Abberthorn

A Tormented Island

The journey across the open sea was long and gruelling. By the time they had reached the Red Islands, Filia, Daemon, and Durane had all begun to learn Hulteath. Filia had begun to teach Daemon how to handle a battle axe. And Magnatheena had better acquainted herself with her duel swords, which she had liberated from the hands of the wolf men. By the time the ship made dock in the Red Islands they had already familiarised themselves with the customs of the land, so that they might make a better impression on the chief.

'Now remember, when you are being addressed by the Chief, you are to remain on your knees with your head down, until he tells you otherwise. My people are very easily offended, and here you are in our world, at the mercy of our Chief. I cannot protect you here if you offend him' Zodirah took the opportunity to remind his new friends of how things were done on the Red Islands, while they were disembarking the ship. They walked through the sand covered streets of the Red Island Capital of Nahagili. The city was strange to the travellers. They saw buildings made from limestone, which were smooth to the touch, with no visible brick work. Only the round timber that protruded from the walls, no doubt used to hold up the second floors and roofs, were visible to the eye.

They had never seen such styles of construction before, as each building took on a different form. They came in different shapes, sizes and heights, and none of them had a roof of which to speak. They had walls that rose up where the roof should be, to about waist height, where the city guards patrolled from high above, walking on beams that connected each building to the one next to it. Patches of grass grew wherever nature allowed. This desert land seemed to the travellers to be an inhospitable wasteland, incapable of sustaining life. And yet here they stood, at the foot of an empire which made its living by training mercenaries.

As they made their way through the city, they saw that all of the people of this land wore beige gowns adorned with bright colours. Different shades of red, yellow, green and as many colours as you might dare conceive. The men of the city that were not fighters were out in the fields that ran close to the backs of the ocean. They provided their people with a steady supply of desert yams, and root crops. Any form of vegetation which had been adapted to growing in the harsh environment in which they now found themselves.

The woman stood outside their homes, washing clothing and preparing meals for their hard-working families. Children ran through the streets chasing one another playing games and laughing loudly. As Zodirah led the visitors through the city and up to the chief's palace, the local people looked on with disbelief and distrust for these unknown foreigners. Approaching the chief's palace Durane noticed that the closer they got to the palace, more of the city guard had begun to follow them on the roof tops.

They approach the palace to find a building not unlike the rest that they had seen. It was a large structure, made up of many smaller buildings of different shapes. The building was peculiar to behold. It had on either side of the main door two long thin red banners flying, which had on them the insignia of the people of the Red Islands. Two curved swords intersecting each other, with their handles facing down, to form a cross, and a crow like bird flying up behind them with its wings outstretched.

They entered the palace into a wide hallway approximately ten to fifteen meters in length and four to five meters wide. The hallway was lavishly decorated with polished floors and high flat ceilings. The walls of the hallway had six sunk in archways, three on either side, in which stood six statues of the most influential rulers the Red Islands had ever seen. There were five men and one woman, each taking a pose which clearly depicted the type of ruler they were. Some took military poses while others took intellectual stances, but each showed grace and importance, with a visage of pride in the seat which they held. All six had on the same head dress, a red gold crown which rose up fifteen centimetres from the head at its front and ten centimetres at its rear. It had a large ruby held in pride of place at its front surrounded by several smaller amethysts.