The Sea of Valour -The Ocracidia Series 1 Page 5

  Cezar closed his eyes, for moments, he visualised Clawrion’s tail coming back together with its body and becoming one.

  He opened his eyes and touched Clawrion’s skin with his magical sword. A spray of magical sparks flew around turning Clawrion's end into a bright, orange, coloured gluey point.

  Cezar quickly stuck the tail on, joining both ends together. ‘Does it hurt?’ he asked Clawrion.

  ’No, but it tickles a lot,’ Clawrion giggled moving his body.

  ‘Hold still,’ Cezar commanded ‘or you are going to end up with a very crooked tail, which I'm afraid will be of no use to you.’

  When Cezar was sure that the tail had stuck, he asked Clawrion to move his tail.

  It took a little while and then Clawrion’s tail slowly began to move again. Without warning the tail flicked up and Cezar jumped quickly out of the way as the tail came lashing past.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Clawrion said Cezar; ‘I didn't mean to strike out at you again.’

  ‘That's quite alright,’ Cezar replied.

  ‘Thank you great Warrior,’ Clawrion bowed. ‘Now climb aboard; it is my honour to carry you wherever you wish.’

  Before Cezar could climb onto Clawrion, a massive sea horse balanced on a long snake like tail, with a very, long neck appeared before them and charged at Cezar.

  Chapter 10 Adonijah

  Clawrion stepped protectively in front of Cezar.

  ‘You will have to go through me first, Adonijah;’ he called to the sea horse.

  ‘I'm glad you remember my name,’ the sea horse replied; ‘because your allegiance to your people seems to be forgotten. You were to destroy the boy not make him your master!’

  ‘Adonijah is Talori’s second defender;’ Clawrion whispered to Cezar.

  Cezar had almost forgotten that he must battle three of Talori’s defenders and that Clawrion was only one of the three.

  ‘As I am sworn to serve you human warrior, it would be my honour to fight beside you,’ Clawrion said to Cezar.

  Cezar shook his head. ‘No my friend this is something I must do alone. I therefore release you from my service.’

  ‘What does that mean?’ Clawrion asked.

  ‘It means you are free and do not have to fight with me;’ replied Cezar

  ‘Are you sure?’ Clawrion asked. The look on his face told Cezar he did not really want to leave.

  ‘You will always be my friend,’ Cezar replied; ‘now, go quickly, I don't want you to get hurt.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Clawrion replied and slowly left.

  Adonijah towered massively over Cezar. Cezar wondered how he would defeat Adonijah who seemed all bent on killing him.

  Cezar knew that Adonijah was going to try and surprise him with an attack and he was right. Just like Clawrion had done, Adonijah rushed at Cezar and when Cezar tried to avoid him Adonijah grabbed Cezar by the legs, yanking him up into the air.

  Cezar’s red shiny sword tumbled out of his scabbard and clanged to the ground.

  Adonijah tossed Cezar around like a beach ball and Cezar felt quizzy and faint.

  Cezar was thrown into the air and then caught on Adonijah nose over and over again, as if Cezar was a trapeze artist at a circus.

  Desperate to get out of Adonijah's hold, Cezar rubbed the red amulet thinking it might present him with another sword or weapon but the red amulet did not change.

  Then, as Cezar was thrown up into the air again; instead of landing on Adonijah's nose, Cezar jumped onto Adonijah’s back, slid down huge round rings on the seahorse’s trunk and landed on its dorsal fin.

  Cezar grasped firmly unto Adonijah’s skin, which was thick, slimy and very difficult to hold.

  Adonijah wriggled about trying to shake Cezar off its dorsal fin but Cezar held on firmly.

  From where he was precariously balanced, Cezar saw his shining, red, sword staring at him from the ground. He thought of jumping off Adonijah to get his sword, but he knew Adonijah would get to the sword before he could.

  I wish I had a rope to hold on to this creature he said to himself.

  Suddenly his amulet began flashing and within moments long, red, ropes bridled the face and mouth of Adonijah. Cezar grabbed the ropes taking control of the sea horse.

