Langerak had spent more time at sea than he would have wanted because of the war, and was now beginning to feel green about the gills. This was in spite of the fact that being at sea was not uncommon in his line of work. He was a transporter. He even owned this vessel. On it he employed thirty wharf boys he bossed around like hounds, who did their work with the efficiency of honeybees. They were now experienced seamen with seven years under their belt, but a bit more than that, they were all like his sons. He had handpicked them from the streets of the capital, Chaldea, from the wharfs at Cockroach, and from the Reideland District, when those places were teeming with Goldoran thieves and soldiers.
That is why old Langerak was seasick. He was 64 years old, and never, for the life of it, fancied doing the sea work himself. His anatomy refused to come to terms with it despite many tries. But the goods on the boat this time were so important to him and their owners that he wagered his insides on it, and boarded the ship. He was now only returning from Matalma, heading to Cockroach, to deliver them. It was getting closer to the evening of his second day at sea, and the ship was only approaching the mouth of the mighty River Sorvian, nowhere near Cockroach. It had slowed down for several hours already when the sea suddenly went silent, devoid of any winds. The old man was in his chambers, where the hag on the ship was feeding him with a witch's brew of a cold medicine to heal his seasickness. It hadn't worked for two days now. He was about to point this out to the woman when suddenly a sailor banged at his door several times, yelling,
'Master, master!'
He knew the voice. It belonged to the slenderest one of his wharf boys, the one colloquially called Hop, or grasshopper, because of his ability to fit in tight spaces like an insect. He was also very loud and impulsive, and the old man would have made more of the urgency with which he hit the door had it been someone else.
'What is it?' Langerak forced a scoff, pushing away the hag's cup from his mouth, 'are you boys fighting again?'
'Hardly, sir. It's best you come quickly. Something's going on.'
The man grunted, pulling himself out of the chair as the hag fetched his walking stick and handed it to him. He wanted to yell at Hop for wasting his time as was his custom, but the altercation on the deck was conceivable, so he arrogantly pushed open the door, and caught glimpse of another sailor rushing up the stairs to the deck. He said again,
'What is it?'
'Best described by your own eyes sir. It's fearful, though, sir.'
'Call me sir one more time, and I'll shove the hag's brew up your… '
Hop swallowed, and left the man behind to return to deck. Langerak took another half minute before he reached the stairs and walked up to deck.
His seasickness immediately rushed from him, at least that is what the sight he was looking at now did to it.
'Turn back! Turn back now!' was what he shouted almost involuntarily. But even he knew this move was moot, if not senseless in the least. The otherworldly ships were close enough that it was impossible they hadn't been seen. The massive, frightening metal-hulled ships. An entire fleet of them. As if that wasn't enough, a few of those ships, sailing on the flanks of the others, were almost three times bigger than their friends, and made Langerak's ship seem like merely a large fish. They resembled something the sea had cooked up to tell children of seamen. Fairy tale ships, although Langerak himself would have never imagined something like this in his wildest compositions. They breathed smoke from high chimneys, and had no sails, yet were moving extremely fast. The smaller ships were more than twice taller than his ship without its sails and rigging, and the bigger ones much more terrifyingly large. They were several hundred meters away, but as they came closer, it became clear that they were changing course and coming to the spot exactly where his ship had been anchored to prevent a collision. All his crew, even the hag, were on the deck, staring in total silence. It wasn't until the ships turned when the captain, Micho, broke the silence.
'Are they turning this way? Are they turning this way?'
It was too late to try and escape. The ship was anchored right on the face of precipitous face of the peninsula of the gulf, so the approaching ghost fleet had no reason to come this way except to attack this ship. But there was no need for all the ships to change course, yet that is what was happening. The three ships leading the armada were the gargantuan ones, and Langerak could see they were more than just the four he could see from where he stood. Only one ship was needed to make contact with Langerak's ship, so obviously they were not here for him nor his ship. Then, they…
'They're heading into the gulf!' he yelled, standing on the right side of the ship. This was indeed the case. The first three ships could enter together, but the rows behind them were too wide to go through whilst maintaining their shape, so they began to rearrange themselves in threes.
'I can't see anyone on board,' said someone, 'they're like ghost ships.'
But the ships were merely very tall, and no one was standing anywhere near the sides. The first ships sailed past as if the hadn't noticed them, and disappeared behind the arm of the peninsula.
