Magnifico

Wrath

The young King of Jazz called Jasmine had sent a letter to the king of Alaphas, he wanted them to form a strong team, a truce, and also become allies. He thought that it would be a nice idea to work with the kingdom of Alaphas after he was advised by some of his royal advisers to do so. He wanted to play safe and he thought that it would protect his own kingdom, Jazz, from any external invasion.

Jasmine was young, handsome, tall, and quite skinny with long hair. The hair was well packed, all back, with a Royal pin he had packed his hair with. Jasmine had no heir to his throne yet and he was the only son of his father.

The letter had arrived in the kingdom of Alaphas and wasn’t well-received by King Jonas. He wondered what would make a stupid and naïve young king called Jasmine send such a Letter. “Muhahaha” King Jonah laughed devilishly. “ This young King with a hair packed like a peacock, had the guts to send a stupid later like this to me,” said King Jonas as he stood up from his Royal chair. He considered this as one of the biggest insults in his entire life and he promised to go to war with the kingdom of Jazz.

So what the King of Alaphas did in return was to send back a letter to Jasmine telling him how well he received the letter. In the letter, Jonas told him that after reading the one he had sent, it helped him get rid of his headache— a headache he had suffered for years. He stated how happy he was about the whole thing and also made Jasmine understood that he was going to be the happiest man on the planet if he agrees to work with him too. He promised Jasmine that he was going to seal off the friendship agreement by bringing him a gift on the third day of the next month.

Jasmine on receiving this feedback was elated and super excited so he planned to call for a party. “King Jasmine! I don’t really like the feedback given to us by the King of Alaphas, he doesn’t have a reputation of keeping up to agreement or promises,” one of Jasmine’s advisors said. The king heard this and told the advisor that he was full of negative energy, told him that anything is possible.

“Prepare a banquet at once, good news is worth celebrating,” Jasmine said excitedly. They partied that night and most people in Jazz that had no idea what was being celebrated also took part in the excitement.

“Now, we are going to send the peacock king a little surprise, he’s looking for an ally, we send him one,” said King Jonah furiously. They planned on gifting Jasmine thousands of gallons of liquors on the day they would meet, which was to be the upper month.

King Jonah had planned to send some gallons of fine wine, of which most gallons will be filled with soybean oil; an oil that is highly flammable and toxic. King Jonah had planned to use this against Jasmine’s kingdom. It would be a perfect way to sneak in this dangerous and highly flammable liquid inside Jasmine’s kingdom that would aid them to succeed in what they had planned to do. King Jonah had planned to start a fire that will put the kingdom of Jazz into confusion before he starts unleashing his blessings to them.

Jasmine hadn’t seen or heard about Magnifico before but one thing was sure to him; Alaphas king had a strong army. Most kingdoms haven’t witnessed the power of Magnifico neither have they witnessed his fighting prowess. Those that witnessed it or most people that did, didn’t leave to tell the story.

On the day Jonas planned to visit the kingdom of Jazz, he also had an ulterior motive he wishes to deliver in the most surprising way. Matching towards the gate of Jazz, the guards had seen Jonas' soldiers matching with him. They had with them dozens of horses, and dressed in military attires. The gate was opened and they had to come in and they were shown to the King’s palace where they were to be officially welcomed by Jasmine and his entourage. King Jasmine was told about their arrival and he went out to welcome then at once. “What a pleasant surprise! I have achieved what many kingdoms had failed or had wanted to achieve; the Alaphas King visiting my kingdom himself to honor the invitation in had given to him” he said joyfully to his supporters. Before he went out to welcome the soldiers from Alaphas, he had taken time to apply his make-up, dressed his fine hair which he braided into a fine new style. Used his pin to wrap it up all back and also taken out time to shave his eyebrows. King Jasmine looked as though he was about to attend a wedding ceremony.

