Introduction and Part 1, here: http://writersandlitlovers.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/prologue-of-when-kingdoms-crumble-by.html
The sun dawned golden and
glorious on the first morning of the new age. General Cholem rose from his bed
in the temporary quarters that had been allotted to him within the palace and
crossed to the room’s floor-to-ceiling window, basking in the light. The cloudless
daybreak was yet another good omen to add to the multitude that had saturated
the Freedom Uprising from the start.
The
nobles from the surrounding area, most of them relatives of King Kaidezhe, had
been brought into the palace over the course of the night, unharmed save for a
few unavoidable flesh wounds. They were being kept somewhere in the far wing of
the palace until their grand appearance later today.
Cholem’s
mind skipped from the prisoners to the forthcoming events of the day. The rest of the Freedom Council should ride
into the city in the next few hours, then, together, they would formally
address the city’s population, the final step in establishing the new order in
Jeshrual. After that, messengers would be dispatched to take their words to the
other Jeshrulian towns and cities and they would be followed out by Freedom
Council officials ready to take up local government posts in those areas. After
years of bloodshed and struggle, the monarchy and its barbaric, ancient regime
had been overthrown.
A
smile creased his strong, authoritative features, momentarily skewing his
meticulously shaped beard. He slipped out of his night-shift before pulling on
a set of simple clothes, the picture of humility, the embodiment of peace. With
his head held high, he strode out into the palace corridors. A pleasant smell
drifted into his nostrils. It would seem that his soldiers had encouraged the
palace staff to prepare breakfast as normal. General Cholem’s smile broadened;
today was a good day.
In
the suburbs of the city, supporters of the Freedom Uprising – and there were
many – lined the street that widened out inside Horizon Mount’s inner circle to
become the boulevard that led up to the jewel in the city’s crown, the King’s
Palace. The people waved banners and shouted praise as the members of the
Freedom Council rode past them, into the city proper. Each council member made
a point of smiling and waving at the crowds from the backs of their beautiful
stallions, riding regal and proud like angelic princes.
They
came from all corners of Jeshrual, the sowers of the seeds of sedition in
cities from the north to the south and the east to the west of their country. Riding
in pomp and finery, their status was clear to all and the people adored them as
they had adored the kings of old, recognising the roles of these men in the
shaping of their nation.
Following
the councillors up the street were ranks of Freedom Uprising soldiers, tramping
in united solidarity, the heralds of a new order. The parade continued up the
road to the palace where General Cholem waited to establish them in their power
and thus complete the revolution.
א
Jaish
heard the rumble of humanity from beyond the palace walls and his heart became
as stone in his chest. Had these people abandoned Adonai so readily? He turned
to his wife, who returned his bleak gaze with a sad smile that somehow seemed
all the more bleak than his own expression.
“So
this is what we’ve come to,” he sighed, crossing to their bed and sinking down
next to her with a wince. He, along with his wife and child (who remained
asleep in an adjoining room, exhausted from the previous day), had actually
been given comfortable accommodation within his uncle’s palace. They could
almost be considered guests of the Freedom Council but for the guards stationed
outside the main door of their apartment.
“Adonai’s
will shall be done, always,” Dana said, resting her head on his shoulder and
letting her loose black fall over his torso. She was vulnerability clothed in
human flesh, but was he any different?
“I
just don’t understand,” he muttered.
“Then
don’t try. Just trust him.”
Jaish
pulled his wife even closer and kissed the top of her head, overwhelmed with
love for the woman who was truly a blessing on his life sent straight from
Adonai.
He
looked up at a knock on the room’s main door and watched as an armed guard
entered without ceremony, grim-faced.
“Nephew
of Kaidezhe, General Cholem requires your presence on the palace steps,” the guard
said, looking into his eyes without flinching.
Jaish’s
reply was measured, “I am not his servant to command.” He was aware of Dana’s
cool hand on his arm and kept his visage controlled and neutral.
“Don’t
make this difficult for yourself,” the guard warned.
Jaish
exchanged glances with Dana, “I shall go.”
“And
your wife.”
“What
of my daughter?”
“She
may remain. A servant shall be sent in to sit with her.”
Dana
stood with Jaish and together they followed the guard out of the room.
General
Cholem stood with the other eleven councillors on the wide flight of stairs
leading up to the palace. Assembled before them was an oceanic mass of
civilians, almost the entire population of the city, interspersed with
soldiers. They were the flock of the Freedom Council, the people of the new
regime. He looked across the top of the steps at the row of councillors. They
were a strong group, the perfect balance of youth and experience. They were the
prophets of all the gods. They were the prophets of nothing.
Silence
gradually permeated the pores of the crowd. General Cholem stepped forward and
began to speak.
