2 Ectorius

"Cenk." the man uttered his name, but even Cenk was uncertain of his association with the jester. While the tongues of fire were closing in, trying to lick him up to crisp, Cenk then tried to move his solid legs, but to no avail.

"Cenk, you should embrace your nature." the unknown man spoke nonchalantly.

Cenk was still confused. He tried and tried to flee, but his immobile legs failed him. He then tried to use all of his mana to brace for the coming inferno. Sweat started to pour out from his pores, starting from his forehead, down to his breastplate. 'Breastplate?' Cenk was taken aback, earlier he was just wearing a linen fabric shirt, he can still remember that feeling of uneasiness due to its poor quality, but now the metal hugging his upper body felt real. Although the firestorm was closing in, Cenk sill went and looked down to check the breastplate himself, but to his amazement, it's there, and it was a golden one. Again he looked back to the firestorm, but this time the firestorm was in front of him, going straight for the lonely farm. He was standing on the distant, far away from the flames.

"Now you know how it feels to be on the other side?" Asked the man, but this time he was just floating above the tree beside Cenk, and Cenk was standing on where the lovely lady danced earlier.

"Who are... you?" inquired Cenk with his shivering voice to the jester, but the stranger didn't reply.

Cenk focused his eyes back to the lonely farm being ravaged by the firestorm, but his mind was not fixing on what was happening. Exhausted, he felt weak. He was breathing deeply. Though as if he was being chased by a direwolf inside a dark forest. He mustered his courage and began turning his head towards where the man was again, but by this time to see the man as he is, more than just a shadowy visage of a troubled mind. Slowly, he turned his head, but what happened shocked him. The man who was earlier floating on the giant tree now stood beside him, like a god looking down on humanity, he was still watching the burning farm. Cenk can clearly see that the man was smiling under his mask, maybe because of the burning wheat that smelled good for the hungry ones or was it that the man was just an arsonist, getting his joy looking at the blazing farm.

"Cenk, this is your nature. Hot, fire. War is your friend." the stranger said.

As soon as the man finished his words, Cenk began to lose his consciousness. His world was turning. He then started to fall. This sudden fall was strong. His head crashed on the stony earth like an apple falling on a ravine. It was painful, but even before he can close his tired eyes a wisp of flame was flying towards him. As fast as an arrow that has left the bow, it flew swiftly. Then it hit him on his right shoulder, the searing pain burned his shoulder like a roasted meal. His eyelids fell, but the pain was still there, unquenchable.

"Cenk Bey!" someone shouted, although his eyes were still closed. He clearly knew the voice of the old man Emim Hoja. He then opened his eyes. He's back! He's back to his cell. He now valued the humid chamber he was in, together with the strong smell of their dirty bodies mixed with the burning logs. Although he's still half-awake, he can feel a weird metallic stick firmly pinned on his right shoulder, and the pain. The pain was still there. Realizing the reality of the pain he's feeling, he became wide awake.

But what he can see now was a chain with a pointed sword at its end have struck itself to his right shoulder through the wooden pillory. While at the distance he can hear the loud voices of the rowdy men coming close to their prison chamber.

"What happened?" inquired Cenk to the three men who were now having mixed emotions. The Hoja was concerned. The Emir was disgusted. The Pasha was proud. 'Proud'?

"You let your mana loose, the runes couldn't keep it, so the guard sword initiated its attack." The Hoja explained to the confused Cenk.

"Boy, you are great!" The Pasha butted in.

"I don't believe arousing the alarms, would be good, no?" the Emir replied back while looking at the smiling Pasha.

"At least we know that we have someone here who can still let his mana loose even inside the null-prison. He's a great find." The pasha loudly proclaimed with a sense of pride in his tone. "Boy, would you be willing to become one of my adjutants?"

"If I may Pasha, you're in captivity. Your whole Division was ravaged."

"Thank you for that Emir, but I know this is only for now." the Pasha smiled.

"Both of you, enough. The guards are closing in." interrupted the Hoja Emim.

"Yes, Hoja." Both the Emir and the Pasha silenced themselves before the Hoja. Silence returned back to the room. While blood was still gushing forth from Cenk's right shoulder. The pain? It was unbearable for the wounded. Especially that the sword was heavy and huge. It looked like a huge stalactite pinning him to the ground.

