KING - Keepers and Protectors

"Betrayal connate of trust, not among foes, but intimates and kin"

The King, as the land's sovereign ascendancy, a ruler who provides, protects and proclaims. He is the pinnacle of everich*. He is the greatest of all beings to his people. He is as puissant as the deities. If the monarch is kind and altruistic, his subjects regard him as a deity. Canael Yakul Allblaze, the King of Uran, is the most revered figure in Uran's history. A man, worthy of the designation of God. A valiant warrior who bulwarked his land like the great treasure dragon. A gallant hero who preserved countless lives. A benevolent man who cherished everich equipollently. He is no longer alive today. The kingdom he treasured and sentineled has vanished. All of it was seized by a venomous serpent. How did Uran's greatest man fall into such a trap? How did he succumb? How did he pass away? Uran is littered with the answers to these questions. That story of disloyalty is well-kenned... The tale of betrayal!... How he and his country were sold to the serpent of doom by his own blood... How he got stabbed by his brother from behind... How Uran's lights went dark. Uran became impoverished and frangible. That magnificent Uran, which shone like a jewel across the seven mountains, is now ash. With their life and doted ones, proud Uranians who had dwelt for millennia fled. What caused this to occur? Who is to inculpate for this? Is it the prince who performed treason, or the serpent who duped him? Whatever it was, we had lost Uran's gleaming armor... Canael Yakul Allblaze has perished, is the truth… After the uproar, the eternal light of Uran has blown away. What do we have to look forward to now? What does our future hold? Is it war? Is it genocide? Is it penury? Is this the demise of Uran the Great?...

"HAHAHAHA… DEMISE OF URAN! HAHAHAHA… that's precisely what is going to happen, Uranians… HAHAHA… I'm the doom… I'm the catastrophe… you created me… you molded me…. I will burn everich to nothingness… I'm the bane* of Uran… the great… thufp!* Bring me the author of this pamphlet, this instant"… HAHAHA...

( everich- everything or everyone, bane - destruction, thufp - the sound of spitting)

.........

"Shazi, what will we do now? We shall do something, right? Our kingdom… King… soldiers… people… we must do something, right? Speak up Shazi? do something… what should we do Shazi… Answer me… Sha…zi…answer… me… please"… A loud weeping echoed throughout that old horse stable…

A man covered in injuries and grungy hauberk* remained mute, gazing at the earth, he was tranquil. Though his eyes were lamenting, salivating. The woman who wept beside him slowly fell to the ground, her eyes were reddened from tears.

"Where is Esa? "Where is he?" the grieving man said, his voice rising in pitch. The woman hurriedly stood on her legs, anxiously wiping her eyes.

"What are you going to do? No Shazi, Esa… He didn't know... please," she screamed as he went out of the stable, clutching his blood-splattered iron sword. She chased him along the muddy path, which was clogged on both sides with injured and fatigued people resting here and there. They are fed and given medications by others.

"Shazi, hear me, listen"… she shouted. But Shazi didn't give ear to it, he walked forward.

"Shaltow*, listen… I am still your princess, commander"… she yelled

The man in hauberk halted, he then faced the princess… "No, princess… you are not my liege, not my king, forthy* your decrees do not concern me"… He resumed his walk.

The crowd around them observed Shazi and the princess's argument and began to track him. They came to a halt in front of a few people sitting around an old inn portico.

"Where is Esa?" Shazi asked in his deep sharp voice

"He is inside"… a young nobleman answered

Shazi entered the inn and noticed a young boy, about 20 years old, sitting dreadfully on the inn's stairwell. His hands were covered in blood, and his face was like a blank page with nothing to read. He sat still, like a statue, with no eyes. They were like perished, motionless. Shazi stood tall in front of the youngster. He kneeled down and lowered his sword to the ground.

"My Liege, we need to move… Alloy is near, King of Alloy dispatches his aid to us, he array* enough space for us in Alloy… let's move forward" Shazi reports in a courteous manner like a subject.

The boy hoisted his head from the ground and watched Shazi's bowed head and kneeling body in front of him. His face was shrouded in fury and his eyes were filled with heated sorrow.

"Why? Why are you doing this to me?... why?...WHY?"... He stood up and threw his sword to the floor and screamed in agony. "HOW CAN YOU ADDRESS ME AS YOUR KING? HOW CAN YOU KNEEL TO ME? HOW CAN YOU BOW TO ME?"...He roared with all his strength. Shazi and the others who were watching them kept their lips hushed... "Why? Why Shazi? I KILLED YOUR KING… I INVITED DOOM TO URAN… I AM THE BRUTUS OF URAN… I COMMITTED TREASON… I….I am"… His eyes welled up with tears... sinking down he implored weeping.

"You are correct, Esa... no… Esanael Yakul Allblaze… You are the King of Uran... the sole ruler... Canael was never the renowned Uran's King... That throne belongs to you... since birth... Canael laid down his life to safeguard you, to assure your safety... because he believes you are Uran's future... Uran can only be retrieved by you... Uran can only be rebuilt by you... My Liege"… Esa was stunned by Shazi's statement. He sat perplexed.

..........

The cruelest act in the cosmos is betrayal... Betrayal, it is claimed, is born from the ashes of trust and thrives on loyalty. They are more likely to come from your brood and companions than from your adversary... And I'm a traitor... I was enveloped in a madman's falsehoods... I was simple to control... wrath and vengeance made me into a perfect puppet in his hands... I became the final piece of the puzzle... I was used as a pawn to wipe out a whole kingdom and a king. This is the story of a traitor... myself... Esanael Yakul Allblaze…

(hauberk - steel or metal armor, forthy - therefor, array - arrangements, shaltow - you shall)