“Welcome Jonas, it’s my honour to finally meet you in person. I have heard stories about you and your great country” Jasmine said as he brings out his hands to shake Jonas. “Of course, you will still hear more and more about me” Jonas replied. They settled down to a chair, both Kings sitting at a close distance to each other, drinking and having fun. There was no sign of maginifico anywhere because Jonas had hidden Magnifico in one of the vessels brought as a gift for Jasmine. When the party started, King Jonas had requested that to be given permission to present entertainers to the king; entertainers who had come from Alaphas. Jasmine agreed at once because he wanted to keep make Jonas comfortable.

The entertainers were welcomed and were dressed in their costumes. They were performing with candlesticks, drums, spears, and some musical instruments to make their folk dance to look as beautiful as it should be. While they were at it, Magnifico and the rest of the soldiers hidden in vessels that were used to convey drinks from Alaphas to Jazz sneaked out and started killing secretly, few soldiers posted at different posts in the village. Each soldier killed was hidden immediately somewhere the body won’t be found so that they don’t get to expose their plans beforehand and make things more difficult.

While the drummers and the entertainers were dancing; the dancing became more tensed and tensed, the fireworks were becoming more like a battleground than an entertaining ground. The entertainers were brandishing their swords and spears, their dance steps weren’t in harmony with the rhythmic pattern of their music. Jasmine didn’t take note of what was happening just right opposite of him because he was so excited and his body was filled with joy as though he has achieved something very magnificent; none in his lineage has ever achieved before. While the event was ongoing, Jonas' soldiers were placing their wine vessels in parts, laying most side by side and placing some in different places as if they were employed to do so. Unbeknownst to people of Jazz, the wine vessels were a time bomb that would aid the destruction of their kingdom forever. If they knew the fire that would later destroy their kingdom would come from wine, nobody in Jazz will ever drink again. Magnifico and his army minions were waiting for orders to be given to them to start unleashing mayhem on the innocent people of Jazz.

“My kingdom is filled with joy that we are celebrating a union. forming this truce today with your great kingdom of Alaphas has always been my dream and I am also pleased to see that you also blessed the occasion by sending gifts, drummers, and even entertainers to make it historic” Jasmine said excitedly. “Muhahaha! You are quite good at exaggerating things Jasmine, these things you saw are nothing. More would come” said Jonas. Jasmine may be thought that what the Alaphas king meant was that more gifts are on the way or probably in the long run, the Alaphas king will be providing his country with gifts as a sign of partnership. “Rumors about you and the realities on the ground are totally different. People do get negative reviews about your kingship and your kingdom most often. But I believe that there’s no country without blemishes no matter how good you are” Jasmine said to Jonas. They were both laughing when Jonas gave a signal to his armies. Jonas's hidden soldiers spotted by a soldier who was patrolling, taking notes, and supervising other soldiers in order to keep everyone at work.

“Intruders, intruders, itruuu…..” and the voice died down, a soldier, Jazzian soldier was just shot down by an arrow. “Secure the king at once” a Jazzian official sitting next to Jasmine said as he runs towards the young king. It appeared that some of the vessels containing the fine wine has been leaked and the oil was spilled all over the places. And a fire was lit up, the whole people scattered into different directions.

Before the soldiers could secure their King, Jonas has used his side dagger to slice through Jasmines' throat. “You trust too much pretty boy,” Jonas said as he moved through the running mob, drawing his sword to defend himself.

Magnifico and Jonas’ soldiers have already started slaughtering Jazzian warriors, and the fire was burning down almost everything around. Animals in the village that were in pens we’re not spared by the fire, horses there were tied to a peg were unlucky because none could escape the flame. Decimation and total annihilation were the right words to describe what the Alaphas did to the people of Jazz. “I wish I had listened to the voices of my people, my greatest regret is dying young without even a single heir to my throne, all I thought I had achieved and all I thought I have built over the years have gone up in flames” sai,d Jasmine as he wiped bitterly; covered in blood.

