The Destiny of Amalah (68 page)

‘Very well,’ John said. ‘Zach; you, Zinzi and Hannah ride to Amalah. Hannah once you get there, you will be safe.’

The six friends waited until dawn when Mantor became quiet and most of the army were sleeping. They hugged each other tightly and said their hushed farewells before they rode out as quickly and as quietly as they could. John, Seth and Imogen went west to Filine and Zach, Zinzi and Hannah rode northwards towards Amalah.

John, Seth and Imogen rode through Mantor, sometimes running into Members of Rakan’s army but luckily for them, they never bumped into more than two or three at a time and when they did, they would sometimes they ran and hid but if they had to; they would fight. John was as strong as Waldon and Kenaz and he was just as brave and that is how it went on for the three friends; riding, running, and hiding and sometimes fighting, all the way to Filine: luckily for them, they never met Rakan, Rufus, Waldon, Kenaz or Bryce.

Zach, Zinzi and Hannah were not as fortunate as their three friends, they rode north as fast as they could; barely straying one step ahead of the army. They had to outride and outrun the army most of the time and they knew that they could not stop and fight like the their friends could; often they were scared out of their minds and their fear with each new day, as they passed those who were also fleeing.

They were not as lucky as their three friends had been; for they came across Rakan, quite by accident. The three of them disturbed him as he was taking water from a stream, they were not sure who he was because he was alone and at first, they simply carried on in the direction they were going and it was he, who stopped them.

‘Where might you be heading?’ Rakan asked them.

The three of them stopped and looked at the tall man with long raven black hair and incredibly blue eyes who was questioning them. Something made Zinzi’s hair stand on end at the back of her neck and she immediately became wary of the stranger who was questioning them. Rakan looked at the three impassively and remained silent, but it was Hannah who answered him.

‘To Amalah.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes.’

‘Why should I let you go there?’ Rakan asked, as Zinzi took an involuntary step back from the man she regarded as eerie.

The three of them looked at him and realised that he was part of the army and instinctively, the three of them backed away slowly from Rakan but he followed them anyway. Hannah screamed as she saw Rakan produce a fireball from his hand and then she brought her hands up to her face as he threw it at Zach but to Rakan’s surprise, Zach deflected his fireball with his own magic and sent him flying across the air.

‘To the horses,’ Zach shouted.

Zinzi and Hannah needed no persuading and they turned and ran back to their horses. Rakan had recovered by now and he rose to his feet and ran after Zach and the two women; he threw energy balls at him which Zach deflected again before he sent Rakan flying through the air but Rakan was prepared this time and as Zach motioned to send Rakan flying; Rakan shoved his hands downwards which acted as brakes and he eventually stopped in mid air.

Zach did not want to hurt anybody and he had only used his magic for good, so it pained him dearly to use it against another person, but Rakan was relentless and Zach had no choice. Rakan continued to hurl energy balls at Zach and Zach continued to deflect them and Rakan was secretly impressed by the young man’s strength, speed and power as he continued to test him, but Zach was running scared; for he was running out of power and he knew that when he did – it would be the end, not just for him – but also for Zinzi and Hannah.

He wracked his brains and was desperately trying to think of what to do next and as he avoided Rakan’s energy balls, he began to shout out a spell that he made up as he went along:

‘Trees and twine of earth divine
Grow now and strong and this
Evil sorcerer bind’

Rakan grinned at Zach but soon after his grin appeared on his face it was wiped off as the weeds and roots shot out from the ground and the forest and catching Rakan by surprise; taking him by his feet and beginning to pin him to the ground as he stood helpless. At first, he burnt them off with fireballs from his hands but they too became entwined in the roots and the weeds and he stood there becoming angrier by the second, as he was further and further entangled in the freakishly strong and growing weeds as Zach and the two women escaped from him.

Rakan called for Rufus and the guard but by the time they came, the three had long gone. Rakan had tried to escape but could not use most of his magic without his hands, which were now bound tight and like all sorcerers, he could not undo another’s spell; which meant he had to wait impatiently for Rufus to fireball the weeds and the soldiers to cut him free.

‘What happened?’ asked Rufus.’

‘A young boy, not much younger than Kalon.’

‘Did you recognise him from Lansten?’

‘No, he did not school at Lansten, but he had a lot of power, but what is strange, is that he did not recognise just how powerful he was,’ a bemused Rakan replied.

‘Perhaps we will meet him again.’

‘I am sure we will,’ Rakan said.

Hannah, Zinzi and Zach rode for days and days, finally reaching Amalah on a very cold afternoon. When they stepped into the nation, they felt a huge amount of relief at having reached there but their relief was very short lived.

Chapter 26

Amalah had been isolated from the south and the east, when the snowstorm hit them. Salwar had created a snowstorm that was unprecedented in Amalah and even in the north of Parades and Lansten. It snowed and snowed, until the whole nation was covered in a thick blanket of white snow that reached thigh deep on the average man. The storm took everyone by surprise and few were able to prepare properly for the extreme weather that had been bestowed on them.

In those seven months,
everything
was hard for the people of Amalah: eating, drinking and just staying alive, was proving extremely difficult. Amara and the council suddenly had to change their priorities; they could no longer think about finding Rakan and the others, or sending parties out to search for them – now they had to lead the people through this crisis.

They began by organising the guard into different groups, some were to hunt for food and store it in the palace; while others were to evacuate the city and bring people to live at the palace where there would be food, warmth and shelter.