'They have names, all of them!' another sailor noticed. This was also true, because Langerak now paid attention and confirmed that indeed the ships each had its own identity, written in very large print on their sides. The ships Pathfinder, Stargazer and Ursan sailed past next, and then a giant one called the Black Jack. All seemed to ignore the existence of his ship, sailing past into the gulf without altering their course.
'Why are they going there?' someone asked, 'there's nothing there.'
Then someone yelled,
'Look at that one, look!'
It was particularly interesting because it was named the Chaldean.
'Are they government ships? These are warships, definitely.'
'But the Matalma Rock fleet is in Moon Province,' Langerak said, 'they're only due to return next week, and the ones that went north are regular ships, not these things. These aren't Korazite ships.'
While they were still debating the ownership of the ships, one of them in the rear row did change its course, and directly faced them.
'Shit!' Micho yelled, 'shit! I need half sail!'
'No!' bellowed Langerak, 'stay where you are.'
'Beg your pardon, sir?'
'They obviously already saw us, and the last ship coming toward us makes sense. We can't turn away now anyway. And if they meant harm, they would have done it already. But get your knives out, if anything.'
The Stinger coming toward them was the Wayfarer. The other two ships sailing side to side with it were the Khamsin and the Diamondback. The latter stopped in front of their ship along with the Wayfarer. Langerak and the others saw the windows in the side of the ship open, and from it a horde of about thirty huge birds, recognizable easily as birds of prey. There were no words coming out of anyone's mouth. Just utter shock riddled their faces. They watched on as the Urdians hovered above the deck of the Wayfarer, on which people finally began to appear. The warship and the merchant ship were at least eight meters apart, so Langerak and his boys, while scrutinizing the strange fellows lining up on the side of the ship, did not give way to any more fear than they already had. But the fact that three of the fifteen strange fellows were certainly women was worth mentioning.
'Women?' Micho asked, 'women soldiers?' it was clear as day that they were soldiers, as they were arrayed in uniform. The women were distinguishable because of their skirts, and the way their forms settled into the uniforms so perfectly.
Then something even more sensational than what had happened so far took place. The soldiers, standing in a queue, raised their hands into the air. On cue, the circling birds swooped down on them, two on each person, who each took ahold of the birds' legs. But it was the humans that went up into the air rather than the birds coming down.
'What the heck!' Langerak exclaimed both for himself and his lads. The soldiers were carried so easily into the air by the eagles, across the few meters of water between the ships, and dropped onto the deck of the merchant ship. The men retreated several meters back. Two of them shielded Langerak and assisted his flight. Still, though, they readied their weapons, and stood in formation to fight. One of the male soldiers, the tallest, stockiest, and most intimidating of the lot, drew closer to the sailors on the ship, and some of the others followed closely behind. They all had weapons, but they kept them sheathed. The stocky one said,
'Good afternoon, sailors. My name is Suchy. Who is the steward of this vessel?'
Nobody even breathed. Suchy said,
'The knives won't be necessary. We are not hostile. But since you saw us, we cannot allow you to continue on your course. You will come with us.'
'What the bollocks are you talking about?' one of the sailors said, 'we ain't coming nowhere with you.'
'Quiet, Luz,' snapped old Langerak. He said to Suchy, 'Look here, Suchy. Even if we told this whole continent what we have just seen, they'll think we're crazy. But if you…'
'What is your occupation, old man?' one of the lady soldiers now stepped forward, walking all the way toward Langerak. Two of Langerak's boys, armed with large butcher's knives, once more stood between him and the lady, flashing their muscles and knives. Langerak said,
'Stand aside, lads. I don't think any of you can fight her,' he used his walking stick to rattle them gently either side of him. He said, 'we're transporters, lady. We're just going to Cockroach.'
'Cockroach?'
'Yes,' he said. Noticing the lady was completely lost, he confirmed his suspicion that she looked very foreign, and said, 'where are you from? You don't know the city of Cockroach?'
The lady soldier came even closer, smiling,
'Well, old man, none of you are transporters anymore. Right now, you're all coming into the gulf with us. The Commandant will compensate your losses. But as you are sailors, you must know, loose lips sink ships. So we cannot let you go free.'