  The amulet had again come to Cezar’s rescue.

  Nevertheless, Adonijah struggled like a wild horse that did not want to be broken; pulling and pushing, trying to throw Cezar off its back.

  Cezar did not lose the reins, instead the ropes made him magically stronger than Adonijah; and when Cezar tugged on the ropes Adonijah made loud, painful sounds.

  Cezar knew that the bridle was hurting Adonijah and he did not want this, so he thought to calm Adonijah down.

  He closed his eyes, leaned very close in to Adonijah and whispered to him.

  ‘I'm not here to hurt you,’ he said ‘I only need to prove I'm not an enemy of your people. I'm sorry if the bridle is hurting you but I cannot allow you to defeat me.’

  Adonijah struggled fiercely in answer to Cezar’s words.

  ‘I promise to let you go if you promise not to fight me;’ Cezar said.

  Adonijah slowed in his struggle but still did not stop trying to be free; Cezar was not sure if the sea horse understood what he had told him so he tried again.

  He slowly stroked the back of Sea horse trying to calm it; then he said ‘I promise not to hurt you.’

  It was a long while before Adonijah finally stopped fighting to be free. Once Adonijah was calm, Cezar climb down from the sea horse and the bridle disappeared.

  Cezar rushed to pick up his sword from where it lay He was not sure if Adonijah would try to harm him again and he wanted to be ready; but Cezar needn’t have worried because Adonijah had become very calm.

  Then, out of nowhere, something circled the skies above where they were standing.

  Cezar thought this might be the third defender. He did not want Adonijah to get hurt.

  ‘Go.’ Cezar commanded ‘go now.’

  Just like Clawrion, Adonijah too slid away. Cezar, had been expecting the third defender, and was very surprised to find Queen Elena floating towards him in an open chariot drawn by six giant shrimps each with a pair of wings on their backs.

  Chapter 11– Freedom

  Queen Elena landed a few steps away from him and alighted from her chariot. She walked towards Cezar and signalled for him to approach her.

  Cezar walked over to the Queen not sure at all what to expect. She smiled a most brilliant smile and said,

  ‘Young Cezar, now I know that you are not a threat to Talori.’

  The queen’s voice was changed, it was the sweetest, kindest, voice Cezar had ever heard and his surprise showed on his face.

  Queen Elena gently laughed at the expression on Cezar’s face; ‘I know’ she said; ‘this is my real voice, the one you heard earlier is reserved for enemies of Talori.’

  ‘But, I was never your enemy,’ Cezar protested.

  ‘We could not be sure until you had passed the test;’ she said.

  ‘I passed the test?’ Cezar asked surprised ‘But I haven't fought the third warrior.’

  The queen smiled at Cezar, she did not reply his question instead she said; ‘from now on you shall be called a Warrior of Talori.’

  ‘I’m deeply honoured,’ Cezar replied.

  ‘You have defeated two great defenders of our land and you have shown great kindness in not killing them;' the queen said smiling at him. 'You see, the true strength of a warrior is not in the many battles he wins, but in the way he treats those he defeats.’

  The queen turned and began walking; she called for Cezar to walk with her and he followed to her chariot,

  Within moments, they were flown away back to the queen’s palace but this time the queen took Cezar to a different room than the one they had previously been in.

  This room was magnificently decorated in very warm blue green emeralds and precious stones. It reminded Cezar of watching the sea on a clear and bri
ght day. The emeralds and precious stones dazzled brilliantly reflecting light all over the room. Cezar hadn’t seen such a beautiful sight in a long time.

  Two large framed pictures sat next to each other on the wall. One was of the Queen and the other was of Princess Moshen and both looked to have been taken during some kind of ceremony because in both pictures the Queen and the princess wore a crown and held a sceptre. Cezar thought how beautiful and alike they both were.

  The queen took a seat in an armchair made of white pearls and signalled for Cezar to do the same in a chair near her.

