[Prologue]    [Chapter 1]   [Chapter 2]    [Chapter 3]    [Chapter 4]    [Chapter 5]    [Chapter 6]    [Chapter 7]    [Chapter 8]    [Chapter 9]    [Chapter 10]    [Chapter 11]    [Chapter 12]    [Chapter 13]    [Chapter 14]    [Chapter 15]    [Chapter 16]    [Chapter 17]    [Chapter 18]    [Chapter 20]    [Chapter 21]    [Chapter 22]    [Chapter 23]    [Chapter 24]    [Chapter 25]    [Chapter 26]    [Chapter 27]    [Chapter 28]    [Chapter 29]    [Chapter 30]    [Epilogue]
   

Chapter 19

Loray watched the Tyron troops land. They quickly ran out and ducked under trees. They checked their guns, food and each other. One Tyron walked up to him. He was wearing a silver jacket-which meant he was the Deputy General of the Tyron forces.
    “Loray,” said the General. “I will assume that the party who arrived with you yesterday have left?”
    “Yes, they left this morning,” Loray told him. “It is the King’s order that we assemble the troops to allow the one with this communicator”-Loray held up the mobile that he’ll get Jaron’s messages with-“to relay the messages, so that any change of plan can be introduced quickly.”
    “We will wait for Kane then,” said the General.

They had been travelling for 2 days in the...not the actual desert because there were lots of thin, weedy plants about. They passed a few cactei too. Balka-Rae led the group at the front, Kuni walked at the back and Yanthro walked along sniffing all over the place. He then looked down.
    “Tell them tunnel widens here,” Yanthro said to Jaron. He pointed to the ground. Jaron typed the message while Yanthro sniffed the air. “No soldiers about, send now.”
    They saw less and less plants as they walked. They couldn’t see any animals but a few snakes. It was only about 9 o’clock in the morning and it was starting to get hotter.
    “It’s not usually this warm until midday,” thought Rida. “I wonder how intense the heat must be in the actual desert.”
    Balka and Yanthro carried a backpack each. Balka’s had a few cooking pans and a fire lighter, while Yanthro’s had a tent.
    “Maybe I can talk with Zana, before things heat up,” thought Balka-Rae. He walked over to his son but Zana moved away. Balka looked and felt sad. “I’ve always wanted to be with him but now he hates me.” Everyone else pretended they didn’t see what had happened.
    “It’s a shame they can’t get along,” thought Jaron. “I can already see a resemblance between them, the way they laugh and smile.”
    An hour went by. They kept on walking. They were starting to see less plants. It was getting even more hotter. Balka put his arms into the sleeves of his big, black cloak and fastened it. Yanthro and Kuni did the same thing.
    “I suggest you do the same,” Balka told the others. “We’re almost at the actual desert and in order to save water, we can’t lose too much body heat.” Everyone did what he did...except Corina. He looked at her. “You can do this to survive in the desert Corina, or the heat will kill you. Your choice.” He carried on walking. Corina did up her cloak.
    It was almost midday when people became hungry. The Doglan and Catlans were used to this, but no one else was. Balka-Rae carried on walking while everyone else slowed down. Yanthro noticed this.
    “Balka!” Yanthro shouted. “They’re hungry! We need to eat!”
    Balka-Rae turned round. “In a few minutes. Promise!” He walked up a sand dune. There weren’t any plants around now.
    “This heat’s unbearable!” thought Corina. “Can’t I collapse?”
    Kuni came forward and helped Corina carry on walking. They slowly went up the sand dune.
    When they were all at the top, they stared at what they saw in front of them. There was sand and sand dunes everywhere. Nothing else could be seen but a cactus or two. Then there was the clear blue sky. The sun making the scorching heat.
    “The roasting wasteland,” thought Rida.
    “I’d better be strong, this place could kill us,” thought Loria.
    “We are well and truly at the desert,” thought Jaron, “the hottest place on Takla.”
    Yanthro took off his pack and Kuni helped him unpack the…something. They unfolded the black square and put it up. They then unfolded the other black square. When the two were done, everyone was looking at a black tent shaped like an igloo.
    “Get inside everybody,” said Balka-Rae. He was laying fish on a silver dish.
    When everyone-except Balka-were inside the tent, they found themselves a little clueless.
    “Okay everybody,” Kuni began, “now that we’re actually at the desert, there’s a small change of schedule. We sleep at midday and midnight, at the points when the Sun and Moon are at their highest. We will eat in the morning, at midday before we sleep and after our sleep before we carry on with our journey.”
    “When do we eat?” moaned Corina, leaning on her sister’s shoulder.
    “Hot sun cook food real quick, fish’ll be ready real soon,” said Yanthro.

