The Zulani Empire: The New Chronicles of Elemental Magic (15 page)

He remained at Oliver's side for some time. It was still dark outside, and he had no idea how long it would be before sunrise. "Come on Oliver," he said, moving the hair from the young Darekian's face with his finger. "I need you to get better," he added. He started feeling a little chilly, and decided to wrap a blanket around himself, but not before placing a second over Oliver. He leaned over and placed a small kiss on Oliver's forehead, "Please wake," he said, "I need you."

Luca was not sure how long he had slept. His eyes flickered open and it took a few moments for him to get his bearings. He could tell it was morning by the daylight breaking in through the opening in the tent. His immediate thought was to check on Oliver. The young Darekian was still lying with his eyes closed on the bed before him. Luca placed his hand in Oliver's and sighed. He looked up as somebody entered the tent. "Excuse me my Lord," Dane said. "I just came to check you were both okay."

Luca smiled at the commander. "I think so Dane. I hope Oliver wakes soon, we need to be getting a move," he said. Dane stepped a little closer, "I think it would be wise my Lord, for you and Oliver to rest another day. You would be no good to anybody like this," he added. Luca just nodded and returned his attention back to Oliver, never letting go of his hand.

Dane was himself supposed to be readying to depart that morning. With the events of the previous night, he had decided to stay put and keep an eye on the young lord. He had however still sent Camden to lead one of the groups tracking down the Zulani raiding parties. The last of those groups had just departed, leaving the camp much smaller than it had been the previous day. After leaving the young lord, he made sure those who remained, searched the camp thoroughly for any other potential threats. He also asked the camp cooks to take some food into Luca and Oliver.

Luca looked up from his position beside Oliver, still holding his friends hand waiting for him to wake. A young soldier entered the tent carrying a wooden tray of food. "Excuse me my Lord," the soldier said bowing his head slightly. "The Commander requested I bring you both some food," he added. Luca thanked the man and asked him to leave the tray on the floor where he stood. He did not feel much like eating, at least not while Oliver was still lying there unconscious.

Luca looked over at the tray of food. He could smell whatever lay underneath the cloth covered plates, and his stomach rumbled. He felt his hand being squeezed, "Oliver!" he gasped turning his attention back to the young man lying on the bed. He felt nothing but elation as he looked down to see his friend's bright green eyes looking back at him. After a few moments, Oliver tried to get up, only for Luca to tell him he should rest. "Luca Sir, I am fine...really," Oliver pleaded. "Is that food I can smell?" he added trying to peer in the direction of the tray.

Luca nodded, and after letting go of Oliver's hand stood to fetch the food. No sooner was his back turned, than Oliver decided to sit up. Luca turned back and gave him a despairing look, "Oliver!" he said, "I thought you were supposed to do everything I tell you too," he added. Oliver smiled, before replying, "Of course I would, and you know that. It's just I am very hungry..."

Luca carried the tray of food over and removed the cloth covering it. On two plates were a number of sausages and slices of bread. Luca placed some of the sausage between some bread and handed it to Oliver, before doing likewise for himself. He watched for a little while as Oliver ate. He was just making sure his friend was as well as he was making out to be.

After eating, Oliver threw off the blankets Luca had placed over him. After a little help from Luca, the young Darekian got to his feet. "You might want to put some clothes on before you go any further Oliver," Luca grinned. Oliver looked down to see he was totally naked, "Sorry I had to undress you last night after healing you. I hope you don't mind." Oliver looked at Luca and smiled, "Thank you for healing and caring for me," he said. Luca placed a hand on Oliver's shoulder, "You had me worried for a while Oliver, I can tell you that. I thought I had lost you," he added feeling the emotion of the moment building. He decided 'what the heck' and wrapped his arms around Oliver's neck, giving him a big hug. After the initial surprise, Oliver did likewise.

Oliver had dressed by the time Dane came back to visit. It was clear the commander was surprised to see the man up and out of bed, and seemingly fit and well. Dane happened to mention the burnt corpse had been moved from outside the tent, which reminded Luca about asking what had happened. "I did not burn him," he said confused as to what had happened. Oliver, almost apologetically spoke up, "I think it was me," he said. "I remember the knife cutting me, and I put my hand up to protect myself, I grabbed his wrist...and something strange happened so I let go. The first man just cut me again. I remember falling backwards and pushing my hand forward. The next second the first man was screaming and on fire." Luca was totally bamboozled. Could it be possible Oliver had the power to use elemental magic?

