The Destiny of Amalah (87 page)

‘And why pray would I do that?’ Rufus asked bemused.

‘To prove a point.’

‘I cannot,’ Rufus said.

‘Yes you can and you must – I insist.’

‘No.’

‘Luxor draw your sword and drive it through my body,’ Rakan said to the young blonde man.

Luxor drew his sword immediately and walked towards Rakan, ready to thrust it into his body.

‘A little hesitation would have been nice,’ Rakan said sarcastically.

Luxor smiled at Rakan; ‘You did ask,’ he said mischievously before he rammed it into Rakan’s body much to everyone horror, except Rakan. Rakan looked at Luxor and grinned.

‘Yes I did ask,’ he said calmly.

‘Rakan are you alright?’ Waldon asked.

‘Yes I am.’

Luxor looked at his sword and saw that it had all disappeared into Rakan’s body with the exception of the hilt.

‘How?’ Luxor asked.

‘The cloak,’ Rakan replied. ‘Other than that, I do not know.’

‘Where is the sword?’ Bryce asked.

‘Within the cloak,’ Rakan answered. ‘It is always within the cloak.’

‘So the body is impenetrable?’ Kenaz asked.

‘As long as you wear the cloak – yes.’

‘Then that would make us un-killable?’ Kenaz said slowly.

‘Indeed,’ said Rakan. ‘It outweighs any risks by far.’

‘Yes it does,’ agreed Rufus.

‘Really!’ Luxor said, ready to mock Rufus again.

‘Like a child you never quite know when to stop.’ Rufus said dryly.

‘Yes true, it came with my sense of adventure.’

Rufus raised an eyebrow and then smiled and then laughed at the young man, who was trying to tease him. He did not say a word and that threw Luxor slightly, who was hoping to bait Rufus some more, but Rufus did not rise and so Luxor remained silent too. Luxor never baited people for personal reasons, he did it because they would rise to it and for him, that was the thrill and Rufus had been the one to rise most but he, it seemed, had learnt what Luxor was up to and he wasn’t going to rise anymore – well at least not for a while anyway.

‘Try them on,’ Rakan said to the other as he glanced at the cloaks on the floor.

The five men made their way over to the cloaks and donned them. They tied the strings and as they fastened them, they felt the immense power that the cloaks had. They marvelled at the material and the craftwork that had gone into making the cloaks and they noticed the intricate needlework. They pulled the hoods over their heads and their faces disappeared from sight.

‘Will yourself to stop,’ Rakan said. ‘Will yourself to start but you must will yourself to stop too,’ he warned.

As the five of them wore their hoods over their heads and turned to face each other, they noticed that they could see each other’s faces.

‘Rakan put your hood on,’ Luxor urged.

Rakan put his hood on and was able to see the faces of his five friends.

‘Incredible,’ he said in a low voice. ‘This is a work of art – a masterpiece,’ he said in awe of the cloak that he was wearing.

‘A magical masterpiece,’ said Rufus.

The five men wondered outside the cave and tried out their new cloaks. They fought and battled and hurled magical energy at each other and although they were able to move each other off the ground telekinetically; at all times, the cloak protected their bodies.

‘We truly are un-killable,’ Luxor said.

‘And we can see as though it were daylight,’ Waldon said. ‘Another great advantage.’

‘Indeed,’ agreed Rakan.

The six men stayed in the open on the top of the mountain for the longest time. They never grew tired of the cloaks and their power and only when they saw that daylight was not far away, did they retire to their caves to gain some much needed sleep.

As the new day broke, the six men lay in their beds later than usual. When they arose their army was already into the full swing of work and a mill of activity was happening throughout the mountain and the nearby forest. The six men rose, bathed and ate and when they dressed they all donned their cloaks. They wore them open, behind their shoulders and they cascaded down to their ankles.

When they were together, they looked a powerful and formidable sight; six young men, all standing six feet or more, dressed as soldiers and caped in powerful and commanding black cloaks. Even if their soldiers had not known them, the six men would have commanded respect and instilled a sense of fear in those around them. Those six young men, not only were they powerful in their own way but they each possessed a powerful presence that was undeniable.

When they had started the day’s work, they met with Cador and discussed their plans. Waldon and Kenaz did most of the talking and Cador took notes with his crude crayon and paper and listened to his orders intently.

‘Cador, you will lead the army north of here,’ Waldon told him. ‘When you are far north, make a sharp left, march east through Equer and into Parades. Leave half of the men there and take the other half to the west of Lansten.’

‘Will we not be discovered when we enter Parades and Lansten?’ Cador asked.

‘No you will not,’ Kenaz said confidently. ‘You will be too far north to be discovered. No one ventures that far.’

‘Not even the people of Parades,’ added Luxor.

‘When you reach Lansten, rest for two days and two nights and at first light, the soldiers in Parades will begin their attack,’ Waldon continued. ‘Only the soldiers in Parades are to attack.’

‘When will the soldiers in Lansten attack?’

‘I will tell you,’ said Rakan.

‘How?’

‘Do not worry Cador, you will hear and see me when the time is right,’ answered Rakan.

‘The people will flee from Equer first and spill into Amalah, then the soldiers in North Parades will march south to Amalah,’ Kenaz told the general.

‘Few in Parades will join you,’ Luxor said.

‘Will they join those in Amalah?’ Rakan asked.

‘They will join no one,’ replied Luxor.

‘The army will continue south and people in Parades will also flee and spill into Amalah. Only when Amalah is fully engaged and when you hear from Rakan will you then March through Lansten and onto Amalah and when you arrive – Amalah will fall,’ Kenaz finished.

‘Heavily defeated and outnumbered,’ said Rakan.

‘It sounds so simple,’ said Bryce.

