Prologue

When Angus Julian was nine years old his parents died and he became the ruler of his land. Grief overcame the young boy and as a result, he vented his anger by ordering his soldiers to loot neighbouring lands.  Such behaviour was frowned upon by his advisors until the day his soldiers returned from their latest rampage declaring that they had conquered the most sought after land – Ajude.

Ajude was a land of treasures. Fine robes were produced by women whose skin was as smooth as the silk they worked with. Gold was hidden in the deserts along with rubies and pearls, the water of the rivers had magical healing properties, and the buildings there were made of marble and alabaster, hand crafted by the ingenious architects that lived there.

Angus was, naturally, pleased with the work of his soldiers and decided that there would be no more purges on neighbouring lands for he had conquered the greatest land on Earth.

The rulers of other neighbouring lands saw this change in mood as a chance to make peace with Angus Julian. They each sent him gifts of congratulations. The rulers of the icy north sent him coats made from the fur of the national bear and the purest alcoholic spirits in all the lands.  Not wanting to be outdone by their northern neighbours the rulers of the west hand delivered their finest artists and musicians for Angus Julian’s own pleasure and built him stupendous summer homes in their valleys and mountains. The ever pleasing easterners sent hundreds of varieties of spices and herbs that cost a fortune and the somewhat less extravagant southerners dispatched thousands of their own slaves to Angus Julian to keep the great leader pleased.

Pleased he was, for in the midst of all his gifts and treasures Angus Julian forgot all about Ajude the land of treasures. He became a happy man thanks to the gifts his fellow neighbours had offered him. He met and married the most beautiful woman in the land and together they created an heir for the great leader. At this point in his life, the wonderful Angus Julian was happier than he had ever been.

It wasn’t until his supply of spirits was drained, his entertainment grew dull and his spices spoiled that he remembered about his latest conquest. With the promise of an endless supply of treasures Angus Julian ordered his troops to travel back to Ajude, the land of treasures and return with gifts for him. Little did he know that in the years that had passed since Ajude, the land of treasures had become his land, his soldiers had either retired, fled or died.

Devastated that Ajude, the land of treasures was unattainable to him Angus Julian fell into despair and depression. The great leader locked himself into his room where he lay upon his four poster, gold plated bed feeling sorry for himself. The people of his land grew fearful that their great leader had left the mortal world whilst locked in his personal prison and so it was under the orders of a lead advisor that a complementary southern slave entered the room of the great leader to check whether he was in fact, dead.

Angus Julian was not dead. In fact, the great leader had a sudden cunning idea the moment the complementary southern slave entered the room: the southern slaves would become southern soldiers.

Training began immediately; the slaves were put through countless hours of physical and mental exercises to prepare them for any dangers or troubles they may face when taking treasures out of Ajude.  After months of preparation, the former slaves set sail to Ajude. On arrival the soldiers took charge and –following the orders of their great leader – persecuted anyone who got in their way.

Angus Julian received letters from his general who wrote eloquently of the wonders of Ajude, the land of treasures. He wrote of the gold and silver found in the deserts and seashores, the welcoming, peaceful and hardworking natives, the marvellous, stupendous buildings filled with delightful silks and cloths and gold tables. The wonderful pros and over use of sophisticated adjectives mesmerised Angus Julian who decided that the best possible way for him to experience the wonders of Ajude would be to travel there and join his soldiers. So the young leader set sail to Ajude. He left behind all of his wonderful gifts and belongings because he knew that they would be insignificant compared to the wonders that lay ahead of him. He left his finest chefs, musicians, artists, historians, writers, teachers, doctors, carpenters, women, butlers, and academics to please themselves. He abandoned his rubies, pearls, diamonds, gold, silver, china, crystal and precious stones to gather dust. He ignored his finest robes, shoes, boots, hats, curtains, carpets and furnishings and headed straight past his grandest boat over to a small humble one owned by a small, humble fisherman. He took with him only his pet eagle a beautiful specimen his parents had given him when he was a child.  He sailed in the modest boat with his family for six months encountering many hardships along the way including seasickness, insomnia and starvation.

