Zachania (56 page)

“Better late
than never.” he joked.

Lord Heikan’s
army soon entered the centre of Vilsillius to the fears of the
locals who looked on in fear and confusion at the sight of this
mighty collection of warriors. Some of Heikan’s men were carrying
flags with his house of Heikan colours upon them and a massive flag
with the royal crest of Zachania emblazoned upon it.

The townsfolk
were cowering away as the army advance, everywhere there was
bewilderment as they wondered who this army were.

When they
reached the towns square that led to Lord Akraf’s castle, Talon
called the army to a halt; he could see in the distance that Lord
Akraf’s own army were frantically trying to put up barricades at
the entrance of the castle.

“What is
wrong?” Heikan suddenly asked him as he noticed that Talon was in
deep thought.

“Hold the army
here, I will enter the castle alone.” Talon replied which made Lord
Heikan raise his eyes in surprise and concern.

Talon noticed
Heikan’s concern and looked him squarely in the eyes.

“Trust me” he
said with a voice full of confidence and conviction.

“I will come
with you.” Lord Heikan replied.

Talon nodded
back at him and the two men rode towards the barricades where they
stopped a few paces away as four soldiers from Akraf’s army rode
out to meet them.

“Explain your
business here in Vilsillius!” snapped one of the soldiers on
horseback.

“What I have to
say is for Lord Akraf.”

The soldiers
looked at each other before one of them asked Talon to follow them,
the barricade was opened and Talon and Heikan entered the
castle.

“I hope you
know what you’re doing” Heikan whispered as they dismounted the
horses and a group of soldiers came to escort them to Lord Akraf
who was in the main hall with his family and Generals.

As Talon and
Heikan entered the hall they felt all the eyes that were focused
upon them, as they walked past the soldiers Talon caught the eye of
a man he recognised, it was Akraf’s champion, the man Talon had
fought in the arena when he first came to Vilsillius. The champion
gladiator recognised Talon immediately and gave him a slight nod of
the head in acknowledgment of the respect he had for him. Talon
gave a slight nod back before walking towards Lord Akraf who he
could see also recognised him.

“I know you.”
were the first words that Akraf uttered as Talon stood before him,
Talon then gave the Lord a smile as if he was meeting along lost
friend.

“You were the
gladiator, the Pangkor monk.” added Akraf speaking with
uncertainty.

“But what are
you now?” he added as he looked at Talon’s Zachanian war suit and
the golden sword of Apollo at his side.

“I have come to
offer you my hand in friendship.” Talon replied.

“With an army
of warriors” answered Akraf pointing towards the window.

“Those warriors
are not here for you Lord Akraf.” replied Talon which made Lord
Heikan look at him wondering what Talon was doing as Heikan knew
that this Lord and his army was no match for the army that was on
his doorstep.

Lord Akraf
looked at his Generals and family before turning back to Talon and
speaking

“And what am I
expected to do for this hand of friendship.”

Talon looked at
the Lord, the same Lord who had helped him and tried to answer him
sincerely.

“I am here with
fifty thousand Zachanian warriors, believe me Lord Akraf it is with
a heavy heart that I tell you I need Vilsillius.”

“NEVER!” came a
shout from one of Akraf’s General’s which made Heikan stiffen and
turn towards him, Lord Akraf raised his hand at the General telling
him to remain calm before he spoke to Talon again.

“And what if I
refuse?” he asked Talon who then changed his look and voice to one
of determination.

“Then we will
take it.”

The room then
broke into roars of anger at Talon’s arrogant threat; Lord Heikan
placed a hand on the butt of his sword in case someone attacked
them and then Lord Akraf rose to his feet and called for silence
from his men.

“Thank you Lord
Akraf.” Talon then said acknowledging the Lords action.

Lord Akraf then
walked closer to Talon and spoke to him sincerely; the Lord knew
full well that if he did not surrender then he would be dead by the
evening.

