Post by Twig Auburn on Feb 9, 2008 5:12:13 GMT -5
I've been writing this since the beginning of January. I thought I'd share it with you guys to get some comments, suggestions and constructive criticism ;D
Remember, I'm only a pre-teen so don't expect a masterpiece.
I have three chapters so far. I'll update as I write more.
Chapter 1
Why was it so important? It was just a dagger, nothing more than a crude assassin’s tool. There were hundreds, thousands of them in the Imperial City, why was this one so special?
Karu leapt forwards, aiming a kick at his attacker’s chest. The man caught his foot with practised ease. Karu crashed to the floor, feeling his head crack against the hard wood. The man twisted it sharply, and Karu felt the strain on his muscles. It hurt terribly, and a scream began to work its way up to his mouth. He crammed it back down before it emerged, feeling a strange tightness in his throat as he did so. His attacker was twisting harder and faster, and Karu knew he had to get up or he would sustain some kind of serious injury. Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself up with his arms and smashed the his attacker on the side of the face with his free foot. The man fell back, and Karu sprang back to his feet. Glancing around, he spotted him on the other side of the room, sprinting towards the weapons rack.
Karu raced towards the rack on the opposite side of the room and ripped a quarterstaff from the wall, holding it in front of himself in the official combative position. His attacker was doing the same. They eyed each other warily for several seconds before Karu grew bored of this pause in the battle and charged across the room, quarterstaff raised above his head, ready to strike.
The man was taken by surprise and fell back when Karu smashed him in the stomach. He lay on the floor, wheezing and gasping for breath. Karu hesitated. He knew he shouldn’t, but the shred of honour and decency still left in him prevented him from hitting this man whilst he was down.
It was a mistake. His attacker shot a hand up and grabbed Karu’s wrist before he could retaliate, twisting it and yanking Karu to the floor. The man leapt to his feet and raised his staff, ready to bring it down hard. Karu swung himself round and knocked his attacker’s feet out from under him, buying him some time to get up.
When the man was back on his feet Karu was ready for him. They clashed staffs again and again, never hitting each other. Karu made a jab for the man’s side, he threw his staff down and blocked him at the last second. Karu managed to raise his staff to block a blow to his chest just in time.
They were both getting tired, this fast-paced, relentless battle had been raging for fifteen minutes now with no change. Finally, Karu rammed the bottom of his attacker’s sword with all the strength he had, knocking it flying out of the man’s hand and through the window, shattering the glass.
The man stopped, smiled at Karu, and stepped back, bowing low. Karu did the same, but his smile was more mocking than kind.
“Congratulations, apprentice. You have done well.”
“Thank you, Sensei.”
He strolled to the other side of the room and placed his weapon back on its rack.
“I beat you,” he said, turning around again. His voice was proud and arrogant with only a touch of surprise.
“That you did,” said his Sensei, the smile still twitching his lips.
Karu turned again and strolled just as calmly over to the broken window.
“I am sorry about your window,” he said, airily. “I am sure my parents will pay for its repair if you contact them.”
His Sensei was about to reply when there was a sheepish knock on the door. Karu called out before he could even open his mouth.
“Come in!”
The door creaked open and a man stood in the archway, dressed in a striking purple and yellow uniform. Karu recognised him straight away as a messenger from the Imperial Palace. He didn’t have a tell-tale scroll with him, so the message he was bringing must be short.
“Yes?” asked Karu, looking at the man with distaste.
“Uh…um…” he stammered nervously, before pulling himself together and continuing. “Master Sian, your father wants you back at the Palace as soon as possible. He says it is very important.”
Karu sighed and waved his hand absentmindedly, the signal that the messenger could leave now. He did, hurriedly, and Karu could hear the sound of running footsteps fading into the distance.
Before his Sensei could so much as blink in surprise he turned on his heels and strode out of the door, grabbing a folded towel and swinging it across his shoulders.
The Dojo was in Merchant’s Ring, about in the middle of the Imperial City. The City was an amazing place, the most populated settlement in Hyalai by a long shot. It was circular, surrounded by a massive, virtually impenetrable stone wall. There was only one gate which closed at sundown and opened at sunrise, never opening even for the Emperor once it was closed for the night. Arranged in a ring just inside the wall were the huts and shacks of the poor. This was Pauper’s Ring, and all wishing to leave the Imperial City must pass through it to get to the gates. Just inside from Pauper’s Ring was Peasant’s Ring, where the modest but comfortable lived. And it went in from there, Pauper’s Ring, Peasant’s Ring, Workman’s Ring, Merchant’s Ring, Prosper’s Ring, the Ring of Nobility, then right in the middle of the city was the Imperial Palace, rising up from the rest like a tree among shrubs.
