Original Fiction: Garza Zol (Chp 3 of Shay'gul series)
Continuing on in the Shay'gul series, here is a chapter dedicated to the enemy. Please use the attachment! I'll also attach the first two chapters. This story will be the file "Exile of the Rose".
Garza Zol
When I need a soul,
I look around,
Without you,
I am a corpse in the ground.
Without your lips,
I cannot make a sound,
Without your eyes,
I am blind, until you’re found.
Without your arms I cannot reach,
Without your hands I cannot touch,
Where are you?
This is too much!
Without your legs I cannot walk,
Without your feet I cannot stand,
Without you I am nothing,
For you are my soul.
I’ll search the world,
And find you, day or night,
And when I do,
I’ll hold you tight!
Then I’ll bring you back,
I’ll carry you from the edge of the world,
For you are my soul,
And I am your strength.
I’ll climb the mountains,
And cross the oceans,
I’ll fight your enemies,
At the slightest notion.
But my heart rages,
And my mind is clouded,
Can you tame the beast?
Nothing shall harm you,
For I am your strength,
But can you keep those voices away,
The ones that tell me
All is hopeless, that all is lost?
You are my soul,
And you tell me
Nothing is hopeless, nothing is lost,
You are my messiah,
And I’ll protect you at all costs.
You reached into my heart,
And tamed the beast,
But you have many enemies,
And I’ll defend you with my life,
At the very least!
My blade is keen,
It will run red,
Shourai-Boyou will make them dead.
Strike Shourai-Boyou!
And do more than cripple,
I’ll always protect you,
My angel!
Until the end of time,
I’ll stand by your side,
It’s meant to be,
And I’ll be damned
If the gods take what’s mine!
But if fate should have us part,
My savior,
So be it,
I will change destiny!
My life for yours,
Do with it what you will,
As long as I am near you,
My mind soars.
When you say my name,
I feel weak,
As if I were maimed,
I’ll drain the oceans,
And crush the mountains,
If you just say my name,
The sun itself will hide from me!
The only piece of writing known to be written by James Hodge, a member of the eight companions.
He stood in front of his brothers and surveyed the ruins before him. His ghost-white skin was stretched taut over his muscular body. His muscles seemed to twitch and squirm under his skin, as if they wished to escape. His forked tongue squirmed behind his lips as he smiled, and his eyes stared straight ahead. They were cold eyes, more fitting to a dead man than one who could walk and talk. His huge sword was strapped over his shoulder. It was as long as he was tall, and its blade was two hands wide. It would take an amazing amount of strength to wield. Who is this man?
He is Garza Zol, and he is no ordinary man. He is a Zin, his birth manipulated by black magiks to create something more than human. He is the first Zin bred from Hodge stock, his father having been one of the few Hodge prisoners they had been able to take alive. His birth was not an easy one, as the Hodge line is stubborn, even to black magik. But he survived, and was all the stronger for it.
He is leading his brothers into battle against the Hodge clans, as dozens of generations of Zin had done before him. But none of them had his strength or his physique. He is a new breed, and many would follow in his footsteps. He turned to his brothers, his cloak rustling in the wind.
“We’ll make camp here.” He ordered, his snakelike voice deep. His brothers gathered their cloaks and dispersed. Soon tents were set up, and fires were soon burning. A Zin may be more than human, but even they need to eat. A stomach trembling aroma arose as rabbits were caught and spitted over the fires.
Garza sat on a nearby log and turned back to the ruins. The black stones of an ancient tower were strewn about against the coast, but time had destroyed most of them. The few that remained were crumbling and were covered in moss. It was obvious that hundreds of years must have passed since the tower fell.
He knew the stories, of the great and destructive battle that had been fought here. He also knew that the mad king had caused his own tower to fall, in an attempt to destroy the Zin and their allies. It had been largely successful, destroying the majority of Saldeth and Cari’s combined might. But most of the Zin warriors had survived, and their empire has grown to this day. Only the Hodge clan stood in their way.
The war has been going on since the fall of Alsgoth. Hodge territory has shrunk ever since then, and with each bloody inch taken, hundreds of Zin soldiers have died for it. But it was worth it. Each Hodge corpse was worth a dozen Zin, and while Garza did not particularly enjoy sending his brothers to die, he knew overwhelming force when he saw it. The Hodge forces were weaker than they’d been in decades, and he could not afford to lose this chance.
