Zachania (10 page)

Every one of
the schools cadets were present in the square, all wearing their
brightest uniforms and standing to attention, as Talon and his two
colleagues passed they were saluted and cheered.

The three men
marched over to General Chow who was standing beside eight Imperial
Palace guard Captain’s, all dressed in the same uniform as Talon
with their huge royal blue capes draped around them making each man
look very splendid and regal, Talon also noted the air of
importance that shone like a beacon from them, they stood tall and
proud and radiated confidence and strength.

General Chow
greeted them warmly before moving in front of each man and saluting
them.

“Go with honour
and Pride.”

Talon and his
colleagues were then shown to their horses, which were also draped
in Imperial colours. The three men rode off with the cheers off the
crowd ringing in their ears.

Even as they
left the compounds of the military school they were cheered and
saluted by the soldiers who lined the streets, Talon could not help
feel overwhelmed. This was a sight and feeling that only by
experience could one understand how important and revered the
Imperial Palace guard was. Talon felt joyful beyond belief,

His whole world
was now fitting into place, as the promise of riches and substance
engulfed him.

It took Talon
two days on horseback riding east to reach the spectacular great
wall of Tash, the three men brought their horses to a stop and
stood motionless as they sat in awe at the sheer size of the fabled
wall; it stretched for as far as the eye could see, north to south.
It stood a mammoth one hundred feet tall built from brick and
mortar, and stretched into the sea to the north and reached across
two provinces to the great lake in the south. It had taken
centuries to build. One of the escorts boasted proudly of its
magnificence as he noticed the fascination of the three cadets.

They rode up to
a large and heavily guarded gate where the escorts showed their
passes and after a thorough examination they were allowed to
proceed.

As Talon rode
through the heavy gates he noted the density of the wall, it was
immense, and he also observed stairways going up to its top he
guessed.

Once on the
other side he gasped in wonderment as his eyes were greeted with
what appeared another world. The landscape was covered with the
finest tendered dark green grass, the roads were finely pebbled,
there were palm trees lining the roads and pines resting on the
sloping hillsides, even the sky was different with not a cloud in
sight.

He could smell
the odours of the conifers as their freshness wafted down from the
hills resting upon a gentle warm breeze. This truly must be a
paradise Talon thought; never had his young eyes and senses
witnessed such beauty.

They proceeded
along one of the pebbled roads until they were met by a regal
looking soldier dressed in the same attire as they were, the man
introduced himself as their guide to their destination and
dismissed their escort for the last two days.

“My name is
Captain Weshk, I will be your guide to the Imperial military
school.”

Once
introductions were made the four men resumed their journey.

By noon they
reached the first big town and military barracks, they had been
travelling slowly up a large hill and when they reached the top
they got there first sight of the valley below.

“The Palace
land!” Captain Weshk proudly pointed out.

Below them sat
a huge valley that was filled with buildings and dwellings. They
began to descend the hill never once taking their eyes from the
town; even captain Weshk who had rode these pebbled paths countless
times before marvelled at the splendid sight below. Talon noticed a
another valley to his right where he could see the most glorious
Palace castle he could ever imagine, it rose high into the air and
looked as if it was carved from solid marble.

“That is the
Emperor’s Palace.” captain Weshk said noticing Talon’s attention to
it.

“I have never
seen nor dreamt of something so majestic.” Talon replied.

“Ha! You will
come to discover many things of magnificence in this land
comrade.”

After a long
decline on the finely pebbled road that stretched around the
sloping hills they finally reached the bottom of the valley and the
entrance to the town. Then suddenly Talon heard the sound of
stampeding horses, Captain Weshk hastily demanded Talon and his
companions to pull their horses off the road.

“Make way! Make
way!” Weshk pressingly cried.

Talon and his
men only just pulled their horses from the road in time as over a
hundred soldiers hurriedly rode by. Talon turned abruptly in slight
anger towards the passing soldiers and to his astonishment he saw
they were not men. They resembled men, but they had small horns in
the centre of their foreheads and small tails on the backs of the
heads. He also noticed how muscular these creatures were. Finally
when all the horses had passed he turned with a puzzled look upon
his face to captain Weshk.

“They are the
Emperor’s personal guard, and they have absolute power here. If
they order you to do something, then obey and obey quickly for they
are not known for their patience.”

Talon once
again turned to the direction of the soldiers who were now
disappearing into the horizon “what kind of land has creatures such
as these? This realm has many surprises for me, I must be at my
best.” he silently thought as his short lived enthusiasm and wonder
manifested to caution.

Upon their
arrival at their new military school, they were routinely shown to
their rooms; Talon’s first impression of the school was how tense
the atmosphere seemed. There was complete silence and one could
almost taste its strictness.

Once inside
their rooms they were told that they had one hour to wash and dress
before they would be summoned before the school principle General
Koolga.

Talon unpacked
his belongings before he washed, he had just sat down upon his bed
when the door of his quarters was forcefully pushed open and three
Palace guards walked in “on your feet soldier! We are here to
escort you to General Koolga.” bawled the stockier of the two.

Talon was made
to march at full pace to the other side of the school, the stocky
soldier led him while the other two marched at his side.

Talon was then
directed into a dimly lit room, where he was made to stand facing
away from the door in the centre.

“Stand there!”
He was told as the soldiers left the room and loudly slammed the
door. He was left alone for what seemed an eternity where he found
himself wondering briefly if he had done something wrong. Suddenly
the door behind him was opened and he heard the footsteps of three
men enter before the door was once again slammed loudly behind
them. Talons first thought was to turn to see who’s there but he
composed himself and decided it best to do nothing unless ordered
to.

