One cold winter night, long ago, a man named Tarvana escaped from the strangling grasp of his two over-loving parents. All of the Hall of Cydoria loved Tarvana, but perhaps their strong protection was a little…superfluous. Sometimes he was the only male left behind, because he was their hope for the next great leader of their royal house. Yes, they were a little harsh on poor Tarvana, but that is life.
Tarvana grew from a ferocious little boy to a man, but never had he gone on a boar hunt. Never had he walked alone. People were so afraid that someone or something would damage their inexperienced hope. No one could tell the outcome except for the town seer who lived in the church. Especially when he seemed so happy…well, no more. He was a free man. Even as happy as he had been to get through the gates, he would soon wish he had never left that little dot on the maps of Cydoria, titled House of Cydoria. His longing for adventures would be the bane of his stainless life when he looked back at the slaughter and havoc he had wreaked against all the enemies of a man soon to be no longer solitary. He was soon going to get a group of men to come with him-men who had the same troubles. Already there were six waiting for him at an inn. He did it because he was plagued by his actions as more and more assassins came at him. His main enemy was Thralendur Jadystacia, an evil knife-throwing assassin who led an organization of the Black Knives rouges. The other two he disliked vehemently were Ghanzaan Scazzar and Jakkan Forguta. Both were specially trained by Thralendur, but decided to go by themselves into the world instead of being owned. The similarity in the names was so, since they were so alike, both would come running and use their similar skills together to do what was needed, if they could. They worked very well together, until the schism of their friendship-the entrance of the real world into their life. It had happened when they had been hunting together, hoping to get some venison to proudly display to their powerful lord, Thralendur. Then they had stumbled across a path, and, unluckily, ran into Tarvana, who recognized their uniform black as the Black Knives outfit. He had asked, " Why are you two young boys with the Black Knives?"
" Because we feel like it, idiot. Bow down before we kill you…or rather, take your goods and call Thralendur."
" And who would Thralendur be? The man who assassinated a princess's husband so that havoc would create an opportunity for a mass looting? The leader of the Black Knives? Still the best swordsman and knife thrower…and poisoner…in the world?"
" Sure enough, imbecile. But now you'd better back off before something happens to you…something…bad."
" Just go ahead and try, little man. Go ahead and try."
And so they had both attacked at once, but in a trice both were disarmed and kneeling, their legs kicked from beneath them.
"Still so cocky? Still think you can kill me easily. Go tell your 'master' Thralendur that Tarvana still will spit on his worthless grave soon. And you had better hurry or I will kill you. Go now, or I will keep my word."
" Yes…sir. Right away."
Then the two of them scampered into the woods. And from that time on they had known that not everyone was scared of Thralendur. Eventually they had split away from him, then from each other. Now they both had large clans of around two hundred each. Thralendur had a small army of six hundred. Tarvana had his own twenty-man group from then on. And then there is the frightening concept of the neighbors…the ones called the Ghandorians. Ruthless killers if you got on their bad side, friendly warm helpers if you paid their taxes. Some did not enjoy paying these taxes, and rebelled. They are the people led by Thralendur, Tarvana, Ghanzaan, and Jakkan. They were the ones hiding in the woods like Robin Hood and his small army of outlaws and bandits. At the time, Thralendur Jadystacia was fighting another man who had tried to challenge his leadership by melee fighting. In Thralendur's hierarchy, those who wanted to rule fought for it. Since he was a mysterious and shady character himself, he could easily catch anybody who was trying to invade and kill him when he was in his tent, supposedly asleep. He never seemed to sleep, though. No one knew when he was sleeping, because even when he was, his eyes were open and he blinked. Unfortunately, he was asleep when Ghanzaan stormed the outer edges of his camp. They had come on one side, drawing his men to that side, then forty men had come on the other side, slaughtered his perimeter guards, and decided to steal every single weapon that was not in use. The day before, they had come and taken most of the weapons. So every man had one weapon now. Tomorrow every man would be barehanded, fighting Ghanzaan's men. Thralendur woke up in the middle and killed the fourteen men trying to assassinate him. Now he was ordering everyone.
" All perimeter guards are to step up their watch. Instead of four rings of men around the amp, I want six, guards constantly circling clockwise and counter-clockwise. Got it?"
