The Destiny of Amalah (95 page)

‘Very well,’ agreed Rakan.

The Azari made their way forwards towards the mountains and began giving orders. As they filtered through, the soldiers began to leave their positions and make their way to the foot of the mountain on the east side. As soon as there were fifty soldiers and a captain or sergeant, they would begin marching south.

As the exodus began, Rufus went to warn the soldiers on the outskirt of Equer and to give them their orders. He told the others and then he made his way to an empty cave and looked around and when he saw that no one was there, he sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He cleared his mind and stared into the emptiness of it and then he began to chant in his mind and as his channelling continued, his sprit removed itself from his body.

His all seeing spirit willed itself to the edges of Equer and when it finally arrived, he saw that he was among the soldiers. He looked around and saw three captains standing around a fire; he walked over to where they were and made himself seen. The three captains were startled by Rufus’s sudden appearance and they shifted uncomfortably for a few seconds before they acknowledged him.

‘Sir,’ they said, bracing themselves up as they greeted Rufus.

‘We thought you were in the mountains of Equer,’ one captain said.

‘I am,’ Rufus said abruptly. The three officers looked puzzled and Rufus raised his eyebrows in exasperation. ‘I am in the mountains of Equer and I am here by magic. I came to give you your orders. You are to march the soldiers to the two mountains yonder,’ Rufus said, pointing at the two mountains. ‘When you arrive, stay on the south side; wait until first light and then attack,’ Rufus told them.

‘How many soldiers shall we leave on the perimeter sir?’ one captain asked.

‘None,’ Rufus replied.

‘But sir…’ one captain said, beginning to object.

‘But nothing,’ Rufus said sharply. ‘March the men as ordered and do not question me again unless you wish me to inflict immense pain upon you.’

‘Yes sir,’ the captains replied.

‘Get to it,’ Rufus ordered them, and upon his command, the three men set about carrying out their orders.

Rufus disappeared from their sights and returned to the cave where his physical self was sat. He returned to himself and after a few minutes, he opened his eyes and looked around. He gathered himself together, rose to his feet and made his way out of the cave; he was about to make his way to the others when he felt a knife at his neck. He stopped still and saw a native man appear in front of him who stared at him with a look of intense anger and hate.

‘I see by the look in your eyes that the cloak only protects that which it covers.’ The man said. Rufus did not answer; he simply stared back at the man. ‘You have nothing to say?’ The man asked hatefully. ‘You and your army plunder Equer into darkness and murder our people – and you have nothing to say?’

‘I do,’ Rufus said simply. ‘But not to you,’ he said glibly, staring cruelly at the man who was holding him hostage.

The man snarled at Rufus and rammed the knife that he was holding further into Rufus’s neck. The knife did not cut Rufus but it forced him to step backwards until he was forced up against the mountain wall. Rufus looked at the man again and wondered if he was going to die by this mans hand – he hoped not, not because he was afraid to die but because he thought he would die in a more glorious manner and not by a stupid mistake on his part.

He looked at the man with disdain and as he stared, the man pushed the knife further into Rufus’s throat. Rufus could feel it pushing in and he knew that any further pushing on the man’s part would draw blood.

‘You will speak,’ the man told him. ‘If you won’t speak to me then you will answer to the others,’ he told Rufus.

‘No, I will not. I will not speak with you or any of the others – whoever they may be,’ Rufus told the man. ‘I will never speak, of that I can assure you.’

‘Then you will die now,’ the man said seething.

He drew the knife away quickly from Rufus’s throat and brought it forwards ready to slash his neck: the point of the blade barely touched Rufus’s jugular, when the man stopped very suddenly and his eyes widened. He looked at Rufus wide eyed and the hand that held the knife dropped to his side, Rufus was surprised that he had dropped the blade at the very last minute and he continued to look at the man who now slumped forwards onto him, before dropping down onto the floor. Rufus looked down to where the man lay on his stomach and saw the dagger sticking out of his back and then he looked up ahead and saw Waldon standing opposite him.

