600 years ago, much before the influence of the modern world, was the age of warriors, the age of conquests, the age of tyrants.

Long battles fought at the cost of countless lives, for one purpose: to conquer. Vast armies of cavalrymen and, archers fought from dawn until dusk, mighty beasts, put together in ferocious battles. There were only two outcomes to this. The Reward for Victory, a vast land, its people, all it had to offer. The Price of Defeat: Death. The land was ruled by many empires, each one home to mighty warriors. But no empire was as mighty, as dominating as the Empire of Krong. Its capital, Gorgundur (The City of Terror) was not named so without reason, for it was under the hand of the tyrant, Malador. Malador was a ruthless man, born with only one desire, the desire to conquer. He treated his enemies with the worst cruelty, he made them his slaves, forced them to work on his lands, build his monuments. The Punishment for those who refused to comply with his orders, was death.

His people faced no better fate, they had to pay a high amount of taxes, work for the kings officials in their lands for a meagre sum. They lived in fear for their lives, those poor souls, they had to give up most of their hard earned produce to the king, if they resisted, they were beaten, whipped, tortured. If yet, they tried to argue, they were executed.

No one dared to stand up to the cruelty of Malador, no one wanted to face a horrible death, and they continued to consent to the will of this tyrant, lest they lose their lives. They thus lived in fear, with no hope of freedom, peace and happiness.

However, a few brave ones dared to oppose this Tyrant. One such household was that of Jinn. The head of this household, Jinkar, was a hard-working man. He struggled to provide for his family, he too, like the others, had to consent to Malador’s Will.

The reason he was able to survive Malador’s Tyranny, was due to the two most precious things in his life: His wife and son. His wife’s name was Maria, she was a beautiful, sweet natured, middle aged lady, and often helped her husband with the harvest. Their son, Jinlar, was a bright, young lad of fifteen. He spent most of his time, wandering about the forests, but also helped with the housework. The family spent the evening supper together, in their small hut, they talked about their day, sang songs and made merry. Their sorrows of life, were taken away by the fact that they had each other.

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But, it was not to be. The happiness of this family would soon be stripped away from them, but they knew not of this, of the ill fortune that would soon befall them.

It was a bright summer’s day. Jinkar and his wife were out in the fields, sowing the seeds for the harvest. They had only just begun the plowing, when they heard hoof falls in the distance. It was a retinue of Soldiers, on patrol, led by Malador’s Minister, Heresies, no less cruel than his master. They were passing by Jinkar’s field, when they stopped.

“My good sirs, inquired Jinkar of them, why do you stop? Is there anything I can do to help you?”

Malador’s Minister replied , “Yes, as a matter of fact there is, you see, His Majesty the king wishes to build himself a leisure garden, where he may roam in peace. He has deemed your land suitable for this purpose, and has given orders for it to be seized.”

“But why?!, protested Jinkar, this land is all we have, we survive because of this land, our stomachs are filled on the produce of this land, you can’t just take it away!”

“Silence, you fool! Dare you defile the Kings orders?, you know the punishment rewarded to criminals like you?”, replied the minister.

Most people would have cowered in fright, they would have done what the minister requested without protests. But not Jinkar, he was brave and prepared to fight for his land, even at the cost of this own life.

“Darling, said Maria, Just hand over the land, we’ll manage somehow, please, don’t make it worse.”

“No!, said Jinkar, I refuse to comply! This is our land, our efforts, our only source of livelihood. If these tyrants wish to take it, they won’t be able to without me taking them out first!!!”

“Very well, said the minister, in a very severe tone, if this is the way you wish to behave, there will thus be consequences. Soldiers, seize this man!”

At the minister’s command, the soldiers stepped forward to arrest Jinkar. Jinkar however, was not going to give up so easily, Picking up his hoe, he attacked the soldiers, badly injuring one of them.

As bravely as he fought, Jinkar was no match for the soldiers, they soon overpowered him, and with one terrific blow, Jinlar was knocked to the ground. His wife, in utter distress, ran to stop the soldiers, but one of them, pushed her back with his hand, and she fell upon the ground.

“Jinkar!!, she cried, with eyes overflowing with tears.

The soldiers loaded Jinkar onto one of the horses and proceeded to take him to the palace.

“It’s okay my love, Jinkar consoled his wife, it’s okay, don’t cry. Look after young Jinlar for me, I’ll be back soon.”

“No!, his wife cried, no! please no! Don’t take him away, we’ll do whatever you want, please!”

“Silence! Your husband has committed a crime by speaking against the king! He must now face death!” said the minister in a menacing tone.

Jinkar’s wife made one last attempt to free him, but was struck by one of the soldiers, and fell unconscious upon the ground.

“Maria!, Jinkar cried and attempted to run to his wife, but, weakened by the blows of the soldiers, and the loss of blood, fainted.