'And by what authority do you…'
Eight knights, including blonde lady, drew their swords. The sailors reacted by readying themselves too, but still none made a move. Suchy, whose sword was still sheathed now came forward and said,
'What's your name, old man?'
'Langerak. Please…'
'Langerak. You have no reason to worry, nor to fear. Still, if you men resist, there will be injuries and concussions and lost teeth. But the Commandant is someone you know, and he wouldn't want any harm to come to you lot. If you come peacefully, perhaps he might even put you to use.'
'Are we your prisoners?'
'I just said if you come peacefully…'
'The merchandize we carry on this vessel belong to all sorts of powerful people. If we do not deliver, all our families are in danger.'
'No one is more powerful in all this land than the Commandant. We will secure safety for your families. But only if you capitulate and come along.'
'Who is this Commandant you speak of?'
'If you come along, you will meet him in person. Now, the longer we stay here the more likely that another ship will find us. Where is the ship's captain?'
Micho showed himself.
'There is nothing in the gulf where your friends have gone,' he said matter-of-factly, 'it's a dead end.'
'That was the idea. Now, sail the ship and follow the Stingers. Anyone who resists will be thrown overboard. Understood? Is that understood?'
There was no point being stubborn, so Langerak reissued the command to Micho, who obeyed. The knights stayed on board with them, and followed the Stingers into the gulf. The merchant ship was very slow the Stingers had to sail at a snail's pace. Thankfully they would only sail five miles of the fifty one, where the gulf widened substantially enough, and where on the mainland there was a large clearing from the beach. On the beach, thousands of knights were already busy setting up dwelling, while others remained on the ships. But Langerak and his lads did not look anywhere else but at the Nephilim.
The ships had been turned around in the water to face north again, in rows of eleven ships each. Some were anchored very close to the beach, offloading items. Langerak and his lads sailed there. He asked Suchy,
'Are you going to tell us why you are concealing yourselves? You are obviously an army.' He said this because an army would more normally attack an inhabited location, like Cockroach, to take it, 'at least introduce yourselves.'
'Choose ten of your men, and come along,' Suchy said, 'you'll ask the Commandant all your questions.'
Langerak asked Micho to choose the ten men including himself, and then Suchy and three others led them to K'rar. He had gone to higher ground with his officers to watch the landscape and feel the Korazite breeze on his skin and to touch home ground, so Langerak was taken to his tent, one of many already set up in the clearing, to wait there. Two knights stayed with them, while Suchy exited and went up to the ridge to report. Just under an hour later, Langerak and his ten men heard the approach of footsteps to the tent, and soon he was sitting face to face with K'rar, Shaniz, Bekka, Bartle Frere and Hazael. K'rar was saying,
'We'll be going to Chaldea in a few moments' time. Get 22 horses ready.' These instructions were directed at Hazael the redhead, who rushed out. K'rar now turned to his countrymen.
'I assume you men are native Korazites?'
'Yes, we are. Are you the Commandant?' Langerak said almost austerely, but K'rar let it go.
'Yes. I am. What is your name old man?'
'I'm Langerak, from Mahideen. You command this army, yet you are yourself not even approaching thirty?'
'Even your soldiers are all a bunch of youths,' said Micho, 'and you have female soldiers, and you have giants. Who the hell are you people?'
'And you fly the old flag. That is a seditious flag, so I'd wager you're not here on behalf of the king.'
'The old flag? Seditious?' K'rar said.
'Yeah, the wings of freedom. Why, I thought you're Korazite too. You look like the rest of us, not like your own men. How can you not know that? Even Kayans know this.' Kai was the farthest nation from Korazin, so this was a serious issue, K'rar not knowing that Korazin flew a new flag.
'When was the flag changed, Langerak?'
Langerak and his lads exchanged bewildered looks. Langerak said,
'Who are you?' he asked one more time.
'The Commandant asked you first, Langerak,' said Bekka.
'The flag was changed ten years ago, a year after the boy king's death. The new king wanted to announce a complete change of affairs, mostly a change of dynasty. Being found with the old flag is against the law now, could get you killed for being one of the Black Hands. You seem to know this place, and yet not know it at the same time.'
'The Black Hands?'
'Yeah, the rebel faction. You really don't know anything?'