Karu strode purposefully through the Merchant’s Ring with his nose in the air, ignoring children with baskets full of goods running along beside him and merchants yelling at the tops of their voices to advertise their wares. Merchant’s Ring always gave him a headache. He was sure that although they seemed to be just selling their stocks, they were actually having a continual shouting match, getting louder and louder to try to outshout each other.
Eventually he stepped out of Merchant’s Ring and into Prosper’s Ring. It took a while for the screams of the tradesmen to die down, but Karu was always calmed by the tranquil houses and the soothing sound of fountains. Prosper’s Ring was where you lived if you weren’t quite rich, but well off. They all had large, well-maintained gardens with flowerbeds and topiary. This was Karu’s favourite part of the Imperial City. Often he would just sit on one of the many benches and relax, allowing the quiet sounds of trickling water and rustling leaves to calm him. But his father needed him fast, and not even Karu dared keep Pinsce Sian waiting.
The Ring of Nobility always slightly intimidated Karu, although he never liked to admit it. He never quite saw why they hadn’t just called it the Nobleman’s Ring. Why did they have to have a name different to everyone else? The mansions towered above him, each of them proudly flying a flag with the resident family’s coat of arms on it. There were only a few mansions in a small ring around the Palace, but it still seemed to take forever to walk through.
Finally he reached the Imperial Palace. Its turrets made the mansions look like huts, but it didn’t intimidate Karu. It was his home. He slowly climbed the stone steps to the massive front door, running his fingers over the smooth marble banister. It felt cold under his fingers, but somehow the feeling brought the tiniest smile to his face.
A doorman dressed in the same uniform as the messenger was standing just inside the archway. He bowed to Karu and put out a hand for his coat, before realising he didn’t have one and withdrawing the hand quickly.
Karu was awed – as always – by the Entrance Hall. The massive crystal dome overhead was a textured white with gold ribbing, and the walls were so shiny you could see yourself in them. The huge pillars were the same crystal as the dome roof and were about eight times Karu’s height. That was impressive, he was fourteen and quite tall for his age. The floor was a gold almost as shiny as the walls, and constant varnishing kept people’s shoes from scratching the flawless surface.
Right in the middle of the Entrance Hall were the stairs, carpeted in purple velvet with yellow edgings. Karu ran upstairs and strode quickly along corridor after corridor, climbing at least five staircases. To any other the Imperial Palace would seem like a labyrinth, but Karu had lived there all his life and knew it just as thoroughly as he did his own bedroom.
Karu’s parents, Pinsce and Maia Sian, were members of the Royal Court. They were part of the ring of Emperor Huan’s advisors, and therefore had a few rooms to themselves in the Imperial Palace. They had access to the entire Palace, save the Royal Quarters and the Royal Chambers, and they received full use of the Palace’s guards and servants. Their rooms were cleaned three times daily and their every meal was a feast cooked specially for them. Meaning, Karu got spoiled rotten. His entire universe revolved around him, and the fact that servants were running round after him all the time led to hardly any patience and no self-sufficiency whatsoever.
When he reached the wooden door with the name ‘Sian’ painted above it, he hesitated. For a while now, every time he came to this door he dreaded opening it for fear of what might be on the other side. His parents had been acting strange recently. His father was dreamy and inattentive, as if in a trance, and his mother hardly ever came out of her room any more. It was always dark in there and his mother never left her bed. Sometimes at night Karu could hear her screaming about something coming to get her. She was going slowly mad. Karu was worried about her, but he would never admit it for fear of losing his tough image.
Karu walked slowly through the kitchen. The walls and floor were a smooth marble and fresh logs lay in a large indent in the wall, ready to be lit. There was a grill hanging about thirty centimetres above the logs to place to food on. Not that the any of them ever cooked, but the room gave them the option to if they ever felt like it.
He passed through the door into the living room. His father was lounging on a velvet sofa, his eyes closed.
“Father?” whispered Karu, timid for once.
Pinsce’s eyes shot open and he sat up.
“KARU!” he roared, his face red and bulging. “I ASKED YOU TO COME QUICKLY! WHAT TIME DO YOU CALL THIS?”
“But Father,” protested Karu. “I only took ten minutes and –”
He was silenced with a wave of his father’s hand.
“Shut up,” Pinsce told him, reaching into his pocket. He drew out a small, silver dagger. Karu gasped and stepped back.
Pinsce held out the dagger, beckoning Karu closer. Karu stepped cautiously further into the room.
“Karu, take this dagger and deliver it to the Emperor at all costs. Do not give it to anyone else, whether it be guard or merchant, and guard it with your life. Do you understand?”
Karu nodded quickly, taking all this in. Why was it so important? It was just a dagger, nothing more than a crude assassin’s tool. There were hundreds, thousands of them in the Imperial City, why was this one so special?
