Magnifico

Kylian is gone.

Sun and Jonas walked straight to the field and they stopped right where they would spare with each other. In the field, there were neatly cut woods in the area finely dug into the soil. Some of these woods supported fine circular wooden shaped objects. Rings were drawn on the body of these circular woods which aided archers when they fire their arrows and it helps to build up precision. It was used for training archers in Quinax and General Sun has often used it. In fact, he was considered the best archer in Quinax. Also in the field, the carpet grasses were finely cut, dressed, and wooden and iron swords were seen hanging on these woods.

“This training ground is top-notch, never seen anything like it before. Not even in my kingdom,” Jonas said surprisingly.

“Ha-ha” Sun laughed at the comment and was busy looking at the type of sword to select.

“Which sword would you prefer? Wooden or iron?” Sun asked.

“Wooden should be okay to avoid injuries but the fight won’t be iconic. So I would gladly accept the iron sword” Jonas said smiling.

“You really know how to put words together. Okay, I will go by the sword,” Sun said as he picks up two comfortable swords, threw one to Jonas and he catches it. He holds the second sword and the challenge was about to start. Sun and Jonas leaned backward as the challenge was about to start.

“Let the challenge begin,” Jonas said this with this crazy smile.

Jonas rushed towards Sun holding his sword with both hands, raising it, he swings. Sun blocked it instead of evading it and the clash of the sword sparked a light as the impact was heavy.

“That was heavy Jonas,” Sun said.

“oh, common General” Jonas said.

Sun forcefully loosened up by swiping away Jonas’ sword away which was on top of his. Shifting a bit from the grip, he leaned backward and Jonas did the same. He rushed towards Jonas and Jonas swiped the sword this time in a horizontal position, exactly at Sun’s neck region, but Sun saw it and rolled on the floor and hurriedly stood up.

“Not bad!” Jonas said as he smiles.

“Surprised?” Sun asked.

“Surprise? Hush! Considering someone of your status, I guess is the list of what you can do.” Jonas replied.

“You are smart. You answered just right.”

Jonas wanted to rush him again but he didn’t want to make a careless move, to avoid bruises. Sun couldn’t wait any longer, he ran towards Jonas with his sword held straight at his back, he jumped up and smashed his sword in a vertical position just on top of Jonas's head but Jonas managed to evade it but with a price. The incoming sword staggered through with a force that was more impactful than Jonas had thought so, it made Jonas quickly stay in a kneeling position.

“Oh, seems like you have given up already Jonas? You are kneeling,” Sun asked as he grimaced.

“Don't be mouthy. We are still starting”

“ha-ha. You are quite funny.” Sun said. Jonas forcefully and managed to slip through from the position, standing on his grounds, he dusted up his shirt. Without wasting much time, he swiped another heavy cut through left the left side but Sun bent down instead and rotated, brushing Jonas left foot. He fell to the floor and lost the grip of his sword.

“That’s enough General, you win. I accept defeat.”

“Oh… sounds better,” Sun said as he walks up to him to help him get up. He offered Jonas his hand and he took it, he stood on his feet.

Surprisingly, a clap was heard from the distance and they both looked to know who was clapping, it turned out to be King Zulu.

“Not bad General, you are still good at this. That was impressive.” The king said.

“My king!” Sun said and both he and Jonas bow down to greet the King.

“Seems like both of you are getting along with each other, well not bad. Jonas, your skill was impressive too, I thought you would stagger at first-round considering your opponent is a worthy one” Zulu said while coming closer towards them. King Zulu was with two-three guards and one of his eunuch, dressed up in one of his iconic royal cloaks.

“Thank you, king Zulu. The General took it easy on me, I wouldn’t have made it through the first round if he wasn't merciful.” Jonas said. The king had already closed in and stopped. “I can’t miss such an amazing opportunity so I want us to start this game afresh. This time around, it won’t be for the sword skills but the skill of archery. How does that sound?” Zulu asked.

“That’s my favourite,” Sun said smiling.

“What about you Jonas? You didn’t say anything. Are you interested?” Zulu asked, his head fixed waiting impatiently for an answer.

