Echoes Of A Gloried Past (Book 2) (32 page)

Most of the soldiers with them were originally from the Rexellian Corps and stiffened at the blow to their crowned prince.

“Please if I may,” Tersellis said quickly. “There are things that I wish to speak to you about that will shed light to the absence of our friend the prince, and I humbly ask you to allay any bad feelings until after you’ve heard what we’ve had to say.”

King Nasim took a few moments considering what the Hythariam had said and with his nose in the air, nodded once.

“Prince Jopher will be present at these proceedings,” Colind said, and it was not lost upon anyone nearby that he had addressed the king without his honorific title.

The king’s eyes bored into Colind’s unyielding gray eyes, but Colind’s will was like granite and would not yield to the Zsensibarian king.

Tersellis broke the silence again, “Please, your Highness, your son was with the party that trekked into Shandara and freed Colind. It makes sense to hear his account first hand as he will have much to add.”

After a few moments, the king turned his thunderous gaze to Captain Amir and nodded toward the tent. Less than a minute later, Jopher strode from the tent at a quick pace and came to a stop between the two factions with his father, the king, upon one side and the Free Nations Army upon the other. He bowed respectfully toward both and coolly met his father’s gaze.

“What ideas have you infected my son with that he does not stand with his kingdom?” King Nasim asked.

Jopher looked uncertainly toward his father and then back at Admiral Morgan, who gave him a nod that was not missed by the king. Jopher moved to his father’s side.

“I would know your name,” King Nasim said.

Morgan stepped forward, “My Lord, I am Admiral Morgan of the Free Nations Army. The airships you see behind me are a small squadron that are under my command.”

King Nasim’s eyes narrowed. “Free Nations Army?”

“Yes, your Highness,” Tersellis answered. “Allow us to explain,” he said gesturing toward Colind, Vaughn, and Garret to step forward.

The soldiers at the king's side stiffened at the movement of so many men near their ruler, but Nasim seemed unimpressed.

“Very well,” King Nasim said. “Continue.”

Tersellis nodded for Vaughn to begin. Vaughn stepped up and told the king about meeting Aaron and how he was the only surviving descendant of the house Alenzar’seth. Vaughn spoke of their travels to Rexel and beyond and despite Colind knowing the tale of their road that took them to Shandara he was always a bit awestruck by its telling. Aaron had defied all the odds and survive his many encounters with the Elitesmen to get to him. As Vaughn spoke, he had Jopher offer his perspective on the events that they had both been a part of and Colind observed the grudging approval take root in the king’s eyes when he looked at his son. There were more than a few times when King Nasim raised his brow at his son’s bearing as he told his version of their journey. Jopher’s account of his time with Aaron was filled with pure truth and he did not seek to diminish the events that involved him. Jopher even spoke of his time serving on board the Raven in the kitchens like a common servant, which lead to his acceptance into the camaraderie of the crew of the Raven. Although the king’s gaze took on a dangerous glint when he held Morgan within his gaze, the admiral returned the king’s gaze in kind and would not be cowed. 

Tersellis cleared his throat and spoke of their actions after Shandara and how they were working with the nations of this world to help stand against the invading horde from their home world of Hytharia and possibly the armies of the High King. At this point the king almost rolled his eyes, but waited for him to continue. When Tersellis finally finished speaking, the silence carried on for minutes while the king collected his thoughts.

“Father,” Jopher said, “I beg of you to please listen to these men and consider what they have said. I do not wear the uniform of the Free Nations Army to spite you or our home. I wear the uniform to help protect my home and stand with those who would protect this world. This is not an action I’ve taken lightly nor without a fair amount of thought, but I have sworn an oath.”

King Nasim narrowed his gaze. “The best place to protect your home is from within our borders.” The king held up his hand as Jopher was about to protest. “I have listened, as you have requested, and now I will speak my piece. The reason why Zsensibar thrives is because we have not been drawn into the wars of the north,” the king said, nodding toward Colind and the others. “They would draw us into their war and make their struggles our own, but I assure you they are not.”

