through Death Valley Ganasis began
thinking about what had happed with General Lagain.

“For one moment
Talon I thought you were going to kill Lagain back there.”

Talon turned
and looked coldly back at him.

“For a moment I
was Ganasis.”

“What stopped
you then, if you would have struck him down you would have been
right to do so, those were harsh words spoken by him.”

Talon relaxed
and gave himself a smile before replying.

“Killing
Zachanian’s is not why I am here Ganasis, I ignored his remarks as
they were spoken from the mouth of an enraged man, and to act on
his insults would have given his words merit. It would have given
him the belief that he was right and regardless of his actions I
still want him on the field with me; I still have faith in his
abilities.”

“There is
wisdom in what you say Talon but answer me this, if you have faith
in his abilities as a General then do you have respect for Lagain
as a soldier.” asked Ganasis pointing out that Lagain must be
trusted to carry out orders even more so when he does not agree
with them.

“Yes Ganasis he
has my respect as a soldier.”

“Ar you say
respect my friend but Lagain reached for his sword, do not let your
respect for him be used as a weakness.”

Talon smiled
back at Ganasis.

“Relax my
friend, Lagain is not the enemy.” added Talon sounding calm.

Ganasis nodded
back to him slightly as he did not want to push the subject any
further but in his old wizards mind he could not help feeling that
the General would bring more trouble to Talon’s door.

In Zanlia the
news of the Empires defeat and retreat was not taken too kindly,
General Krustov was in the middle of reprimanding some of his
Colonel’s when General Sanda barged into the room with outrage on
his face.

“It is
confirmed Krustov, we have been obliterated by the Zachanian’s on
the Zachanian border, it is a devastating defeat!”

Krustov turned
away from his colonels with a shocked look on his face; he paused
before biting his lip and then replied increasing his voice with
anger.

“We will crush
them for this outrage!” he shouted before kicking a chair into the
air.

“How many
soldiers do we have here sir?” Sanda replied asking of the military
strength in Zanlia.

“Over three
hundred and fifty thousand men we have, many of which are in the
surrounding hills.”

“Ready for
battle?”

“Yes Sanda they
are.”

“Have we
received any orders from Kallick town or the Palace Lands?”

“I have sent
news of the defeat but we have received no reply.”

“So we wait for
our orders then.”

“Yes but I want
the armies put on the highest state of alert, I want to know the
moment one Zachanian soldier even looks in the direction of
Zanlia.”

“The first
reports I have is that they are not advancing north.”

General Krustov
sighed slightly showing a little relief before sitting down behind
his desk; he then stared up at the ceiling in thought, then after a
few moments gave his reply.

“If they’re not
coming north then where are they going?”

“South maybe.”
shrugged General Sanda.

“South, why?
There is nothing there, what I would do if I was them is stronghold
my position, secure the ground they have won today, that would be
the prudent action.”

“If I had an
army on the run General I would push my advantage, I would drive
them back until they had nowhere to go.”

“No Sanda they
know our numbers are vast in Zanlia, no they will build on what
they have won today, and from Death Valley they can launch attacks
across the whole of Kratos.”

General Krustov
then frantically searched one of the draws of his desk where after
a few moment he pulled out a map of Kratos, he unrolled the map and
placed a book at either end to stop it from curling back up.

“This is where
death valley is and this is where we are in Zanlia, I would say
what’s left of our defeated army today will be about here.” he said
pointing to spot on the map.

“That would be
a good guess.”

“I want you to
send word for them to hold their position on the outskirts of
Zanlia.”

“I will send an
order General.” Sanda replied before hesitating.

“I understand
that Grarlin was at the battle.” he added sounding cautious.

“I believe he
was.” replied Krustov.

“Is there any
news from him?”

Krustov did not
answer only shook his head to say there was not.

“Could he have
been killed?”

Again Krustov
remained silent and just shrugged his shoulders before he
replied,

We will just
make our preparations Sanda, what else can we do, I want our armies
ready for any actions we decide, one thing is certain though, by
the end of this day we will have many more questions to ask and
answer.”

King Arun was
in fine spirits as he toasted the victory from his headquarters on
the Zachanian side of Death Valley.

“A Monumental
victory!” shouted Lord Makros Zargar getting to his feet and
raising his drink.

“Victory!”
added General Lagain who was also present.

The King raised
his own drink as he got to his feet and asked for quiet.

“For centuries
our ancestors have waited for their sons to spill the Empires
blood, that day has now come gentlemen, that day is today, and it
is the beginning of spilling their blood, today we have sent a
message to the emperor that Zachania is back, gentleman I give you
victory and the beginning.”

“The
beginning!” shouted Lord Zargar sternly.

“here here!”
added Lagain remaining in his chair before each man downed there
drink, Lord Zargar then belched loudly and slammed his empty jug on
the table.

“I doubt a jug
of ale has ever tasted so good!” he snapped making the King smile
before he noticed a troubled look on the face of General
Lagain.

“What is wrong
Lagain? Are you not pleased with the victory or is it the ale which
brings coldness to your eyes.” asked the King.

Lagain
stiffened in his chair and hesitated in replying as he thought of
how he was going to say what he wanted to say, which seemed to
annoy Lord Zargar.