‘It won’t be,’ said Rakan. ‘My father taught many of the people who taught us. Amalah will not fall as easily as the other nations did.’

‘Mantor was easy?’ Kenaz said in mock surprise.

‘No but Amalah will be harder, I know it,’ said Rakan emphatically.

‘As do I,’ said Waldon.

‘Perhaps,’ said Cador. ‘But it will still fall, regardless how much of a fight they put up – it will still fall.’

‘You leave tomorrow at first light,’ Kenaz said to Cador.

‘Yes sir,’ Cador said to Kenaz.

Cador acknowledged the other five and his request to leave their company was granted.

‘Prepare your men well,’ Waldon said to Cador.

Cador nodded and left the six young men in the cave and went to organise his soldiers.

A few hours later, six thousand soldiers were gathered in the snowy grounds of Equer; they were in formation and facing south and they were waiting to be spoken to and given their orders. Rakan, Rufus, Waldon, Kenaz, Luxor and Bryce; along with Cador stood opposite them and in turn Rakan, Waldon and Kenaz spoke to their soldiers and as they spoke, they praised them and they began to make grunts and dins and menacing humming noises.

As each one of them spoke, they walked up and down the formation and when they had finished their oration, the soldiers clapped, cheered and banged their shields and feet in excitement and approval. Cador gave his speech which was met with the same clapping, cheering and stamping and when the noise died back down to silence Rakan began to give his orders.

At the end, Cador fell the soldiers out and many returned to whatever duties and preparations they needed to make for the next day. That night as the days light began to fade and the night sky covered Equer, the mountains that the dark army had been inhabiting, fell silent as they turned into their caves and into their beds to sleep until the early hours of the morning; for many it would be a long day and the days ahead would feel longer the further north they reached and the more they marched. There were some who wondered if they would survive the journey, for they knew that none inhabited the north, but they also knew that they had already done things that many people couldn’t and or, wouldn’t have done.

Daybreak had not yet arrived when the soldiers were woken by a high pitched musical sound that seemed to be coming from the skies. The soldiers moaned and groaned and eventually rose to their feet for they knew it was Cador’s horn calling them to duty. They washed and dressed themselves and then packed their things and put them on their backs or their waists and made their way to the snowy grounds where they had gathered yesterday.

This time the soldiers were covered from head to toe in furs and wool and dressed for the bleakest of winters and each and every soldier carried something on their back; mostly weapons and supplies. Rakan, Rufus, Waldon, Kenaz, Luxor and Bryce stood once again with Cador and they watched as Cador gave orders to the soldiers. The soldiers stood silently and listened attentively to what Cador was saying and then without further ado, he turned the army to the right and they began their marching. The army moved forward in formation and in step and Cador walked beside them. Cador turned the soldiers right again and they began their ascent northwards.

The six men remained where they were until the soldiers were out of sight and then they returned to their caves. Now there was a mountain completely empty and another only half full. As the day wore on and the work for the day was eventually done, the six friends sat out on the top of the mountain that they had been living in for what seemed like a long time now.

They made plans for the months ahead and named officers who were to take charge of the soldiers while Cador was marching the soldiers through Equer, Parades and Lansten. The next morning they delegated tasks to the senior officers and the changes that needed to be made were put into place. At the end of the day the soldiers were used to their new way of work and some were happy with the extra space they had received due to the departing soldiers. From there tings went smoothly and things went smoothly over the next few weeks in Equer for everyone.

Once again the six men met on the mountaintop for evening meal and there was no sign of Maddox that evening and he had not answered to any of their calls. The six men sat out in the open on the mountaintop around a blazing fire in their cloaks and talked. They talked and joked for a while and then drank and ate the food that they had hunted and killed that day. Things were going well for them, and now that they had the cloaks, they knew that it was going to make all the difference. They continued to talk and joke, when suddenly the fire grew out of all proportion. It propelled itself another eight feet higher into the air until it was standing ten feet high; the others had jumped back in reaction and they stayed back as a precaution. The fire grew brighter and more intense and then it changed into a sapphire blue flame, right before their very eyes.

‘Salwar,’ Rakan said instantly.

The blue flame had turned into a steady stream of energy and then Adriel appeared before them.

‘Adriel,’ Rufus said, as more of a statement than a greeting.

‘Rufus,’ Adriel replied, in the same curt tone.

‘What brings you here?’ Rakan asked.

‘Salwar does,’ Adriel replied. ‘He says it is time for you to come to Amalah.’

‘We are not ready to come to Amalah,’ said Rakan.

‘Salwar doesn’t care if you are ready or not,’ Adriel said tersely.

‘Well I do,’ Rakan said defiantly.

‘You don’t have a choice,’ Adriel said. ‘You are coming to Amalah.’

‘Why?’ Bryce asked.

‘To swear allegiance to Salwar and each other.’

‘We can do that here,’ Kenaz said.

‘No you cannot.’ Adriel said slowly but firmly.

‘Why not?’ Luxor asked.

‘Because you must swear at the temple of the gods before Salwar.’

‘Our allegiance to Salwar is of no use to him if we are dead or captured,’ said Rakan, who was still speaking in a tone of defiance.

‘You will not die and you will not be captured,’ Adriel said, in a tiresome tone.

‘How can you be so sure?’ Rakan asked.

‘I cannot, but Salwar is.’

‘This does not seem the wisest of plans,’ Rufus interjected.

‘That may be so but it is Salwar’s plan and he has commanded it.’

‘And if we refuse to go?’ Rakan asked.

Adriel let out a small contemptuous laugh and then looked at Rakan and smiled his knowing smile.

‘You don’t have a choice young man,’ Adriel said, raising his hands until they were level with his shoulders. ‘None of you do,’ he finished.