He shook his head, dislodging these treasonous thoughts. Who was he to question his father’s wishes? He must deliver this weapon to the Emperor no matter what, and he would guard it with his life and those of everyone around him if the need arose.
“I understand, Father,” he whispered taking the dagger.
As he was walking down the corridors to the Emperor’s Quarters, Karu closely examined the dagger. It was pure silver, good quality by the looks of it. The blade was hammered sharper than the tip of one of the Palace’s turrets, and there was a single acorn-sized diamond encrusted into the hilt. There was a strange marking engraved onto the gem, a kind of rune Karu had never seen before. He guessed the knife was unique, one of a kind. If he sold this dagger right now he would earn a fortune, enough to keep him going for years with or without pocket money.
He shook his head again. Where were all these thoughts coming from? They were normal with anything else, but with his father? No, he couldn’t risk anyone finding out what he was thinking. His father would skin him alive. Best not to think them at all.
He reached the Emperor’s chambers and knocked on the door. When there was no reply, he cracked it open and slipped inside. There were beautiful tapestries hanging from the golden walls and the floor was marble. There were several striking purple and yellow rugs surrounding a massive, beautiful four-poster bed. The entire place was amazing, like nothing Karu had ever seen before. It was perfect, but something was missing. The Emperor. He wasn’t here. There were no guards to have seen him inside the Royal Quarters, thank the spirits, Emperor Huan insisted on privacy in his own Quarters.
Backing out of the room and closing the door behind him, Karu hurried back down the corridor, the dagger still clutched in his hand. He still failed to see why it was so important, apart from its obvious value. But the Emperor had almost unlimited wealth, why would he need this tiny weapon? Karu frowned thoughtfully as he hurried down the corridors that lead to the Royal Chambers steps.
The Royal Chambers were built eight meters underground. The corridor leading to the doorway was lit with copious amounts of candles and the walls and floor were covered in marble and cement, but the gloom of the underground still showed. There was mildew growing on the ceiling and some parts of the wall had cracked, exposing the soil on the other side. Karu shivered. It was cold down there, the tiny candles gave off light but hardly any warmth.
The door to the Royal Chambers was unguarded. Strange. There were normally two guards, one stationed at each side of the door. Karu knocked. There was no audible reply, apart from some whispered voices from inside the room. Vowing never to do this again if he escaped alive, Karu cracked open the door.
Immediately the voices were louder, perfectly clear. Karu put an eye to the crack, peering inside. Emperor Huan was kneeling on his mat on the floor, speaking to a woman standing in front of him. The woman was strangely… translucent. Karu gasped as he saw what was underneath her. She was floating a few centimetres off the ground, and a glowing pot was just below her feet. She seemed to be part of the glow, the bottom of her dress still a red light.
She was striking, but not beautiful. Her long, black hair cascaded to her waist, elaborately styled with curls and strings winding themselves down the straight, silky hair. Her face was sharp and pointed and her lips were a thin line. She wore strange make-up, her heavy lids accentuated with dark eyeshadow. Beneath the lids were cold, dark eyes that seemed to hold all the evils in the world within their murky depths.
Karu shivered again, but not because of the chill this time.
“Do you have it, Huan?” the woman was asking. Karu concealed a gasp. Calling the Emperor ‘Huan’? This normally called for the death penalty, but this woman was obviously special.
“Not yet, Yuraila,” said the Emperor, his voice slightly nervous. “Two of my court members, Pinsce and Maia, are sending their son over with it as we speak.”
Karu glanced at the dagger, confused. Could this be what they were talking about?
More than likely.
“That arrogant brat?” said Yuraila, obviously annoyed. “He’ll just take it and sell it for a bit of extra pocket money! What were you thinking?”
Karu thought back to that idea he’d had to sell the dagger, and felt immediately guilty.
“No, no,” said the Emperor. “I’m sure he’ll deliver it. He knows there will be consequences if he doesn’t.”
Yuraila seemed to relax.
“Are you in the process of obtaining any others?”
“No, not yet, but we have reason to believe that one may be in the Preasr area.”
“Which one?”
“We don’t know.”
Yuraila appeared to sit down on a chair that wasn’t visible in the glow, tipping her head back wearily.
“Huan, it is of utmost importance that you find these objects and retrieve them as soon as possible!”
“I-I know –”
“We may think we are unchallenged, but we may have several parties working against us as we speak! The enemy never rests, Huan!”
Karu frowned. Wasn’t Yuraila being a bit… paranoid?
“We will proceed as quickly as possible.”
“Good…” hissed Yuraila, patting something invisible that was sitting by her invisible chair. “Remember, the faster you get these objects, the faster I will be free and ready to help you rule Hyalai – and all the other countries we conquer – with an iron fist!”
