Zachania (52 page)

“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.

“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.