Zachania by Joseph Henry Gaines Page B

his thoughts he found it
deeply confusing.
    It took Talon
two days of riding to reach the military town of Gansaw. Talon was
relieved that after he produced his passes he was treated with good
manners and respect. He was given food and water for himself and
his horse, and allowed the provisions that he needed. Then bathed
himself in a military bath house while his horse was groomed and
reshoe’d. Once Talon and his horse were refreshed he once again set
upon his journey. He crossed the great river of Tash across the
mighty Tash Bridge, he had never seen anything so impressive, the
bridge was hand carved from the finest marble across the banks and
rapids of the river. This was a sign of the Empires craftsmanship
and it definitely impressed Talon, and for the first time on his
journey he found himself feeling excited.
    On the other
side of the river Talon found himself startled by the beauty of the
landscape, the lush valleys he rode through took his breath away,
never in all his life had he seen such beauty. Talon’s hometown of
Tallasian with its dry and arid terrain which stretched down from
the mountains was a beautiful land filled with oasis’s but it was
nothing compared to the lush valleys Talon now found himself in,
every moment of this forest, Talon seemed to greet with wondrous
discovery.
    Talon breathed
in deeply as he tried to refresh his head with the sweet smell of
the conifers and pines, it was like drinking fine ale or eating a
delicious meal, even the grass under the horse’s feet gave him
delight as his horse walked upon its springiness.
    As the sun
began to set, Talon was now deep into the valley where he decided
to use what was left of the daylight and make himself a camp for
the night, Talon built himself a fire and fetched water from a
nearby waterfall. Once his horse was watered and relaxed he tied
him to a tree and gathered his bow from his pack and set about
hunting some food. Talon returned to his camp just before sunset,
his hunt had been successful, as he had caught himself a small
Babbot, a small creature related to rabbits about the same size but
fiercer, Babbot’s were carnivores who fed mainly on birds.
    Talon skinned
the Babbot and found a stick to skewer it with and then placed it
over the fire to cook. He then began to feel tired so he laid back
and yawned loudly, his tiredness soon got the better of him and
Talon drifted into sleep.
    He began to
dream, he dreamt that he was walking alone in a strange mountainous
region dressed in strange garments and all though the landscape
seemed unfamiliar to him he seemed to know where he was heading and
when he was met by a stranger who was dressed in the same garments
he felt overwhelmed with warmth at the appearance of the man. The
man’s face was unknown yet Talon felt drawn by an unbelievable
sense of bond ship towards him. When the two men met they embraced
each other warmly, the stranger smiled broadly before placing a
pendant around the neck of Talon and then spoke with a voice that
filled Talon’s entire being with belief.
    “Your destiny
awaits you, you must become what you were born to become. You must
return to the home which is in your heart.” suddenly Talon felt
confused at the strangers remark and the stranger sensing this
grabbed hold of Talons hand, within a fraction of time flames
engulfed the two men. Talon felt fear but was calmed by the
stranger’s sincere look, then both men were whisked high into the
sky. As Talon flew amongst the clouds he was engulfed totally by
what he saw for beneath him, he saw battlefields for as far as the
eye could see, upon closer inspection he could see that thousands
upon thousands of men dressed in the same garments were lying
slaughtered on the ground. Surprised and confused Talon became
enraged, he was overwhelmed with emotion it felt like every dead
and dying body was his family.
    Talon woke
violently from his dream with a shout. He sat up and rubbed his
eyes as if he had just been in pain