“Why do you do
this to me?……….. I helped you, I once gave you my hand of
friendship, I gave you money, a horse, passes to travel freely and
do not forget I also spared your life, now you return to me and you
are not here showing me the same hand of friendship I showed you,
you are here wielding a fist of aggression.”

“No Lord Akraf
I have not forgotten the help you gave me and this fist of
aggression you call it is not here for you.”

“But if I
refuse then my family and friends will be killed, what friendship
is that” replied Akraf.

“It is out of
friendship that I offer you this choice.”

Lord Akraf was
then disturbed by one of his Generals who had returned from the
castle wall and surveyed the strength of the army outside, the
General glimpsed at Talon before whispering in his Lords ear, Talon
then noticed the look of fear on Akraf’s face, it was a look of
knowing that he was defeated, the Lord then reached across and
grabbed his wife’s hand and looked at her almost apologetically
before turning back to face Talon.

“It seems we
are at your mercy, we are up against insurmountable odds.” the Lord
sighed.

“We do not wish
to fight you Lord Akraf.” Talon sighed back which made Akraf become
rigid.

“Well believe
me when I tell you that I wish I could fight you.”

“Lord Akr…”
Talon suddenly interrupted him only for Akraf to hold up his hand
and interrupt Talon.

“If you came to
me in my youth with this army then the fearless man you would be
meeting would be making war with you but that man lost his pride a
long time ago, with age brings wisdom and the ability to be
realistic and the reality is, I do not wish to see my family and
friends harmed so if I relent to your wish, then I ask that there
be one condition.”

“Name your
condition!” Heikan snapped back now feeling much more
confident.

Lord Akraf
swallowed and straightened his back and tried to answer sounding
strong and resolute.

“I will not
stand by and see my subjects become oppressed and enslaved, that I
cannot live with.”

Talon listened
to what Akraf was offering and after a moment he gave his
reply.

“Then I give
you my word that Vilsillius will be treated fairly, but I also give
you my word that if there are any signs of uprising or rebellion
against us it will be treated swiftly and brutal.”

Lord Akraf then
nodded at Talon.

“For the sake
of all of you here and all of my subjects I hand over Vilsillius to
the Zachanian that stands before me” he then shouted so that
everyone in the hall could hear.

Lord Heikan
then burst into smile as he turned and shouted to everyone.

“VILLSILLIUS IS
NOW PART OF THE ZACHANIAN KINGDOM!”

Lord Akraf then
confronted Talon.

“I hope you
realise what you are doing, the Empire will not sit quietly while
you and your army swallow up towns.”

“Damn the
Empire, we have crushed them twice already and whenever we meet
them we will crush them again.” added Heikan.

“We will see
…..We will see.” added Akraf with hostility to his voice.

Talon listened
to what Heikan had just said and Akraf’s reply and it made him
think about what the Lord had just said, Heikan was in jubilant
mood but Talon knew better, he knew that they had only met a
fraction of the Empire on the battleground and he knew that someday
soon this war would really begin.

When Lord Akraf
excused himself Lord Heikan grabbed hold of Talon and lifted him
into the air and in boisterous fashion he yelled as he held
him.

““WE DID IT!”
he shouted making Talon feel embarrassed as he asked Heikan to
release him.

“Yes we have
crossed the first bridge my friend.”

Once they were
alone Heikan held out his arms and turned around.

“This is all
ours Talon, let us celebrate, let us drink…….whatever we want we
shall have, by Apollo I never thought it would be so easy, did you
see the look of Akraf, the man turned into a coward just from the
sight of us ….. ZACHANIA!” he shouted totally overwhelmed with what
they had achieved.

Talon then
walked over and tugged at Heikan’s sleeve, instantly calming him
down.

“Heikan my
friend, what Akraf done today was not the act of a coward, the man
I saw before me acted with a bravery that comes from the
heavens…..it was a rare bravery to lose face and give up everything
for the sake of others, such a man should not be mocked Heikan, we
should hold such a man in esteem, for a man to be able to make such
a calculated decision with such overwhelming adversity before him
is not a coward or a man with doubt, but a man of substance and
honour.”