“People
of Horizon Mount and all of Jeshrual, yesterday I addressed you to announce the
fall of the old kingdom and the tyranny that it stood for,” he paused, allowing
his voice to ring out around the trees and buildings that surrounded the crowd,
allowing his words to settle into the minds of those gathered, “But today is
not yesterday. It is a new day and it marks a new beginning for our nation. It
marks the beginning of a time of peace and tolerance, a time of harmony and
equality. And so, it is with great pleasure that I introduce to you eleven of
our nation’s finest men. They are visionaries and revolutionaries, men who
joined with me in purging this nation of bigotry and authoritarianism, men who
will now join with me in guiding Jeshrual along the smooth, hallowed path of
peace. It is an honour for me to introduce to you Marlial, Chair of the first
Freedom Council by a unanimous vote, and my great friend.” General Cholem
stepped back into the line as a smattering of applause became a thundering. His
heart swelled with pride as he surveyed the crowd before him, adoring and free.
Marlial,
a slim, tall, middle-aged man from the northernmost region of Jeshrual stepped
forward now, dressed in a beautiful robe of blue. His black-silver hair
reflected the sun’s light majestically; he was an impressive figure to behold.
“People
of Jeshrual, today you may consider me the harbinger of change for this nation.
What I have to say may shock some of you and you may not believe me at first,
so I ask you to open your minds and trust that what I say is the truth. Trust
me, and your lives shall change for the better to an extent that you would
never have believed possible. These three words shall be your salvation: Adonai is dead,” as Cholem had done
before him, he paused. The quiet in the crowd was terrifying, “For centuries,
the worship of Adonai has been the dominant religion of this land. It has
always been the religion championed by one particular group of people: our kings. But in recent years, I, and
others like me, have come to realise that not only is Adonai dead, but that he never lived. You may be wondering how
I know this, so listening closely, people of Jeshrual. This great god, named
Adonai, was never more than a creation of Jeshrual’s kings, am artifice that
they employed to control you and bleed your money away from you, employed to
make you think that there was hope for you as they taxed you again and again,
more and more each time! Do you see now? Therefore, from this day forth, there
shall be no more public worship of Adonai; we shall tear down his temple.” He
paused briefly to gage the crowd’s reaction, “Furthermore, the Freedom Council
has decided to rename this city ‘Liberteria’. No more shall this place be
Adonai’s holy city, we proclaim it a city of freedom and choice, the
flourishing heart of a free nation! You will no longer be punished for a
failure to adhere to the laws that apparently come directly from Adonai, for we
shall create new laws, fair laws. You are all different and your beliefs should
be your own. Let us stop judging one another for what they believe, or don’t
believe, and let’s stop feeling pressured into believing in something that doesn’t
feel right to us. It’s time to discover our own truths in this world. I saw it
again: Adonai is dead!” Marlial bowed his head and waited. It seemed that the
silence in the crowd would never end. Then a lone person began to clap, the
more people clapped, then still more, before eventually, applause sang out from
the hands of well over half of the people in attendance.
General
Cholem moved forward to be in line with Marlial and raised a hand to renew the
silence, “We appreciate that this is a monumental change and an uncertain time
for some of you, so to demonstrate out good will in these circumstances, we
have some of King Kaidezhe’s nobility here in the palace as our guests!”
Jaish
emerged into harsh sunlight at outside the entrance to the palace, his wife
alongside him. They stood in a huddle with around ten more people, all relatives
of the dead king and, by extension, himself. He recognised all the faces, but
no one spoke as they waited to see what the Freedom Council had planned. All
were known to be devoted followers of Adonai. They were led to the top of the
steps by a handful of soldiers. The members of the Freedom Council parted to
accommodate them. General Cholem and Marlial, still standing forward to address
the crowd, turned in unison and smiled benevolently at the newcomers.
“My
friends,” Marlial began to speak, his smooth tones seeming to flow over both
the nobles and the crowd simultaneously, “Let me first say that you are welcome
here in shining Liberteria. Your presence at the palace brings joy to hearts of
me and my fellow councillors. We know that you were a part of King Kaidezhe’s
regime, ruling towns and cities throughout the region in his name, but that
regime is gone. However, this does not mean that your lives are in danger. We
will not make ourselves hypocrites by advocating freedom for the masses whilst
condemning you all to death. After all, your service to the monarchy was a mere
accident of birth and should not be used as a reason for your deaths. For sure,
you shall be stripped of your titles and your authority, but you may return
home in peace as friends of the Freedom Council.”
Marlial
beamed endearingly at the nobles, before turning to the crowd to show them his
pleasure. This time, the people’s response was instant, unanimous applause.
Jaish
looked out over the city, sick. He knew with utmost certainty that being
pardoned was far worse than being killed or imprisoned. There would be no
heroic martyr’s death for him. Marlial had ensured that if he or his relatives
opposed the Freedom Council in any way then they would be seen as the villains,
repaying mercy with murder. It seemed as if a heavy fog was wrapping itself
around his brain, suffocating his thoughts. He stared at the ground, lost, as
the ceremony came to a close. When he looked up, he caught the gaze of General
Cholem. He would never forget what he saw in that man’s eyes.
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