They had now been walking for days. Nothing had been seen except a cactus, a camel, a Catlan Scout ship, sand, sand and more sand. It was when they were walking along the top of a sand dune that the Tyrons-and Zana-saw a black spot in the distance.
    “What is that?” asked Jaron.
    “I dunno,” answered Rida.
    “What’s what?” asked Balka-Rae.
    “That, over there,” Rida pointed.
    Balka smiled. “It’s a water-hole, that’s where we’re headed.”

They had been feeling as if they weren’t fed enough during their first days in the desert, but now that they were camping next to a water-hole, they could do lots of fishing and eat a small feast.
    “So how’re your kids?” Balka-Rae asked Jaron and Loria.
    “How’d you know we have kids?” asked Loria.
    “You have the signs of bearing children,” Balka answered.
    Jaron shrugged. “Well, Mando, the older one, is a Tyron now 7 years old…who’s almost able to fly. Lico, our daughter, 5 years old, a Tellen except she has a head-feather.”
    Balka laughed. “So, they’re both redheads? Blondes?”
    “Redhead,” said the parents at the same time.
    “So they both have...brown feathers,” Balka guessed.
    “Black, actually,” said Loria. Jaron grinned.
    “Darn.”
    Rida walked up to them. “Balka?” Balka looked at him. “I was wondering, could you tell us your life story?”
    “My life story?” asked the old Catlan.
    “Yeah, because, you’re so much different from the other Catlans and...why are you like that?” Rida suddenly asked.
    “Fine. Gather round if want to know my life story,” announced Balka-Rae. “If I’ve already told it to you you can just listen to it again.”
    Everyone sat in a circle around him-except for Zana who stayed seated where he was. Kuni sat on her Dad’s left.
    “I suppose this all started about 63 years ago, I was 10. I was raised no differently from other Catlans. I ate all meat given to me, even meat made from the Zamaki fish. They’re easy to cook you know, which is why these days they’re killed if the Catlan Imperial don’t get the right fish on time.”
    “That’s why the Zamakis are forced to hunt the Kingdom Whale!” Rida exclaimed. “They don’t want to but the Catlans force them to.”
    “That’s right,” said Balka. “Now where was I? Oh yeah. One day I was walking home, wondering if I should join the Imperial Cadets, when I saw a white-head. She must have been 50. The Catlans were suspicious of her in case she started preaching-that kind of free speech was and still is banned. She walked up to me and told me: “You are going to do great things one day, you are going to change the desert in Fera’s image”. Fera is our name for Gaderan or Lark or whatever you call him.”
    “What was the old lady talking about?” asked Corina.   
    “Don’t you know anything? Besides, it’s rude to call her 'old lady’, give her some respect. She was saying that I will knock Ingree’s reign off this country and improve it. But I never understood what she said at that point either. “What’s wrong with Catlan Imperial as it is?” I asked. “Look around you,” she said, “you keep your cousins as slaves and live the happy life of a lie.” I understood what that meant, but I couldn’t believe it. She told me more. “Trust your heart and listen to Fera, do not believe the lies they tell. Now you’d best be off home.” So I went home.
    “I couldn’t eat anything that night, too many questions were in my head. My parents noticed that something was wrong. “Son, it is just 4 days from the Sacrifice of the Elder Dogs and the Glorious Feast,” said Father, “you were excited for it when you left for school this morning. Is there something the matter?” “Are you having trouble deciding to join the Cadets?” Mother asked me. I decided to ask them.
    "“Mum, Dad, is...there something wrong with Doglans being slaves?” “No Balka-Rae it isn’t,” my mother told me sternly. “What makes you ask that?” Father asked. “King Siran himself taught us that society is best like this.” I didn’t say anything. My father then asked: “Have you been talking to the heretic preachers?” “It wasn’t my fault, she came up to me,” I told them. “I’ll sort this out,” said Father. He got up to phone security. “Don’t worry about a thing Balka, just forget everything she said and remember what is true,” Mother told me, but what she thought was the truth was a lie.”
    “Why is it I’m starting to care for some white-head?” thought Zana.
    Balka-Rae carried on talking. “They couldn’t find her anyway, she’d left on a transport ship long before any search happened. It was then ordered that no white-head should ever enter again, reason being they almost caused heresy. With all my worry of that night, I forgot to study for next day’s history test. Turned out I didn’t need to, it was really easy and I could answer the questions from memory. After that, we were told to write a page long essay on why the Sacrifice was so great. I just sat there, I couldn’t think of any ideas. My teacher saw this. “Balka-Rae, you usually write excellent essays, particularly on this subject. Whatever is the matter?” “I don’t know, I really don’t,” I answered and back then, I didn’t know. So she told me: “You must be ill, I’ll let you off this afternoon. Take a drink of water. I’ll write a note to your parents so I can be sure you’ll see a doctor.” And that’s what my teacher did.