One of the men
walked forward and then in front of him. His uniform was that of a
General, he was a man in his fifties with a strong athletic build
and a face so stern and serious that Talon quickly wondered if it
had ever smiled before.

The General
pushed his face closely up to Talon’s and looked him deeply in the
eyes

“You are now a
soldier in the Imperial Palace guard, that right you have earned,
your existence now is to obey study and serve DO YOU UNDERSTAND!”
The General sternly said

“YES SIR.”
Talon replied with equal sternness.

The General
then quickly walked away and Talon heard the door behind him open
and close, his instincts told him he was not alone. Then one of the
soldiers, the stocky one whom had escorted him to this gloomy room
walked round to the front of him “your miserable life now belongs
to the Emperor!” He snarled in a voice that had tones of a growl
more than language. Talon’s eyes fell to the soldier’s throat where
he noticed a monstrous scar across it, an old wound that obviously
bestows the grit and harshness in this man’s voice, he thought.

“Did you hear
what I just told you boy?” the soldier added

Talon returned
his eyes to eyes of the soldier and gave his reply in a defiant and
determined tone.

“I heard the
words you spoke.”

The soldier’s
eyes opened wide as he moved his head back and upwards in a
slightly astounded fashion as he noticed the lustre in Talon’s eyes
and the spirit in Talon’s voice.

Taking two
steps back the soldier looked Talon up and down with disdain, he
felt offended at Talon’s reply, and he wanted to shout till he was
blue in the face but something almost unconsciously told him to use
caution. Once again he looked Talon in the eye, he froze
momentarily as he felt the confidence and stature of Talon, when he
spoke he used authority but the anger and ferocity in his voice had
gone.

“My name is
captain Hesk and you will address me as sir… I am your house master
and your chain duty master. You will obey my every demand, you will
achieve every test I put upon you and you will do every chore I
deem necessary of you, do you understand?”

Talon slowly
raised his head “yes sir!” He said with a slight smirk.

“I sense SPIRIT
in you cadet...............that will soon go.” Hesk ominously
replied.

Talon was then
taken back to his quarters where he was told to be awake and be
washed at dawn where he would be collected and taken to the schools
stables.

For the next
ten Imperial weeks Talon’s sole duty as a captain in the Palace
land guard was spent from dawn to dusk cleaning the stables and
feeding and grooming the horses, he felt exhausted and frustrated.
Every night he returned to his quarters weary, he would wash
himself then feed himself then fall into slumber only to wake to
the same recurring chores day after day after day.

Then one
morning just as Talon was cursing the day ahead he rose to answer
the rap on his door thinking it was his usual escorts only to be
surprised to see a General standing there. He was told that he was
being rewarded for all of his hard work by being granted two days a
week to be spent in the Imperial library where he would be
instructed and tutored.

“Two glorious
days away from that damn stable.” Talon uttered as he punched the
air with pleasure.

The Imperial
library was so huge it must have contained hundreds of thousands of
books. Talon was taken aback by the vastness of this magnificent
building; his first assignment was to study the military tactics of
the Empire. Talon found this subject fascinating and for the next
six weeks he learnt many secrets in the two days a week allocated
for him to study. The book masters were very impressed at Talon’s
aptitude for his tutelage that they requested to the General’s that
Talon be given the time to study full time. Talons schedule
remained the same for a further four weeks until finally he was
granted permission to study in the library every day, it was a huge
relief for Talon, finally he was out of the stables and it’s back
breaking and boring work.

The Imperial
library was filled with books on every subject of the Empires
history on Kratos. When Talon finished his first assignment after
three weeks of study he was given another, this time it was to
study the fighting tactics and duties of a front line soldier.
Talon engulfed himself in study fascinated by everything that he
read; he was an incredibly fast reader and digested all the
material that he read very well.

Talon wanted to
learn everything, he was blessed with many talents, one of which
was his ability to concentrate, and he could hold it for an amazing
length of time. Another trait in Talon’s nature was his
inquisitiveness, he wanted to learn everything that he could and
nothing it seemed escaped Talon’s notice.

Every day Talon
would enter the library from its south gate, once he was inside he
would walk directly past the book masters desk, behind the old
masters sat a huge cabinet, carved from the finest wood in a very
impressive decor, it housed a large collection of very old and
grand looking books.

Upon Talon’s
first visit to the library he was told in a very thorough way that
the books in this cabinet were strictly forbidden to anyone other
than the book masters to read.

From that day
forth Talon would wonder day after day what hidden knowledge those
books contained. He wished that he had never been told about them
as his yearning became so intense at times. Finally after days of
staring at them he decided he would try to have a look at them. He
knew that if he was caught he would be punished but the thought of
finding some hidden secrets and knowledge overwhelmed him “I must
look at those books” he would silently repeat to himself.

Talon had also
noted with great detail how and when the book masters would act in
certain fashions, he noted in his mind how one of the masters would
take an age if asked by a cadet to retrieve a specific book and
also that this master was usually always on his own on a specific
day early in the morning. Talon waited for the day to come around
again, the library was once again quiet with only the one master,
Talon arrived earlier than usual and said himself close to the
masters desk, he gazed around and noticed only two other cadets,
“if I get the chance I will take it” he said silently to himself.
He sat tensely at his table pretending to study but waiting for an
opportunity.

Then finally
after what seemed like hours another cadet walked into the library
and made his way over to the master’s desk, Talon watched both men
begin dialogue, then the book master rose slowly to his feet and
walked away from his desk with the cadet in tandem in the direction
of the far side of the library. Talon without a second thought
walked quickly over to the cabinet and grabbed a very old book and
hid it under his arm, he swiftly returned to his table and buried
it under the books he was studying and sat patiently for the book
master to return, once Talon saw that the master had not seen
anything nor noticed the book missing he relaxed.