Kingdom's Dawn (15 page)

Upon his return, the men cheered Fairos in their triumph. He sought Leinad out and praised him for the excellent training he had given the men. Leinad was thankful to have saved his people, but the bitter taste of battle was hard to swallow.

Fairos and his men escorted the people of Nan through Nyland and on toward the castle. Fairos allowed them to camp a short distance from the castle and even provided food and fresh water, but Leinad became concerned, for he knew the heart of Fairos. Leinad visited the people in their camp and talked to their leaders.

“You must leave this land at once!” he told them.

“The people are weary, and we have nowhere to go,” one of the men said. “This is good land. Here is where we will make our home.”

“You don't understand! Once Fairos is organized and ready, he will make slaves of you all. Then you will never be able to leave!”

Just as Leinad finished speaking, Fairos and fifty of his men rode into camp. His face of compassion was gone. He approached the circle of men and remained on his horse.

“Leinad, wandering a bit far from the castle, aren't we?” he said with a patronizing tone. “I wonder what brings you out here today?”

He spoke harshly to the men standing before Leinad. “Gather your people so they can hear me.”

Within a few moments, the people of Nan were gathered together, and Fairos's men quietly encircled them.

“Fairos, please don't do this,” Leinad said as he saw the inevitable unfold. Fairos ignored him.

“People of Nan, I hope your stay here has been a pleasant one,” he shouted for all to hear. “Because from this moment forward, you will be my slaves.”

The people's voices rose in alarm and petition. Fairos gave his men a signal, and they all drew their swords. The people hushed to silence.

“You have no place to go and no food to eat. I will give you both, and in exchange you will work for me. Work hard and you will live. Work sluggishly and you will be punished. Try to escape and you will die! Do you understand?”

Once again the people murmured angrily in protest, but the guards closed in on them. Leinad felt anger mounting within him.

“Fairos, you cannot do this to these people,” Leinad exclaimed. “They came to you helpless, and now you turn them into slaves? What kind of a man are you?”

Fairos glared down at Leinad. “I am a man of great power, Leinad, and you are forgetting who you are!” Fairos's anger eased slightly. “Return to the castle before you do something we will both regret.”

Leinad did not restrain his own anger. “If you enslave these people, I will no longer train your men!”

“What a shame, Leinad,” Fairos said with contempt. “You could have been one of my best, but instead you will be a slave once more, and your people will suffer for your insolence.” He turned to Keston. “Remove his sword, put him in peasant clothes, and take him to the wall. Tell the overseers to watch him closely. No longer will any of my men speak the name of Leinad. His name is
slave
!”

“Yes, my lord … gladly!” Keston smiled vengefully as he dismounted and removed the coveted sword. He ordered two guards to strip him. Keston escorted Leinad to the overseers and found numerous opportunities to strike him along the way.

“Mark my words, slave,” Keston said as he struck Leinad across the back with the pommel of Leinad's sword. “Now that I have recovered my sword, a day is coming when I will recover my honor as well by killing you!”

Many months passed, and the yoke of slavery was heavy for the people. Some wondered if death would be their only escape from the torment. Lord Fairos's men increased their use of the whip to attain the level of productivity they desired. No one was exempt from punishment—not the old, not the sick, not the children.

The heat was stifling, the air heavy, damp, and still. In spite of the oppression, Leinad and Tess usually mustered the energy to pass an encouraging word to everyone they encountered during their labor.

“Leinad,” Tess said softly one day, “our people are dying. Is there no one who cares? Is there no one who can deliver us from this bondage? I try to encourage the people, but it seems hopeless.”

Tess's words were hard for Leinad to hear, for he was a young man dealing with intense guilt. His skill with the sword had saved the people, but it was also what had delivered them
into bondage—a bondage that appeared to have no end. It was his sense of responsibility for Tess and for the people that kept him going.

“I will find a way out of—”

“Move it!” an overseer shouted to an old man as he struggled to carry a brick up a slight incline to the wall.

Leinad and Tess turned to see what poor soul was to be the focus of the abuse that was sure to come. The old man tried to quicken his pace, but he stumbled and fell. The overseer uncoiled his whip and struck the browned bare back. The old man moaned in pain and tried to recover, but the overseer cursed and laid another lash into the bleeding flesh.

Leinad's guilt quickly transformed into anger—anger that rivaled what he felt when the Dark Knight killed his father. Leinad ran to the old man and arrived just in time to thwart another whiplash. He now stood between the old man and his aggressor.

“Leave him be!” Leinad spoke with the courage of a man.

“As you wish, slave,” came the sarcastic reply of the overseer. He pulled his whip back and released a lash on Leinad with all his might.

