Blade and blood

“War is coming.” Mukhya Sachiv or the chief minister Gorandale announced as he entered the courtroom of the palace. He stormed into the court and was drenched in sweat. He was quivering with fear. He took deep breaths. Gorandale was a man of five decades or fifty years. He has seen many wars in his lifetime and he knows the one coming will be going to be the greatest. It would threaten the existence of the whole kingdom. No one ever expected this to happen. How could they take up weapons? He was tall but fragile. He was also a skinny man with a white beard and long silver hair. His eyes were shallow and he had a long nose. He wore a long silver robe over his white dress. The silver robe was the indication of his rank. The whole courtroom was silent. They already understood the rise of imminent danger. The news of unrest in the north was already heard of. The Zolopts were on the move gathering armies with them. Two small kingdoms in the north were decimated. Women and children were slaughtered and the men were forced to join the army. Most of the men in the courtroom did not know anything about the Zolopts. There were twenty-five ministers and fifteen officials in the throne room. Fifty soldiers stood everywhere around the room, five behind the king and two each on either side in the front. All were armed with double-edged spears and straight swords. They wore black leather, silver metal helmets to protect their head and shield in front of their body. The throne had a main entrance in front and two exits at the back on either side behind the throne. One of the exits went straight into the bed-chamber of the king. “The Mahessas were also defeated.” As no one spoke, Gorandale decided to expand the news he received. “A messenger from the north also said Jeneprona has surrendered to the Zolopts. Now the whole regions beyond the Korostary Mountains are under the Zolopts.” His voice was trembling. “What about Viyora?” an old man in the court counted there was one more kingdom in the region beyond the mountains. He was the oldest member of the court, an ex-minister, but still, he held a prominent seat in the court. He was more than eight decades old. His voice was low and unrecognizable. Gorandale heard the murmur and he looked towards the old man. “Shoombreyar, oh wise one, you said something. I didn’t hear it properly.” He looked at the old man. Shoombreyar slowly stood up from his seat with the help of an iron rod. He was a majestic man with a bald head and long silver beard and thick mustache. He has been in the court for more than five decades and served three kings. He wore a silver robe too as he was offered respect by the king and the other members of the court. He was equally ranked as the Mukhya sachiv though he wasn’t assigned any duties. “As far as the texts say, there are five kingdoms beyond the mountains. Merassa, Aumbara, Jeneprona, Mahessa and Viyora.” His voice was too low and the whole court was dead silent to hear his words. “These Zolopts rose from the Dark Mountains beyond Merassa and defeated each kingdom one by one. As I know Merassa and Aumbara were devastated by their attack. Mahessa was now defeated and Jeneprona has surrendered. Viyora is still standing and we have no message of their defeat.” “Oh wise one, do you think that Viyora would stand a chance against the Zolopts?” Gorandale asked. He knew that it was an unnecessary question. The answer was obvious. A battle could delay the advance though. “Viyora is a hard place to fight.” Shoombreyar addressed the court. “The region is high at altitude and surrounded by dense forests. Each warrior in Viyora is equal to ten warriors of any kingdom. I had the privilege to watch the combat of two Viyorans in their land where they fought twenty soldiers from Magandry and defeated them. I am not saying our warriors are inferior but Viyorans are giants and ferocious warriors. You need to see them to really know them. Once you see the Viyorans you will accept what I just said.” The old man was highly impressed by Viyora. He had once visited the land beyond the ranges. He was a guest in the court of Viyora and stayed in the kingdom for more than three years. In fact, he is the only person alive in Nakha who has crossed the mountains. All the others were long dead. He has visited Mahessa and Aumbara too. It was five decades back. Fifty years would have made a lot of changes in the northern regions. “We don’t know what the Zolopts are capable of. How great the Viyoran warriors maybe I don’t think it would make a difference. The Zolopts are destroying all the lands they are capturing and turning them into dead lands. I am sure they have already captured Viyora.” Gorandale stated. The old man shook his head in denial but said nothing. He slowly gets back to his seat. He was not ready to believe that the Viyorans would be defeated. In his seat, he tried to remember those days. It was the marriage of princess Cerene. She was married off to the Viyoran prince Veyinta. A group of fifty members including the then prince, Nagashmere, who was the father of Nagmeromon, the king who was ruling now, accompanied princess Cerene to Viyora. “Do we really need to fear them?” a young minister stood up and asked. The Zolopts captured the area beyond the Korostary Mountains but what if they won’t cross the mountains. The trek is almost impossible. The mountain range stands tall touching the sky.” He has never seen the mountain ranges but has read a lot about them. The ranges go as high as ten thousand meters above the ground and the lowest height of more than seven thousand. The climb is tiring and may take almost three to five months to cross. “Shokaira,” Pradhan Sachiv, or the prime minister of the court called the young man. “The Zolopts had already sent messengers to Magandry and Hroshala to surrender.” “And the king of Magandry has sent messengers to seek out help from other kingdoms.” Gorandale interfered. “The Zolopts lived in Dark Mountains. I don’t think Korostary Mountains are going to stop them.” Pradhan Sachiv continued. “They can cross the mountain range through Viyora.” Shoombreyar voiced again. “The Viyorans were already creating a path through the mountains when I was returning from Viyora. They must have made it and the trek won’t take more than two months.” “The kingdom of Voreshius stands between us and the Zolopts. How many warriors would be in the Zolopts’ army? Do you think even if they defeat the Magandry and Hroshala and their armies combined could they capture the vast army of Voreshius?” Shokaira looked at everyone’s faces. He answered his own question for everyone. “I don’t think so. Between the entire northern regions, we have Meya to guard and protect us. Never in a thousand years; from what I heard from the old stories, had no one dared to attack our land? Not in any of the history books, there has been written that the land of the Nakhas has been defeated. Meya always stood between us and our invaders from the north and she will always be there to save us from any possible invasion. No one can breach Meya.” Gorandale knows it is true. Shokaira is hardly three decades old but he knew the history well. A minister should be thorough in history. Mother Meya as they all fondly call the vast river separating the northern region from their mainland wasn’t a calm river. It was vast like a sea, turbulent and full of currents. Two paths connected their land to the northern mainland. Both were at the extreme ends on either side. It was only a narrow stretch of land on the west end with three bridges and a valley at the east. At the valley, the river narrows to a stream and flows through to reach the Giant Sea. This path is rarely used to reach the Nakha land. The west end is heavily guarded at the places between the bridges. Two narrow lands between the bridges, Bodura and Shoyara are under Nakha and the stretch of land at the other end, Mastura is under Persara kingdom. “We don’t know how many warriors the Zolopts have.” Prashyona, the Pradhan sachiv, replied. “We have only heard of Zolopts, but no one has seen a Zolopt. And as we have got the message, their army would be marching above the Korostary Mountains.” “Gorandale,” a mighty voice was heard at the court. Everyone looked at the owner of the voice. The king himself has spoken and the court went into silence. The whole court turned their faces towards the throne where the king, Nagmeromon sat with all his might. He was three decades and six years old. “Please be seated.” The king told the Mukhya sachiv. He addressed the members of the court as Gorandale walked to his seat. “We are aware of the threat that is looming over the north. And this threat cannot be ignored. As the northerners seek our help we should aid them. Prepare a thousand of our best men and sent them to Shoyara. Sent messengers and birds to report back every news about the north. We should be updated about the Zolopts’ every move. If needed, our warriors should be able to help Magandry before the Zolopts try to invade them as we have received a request from them.” “It is the accurate decision.” Prashyona voiced his opinion. No one else in the court raised his voice. They unanimously accepted the kings’ decision.   *****-----*****