  ‘Sit Warrior she said; ‘I must tell you the history of our people so that you can understand a little about us.’

  Cezar sat down and listened as the queen spoke.

  ‘For centuries our city was a peaceful and happy place;' she said. ‘We lived in the third level of the sea of Valour, close to where humans would venture and where sea creatures lived. '

  ‘Then enemies, who wanted our land, grew on every side. One particular enemy by the name of Kantang was the most cantankerous. He came from distant waters and wanted our kingdom for his.’

  A sad expression formed on the queen’s face as she spoke and Cezar felt like comforting her but she was Queen Elora, head of Talori and he didn’t want to offend her.

  ‘Kantang attacked and waged war against our land; almost destroying our city. To throw him off our scent, we circulated tales of an evil queen and of Talori being completely destroyed. We moved our city to the seventh and deepest level in the sea of Valour and have managed to live here safely ever since.’

  The queen stopped speaking giving Cezar time to digest the tale she was telling him, but Cezar sensed there was more to be told.

  The queen got off her seat and began pacing as if what she was about to say was too difficult for words. She stopped in front of Cezar and looked directly at him before continuing.

  ‘Recently Kantang found that Talori was not destroyed and he has resumed his pursuit of claiming our land.

  The queen raised a finger, ‘However, we have been successful in failing all his attempts and have remained safe; though I fear this may not be for very long.’

  She took her seat once again, the look on her face was a pensive one and she seemed far away in thought.

  Cezar was saddened at what the queen had told him.

  What makes anyone think they can invade and take over other people's land and ruin their birth right? He thought to himself.

  He knew exactly how the queen felt; it was the same way, he felt about Diagus.

  He wished he could help the people of Talori but he had Ocracidia his own land to save from the evil clutches of Diagus and he had to continue on his quest; everyone in Ocracidia was counting on him. Silently, he promised himself to come back and help the people of Talori after his quest.

  ‘Do you have any questions?’ The queen asked after many moments.

  ‘Yes, just one.’

  ‘What is this question, young warrior?’

  ‘Who saved my life?’ Cezar asked.

  ‘Sereta one of our sentries did.’ The queen said. ‘She pulled you from the bottom of the sea when you were drowning.’

  Cezar was surprised; he’d always been sure that Princess Moshen saved his life.

  The queen rang a golden bell beside her and a young girl with long, white braided hair, whose eyes were golden and wide and who was exactly the same height as Cezar walked through the door.

  'This is Sereta,' the queen said 'she saved you from drowning. She is a master spellbinder and has used her spells to protect the citizens of Talori from Kantang. '

  ‘Thanks for saving my life,’ Cezar said.

  Sereta smiled but did not reply. A set of dimples appeared in her cheeks as she smiled and Cezar was drawn to her.

  ‘How did you know I was drowning?’

  ‘I didn't know you were in trouble at all,’ Sereta replied. Her voice was gentle like the wind blowing on leaves of a tree on a beautiful day and Cezar smiled to himself. ‘I was on patrol on the outskirts of our land when I saw a red light beckoning from afar. I knew it was some kind of magic because it pulled me closer and would not let go of me until I swam closer. Then I saw it was a human - you that is; and that you were drowning. I could not leave you in the sea to die and had to rescue you.’

  Cezar wondered if the red light had come from his red amulet but he said nothing.

  Sereta continued, ‘Talori forbids us to bring in strangers, but I couldn't let you die; I had to save you. Somehow, the red beckoning light compelled me to save you. I put a sleeping spell on you and brought you to the Princess Moshen.’

  Cezar knew at that moment that the light Sereta had seen had come from his mother’s amulet, which he wore around his neck and he was grateful to Sereta for saving him.

  ‘Thank you,’ he said to her again.

  It was at that point that Cezar realised that the amulet really only worked when he was in the greatest of need.

  The queen told Cezar that he was free to continue on his quest.

  Cezar bowed to the queen and took his leave. Sereta began leading him out of the palace but just as he turned to exit the palace, Cezar heard shouts of panic emanating from every corner.