Huan was nodding his head.
“Do you have any leads?” asked Yuraila, her voice back to its normal chilling, regal self.
“Maybe,” said the Emperor. “We have something just in the next room.”
Yuraila waved her hand airily, and the Emperor scurried out.
Karu looked at the dagger in his hand with new interest. So this was one of five keys to the spirit world? He squeezed the handle and bent the blade against the wall. Nothing happened. It looked like a regular old dagger to someone who didn’t know its secret.
But for now Karu had to focus on this situation. The name Yuraila rang a bell in his head, but he couldn’t quite place it. He thought back. Once, a year or so ago, his parents had dragged him to Church and made him sit through a service. They prayed to the Spirits and a few names were mentioned… and Yuraila was one of them! It all come flooding back to him. Yuraila was one of the most powerful Spirits in the Spirit World. She governed all things dark and evil. She must be planning to escape the Spirit World and help Emperor Huan conquer the world! Melodramatic, but it made sense! Who else better to be on your side than someone who could govern the very destinies of men?
He couldn’t let this happen. The Emperor would be back soon. Karu needed to sneak in there and take something as proof of his malevolent plot. Yuraila had leant back in her invisible chair and closed her eyes. Karu stepped quietly into the room. Nothing. Not even a twitch from Yuraila. Crossing his fingers, he crept silently across the room, trying to be fast but noiseless at the same time. Soon he made it into the middle of the room and looked around. What could he take as proof?
Then he saw it. A parchment, marked with the Royal symbol next to the markings that were on the diamond in the dagger! That had to be it. He crept quietly forwards, careful not to disturb Yuraila. She seemed a lot more sinister now he knew who she was. He reached the bench that the parchment was on, reaching out his hand. His fingers curled around the rough, browned paper. He had it! Now he just needed to escape from the Royal Chambers and show this to his father.
The door banged open, and Emperor Huan stood in the doorway. When he saw Karu, his pudgy face reddened. It was a pretty incriminating sight.
“GUARDS!” Huan screamed at the top of his lungs. “SEISE HIM!”
A seemingly endless stream of guards erupted from the door on the other side of the room and charged towards Karu. He quickly shoved the parchment into his robe and ran. He crashed through the door and ran faster than he’d ever known he could down the hallway and up the stairs.
The chase was ferocious. Karu hurtled down corridors and staircases, guards waving weapons and screaming. There was nowhere he could hide in the Palace. He’d have to go outside and hide in the Imperial City, then sneak back to show his father under the cover of nightfall. He shot through the Entrance Hall, knocking over servants and civilians alike in his mad bid for freedom.
He shot down the marble steps, racing through the Ring of Nobility. His pursuers were still on his heels, angry as ever. He knocked over benches, dustbins, and other kinds of street decorations as he passed, and the guards overturning what he missed.
They flew out of Prosper’s Ring and into Merchant’s Ring. Karu hurtled through the crowds, crashing into stalls and people alike. There was mass panic, people screamed and dashed to the side of the street to avoid this mad pursuit.
Finally he reached the gates. It was just twilight, so they were still open. Karu crashed through them, tearing out into the damp forest that surrounded the Imperial City. The guards came clattering after him.
Now Karu found it easier to lose them, with all the trees, bushes and ditches. He hid in ditches and ran further into the forest, the guards trying their best to keep up with him. His last hiding place was inside a hollow tree. It was a tight squeeze, but he managed to fit inside the trunk. He heard the guards clank past, before stopping right near the tree.
They spoke to each other, but the sentences were inaudible in Karu’s hiding place. He did pick up a few words, though. Words like ‘hidden’ ‘getting nowhere’ ‘try again’ and ‘tomorrow’. Then he heard the familiar clanking as the guards marched off back to the City.
He waited about ten minutes, then was forced to leave his hiding place. It was getting dark, and if he wanted to hide out in the Imperial City until nightfall then he needed to sneak back in now.
But he was too late. He reached the gate just a minute after sundown, and just saw its final door swing closed. He heard the clanks and scratches of the usual locks and barricades being slid into place. And just to add insult to the injury, he felt a drop of rain run down his neck.
Karu sat in the ditch for an hour until he fell asleep, getting thoroughly soaked by the rain. He had never left the Imperial City before, never even slept anywhere else but his warm, velvety four-poster bed. And now he was being forced to sleep in this wet, muddy ditch. But at least one good thing came out of this. He could always go and see his father in the morning, and he still had the parchment.
Time to see what light it would shed on this sinister plot.
He pulled it out of his robes and opened it with shaking fingers.
It was totally blank.
Karu forced back tears. All this for nothing? He was tempted to rip up the parchment and bury it in the marshy earth, but it might come in useful sometime. Carefully rolling it up again, he pushed it back into his robes and lay his head back on the wet mud.