“Em. I am not a good archer but there is no harm in always trying. Who knows, by the end of the day, I will end up getting schooled by your Majesty’s benevolence skills and the General’s mastery.” Jonas said smiling. King Zulu wanted him to say yes but at the same time, wasn’t comfortable with the answer. He wondered how he answered the question so well but in a trickish way. He understood that Jonas is no easy picking and he was also worried if what Jonas displays is his real personality or hiding something and waiting patiently on when to unleash it.

“Hmm. Then, what are we waiting for? Let the show begin,” The king said with charisma.

The guards went and brought three crossbows and brought the quiver; a wooden built container that contained arrows, darts. They also helped set the circular wooden object on the tall wood that was inserted in the ground. The quiver was carried to a distance of about 100 foots away from the pan-like wooden material with rings drawn clearly on the body. The king, the General, and Jonas moved to where the quiver is so they could easily pick arrows when they start shooting.

“Who goes first?” king Zulu asked.

“You should of course,” Sun said.

“No, Sun. I think you should, you are better at this than me.” The king said.

“it still doesn’t matter. You should go first my King unless you are afraid I will beat you today” Sun said, busted out laughing.

They all took the crossbows and three rings were set each for them to shoot at and they scattered from each other to give themselves space. The king going first, he leaned forward, raising his bow. He faced perpendicularly to the circular wooden target. He placed his right foot forward, he held the arrow with his left hand, his right shoulder was on the target and he handled the arrow and string with his right hand. It was very obvious what his stance, that he was a right eye and side dominant person. He stood uprights, he pinched his buttocks together and slightly spaced his legs to be very balanced. He held his head steady, very sharp, and focused, he released the string. Boom! He lobbed his arrow exactly in the middle of the ring.

“wow!!The bull's eye. You just hit the bull's eye in one swoop. That was so impressive King Zulu. Have you been practicing? Sun asked surprisingly.

The king smiled and said “well, no. I haven’t been practicing. That was why I decided to join this. So this is a very big game for me. So who is next?”

“You are still next. You need to do it the second time so that the first one doesn’t seem like it’s just mere luck” Sun said and grinned.

The King snickered. He gently leaned backward, in the same position he was before, he drew his string and placed his arrow exactly as he did before, he released the arrow into the target. This time around, it didn’t hit the middle but it hit the second ring.

“That was impressive, you are very good and you have greatly improved,” Sun said.

“Thanks for the compliment. Now, it’s your turn General.’’

“Yeah. That’s right.” Sun said. He faced perpendicularly to the target. He used his left hand to live his bow and took two arrows from the quiver. He pointed the bow at the floor and he brought the arrows and attached them closely to the bowstring, he lifted the arrow and his head and steady. His stance was firm but yet steady, he spaced his legs and was ready to shoot. Jonas was watching closely and wondered how on earth he was going to be able to use both arrows simultaneously. The General shot and both arrows landed in the middle ring...

“Wow, that was super impressive!” Jonas exclaimed. “How did you do that?” he asked.

The General laughed. “That was very impressive, I couldn't have done that even if I practice for ten more years.” King Zulu said while clapping.

“It was just practice. I practiced and that’s all I can say,”

“It is more of a blessing than mere practicing. Well, it’s my turn.” Jonas said. He pulled the bow and picked an arrow. He placed the arrowhead in the bowstring and placed his right foot forward while facing perpendicularly at the target. It could easily be discerned that he is a left-eye shooter. He lifted his bow and stretched the string to release the arrow at the target, It landed at the third ring.

“That was close,” Sun commended.

“Not comparable to yours or the king's,” Jonas said.,

“Well, it was not bad,” Zulu said as he hands over his bow to one of his guards to keep. He continued “I think we need to get inside now. I don’t see Kylian around? Where has he been anyway?” he asked.

“I saw him in the court this morning, that was at sunrise,” Jonas said.

“where did you see him?” Sun asked.

“I saw him at the courthouse. I was taking my morning stroll when I saw him entering the main entrance.”

