The kingdom of Neba.
The King's Palace…
Wazir ran down the stairs and headed straight for his father's study. After his dream, he
wasn't sure he would be able to sleep well again. His mother's maids in front of his room ran
after him, begging him to calm down and stop running since he was just recovering. He paid
them no heed, running as fast as he could towards his father's study. Once he arrived, he didn't
bother knocking and barged inside.
His father stood by his window, looking at the outer palace fields where the soldiers
trained. He quickly turned his head around at the sudden intrusion, annoyance masking his
expression.
"What in the heavens is going on here?" He asked, looking at Wazir and the maids who
had run after him. The maids bowed to the king, and Wazir looked at his father, hoping his
expression told him of the importance of his visit.
"Leave us." The king commanded the maids. They left the study still, bowing their heads,
and quietly shut the door behind them.
"What is it?" The king asked, going straight to the point.
"I had a vision." At that, the king left the window and headed for his seat.
"Tell me." He said after sitting down.
"I doubt you would want to sit for this, but no worries. This war is more than we had
expected." The king raised his brows.
"You mean our fight with those Allikans?"
Wazir nodded. "That fight was just the tip of the iceberg. They attacked other kingdoms
except for the blood kingdom.
"Yes, I heard of that." The king folded his hands atop his desk. "The strange thing is their
movement in Pres. Is different from how they attacked Neba and Tush."
"Father, that isn't the worst part," Wazir said, shivering as he thought of the dream.
"What is?" His father asked.
"Elena is in the midst of it all. She is the only one who has the power to stop the war." At
that, the king stood up, both his hands placed atop his desk. Different conflicting emotions ran
through his face, but the more profound was fear, fear for his granddaughter.
"Our Elena? How does she fit into all these?" The king was shaken, and Wazir couldn't
blame him. He lost his daughter and finally got to meet his granddaughter, and now, he is being
told that she is the one who can stop a war or possibly die trying.
"I need to send a message to Old man Porv. He would tell me what was going on. She is
supposed to be on her way by now." The king looked around for writing materials, putting on a
solid front that would have been believable if his hands hadn't stopped shaking.
"He wouldn't know," Wazir said softly. "Her path towards her destiny has already
begun." At that, the king slumped down on his seat.
"Do not lose hope," Wazir called out. "We still have a way of helping her." The king sat
up immediately.
"What is that?"
"Find the close dead and bring to life. Find the living and bring to death. We have to
understand this riddle and do what it says so that we would be able to help Elena."
"The close dead and bring to life..." The king whispered, putting his hands on his chin. "I
would think it was talking about bringing Elena's mother back to life, but that would be much of
a long stretch wouldn't it?"
Wazir smiled softly. "No. Even if it wasn't, who would be the life that we have to bring to
death?"
"You're right." The king released a weary breath. "How long do we have to carry out this
action?"
"At most two months," Wazir replied.
"Two months," the king sighed, rubbing his hands over his face.
"Since Elena's right in the middle of this war, let's start looking from angles we never
noticed. Elena wanted to learn sword fighting to defeat her father and take revenge for her
mother. Perhaps the riddle is situated in that dream of hers. We need to study the king of Pres
more closely."
"I thought you sent Svetlana on that job, while Darukï stayed here with us."
"Yes, but she was told to monitor what was going on in that palace, and not the king
himself. She would need to be instructed on her new mission."
A knock sounded at the study's door.
"Come in." The king called out. The door opened slowly, revealing a small messenger
boy. His size was deceiving, as he was one of the smartest and deadliest of the King's spies.
Anyone who saw him would take him for a small servant boy, not knowing that his looks were
precisely how he wanted people to view him. If anyone ever crossed him, it would be too late
before he or she realized they were dead. Wazir has trained with him numerous times, and
although he had defeated him during those periods, it hasn't been easy. The spy used his size to
his advantage, and someone as big as Wazir would have a hard time catching up.
"My Lord," the spy called out, bowing his head.
"What do you have for me?"
"It's grave news, my Lord." The spy said, going straight to the point. "The Allikans are
not attacking the Kingdom of Pres, no, they are residing there. They have made it their
headquarters. The king of Pres is colluding with them."
"What?" The king shouted, anger clouding his features.
"Yes. Svetlana hasn't been able to get much of their plans as they always meet in the
king's secret place, but she is going to try to follow them the next time. While she roams the
palace, I roam the kingdom, and at times the lower parts of the palace."
"What have you heard?"
"The citizens of the kingdom are scared, they are not as docile as the world sees them. It's
almost like, they were charmed into being docile, and are just waking up. So many of them are
scared, especially after viewing the white garbed men who roamed around their streets. They are
fearful, and are starting to wonder just what had become of their kingdom."