Remember, I'm only a pre-teen so don't expect a masterpiece.
I have three chapters so far. I'll update as I write more.
Chapter 1
Why was it so important? It was just a dagger, nothing more than a crude assassin’s tool. There were hundreds, thousands of them in the Imperial City, why was this one so special?
Karu leapt forwards, aiming a kick at his attacker’s chest. The man caught his foot with practised ease. Karu crashed to the floor, feeling his head crack against the hard wood. The man twisted it sharply, and Karu felt the strain on his muscles. It hurt terribly, and a scream began to work its way up to his mouth. He crammed it back down before it emerged, feeling a strange tightness in his throat as he did so. His attacker was twisting harder and faster, and Karu knew he had to get up or he would sustain some kind of serious injury. Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself up with his arms and smashed the his attacker on the side of the face with his free foot. The man fell back, and Karu sprang back to his feet. Glancing around, he spotted him on the other side of the room, sprinting towards the weapons rack.
Karu raced towards the rack on the opposite side of the room and ripped a quarterstaff from the wall, holding it in front of himself in the official combative position. His attacker was doing the same. They eyed each other warily for several seconds before Karu grew bored of this pause in the battle and charged across the room, quarterstaff raised above his head, ready to strike.
The man was taken by surprise and fell back when Karu smashed him in the stomach. He lay on the floor, wheezing and gasping for breath. Karu hesitated. He knew he shouldn’t, but the shred of honour and decency still left in him prevented him from hitting this man whilst he was down.
It was a mistake. His attacker shot a hand up and grabbed Karu’s wrist before he could retaliate, twisting it and yanking Karu to the floor. The man leapt to his feet and raised his staff, ready to bring it down hard. Karu swung himself round and knocked his attacker’s feet out from under him, buying him some time to get up.
When the man was back on his feet Karu was ready for him. They clashed staffs again and again, never hitting each other. Karu made a jab for the man’s side, he threw his staff down and blocked him at the last second. Karu managed to raise his staff to block a blow to his chest just in time.
They were both getting tired, this fast-paced, relentless battle had been raging for fifteen minutes now with no change. Finally, Karu rammed the bottom of his attacker’s sword with all the strength he had, knocking it flying out of the man’s hand and through the window, shattering the glass.
The man stopped, smiled at Karu, and stepped back, bowing low. Karu did the same, but his smile was more mocking than kind.
“Congratulations, apprentice. You have done well.”
“Thank you, Sensei.”
He strolled to the other side of the room and placed his weapon back on its rack.
“I beat you,” he said, turning around again. His voice was proud and arrogant with only a touch of surprise.
“That you did,” said his Sensei, the smile still twitching his lips.
Karu turned again and strolled just as calmly over to the broken window.
“I am sorry about your window,” he said, airily. “I am sure my parents will pay for its repair if you contact them.”
His Sensei was about to reply when there was a sheepish knock on the door. Karu called out before he could even open his mouth.
“Come in!”
The door creaked open and a man stood in the archway, dressed in a striking purple and yellow uniform. Karu recognised him straight away as a messenger from the Imperial Palace. He didn’t have a tell-tale scroll with him, so the message he was bringing must be short.
“Yes?” asked Karu, looking at the man with distaste.
“Uh…um…” he stammered nervously, before pulling himself together and continuing. “Master Sian, your father wants you back at the Palace as soon as possible. He says it is very important.”
Karu sighed and waved his hand absentmindedly, the signal that the messenger could leave now. He did, hurriedly, and Karu could hear the sound of running footsteps fading into the distance.
Before his Sensei could so much as blink in surprise he turned on his heels and strode out of the door, grabbing a folded towel and swinging it across his shoulders.
The Dojo was in Merchant’s Ring, about in the middle of the Imperial City. The City was an amazing place, the most populated settlement in Hyalai by a long shot. It was circular, surrounded by a massive, virtually impenetrable stone wall. There was only one gate which closed at sundown and opened at sunrise, never opening even for the Emperor once it was closed for the night. Arranged in a ring just inside the wall were the huts and shacks of the poor. This was Pauper’s Ring, and all wishing to leave the Imperial City must pass through it to get to the gates. Just inside from Pauper’s Ring was Peasant’s Ring, where the modest but comfortable lived. And it went in from there, Pauper’s Ring, Peasant’s Ring, Workman’s Ring, Merchant’s Ring, Prosper’s Ring, the Ring of Nobility, then right in the middle of the city was the Imperial Palace, rising up from the rest like a tree among shrubs.
