Salamander

With a warcry that pierced the seventh sky, Salamander destroyed the whole Djinn army in the Three-Year-War in less than an hour. It was the same timeframe as in the stories of the oral story-tellers.

Our Djinn army initially attacked the south, east, and western fronts of the Lorope Empire. The army was about to reach the Great Lake where the castle of Emperor Lustratous was situated. But that was when Salamander unleashed itself, rising from the depths of the Great Lake.

Our army at the beginning of the war consisted of 200,000 men, whereas Lorope was only 10,000. By the time Salamander finished his massacre, our army's size got reduced to a humiliating 1,000. This was one of the gravest war results that I had ever heard of in my life.

One would naturally wonder, what did Salamander do to achieve such a monstrous feat? The answer would be evident from observing the status of the casualties in our army. They all turned into logs of charcoal.

As far as we know, Salamander possesses three abilities. First, he can unleash rays of fire from his mouth that can be intense enough to melt swords. Every Lorope land that got affected by Salamander fire rays has turned black. So it could no longer grow any vegetation.

Second, Salamander's speed exceeds every living being that I know about. If it takes a week for a horse to reach a particular city, then Salamander can do the same in half a day. It quickly became known in the war, even for our horses, that evading Salamander is akin to an ant evading a human.

The third feature relates to Salamander's exterior, which is made of thick granite shells. If you order a hundred men to pierce a single granite shell with swords and spears, the weapons will bend before they can scratch the granite.

When our army realized that resistance is futile, that Salamander even burned war veterans into charcoal, the whole Djinn army went mad.

Some ran tried to run back to the kingdom. Others froze in place, and the rest acted dead hoping that they may outsmart Salamander. But all of that did not matter, they all died.

There were only two survivors who had seen Salamander and survived the war. Though, they both committed suicide within a month after the war had ended.

Reflecting on those days brought much fear and sadness. The whole kingdom went wailing. Wives of the men who passed away could not contain their anguish. They went out on the streets and cried and cursed the skies for hours, then days.

Father, King Justinian the Second, could not allow the mourning to continue. He issued a decree disallowing anyone to cry or mention anything about the war in public. I still remember how often did Father wake up after the war unable to sleep from the nightmares.

But it is still unclear on why did Salamander show up this time after disappearing for 500 years. Why now? Our military strategists discussed it. One suggested that Salamander appears only when the Empire is in danger.

But this thought got nullified since 200 years ago the Jelvak Republic, located north of the Lorope Empire, had sent an army that reached the core of the Lorope Empire at the Great Lake. The Jelvak army had entered the royal castle and had killed the Lorope Emperor back then. If that theory was correct, then Salamander should have shown up at that more urgent time.

After suggesting and nullifying countless theories, we came up with the most valid theory. That is the Crimson Ring that is believed to control Salamander and is worn by every Lorope Emperor until today is fake. Someone else controls the real Crimson Ring, and that person or group had decided for some unknown reason to use Salamander this time.

Whether Salamander is controlled by an unknown person or by the Emperor himself, the central fact remains that we are powerless against it and the Lorope Empire.

Many amongst us have accepted this idea and gave up to become spies for Lorope Empire. Others feared Salamander with such intensity that they worshiped him hoping he would not harm them.

We call this group Saladians, and this is where my next destination is before I travel to the Lorope Empire.

It was midnight. A time where it is forbidden for any commoner to walk around in the Kingdom unless it is for an urgent reason.

After reaching the destination my two armored guards and I left the carriage. It was a ten-minute drive from the castle that brought me to where I stood now, the Saladian Patriarch church.

The church is one of the oldest religious structures in the Kingdom. Built about 500 years ago for an unknown religion. It was made of an oak wood that is still holding itself quite well despite a few cracks concentrated at the base. It should last for a few hundred years, and it is sad that time made us lose such durable expertise.

I have already informed the Saladian leader that I will meet him today. So they have prepared a lady clothed in bright red robes who is standing now between me and the entrance to the church.

"We thank you for meeting us today Your Majesty," said the lady in red as she bowed to me politely. "My name is Pia. Please allow me to lead you to Lord Salam. He is eager to meet you."

So even leaders of shadowy religious groups use attractive ladies as secretaries. From where do they find them? From poverty?

"Very well," I replied. "But I will bring my two guards with me."

"We are fine with everything that our King desires," replied Pia with a wide, distant grin as she opened the main gate to the church. "Please come in."

Once I stepped my foot into the entrance room, I had to clench my eyes in response to the large concentration of light coming from the room. Crackling bonfires were everywhere; at its four corners, at its four walls, and in a massive copper bowl at the middle of the room. The smoke did not linger for it escaped through seven wide holes at the roof.

In front of the massive copper bowl at the middle of the room were ten people, clothed in blue robes, kneeling in front of a giant marble statue of Salamander. Despite our loud footsteps, they continued their religious duties uninterrupted.

"Lord Salam is upstairs Your Majesty," said Pia. "Please follow me."

After me, Pia, and my two guards ascended a circular stairway we were greeted by a door. Pia opened the door to reveal a tall plain room. At its end sat a man, possibly in his mid-forties, on a chair with his elbows on the table. He wore very dark red, almost black, robes.

"Today is a blissful day for us Saladians," said the man sitting on the chair while opening his arms wide. "Welcome to our humble church, Your Majesty. My name is Salam. I am the head of this church, as you already know, and of the Saladian religious group. You asked us to meet you, and we complied. So how may we help you in this peaceful night?"

"Guards, keep the door shut," I said in a swift, commanding voice. "Lord Salam, you have two choices: steal the Crimson Ring from Emperor Lustratous or die."