'Assume that I do not know anything that's been going on, since the boy king's death until now. Narrate to me, everything,' he turned around to Bartle Frere, who was sitting down behind him with the others, 'Bartle, get them something to drink.' K'rar's soldiers were not allowed to drink on duty, and even when they did, they were only allowed a mild drink that was unlikely to intoxicate them. This is what was given to the eleven men in the tent. They all almost spat it out. The old man was quite a good narrator. He skipped no major details.
'The Black Hands were made of a number of men who had fought alongside the king in the Debasian Mountain. Those who managed to escape when the new king went after them. They were especially prominent when Garrera invited thousands of Goldoran merchants into Chaldea. They committed a string of murders of the southerners, burned their homes and businesses, and they always left the flag of the old kings for every hit they made. That's why the flag became illegal. The dynasty eventually caught their leader after a year. By then there were laws protecting the Goldorans in the city, like armed protection by their own Goldoran soldiers. Even tax exemptions.'
'Who was the leader?'
'No one knows. They say he was with the boy king during the civil war.'
'Was he executed?'
'Publicly. The Black Hand members mostly got away, although it is said some of them were caught and imprisoned in Chaldea.'
'I need a name. How was he executed without reading out his name and his crimes?'
'Why do you need a name? He is dead, ain't he?'
The old man went on to narrate the most recent events, until he arrived at what he called the "Six Flags" war.
'The Six Flags War?'
'You don't know that too?'
'Ah,' Shaniz was tired of these reactions, 'look, man. We have just arrived from a land very far away in the north. Keep that in mind.'
Langerak sat up in his chair. His face went white, and his eyes owlish.
'What is it?'
'It cannot be,' was all the man muttered, 'could it be…'
K'rar knew why the man was reacting this way. In fact, he thought, it took him too long. The man was suddenly looking so intently at him, as if he was looking at a ghost. He was looking at a ghost.
'Micho.'
'Master?' said Micho.
'Didn't the king die at 13?'
'Yes, he did. What is it?'
'By your estimation,' the man's voice was shaky, 'how old is this man?' he was talking about K'rar. K'rar looked back at his officers with a brief smile. Micho said,
'25 at most.' Now he began to understand why his patron was asking this, 'are you saying it could…'
'We saw one of his ships named Chaldean, didn't we? And another ship was named Ursan. We've since seen his men have the emblem of the wings of freedom. He is different from his men, as only he has our hair color, and they have strange colors. And, he knows at least something about the land, that's why the ships have sailed into this barren gulf intentionally. Those chaps on our ship told us he is one we know, and now the lady just said they came from the far north, and we know the king died, was last seen, at the meridian in the north sea. But his body wasn't buried. There is only one conclusion.' The old man slid from his seat and bent the knee, placing his rod on the ground. All his men did the same, 'I am so honored, Your Majesty. I am so honored to have been the first to know that you lived. All these years, you lived. The gods smiled down upon us.'
K'rar smiled at the old man. He said,
'But your king is in Chaldea, Langerak. Is he not?'
'My lord, if I may speak freely. That man is no king. He is just a Goldoran puppet, who has made the lives of your subjects miserable. And, he is no king as long as you live. That is why he killed you. But the gods have returned you to us. Please, my lord, put me and my lads to use as you wish. Send us to declare the glad tidings of your existence. Anything you want, my lord.'
K'rar was impressed.
'It is true then. Old age and wisdom come together. You figured out my identity before I even told you.' K'rar stood up, 'rise, old man. I will put you to use, no doubt. But not to declare glad tidings.'
The old man rose, but his face remained downcast. He and his lads were absolutely mystified. K'rar said,
'Now, will you please continue your story? You said there was a war.'
'Your Majesty, the Goldorans moved their armies into Moon Province last year, and the war started. The Provincians did something crazy then. They just abandoned all territory east of Aquillah, and burned everything there, so the Goldorans would have nothing to annex. They solicited Shona's help, and Shona obliged. But they took too long to send their ships over, because Arioch was on Goldora's side because of the marriage of their houses. They threatened to mobilize. So the Provincians had to fend for themselves, because Shona couldn't send its armies away from home. Also, the usurper began to pick a fight with Shona, so they were stuck between Arioch and Garrera's armies. But Shona convinced Kai to join the war, and they sent their large fleet by themselves to Province. But two months ago they broke honor, and turned on Shona for some reason. Much of Shona's fleet was sunk, and Shona sued for peace after that. So now Province is all alone. The Goldorans are still trying to breach Aquillah, but the mountain, as you know, was especially built to resist an attack. Province is still holding on.'