The sound of loud steps from the distant have started to close in, and then the makers of the noise showed themselves. They were wearing metal armors made of black steel, with some white highlights on the sides and the curves. On their backs was a gem floating steadily. It looked like a floating diamond with a soft mist covering it. Inside it was a light of blue, but due to the existence of the mist around it, this light couldn't reach outside its own premise. A triangle metal casing was covering this gem, while soft silk on each side of this triangle casing kept them from floating away. Their belts also had blue crystals in on them, one at the front and one at each side of the armor. They were having the same properties as the ones floating at their backs, but they were smaller, much smaller, but they were gorgeous. They looked like the little floating islands on the mountain peaks of the great Sash Ridge. All of the guards were bringing spears with a lighting gem on its sharp edge. Although they all looked blue but depending on the rank of the holder, the spear could shine brightly than the other. The one at the front had the brightest of them all. Therefore it was easy for both the prisoners and the guards to know who's in charge.

"Who are you? Why can you still use your mana in the null room?" The head of the guards hurl his questions fast, with anger painted all over his face.

Cenk wanted to answer, but the pain took him back.

"Open up this chamber. Shooter ready." He then started to send his orders, while the angered tone was sustained.

Then two guards pulled their spears and struck them on the slots on each side of the pillars beside the chamber. While five guards stood there in front of the steel bars with their spears at their front, but then suddenly with a tap of their right hands to the front gem at their belts. Each belt then flowed two mana wisps from the sides, going straight for the spear in front of them, they covered the spear like it was their own until the spear started to float in front of guards and a blue orb started to materialize at the point of each spear.

When everything was ready both the two guards who struck their spears on the pillars, pushed the spears hard enough to initiate the mechanism, to open up the closed chamber. Sounds of steel against steel emanated from the steel bars. Looking like a tiger opening its mouth. The Head of the Guards then began his course towards Cenk.

Cenk who was still sitting with a struck sword and a bleeding shoulder began to shudder. Not knowing what will happen to him, but seeing that doom was coming to the Hoja interjected.

"He is Bey Cenk bin Anirab of the Bor Garrison. He doesn't really know what he's doing." Emim the Hoja said politely to the head guard.

"I see, but how can he do this?" The guard to the amazement of everybody politely replied, and actually asked in a manner that was really opposite from earlier. He was respectful.

"We still don't know, but could you help him? His wound is getting worse. He's losing blood."

"Yes, Hoja." The head guard actually said the word "Hoja" even though he was a yudi.* At the mention of that word, both the Emir and the Pasha was flabbergasted. They didn't know what to say of the current situation. The head guard then gestured the healers to heal the Bey Cenk. The healer guards then began to close into where Cenk was and touched the huge sword. After a simple caress by one of the guards, the chain retracted itself and hid the sword at the ceiling. A loud boom echoed in the chamber.

Then one of the healers started to kneel and caressed his glowing spearhead, and out of it like a fountain blue mana was guided by his right hand to the shoulder of Cenk. The physical repair was really fast, muscles began to return to where they were, the bone that has been almost cut began to heal itself, and the skin actually went back to normal. It felt as if the wound was never there in the very first place. The pillory was also being repaired. The wood and the erased runes began to return. Until everything was back to normal.

After the operation, the healer stood up and together with the other one returned back to where the guards were. The Head Guard also went back. After every guard was out the mouth of the tiger was closed again.

"Hoja, I hope you can keep this Bey out of trouble. We do have our respects on you but forgive us if we can't keep your companion alive if this happens again. So long." The head guard warned the Hoja, but from his words, everyone knew that the Hoja was safe, but what they realized also is that they should never make trouble as the Hoja can't shield them if the head guard decides to push them for execution.

All the guards then started to turn their backs and return back to their barracks. In a minute or two silence returned to the long hall outside their chamber, but everyone except the Hoja was still amazed at what happened. Cenk's supposed doom didn't come but weirdly out of the blue, a tinkle was heard by Cenk's ears saying: "Ectorius, call me Ectorius." It was a fading sound of someone's voice. Cenk was confused but as he tries to say that word in his mind, his experience on that lonely farm flashed back. Then he learned that the name of that strange jester was Ectrorius the Storyteller.