After the Alaphas were through with their plans, they cut off Jasmine’s head and took it with them when they traveled back to Alaphas. There were few losses on the side of the Alaphas because their plan worked out perfectly. They didn’t record much death, just a few wounded soldiers and that was all.

“I’m pleased to declare openly that our accomplishment today was mind-boggling, not only will it send shivers down the spine of our adversaries but it will also make them worry and be more concerned about what we can possibly attain.. We aren’t going to stop, we aren’t going to relent nor fear any rival. We must acquire many provinces and make our kingdom to be the largest in the north coast and also the west coast” Jonas said happily as he was congratulating his soldiers on their new success.

Jonas was sitting at the left corner of his corridor, which was about 300 foots above the ground level. He was watching at his kingdom, his newly acquired weapons. He was watching as his soldiers were training at the south side of his grand Tower. He was also watching as his people were walking around like kings and queens. This sight made him happy because to him; everything was falling into place. “Who's there? He said as he draws out his sword.

It was Magnifico. He rushed towards the king and carried him up like a child and threw him off the tower. As the king was plummeting and tumbling in the air, he landed on top of a horse wagon.

Boom! Jonas woke up from sleep and it was a nightmare.

Chapter 9 ( Takeover)

Jonas had woken up from sleep, gasping for air, his neck was paining him as though he was muffled with piece of fabric. He couldn’t believe what he saw in the dream, he really hoped this wasn’t happening to him in real-life because the feeling he had didn’t appear like a dream to him. It happened that Jonas was still lying on his bed, he tried to go outside to have some fresh air when he noticed that there was someone hiding in the dark.

At this point, he was gripped, clasped, and overwhelmed with fear. The wind and the breeze infiltrating his room extinguished his candlelights but before the last one could go off, he saw a shadow of someone as if someone was watching him. “Who is there? Show your self” he asked in anxiety. Behold; it was Magnifico and he didn’t utter a word, he left instead.

Jonas started to worry; what could make Magnifico watch him in the dark as though he was being targeted. To him, it seemed very unpleasant and very alarming, but he kept it to himself. The following morning, Jonas left to the Palace, and when he got to the palace, He couldn’t believe what his eyes saw. “is that Magnifico sitting on my throne?” The king was shocked to see that the beast he had brought and restrained to be his solder has started showing some unusual attitude and this started to worry him. He remembered the dream he had the night before and also remembered to have seen Magnifico in the spate of darkness.

“King Jonas, I think my reign has come. It is time I start showing the world the man behind the mask of your success and glory. I Magnifico, the spirited fighter of Sytrits, the dead soldier of the netherworld shall from today onwards, rule over Alaphas and its acquired provinces” Magnifico said in his thick and deep voice.

“You can’t achieve anything without my help,” said Jonas in retribution. As Magnifico heard this, he stood up and hurried towards Jonas; encircled his hands around Jonas's neck, and lifted him up like a child.

“Without your help? You can’t be serious. You have absolutely nothing of value to me. You’re useless, you are human, you are vulnerable.” Magnifico told Jonas angrily as he leaves him to fall from a height more than 11foot tall. The king fell down gasping for air and he was engulfed in fear.

“How could this be possibly happening? I still can’t believe that dug my own grave all this period” Jonas questioned himself momentarily. “I will fix this” he added. Everyone knelt down for Magnifico who has become the new leader of Alaphas. He has overthrown Jonas and it all happened too fast; a sudden change of power was what Jonas never thought of these while, he didn’t see that coming, and not even his evil laugh could save him. Jonas never believed that this could happen to him, him above all people. He didn’t reckon a seamless coup could ever remove him as a king. The king thought of a second plan and was looking for a means to execute it. He had a secret weapon; the scroll was stolen from a temple in Sytrits; the land of the dead.

“If you bow down to me as your new King, I will consider sparing your life. But if you go contrarily, or find any reason to defy my orders here, I will snap your throat and eat your hearts. I will chop off your testicles and have a taste of those two balls that made you did what you did” Magnifico echoed.

