A SWORD OF FIRE

Part 1: A Fight for Destiny

Chapter 2

King Javdin II of Klivdon fingered a dart, his cold gaze centered on a large map spread out in front of him upon a stone wall. Behind him, 5 tall men stood, long black hooded cloaks shading their faces and hiding any sources of expression. These were the Natzri, the King’s advisors. They waited silently as they watched Javdin, waiting for him to speak. This, this was the assembly of the infamous Death Council, the masterminds behind all of Klivdon.

            A loud swishing sound pierced through the still air as Javdin swiftly released the dart, watching as it pierced the map, embedding itself with deadly accuracy into a small country on the edge of Palmari.

            “Elvienl.”

            All five pairs of eyes were focused on Javdin as he turned to face them, his eyes scanning the row of them.

            “Elvienl.” Javdin repeated. “The last country that stands between us and complete domination. A small insignificant piece of land…all that remains.” He paused, a hint of a cruel victorious smile playing on his lips. “10 years…10 years of intense campaigning, constant warfare, and now one last country, just one last country, and my family’s legacy will be fulfilled. We will rise strong and completely unchallenged, a monstrous force like none other. And once we have Palmaria, we can cross the ocean, and conquer the other lands, until one by one every country, every nation, every people there is will fall to us.” His voice echoed in the chamber, great and strong, yet so terrible. One could see a shadow all around him, and fire radiating from him. His eyes were a terrifying black, fire leaping from the pupils, and ice all around. “Just one little country…”

            Suddenly, the fire disappeared, and the coldness diminished. Javdin’s posture returned to normal, his eyes once again emotionless. “We must proceed on invasion plans. Dimitri, do you have the background material?”

            One of the hooded figures stood forward, silently handing to Javdin a stack of papers. Javdin took them, and motioned for the figure to step back. He fingered through the pages, skimming through the lines. “So it is a peace-loving country?” A scornful laugh rang from Javdin. “An emphasis on nature and beauty? Children are taught friendship and love? What a traditionalist nation.” Javdin scoffed, throwing the papers onto the wooden table that stood beside him. “This should be absolutely no effort.”

            “No, there is more to it than it seems…” came the low snake-like voice of the Natzri. He walked to the table slowly and slid off the first half of the stack, revealing a thorough analysis on the army of Elvienl. “They may be a country of peace, but their army is superior.” He ran his fingers through the words. “It consists of 10 sects, and among them, 3 forces: the Rafin, the Rëi, and the Layõn. The Layõn consists of 6 of the 10 sects. Their warriors join at age 18 after going through a normal examination process. The warriors are well-trained and skilled, but no force that we haven’t seen before. The Rëi consists of 3 of the 10 sects, and these warriors are chosen at birth and trained for a lifetime. Their skill is very impressive, but their number is not many, and with our kind of numbers, I believe we could overcome them. It is the Rafin that may pose a potential problem. They number 1 sect out of the 10, which may make them seem trivial, but their intensity is overwhelming. Every single person on the Rafin is willing to fight to their death for their nation. Competitions are held each year between 15, 16 and 17 year olds to determine who gets in. Those who do not join the Layõn; those who do have pledged 10 years of their life to the most intense military program we have yet to see. Among these, a leader is picked each year, and these leaders, they are heroes to their people. ‘Completely selfless, completely courageous, and completely loyal,’ the document reads. It also says that they have never lost a battle in the history of Elvienl.” The Natzri looked up. “But of course we do not know how much of this is myth and how much is fact.” He withdrew himself, returning to his place among the 5, his eyes on Javdin.

            Javdin was silent. He ran his fingers through his beard, his eyes closed. “So it is a challenge. Well all the better once we defeat it then.” A cruel smile curved on his lips. “We shall use strategy, trickery, and strength, and we shall crush them. Crush them thoroughly until these Rafin kneel to us, begging us for mercy…” He snapped his head to a Natzri standing in the middle. “You, Hainvir. Have you found out the people in their government?”

            The Natzri nodded swiftly, sweeping forward and adding a pile of papers to the stacks on the table. He ran his fingers across the first page, stopping momentarily at each name as he mentioned them.

            “They are ruled by a royal family and its court. Their king is Arayaitil, a man in his 50s. He is married to Leilanna, and has 5 children: Cainõn, 30, Arayan, 18, Araëlin, 15, Haïntil, 11,and Lëlalin, 7. Normally, the eldest male child is Crown Prince—for Elvienl is a highly male-oriented society, but according to my sources, Cainõn is the result of an earlier relationship between Arayaitil and a maiden in the court. Arayan is the first child of Arayaitil and Leilanna, and thus Arayan, not Cainõn, is Crown Prince.”

            Javdon nodded with a glint in his eye. “Interesting…a previous relationship? So the king isn’t so honorable after all. Does the rest of the kingdom know about this?”

            “I am not sure. It is possible they don’t—the choosing of the eldest male is not a law but rather more of an unwritten tradition. According to their Cenyëléla, the king simply must choose the “most capable and loyal”; which child is the most capable and loyal is up to him.” Having finished, the Natzri returned to his original place. All eyes once again turned to Javdon as they waited for their orders.

            “How interesting…” Javdon’s eyes danced maliciously. “This will be fun, very fun. Kailvin, get the troops rallied up and begin full-time training again. Hainvir, I want a more thorough investigation into the royal family, and while you’re at it, try to get a few spies in there—maids, servants, anyone will do. Yarito, continue working with those chemicals. The Hirva was impressive, but we can’t have any of our weapons being so unreliable.”

            Yarito nodded emotionlessly. “I will work on it.”

            “Good. And Dimitri…I want a very detailed map by next week.” Javdon began pacing up and down. “We need to get preparations finished fast and begin launching our attack. We don’t have that much time…

            “After all, we have a people to take over.” A cruel grin spread across Javdon’s face. It wouldn’t be too long now…It wouldn’t be too long…

A/N: Yay! I’ve finished another chapter =). As always, reviews are greatly appreciated—they can totally make my day. Oh, and by the way, I wanted to ask you guys: would you prefer quick short updates, or not so quick lengthier updates? thx~fierytears