‘How many times are you going to save my life?’ Rufus asked, half jokingly.

‘As many times as I have to,’ Waldon said, walking towards Rufus. ‘You really scared me then,’ Waldon said, taking hold of Rufus and hugging him.

‘I scared myself,’ Rufus said hugging him back and then touching Waldon’s cheek. ‘That really was closer than I would have liked.’

‘Why did you come here alone?’ Waldon asked, as he stepped back from Rufus.

‘I came to give the soldiers their orders. I saw that you were all busy so I came alone,’ Rufus replied.

‘Promise me that you will not be so rash in the future,’ Waldon said.

‘I did not consider it rash,’ Rufus said.

‘It was,’ Waldon replied. ‘We are in the middle of a battle and you venture out alone. No soldier would ever do that. Ultimately, we fight alone but there is always safety in numbers. Alone you stand no chance if you are ever cornered or outnumbered.’

‘I did not think…’ Rufus began but Waldon interrupted him.

‘I know,’ Waldon said. ‘I know you are not a soldier or a guard and it is alright,’ he continued. ‘But just don’t take risks like that one. I could not bear it if you died.’

‘With you around that’s not likely,’ Rufus said dryly.

‘Everything is a joke with you,’ Waldon snapped, raising his voice, clearly irate by Rufus’s moment of inappropriate sarcasm. He let go of Rufus and turned from him and began walking away.

Rufus walked after him and grabbed him by the arm and turned him around to face him.

‘Yes, it is – especially when I am scared,’ Rufus admitted. ‘And I really was scared,’ he said softly. ‘That’s just my way Waldon, It’s just my way,’ he said still holding onto Waldon’s arm.

‘So I see,’ Waldon said, smiling a little. ‘But the thought of you dying…’ Waldon began.

‘I know.’ Rufus said gently, as he pulled Waldon towards him and kissed him.

Waldon kissed him back and the tension between them soon disappeared. The kiss came to an end and they rejoined the other Azari and went on continuing to take Equer.

As the Azari and the army marched on through Equer towards the final two mountains, those who were escaping though the forest looked on and caught a glimpse of them. Some saw the hooded figures and stood still with fright, as they glided through their homelands and brought horror, chaos and darkness with them; but above all, those cloaked figures brought death – to anyone or anything that stood in their way.

As the new day dawned, the Azari and the soldiers reached the final two mountains, as did the soldiers who were guarding the outskirts of Equer. When first light came they attacked the mountains from both sides and they fought long and hard to take the mountains. The people who had stayed to fight knew what was going to happen, but they had remained anyway: they were going to stay and fight until they could fight no longer and they would defend Equer with their very last breath.

For two nights now, the Azari and the army had brought Equer to its knees. Mountains and forests were burning, people were screaming or fleeing and many more were dead; their bodies lying strewn across the deserted mountains. When the next morning came, there was nothing left of Equer. It was over for the nation and its people, and even though the last two mountains had managed to create a defence; it was still not enough to fend off the Azari and the dark army: they had been a thorn in their side for a while but in the end, they – like the earth beneath them – were crushed. As Rakan had predicted, Equer fell at the end of the second night and they stood victorious at the outskirts of the nation, ready to take Parades.

‘Now we rest,’ Waldon said to the soldiers. ‘We take this day and the next, but the day after that we take Parades,’ he told them.

The soldiers and the Azari cleaned up and tended to themselves and their wounded. The soldiers set down to rest in the now smoking and ruinous nation of Equer and as they settled, a strange quiet settled over it. The first few hours went by quietly and uneventfully as the soldiers slept and the remaining living civilians, made their way out of the nation and into Parades then Amalah.

In Parades, the Empress guard had been stationed in the west and north of the nation and when they saw the people of Equer fleeing, they rushed to their aid. The guard organised themselves quickly and as they heard what had happened they helped the people into Equer, guarding them and guiding them and assuring them that they were safe now.

