The Sea of Valour -The Ocracidia Series 1 (5 page)

He wished Nosa was here with
him and felt a tinge of sadness at having to experience this all on
his own.

Cezar glanced
at the girl. He had never before seen or met mermaid people and
this excited him.
But where were their
fish tails?

And these people standing
before him had no scales. In fact, their skin was as smooth as
silk, and they definitely didn't look like mermaids to him.

Hmm!
He thought to himself .
Perhaps this wasn't the same Talori he'd heard tales
about
.
Or...Perhaps they were hiding their tails
.

He wondered if they could be
imposters; in which case he would have to be very careful!

Cezar tried to appear friendly
by smiling at the girl and her eight sentries.

Certainly,
the girl was not dangerous; maybe her sentries were, for they
looked to him a little disturbin
g.

His fingers
tingled excitedly.
Control
yourself,
Cezar cautioned himself.
You don’t know who these people really
are.

The young girl looked nothing
like an evil ruler to him, but she did have eight sentries. He
wondered if she was, the queen of Talori in disguise because she
was so splendidly dressed but he quickly decided against that idea,
because he thought the queen of Talori had to be much older.

None-the-less he knew the girl
must be quiet important to have this many guards even if she was
not the queen.

‘
Are we deep
within the sea?’   He asked after many moments. The young girl
did not answer, so he tried again. ‘And I assume you saved me from
drowning.'

The girl shook her head in
answer. ‘No I did not' she replied.

Cezar felt a
little confused,
if she did not pull him
out of the sea, who did?

‘
So who are
you?’ He asked taking a daring step towards her. The eight sentries
took two steps towards him and pointed sharp spears at him. Cezar
stopped in his tracks. Now he was sure the girl was a very
important person.

For the first time since she
appeared, the young girl smiled at him.

‘
I’m the
princess Moshen of Talori, the next in line after my mother, Queen
Elena of Talori.

Cezar raised
his eyebrows,
so this really was
Talori
; he thought to himself. His
excitement doubled.

'Oh my! Oh my!' he exclaimed no
longer able to hide his feelings. ‘And where if I may ask is Queen
Elena?’ Cezar asked coyly.

If this queen Elena was the
same evil queen he had heard about, he wanted to be sure to avoid
her but he was not to be that lucky because instead of answering
his question Princess Moshen turned and said, ‘follow me.’

Cezar was not sure if this was
a good or bad thing and as he stood trying to decide; four of the
princess’ sentries ushered him roughly along.

‘
Move!’ They
ordered.

Cezar did not bother arguing or
resisting because the sentries were much taller than he and they
were armed with swords in their scabbard as well as spears which
they pointed at him.

Like Princess Moshen, the
sentries too had hair that was white as snow. Cezar was just a wee
bit scared of them; but that was not at all because of the shining
silver swords they carried, nor because of their long sharp spears
nor because they were as tall as two fully grown men, nor even
because their hair was white as snow. It was because their eyes
were black as coal and when they looked at him, it seemed they were
looking right into his soul.

Cezar followed Princess Moshen
through long and winding corridors, with the sentries close on his
heels. They passed walls covered with all manner of living,
sea-creatures which bowed in reverence as Princess Moshen walked
past and when Cezar stretched out a hand to touch one of the living
sea creatures the four Sentries behind him pointed their spears at
him sending cold shivers down his spine. Cezar realised it was a
bad idea and retreated from touching them.

Finally, they entered into a
majestic hall decorated with bold coloured ornaments and scented in
the most pleasant scent.

On a throne was a woman sitting
regally. On her head was the most gorgeous crown made of sapphires
and diamonds and in her left hand was a long golden sceptre.

The woman was just as beautiful
as Princess Moshen but her hair was golden. Her eyes were icy and
ink blue, her nose shapely and straight and her lips were the exact
right size for her face. She was magnificent.

On her arms were long,
beautiful, delicate, transparent fins which reflected all the
shades of Blue one could think of and which were studded with huge
diamonds that shone brilliantly. She was surrounded on every side
by countless numbers of tall, ferocious looking sentries who all
looked identical to those who guarded princess Moshen.

Cezar knew this was the
Queen.

A million questions raced into
his head but he was tongue-tied and couldn’t find the words. He had
a million questions to ask her but didn’t know how.

Twelve old men with long white
beards stood before the queen, six to her left and six to her
right. They all possessed thick black dorsal fins which protruded
down the back of their necks to the base of their spine, and ended
in a six inch spear. The men were not as tall as the sentries but
they were taller than was usual for humans. They had piercing
orange eyes which contrasted sharply with their white beards.

Princess Moshen bowed before
the queen and took a seat to her right.

'Is this the stranger?' One of
the twelve men asked.

The princess nodded her head in
answer. All eyes turned to Cezar and he suddenly felt very
uncomfortable.

The man who asked the question,
glared at Cezar in the most unfriendly manner before he spoke.

‘
I’m Elder
Hosei of the city of Talori,' he said 'who are you?'

Before Cezar could answer, the
woman on the throne held her hand up. Her fingers were webbed and
there was a very large sapphire ring on her right thumb.

Cezar was pushed to his knees
before the woman on the throne. She gazed at him with icy, ink-blue
eyes that chilled him to the bones but though she looked scary,
Cezar was not afraid of her. For he sensed that beneath those icy,
ink, blue eyes lay some warmth that he could not understand.

‘
Stranger,’
she said; ‘tell Elena, the Queen of Talori, and her Elders what you
came to be doing in our waters.’

So she really
is the Queen Elena,
Cezar thought to
himself. He felt a cold, icy, chill pass down his spine as he
listened to the Queen; for her voice was the harshest voice he had
ever heard.
Surely someone so beautiful
could not possess such a terrible and disturbing voice.

