They’ve been here once before, though that time it would be a port of call to the training fields of Corta. It’s been a long three years since then. They’re national heroes now. Having proven worthy on many battlefields during the rebellion, they recently received invites to the Grand Lodge of Hectaris.

      “Oh Come on! Wake up!” Cearsh called from the Arched hall leading to his room.

Kreuze yawned and asked, “Can it wait?”, looking out over the bustling markets descending towards the city’s famed pier. Cearsh answered,

      “No, we’re to report to the courtyard immediately; chief was rather clear. It’s already been two weeks,” Cearsh remarked, noticing that their stay had been longer than expected.

      The two headed out into the courtyard. They saw the mesmerizing floor, decorated with interlocking tiles forming two snakes. Each head was biting the tail of the other; looking around, they saw decorated marble pillars arrayed around the central floor. At each end of the room, there were openings through which they could see the urban sprawl. Five others met them. To their surprise, all were fellow warriors of decoration from various corners of the Country; most having proven themselves at one point or another.

       A bald, black bearded man walked through the entry hall into the Courtyard. Wearing a black cloak embroidered with golden patterns encircling the Star of Ashtai, and a shoulder guard bearing the sigil of his office on it. Keuzre and the others instantly recognized him. They knew that the appearance of agents of Kethrom meant the Council was keeping this off record. Hence, the atmosphere became one of unrelenting tension.

      The man cleared his throat. “Why are you here? Why am I here? You may be wondering.” After a brief silence, he continued, “As of this moment, you’re all assigned to the 11th Justari at the Fortress Seluke. we will give some disclosure upon departure. From now onward, you’ll serve under Lord-Commander of The Seluke: Maxilon Eidis. Make your way to the long ports. A Centenari black ship will arrive at port three by noon. Questions?”

      A Soldier raised a hand. “is it gonna be dangerous?”, “What’s the matter? Have the last two years made you soft?” The Agent said mockingly. The soldier looked around before coughing nervously, “my bad, sir,”

      “If that’ll be all, you’re dismissed”

     Kreuze walked to the balcony. In the distance beyond the coastline, there stood the Games Theater; every time Krueze saw the colossal circus, he could hardly believe it was not the work of some god. Cearsh came up from behind, “this is very irregular. Hopefully, the boat doesn’t explode,” he said jokingly, referring to a recent incident which many believed to be an inside-job.

      Kreuze paused and looked at his friend. “Agreed; I wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised. I like to tell myself we can survive anything after the hell we’d gone through two y—”

      “I was kidding.” Cearsh asserted, though his face said otherwise.

     They walked the Streets of the Old City towards the port. There were buildings from many periods, some dating back to before the age of the serpents. It reminded Kreuze of his home city, where every street had its distinct history. Descending through the unusually crowded downtown to the docks, they passed by many small shops and stalls selling trinkets and food. He could smell the spices wafting through the air, as well as hear music playing and singing coming from places nearby.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

     They arrived at the long docks; massive wooden boardwalks jutting out into the sea. There were galleons, Carracks, Naval ships, and junks of all shapes and sizes docked there. Countless boats glittered through the surrounding waters and into the distance.

     It was a large Ashtite-clad vessel, painted black with two golden snakes meeting at the bow. It was about fifty feet long, with five masts. On the deck, they could see many soldiers and crewmen. Two men stood apart from the others. They wore black garments with light golden shoulder guards.

“So... who’s in charge?” said Cearsh, tapping a crewman’s shoulder. The crewman pointed to a man at the helm.

     The Captain; came down to greet them, accompanied by his protégé; vice-captain Constantine. “Well met, kin,” he said with a warm smile.

Cearsh gave him a friendly nod. The captain shook hands with each of the soldiers.

“My name is Georgios, 14th captain of the Centanar fleet. It’s my job to get you to the Seluke,” he said, extending his hand to the man next to him. “And this is future-captain Constantine.” Constantine nodded in greeting to the warriors.

      Then turning his attention to the Cearsh and Krueze “I’ve read the report. The butchers of Ashansai in the flesh must be quite the tale.,”

the two eyed each other and Kreuzre said, “Yes, it was some nasty business”. 

“And Techyrze? Now that was a real grinder,”

“Aye, I hope one day I can forget half of what I’d done,” he said somberly

“Not so sure you’ll get the chance. I got a feeling we might soon end up in another conflict, and it could be much worse.” Constantine responded, his expression was distant; as if he’d wanted to say something else.

    “Worse? How?” Asked Cearsh.

    Constantine sighed and leaned on the wall. “That’s right, the de—,”

    “we’ll explain once at sea,” Captain Georgios cut in. There was a loud knocking sound of the Anchor raising and shortly thereafter the ship began sailing. Most of the soldiers were anxious about what might lie in store.

     Kreuze glanced off the deck as the city contracted into the distance until there was only the sea. It was nearing golden hour, and the stars shone. A slight chill blew around him. He reminisced about the days before he joined the army when he was merely a mason worker; it all felt so long ago. He began pondering who the first person he killed had been. After some thought, he concluded it did not matter. Cearsh came up from behind, “what if I wanted to kill you just now? You didn’t even notice,” he said.

     “And who could kill me?” He responded

     “You may have a knack for slaughter, but the others don’t look too different,” Cearsh replied. “Captain Georgios requests our presence. It’s the debrief,” he added.

      The room was quite large, with dark grey walls and a table in the middle. There were 6 chairs placed around it. The atmosphere was quite tense.

      “Attention men,” Georgios said rather loudly, addressing the room of eight, most of whom were veterans of the recent rebellion. Two were career Hectaran praetors who spied on and fought many skirmishes with the Azaru.

     Clearing his voice, the captain spoke aloud, “Now that you’re aboard, I believe you’re owed an explanation. Now then; you’ve probably heard the rumors about the recent events taking place around the Seluke islands. While I’m not at liberty to discuss many details here. The situation looks quite challenging. It’s been long known that the Azaru have aspirations to capture the islands. An eclectic report by various organizations and units has convinced the top brass that the Azaru intend to attack the Seluke. If they throw their best at em, that garrison would be hard-pressed to last a week. They have only basic training and no combat experience. We hope to train them using you a lot in place of the resources we don’t have. The lord-commander will give more details upon arrival.”

     He then turned his gaze to the two Praetors and said, “As for you two, you’re to slip into Fort XinShuen and find out what they’re actually up to. I trust you know what to do.”

     “Yes, sir,” the two responded.

Georgios looked at the Praetor to the left and glanced. He continued, “I read your report, and I want to make one thing clear: you are to do as ordered without question.”

     “Yes, sir- I understand,” he replied.

     “Good. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, we’ll arrive at Port Crasvan in one-to-two days. This will be a rather uneventful voyage, so you may as well get some rest. Dismissed!”