Lord Heikan
sobered immediately at what Talon had just said to him making him
feel shame at how he was just behaving.

“Your wisdom
has humbled me Talon.” he answered.

By nightfall
the town of Vilsillius was under total Zachanian command, Lord
Heikan’s army had begun to take over the duties of the disposed
Lord Akraf’s army who were ordered to lay down their swords and
comply with any order that the Zachanian’s gave them.

Lord Akraf had
been in his quarters all day with his wife and family, he did not
know what his immediate fate would be and when Talon knocked on his
door he opened it with trepidation.

“Lord Akraf may
we talk?” Talon said as the door was opened.

Lord Akraf
welcomed him in where they both sat down next to a large fireplace,
Akraf looked at Talon as he sat down and waited for him to
talk.

“Lord Akraf
when I said I wanted your friendship, I spoke with sincerity, it
was not easy what I did today, I have gained no satisfaction from
my actions, I ask you again will you be my friend.”

Lord Akraf
smiled and then hesitantly gave his reply.

“Talon what you
ask is like beating a man to ground and then asking him to clean
his own blood from your hands.”

“No Lord Akraf
it is like beating a man and then throwing him into one of your
dungeons and then forcing him to fight in your arena against your
champion, then when the man who has been fighting for his life
prevails you give him food and drink and then ask him to remove his
own blood from his own hands.”

Lord Akraf
smiled and nodded back.

“Touché.” he
replied realising that Talon was describing what happened to
himself the last time he was in Vilsillius.

“So it seems
that you have an answer for everything Talon, but I want your next
answer to be from the heart.”

Talon leaned
closer and opened out his hands.

“What do you
wish to know?”

“I want to know
why Vilsillius is so important to you?” asked Akraf now speaking
and acting in a deep and thorough way.

Talon leaned
back as he began his explanation.

“Vilsillius is
the trading capital of Kratos, a great army of Zachanian’s
numbering hundreds of thousands has marched into Kratos at Death
Valley, Kratos is at war once again, we are at war with the Empire
and we will stop at nothing until we wipe them from the face of
Kratos, we will need supplies.”

“So you expect
Vilsillius to feed and clothe your men for nothing.”

“No my Lord we
will give payment, it might be less, Vilsillius is now under
Zachanian rule we expect you to join us and not fight us.”

“How will you
pay my citizens?”

“We have gold
and we will liberate Krasos from the Empire.”

Lord Akraf then
sat back and sighed out aloud.

“You are very
ambitious Talon, the Empire is vast on the other side of this
island and I don’t think the people of Kratos will take warmly the
idea of having to work for less.”

“You do not
have to remind me of the Empires strengths Akraf, I was once one of
them, I was trained and educated in Kallick Town and the Palace
lands but Kratos is soon to change, and these changes will be
drastic. All of Kratos will be thrown into war, here in Vilsillius
you are free but in towns like Zanlia they are under strict
military rule, once this war escalates the Empire will take their
supplies from anywhere they can, Vilsillius is under our
protection, the Empire will soon be your enemy not us.”

“The Empire has
always been fair to us, why would they change?”

Talon then
began to raise his voice as he became frustrated.

“Tell that to
your brothers and sisters in Zanlia.”

“What is so bad
about Zanlia?”

“Are you proud
to be a Kratosian Akraf?”

“Yes off
course.”

“Well
Kratosian, your kin are being butchered in the north, all trade as
stopped as the Empire strives to gain control, how long do you
think it would be before the Empire decides that Vilsillius should
have the same fate?”

Lord Akraf
contemplated what Talon was saying to him but he was still not
fully convinced.

“I have heard
that it is more difficult to trade with the north but I have not
heard of the killings you speak of, what proof can you show
me?”

“Is my word not
proof enough?” replied Talon sternly.

Akraf looked
deeply at Talon as if weighing him up.

“You’re trying
to convince me that the Empire is my enemy.”

“The Empire is
the enemy of every man born on Kratos soil, the emperor is an evil
tyrant and we live under their tyranny and rule.”

“I do not see
any tyranny Talon.”