A Feast of Wine and Regalia
1323 Words
Chapter 1. A Feast of Wine and Regalia
Rieo, capital of Zeth.
Pamel, a young lad of twenty three, simple and modest, has been recruited to the Peasant service commission.
He is to serve in the capital city of Rieo, a city with a reputation greater than any other city in Zeth.
As a lover of dragons, which comes in different species and colours, Pamel is determined to create a better life for himself, and that of his cousin Kera.
Pamel and Kera were recruited as peasants while they where eighteen. Both Kera and Pamel, have turned twenty three and they are no longer teens.
Rieo wasn't famous for its vast economy and military sophistication alone, it was famous for the rumour that said it harboured a sanctuary of dragons and it's rulers, the chiefs of Rieo, who would later become gods where fearsome and ruthless murderers.
Dragons were equally murderers, Pamel thought. At least if you weren't their riders or ally.
They come in a vast array of colors, with nostrils that breathe fire when you make them angry, and bodies closest in size of a cart or a dozen canons.
Rieo, a capital city and the most industrial city of Zeth, had sentries and centurions littered all over the city.
The presence of these sentries, gave foreigners, peasants and even commoners the impression that none could rob, raid or carry out criminal activities anywhere around the city.
why he was recruited into the peasant service commission was unclear to Pamel.
He wasn't aware or informed about the trajectory his life had taken, the moment he was brought to Rieo, capital of Zeth.
It is not until later, he fully understands the purpose of his recruitment, alongside his cousin.
Prior to Pamel's recruitment, he lived a simple humble life by the beach of kerazona. He was a mere teen, struggling and working his ass out daily to put food or fish on the table, to enable himself and his cousin get through life.
The actual identify of Pamel's parents is also undisclosed until later.
Pamel claims he doesn't remember meeting neither of his parents before their absolute disappearance.
"Pamel, get your arse here" a sentry yells.
Pamel looked above his shoulder to the sentry. He was pointing to the stable.
The chiefs were going to have a feast, and judging from the way the sentry yelled, and the look/uniform the others adored themselves with, it appeared to be a grand feast.
Pamel was a rather lucky Peasant. Very few peasants worked in the royal capital city and the threshold on the Chiefs who ruled Zeth.
His meals where slightly better than the ones fed to regular peasants and workers in the city
"In a moment sir, I'd get the mares ready to deliver the royal messages and invitation."
"Very well then" the sentry nodded and left.
With a hiss, Pamel goes to get food and water for the mares. He grabbed a few tools including a spade, to clean the stable as well.
As he cleaned, and scrubbed, the thoughts of his brothers and sisters from Dreg working day and night to build an ultra modern sanctuary for dragons they had never seen, with little or no renumeration, was stabbing.
Although Kera was a girl, she was forced to serve at the site for the erection of this sanctuary.
Minutes before the sentry yelled for him to resume clean up of the stable, Pamel had eavesdropped on a conversation between Chief Medard, the most influential and affluent Chief in the capital, with Chef Sekani, whose stable he was now ridding off dirt.
They spoke of a missing dragon egg and how the dragons would need to exercise their wings, talon, tail, breath and heat if they would survive another month in clandestine.
Pamel didn't hear the entire conversation, but he knew what it was centered on and where it was leading.
Minutes before the feast, Pamel was speeding up the gravel in a cart and while he sped away, he contacted with a few other peasants working on the new site for the sanctuary.
"Apollo!"
"Pamel, you should be in the stable wor_"
"Don't have all the time in the world, where's Kera?"
"She serves stone to the others at the staircase of the first story."
Pamel shook his head with dejection.
"You okay?"
"Shoosh, go now Apollo, I see a sentry advancing towards us."
Apollo walks back hastily to his position at the fence being built. Pamel rode along speedily.
"You there!" The sentry cried.
Apollo pretending not to hear, acted as though the sentry spoke to another.
'Slllssshssssh'
the sound of a long whip kissing a fresh bare human back under the weight of heat, light and sun.
"Arrrggggghh"
Apollo cried in agony. He was in great pain from the whip.
It was three in the afternoon, a notable time, for the sun to be fiercest. A time when people needed rest from the heat and liquid to quench taste.
Instead, it was the exact time the sentries where active most and the peasants forced to work the most.
What's demotivating the most about the construction, is the fact that after they had put in all their efforts, time and energy, their only reward was tax reduction and liberty to live in hovels and slums around the city.
Although the reward highlighted was given to them, they didn't have a choice either.
"You! are you going to get up already or_"
He gestured to the whip and dramatically raised it to a good degree, upwards, as though he was going to lash Apollo another stroke.
The sight of sentries beating and lashing peasants, whom Pamel is a part of, was heartbreaking and devastating.
Pamel stopped his cart by a corner, as soon as he was out of eyesight.
His cart moved gently and slowly back to the castle. Reflecting on what he had just seen, Pamel cursed and spat at such despicable treatment.
The heavy fiery sunlight had set and risen again. The plants looked bright and beautiful with the beams of the yellow sun. The garden of the castle was greenish, and blooming. A good evidence the gardeners were committed to their tasks.
"You there" Medard gestures to two sentries standing lazily at the entrance of the royal halls of Rieo the capital of Zeth.
The royal castle at Rieo, was the most significant building in the city. It harboured the elite chiefs, who would be gods, as well as the finest servants, to render the finest service.
"Be sure that no peasants set foot in the royal halls of Rieo, until the feast is done."
"Also, should any worker in the castle bring food to them, the same shall be forced to take their place, while the former comfortably switch positions."
In the hall, the elite chiefs gathered by the right, and on the left, nobles and heads of hamlets. Chief Medard after a brief introduction went directly to the core reason for the meeting.
The hall where the feast was held, was one for discussing royal matters, ranging from growth of to the military in the city, and the growth of the military in neighboring cities or countries.
The hall had gigantic statues around it and each pillar in the hall, was a uniquely crafted piece of art and abstraction.
"As you all know, we've got a number of dragons hidden from public eyes, in the dungeon of this castle.
We'vealso kept their eggs separate and as a result, forcefully engaged a number of peasants in forced labour, to erect a sanctuary for these creatures."
The sentries murmured and whispered as Medard spoke.
"A number of peasants work here in Rieo, and just last night, the president (of sentries and other centurions,) informed me of a missing dragon egg in the dungeon. Gentlemen, the noble or chief who finds this thief, shall be rewarded greatly and generously."
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