That meant that ninety guards would circle clockwise around the camp, holding torches. If the torches went out, people would investigate. The next, smaller ring would have eighty men, and so on. The circles alternated clockwise and counter clockwise. With the frontal assault, most had rushed over to help out. The fault had come from that. Not many were left behind.
" Now, a special team will go out, consisting of four of my best fighters, my twelve best stealth fighters, and a few good thieves. Another squad will consist of six carts, the animals and handlers needed, and a few men to guard it. Both will have an overall leader. And for now, that's it."
As he finished, people began talking and the men he mentioned in his speech came to report for duty. The guards left, and the others gathered in Thralendur's tent.
" First I need my fighters to come to the front. That would be Taaka, Jarviz, Krall, and Richard. George, you're a guard for the other squad. Go to your places by the river and wait for the rest of your squad. George, you are your squad leader. You take some men and leave to go to the big oak tree by the swamp. Now, Jarvis, Thicor, Thoran, you are the ones who will lead the rest of the stealth fighters. All of you go to the river. Now, all of the thieves who volunteered for this job need to go to the river. Your special force leader is Zederan. The animal handlers need to go to the large oak tree to transport the things we find back. My scouts have found out that Ghanzaan is camping by the old well near Oakley Swamp. Make sure you don't go too far in to it. Now…if everyone is ready, I am adjourning this meeting."
As most people moved to their positions, a few came up to Thralendur, the last of which was his spymaster, Aarin Dakkren.
" Sir, I have numerous reports of ominous movements and gathering of armies in the Ghandorians. My spies in the palace think that possibly the Criseans may be beginning their conquest of the mainland. The Mende and Funder have been taken over by them in recent decades, though the Ghandorians just started the attack on Gondawala. The Ghandorians have a lot of military might, but though they seem to control this 'island', forgive my emphasis, it is bigger than many of the mainland countries, a continent unto itself, but they could never control an area like this. Everyone and everything would rise up against them. There is no way. As I was saying before, this could work to our advantage. They are going to be occupied with their fight, so we can take over a lot of land and become strong enough to resist them. Their army numbers over ten thousand, but after the war it will be around six. So, if we get eight thousand troops, we could take over Cydoria. The only fitting name for the empire would be the Cydorian Empire, of course. So, all I am doing is suggesting a simple plan. Now, Tarvana has been roving around with twenty men, you know about Ghanzaan, and Jakkan seems to have disappeared."
" Well, he always was the smart one, after all. He's probably planning another assassination, or maybe the destruction of Ghanzaan. No telling. Well, put this in my chest and I'll look at your reports when I'm done ransacking Ghanaan's littler hideout. Thanks-now go get something to eat now. You look hungry."
" Yes, sir."
Ghanzaan looked over his base, and then chuckled.
" You know, many people would laugh at this. I have a weak guard, weak troops, yet I defy Thralendur. Do you think I can possibly survive this attack? I am sure that it will come from the north, and with a well armed troop of around three hundred men," Ghanzaan turned, " Which is why I need you to move all the men, supplies, and weapons to the east, to our real base, the abandoned castle. We go there, he attacks tents and dummies. Either that or almost all of you die. Got it?"
Roger, the man beside him, nodded, " I understand, Ghanzaan, that you were also wanting support from my troops. And if I help you, then what is the reason for it? Gold, supplies…how do I profit from all of this planning?"
" First, you get the support of my troops and I join you as one of your captains. Maybe even second-in-command. Secondly, you get the satisfaction of foiling Thralendur. With my troops, he cannot fight you and win. And thirdly, you get all of my supplies, weapons, and armor…generally; we merge, with you effectively getting complete leadership. Oh, and I will present you with a few gifts. Sound satisfactory?"
"Fine, I'll take the deal. But you had better hurry up. If he comes up with a way to stop you, you are dead and there is no help from me. So, get your sorry butt moving. I have the control now. Move!"
And Ghanzaan was left no choice but to obey.
Jakkan at that time was planning a counter-attack against the recent thievery of his food. Ghanzaan had stolen all of it and now Jakkan wanted it back. He had gathered all of his troops, and sent spies to the enemy camp. He knew what Ghanzaan was doing; moving to a better-fortified place. And Jakkan knew how to save himself and his little army. He had to get to Thralendur first, though. And his plan could do that…and more. Ghanzaan would no longer be a threat.