Son of The Prisonland (The Myth Shadow Trilogy Book 1) Read online

  Aylan froze in his position. He tried to look back. At the same time, he felt the cold touch of a sword on his neck, and the harsh voice said, “Identify yourself, stranger.”

  “I’m no stranger,” Aylan replied. “I’m Aylan Bimbsor.” He thought the person behind him would remove the sword and cheer, but instead, he pushed the sword more to the neck.

  “Aylan Bimbsor, huh? Excellent timing to return to the tribe or I’d say it’s a coincidence?” the owner of the harsh voice said, sarcastically.

  “I didn’t get you. Who are you by the way?”

  “Veli,”

  “Veli?” Aylan surprised. His father’s assistant, second in command of the tribe. Veli looked after him, until the time he escaped. “Why are you holding a sword on my neck?”

  “Because I know what you have become. You’re no more the little boy I used to know. I’m now arresting you on suspicion of murdering your own parents and the leader of our tribe,” Veli declared.

  “What on Duray are you talking about?” Aylan shouted. “What happened to my parents? Where are they?” Aylan turned back, ignoring Veli’s threat.

  Veli looked the same as Aylan had seen him the last time. The same tall and thin figure, long hair tied back and wearing the maroon colored tunic and gray trousers. The differences were his whiter hair and in expression. He was looking at Aylan as if, Aylan was his born enemy.

  “Don’t pretend to be innocent. You and your uncle murdered them together. He left, but you stayed behind to make sure your work is done properly,” Veli said, loudly, pointing his sword to Aylan. A few heads showed up from behind the tents and boxes.

  Aylan realized that Veli was yelling to let these people hear clearly. If so, there are definitely some reasons for this. So, he looked straight into Veli’s eyes. He felt like he could read Veli’s mind apparently. Right at that time Veli was thinking him as his rival of the leadership. His uncle Eko Darsor came here just before the dusk, riding a horse. Veli challenged him at the entrance and followed him to the big tent where his parents stayed. Veli went back to the entrance and about half an hour after he saw Uncle Eko running away by speeding his horse, but before Veli could order anyone to follow him, he looked back and saw the leader’s tent was on fire. Everyone ran toward the tent with water, but the flame caught up so rapidly that throwing water didn’t make any difference. Some of the people tried to get into the tent to get Bimb and his wife Aylin out and they couldn’t find any way in. Aylan surprised to see that, Veli was just standing and watching other people trying to stop the fire, he didn’t make any effort. Instead, he sighed with relief as if he wanted them to die somehow and it came true.

  Veli suspected that Aylan was reading his mind. He tried to distract Aylan by thinking something else. When it didn’t work, he forced his voice and shouted, “Arrest this criminal.” Quickly realizing that he had no control in himself.

  Aylan looked around to see the peeking faces. They weren’t scared but were hesitating to come out. That could have possibly meant that they were aware of Aylan’s reputation for brutality and being a member of the infamous ‘Darkhor’ clan. He sighed and said, “Listen, everyone. I’m no more what I was just a few days ago. I came here to reunite with my family and with the tribe if you allow so. I mean no harm to you.”

  “In that case, you better leave now,” Veli said. He got his control back as Aylan moved his eyes from him. He apparently knew that if Aylan’s here, he will remain the same. “We don’t want you here. Maybe you mean no harm for us, but your presence would bring more trouble here. And just for the record, it has already begun.”

  The people came out while Aylan spoke to them. Now they shook their heads in support of Veli’s claim. Their assured faces become unfriendly within a moment. Hands touched the scabbards, meaning, get lost from here. Aylan’s bad reputation as a teenager played a bit in this situation.

  “I don’t blame you people,” Aylan looked at them. “I’d probably do the same. Now that, I have nothing here I’m not going to stay. But let me examine my parent’s tent to get some clue about who’s responsible for this.”

  “There’s no need to investigate here!” Veli yelled. “If you know about your parent’s death then you definitely know that your uncle had killed them.”

  “Probably, but I still want to see the tent,” Aylan said, firmly.

