Zachania (5 page)

Tallonus as a
boy and young man was given all this knowledge. Deep down he was
proud to be a Zachanian. As a young boy he would marvel at his
father’s stories but as boyhood gave way to manhood he began to
feel that this heritage was more a curse than a gift.

Tallonius had
established himself well in the town of Tallasian, he had a
privileged job teaching the soldiers of the Imperial guard how to
fight as gladiators and was respected for his worth, he wanted to
bring his children up successful and law abiding, like the soldiers
he had met and been impressed by. Tallonus had grown to admire the
Empire but with the knowledge of his secret past he lived day to
day in conflict with himself, this was the burden that he wished to
spare his sons.

Zalon reached
out his hand to his son’s.

“Tallonus you
must tell them of their heritage.” the old man’s voice was now
softer, it was almost a plea.

“And give them
the same burden that I have had to carry for all these years? Every
time I meet a soldier I feel fear to look him in the eye, almost in
shame that I am hiding that I am Zachanian.”

“That is
exactly why you must tell your sons Tallonus, this Empire has
hunted our people for centuries and no matter what experiences life
has dealt you my son, it is their right to know what has been
passed down from father to son for all this time passed.” Zalon
then paused a moment before he continued “you cannot rob them of
this honour, our race died in their thousands, we cannot forget
them.”

“What good will
it do father! We must at some time move on; we must let this legacy
die.”

Zalon swallowed
deeply “then you force me to tell the boy.”

“Tell him what
father? Tell a twelve year old boy that he belongs to a forbidden
and hunted race. Do you think he will understand that father, your
age and passion have made you foolish and dangerous?”

“Do not
underrate the boy!”

“No! My mind is
final this damn legacy ends!”

Zalon paced
away from his son and rubbed his face “you condemn me to a fate
worse than death, you ask me to bury my beliefs, MY HONOUR! You are
asking me to turn my back on everything that I hold sacred and to
stand idly by while my Grandson joins ranks with the sworn enemy of
my kin................. This I cannot do.”

Tallonus
naturally but without malice squared up to his father “I will ask
you one last time, No I will beg you father one last time. Leave my
sons upbringing to me or leave this home!”

The two men
looked deeply into each other’s eyes, Zalon’s eyes showed deep
anger; he could never abide by these rules. All he could think of
was how much a disappointment the man who stood before him was.
Then suddenly Zalon struck his son and knocked him forcefully to
the ground.

Talon who had
been secretly listening came running into the room as he heard the
noise from the blow. His father and Grandfather were now in a
clinch in the centre of the room and struggling fiercely; Talon
tried to separate them but was pushed out of the way.

Zalon saw his
Grandson pushed aside and quickly was the first to rise with a look
of concern for Talon.

Tallonus then
got to his feet and with young Talon’s plea’s filling the room he
gazed wildly at his father.

“Is this what
you seek?” Tallonus said.

Zalon wiped his
mouth where a spec of blood had spilt “you dare to strike your
Father?”

“I DO!” his son
replied.

The old
gladiator spat blood on the ground as he tugged at his clothes
composing himself

“Then from this
moment until the end of time you are no longer my son.... I wash my
hands of you!” He said as he rubbed his hands together in a washing
motion before spitting blood again only this time at the feet of
his son.

Zalon then
turned to young Talon who was still crying, Zalon knelt down and
reached out his large scarred hands to cradle his Grandson’s face
“Remember me!” He gasped “Remember me.” he repeated before he
kissed Talon’s forehead and rose to his feet turning towards the
door.

“Where will you
go?” Tallonus asked.

Zalon reached
out for the door and hesitated before turning to his son “where I
belong, where I should have always been, the home of my heart.”

Talon suddenly
rose proudly to his feet as his Grandfather opened the door.

“I will
remember Grandfather, I will remember everything!” He proudly
shouted.