He was suddenly surrounded by
an army of sentries with long spears pointing at him and demanding
that he answer the Queen’s question and he sensed that what
happened after this would depend on how much the queen believed his
reason for being in Talori.

Cezar began his story very
carefully. He started from the beginning, telling of his land
Ocracidia, of his quest to free his people, the goddess Zedia and
how he wanted to break the evil spell Diagus had placed on his
land.

No one spoke for moments after
he finished; then the Queen got off her throne and looked at
him.

‘
No one can
prove that the story you tell is true,' she said; 'and, no one can
ascertain that you are not a spy. I therefore have no choice but to
banish you to the dungeons; there you will live out your days in
servitude to Talori and its people.’

Cezar knew that the Queen did
not believe his story, but he did not for one minute intend on
becoming a slave.

‘
Oh most
gracious queen,’ he said, in the most gently and low voice he could
manage. ‘I did not intentionally enter into your kingdom; I was
brought here by someone who saved my life.’

Cezar looked the queen in the
eye and continued; ‘surely, my gracious Queen; that person did not
save my life in order for me to be condemned to your dungeons.’
Cezar bowed his head respectfully. ‘Give me a chance to prove that
what I tell you is the truth. Just one chance,’ he pleaded.

The queen gave a sign with her
left hand and the sentries who surrounded Cezar, lowered their
weapons and stepped away from him.

Cezar was a little relieved. He
waited for the queen’s response; but instead of speaking, she gave
another sign. One of the sentries stepped towards Cezar and helped
him to his feet.

The queen took her seat and
after a long pause, she said ‘very well, I will give you a chance
to prove what you tell me is true.' The queen looked to her elders.
The elders nodded in agreement. ' You must prove to Talori and her
people that you are not a spy or an enemy.’

This time her icy, ink-blue,
eyes pierced Cezar’s face as she spoke' ‘You must do this, by
facing in battle, three of Talori’s greatest defenders.’

Cezar did not know who these
defenders were or who they would be, but he was not afraid to fight
for his freedom.

‘
I accept the
challenge, great Queen,’ he replied.

Sounds of drums and trumpets
echoed loudly all around him and an announcer shouted; ‘The
Stranger in our midst has accepted the challenge to face the
defenders of Talori.' Then four Sentries stepped forward and
marched him away.

Cezar was taken to a dark cold
prison cell deep under the city. The cell was narrow, dark, had an
odour like that rotten fish. When Cezar walked in, the water
reached his ankles and soaked his shoes.

The walls of the cell were
slimy and green algae grew on them. A square stone rock sat in the
right corner of the cell. Cezar walked through the water and sat on
the rock waiting for what would happen next.

Chapter 9 Clawrion the defender
of Talori

 
Down in
the prison cell, Cezar tried to remain calm, he knew he was to face
a challenge but he didn’t know who, what, when or how. No one had
said anything to him and when he had tried to ask the guards that
had escorted him to his cell; they had looked right through him as
if he did not exit.

Cezar thought that this must be
what his father meant when he told him that to be calm in the face
of adversity was the mark of a great warrior.

But at that moment being calm
was the last thing Cezar was. He closed his eyes and took deep
breaths to calm his feelings but didn’t feel any better, instead he
felt restless and began to pace the length of the small and wet
cell.

He thought about Ocracidia and
wondered what his parents were doing. He missed both of his parents
and everything in Ocracidia but most of all he missed Nosa his best
friend who was a very good fighter.

Cezar heard footsteps approach.
Within seconds four sentries stood at the door of his cell and the
bars swept back. They signed for Cezar to step out and he was taken
back to his old room with the floating bed.

Two sentries waited in the
room, they held iron amours in their hand and Signalled for Cezar
to change into them. Cezar refused.

He shook his head and said,
'I’m not changing into those. I'm fighting in these;' he pointed to
the clothes he was wearing. The Sentries looked stunned but they
nodded and left the room.

Cezar knew that the challenge
was about to start and he waited patiently. He slid both hands in
his pockets, and felt the orchid flower and the fairies' statue. A
calm and gently feeling passed from his fingers to all parts of his
body like a cool breeze blowing. Cezar was no longer restless, his
spirit was unruffled and his mind quiet; he was ready to
battle.

Suddenly, a whooshing sound
like that of water rushing around could be heard and before Cezar
had time to think what it could be; the walls of his room varnished
and he was face to face with a creature the height and size of
three grown men.

The upper torso of the creature
was like that of a fish, and covered in giant sized brown fish
scales; with huge fins, but also with two arms. Its face was the
head of the ugliest looking fish Cezar had ever seen. It had large,
fang-like teeth which were disproportionate and which made its
mouth stay open. Its lower body was like that of a man with two
limbs. The creature’s feet were huge, webbed and ended in giant
claws; and when it turned, Cezar noticed a huge long tail.

Cezar had never seen a creature
which looked like the most horrendous upside down mermaid and he
instantly knew this creature was one of Talori’s defenders.

The walls of the room
re-appeared but this time they were strong, thick iron bars like
those of the prison he had just left. Cezar felt as if he was in a
cage with this creature with nowhere to run.

He took a number of steps away
from the creature; the creature took the same number of steps
towards him making the whooshing sound he had earlier heard.

The creature jeered loudly at
Cezar; and without warning, it rushed at him. Cezar ran out of its
way but the creature’s tail lashed at his back. Cezar doubled over
in pain from the impact of the creature’s tail on his back.

The creature charged at Cezar a
second time. Cezar whipped around quickly, there was nowhere for
him to go or run; he waited until the creature was almost on him
then dashed in between the creature’s enormous feet and ran to the
other side of the room. But the Creature was very agile.

In a flash, the creature turned
around flipping its long tail at Cezar. The tail narrowly missed
Cezar's face by inches.