All the people in the room bowed down immediately to Magnifico except Jonas who was still awed by what was happening in his kingdom. He was still thinking how to bring back the hand of time and make things to go back the way it used to be but to no avail.

“Jonas” Magnifico echoed with his deep voice “ kiss my toes now”

Jonas who had no choice had to bow down in humiliation, knelt down and kissed Magnifico's right toes. Magnifico raised his left foot and matched Lucas on the head..

“from now on, I give orders around here. I’m your new King and I need to be treated as one” said Magnifico who was looking directly into Lucas eyes. Lucas was helpless at this point, he had to bear the shame because to him, it was momentarily and won’t last; so he thought. Lucas was ousted from the palace by his soldiers on the orders of Magnifico. But before Lucas left the palace, he went straight to his racks where he had hidden the scroll he stole from Sytrits, brought it out secretly and stashed it inside his coat, at his back pocket. He was shown to his new quarters and the palace was left for Magnifico to handle as it pleases him.

The following morning, Magnifico assembled soldiers right in front of the palace entrance. He also summoned Jonas and ordered him to be in attendance. When Jonas arrived, he saw Magnifico standing at the frontline addressing the soldiers and telling them about the sudden change of power. He told them that he is their new Commander in chief. He also recognized Jonas as a very important person in the affairs of the country. Jonas was watching in anguish as he was reduced to a mere public servant by the beast, who didn’t even acknowledge his royalty, status or who he is or rather in this case, who he used to be. He was humiliated and pained by Magnifico's words as though he was struck with a sharpened claw. He has never felt that embarrassed in his entire life; made him felt like digging a hole in the ground to hide himself from the shame that revolved around him. Heahad to bear the shame of looking into the eyes of the soldiers he used to order around, and be used to humiliate, soldiers that feared him. The way Jonas see the world started changing; the once most feared tyrant man has been reduced to a mere official by a creature he invited himself to his palace.

“I will be the king of the entire provinces and all the territories….” Magnifico said hysterically.

At this point, Jonas started devising a hidden agenda, he wished to share it with someone to know what the person's suggestion would be but not like he had a wife or kid he could share things with. He has always had concubines and prostitutes brought to him to keep him satisfied and happy. He thought of going to Quinax and surrendering himself to their King in an exchange for a very important information concerning Magnifico, he thought maybe he may be given a chance when he tells them how important it is to keep him alive because he holds the key to Magnifico's destruction. He was going back to his quarters after he had met Magnifico when all these thoughts came to his mind.

In the night, Magnifico had gone to a pagoda near the north side of the palace; he was conjuring and invoking dark Powers. This he had done every night to strengthen and renew his energy. He stays alone while doing this and no soldier is found anywhere near the pagoda. It is believed that Magnifico's strength and power comes from a black magic and no natural power could have easily eliminated him or have him killed.

Jonas had wondered why Magnifico had constantly gone to the pagoda alone every night, so he became very furious. Him too went out the same night to see for himself what Magnifico does inside this mighty pagoda alone by himself. He left his quarters, approached the pagoda from the side; hid himself along the wall flower at a point where he could be eavesdropping and peeping to see and hear what Magnifico was up to.

“ Muraki bshh demooone baski estraaadeee, nostre dome okipus sanchili…….” Magnifico was saying quietly as he was conjuring and making blood sacrifices.

Jonas saw as his strength, body changed. His muscles changed and every part of his greenish veins became visible. His eyes glowed into a whitish crystalline bulb and Jonas could sense the power in the room.. He has never seen anything like it and never knew Magnifico could have such power.

Magnifico comes to the pagoda off and on to renew his energy and strength through offering of blood sacrifice and conjuring some kind of spirit by casting spells he had memorized in his head. Without doing this, his energy will be weak and his weaknesses can easily be squelched.