Dane quickly leapt on to the fact Oliver mentioned two assassins. "We only found one body," he said. "Does that mean there is another still lurking?" Luca asked. The commander thought for a few moments before replying. "No, we have the camp as tightly guarded as possible. With it being much smaller now the others have left, we would have spotted an intruder."

Luca was still thinking about Oliver having powers, when Dane had another suggestion. "Perhaps you were the target my Lord. Oliver was unfortunate to be in the way." He went on to explain that if indeed the second intruder had seen Oliver use magic, and that he would naturally presume him dead, would he likely move on to other targets? The enemy would not use such skilled killers for anything less than important targets. "If I were picking a target to kill, I would pick the king," Oliver added to the conversation. Those words certainly got both Dane and Luca thinking. Oliver was wondering as to why he had just said them. The visions in Oliver mind returned, he had seen faces, or at least outlines of them. When he had grabbed the assassin's arm, it was almost as if he could see into the man's mind. Oliver told Luca about what had happened, had he seen the image of Caldar in the assassin's mind because he was the next target.

If indeed the assassin believed they had succeeded in killing their first target, which was probably supposed to have been Luca, would they then move to another target of importance? If that were the case, then the King would be the most likely person. After all, what better way to put a country into turmoil than by removing those in charge, that made the decisions. Luca finally spoke up, "I think Oliver is correct, something tells me that we should warn the king...I shall have to go back," he added figuring he was probably better equipped than anybody else to deal with such a threat.

Dane reminded Luca that it was he, who was needed to deal with the Zulani army. Not only the one that had retreated, but also the possibility of another force that may have landed on beaches near the Darekian border. Luca nodded, knowing only too well that was true. "I will get word to Caldar, warning him that his life may be in danger."

Without any further delay, Dane wrote a short note, whilst Luca tried to find a suitable bird. With the bodies of the dead enemy still piled high across the river, it was not too difficult to find. Luca slowly approached the nearest bird. Holding his hand out, the huge black crow submitted to his will. The bird fluttered over and landed on his outstretched arm. He then turned about with the bird, and walked back to the camp.

Chapter 19.

After dispatching the crow with the short message of warning strapped to its leg, Luca wanted to find out more about Oliver. He presumed he had known everything there was to know about his friend, but events last night had shown otherwise. He asked Oliver if he was feeling up to a few tests. Naturally, Oliver readily agreed.

They found a relatively quiet spot near the riverbank, although being left alone was out of the question. The now four elite guards did give them a little space. Luca asked Oliver to sit down. The young Darekian did so without question, and Luca sat facing him. He was certain it must have been Oliver that had burned the assassin, but how he had achieved it was, as yet unknown. He looked his friend in the eye. The thought of nearly losing him had caused him so much hurt. Those sparkling green eyes looked back at him, "I know Luca Sir," was all Oliver said, in reply to a question that was never asked.

Luca thought for a few moments on how he was going go about checking Oliver's skills. "Can you do this Oliver?" He asked holding his palm out and producing a small flame. Oliver looked at him, and at first Luca thought he had just asked his friend the impossible. After a second or two concentrating, Oliver held his hand out beside Luca's, and then much to the surprise of both, a very small flame flickered into life. "Did you know you could do magic?" Luca asked still amazed at what his friend had just achieved. Oliver shook his head, "No Luca Sir, I am as surprised as you."

Over the next hour, Luca tested Oliver's abilities. They tried each of Luca's powers in turn, and although Oliver's attempts were never as impressive as Luca's, he did manage to achieve them. So engrossed in their magic, they failed to notice the small crowd of soldiers who had quietly gathered behind them watching.

It was Dane who eventually stepped forward from the small gathering to talk.  "I have a suggestion my Lord," he said as he was given permission from Luca to talk. "I know you will not like it, but perhaps Oliver could be sent back south to help the king?" he added speaking slowly not quite sure what the reaction would be. If truth were told Luca had already had the same idea, and immediately told himself that was not happening. He did not want Oliver to be away from his side, not now, not ever. With what was currently happening with his friend, the two needed to be closer than ever. He still had not quite worked out how Oliver had even suddenly become magical.

His first presumption was that perhaps Oliver had been magical all along but had just never known it. Something however made him think this was not the case. The only other reasonable explanation he could come up with was the compulsion blood magic he had used to rid Oliver of the Darekian spell over him. Was the fact his blood was in Oliver's body the reason for him becoming magical?