King Nasim turned toward Colind. “You say this heir of Alenzar’seth is mighty enough to stand against the High King and the might of the Elitesmen? What are our assurances that he will not turn his power upon us should our goals not be aligned?”

The king’s question drew blank stares from them, as none had ever pictured Aaron as the tyrant.

The king continued. “How do you know he will not turn on you as High King Amorak has done to you all? Better the enemy that you know then the one you would never see coming. I would have thought the lessons of Shandara’s fall would have taught you that.”

The king’s questions stunned them all to silence until Jopher at last spoke, “Do you trust me, Father?” Jopher asked quietly.

The king turned back toward his son. His gaze taking his measure, “This is not a matter trust, my son, this is a matter of what is best for Zsensibar, your home.”

“I am your son,” Jopher said. “I stand among your many heirs to your throne, but I say I am your son with pride as a son should before his father. I would ask that you hear me when I say that your worries where Aaron is concerned are unfounded. He is not and never will be like the High King or the Elitesmen. No matter how much power he attains. It is simply a matter of who he is. He walks his own path and asks nothing of anyone else that he wouldn’t do for himself. In fact I would daresay that Aaron would prefer to do most things himself to prevent his companions from coming into harm's way.”

Jopher’s statement drew knowing smiles from Vaughn, Garret, and Morgan, which was not lost upon the king.

The king turned his disapproving gaze back to the others. “The young are often easily impressionable.”

“Normally, I would agree with you in that regard, your Grace,” Colind said. “But on rare occasions such as this the impressions have the right of it.”

Tersellis cleared his throat. “Your Highness, if I may,” he began and took out the device he had used to convince the other leaders back in Rexel a few days ago.

The king held up his hand and his soldiers took a menacing step forward with their hands upon their swords.

“I think not, Ambassador,” the king said. “At this point I will not be swayed by any magical displays you’ve used to persuade the other kingdoms to your cause.”

“Father, please,” Jopher began, and the king silenced him with a withering glare.

“A son should know his place,” King Nasim said.

“A king should know when to listen,” Jopher replied tersely.

The air solidified between them, and in one swift motion the King spun striking Jopher with a gloved fist sending him to the ground.

The soldiers, some of which had been sailors who had served with Jopher on the Raven began to move forward, but Colind held up his hands to hold them in their place. While the king had his back to them, the Zsensibar soldiers did not, and Colind didn’t want this to turn into a blood bath.

Jopher regained his feet, and the king closed the distance between them in a single stride. “A son should know better than to question the will of his father,” he said and raised his fist to strike Jopher again.

Colind watched as Jopher fluidly stepped inside the blow and pinned his father’s arm behind him holding it roughly in place. The king’s guards clenched their swords, but waited for the king’s command to draw them.

“A son maybe,” Jopher said eyeing the guards. “But it is the duty of a prince to stand for what is best for his home even when its King is too stubborn to listen. The threat to this world is like nothing you’ve ever seen before. None of us have. We cannot cling to our methods from the past if we are to have any hope for our future.”

Jopher released his father’s arm and stepped away putting a small amount of distance between himself and his father, but stood resolute waiting upon the wrath of the king in whatever form it would take. The Zsensibar soldiers stood frozen waiting the king’s word. The king’s chest rose and fell as the only visible signs of the rage building inside. He glared around him and as he was about to unleash the full armament of his rage, a screech pierced the sky as the clearing around them began to fill with answering cries of Ryakuls emerging from the surrounding forests.

Colind heard the blaring alarms from the airships behind them following the roars of the Ryakuls. How had the Ryakuls gotten so close without anyone noticing?

“Treachery!” the king screamed.

Two of the Zsensibar soldiers charged forward with crossbows raised. Colind brought his arms up poised to lash out, but Jopher swept their feet out from under them calling out an apology as he did so.

“We’re under attack,” Admiral Morgan barked then turned toward the king. “If we can coordinate our efforts we may survive this.”

The king glared back at the Admiral taking his measure and then gave a single grim nod.

“Get back to the ship,” Colind ordered. “I will do what I can from down here.”

