Edgar rolled restlessly on the bed, his blanket was soaked with sweat. A short while later, his eyes opened so suddenly with a gasp, he was finally awake, panting. He’d had another vision. Edgar was still incredibly strong and agile despite his old age. The most powerful oracle in the seven kingdoms, the high priest of Mendelevonia was for the first time in a long time, shaken by a vision, a nightmare.
He buried his face in his palms for a moment, reminiscing on what the gods had revealed to him; the horror that awaited Mendelevonia, the terror that was to come.
He got out of bed and slipped into his white robe which matched the color of his hair and beard. Edgar picked up his staff from against a wall where it was leaning and headed to his window. The staff was a walking stick to balance his unequal legs but it was believed by many to possess magic powers. Maybe it did.
Gazing at the crescent moon which was hanging somewhere off a pillar of cloud, three stars appeared out of the blue, arrayed around the moon. Edgar stared at the celestial bodies and soon observed that the biggest star had gradually vanished and a smaller one took its place. The pillar of cloud now swallowed the remaining two of the stars. He understood the interpretation of that message and rage swelled up inside him.
He didn’t realize how tightly he’d gripped his staff until he felt the pinch of his fingernails piercing his palm. With gritted teeth, he angrily stamped the staff and the floor cracked, lightning streaked the clouds accompanied by a loud thunderclap. The sky began to weep.
Along a muddy path, two horses were galloping in the rain with hoofs splashing through the puddles. The riders were clothed in large garments that covered them head to toe. A flash of lightning revealed a glimpse of the magnificent structure of the Mendelevonian temple just ahead. The horses neighed as their riders pulled back their reins, bringing them to a halt under a thatched roof at the entrance of the temple.
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“Easy, boy. Easy.” A rider rubbed the mane of his horse and unmounted it, his boots stamping into a small pond. He walked over to the second horse and helped the rider unmount it. The horse snorted with a wedding tail as it stuck its head into its rider’s hood.
“I’ll be fine, Sarabi.” The voice was that of a woman, “stay,” she cautioned the horse as it attempted to follow her.
The first rider tied both horses to a stake under the thatched roof and helped the woman walk into the temple.
It was bright inside, warm from the flaming torches that were hanging on the high walls and those on the colonnade.
Edgar had just finished praying in front of the statue of their gods and goddesses when he heard footsteps approaching from behind him. He swiveled alarmingly and swung his staff. “Stop right there!” he ordered and the two figures halted in their pace, one supporting the other, “reveal yourselves.” He pointed the head of his staff at them which was already glowing and sparking.
One of them flipped off his head and the oracle immediately bowed, a knee to the ground, “My lord.”
Mari groaned deeply and unconsciously let herself fall on her husband who staggered at her weight. Edgar helped to set her down on a bench where she sat, struggling with her breath. It was cold tonight but she was covered in profuse sweat.
“What’s going on, my lord?”Edgar asked.
“I do not know. But I was hoping you would.”
“It’s the baby,” Mari chuckled. She’d told her husband, the king, to stop worrying about her condition and that it was a normal fever caused by her pregnancy but he’d insisted that they should go see the high priest. She did not experience this much discomfort when she carried Arika sixteen years ago, why was this one different? She wasn’t due until the next three moons therefore her momentary labour concerned him.
She felt like the baby wasn’t just kicking, she could swear it was punching as well. Edgar sat on his heels, close to the ground;
“May I?” he asked, stretching a hand towards her stomach. She nodded fast and as soon as he placed his hand on her protruded belly, Mari felt a gentle breeze of relief blow across her face. She shut her eyes and a sigh whistled out. The kicking stopped.
Edgar rose to his feet and smiled.”He was just excited.”
“He?” the royal couple chorused, beaming with joy.
The priest nodded, “It’s a boy.”
Mari laughed hard and praised the name of the gods.
“Are you certain, Edgar?” the king asked, grinning to his ears.
“I am, my lord,” came the reply,” he’s a divine gift from the gods, the one destined to save Mendelevonia from the terror that is to come.” His smile had vanished by now.
Mari’s heart skipped in fear.
Darker days were coming, war was coming and Mendelevonia would fall. Edgar interpreted the message the gods had sent him using the three stars, the moon, and the pillar of the cloud. The star that vanished was king Arenius and the one that took its place was the unborn child, the pillar of cloud that covered the remaining two was the inevitable war that was to come.
Mendelevonia had never been defeated before but now, an evil force was awakened and it would take over the kingdom. Mendelevonia would fall but the question was; How would she fall, like a soldier in battle or like a slave?
And so it came to pass that the war of which Edgar foretold arrived at the gates of Mendelevonia. The one who waged this war was an evil dictator blessed with immortality, a madman rumoured to neither have a soul nor a beating heart. His name was Vah’naad, the conqueror who was never conquered, a demon from the depths of hell.
Vah’naad had sent a spokesman to Mendelevonia to instruct king Arenius to prepare his sixteen-year-old daughter for he was coming for her hand in marriage and also demanded that Mendelevonia provided him with two dozen virgin girls.
Out of fright for him, the elders from the nine tribes of Mendelevonia had summoned the king to a meeting where they tried to convince him to oblige to the conqueror’s demand. Arenius called them cowards for being willing to give up their daughters, where was their honour? He chose to fight a losing battle rather than give away his daughter to that uncircumcised dog.