The whip struck Leinad's left shoulder, and it fully encircled him until the leather tip sliced into his back. Leinad wrapped his left arm around the whip and yanked the overseer toward him. As the unsuspecting overseer fell forward, Leinad landed a full-force fist into his jaw. The overseer fell to the ground unconscious, and the skirmish brought the attention of three other overseers in an instant. They forced Leinad into the dirt face-first and called for Barak, the head overseer.

“So, we have a feisty one I see,” Barak said with a hint of pleasure in his voice. “Call for Lord Fairos,” he commanded.

Barak was a large man with equal amounts of fat and muscle on his body. He was the most vicious of all the overseers. He knelt down, wedged his knee into the open wound on Leinad's back, and wrapped his whip around his neck. He pulled upward until Leinad was gasping for each breath.

Barak lowered his voice and spoke near to Leinad's ear. “You have forgotten that you are a mere slave now. We will use you to show the rest of these knaves what a little insolence will buy them.”

Fairos arrived on the scene, already visibly angry from the messenger's report. “What is going on here!” he demanded.

By now most of the work had stopped on this side of the castle, and the people were easing close enough to hear and see what was happening.

“It seems we have a rebel in our midst,” Barak said, and at last he released his noose from Leinad's neck.

Leinad gasped for air but felt as though his throat had collapsed permanently. By now the unconscious overseer was stirring.

“Get up!” Fairos said to the overseer. “You should be ashamed to be so easily humiliated by a slave. How could you have let that happen?”

“He … he attacked me from behind and hit me with a rock.”

From the ground, Leinad saw the terrified face of Tess among the bystanders. He could tell she wanted to do something, but he shook his head slightly to restrain her from any foolish attempts at aid.

Fairos motioned for his men to lift Leinad to his feet. The dirt clung to his chest and face, and he still found it difficult to swallow, but at least he was able to fill his lungs.

“Why … it's the slave!” Fairos scoffed when he recognized Leinad. “Your rebellious acts are more than a nuisance to me, slave. For striking an overseer, the penalty is death.” Fairos shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. “However, I am not a man without principles. To kill one who helped me expand my power would be barbaric, and yet you are far too dangerous to let live.”

Fairos looked over his land and into the faces of the people he had enslaved. “Tie him to the gates and whip him, but give him only ten lashes,” he said to Barak. “Then you will take him to the desert and stake him down. We will let the Moshi Beast finish him off.”

Fairos looked at Leinad with sadness and contempt. “I will not kill you, slave, but you will wish I had.”

Barak smiled a devilish grin as he nodded a salute to Fairos. Barak ordered two overseers to take Leinad to the gate and bind him. The other overseers were told to gather the people. Barak cracked his whip in anticipation of his pleasure.

As he was being led away, Leinad saw Quinn work his way to Tess's side and place a consoling hand on her shoulder. She turned to Leinad, and the pain he saw in her face pierced his heart.

The overseers herded the people toward the castle gate, where Leinad was tied with both arms outstretched to the large posts on each side. Barak was anxiously cracking his whip and taunting his victim. Though he tried to control it,
Leinad could not subdue the fear welling up inside him. He knew that Barak's lashes would not sting like the one he had already received. They would tear. Barak would make sure of it.

When all the people were in place, Fairos spoke: “This slave struck one of my men and demonstrated a rebellious attitude, which will be punished. Do not make the same mistake, or you too will pay with your life!”

Fairos nodded, and Barak's whip split the air with a thunderous crack that penetrated deep into Leinad's skin. The pain was excruciating, but Leinad clenched his teeth and did not reward Barak with a scream. Another one followed—and another—and another. Each lash brought such intense pain that Leinad's body convulsed in spasms. With his arms outstretched, Leinad's gashes separated even further, adding to the unbearable pain. Barak sadistically reveled in the torture he was administering.

The women in the crowd turned away, and the children cried. The men watched silently, their faces reflecting both anger and fear.

Father, where is the vision now?
Leinad screamed in his mind.
Our homes have been burned, our lands ravaged, our families enslaved. What hope is there? Where is our King who demands justice? Are we destined to die as slaves?

Leinad's pain was deeper than even the wounds on his back.

The torment continued … five … six … seven lashes. Leinad now hung limp from the ropes that held him. Eight. Leinad could contain his pain no longer, and a muffled scream came from his mouth.

He looked into the crowd and saw Tess bury her head into Quinn's chest. She covered her ears to block the sound of the persecution. She had endured much throughout her life, but this seemed too much to bear.

Barak finished the final lashes, smiling with each moan he heard. The ropes were loosened. Leinad collapsed to his knees, and then to his hands.

Tess ran to him and fell to her knees beside him.