It was then he remembered the time they had spoken to the wizard Ardred. The shimmering figure of light had said, the answer they sought was closer at hand than they realised. Luca had always thought the man was looking at him, but perhaps it was Oliver that he was actually referring to. The spell Luca had used was something he admitted he did not understand. It had been written in the back of the book by Ardred. Had the wizard planned him to use it all along? Had he known that Oliver would come into Luca's life and then planned it accordingly? Strange indeed if it were true he thought.

Luca then knew what he must do. Although the bond between himself and Oliver was closer than ever, he knew he had to go one way and his friend the other. "Oliver, I need you to do as Dane asks," he said looking sadly at him. Oliver nodded, "Yes Luca Sir, I understand." Luca looked to Dane, "Please go with him, and please keep him safe for me." The commander nodded, "I promise my life to protect his, my Lord," he said placing his hand over his heart. Luca knew Dane was good to his word, and that if it came to the commander sacrificing himself to save Oliver then he would do so. "Thank you Dane," Luca replied.

Before midday, Oliver was ready to leave. Dane was taking just a dozen of the Elite guard as escort, with the rest staying with Luca. Having never been more than a short distance away from Oliver, Luca knew this was going to be hard. Since the placing of the spell, that night in the stable at his home, the young Darekian had become part of him. Not only was the bond between them through the spell strong, but he thought even without it, they would be close. They were attracted to each other in ways he did not even understand. Was the mix of blood and elemental magic that he had used so powerful it had done all this? After a long embrace, Luca helped Oliver up onto his horse, "See you soon," he said with a tear in his eye.

Oliver looked back as he rode away. Luca watched him disappear over the horizon and out of sight. With a heavy heart, he started preparing for his own departure. With the remaining Elite Guard already packed and waiting, he hurriedly put away his few items and readied his own horse. He had an enemy to track down and eliminate before they had chance to start making inroads into Corlan.

Further along the coast and across the border into Darekia, the first of the Zulani were taking their first steps inland. A light drizzle of rain was falling, as the invaders moved forward completely unopposed. A mix of men and strange looking beasts moved slowly inland, heading for their first objective. At their head was a robed figure carrying a staff and flanked by two enormous guards. The fact they had gone completely unnoticed during landing showed once more how well this had all been planned by their leader.

The Zulani had been forced to land on beaches, as Darekia did not really have a suitable port. At full tide, they had anchored as close to the land as possible, and awaited for their boats to be grounded as the waters ebbed away. The huge ships had specially designed hulls that were flatter than normal craft. This allowed them to stand upright as the tide had receded, and be unloaded onto the beach.

By early afternoon, the Zulani army peered down into the valley below. Before them was something they had not expected to find. According to their plans, a small village was supposed to be there. Instead, there was what could only be described as a military training camp. It was common knowledge Darekia had very limited military forces. This however, was clearly something to the contrary.

The appearance of the Zulani had not gone unnoticed by those in the valley below. Already the gates were being hastily closed and the soldiers preparing for a fight. Two huge black birds flew skyward from the training camp, and circled over the invaders, before heading further inland. The robed figure studied the large camp below for a while, judging its strengths and weaknesses. One of the first things that caught his attention was the seemingly large number of youngsters. Normally armies took boys about fifteen or sixteen years of age for training. It was quite clear below that a number of the trainees were barely half that age.

Realising those opposing him in the shallow valley below were little more than boys, the Zulani priest ordered his forces nearer. He would offer the Darekian forces a chance to surrender to the great empire of the Zulani. It was clear whoever was running this camp, was doing so with a long-term goal. If they surrendered to him now, the priest could continue the camp but for producing soldiers that served the empire.

In anticipation of the imminent surrender of those within the camp, the priest readied his forces. Using the magic available to him, his voice resonated across the valley. He firstly told them whom he served, and that as a gesture of goodwill, those within the camp could surrender themselves to the will of the great Zulani empire. The priest got his answer much sooner than he expected. A volley of black feathered arrows flew his direction, which thankfully for him, fell a good hundred paces short of the nearest of his men.

The shock did not last long, and since his offer of surrender was clearly being rebuked, he quickly rearranged his formations. With only a handful of Giganton amongst his forces, he could not afford to waste them. He did however have a large contingent of the smaller ape like creatures. Capable of leaping high into the air, and climb defensive walls, they were more than capable of causing havoc in the camp before him. Surely, the mere sight of these frightening creatures would terrify the young boys pretending to be soldiers in the camp.