Karu strode purposefully through the Merchant’s Ring with his nose in the air, ignoring children with baskets full of goods running along beside him and merchants yelling at the tops of their voices to advertise their wares. Merchant’s Ring always gave him a headache. He was sure that although they seemed to be just selling their stocks, they were actually having a continual shouting match, getting louder and louder to try to outshout each other.
Eventually he stepped out of Merchant’s Ring and into Prosper’s Ring. It took a while for the screams of the tradesmen to die down, but Karu was always calmed by the tranquil houses and the soothing sound of fountains. Prosper’s Ring was where you lived if you weren’t quite rich, but well off. They all had large, well-maintained gardens with flowerbeds and topiary. This was Karu’s favourite part of the Imperial City. Often he would just sit on one of the many benches and relax, allowing the quiet sounds of trickling water and rustling leaves to calm him. But his father needed him fast, and not even Karu dared keep Pinsce Sian waiting.
The Ring of Nobility always slightly intimidated Karu, although he never liked to admit it. He never quite saw why they hadn’t just called it the Nobleman’s Ring. Why did they have to have a name different to everyone else? The mansions towered above him, each of them proudly flying a flag with the resident family’s coat of arms on it. There were only a few mansions in a small ring around the Palace, but it still seemed to take forever to walk through.
Finally he reached the Imperial Palace. Its turrets made the mansions look like huts, but it didn’t intimidate Karu. It was his home. He slowly climbed the stone steps to the massive front door, running his fingers over the smooth marble banister. It felt cold under his fingers, but somehow the feeling brought the tiniest smile to his face.
A doorman dressed in the same uniform as the messenger was standing just inside the archway. He bowed to Karu and put out a hand for his coat, before realising he didn’t have one and withdrawing the hand quickly.
Karu was awed – as always – by the Entrance Hall. The massive crystal dome overhead was a textured white with gold ribbing, and the walls were so shiny you could see yourself in them. The huge pillars were the same crystal as the dome roof and were about eight times Karu’s height. That was impressive, he was fourteen and quite tall for his age. The floor was a gold almost as shiny as the walls, and constant varnishing kept people’s shoes from scratching the flawless surface.
Right in the middle of the Entrance Hall were the stairs, carpeted in purple velvet with yellow edgings. Karu ran upstairs and strode quickly along corridor after corridor, climbing at least five staircases. To any other the Imperial Palace would seem like a labyrinth, but Karu had lived there all his life and knew it just as thoroughly as he did his own bedroom.
Karu’s parents, Pinsce and Maia Sian, were members of the Royal Court. They were part of the ring of Emperor Huan’s advisors, and therefore had a few rooms to themselves in the Imperial Palace. They had access to the entire Palace, save the Royal Quarters and the Royal Chambers, and they received full use of the Palace’s guards and servants. Their rooms were cleaned three times daily and their every meal was a feast cooked specially for them. Meaning, Karu got spoiled rotten. His entire universe revolved around him, and the fact that servants were running round after him all the time led to hardly any patience and no self-sufficiency whatsoever.
When he reached the wooden door with the name ‘Sian’ painted above it, he hesitated. For a while now, every time he came to this door he dreaded opening it for fear of what might be on the other side. His parents had been acting strange recently. His father was dreamy and inattentive, as if in a trance, and his mother hardly ever came out of her room any more. It was always dark in there and his mother never left her bed. Sometimes at night Karu could hear her screaming about something coming to get her. She was going slowly mad. Karu was worried about her, but he would never admit it for fear of losing his tough image.
Karu walked slowly through the kitchen. The walls and floor were a smooth marble and fresh logs lay in a large indent in the wall, ready to be lit. There was a grill hanging about thirty centimetres above the logs to place to food on. Not that the any of them ever cooked, but the room gave them the option to if they ever felt like it.
He passed through the door into the living room. His father was lounging on a velvet sofa, his eyes closed.
“Father?” whispered Karu, timid for once.
Pinsce’s eyes shot open and he sat up.
“KARU!” he roared, his face red and bulging. “I ASKED YOU TO COME QUICKLY! WHAT TIME DO YOU CALL THIS?”
“But Father,” protested Karu. “I only took ten minutes and –”
He was silenced with a wave of his father’s hand.
“Shut up,” Pinsce told him, reaching into his pocket. He drew out a small, silver dagger. Karu gasped and stepped back.
Pinsce held out the dagger, beckoning Karu closer. Karu stepped cautiously further into the room.
“Karu, take this dagger and deliver it to the Emperor at all costs. Do not give it to anyone else, whether it be guard or merchant, and guard it with your life. Do you understand?”
Karu nodded quickly, taking all this in. Why was it so important? It was just a dagger, nothing more than a crude assassin’s tool. There were hundreds, thousands of them in the Imperial City, why was this one so special?