  “Just let him do what he wants and leave,” said an old man. Aylan looked at him, it was Nokul Bidhansor, whose son Jeem was his childhood friend. Nokul was the only Midney who left his tribe and joined the gypsies many years ago. Aylan looked around to see if Jeem was there, too. Nokul came closer to him and took a pearl bracelet from his pocket, “I found this in your father’s pocket. He bought it for your mother, a few days ago. Didn’t get a chance to give it to her, I guess,” he sighed.

  Aylan took the bracelet and said thanks to Nokul Bidhansor.

  “Okay, but you have to be quick. The more you’ll stay, the more we will get closer to even more trouble,” Veli said. “And we’ve buried your parent’s dead bodies on that hill with full respect and ritual, just in case you wanted to know.”

  Aylan shook his head and walked towards the big tent. For generations, his tribe had set up their tents at the same place again and again. If there were any need of setting up any new tents, they would do it at the end of the line of tents. Because of this reason, Aylan knew which way to go.

  To make his mind reading accurate, he found the ruins of their tent. It was all burned down. Aylan looked around to see if there’s anything that indicates how the fire had started. His father taught him how to find it out the starting point. He looked for any torch left in an unusual place. But he couldn’t see anything else apart from the smoke coming out from the remaining cinders. All the furniture inside the tent turned into coal.

  He sat beside a pile of ashes, “That’s a very unusual arson,” he muttered. “It seems like; all the furniture was set on fire individually. How’s it even possible?”

  “I’ve never seen anything like this before, either,” Nokul Bidhansor commented from behind. He sat next to Aylan and looked at him, “I don’t think Lord Eko Darsor could do it by himself.”

  “I’m thinking something else. Why’d Uncle Eko risk of doing this sort of thing, when he knew that there’s a big chance of getting caught even before making it to the main exit?”

  “Well, he made it, didn’t he? He escaped before anyone could suspect about what had happened,” Nokul tried to prove his point. “You know about how much he hated your father, because of marrying your mother. But one thing I don’t get is, I saw him escaping with Bimb’s Dainee hunting bow and arrows. What’d he do with this stuff? He’s not even a Dainee hunter.”

  “That might be a clue!” Aylan stood up. He started searching around the ruin of the tent.

  Nokul kept looking at with surprising eyes, as he was an experienced tracker and couldn’t find any proof that doesn’t make Lord Eko Darsor the prime suspect. He followed Aylan with a torch to know exactly what he was looking for.

  Suddenly Aylan knelt down on the ground and leaned forward to touch a black circle which apparently looked like made from a piece of burned cloth that flew away from the tent. Aylan pinched the black powder and brought closer to his nose to smell. Then he stood back and kept looking around. Again, he knelt down by an almost faded circle and did the same thing. He looked up at the dark sky and then looked at Nokul, “Are you sure that no one here had seen the arsonists?”

  “As I said only Lord Eko Darsor was here. No one else could come here without our permission, and you know that,” Nokul replied. His voice sounded a little annoyed.

  “Unless the arsonists came from the sky,” Aylan said. He looked at Nokul’s open mouth and continued, “Yes, I’m very much sure that the Dainees did this evil thing. Here, touch and smell this powder.”

  Nokul pinched some powder up. It smelt very virulent and felt much smoother than typically burned cloth. “It smells a bit like kerosene.
But there’s something more in it,” he declared his verdict.

  “Yes, kerosene is mixed with a powder made from the coal, making the fireballs. As far as I am concerned, these things are not available in the world yet. Somehow the Dainees have acquired them. And this is not good news at all.”

  “How can you be so sure about the Dainees being here?”

  “Easy. My so-called uncle has stolen the Dainee hunting bow and arrows, and at the same time, my parents died brutally by very unusual arsonists. If Lord Eko Darsor carried this fireball with him, then you’d definitely know as everyone gets searched here, regardless their social status. And look at the angle of these circles, they look like as if thrown from the above. And the only known race that can fly is the Dainee.”