'You said they burned everything west of the mountain?'
'Ay, my lord. It worked for many months at first. Goldorans were hungry and stuck, so Provincian forces began pecking at them, and pushing them back. But King Tao sent them supplies, so the army could stay in the Province, even in the scorched west.'
'Why would he do that if there is nothing to fight for?' Bartle Frere was curious.
'Because he then sent civilians to occupy the land. Goldorans. Like he did with us. So now the war is over, and Moon Province is by itself.'
This surprised K'rar so much he shook his head.
'The old crook,' he said, 'the old crook.'
'First order of business, Commandant?' Bartle Frere said.
'Well, I can't let those bullies take Province. But I can't remove the rafter in someone else's eye before I clean the dirt in my own eye. Langerak, you wanted to be of service? There's thirty of you, and I suppose you know the lay of the land?'
'Certainly, sir.'
'Good. But you will all be staying with us until further notice. Turns out it was a blessing to find you. I need two of your men to ride with us. Those who can ride fast, and who know the land well.'
'Seth and Rubabel can ride, master,' said Micho.
'Go get them ready,' this command was for Micho.
'Right away, Your Majesty.'
'Bartle, you take care of the house. I might be gone many days,' he was throwing on his long, black coat. His whole squad, except the knightess, would also wear black coats.
'Yes sir,' Bartle Frere courteously bowed. He and the other knights in the room had now just seen not only a Commandant, but also a king. Not that they doubted his kingship at all, but nonetheless the old sailor had just corroborated the fact that he was indeed king.
Among the 22 knights that mounted horses were many from the excursion in the Zenj Empire's Tshekaland, including Damaris, Uche and Hazael. There was another Damaris, a knightess. K'rar also took Romiel with him despite his silver head, the towering Suchy, and one named Khassius. Seth and Rubabel had with them a detailed map of the lands too, which they obtained from their ship. They were both excited and quite flattered that in just an hour they had transformed from mere transporters to men in the service of the returning king, who did not need confirmation that their services would not go unpaid. But, he had said, he would require them to work like his knights, for whom money wasn't the chief motivation, but rather, loyalty to him. They were men and women who shared not only his military genius but also his principles. For many of them, like the one called Khassius, he was a big brother, a man who had liberated them from the streets of Xaxanika and from stone quarries and brothels and turned them into responsible, important men and women. Also, K'rar wasn't a detached, swaggering master. He knew his knights by name. Each one of 36,000. He was a man they would kill for.
'I need to know what became of my people first, and then we'll get that secret fund, and get some money from the gold too,' he was saying to Shaniz and Bekka, who rode through the trees either side of him. They were merely trotting through the ragged sides of the brown volcanic soil, waiting to get to flatter ground.
'Lodgings?'
'We'll have to rent out a whole inn. If we could all fit in Ashdud's city home, that would be great, but then it's dangerous. We'll check his estate on our way. Just a mile outside the city. If he was buried there.'
They cleared the trees and came to a valley at the foot of a large crater. Here, they pulled the reins and galloped at full pelt. With them was a large metal chest with only a tiny amount of the gold and silver to sell and start with once they arrived in Chaldea. They also had with them two birds with which to deliver messages to the camp at Botterein. The Urdians were excellent servants, whom K'rar allowed to fly freely on the journey. They would travel by perching on trees along the road to wait for the land party to catch up, by following galloping horses or circling in the air, all the while screeching specific sound patterns to communicate with K'rar. To remain concealed, the ladies wore shawls over their heads, and covered their more flexible garb underneath common civvies, long dresses or robes. K'rar and the men didn't need to hide much. Only the long black coats were needed to cover their shirts and trousers, which for them wouldn't draw attention if they didn't move in large groups. They also had Xaxanikan hats to conceal their hair. This would draw attention as no one donned such hats, but then the continent had nine kingdoms, any of which could be the source of the new design. Some needed to wear the more native attires and colors, and for this, Langerak was readily available to give them such from his stash of goods.
They found him with a couple of his boys still discussing K'rar. He surrendered his whole consignment before they even told him the details.