He shook his head, dislodging these treasonous thoughts. Who was he to question his father’s wishes? He must deliver this weapon to the Emperor no matter what, and he would guard it with his life and those of everyone around him if the need arose.
“I understand, Father,” he whispered taking the dagger.
As he was walking down the corridors to the Emperor’s Quarters, Karu closely examined the dagger. It was pure silver, good quality by the looks of it. The blade was hammered sharper than the tip of one of the Palace’s turrets, and there was a single acorn-sized diamond encrusted into the hilt. There was a strange marking engraved onto the gem, a kind of rune Karu had never seen before. He guessed the knife was unique, one of a kind. If he sold this dagger right now he would earn a fortune, enough to keep him going for years with or without pocket money.
He shook his head again. Where were all these thoughts coming from? They were normal with anything else, but with his father? No, he couldn’t risk anyone finding out what he was thinking. His father would skin him alive. Best not to think them at all.
He reached the Emperor’s chambers and knocked on the door. When there was no reply, he cracked it open and slipped inside. There were beautiful tapestries hanging from the golden walls and the floor was marble. There were several striking purple and yellow rugs surrounding a massive, beautiful four-poster bed. The entire place was amazing, like nothing Karu had ever seen before. It was perfect, but something was missing. The Emperor. He wasn’t here. There were no guards to have seen him inside the Royal Quarters, thank the spirits, Emperor Huan insisted on privacy in his own Quarters.
Backing out of the room and closing the door behind him, Karu hurried back down the corridor, the dagger still clutched in his hand. He still failed to see why it was so important, apart from its obvious value. But the Emperor had almost unlimited wealth, why would he need this tiny weapon? Karu frowned thoughtfully as he hurried down the corridors that lead to the Royal Chambers steps.
The Royal Chambers were built eight meters underground. The corridor leading to the doorway was lit with copious amounts of candles and the walls and floor were covered in marble and cement, but the gloom of the underground still showed. There was mildew growing on the ceiling and some parts of the wall had cracked, exposing the soil on the other side. Karu shivered. It was cold down there, the tiny candles gave off light but hardly any warmth.
The door to the Royal Chambers was unguarded. Strange. There were normally two guards, one stationed at each side of the door. Karu knocked. There was no audible reply, apart from some whispered voices from inside the room. Vowing never to do this again if he escaped alive, Karu cracked open the door.
Immediately the voices were louder, perfectly clear. Karu put an eye to the crack, peering inside. Emperor Huan was kneeling on his mat on the floor, speaking to a woman standing in front of him. The woman was strangely… translucent. Karu gasped as he saw what was underneath her. She was floating a few centimetres off the ground, and a glowing pot was just below her feet. She seemed to be part of the glow, the bottom of her dress still a red light.
She was striking, but not beautiful. Her long, black hair cascaded to her waist, elaborately styled with curls and strings winding themselves down the straight, silky hair. Her face was sharp and pointed and her lips were a thin line. She wore strange make-up, her heavy lids accentuated with dark eyeshadow. Beneath the lids were cold, dark eyes that seemed to hold all the evils in the world within their murky depths.
Karu shivered again, but not because of the chill this time.
“Do you have it, Huan?” the woman was asking. Karu concealed a gasp. Calling the Emperor ‘Huan’? This normally called for the death penalty, but this woman was obviously special.
“Not yet, Yuraila,” said the Emperor, his voice slightly nervous. “Two of my court members, Pinsce and Maia, are sending their son over with it as we speak.”
Karu glanced at the dagger, confused. Could this be what they were talking about?
More than likely.
“That arrogant brat?” said Yuraila, obviously annoyed. “He’ll just take it and sell it for a bit of extra pocket money! What were you thinking?”
Karu thought back to that idea he’d had to sell the dagger, and felt immediately guilty.
“No, no,” said the Emperor. “I’m sure he’ll deliver it. He knows there will be consequences if he doesn’t.”
Yuraila seemed to relax.
“Are you in the process of obtaining any others?”
“No, not yet, but we have reason to believe that one may be in the Preasr area.”
“Which one?”
“We don’t know.”
Yuraila appeared to sit down on a chair that wasn’t visible in the glow, tipping her head back wearily.
“Huan, it is of utmost importance that you find these objects and retrieve them as soon as possible!”
“I-I know –”
“We may think we are unchallenged, but we may have several parties working against us as we speak! The enemy never rests, Huan!”
Karu frowned. Wasn’t Yuraila being a bit… paranoid?
“We will proceed as quickly as possible.”
“Good…” hissed Yuraila, patting something invisible that was sitting by her invisible chair. “Remember, the faster you get these objects, the faster I will be free and ready to help you rule Hyalai – and all the other countries we conquer – with an iron fist!”
Huan was nodding his head.