With a wave of his staff, two score of the dark haired creatures bounded forward. Moving swiftly across the ground they were soon upon the wooden palisade fencing that surrounded the camp. The defenders inside the protective walls did not as much as flinch from their positions. Arrows flew skyward and dropped taking a few of the creatures down before they managed to reach the camp.

The creatures that survived the barrage of arrows, made short work of climbing the palisade fence. The defenders in the yard below however were waiting for them as they landed on the other side. Rather than attempt to fight on the narrow walkways, the Darekian troops, formed defensive squares. Rows of shield bearing infantry protected archers at the centre. These archers fired their arrows as the creatures landed inside the camp, before they could get a sense of what was about them. Several of the beasts were slain and several more were left squirming and writhing about the ground with arrow shafts protruding from them.

The priest realised quickly he had under estimated this camp of youthful looking soldiers, and immediately recalled the remainder of his creatures with a simple tap of his staff. If these children in the camp wanted to play at being heroes instead of surrender to the empire, then they would pay the price with their lives. As most of the enemy were inside the camp perimeter and not along the tops, he decided to use his Giganton after all.

The slow lumbering beasts, standing twice the height of any normal man moved nearer. The Zulani infantry moved in conjunction with them. Arrows flew up and over the perimeter once more, and despite the Giganton being hit, the arrows were not powerful enough to pierce the thick leather skin of these behemoths. The priest afforded a smile as he watched on. He had judged correctly that the youthful soldiers were not capable of firing with enough force to do his big beasts any serious damage.

The first of the Giganton lifted its huge wooden club up in the air. The creature paused for a moment, steadying itself, before bringing it crashing down onto the wooden palisade. Splinters of wood flew out, as a large part of the outer defence was obliterated. The infantry beside the Giganton quickly moved forward, stepping through the gap now in the fence. They were greeted by a barrage of arrows from those defending. A few fell as a few of the arrows found the inevitable gaps between the soldier's shields. The points more than capable of piercing the flesh of a human target.

Another two holes were smashed through the perimeter fencing and more Zulani poured in through the openings. Within a few minutes, hundreds now lined up in their own shield wall, completely surrounding the defensive squares of the Darekian defenders. They closed in, all the time under fire from the defending archers, before the shields of both sides clashed together. Despite a majority of the Darekians being little more than boys, they did manage to put up some resistance, before finally succumbing to the stronger men of the Zulani force.

Not caring that those opposing them were little more than children, the attackers cut through the ranks. In little more than quarter of an hour, the battle was all but over. The bodies of dead Darekians littered the camp, interspaced here and there by a fallen Zulani. The battle may have been won and over swiftly, but it had still come at a price.

The Zulani priest walked through one of the gaps in the fencing to look more closely at this enemy. He had been surprised by their willingness to fight, despite their lack of years. He was confused as to why none of them had so much as attempted to flee, nor surrender when given the chance. Whatever drove these young soldiers was something he needed to discover. Even the wounded had tried to fight on. The only survivors he had managed to capture had been two of the younger members who had been injured. He had ordered at least one be taken alive for him to experiment on.

Despite their injuries, the two boys, each about twelve years of age, had to be restrained. He would collar them and once their minds were more pliable to his will, would question them further. He needed to know if there were more camps such as this one in Darekia, and more importantly who was running them.

One of the young prisoners was thrust to the ground. His hands were bound together, and he had a bandage around his abdomen where he had been slashed with a blade.  "Collar him," the Zulani priest said to one of the soldiers. The man clicked the thin metallic band around the youngster's neck. "Now tell me, are there more camps like this one?" the priest asked. The young Darekian looked up at the robed man before him. "I do not answer to you," he snapped before spitting on the ground. The priest was taken aback. He tapped his staff before repeating the question, thinking maybe that the collar had not yet had time to do its work. The reply he got was just the same as before.

After trying three bands on the youngster's neck, it was clear that for reasons unknown, these collars did not work. Whether that was due to the band themselves not functioning as they should, or this youngster having some sort of immunity to them. "Kill him," the priest finally said having lost all patience with the lad. One of the soldiers nodded, and drew his sword, before slowly thrusting it through the young Darekians chest. "Fetch me the other prisoner," The robed man ordered as he watched the Darekian slump to the dirt before his feet.

The priest knelt down and placed his hand over the fallen youngsters head. His body twitched a little as the blood oozed from his young body. He could sense the collar was working, but something stronger appeared to already have control of the mind. He would need to delve deeper on his next prisoner. The other young Darekian was also thrown to the floor beside his fallen comrade. The priest watched the reaction of the boy, or complete lack of it as it turned out.