Zalon turned
and caught his Grandson’s eyes, he noted the proud look in his face
and contemplated the manner in which he just spoke, almost
magically Zalon felt a shiver of reassurance that his Grandson knew
of his Zachanian heritage and that this gesture was his way of
telling him that he would honour his roots.

Now both men
found themselves gazing intently at the young Talon, Tallonus felt
like he had been struck by a thunderbolt as he began to realize
that he had already lost his son to his Grandfather’s spirit, the
Zachanian spirit.

Zalon gave
Tallonus once last glimpse smiling slightly as both men knew that
Zalon had won.

Once Zalon had
left the room Tallonus ordered Talon to his room, Tallonus then sat
down and held his head in his hands and began to gently sob, he
felt overwhelmed by the thought that he had lost his father and now
maybe his son to this never ending Zachanian legacy.

When Tallonus’s
wife Shirose entered the room she immediately walked over to her
husband and tried to console him.

“What’s wrong
my love?” she gasped.

“Everything my
wife, father and I fought.”

“Was it a bad
argument Tallonus?”

“Did you not
hear us?”

“No I was at
the far end of the compound with the twins.”

“He’s left us”
Tallonus interrupted.

“Ah he will
return as soon as the tavern closes.” Shirose replied as she warmly
stroked his back.

“Not this time
my love, we are both at an end ............ my father’s ancient way
of thought cannot poison the minds of our children any longer.”

As The eldest
boy, Talon had his own room which was a shrine to father’s and
Grandfather’s exploits in the arena.

All around the
walls Talon had hung items of battle. His prized possessions were a
battle helmet won by his Grandfather and a beautifully made wooden
sword which Zalon had made and presented him with on his tenth
birthday.

Talon lay on
his bed toying with the sword when a noise from the courtyard
distracted him. Swiftly he rushed over to the window and placed a
stool so he could stand and look out. He wiped away his long fair
hair from his eyes as he looked out onto the courtyard. He could
see his Grandfather packing his belongings onto a cart with his
favourite pony strapped to it. Talon rushed to his bedroom door but
the sound of the stool crashing to the ground alerted his father
who met him at the door and sternly ordered his son back into his
room. Talon rushed back to the window and stood back on the stool,
his Grandfather was now sitting upon the cart and steering it out
of the yard.

“Grandfather!”
Talon yelled.

Zalon heard his
Grandson’s cry and pulled the cart to a halt, before rising to his
feet and staring back at what had once been his home, he noticed
movement at Talon’s window and smiled when he saw the boy. Suddenly
Zalon felt confusion, his mind was awash with conflict, was he
doing the right thing in leaving, could he stay and abide by
Tallonus’s rules.

Zalon swallowed
deeply, stuck out his chest as he gave little Talon a wave
good-bye.

Talon watched
through tearful eyes as his Grandfather rode out of view, the
little boy stood motionless for a few moments as he gazed emptily
at the spot in the road where his Grandfather had disappeared.

Talon then
jumped off his stool and kicked it so angrily that it broke into
three separate pieces, tears fell down his face as jumped onto his
bed, he began to fight his tears as his young mind remembered a
time when his Grandfather had found him sobbing after falling of
the stable roof “WARRIOR’S DO NOT CRY” his Grandfather had told
him.

After a short
while Talon’s father entered his room, Talon could see that his
father had also been upset “Talon it’s time for your chores.” his
father said sternly.

Talon slowly
and stubbornly pulled himself off of his bed “Do your chores with
pleasure or not at all.” his father added. Talon smirked at his
father’s remark knowing full well that if he chose not to then he
would be given a good thrashing and confined to his room for two
days, so in order to not anger his father further he swiftly pulled
on his boots.

“Come on son
your chores will help.” Tallonus said as he patted his son on the
head.

“Father… why
has Grandfather left? Was it because of me?”

“Your
Grandfather and I had a disagreement, he drunk to much ale and has
decided it best that he lives alone son.”

“Is it because
he wanted to tell me about our family father?”

“NO!,” snapped
Tallonus “ I told you it’s because he wishes to be alone, now off
to your chores and speak no more of this!”