  'Talori is under attack!' the voices screamed.

  Sereta turned and raced back the way they had come; quickly, Cezar followed her. He knew she was heading back to the room where they had left Queen Elena to ensure her safety and he too needed to be sure the Queen and princess were both safe from harm.

  Chapter 12 Gills and a Fish Tail

  'The evil Kantang and his men are upon the city’ a voice cried to them.

  Cezar and Sereta ran quickly back in the direction they had come. The queen met them before they could reach the room they had left her. She stood flanked on every side by armed sentries whose numbers had tripled in the few minutes since Cezar and Sereta left her.

  'The north of the city has been taken my queen,' one of her sentries said 'and reports tell us that they are heading straight for the palace.'

  'We must get you to safety now!' The sentry said.

  'No! We must protect the people first,' the queen replied; 'get all the citizens into the safety wells. The army can hold off Kantang’s men until everyone is safe.'

  The queen was unruffled, her calmness under such an attack surprised Cezar.

  The sentry tried again, 'we will get the people to safety but you must leave now, your highness;' he said bowing his head.

  'I’m not leaving if my people are in danger;’ the queen replied dismissing him. ‘Is the princess safe?' She asked.

  'Yes my queen,' the sentry replied. ‘Our duty is to protect you as...'

  'Kantang’s men have broken through,’ a voice interrupted the Sentry and another male Sentry rushed in. He spoke urgently with a fearful look on his face. 'They will surround the palace in a little while my Queen,' the young sentry said; 'look,’ he pointed.

  Cezar looked where the sentry pointed and in the distance, he saw flames high in the sky from parts of the city. He watched grey smoke curled up in the sky and saw the wind blow it towards the palace.

  Cezar could no longer stay out of this battle; he had to help Talori and her Queen. 'I will stay with the army and ensure that everyone is safe;' Cezar said to the queen.

  'And I will stay with Cezar,' Sereta offered 'I will use my spells against Kantang and his army and we will delay their attack.'

  Reluctantly, the queen agreed and was ushered away to safety by her men.

  'Come quickly' Sereta said moving ahead of Cezar, 'there's a secret passage that will lead us directly into the city.'

  Cezar followed Sereta through a passage hidden inside one of the palace walls which led them right to the middle of the city where the fighting was the fiercest.

  Chapter 13 One-eyed monsters

  Cezar drew his red sword and joined the sentries in preventing Kantang’s army from passing through.

  Sereta formed spells a
gainst Kantang’s army that made the ground difficult to walk on.

  Slowly the sentries drove back Kantang’s army in the direction they had come. The fight was slowly being won and Cezar felt the battle was soon to be over.

  But he was wrong when a huge, one eyed, monster emerged. The sentries scattered, their well-rehearsed battle formation disintegrated and they all ran away from the one eyed monster.

  The sound of boulders flying about shook the point where both Cezar and Sereta were standing.

  Cezar watched as the monster roared in anger, picked up the citizens of Talori, squeezed the life out of them before throwing them as far away as possible.

  A yellow, diamond shaped, object, glowed intermittently from the monster’s chest. It reminded Cezar of the red Amulet he wore around his neck. Cezar immediately suspected that foul magic was at play here.

  ’Cezar!’ Sereta shouted out. 'Can you distract it so I can bind it with a spell that will prevent it finding its way?’

  Cezar nodded. The only way he could distract the monster was to get its attention. He ran out towards the monster waving his arms in the air.

  'Hey! Put them down,’ he screamed at the top of his voice.

  The one eyed monster initially ignored Cezar. Cezar screamed louder, he picked up a huge piece of stone from the ground and threw it at the monster aiming for its face. The monster turned its full attention on Cezar; roared at him and begun walking towards him.

  Cezar did not move; he was just going to have to fight another monster. He drew his sword but knew it would be useless against such a huge monster because his sword was so small. He realised he would need magic to defeat the one eyed monster. Cezar rubbed his amulet but nothing happened.

  ‘No surprise there,’ he murmured to himself.