Author Topic: Zakilevo Lapallanch: The End  (Read 1198 times)

Zakilevo

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Zakilevo Lapallanch: The End
« Topic Start: July 29, 2013, 09:35:06 AM »
The day Zakilevo has been waiting for has finally come. It was his last day as a proud soldier of the Republic.

His room has already been emptied and the only thing remaining in the room was his sword which was given to him by Prime Minister Ecthelion after he knighted Zakilevo.

The sword has survived countless battles Zakilevo has fought over the years but just like Zakilevo, it will never be unsheathed by him after today as it will be returned to the man who gave him the sword.

As he walked down the halls which he once walked to become a knight, he stopped occasionally to remember his career. When he first entered these halls, he was nothing more than a native noble of Sirion who was ready to defend the republic which has raised and protected him and his family for generations.

Many young nobles lwere called upon to fight enemies who constantly attacked the borders of Sirion. Like Zakilevo, many answered the call but many perished as the cost of honor and fame was paid in blood as blood was the currency of war.

For the first seven years of his life, he fought constantly. He nearly died several times but from what he learned from those near death experiences, he found what it was required for him to keep himself alive. After learning how to keep himself alive, he began to study how to keep his men alive. He studied each battle he fought and more he earned, more involved he became with the military. Eventually, he became a vice-marshal and got a chance to lead an army during his marshal's absence. Also, the position earned Zakilevo enough trust and support from the lords of Sirion to elect him as the lord of Ustimbar and lord of Dolmbar.

The experience he gained from leading an army gave him enough confidence to run as the military head of Sirion when General Ilias was elected as the successor of Prime Minister Meristenzio. With the support of his liege and his friends, Zakilevo was given a chance to command the military of the republic. But commanding an army and armies had a big difference between them which Zakilevo realized too late. His first battle as the general of Sirion was a disastrous battle which ended with nearly 10,000 CS worth of casualties without accomplishing anything. It was One of the worst defeats Sirion had at the end of the Great Northern War. Although he was criticized harshly but it was something he needed to become a better military mind. His mistake made him take one step back and think more about his objective. He kept his plan secret until all the armies gathered in Juazeiro and from there, he ordered his men to cross the sea to strike the heart of his foes. With one battle, his foes kneeled. Unfortunately, they did not kneel without a fight and struck Zakilevo when he least expected. His foes left their city to strike stragglers of Sirion, among them was Bastian Moore, one of former Prime Ministers of Sirion.

Although Bastian fought bravely, he fell before the battle ended with most of his men. Fortunately, his body was recovered among the dead and was sent back to his family. Eventually, Bastian's death was avenged with the destruction of the very realm responsible for his death. The disasters brought by his overconfidence later helped him to listen more to others. Once Prime Minister Iilas retired, he ran to succeed him as the next Prime Minister of Sirion, hoping to repay what his realm had given him.

During his first term, he focused on reforming the Council. With the help of the Council, he established laws to restrict the power of government members and clearly define the roles of each position. He believed too much power in one person would eventually lead to corruption. Soon after the reform, a war broke out in the south which ended with the destruction of Fontan by Caligus, Perdan and Westmoor. When King Jor of Westmoor tried to expand to fill the vacuum created by destroyed Fontan, Sirion warned Westmoor. After being ignored several times, Zakilevo was permitted by the Council to declare war on Westmoor. To prevent Perdan's involvement, Zakilevo promised King ][osferatu of Perdan not to attack Westmoorian cities.

During the war, King Dobromir of Caligus contacted him on creating a colony in Fontan. The discussion dragged on until the end of the war and it was agreed that Zakilevo would join the new realm as Sirion's representative as no one in the Council at the time wished to join the new realm. The colony, however, failed due to the conflict between the banker of Dunnera and Duke of Fontan. Caligus destroyed the colony within a month. Feeling ashamed by the failed colony, Zakilevo was thinking about joining one of the southern realms but his old liege persuaded him back to Sirion. Although it had only been a month, Zakilevo was changed quite a lot. He became more aggressive and stubborn when he returned to Sirion.

After his appointment as the new duke of Karbala, he got into an argument with the new Prime Minsiter Ryu. Prime Minister Ryu shortly disappeared and Zakilevo decided to run to lead the republic again. However, he quickly showed his flaws in politics. His tendency to trust people quickly was the biggest weakness he had. He eventually learned that he could not trust rulers like he did with his realmmates. He soon realized the alignment of interest was the key to success not friendship and even that was just one face of the beast called 'politics'. He became impulsive as he had to do a job that conflicted his nature and qualities and that eventually made him bring himself down.

At the end of the halls, there was an old Elven knight standing before the door of the office of Prime Minister. The knight was there when Zakilevo was knighted. Interestingly, he has not changed much over the years like the statues standing beside him. Zakilevo gave him his sword and told him to return the sword to Prime Minister Ecthelion. With that his oath has been lifted as he gave up all the previlege that came with it. He was now no one. He had nothing just like when he came here as a young man. The knight nodded and took the sword away from Zakilevo's hand. As he turned around, the knight's voice stopped him.

"Any regrets?"

Zakilevo stopped to answer the question and that was when he realized he has never felt so free. Free of many things which have burdened him for years. His dreams... ambitions... duties... and finally regrets. He turned around to show the knight his smile as the answer.

As Zakilevo walked out of the castle, he felt the warmth of the Sun. He could hardly remember when he last appreciated this warmth. He was too busy thinking of too many things, he has forgotten to appreciate everything. He could not even remember the last time he has looked up to the blue sky above him. Never mind the stars.

On his way to his family manor which he has not visited in almost a decade, he bought flowers for his wife and books for his son. Although he has sent gifts to his son over the decade, he has never seen his son in person. He was fighting Westmoor when his son was born and the only thing he could do for him was giving him a name. He has only seen his son's face through portraits drawn by artists, and he could only imagine his son's face based on them. His feeling of freedom faded and was replaced by the feeling of burden as he wondered more about his son, but he actually felt rather pleasant. He knew his new task would come with pleasant surprises.

Before he entered his family manor, he turned around to see the city to see the view of the city and realm he loved so much for a few seconds. With that he shook off the last remnants of his feelings and moved on.