The Ninth Prophecy

Back at his camp, Daors was growing impatient, waiting for his son Damius to return. He expected both of his sons to appear, but none of them were coming. Then he heard some commotion at the entrance to the camp. He made his way through his guard. He approached the horse, a bloody, dirty Sciprian standing next to it with his head bowed down. He approached the body and lifted the head. He was horrified. “My son! Tibor! No!” Two soldiers helped him take the body off the horse. Daors kneeled, embracing his dead son and weeping so loud that even the birds were scared away. After a few minutes he turned towards the single standing Sciprian: “The others, where are they? Where’s the army?”

- “Obliterated, my lord. Your army is no more. Yon sent you a message. He said that he is coming for you, my lord.”

- “By the name of The One, that could be so!” Daors exclaimed while wiping the tears off his face. “We must hurry. Abandon the camp. We must return to Karos at once. For all we know, Yon might have followed you.”

- “No, my lord. He doesn’t know of the camp.”

- “Don’t be stupid boy, he knows. Let’s get moving. And you, Thrax, I will deal with you later.” Then he stopped for a second, turning to the soldier again: “And Damius, what had become of him?”

- “He is still with the drifters. Yon allowed them to take him away. He spared their lives.”

- “That son of a bitch! What about the lords?”

- “I guess they are all dead. Some probably fled the scene on time because we did see some hoof marks directed outwards, northwards. We didn’t pay much attention to it at the time. I guess we should’ve.”

- “And the layun?”

- “They left as soon as the gate fell. They said they were only paid to take down the defense at the wall, which they did. They didn’t even enter the city.”

- “Sons of bitches. Mercenaries – no honor comes with them! We should leave too. Let’s leave at once!”

Daors mounted his horse, ordering his personal guards to make sure that Tibor’s body is mounted up and brought along. Devastated by the defeat and the loss of his son, he could barely ride. He turned back once and cursed at Yon and at Nox. Upon his return to the city, he could sense that even the commoners were avoiding him. Dark clouds occupied the skies over Karos.

The surviving lords were shy of expressing their welcome to the returning defeated king too. The families of those who were killed were even bitterer. Thrax was still at his side and Daors was aware how significant his support is. “By God, Thrax, I would have you beheaded for abandoning your post if I didn’t need you so badly. You are my only surviving general. Therefore, I only sentence you to ten strokes of a whip.”

Both Thrax and the other present councilors were shocked to hear that he would do that to his most trusted general, regardless of the mistake he had made. Thrax didn’t let it show as he accepted the verdict with dignity, hailing the king. The Illuminators, who were some of the few to appear at king’s court to express their support, urged the king to organize the defenses. They offered their assistance. Ulix personally pleaded with the king to mobilize all the men in the city and to be given the authority to organize them properly. Daors turned them down: “Yon wouldn’t dare to attack now. The winter is at the door. He needs time to organize the attack.”

- “But, my king, he has an army and it is in Nox, in full numbers. Unlike us…” Ulix tried carefully to explain to the king the fact that he had lost the support of the lords.

- “No, Ulix. They are tired, just as we are. Besides, it would take him days to take down the walls, even if he was to appear right now.”

Nobody else dared to oppose Daors. Everyone retreated to their chambers, waiting to see how it would all unravel in the following days.

* * *

Few days had passed in Nox since the glorious victory. The guests of honor, the shadow people, were commended in numerous ways. They were all given possessions and houses. Sethon was given the title of a lord and he entered the council. It was now time for the council to meet for the first time after the battle. Excitement could still be felt in the air. When Yon entered the room, all present clapped and saluted their lord. Yon modestly asked them to stop as he opened the council meeting:

“Few days ago we all witnessed an outstanding victory over our enemy. The prophecy has now been fulfilled. We have defeated Daors and his army with fire, water and darkness. Allow me to once more express my deepest gratitude to our friends, the noble shadow people - whom we are not to call that any more - and their brave lord Sethon.”

- “Thank you, lord. I must point out the role of your brave brother, Faris, who was brave enough to come to the land of the notorious shadow people and more than persuasive in advocating for your cause, for our joint cause now.”

- “Yes, yes. Faris has played his role, as we all have. Every person in this room should be congratulated for what they did. We shall now continue to address the urgent matters we have before us.”

- “Yes, my lord. We are all worried after hearing the news from Baan Senicore. That snake Aegor has drowned the rebellion in blood. Our brothers and sisters are dying every minute. We have all heard about the mass killings of tenths of men. I hope we will get there on time to prevent the slaughter from going on,” Faris jumped in impatiently.

- “Thank you, Faris, for your brief insight and yes, we are all aware of situation in Baan Senicore and we have great sympathy for the people over there. However, I am here to propose a slightly different course of action. I am planning to march on Karos as soon as possible and I want to hear your opinion on the matter.”

- “That would be a bold move to make, my lord. I think it can be done and should be done as soon as possible. The north is in chaos. Daors has lost all support. He has never been so vulnerable,” Sheda spoke in support of Yon.

- “Wait just a minute. What about our people in Baan Senicore?!” Faris brought the matter up once again.

- “Well, what about them, Faris?!” Yon commented, now visibly annoyed by his brother’s interruption.

- “Aren’t we going to organize an expedition to take Senicore back?! The people there need us; they expect us to come to their aid. We must respond.”