“Do you have any leads?” asked Yuraila, her voice back to its normal chilling, regal self.
“Maybe,” said the Emperor. “We have something just in the next room.”
Yuraila waved her hand airily, and the Emperor scurried out.
Karu looked at the dagger in his hand with new interest. So this was one of five keys to the spirit world? He squeezed the handle and bent the blade against the wall. Nothing happened. It looked like a regular old dagger to someone who didn’t know its secret.
But for now Karu had to focus on this situation. The name Yuraila rang a bell in his head, but he couldn’t quite place it. He thought back. Once, a year or so ago, his parents had dragged him to Church and made him sit through a service. They prayed to the Spirits and a few names were mentioned… and Yuraila was one of them! It all come flooding back to him. Yuraila was one of the most powerful Spirits in the Spirit World. She governed all things dark and evil. She must be planning to escape the Spirit World and help Emperor Huan conquer the world! Melodramatic, but it made sense! Who else better to be on your side than someone who could govern the very destinies of men?
He couldn’t let this happen. The Emperor would be back soon. Karu needed to sneak in there and take something as proof of his malevolent plot. Yuraila had leant back in her invisible chair and closed her eyes. Karu stepped quietly into the room. Nothing. Not even a twitch from Yuraila. Crossing his fingers, he crept silently across the room, trying to be fast but noiseless at the same time. Soon he made it into the middle of the room and looked around. What could he take as proof?
Then he saw it. A parchment, marked with the Royal symbol next to the markings that were on the diamond in the dagger! That had to be it. He crept quietly forwards, careful not to disturb Yuraila. She seemed a lot more sinister now he knew who she was. He reached the bench that the parchment was on, reaching out his hand. His fingers curled around the rough, browned paper. He had it! Now he just needed to escape from the Royal Chambers and show this to his father.
The door banged open, and Emperor Huan stood in the doorway. When he saw Karu, his pudgy face reddened. It was a pretty incriminating sight.
“GUARDS!” Huan screamed at the top of his lungs. “SEISE HIM!”
A seemingly endless stream of guards erupted from the door on the other side of the room and charged towards Karu. He quickly shoved the parchment into his robe and ran. He crashed through the door and ran faster than he’d ever known he could down the hallway and up the stairs.
The chase was ferocious. Karu hurtled down corridors and staircases, guards waving weapons and screaming. There was nowhere he could hide in the Palace. He’d have to go outside and hide in the Imperial City, then sneak back to show his father under the cover of nightfall. He shot through the Entrance Hall, knocking over servants and civilians alike in his mad bid for freedom.
He shot down the marble steps, racing through the Ring of Nobility. His pursuers were still on his heels, angry as ever. He knocked over benches, dustbins, and other kinds of street decorations as he passed, and the guards overturning what he missed.
They flew out of Prosper’s Ring and into Merchant’s Ring. Karu hurtled through the crowds, crashing into stalls and people alike. There was mass panic, people screamed and dashed to the side of the street to avoid this mad pursuit.
Finally he reached the gates. It was just twilight, so they were still open. Karu crashed through them, tearing out into the damp forest that surrounded the Imperial City. The guards came clattering after him.
Now Karu found it easier to lose them, with all the trees, bushes and ditches. He hid in ditches and ran further into the forest, the guards trying their best to keep up with him. His last hiding place was inside a hollow tree. It was a tight squeeze, but he managed to fit inside the trunk. He heard the guards clank past, before stopping right near the tree.
They spoke to each other, but the sentences were inaudible in Karu’s hiding place. He did pick up a few words, though. Words like ‘hidden’ ‘getting nowhere’ ‘try again’ and ‘tomorrow’. Then he heard the familiar clanking as the guards marched off back to the City.
He waited about ten minutes, then was forced to leave his hiding place. It was getting dark, and if he wanted to hide out in the Imperial City until nightfall then he needed to sneak back in now.
But he was too late. He reached the gate just a minute after sundown, and just saw its final door swing closed. He heard the clanks and scratches of the usual locks and barricades being slid into place. And just to add insult to the injury, he felt a drop of rain run down his neck.
Karu sat in the ditch for an hour until he fell asleep, getting thoroughly soaked by the rain. He had never left the Imperial City before, never even slept anywhere else but his warm, velvety four-poster bed. And now he was being forced to sleep in this wet, muddy ditch. But at least one good thing came out of this. He could always go and see his father in the morning, and he still had the parchment.
Time to see what light it would shed on this sinister plot.
He pulled it out of his robes and opened it with shaking fingers.
It was totally blank.
Karu forced back tears. All this for nothing? He was tempted to rip up the parchment and bury it in the marshy earth, but it might come in useful sometime. Carefully rolling it up again, he pushed it back into his robes and lay his head back on the wet mud.