“That is weird. Anyway, I am going to send my guards to go fetch him. Keeping him away may make him feel ostracized.” King Zulu said. “meanwhile in the meantime, let’s get in and have some snacks” he added.

They both followed the king meanwhile one guard was sent to go fetch him and get him to the palace. The king, Sun, and the General strolled gently to the palace while they were talking and laughing. This event had brought the king and Jonas closer than before and the king didn’t know it. He could see himself laughing and replying to Jonas's questions and comments without sentiments. Jonas himself was happy that the king had come to play with them, he was happy to see the king forgetting and putting aside their differences and who he is or used to be. He saw the king was very happy and free with him and he assumed the king has started to forgive him and let off the grievances in his heart towards him. He enjoyed this moment, he wished it would last. It meant a lot to him because if the king can accept him, other people accepting him would be a lot easier. He was also happy that the General has looked past those sentiments he had against him. When they got to the palace, the door was opened wide for them. He went straight to the king's quarters where they all settled to a chair. The king ordered for tea for the three of them and asked his eunuch to send one of the kitchen servants to bring it to him. He took off his royal cloak and was putting on his regular outfits.

“There is one more thing we are going to do. We are going hunting when the time comes. We will see who is the best hunter amongst us” the king said.

Amongst us: Jonas couldn’t believe this statement. “Am I among the us?” He questioned himself.

“I am not a good hunter, but it would worth a try,” Sun answered. The servant had just entered with a tray with three cups of the king's favourite tea. He served the tea to all the three gentlemen and left.

General Sun drank the hot tea, it was just sweet. “This is good. Very good, your servants are good at making this” he said.

“That’s right. This is just my favourite. Maybe because I demand this every day, they have come to master the skill.” The king said. Jonas drank it in one swoop without minding how hot it was.

The guard that was sent to summon Kylian came back and told the king that Kylian was nowhere to be found.

“What did you just say? That Kylian can’t be found? Are you sure?” King Zulu.

“Yes. I searched for him in his house and also around but couldn’t find any trace of him.” The guard reassured.

“Where could he have gone to?” the King asked, his face confused. “You can go” he added and the guard left the room.

“He may be around. Who knows, he may be taking his time out to see around the fort. You know he is still new in this place and there are lots of places to look around so I believe he may be somewhere close. Let’s relax.” Sun said as he sips his tea confidently.

“Wait! Is there anything vital that is kept in the courthouse?” Jonas asked.

“Something kept? Like what?” the king asked.

“Something important, something vital that could get hidden or something.”

“Apart from the scroll, there is no other important document worth protecting. Every other important document and historic documents are kept somewhere safe with a minister in charge of that.” The king said.

“Then I think we should go check it out to know if it is still there,” Jonas said.

“Why do you think we should go check it out? Do you believe he took it or what?” Sun asked he dropped his cup at a stool.

“Remember I said I saw him in the morning there. Since he is nowhere to be found, I think we should go check out if he is there or probably checks if the scroll is still safely kept in the house.” Jonas said. The courthouse is just around the back of the main palace from where King Zulu stays. Inside the courthouse, the king sits just in the middle of the room and his elegant royal chair is situated at the extreme of the room. There is a linking door from the back of the room which is at the back of the royal chair. It’s only the king that takes this route when there is a meeting in the courthouse. Others follow the main entrance when there are meetings in the courthouse. They all agreed and went straight to the courthouse through the King's route. When they got inside the court, they started searching for Kylian.

“Where is Kylian?” the King asked.

He went straight to the chamber he had kept the scroll, inside the chamber he also kept the Manora's box. He unlocked it, and pulled the drawer but couldn’t find the box, not the scroll. He had kept it separately, the scroll was not kept inside the inside the box. He didn’t keep the scroll inside the box because he didn’t want to luck the box and in the process of opening it, it doesn’t work. The king's heart started pounding fast, he didn’t want to believe that Kylian took the scroll. He searched and threw almost every other unimportant documents out just to know if he had misplaced it but, it was to no avail.

“I can’t find the box!” King Zulu exclaimed.

“What about the scroll?” Jonas asked...

“They are both gone. Can’t find both of them, they all gone.”