  “If your assumption is correct, then does that mean Lord Eko Darsor is working for the Dainees?” Nokul asked.

  “Possibly he is, or the mysteriously powerful royal family, to which my uncle is very loyal, have some connection with them.”

  “But still, one thing remains unanswered. Your parents didn’t make any effort to come out of the tent, and no screams were heard? We have found them in the unusual position that had an only probable explanation; they were killed or made senseless while Lord Eko Darsor was in the tent.”

  Aylan sighed. He could dig his parent’s graves to find the truth but didn’t want to remember their burned faces for the rest of his life. He wanted to keep their live faces in his mind. “I’ll have a look into it. Thanks for the information,” he stopped after the first step and turned back to Nokul Bidhansor, “By the way, where is Jeem? I didn’t see him here yet.”

  “He doesn’t live here anymore. He had opened a business in the City and studies at Master Dorian’s monastery, as well. He does come here to see his mother and me.”

  “Thank you very much. I’ll meet Jeem at the monastery then. I’ve some question to ask Master Dorian as well,” Aylan turned to walk to the entrance, “Could you please show me the graves after I say some words to Veli?”

  Nokul Bidhansor shook his head and walked with Aylan to Veli’s tent. When approached, Veli came out, as if he knew they’d come. “You’ve finished your investigation so early! Did you find anything new that we’d like to know?” he said, sarcastically.

  “Yes,” Aylan said, firmly. He looked around to make sure everyone present here can listen to him apparently. “I know it’d be hard to believe, but I’ve found the proof that the Dainees were responsible for the arson…”

  “I knew that you’d try to save your uncle,” Veli interrupted.

  “No, I’m not. I will make sure that Lord Eko gets the proper punishment for what he has done,” Aylan raised his voice. “I’m just warning you. Since there are no Dainee hunters left in the tribe and the bow and arrows got stolen, the Dainees will come back to destroy the whole tribe to take their lifelong revenge. If you listen to me, I’d suggest you move to the lightning mountain, because that’s the only place the Dainees are afraid to go.”

  “Stop saying rubbish. Even if you’re true about the Dainees to have killed your parents, then that means the rest of us are safer than before. We didn’t do anything to them. Therefore, we shouldn’t be scared to get attacked,” Veli raised his voice even louder.

  “Alright then,” Aylan said, kept volume high. “I’ve done my job here, warned you people. It’s up to you to decide,” he said the last words to the others who were listening to them. They all looked panicked and confused at the same time. Aylan nodded to Nokul to take him to his parent’s grave.

  Within a few moments, they arrived at the top of the hill. There’s was a large grave indicated by the pile of rocks. Otherwise, there was no sign of new soil on the ground that would mean the graves were dug just two hours ago. Nokul understood what Aylan was thinking, so he explained, “There was this hole in the ground. As soon as we found their dead body, we took them here and buried with loose soil and covered with the rocks. That’s why it took less time and finished before you arrive.”

  Aylan nodded to Nokul. He can remember this hole, as he came here to hide several times while playing hide and seek with his father in his childhood. Now his parents were hiding from him at the same place. The life is very strange and mysterious, he thought. No one knows how and where they would end up. He asked Nokul to leave him alone. Nokul gave him a warm hug and walked to the camp.

  Chapter Ten

  Aylan stayed by the grave until the dawn. Just before the sunrise, he started walking to Master Dorian’s monastery. People called it a monastery because of Master Dorian’s simple lifestyle and living away from the habitation like the monks. But in reality, it was actually a school with a boarding facility. Master Dorian had taught his pupils the knowledge he gained through his more than hundred years long life. Aylan was sent to the monastery at the beginning of his teenagehood as his Father and Grandfather had also come here to study. But he didn’t last more than a few days.

  Just over half an hour Aylan arrived by the gate-tower of Ashaland. He stayed by the outer fence for the guards. He knew they were watching him and would come out to check him. After a few moments, two guards came with the indolent stance. They were wearing long maroon color tunics and armor with Ashaland’s four symbols, Mountain, Grassland, River and the castle on them.

