Richard Tuttle - Young Lord of Khadora

Ages ago

Khador stood in the clearing of the mountain pass and watched the small army approach out of the west. He signaled to his own men to aid and direct the arriving bodyguards, although Omungs followers did not appear to be weary or in need of assistance. The leader of the arriving army walked over to Khador and hugged him in a familiar embrace.

Greetings, brother! exclaimed Omung. I see you are the first to arrive. I trust Fakar will be along shortly.

It is the appointed day, stated Khador, breaking the embrace.

Where is father? Omung queried. I thought he was to be with your army.

I had little need for him or his men, grinned Khador. The people in my sector were no match for my men. Father elected to aid Fakar. He should be here shortly. What of your efforts? Your men appear to be free from battle weariness.

Battle? laughed Omung. There was no battle, only slaughter. The peasants have neither weapons nor any desire to fight. My armies control the entire coastline. They start the sweep towards the center now. The hard part is chasing them through the mountains to make sure we get them all.

But get them all we must, frowned Khador. I too am having troubles tracking down the savages in my area. My armies also control both coasts of my sector and push towards the center. We cannot let a single soul escape.

Yet you fought with father over his plan to kill everyone, Omung pointed out.

True enough, nodded Khador. I do not relish senseless slaughter, but father is right. What chased us from our homeland, may we never say its name, must never be allowed here. If we must kill all to keep it from these shores, then so be it. That does not mean I must enjoy the task.

The makeshift camp erupted in murmurs and the two brothers turned towards the commotions. A dozen armed but ragged men were making their way into the pass from the east. Khador peered into the new arrivals and barked harsh orders to his men.

I see Fakar, but not father, Khador hissed.

Omung merely nodded as the third brother trod over to join his siblings.

Khador received the traditional embrace of Fakar and felt the weakness in his brothers body. He returned the hug firmly and released Fakar.

Where is father? Khador asked.

Dead, Fakar replied, his eyes cast down upon the dirt at their feet. We followed the plan as instructed. We burned our ships and began the attack. It appeared easy at first as the savages were not used to warfare, but as we entered the hills, things went poorly.

Poorly? inquired Omung. Our scouts reported no armies of any kind. What trouble beset you?

Not armies, Fakar reported as he slumped down with his back to the cliff wall. Their horses are much faster than ours. The savages would gather in packs and poke our flanks and then outrun us as we tried to catch them. Our formations broke and were scattered. They lured our army into the jungle and that is where it happened.

Where what happened? demanded Khador. What happened to father?

The jungle was full of giant spiders, twitched Fakar. Spiders much larger than horses. The spiders were intelligent and attacked us from all sides. Father tried to rally the men out of the jungle. He died killing one of the huge beasts, but by doing so he allowed us to escape.

Escape!, howled Omung. Your men fled the battlefield?

Where is your army now? questioned Khador.

Fakar clenched his teeth and nodded towards the small knot of weary men that had accompanied him. That is what I could find of my army and fathers army, he spat.

Out of tens of thousands, you bring back twelve? gasped Omung.

The rest are probably scattered all over my sector, sighed Fakar. I will gather them when I return there. I dared not miss this meeting. Your help may be required in conquering the east.

Khador paced away from the meeting as Omung continued howling at the youngest brother. The loss of the two huge armies was serious, but not terminal. Still, the savages in all three sectors had to be exterminated, lest the evil follow them to these shores. Khador nodded to himself and strode determinedly back to his brothers.

The three of us are the only ones left who have yet to receive the magic of forgetfulness, Khador stated. We shall receive those rites tonight. Tomorrow we gather all of our armies and march on the eastern sector. I want that land destroyed completely. Salt the fields and kill every living thing we find. Let our mages ensure that it becomes a wasteland forever more.

What of the savages we both still chase? asked Omung. We cannot afford to have any survivors to stain the bloodline. One intermarriage and we have failed. You know what the mages have stated. One stray thought could bring the horror to our doorstep and nothing will save us then. Nothing!

The savages in our two sectors are nothing compared to what father has faced, declared Khador. We will return to hunt our savages after we are done in Fakars sector.

Will breeding really cause the memories to resurface? puzzled Fakar.

I do not know, conceded Khador, but I will not chance it. We cannot face the likes of what we fled in our ships. We are fortunate to be alive today to talk of it and after the rites tonight, none will ever talk of it again. Even a mention of its name is enough to draw it here.

We cannot survive another encounter with it, agreed Omung. We shall destroy the land of Fakar and return to our own battles after.

The lumbermen shuffled uneasily into a small clearing in the Sitari Valley and laid their packs on the ground. Warily, they glanced around at the dense stand of fargi trees and the soldiers moving through them. Some of the closer trunks showed the scars of past attempts at felling them. Most of the lumbermen had heard the tale of the last time Lord Lashendo had sent men to clear this valley and the soldiers surrounding the workers offered little comfort. Only one man had survived the attack of the Chula and he lived only long enough to tell the tale of the slaughter which had occurred here. The soldiers sent to guard the lumbermen didnt appear to be any less wary as they spread outward in a circle, brandishing their unsheathed swords, searching for any sign of the dreaded cat people.

Togi was one of the replacement workers sent to Lord Lashendo by Lord Ridak, Lord of the Situ Clan, and the tale of the last massacre was told to the new recruits the day they arrived at the remote estate. Togi had never seen a Chula before, but even in Lord Ridaks service, tales of the strange and ferocious cat people were told in the barracks at night. Belief in the horrid tales was not optional in Khadora, for to tell a lie was to give your life to another in payment for the mistruth. No sane person in Khadora ever lied.

The Squad Leader of the soldiers approached the lumbermen while looking off into the woods for signals from his men.

All right, the Squad Leader bellowed. Lets get these trees felled and get back to the barracks before nightfall. Move, before I have to call my soldiers back to deal with you instead of the Chula.

Togi picked up his ax and headed into the forest for an available tree. As hard as it would be to chop through the tough bark of the fargi trees, Togi was thankful that he was not one of the slaves who would have to cart the huge trees away. Those slaves would be worked to the point of exhaustion and, most likely, beyond it. The slaves who didnt succumb to fatigue were often crushed while handling the logs.

Togi swung his ax in a gentle practice swing. Around him he could hear dozens of axes impacting on wood as the other lumbermen began the arduous task of clearing the valley. Togis ax rebounded off the fargis hard bark and he braced himself, legs apart, to deliver a powerful stroke to the tree. The ax blade was slicing deep into the bark when a far off scream suddenly rent the air. Togi jerked his ax out of the fargi and gazed around. The other lumbermen looked startled and had also halted their swings. The Squad Leader began pulling his sword from its sheath as if contemplating punishment for the work stoppage when a soldier ran out of the forest, his long braids flying behind him and his scimitar clasped tightly in his fist. The soldier talked briefly in hushed tones with the Squad Leader, who immediately hurried off in the direction of that first scream. Togi watched as the nervous soldier visibly calmed himself, smoothing his tunic, before issuing orders for the workers to move into the center of the clearing.