The Destiny of Amalah (94 page)

Those who were unlucky enough not to live near the escape tunnel knew that their only chance of survival was to climb upwards and so they began their journey with haste. They climbed as fast as they could; letting the adrenaline in their bodies make them work harder and faster. Luck had abandoned those climbers on that fateful night, for when they reached the top of the mountain the faceless figures of the Azari were waiting for them.

Rakan, Luxor and were at the top of one mountain, while Rufus, Waldon and Bryce were on the top of another. Those who reached the top and saw the faceless cloaked figures waiting for them, became extremely afraid but they knew that descending would mean certain death, they climbed to the top, and with whatever weapon they had; they charged at the cloaked figures – but it was in vain. The six cut them all down in no time at all, using their swords or their magic and the cloaks defended them against any attack. They continued to terrorise the people on the mountain top and sometimes, Rakan would use his magic to lift people from the ground and hurl them off the mountain and Luxor would then follow suit.

The first man up the mountain had arrived well before the others and he came face to face with Luxor and Rakan. The two men stared at the fleeing man and then turned to each other and smiled, before they turned back to the fleeing man. Rakan stuck out his arm and pointed it at the man, he began to chant in Latin as he did so and when he was done the man was lifted off his feet and was standing yards form the ground. Rakan moved his arm suddenly to the left and the man swung left with him. He moved his arm suddenly in the opposite direction and the man swung right. He walked forwards with his arm still extended out and the man was moved backwards until he was far from the cliff edge and from there, Rakan moved the now petrified man even higher into the air.

‘You see,’ Rakan began; ‘when it comes to levitating others, I have left and right worked out, and I even have up worked out too,’ he said and then he paused for intentional dramatic effect. ‘But I don’t have down under control – then again I don’t need to,’ he said as he was smiling at the man, before he pulled his hand back and let the man plummet to the bottom of the mountain.

As the man plummeted and screamed for his life, Rakan and Luxor looked at each other and burst out laughing and they were becoming more hysterical by the second when Luxor suddenly had a thought.

‘Wait!’ he said.

He walked to the edge of the mountain and saw the plummeting man and stuck his hand out.

‘
Emergo!’
he shouted, and on his command, the flying man stopped plummeting and ascended back to just above the mountain where Rakan had been holding him.

This time Luxor had the man under his control and he kept him hovering just beyond the edge of the mountain. Rakan looked at Luxor with curiosity and Luxor simply smiled his mischievous smile before he turned back to the fleeing man. The fleeing man was now ghostly white and petrified and he was screaming and gasping for breath at the same time. Luxor waited until he had calmed down before he addressed him.

‘I was curious – was that scary?’

The man was still shaking and could not speak and when he did not answer Luxor asked him again.

‘Sir, please, satisfy my curiosity – was that scary?’

The man nodded and managed to muster a ‘yes,’ and Luxor raised an eyebrow in response.

‘I thought so,’ Luxor said, before he released the man from his magical grip and left him to plummet to the bottom once again.

This time there was no reprieve from the deadly fall and as the frightened man plummeted to his death, he screamed as loud as his larynx would allow, and as he fell, Luxor and Rakan looked at each other before they broke into another round of hysterics. When the two men came to the end of their bout of hysterics, other people began to arrive at the top of the mountain; some fled before Rakan or Luxor saw them and those that did decide to stay and fight, stood no chance against the two powerful and sadistic young men.

When people were no longer reaching the top of the mountains, the six Azari walked to the edges and walked around, looking down as they surveyed everything in their sights. They watched as their soldiers did what they had been ordered to do and as the civilians that had managed to flee their caves and the soldiers rushed outside onto the mountain, only to be slain by the sorcerers who were waiting on the outside of the caves.

Before long the only people moving on the two mountains were the Azari, the soldiers and the sorcerers. The mountain people were either dead or had fled and thick back smoke billowed from the caves that had once been home to many people. When the soldiers reached the top of the mountain, Rakan and Waldon gave them orders to descend and take the next two mountains of which they complied.

The soldiers descended at running pace and they ran until they reached the next mountains only to begin the same thing again. As they started their assault, the next set of mountain and caves were defended. The people used the cover of darkness to fire arrows from bows and crossbows. They almost always hit their target dead on and the defence gave the people of the mountains enough time to evacuate those who needed to be evacuated and enough time to give some the chance to warn the other eight mountains.

They used the tunnels and caves and the cover of darkness to escape and those that fled, wondered if they would ever see their families and friends again – especially those who had remained to fight.

Joaquin fled the mountain but he did not flee along with the others; instead, he went towards the soldiers, avoiding them and hiding from them. He carried an axe and a dagger in his hand and he ran like the wind through the forests unseen by Rakan and his army. Joaquin was running towards Maddox, he ran there for two reasons; one was to see if Maddox was alright: he hoped he was as he had promised Seth – his friend and Maddox’s grandfather – that he would take care of him while he was away. The second reason he ran to Maddox was that Maddox was a powerful sorcerer and he hoped that he could help.

When Joaquin reached the mountain where Maddox lived, he noticed that it was deadly quiet. When he was even closer to the mountain he saw that it was deserted, he quickly climbed the mountain as quickly and as quietly as he could and when he reached the top, he called Maddox’s name; quietly at first as he walked around, but then his voice grew louder as he grew nearer to Maddox’s cave and when he saw that it was open, he ran into it, calling Maddox’s name. He reached a part of the way in and was mortified to see a lifeless body under the cover of a blanket. He knew that it was Maddox and that his body, which was fully covered by a blanket, was indicating that he was dead.