The people were somewhat relieved to be in the hands of the Empress’s guard while others were still scared witless: to them a soldier was a soldier and it mattered not, what uniform they wore. They were wary but they followed anyway, for they did not wish to be left behind or left alone.

The guard in the east sent riders ahead to Amalah City to warn the Empress and their commanders of what was happening and they requested more guard to come to Parades. As the soldiers in the west helped the people of Equer, the soldiers in the north helped the people of Parades. They warned them of what was to come and they set about recruiting, organising and evacuating the people.

Things had gone well for the Empress’s guard who were stationed in the west of parades; they had come face to face with the people of Equer and were coping well. However, the guard who were stationed north were not so fortunate and they were to come face to face with Rakan’s soldiers who were descending from the far north of Parades.

At first, the guard became engaged in small skirmishes as they clashed with the dark army through the forests but by the afternoon, they were fully engaged in a fierce and bloody battle in the centre of the nation. Many people of the villages sided with the guard as they tried to defend their village and evacuate those who could not fight.

As the hours passed, the guard sent word to those in the west asking for help but as the afternoon had passed and the evacuations continued, the dark army had risen in number and engaged the guard and now; the battle was being fought on two fronts in Parades – from the north and the west.

The dark army in the north were outnumbered by at least four to one but they managed to push the guard down to the south and to the west. The guards were retreating to the southwest for tactical reasons, for they knew that once they reached the southwest; they would be met with their own and there, they would be reinforced. Those hours seemed like days, as the fighting continued in the north and the west. Arrows flew through the air from both sides and groups engaged in the fight of their lives.

Everywhere in Parades was being fought: it was hand to hand, sword-to-sword or battle-axe-to-battle-axe. There was certainly no surrendering and each and every soldier or guard was fighting to the very end and to the death. They fought for what they believed in and what they wanted, and they fought to prevent the other side from winning and with that absolutist mindset, came a ferocity that had never been seen before in humans.

The guard in the north fought hard as they retreated with the people of Parades to the southwest. When they finally arrived, their number tripled and in that moment they felt hope and triumph as they seemed to outnumber the dark army in the north and the west and as their morale was boosted, they made a massive push against the soldiers in the north and before long, the soldiers from the north were no more – not one single soldier stood to challenge them, and the guard and the people of Parades cheered.

There were a few soldiers from the west remaining but when they saw how outnumbered they were, they had fled further west to where Rakan, Rufus, Waldon, Kenaz, Luxor and Bryce were and their army. They told the captains of what had happened and the captains rushed to the six Azari and duly informed them of what had taken place in Parades.

The Azari ordered their soldiers to rise and dress for battle once again and within half an hour; the dark army had risen, dressed and formed at the bottom of the mountain. From there they were marched to eastwards to the outskirts of Equer and to the edge of Parades. They marched quickly and quietly but for the last few hundred meters, they could be heard by the guard but not seen.

The guard listened as they heard the menacing sound of soldier’s footsteps and they listened and waited as the noise grew louder. They kept their eyes westwards as they gathered their weapons and put themselves into formation, so that they would be ready for another attack from the dark army. There, in Parades on the snowy lands and mountains, the Empress’s guard stood ready and waiting to face the Azari and the dark army. The guard stood two thousand strong and they stood united with only one thing in mind – to take on the dark army and defeat them. What could not be finished here would be finished in Amalah, but they were to hold Parades for as long as they could.

Light was soon leaving Parades and the guard watched, as early evening arrived and real light disappeared; now, they had to rely on fire torches to see properly. As the last of the torches was lit, a Major caught sight of movement a hundred or so meters dead ahead in the west. He watched as the six black figures glided forward and then he saw the soldiers behind them. He shouted to the captains and sergeants and pointed to the moving figures. The officers called the guard to attention and to prepare for battle and they all stood and watched as the Azari, the dark army of soldiers and sorcerers marched forward.