  Approaching him, they judged his get up through their helmets eye gaps. After a few more moments of silence, they probably decided to speak to him with respect, so one of the guards asked, “Who are you, young man? Where are you coming from and why how did you get here?”

  “My name is Haydar Mahisor. I’m from a village called Madhban in Ista,” Aylan lied about his identity, as he was aware of his bad reputation could be known in this land as well. “I’m going to study in Master Dorian’s monastery.”

  “Have you come all the way by foot?” one of the guards narrowed his eyebrows.

  “Actually, I ran out of money and had to trade my horse for some food with a heartless caravan two days ago,” Aylan explained.

  “Do you have any documents about your study with you?” the other guard asked.

  “Yes,” Aylan took a parchment from his bag and passed it to the guards. The guards checked the admission letter correctly and shook their heads to show their satisfaction. Then they let him go through the gate.

  While he was going through the tower, Aylan saw a man taking a rest on a bench. He moved his gaze after one glance but had to look at him again. At first, he couldn’t realize the reason. There was something unusual about that traveler. Aylan slowed down and watched the man carefully, without making the watching guards get suspicious about him. Though the man had closed his and seemed to have a nap, his face was saying otherwise. Aylan quickly bounced his glance to the stable nearby and glued his eyes to the traveler, and suddenly he remembered to read his mind. It was quite a surprise from him, and he knew a person in Ashaland who could verify it.

  Aylan smiled with the corner of his lips as soon as he went some distance from the gate-tower. He had gambled with the admission letter. It was given by Master Dorian when he was admitted to the school ten years ago. He just had omitted his real name and wrote the fake one with the color made from tree juice. The symbol and the subject written on the letter could have changed over the time. But he was lucky that Master Dorian has still stuck to his old style. Also, Aylan had the book of the map of the three mountains in his bag. It’d raise a lot of questions if they checked.

  It took another half an hour to cross the grassland, Mathagor to go the trail that led to the mountain where the monastery was located. By the time he arrived at the monastery, it was already at lunch hours. Aylan wasn’t hungry or tired, just to show the typical gesture as the others who come here by foot, he acted as if he was starving and want some food immediately. Soon he is realizing that there wasn’t anyone in the front yard as he had seen before. At this time some of the pupils would take a nap and others would sit here and there or play in the nearby field.

  Ayla
n felt silly standing in the empty yard. He tried to listen to some noise from inside the main house. It seemed like either the school was over, or the pupils were on holiday at a very odd time of the year. And that was the only possible explanation, Aylan thought. He was happy to meet his former teacher without any hassle. He entered the house and walked straight to the Master Dorian’s office room and was going to knock on the door.

  Almost at the same time door wide opened and Master Dorian welcomed him with a smile, “Come on in Aylan Bimbsor. I was waiting for you.”

  Aylan was a bit surprised, even though he knew that the Master could see him from his room’s window, as it was located just at the edge of the mountain, from where the whole Mathagor and a part of the central city could easily be seen. But, at this time Master Dorian seemed like he was actually waiting for him. Aylan looked at him properly. He hasn’t changed over the decade. But the face was the same bright and smiley with three wrinkles on his forehead. The same long white hair and beard. The cloth, the stick, everything was unchanged, apart from his office room. It looked rather old and messier than the last time he came here. The room was way too big for a Head Master’s office. There was a reason why. Even though the school had a massive library, Master Dorian had filled his room with even more books, most of them which are very rare. Also, he kept his own hand-written books here to keep them safe. In the last ten years the numbers of books increased at least ten times, he reckoned. There was no furniture in the room other than the shelves and a flat desk beside Master Dorian’s cushion on the dark green colored carpet. Dark green was Master Dorian’s favorite color.

  He greeted back with Ashalandian customary, kissing and touching Master Dorian’s right hand on his cheek, “Thank you very much, Master. How are you?”

  “I’m feeling better to see you, to be honest. Just at the time I’ve expected you to see,’’ Master Dorian replied with a smile. He sat back on his cushion and showed Aylan another, to sit.