Free Secrets of Arkana Fortress by Andy P Wood Page A

dealer.
                  The stories he had told Morjat had not been far from the truth – he had indeed once been a knight in the Traseken Order; and highly regarded at that. Traseken was once a thriving military presence in Salarias, reigning with inspirational might for centuries. With towering spires of white, silver and gold it was like a scene from a fairytale or someone’s heavenly imagination while on a drug-induced high. The gleam of its majestic brilliance in the sunlight was nothing short of a person’s idea of the perfect sight. An anthill of commercial and political activity, Traseken was Salarias’s hive for all things business – supplies, money, weapons and armour; manpower, upmarket goods. People swarmed to it like bees to pollinating flowers – there had been an inexplicable undying need to go there; it was something that nobody could explain, let alone understand.
    As for their military prowess, it was insurmountable by anyone’s standards. As well as the potently proficient army, with its skilful management of warfare and tactics; there were the Traseken elite – The Knights of the Order of Traseken. Mighty warriors garbed in a type of secret metal; a metal that had been magically crafted with the utmost care and precision by experts who had been renowned for their powers. To the people who went up against the knights, all they saw was the induced magical illusion of gigantic figures dressed in divine white plate mail from neck to foot that was impossible to get dirtied or scuffed. Like the icing on a cake, an antlered helm topped it all off for the added effect of intimidating the enemy. Of course, to the enemy they looked like the messengers of the gods’ wrath. Traseken was deemed unstoppable, and people had once feared that they would soon control the entire land of Salarias with a firm hand.
    Of course every civilisation has its eventual downfall, and Traseken’s came quicker than people expected.
    Its creeping fingers of influence and control soon retracted when funds became strained – the city had spread itself too thin, and the inevitable downfall had begun. Traseken officials panicked like voles spotting an owl on the approach, selling off the lands they had conquered and bought, bringing in minimal funds. Soldiers were let go, and emergency taxes came into effect. City maintenance was non-existent. Wages were cut. The magic armourers left. Everything went into disarray. All that was left were the knights who felt that their duty to the city outweighed their need for money. The elite warriors numbered 250, but it was thought that only a handful had remained behind to fulfil their oaths.
    Kelken had been one of those knights. But when his wife, a human-reptilian half-breed, had disappeared into the southern lands, he laid down his duty and left in search for her. He found only the echoes left behind in her wake; nothing but rumours and cold trails. For many nights he had cried silently while nursing a bottle of some spirit or another. Three years he had spent away from his daughter after he left her behind in Traseken in the care of one of his dearest friends. She was reaching four years of age and it was finally time to return to her and be the father he should have been.
    In the short space of three years the city had decayed as fast as a rotting corpse in a heat wave. Until young Breena reached a suitable age to travel, Kelken would stay in Traseken to work with the knights while raising his little girl.
    The years were hard.
    Traseken being a hub for upcoming criminal bases and activities, the knights and what law enforcers were left had one uphill battle to wage against. Breena saw the tragedies; saw the horrific truth that had become Traseken. It was not a sight children had to witness – corruption in high places, murders, robberies, drug trafficking, assassinations, starvation… and death. It hardened her heart, toughened her in a way that could not be