The Mendelevonian army put up a great fight but they were soon outnumbered and the only strategy they had left was defense. Their city was ablaze, buildings were being destroyed by flying fireballs. Flames burned so brightly that the night seemed like daytime.
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The battle cry was deafening and even that was barely enough to obscure the sound of steel striking steel. The conqueror’s men were struggling to breach the gates but the defending army fought back so vehemently.
“Secure the perimeters!”General Noxi commanded. She was Mendelevonia’s first female army general, it was also her who trained princess Arika in the art of battle.
Explosives set off at different parts of the city, shaking its foundation.
“Archers!” she shouted, raising a hand in the air. Those on the battlement immediately strung their bows, “steady,… fire!”
Arrows streaked the air, striking the enemies outside the city walls. A white horse neighed to a halt and the king in his silver armour unmounted it. “How are we looking, general?”
“Not good, my lord, “Noxi replied, “our defense is strong but their attack is stronger and we’re outnumbered. It’s only a matter of time before we break.”
“Incoming!” a soldier bellowed at the top of his voice
“Take cover!” another added.
An enemy fireball struck the wall of Mendelevonia and their worst nightmare came to life. The wall fell and the enemy trooped into the city, more violently than ever.
King Arenius swung his sword, ready for battle, “For Mendelevonia!” he cried out, zealously and lifted his sword above his head.
His soldiers did the same and the two sides clashed into one another.
In the heat of battle, trapped in a wave of hostility and a whirlwind of chaos, Mari bore a son whose cry brought tears to her eyes. She lay back on the bed, drained of strength as soon as he came into that cruel world.
Hundreds of flaming arrows brightened the sky as they rained on the Mendelevonian army. “Shield!” the king instructed as he raised his own over his head. Everyone else did the same, hiding away from the arrows that pelted them. Many, however, still got struck down.
A messenger from afar alerted the king of the queen’s successful childbirth and he immediately left the battlefield.
“Protect the king!” the general ordered and instantly, seven riders surrounded him and they all rode to the palace.
“Defense formation!” she added and the remaining soldiers all came together in rows and columns with tall shields in front of them.
There was no time to get all sentimental with the newborn, Arenius carefully took the boy from his mother’s arms, ignoring her pleas for just one more second with her baby. He handed it over to Arika.”You know what you must do.”
She nodded, “Yes, father.”
“Be bold, be brave,” he said to her and kissed her head. Arika wrapped the baby around her stomach and hesitated for a while with tears in her eyes. She knew this was the last time she would ever be with them. Arika embraced her dad and he yelled at her to leave. The front door got knocked down and a fraction of the opposing army charged in. His seven companions took their stances and retaliated to buy Arika some time to escape.
“Run, Arika, run!” said the king.
The girl bolted without looking back even as she heard her mother’s dying scream.
“Find the girl. Kill her,” the commander of the opposing army instructed his men after he saw her escaping through the back door.
“Okay, Radon. It’s just you and me now, boy, “Arika whispered, fighting back the tears that welled in her eyes as she crouched behind a cart away from the enemies’ sight. They were everywhere. She crept her way to the stables but was spotted at the entrance.
“There she is!”
“Get her!”
Four soldiers rushed to the stables but she’d already mounted her mother’s horse, Sarabi. Energetically, the horse galloped out of the stables, knocking them away, “Hyah!”
“Stop her!”
They got up, mounted different horses, and chased after her, even after she left the castle, they still followed her.
Horses galloped faster along a narrow path in the woods. Intermittently, she would look back with nervous glances over her shoulder hoping that she’d ditched them but they were relentless.
“Faster, Sarabi, faster!” she whipped the horse and it sped up, gaping at her enemies.
One of her chasers strung his bow and aimed at her. A second later, he released the arrow and it flew toward her. Arika ducked at the sound of the projectile and it whooshed over her head. They fired more and they kept missing.
Decades ago, during a war against the Mikans, Mendelevonia had dug a deep and wide opening in the ground at their border to trap their enemies. The tactic worked at the time and afterward, a bridge was constructed over it. Now, during this current war, the bridge had been destroyed by an explosion that left it in shambles.
Arika was headed towards the bridge, unaware of the recent development. Her chasers slowed down, knowing exactly what lay ahead. As she got closer, she realized that the bridge had collapsed. Her heart skipped but she wouldn’t stop. No, not now. “Get ready to jump, Sarabi!”
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The horse increased its speed. The fact that she wasn’t slowing down pricked her chasers’ curiosity as they stopped to watch how she would die.
“She’s not going to make it,” said one of them.
The horse took a dangerous leap on getting to the edge of the broken bridge, stretching out its fore and hind legs with a loud neigh. Arika’s eyes were shut, hoping and praying that she made the jump. And she did. Her body startled the horse and the other side.
“I’ll be damned,” said a soldier with a dropped jaw.
The baby jabbered, giggling. Arika smiled at it.
“It’s okay, Radon. They can’t get to us now.” She rubbed the horse’s mane beaming with pride, “Good work, Sarabi.”
Arika looked at her castle from a far distance away, burning in flames. Her home was gone and so were her parents. She sniffled and wiped her tears before riding off, away from everything she had ever known.
Story by Samuel Francis
This is wonderful, so interesting to read
Wow 🥰 so interesting and mind blowing….
Keep it up dear
More wisdom I pray 🙏
Amen,dear. Thank you