Admiral Morgan looked as if he were about to protest, but thought better of it and ordered his men back to the ships.

Colind glanced as Garret came to his side. “You should head back with the others.”

Garret’s bushy gray eyebrows raised in amusement despite the Ryakuls closing in, “Like hell I will, my Lord. I stand with the head of the Safanarion Order.”

Colind turned to see Jopher standing before his father, surrounded by a wall of spears. At their approach some turned and leveled their spears in Colind’s direction. He had had enough and swept his arms out in front of him opening a hole in the lines of men straight to the king.

“Go on lad,” Colind said to Jopher. “They need you up there. I will look after your father.”

The king looked about to protest, but was startled by the roar of a Ryakul plummeting down upon their position.

Colind clawed his hands to his side summoning an orb of crackling energy like liquid lightning and thrust his hands out sending it streaking blue into the black tusked maw of the closing Ryakul. He followed up with another orb, which burst through the Ryakul’s black leathery wings. The soldiers formed their lines with spears and shields forming the front ranks. Arrows began to fly and the Ryakul crashed into the ground, howling as it came.

The Zsensibar soldiers closed in to finish off the dying beast and Colind turned back to the king who nodded back grimly. They were allied for the moment, but he knew he must keep a wary eye upon the king.

“Cover their airships,” the king ordered his men gesturing beyond Colind. “They need time to move into position to cover us.”

Stubborn and prideful King Melchoir Nasim may be, but once on task he quickly adapted to a situation keeping in mind all available resources, regardless if they were his own or not. If they were to survive this attack they needed to work together. Garret stayed near his side and drew his sword as Colind scanned the sky. There were ten Ryakuls, each the size of a large building, swooping down upon the Zsensibarian army. Their black hides swallowed the light and their saber tusked maws ripped soldiers apart indiscriminately. The tips of the Ryakuls wings were adorned with blades and each swoop down from the sky above was accompanied with a harsh screech that ended with men being cut down where they stood. The Zsensibar troops were quick to adapt to the Ryakul attack pattern and less men lost their lives to those cursed wings. The troops used their long spears to good measure so when a Ryakul did swoop down upon them, they extracted a heavy toll upon the Ryakul’s armored hide.

Five of the airships closed in, with the Raven bringing up the rear. Five Ryakul’s launched up into the air, with one being shot down in a hail of explosive tipped arrows from the lead ship. Of the five Ryakuls upon the ground four remained alive, while the others changed their tactics and resorted to brute strength, butchering the lines of men before them.

The Raven broke off from the formation gaining speed and the remaining four Ryakuls in the air pursued relentlessly. The great airship listed to the side to compensate for the sharp turn it was making and the agile Ryakuls easily followed.

Colind watched as the other airships pursued the Ryakuls and even from the ground he could see the giant crossbows ready to fire from the bow of the ship. The ground shook beneath his feet catching some of soldiers around them by surprise, causing them to stumble. The ground flew away from Colind’s feet as he was swept up into the air and came crashing down to the earth. A Ryakul leaped over the Zsensibar soldiers surrounding it to get to him. The saber tusked maw growled viciously as it closed in and the breath seized in Colind’s chest. Off to the side a lone voice cried out, and the king dug his spear into the side of the Ryakul’s head, catching the beast by surprise.

Colind looked up to find King Melchoir Nasim himself reaching down to pull him back onto his feet. The Ryakul shook its head and roared with the heft of the spear sticking out at an odd angle. Colind drew in the energy causing the ground to crack beneath the Ryakul’s feet. The great winged beast sank into the earth, falling off balance as it scrambled with its claws to regain its footing.

The soldiers bellowing their war cry converged upon the beast slaying it as very earth beneath its feet kept it rooted in place.

“Thank you, my Lord Guardian,” the king said, stepping to Colind’s side. “I know the Safanarion Order and Zsensibar haven’t always seen eye to eye, but today we fight as one.”

They both watched as the Free Nations Army airships lured the more nimble Ryakuls into a chase and were shot down by the other airships, but they did not get away completely unscathed. Some of the airships had taken damage, but all remained in the air.