    “My mother took me to the hospital that evening. I admitted to the doctor that I wasn’t eating much and after taking a 'faith test’, I was announced ill and had to stay for the night. I was put in a room with a comfy bed that had a TV screen over it. I never realised it back then, but I was being drugged-not badly, the stuff just made me dazed so I’d believe anything the screen told me.
    “I came out of the hospital floppy and tired. I didn’t wake up until I went to the Sacrifice and the Feast. It was always that day every year that was important to my family tree and so we always met up there. I looked at the elderly Doglans lined up to be killed. They all looked so sad, I’d never seen anyone that sad. Everyone cheered when one by one, each Doglan was stabbed and thrown into the fire pit. I felt so sorry for them.”
    “Hey,” thought Zana. For some strange reason, he was watching a huge fire while lots of people-Catlans-around him were cheering.
    Balka-Rae’s story continued. “I waited until we got home before I asked my parents: “We think that elderly Catlans are wise and teach us to fight, why do we think elderly Doglans are useless?” My parents were both shocked. My mother told me: “Balka-Rae! We told you! Things are how they are!” She turned to my father. “I think we should-” Mother was about to say, but then Father ordered me to “Get ready for bed Balka.”.
    “I remember lying curled up in my bed, hearing my parents argue. My father said: “We can’t take him to Hospital. To know that one of ours is sick will bring shame to our family. We are all honourable as we are descended from the loyal Chief  Xeran himself!” “It’s been 3000 years! There would be defects in the family by now!” said my mother. “I will make sure my son doesn’t have one!” Father said. “He is going to join the Cadets! He will have the best training and bring joy to our family!” So that was my father’s decision.”
    Zana then thought he was in a dark bedroom, curled up in a bed and hearing 2 people argue. “Isn’t that the argument Balka just described?”
    The story continued. “Things went pretty well for the next 5 years. I lived up to the Sergeants’ expectations, honoured my family, but people found it a little odd that I didn’t eat any Zamaki meat any more. It was a little before the year ended that everyone got excited because we were going to have our first target practice…and actually shoot someone. We all lined up. Opposite each one of us was a Doglan tied up…we were told to aim.” Balka took a deep breath and looked down. Kuni rubbed his shoulder, comforting him. She spoke for him.
    “When the Cadets were given the order to fire, everybody shot except him. There was a huge cheer. Father was ordered again and again to fire but he didn’t. His father kept shouting out how he shamed the family. The Captain ordered my Dad to be whipped 5 times and thrown into a cell. He was thrown in with a shooter and the Doglan he was supposed to kill. He wasn’t to come out until he killed the Doglan,” told Kuni. Balka patted and rubbed her hand.
    “Thanks.” Her Dad looked up. “His name was Resk. In my cell was a window that looked out onto the desert. He told me about the legends of heroes who lived in the sands, how they were so strong. After a week, the Captain got fed up of me. He had the soldiers hold the Doglan in front of me and told me that if I didn’t kill him then, I was thrown out into the desert. “Fine,” I said, so I was literally thrown out of the city. I saw it was evening. I ran.”
    Zana then thought he was running in the desert at sunset. “I’m supposed to be sitting down! How’s this possible?”
    “When I was out of breath, I turned to look at the city I used to live in. It looked like a bunch of black spikes sticking up into the air. Didn’t look anything like a city. I walked on. It was definitely night time when I found myself in the middle of nowhere, there was nothing but sand and the Moon. I was shivering. I stepped into a water-hole at some point, it was small so I didn’t fall in I just...banged my knee. I was tired, so I felt it was safe enough to sleep.”
    “Man, I feel sleepy.” Zana did actually feel sleepy. “I feel as if I ran all day.”
    Kuni took her hand off her Dad’s shoulder. She was looking straight at Zana and saw him flopping his head. “Zana, are you alright?”
    Zana looked up quickly. “I don’t feel tired anymore.” “I’m fine…I think.”
    Balka-Rae carried on. “Well, I was sleeping and shivering next to a water-hole. When I woke up, I was in a tent with nomads. They said I was too badly equipped to be in a desert. I told them how I got there and they said I could stay with them. I felt true happiness for the first time in my life as I learned how to survive in the desert and map my way around it. I was actually learning something useful. I lived that way for the next 16 years.
    “It was during one of our stops at the Marshes that the big news was announced: Ingree, aged 14, had killed his father and sister and proclaimed himself King. The High Marshal said this was a grand moment as a new, strong King will lead all of Catlan and good times are 'surely’ ahead. Ingree himself interrupted and said: “I want a new, strong High Marshal. Have this one executed!” It was at that point we were all saying to each other how Ingree was going to be a worse King than the last. For sure, we were right.”

©Ruth Amy Louise Hüneke 2008