"Did you just say, charmed?" Wazir asked. The spy nodded.
"They all looked weird. The majority of them stood outside their houses, studying it as if
they were just seeing it for the first time. Some were straight-up bawling, and some were
hugging the people who had lived in the same houses with them so tightly and fondly as if they
were just reunited."
"That's what made you come to this conclusion?"
"Yes, my Lord."
"Hmm," the king said. He moved out of his seat and started pacing.
"If it's as you said, then we must keep an eye on the king. Maybe he has been colluding
with these people long in the past even before the war."
"Or maybe, "Wazir joined in. "He was also hypnotized. We have to study those around
him that are in a way related to these Allikans. They are the only people who I think would have
the power to carry out this act."
"Go," the king commanded the spy. "Tell Svetlana that her mission has changed. She is to
keep an eye on the king and those closest to him."
"Yes my Lord." The spy bowed and left the room. The study was quiet, each to their
thoughts.
"What if this king had been hypnotized into killing our sister?" Wazir whispered silently.
"I still would never forgive him. I am very sure that all these wouldn't have happened in
the first place if he hadn't dabbled in places he wasn't ever supposed to."
Wazir nodded his head, totally in agreement with the king.
"But let's forget about that for now, we have to start working on the riddle." His father
said.
"Father, another thing. We have to train our men. They have to start training intensely.
One day, they would fight something more powerful than them, and I would need their stamina
for them to make it through, even if they would never be able to destroy it."
"Why are you saying this?"
"The Allikans have an Arsenal, a person more powerful than them, capable of destroying
a city at just one blow. That person can kill hundreds with just the snipe of the finger. This is the
kind of person we are going against, and even if we would not be able to win the battle, we still
have to train our stamina and mindset to prepare us for when we win the war."
"Heavens," the king sighed. "Things just keep getting better and better.
*****
The Kingdom of Pres...
The King's Castle.
Svetlana walked briskly through the vast halls, her head bowed as she tried to reach the
outer walls. She had never liked staying in this palace, and with the guest they had roaming
about every corner of the place, it became worse for her. She kept on walking, her head bowed
when she saw the head general of the Allikans. Immediately she frowned. She saw him
whispering to one of his men, urging him to follow. He looked around, trying to see if there was
any suspicious person, before going. Svetlana stayed where she was for a while, then started
following them when they had reached an acceptable distance from her. She followed them all
through the inner walls of the palace, heading straight to the special room the queen had prepared
for them. Once she saw that they were settled, she remained behind for a while. Indeed, the
general came out to see if anyone had been following him. When he found no one, he went back
into the room and closed the door.
Svetlana counted till ten before she then started for the door. When she reached it, she
stood behind and listened.
"Our plans so far has been going great. But someone has been removing our men from
Tush one by one, silently." A voice whispered. She didn't recognize that voice, so she
immediately tagged it as the soldier that had followed the head, general.
"What do you mean?" That was the deep baritone of the general, one she recognized very
well.
"I do not know my Lord. I have tried tracking the person, but it was like they
disappeared."
"Try harder. We need to find who that person is. Even if the kingdom of Neba was able
to defeat our men, they still had a hard time doing it. For someone to be able to destroy them
without causing a ruckus, that person has to be very powerful. We should find that person, and
fast.
"What do we do when we find the person?"
"Bring him or her to me. They may prove useful in our cause."
"And if they don't?"
"We kill them. Isn't that the normal way of things?" The general said, chuckling.
"Come over, I need to regain my power."
"But my Lord, I thought you brought me here to be a soldier for you."
"And you are a soldier aren't you? A very competent one at that. My sweet Nala, you
have proven me wrong time and time again, and you cannot know how much I am happy about
that. Our women are to stay behind, but because you begged me, I found a way to bring you
along. Though every warrior except I do not know your real identity, that doesn't mean you are
truly a man. Besides, we are betrothed. Our wedding would come once all these are over. What's
the difference between what we have been doing back home and what we are doing now? I don't
need the extra energy, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to have more. And you are also going
to gain from it aren't you?"
"Yes, my Lord."
"Good. Now strip for me."
Svetlana left when their moaning sounds became too much for her to bear. Disgusted, she
walked out of the passage and continued her brisk walk to the outer walls. She had been fruitful
and had gained a lot from this encounter. The said soldier who followed the general was a
female, and the Allikans relied on having sexual relations with them to restore their strength.
This shouldn't have been a surprise to her, after all, she was part of them once and was
raised to provide energy for the warriors.
She and her Father were also Allikans.