Wielder's Awakening (26 page)

After staring at the crater for several moments, Gilrod hastened to fulfill Kadrak’s wishes.  He walked toward the blackened crater and turned to face the mass of bandits upon reaching its lip.  He smiled as the hushed crowd turned their widened eyes from the crater to him in anticipation.  He loved being the center of attention but knew when to hide behind someone greater.  That was where Kulfor had failed and he had succeeded.  When Kadrak became emperor over all the land, Gilrod would be given a position of great power for his loyalty and would have many more chances to shine.  After dragging out the silence for a little while, Gilrod cleared his throat and delivered his master’s message.

“Our great leader Kadrak knows of our wants and wishes.  For a wise purpose he has held us back this long.  But he is now ready to move into action as he has displayed so openly and dramatically this evening.”  Gilrod paused to let what he had said sink in.  The crowd began to buzz with excitement as they realized what he was saying.  Gilrod began anew with the crowd hanging on his every word.  “Kadrak has asked me to announce that we will sweep down upon Beking as we start our massive campaign to bring the world to its knees.  Our waiting is over.  We move at dawn!”

A deafening roar rose from the bandit army at the long awaited announcement.  He beamed as the sound of cheering and yelling grew louder and louder.  The men were ready and anxious to fight; just the way Kadrak and Gilrod wanted them.

* * * * *

Kadrak smiled from inside his tent as the silent camp suddenly came alive with cheering and yelling from its eastern side.  He felt the excitement from the army wash into him as he fell back onto his bed exhausted.  Gilrod must have taken his time as usual in delivering the speech or the cheers would have started before Kadrak had even made it to his tent.  Gilrod did have a way with words.  Kadrak was glad for the man’s loyalty and the intelligence he brought with him for Kadrak’s using.  He wished he had been able to give the announcement himself, but his day had been long, and he was too weak after his display of power.  He had not wanted his spectacular diplay to be ruined if he appeared shaky and weak while delivering the speech.  Oh well, he was sure Gilrod had delivered it nicely.  He closed his eyes and let his breathing slow to match his heartbeat.

It was just beginning to get dark, but he was tired.  Forming the flaming ball of molten fire had taken a lot of his strength.  He could have finished Kulfor and his elite bandits off much easier but had used the molten fireball to make a statement.  Hopefully no one else in the camp would so much as think of crossing him after the mighty display of power.  Kadrak began to drift off to sleep in satisfaction.  He no longer needed to worry about rebellion and the diminishing food supply.  In the morning his massive army would be on the move at last.  All of the waiting and anticipation was finally over.  In just over a week his army would bring Beking to its knees and plunder it.  They would then set up camp in the city and have plenty of food and shelter for the cold winter that was fast approaching.

He finally fell asleep.  He dreamed once again of himself sitting on the throne of Calyn with the High King’s crown pulsating atop his head.  The crown would once again be worn by a wielder.  Beking would fall first as the whole world trembled in fear of what was to come.  The pulsating crown disappeared, and Kadrak was filled with dreams of spending the long and cold winter living luxuriously in the Beking Palace.

* * * * *

Shaman Azulk shielded his eyes from the harsh light of the morning sun with his bony hand as he glanced down from the mountains at the massive human army.  The giant camp had been packed up earlier in the morning.  Kadrak had at last mobilized the army full of pathetic humans.  The shaman grinned, showing his crooked yellow teeth as he watched the army begin its journey south towards where the human city of Beking rested.  The first part of his plan was finally beginning.  It would still be a while before the human army accomplished its goal, but Shaman Azulk had been waiting for this moment all of his life and could easily wait another year or two for the army to wreak its destruction.  Shaman Azulk took one last look at the human army and walked back into the cave and darkness that he had emerged from earlier in the morning.  He let out a low pleasure rumble in his throat.  When the human army was finally defeated, he and his galdak army would be ready to sweep out of the mountains and end the pitiful existence of all the rest of the humans in the world; every single one.  He would then rule the galdaks from atop the thrown of Calyn.  His dreams were most conclusive.  The crown of the High King would soon rest on his head.

Part Two: Learning

16

Traven slowed Pennon down when they reached the main highway and waited for Blaize to catch up.  The sun was barely clear of the horizon, but already the highway was teeming with people heading west towards Calyn.  Many looked to be farmers taking their produce to sell in the markets of the large city.  Most were pulling carts laden with vegetables while some had full wagons of produce.  Blaize was soon back by Traven’s side, and they rode out onto the highway and joined with the flow of people headed towards Calyn.  Most of the people were on foot, and Traven could easily see down the road over their heads.  He kept his eyes glued to where the highway met the horizon, eager for the first glimpse of the legendary city.  It had supposedly stood from even before Kalia came into existence.  It had withstood sieges and attacks several times and had never fallen.  He couldn’t wait to finally see the city.

“If you keep staring at the road ahead like that your eyes are going to be sore long before we reach Calyn,” Blaize said with a chuckle.  “We still have another hour or two before we reach it.”

Traven colored slightly and leaned back upright in his saddle.  He needed to remember to stay alert of what was going on around him instead of getting lost in his day dreams.  Blaize had taught him that a wary man stays alive.  When they arrived at Calyn, he would have more than enough time to stare at it.  He and Blaize talked on and off as they made their way towards the city, but Traven mostly just looked around at the different people traversing the highway and at all of the farms they passed.  As the sun continued to rise into the morning sky, a breeze blew in from the west, and he noticed a difference in the air.  It was fresh but seemed to smell salty.  He was confused and glanced over at Blaize who was taking in a deep breath of the salty smelling air.