The people of Amalah pulled together though and for the most part, they survived the long hard winter and when the snow began to decrease and melt; slowly but surely, the people once again returned to their homes. They had just overcome one crisis when another loomed at their doorsteps, in the way of the people of Santeb. They arrived in ones and twos at first and then their numbers grew; soon they arrived in tens and twenties and then – as the weeks passed by – they arrived in their droves. They were displaced, tired, hungry, traumatised and uncertain as to what the future would hold for them now; now that they had lost everything and everyone.

The people of Amalah welcomed the people to their nation and tended to them, some of those who were fleeing, remained on the outskirts of the city, while others refused to stop until they had reached the palace and spoken to the Empress and the head of the guard in person. One of those determined to reach the palace was Gangay; he rode and walked, determined to reach the Empress and tell her what had happened and to try and find out what had become of his friends.

When he arrived on a cold and dark afternoon, he dismounted from his horse and made his way to the palace doors before he collapsed on the ground. He awoke to find himself in a soft warm bed surrounded by people; two of whom he recognised as Ellora and Kalon. He blinked for a while until his focus came back properly and stayed.

‘Gangay,’ Ellora said warmly. ‘How good it is to see you.’

‘It is good to see you too,’ Gangay said, looking at her and then Kalon. ‘I wish my visit here were not under such tragic and bitter circumstances.’

‘What happened?’ Kalon asked.

Gangay began stroking his head in despair as he thought of the horror that he had witnessed and for the first time he became distressed. He wanted to speak but every time he opened his mouth, a lump appeared in his throat and his eyes filled with water. He looked to the side, turning his head so that he could avoid eye contact with everyone in the room.

‘Gangay,
please
, tell us what happened,’ said Ellora, as she sat on the bed beside him and took hold of his hands.

‘Perhaps we should introduce ourselves to you first,’ Amara said. ‘I am Amara, Empress of the nations.’

‘It is an honour to meet you,’ Gangay replied.

Amara continued with the introductions: ‘this is Michael, my adviser and council member, Garrick and Häkan – joint Commanders of the guard. Thaddeus, sorcerer and council member and of course you know Ellora and Kalon already.’

‘Yes I do.’

‘Please Gangay tell us everything you know,’ Amara said.’

‘I was in the east of Santeb before Qomolangma, when I first heard. People from the villages west of us were running to us, and telling us to run – for death was coming. I did not know what they meant at first but later I learned. I learned of four men destroying villages with fireballs and two evil warriors who had the strength of ten men. I heard about the horrors that were being inflicted and that two villages had burned to the ground; people were lying dead or wounded, while those that were lucky enough to survive were fleeing in all directions. Then they came to the village where I was and it was there, I caught a glimpse of the four men that everyone had been talking about, and I could not believe that those four men were Rakan, Rufus, Waldon and Kenaz. I cannot begin to describe how I felt at that moment; I wanted to deny it, deny it was them, deny what they were doing but I could not – because it was happening –right before my very eyes. They…They…I…’Gangay faltered and became quite emotional.

‘It’s alright Gangay, you are safe here. Please go on,’ Ellora urged him.

‘Rakan and Rufus, fire came from their hands and they threw it at people and their homes and they laughed as my people screamed and burned. Waldon and Kenaz cut people down with their swords or beat them with their bare hands. Before long there was nothing left of the village; those that were not dead, fled, and I – I came here to warn you and to find out why? ‘Why did this happen and why did those four men turn into what they have become?’

‘I do not know,’ Garrick said quietly and sadly.

‘We have to stop them though,’ Kalon said vehemently.

‘I don’t know if you can,’ Gangay said. ‘They have so much power – like nothing I have seen before.’

‘There is power here in the palace,’ said Michael.

‘And you are going to need it. There is worse to come, on my way here I learned that they – Rakan and his friends – were raising an army. Some of the guard who were stationed in Santeb joined them – they were officers mostly, but the ranks too, and as they go from village to village, some of the people were joining them also. I do not know how many have joined them by now.’

Those in the room stared at Gangay, thoughts racing through their minds, but like him, they had one burning question – why? They left him in the room to rest and went to deal with the situation at hand.

As they set about dealing with the people of Santeb over the next few days, the guard and the people from Aradene and Mantor began to arrive in the city. At first, they trickled into the nation in small numbers but they then arrived in their droves and once again; Amalah was in chaos for a while.

Among those to arrive were Zach, Zinzi and Hannah; they arrived at the palace and demanded a meeting with the Empress, the guard let them through and Amara – along with Michael, Garrick, Häkan Thaddeus, Kalon and Ellora – met with the three young people.

‘Tell me, what has happened in Mantor?’ Amara asked.

‘As far as we know Empress an army led by five men arrived from the south of Aradene into Mantor. The Zulu’s and the Xhosa’s fought with them, to protect Mantor but they were defeated. The women and children were evacuated and the other villages were warned.’

‘But it made no difference,’ interjected Hannah.

‘Village by village was desecrated and destroyed,’ Zinzi said.

‘We were in the centre of Mantor when we heard. The army is growing and your very own guard is joining them and they are sweeping northwards through Mantor destroying everything and everyone in their wake,’ finished Zach.

‘What next?’ asked Ellora?

‘They will sweep through Mantor and then cross into Filine,’ said Zinzi.

‘We have to protect them and warn them,’ said the Empress.

‘I doubt you can protect them,’ said Zach. ‘Their army was over three thousand strong when we left.’

‘Three thousand,’ Häkan repeated in shock.

‘At least.’

‘The guard in Amalah is less than two thousand strong.’

‘It gets worse, not only have they raised an army but they have been joined with other sorcerers and empaths.’

‘It grows worse with each day,’ said Garrick.