- “No, Faris. We must only do what I say. We must march on Karos. We are in position to end this once and for all. I will not let this slip through my hands and I will not let you talk me out of it. I don’t want another Devil’s Tooth on my conscience.”

- “What is that supposed to mean,” Faris asked, more than upset by his brother’s words.

- “The matter is concluded. Karos is the primary target. We will take over the realm and once we do so Senicore will fall into our hands without a fight. The northern lords are either dead, in shock or confused. Many are showing signs of sympathy towards our cause. Many of the Koprites are dead too. Those who survived have retreated to the Doomed Dome to lick their wounds. The time is now! Besides, I didn’t let Daors live for nothing.”

- “What do you mean you let him live, brother?”

- “His camp was not far from Nox. We could have chased him, but I chose not to, although we probably could have caught up with him. The risk was too great and I want to defeat Daors in Karos. He has to fall before the eyes of his people. Only then will I be recognized as the true king.”

- “His people are your people too. Don’t forget that, lord Yon,” Faris reminded Yon of what being the king implied.

- “I don’t need you to tell me who is mine. The Illuminators are ours? Whose are the prophecizers? They stirred everything up seventeen summers ago, and they did it now again. This is just a game from them, looking down on us from their tower, laughing and enjoying the play we put up for them, because of them.”

Faris was not happy with his brother and Sheda. He turned to Goras, asking him to say his opinion. He took a second before answering: “I think we must do that which is right. At the moment it is hard to decide which of the two proposed courses of action is more required. That being said, in a situation when one can’t make up his own mind, he should take up his lord’s view. Therefore, I stand by Yon on this one. However, once we take Karos, we should not waste any time there and we should take over Baan Senicore immediately after. All that needs to be done in Karos is removal of Daors. The rest of the city structure will support the new king. The people are already accepting Yon as the fulfiller of the prophecy, the victor by fire, water and darkness. Daors stands no chance against that. Once the prophecizers confirm Yon’s reign, he might as well move to a cave to live in solitude for the rest of his life and he would still be recognized as the undisputed king throughout the realm.”

- “Does anybody else have something to add?” Yon stood up above the table authoritatively.

- “I do,” the reply came from Hadera. “You know how devastated I was after my father’s death and how I blamed it on everyone. The truth is that such things happen - mistakes happen. I don’t want us to make another mistake. Taal is gone too. The attackers killed Akari at her doorstep - that stubborn woman. I don’t want to feel like that again. I don’t want to lose anyone else. Even if we go to Karos, Yon, will you only deal with Daors and no one else? Will you avoid any other unnecessary bloodshed?”

- “Yes, I will. I am well aware who my loyal subjects are.”

As Yon reassured everybody of his intention, the council was dismissed. As soon as Yon entered his room, Faris came in after him, accompanied by Maedur: “Yon, I want to talk to you in private. We didn’t send Maedur to Senicore for no reason. We agreed that he should go and see what is happening. Maedur has brought rather unsettling news from Senicore. The people there support us, you know it. We could walk into the city. We have full support. We don’t want to lose them. For God’s sake, Yon, these people here are their brothers and sisters. We owe it to them. They are suffering. Tell him, Maedur.”

- “Get out, Maedur,” Yon ordered the young man before he could speak. Maedur was dumbfounded. “I said get out!” Yon repeated the order, after which Maedur left.

- “That is no way to treat him, Yon. He has been loyal since the first day. He has been with you in the land of Xelons and he has just returned from Baan Senicore, all for the cause. He doesn’t deserve to be chased out like that!”

- “Yes, he is loyal…to you. Don’t tell me how I should treat someone. What are you trying to do, to humiliate me? You bring in that boy to prove me wrong?!”

- “No, that was not the intention! Yon, the south is our land. We must take care of the people there. Do you remember how we said that land is nothing without people? Your people need you, their lord, to come to their rescue!”

- “I don’t understand you, Faris. We’ve been waiting for this for seventeen years, seventeen long years. Now, that revenge is at our grasp, you want to turn around and head back south?!”

- “I haven’t been waiting for anything! Is that what all this is to you, why you put us all through this ordeal? This whole thing is some kind of your personal vendetta?!”

- “It is personal, yes, but it is also a matter of justice, and justice is a matter of joint interest. Besides, a king’s affair is his people’s affair. This is our kingdom; it was never supposed to be Baranthams’.”

- “If that is what you think brother, that is fine. But know this: I am not going with you to Karos.”

- “All right, don’t. But you won’t be going to Baan Senicore either, not until I return.”

- “What makes you so sure that you will return?”

- “Oh, is that what you want, brother, to take my place?!”

- “Don’t be stupid. Just listen to yourself, for the sake of the One! All I am saying is that you don’t need to risk anything now. You speak of justice. Don’t our people of Baan Senicore deserve justice, too? They have suffered more than anyone!”

- “They do, and they will get justice, as soon as we return from Karos. Only then will there be nothing to stop us from executing justice.”

- “Well, that might be too late, king,” Faris said ending the argument and leaving the room.

- “I’ve listened to your advice and I got burnt. I don’t want to do it this time. It is not sound. Emotions don’t win wars, thinking ahead does,” Yon spoke to Faris who was exiting. Faris didn’t react. He acted as if he heard nothing.