Talon walked
out of his room and set about his chores, chores that included
laying out the swords and shields, he would also train daily in the
arts of combat. At twelve years old Talon was well advanced and was
already in his final grading stages of his master swordsman exam.
An exam that was not commonly attempted until at least the age of
eighteen. Talon was also well trained and competent in the use of
other weapons, axes and spears, the bow and arrow; even the
blowpipe did not escape Talon’s attention. Talon was also well
schooled in unarmed combat and he secretly excelled in the ancient
fighting art of Zung-Lu, taught to him secretly by his
Grandfather.

Zung-Lu was a
form of self-defence which focused mainly on kicking movements; the
art of Zung-Lu also involved knowing the body’s pressure points and
knowing how to inflict damage to them. It was said that a master of
Zung-Lu could end a man’s life with just his finger tip. A specific
point of the body would be pushed in a certain way with a certain
amount of force and the man’s life would cease, it was the most
feared and deadly art known only to a few.

Once Talon had
cleaned the yard and polished the swords and shields, he began to
train. He trained harder than he could ever remember as an intense
rage pounded within him.

Talon sat
eating an apple under his favourite tree, atop a large mound at the
far end of his father’s school where Talon could gaze down onto the
bay of Tallasian giving a great view of the mighty Imperial battle
ships. The apple he ate had just been picked from the tree and he
found himself reflecting his past when he would sit with his
Grandfather listening to stories, he looked across to the spot
where he had last seen his Grandfather disappear into the hillsides
six long years ago. Not a day passed that he did not think of him,
when Talon saw his father walking towards him he rose to his feet
snapping from his thoughts.

“Father.” he
warmly called out.

Tallonus looked
proudly at his eldest son, almost admiringly at how fit and well
his boy looked. Talon had the body of a man, firm and muscular
though his face still held its boyish and cheeky charm, his eyes
were piercing blue and his hair was long and fair, his complexion
was clear and healthy largely due to his mother’s mixture of sheeno
berries.

Ever since Talon could
remember, his face and hair was washed with oil from the sheeno, it
was an ancient remedy where his mother would crush the berries
until they produced oil which was rather thick in texture but great
for keeping the skin clean and giving it a look of health and
vitality.

Talon’s father
walked over and greeted his son with a large smile as he placed
both hands upon his shoulders.

“Great news my
son.” Tallonus said in a proud tone as if he was delighted with
himself

“The Empire has
accepted my application for you to enlist. You are to leave for
Kallick town immediately; you will then be sworn into the Imperial
Royal Guard........... It is a great honour they show me.”

Tallonus then
proceeded to unroll a large decorative scroll stamped with the
Empire’s colours and insignia but before he could read it he was
interrupted by his son,

“But father I
want to fight in the arena ...... I have trained all my life for
it; it’s my destiny to be a gladiator.”

Tallonus gazed
hard at his son as a sigh of disappointment passed through his
lips. The word destiny repeated in his mind.

“All these
years of educating him yet still I cannot rid his mind of his
Grandfather’s teachings.” he silently thought.

“How many times
have I instructed you not to involve yourself with such romantic
mysticism? Only you Talon can control your future, Destiny and fate
are the words of fanatics, religious fools scared of a hard day’s
work. I have tried time and again to make you see the correct ways,
the Empire’s way. You have now become a man and it is time for you
to take responsibility in your actions........... You have a duty
to me and your mother, you will become a soldier.”

Talon thought
deeply for a moment before he replied.

“Father I hear
you speak of hard work, all my life I have worked hard. Never have
I neglected my chores or my training, every day of my life has been
readying myself for the arena. Success and wealth is what I want to
give this family, I will become the greatest Gladiator to ever step
foot into a fight ... Give me what I want father, I beg you as your
son and servant, give me the right to fulfil what I have trained so
hard for.”

Tallonus
swallowed hard as he tried to rid the lump in his throat, he knew
that he had be strong and firm on this matter, even though it was
breaking his sons heart.