‘Maddox! No!’ he cried, as he dropped to his knees and knelt down beside the old man.

He pulled the blanket from Maddox’s face and checked him over, he knew he was dead and then he looked at Maddox for a few moments as the tears came to his eyes.

‘Oh, Maddox no,’ he said grief-stricken.

He touched the old man gently on the forehead and looked at him. He looked at the purple and black bruising around the old mans neck and he knew that Maddox had died by another mans hand and the thought grieved him even more. Joaquin spent a few minutes more with Maddox and then he rose to his feet. There was nothing more he could do for Maddox and having seen the army attack the mountains so effectively and viciously, he knew that there was nothing more that he could do in Equer.

He placed the blanket back over Maddox’s face and then said a prayer for the old man. He then thought again what he would do and in what order he would do it in. He rose to his feet and started to think about what he would do next, he paced around and then he left Maddox’s cave and saw the thick smoke coming from the other mountains and he heard the blood curdling screams and shouts. He wanted to go and help the others but he knew his help would be in vain and they would all surely perish together.

“Get to Amalah – only they can help us,” he thought. “Get out of Equer,” was his next thought.

Joaquin went back into Maddox’s cave and looked around, he was searching for weapons and anything he could find that would help him on his journey to Amalah.

He knew that going to Amalah was the only thing he could do, he hurried out of Maddox’s cave once again and descended the mountain as quickly as he could. He made his way to the forest and once there, decided what he would do. Joaquin would travel south parallel with Rakan’s army. He would stay out of sight and as far from them as possible. He hoped he would find a horse on his way, for he knew if he did not, he would never reach Amalah in time.

It was not long before his prayer was answered and he found a tamed and abandoned horse. He mounted the horse and rode out of Equer with god speed. He rode all the night and through the next day – ignoring his own need for sleep, food and drink. The only thing on Joaquin’s mind was reaching the city of Amalah and how the people of Equer were faring – he knew it was not well.

Joaquin was right, the people of Equer were not faring well; they were faring badly in fact. Those who were lucky enough to escape the rampage were shocked and distressed at seeing their homes go up in smoke and flames and they were pained, either by seeing a loved one or loved ones die and grieving for them, or they were pained because they did not know what had become of their loved ones.

They fled Equer in darkness; panicked, afraid and unsure of what the next minute would hold for them. They did not know if the army would find them and slay them like they had done to so many in the village, or if they would make it to Parades and then finally onto Amalah.

Everything – including their own lives was uncertain but they kept going; they moved forward with the children, the sick and the elderly, away from certain death but towards the unknown.

Those who had remained on the mountains using their bows and crossbows, were soon flushed out by the sorcerers; who travelled in the company of the dark armies soldiers. They used spells to reveal their positions or create magical bursts of light and as soon as they were revealed, the soldiers ascended on their position. Some were killed instantly but others lived to fight for a few minutes, before they were ruthlessly cut down by the soldiers; or another soldier passing by who took them from behind.

The second set of mountains fell and the Azari descended on the next set and this time, the mountain peoples’ defences were much better. They had been given the opportunity to organise properly and they arranged for evacuations and a defence to begin at the same. This time, they utilised everything they had: bows and arrows, swords, axes and fire and they utilised it well.

They held the army off for hours, not with the intention of defeating the army – they knew it was impossible, but they defended the mountain so that they could give their people a chance to make an escape and to warn the next mountains – which they did.

The people of Equer were going to make their stand in the last mountains of the south; the other mountains eventually fell but there were hardly any people left on it. When the army finally managed to ascend, those who had kept the army at bay made their escape and those who were unable to flee stayed and fought to the bitter and inevitable end.

The Azari and the dark army were quite surprised that there were so few people on the remaining mountain but it did not deter them in any way. They moved onto the next mountain and then the next. Waldon and Kenaz knew instantly what the people were planning and the rest of the Azari worked out the plan as well. The soldiers continued their onslaught as the Azari met at ground level. When they were all present they removed their hoods, and their faces appeared once again.

‘So far, so good,’ Rufus said. ‘Everything is going to plan.’

‘Yes, it is,’ agreed Luxor. ‘But we are going to have difficulties ahead.’

‘The people are fleeing the mountains before we get to them now,’ said Waldon. ‘They plan to make their last stand in the south.’

‘We can still defeat them though,’ Rakan said, questioning Waldon.

‘Yes, but it grows harder by the hour. There is no one in the caves any more – they flee. Those that remain are holding us off for hours now. Who knows what awaits us at the final two mountains?’

‘Then why wait,’ said Bryce.

The others looked at him in surprise.

‘Why wait?’ he said again. ‘They are expecting us to go through every mountain giving them time to prepare. We must take it now or at least very soon.’

‘How long will it take us to get there?’ Rufus asked.

‘If we march straight there, we can reach the last two mountains in under three hours,’ Kenaz said.

‘Then we must march them now,’ Waldon said.

‘What about the remaining mountains?’ Luxor asked.

‘We leave a small number of soldiers to try and take the mountains,’ said Rakan.

‘And if they don’t?’ Bryce asked.

‘Then they don’t and we will return to finish what we started,’ Rakan replied. ‘I agree with Waldon and Kenaz – we march them and we march them now. There are over a thousand soldiers at the perimeter of Equer, we will take the front and they, the rear,’ Rakan finished. He looked around at the other five and then spoke again: ‘Are we agreed?’

‘Yes,’ some of them replied, while others simply nodded their heads.

‘Good,’ he said.

‘I will give the soldiers on the outskirts their orders,’ Rufus said.