there are some dynamic twists and turns and an ending which no one will guess..............
Right!...Got some editing to do and then promotion work and then it will be available as soon as possible.
JH Gaines
King Arun nodded as he digested what he had just heard,
“interesting.” He sighed almost silently as he sank into his own thoughts,
“does anyone else have anything to add?” he said once again quietly.
“My instinct tells me that this town of Degrainia will be
completely different to anything we have encountered thus far.” Talon added
which suddenly stiffened the lords.
“What makes you think that?” Ganasis asked him.
Talon raised his hand and held up two fingers, “Two
reasons…the first is because this part of Degrain is completely barren, the
dirt we walk upon is completely dead and in regions such as this you find that
the wealth of the civilisation is usually found in just a few large principle
cities. Degrainia is vast and sits alone in this landscape of death, its two
nearest cities are Galiko and Yom which are far to the east……and secondly….it
has been far too easy for us to get where we are.”
“How can you say easy my Lord? We have fought almost every
day for the past month; we have ground out our victories with our sweat and
blood!” Lord Heikan replied.
“That has been baited, Lord Heikan… bait to draw us in, I
fear we are on a long fishing line being drawn into a very large net.” replied Talon.
“I do not agree with you Talon! We have been glorious in
victory!” snapped Heikan looking slightly angered.
“Heikan, do you disagree that we are sitting in the land of
Degrain?”
“Of course not!”
“Then do you disagree that the people of this land have been
raging war on Kratos for countless millennia?”
“No!”
“So my dear lord, can you explain to me how the beast that
have risen from this land crushed the mighty empire of Tusaria, drove the
Kesains to the point of extinction, killed thousands of our kin and even
battled the gods, how do explain this?....How do you explain the ease which we thus
far defeated them?”
“Zachanian steel and heart!” Heikan answered still trying to
sound proud with his armies’ achievements.
“You fool yourself my lord!” added Talon which made all the
lords frown at his remark,
“We must not dare underestimate these warriors, they come
from a heritage where they possess a horrifying skill in battle, they are
cunning and cruel and are driven by a burning desire to kill…. Heed my words
all of you…. Our battle in Degrain has only just begun.” Talon added speaking
with a strong conviction in his voice.
Now the tent fell into silence as the lords all contemplated
Talon’s warning, they all knew too well that when Talon spoke this way then it
was something that could not be ignored.
After what seemed an awkward few moments it fell upon the
king to break the silence.
“Are you trying to suggest something to us Talon?”
“My message is that we must not dare become complacent sire,
we must rid our minds of what has happened and face each day as if it was our
first day in Degrain, I do not want our men going into a battle thinking it won
before we begin… we must remain focused and totally determined…..If we become
gloated with pride and confidence then we do it at our own peril!”
Suddenly a laugh came from the back, the lords turned to see
Talon’s grandfather Lord Zalon sitting completely at ease and smiling from ear
to ear, “spoken like a true gladiator!” he barked proudly at his grandson as the
other lords looked at him like he was raving mad.
“All of you listen to my grandson, what he says has merit, the gladiator who enters a battle with too
much confidence, enters the battle with one eye closed and one arm tied behind
his back.” added Zalon quoting an old gladiator mantra.
“Anyway how can we be complacent when we have you telling us
what to do?” Zalon then snapped jokingly at his grandson trying to lighten the
mood.
Talon looked up at him and smiled, the sight of his
grandfather sitting there laughing made him feel safe. His smile grew larger as
it broke into laughter, soon everyone was laughing, Zalon slapped his own leg
as he now roared with laughter, but then Talon suddenly stopped laughing and
once again his face turned serious.
“What is wrong my son?” Lord Zalon shouted across the room.
Talon raised his head as a sudden nausea rose within him, he
quickly turned to Ganasis with a look of deep concern on his face, Ganasis
suddenly felt a shiver down his own back as suddenly the tent jerked violently
throwing the men from their chairs. The ground then shook and above their heads
they heard an ear shattering cracks, the shaking grew more intense where they
struggled to stand.
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