That was why this army marched silently along the coast, behind enemy lines. No Zin had set foot this far into Hodge territory and lived to tell about it. They may be only human, but they were the peak of human evolution. Their skills were so great in battle that the only reliable strategy for the Zin was overwhelming numbers.
And those damn staves. Garza thought, and shifted on the log. Staves, the weapon of choice for the Hodge clan, were long staffs with a wicked blade at the end. Its reach didn’t allow a Zin to get in close with a sword, and a Hodge could wield one with such speed and precision that the Zin’s quickness seemed obsolete.
His fine ears picked up the sound of approaching feet and he turned slowly. The messenger was a ways off, but Garza sat patiently. The messenger seemed to be in a hurry, as he ran through the camp at top speed. He arrived quickly and bowed.
Garza motioned for him to tell him the message. Although the messenger had probably ran all the way from Zin, he was not out of breath and began speaking.
“The scouts say that a witch has appeared in Malakar, sir. In a small town called Charis.” Although Garza knew his geography as much as the next man, he did not recognize the name off the top of his head.
“Where is Charis?” He asked slowly, and the messenger spoke quickly, having expected that he would ask.
“It’s in the south-east portion of Malakar, sir. Right of the border of the Great Forest.” The Great Forest separated the Empire from Malakar and much of the Hodge territories. It was huge, tens, possibly hundreds of square miles wide. It was a country unto itself, ruled by bears and less kindly beasts. It was one of the reasons that assaults into Hodge territory took so long. The other was the Dark Mountains, which some claim are cursed.
“Is this source reliable?” Obviously it was. The higher ups in Zin would not have sent a messenger hundreds of miles for a rumor. But Garza was forced to ask. The messenger nodded.
“Explain, from the beginning.” The messenger began a long tale about a riot in the small town of Charis, which was caused because someone saw a young woman with red eyes. Apparently her companion, who all signs pointed toward being a Hodge, was able to fight through the crowd and allowed them to escape. They fled to the Great Forest, where a patrol of Zin soldiers found them. No more information was available, but further investigation along the border revealed burnt trees and melted swords. No remains were found, and no one knows where the two are now.
“And the Emperor’s orders?” Garza needed more time to digest all the new information. A witch hasn’t been seen in decades, and the last one had not awakened when the Zin had overtaken her.
“Do everything in your power to stop the witch from joining Hodge forces. Do not engage the enemy.” What? The Emperor wanted him to go on a witch-hunt? The Hodge conclaves were ripe for the picking, and he wanted him to avoid them?
“This came straight from the Emperor?” He was the only man who Garza would allow to order him thusly. If this order was from the Emperors advisors, he would ignore it.
“Yes sir. He also said to tell you that… that if you fail, it could be the end of the world as we know it.” The messenger was shaken by what he said, and Garza shook his head in disbelief. A witch was powerful, yes, but the end of the world? Bit if the Emperor was this worried, Garza Zol would have to act.
“Very well. Tell the troops to pack up. We will not be attacking the Conclave of the Rose anytime soon.” He said to his captain, who hissed his confirmation. He left to get the troops into gear.
As the captain left, Garza gave the messenger his leave, and got up from the log. A voice spoke up from behind him, catching him by surprise. Which was, of course, an impossible feat to achieve.
“Where will you send them?” Garza turned quickly, and saw the hooded figure standing only a few feet away from him. The only thing sitting in between the two was the log Garza had been previously sitting on.
“We will march to Antieux. It is the largest city on the eastern border of Malakar. If they wish to reach Hodge territory, they will probably head there.” He answered slowly and deliberately, and stared at the cloaked man.
“I will find them.” The hooded man’s voice did not hiss like a Zin’s. He had no accent at all. Before Garza could say another word, the man turned and began walking westward, away from the coast. He did not appear to hurry, but he quickly faded from sight.
Garza sighed and looked back to the ruins. The camp was full of activity behind him. His cold eyes betrayed nothing, but his hand trembled slightly as he fondled his sword’s hilt.
It was shaping up to be a long couple of days.
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keep up the fanstic work
Heske ~ Cousin
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