“Doesn’t that smell good, Traven?”

“Yes it does, but what is it?” he asked as he took a deep breath to match Blaize’s.

“It’s the ocean,” Blaize replied with a smile.  “We’ll be able to see Calyn soon.”

Traven glanced excitedly up the road with eagerness.  Several minutes later the road began to slope slightly upward, but there was still no sign of Calyn.  The air, however, began to smell more and more of what Blaize said was the ocean.  Traven was almost as eager to see such a massive body of water as he was the city.  The sun was warm on his back as he continued along the highway.  After a while, he noticed that the people in front of him were beginning to disappear down the other side of the rise in the land.  He glanced anxiously over to Blaize who smiled back at him with a nod of his head.  He then booted Pennon and quickly made his way past the people who were on foot to the top of the rise.  The view that met him when he reached the top of the rise took his breath away.

The land sloped slowly away before Traven allowing him to see the majestic city of Calyn all at once.  The vast ocean stretched out endlessly at its back.  The view stunned him.  He didn’t know whether to stare at the giant city or at the seemingly endless expanse of water.  He was still dumbfounded when Blaize arrived at his side.  Traven’s gaze finally focused on the ocean.  Behind the city the ocean seemed to go on forever.  He stared at it in awe. Never before had he seen so much water at once.  He had thought the Adrinavelle River was huge, but it seemed reduced to almost nothing as it fanned out and emptied into the mighty ocean.  Traven’s gaze was quickly drawn back to the sprawling city that seemed to be crawling out of the water.  The city extended back from the very edge of the ocean far out onto the grasslands of Kalia.  What he noticed first were the towers that reached up far above the city walls, stretching into the early morning sky.  Next he noticed the walls that the towers seemed to dwarf.  They were made of pristine white stones and rose at least five stories into the air themselves.

“Come on, Traven.  You can’t spend all day up here just staring at the city.  Let’s get going.”

“I haven’t even had a chance to see the palace,” he complained as he fell in step behind Blaize.  Soon the entire city was hidden by the high walls except for a few buildings and the unbelievably tall towers.

“What do you mean?” Blaize countered.  “Those four highest towers in the center of the city are part of the palace.”  Traven felt a little foolish since he could still see the towers, but he wished he had been able to look at the rest of it.  “And don’t worry about it.  You’ll have plenty of time to see it up close when we get inside the city.”

As they continued on towards the city walls, Traven saw that the farms suddenly stopped, leaving a wide area of open grassland outside the walls of the city.

“How come there’s nothing between here and the city,” he asked Blaize.

“That’s for a couple of reasons,” Blaize began.  “First of all it keeps traffic orderly as it comes and goes from the city, and second of all it allows for a better tactical advantage if the city is attacked.  An invading army has to bare itself in the open to the catapults and arrows of Calyn.”

Traven immediately saw what a good idea it was.  It took longer to make it to the city than he had thought it would.  The stretch of open grassland was a lot bigger than it had looked from up on the rise.  As they rode closer to the walls of the city, he made a point to look down at the road like the other travelers were doing.  The sun bouncing off the white stones of the wall was so bright he feared if he stared at it very long he would go blind.  At last they reached the massive gate of the city, and Traven looked up.  Since it was the only main gate in and out of the huge city, it was wide enough for numerous wagons to pass through at the same time.  It also towered far above their heads.  As they passed under the wall, Traven arched his head back and guessed that the gate itself must be several stories tall.  He also noticed how wide the walls were.  Passing through the gate was almost like passing through a tunnel as they were bathed in its shadow for several moments.

Coming out of the darkness and into the city, Traven once again stared in awe.  The main road remained as wide as the highway and cut straight through the heart of the city.  On either side of the road, tall buildings rose up against each other.  All of the buildings had white plastered walls, but each seemed to have a different color of slate on their rooftop.  The streets were packed with people, but Traven could easily see down the road.  Far ahead in the distance he could see what must have been the Grand Palace.  He could make out a massive building that the four huge towers reached out from.  Sun glinted off of the huge, golden dome that topped the palace.  Traven followed in awe as Blaize made his way through the throng of people.  When they reached a side street, Blaize turned and led him to a square where they could stop to talk without impeding traffic.  Blaize pulled up next to a fountain with two large statues of some fish that had fans around their necks and noses like swords.

“So what do you think of the city?” Blaize asked with a big smile.

“It’s amazing,” Traven blurted out immediately.  “I never imagined it would be so large and so beautiful.”  From what Traven had seen so far, the city was full of grand squares, beautifully elegant buildings, and an atmosphere of excitement.

“Yes,” Blaize answered, “Calyn is probably the most breathtaking city in the whole world.  Rankdra comes close and is grand in its own respect, but it just does not have the elegance of Calyn.  You think the city is wonderful already and you haven’t even seen the Grand Palace up close.  You’ll really be amazed when you get to the High King’s Square.  It’s full of statues and is bordered by the Grand Palace, the Royal Library, and several other impressive buildings.  The rest of the city is amazing as well.  All throughout there are squares with beautiful fountains like this one.  The docks are also interesting.  You can see people there from many different lands.  I’m sure you’ll like living in this city, but enough of that.  I don’t know about you, but after this morning I’m awfully hungry.  Let’s go get something to eat.  Down this street a ways there are several decent restaurants.”