When he eventually arrived on the Promised Land, Angus Julian was greeted by a crowd of his soldiers all cheering and waving and praising him. He was also greeted by an angry mob. Hundreds of natives had gathered along the shore awaiting his arrival in order to express their disgruntlement with him and his soldiers for invading, attacking and looting them.  When he set foot on solid ground, Angus Julian was shocked to find the angry mob hurtling stones and pelting other hard, solid objects in his direction. He was shocked not only by their hostility but that his general had obviously lied to him in his letters, for he had claimed that the natives were welcoming and peaceful. In a fit of rage Angus Julian ordered his soldiers to kill each and every native upon the beach, even those not hurtling stones or pelting large, solid things in his direction, an act he would later come to regret.

After the somewhat unanticipated massacre the soldiers led Angus Julian to his accommodation which was situated in the large town of Melasurej. On their way the leader and his soldiers were required to make a difficult decision. In order to reach Melasurej they were required to do one of two things. Either; take the three day journey through the pleasant mountains, down into a beautiful valley, through several traditional villages and across a sunny hillside or navigate their way through the large, arid, dangerous desert. To most the choice was not at all difficult: a three day excursion in the countryside sampling traditional cultures and getting to know the beautiful rugged landscape of Ajude, land of treasures or a possibly life threatening trip through a desert that you may never leave. However, Angus remembered the words of his general, the words that told of the gold scattered all throughout the deserts of Ajude. Angus Julian made his decision in an instant and opted for the latter of the two options much to the disappointment of his wife who enjoyed painting landscapes.  The accompanying soldiers were also reluctant to cross the large, arid, dangerous desert but Angus Julian had an incentive that they could not refuse. He promised them that they would have their share of any gold found passing through the desert.

They travelled for a day and a night and encountered many hardships including sunstroke, dehydration and swelling of the ankles. Not once did Angus Julian find any gold whatsoever. When they finally reached the walled city of Melasurej the soldiers were exhausted, hungry and thirsty, they demanded their gold but of course, Angus Julian had none for he had left all of his worldly possessions back in his palaces and the desert had gifted him with nothing. As the two soldiers grew increasingly angry Angus Julian grew increasingly frustrated and called for two other soldiers from within the city’s walls to silence them.  The weary Angus Julian allowed the two new soldiers to escort him to his new home.

As he walked through the hot, cramped, noisy city Angus Julian became content in the knowledge that his new home would be as marvellous as described to him in the letters sent to him from his general. But he was once again disheartened by what lay in front of him. Angus Julian was to live in a one storey, tiny, old, crumbling hut of a house with no furniture or carpeting or even window panes. All he was given was a native slave to serve him hard, mouldy bread and weak, corked wine. In yet another fit of rage Angus Julian killed the innocent slave with his bare hands, something he would soon regret for the brother of the brutally murdered slave had witnessed the killing and sought to take revenge.

With no means to return to his old land Angus Julian had no choice but to try and live with his new life in Ajude. He ordered that his soldiers build him a new home that would better accommodate his selfish needs and saw to it that his general was disposed of. His new home was placed on the top of the hill that Melasurej was build on; there he had an impressive view of the city, a small orchard and roof terrace all next to a sparkling stream.

 Twelve months of depression and bitterness later Angus Julian had come to terms with his new life and looked forward to slowly but surely rebuilding many of the towns in Ajude and erecting statues of him and his family. He had met with the current leaders of Ajude and after a not so friendly meeting, killed the ones who opposed him. One leader however, made a pact with the great Angus Julian; he agreed to govern his region of Elgalie on behalf of Angus Julian and in exchange Angus Julian would not kill him. The agreement was settled and the two leaders went their separate ways.

 Now that his soldiers had taken control of the many towns of Ajude he had almost forgotten all of his previous woes. The brother of the murdered native slave however, had not. Haunted by what he had witnessed that fateful afternoon the brother whose name was Rabbo planned to avenge his dead brother by killing Angus Julian.

Rabbo gathered a group of friends together, all of whom were annoyed and upset with the invading of their land. Together they formed a group that would plot to end the life of Angus Julian; they called themselves the Danaks named after Danak who was killed. After accumulating over one hundred members Rabbo the Danak and the other Danaks sneaked into the bedroom of Angus Julian and stabbed him in the neck.  The plan was seemingly successful as they watched Angus Julian wither like a snake but they had not taken into account the armed soldiers that guarded and protected Angus Julian and his family. Rabbo and the majority of the Danaks were slaughtered on the spot with only a handful escaping.

The dying Angus Julian knew that his time was almost over but in his final moments he recalled the news of healing waters his general had reported in his letters. Using the remains of his energy Angus Julian crawled from his bed outside to the sparkling stream in his orchard. Blood and bodily fluids gushing from his neck, the great leader drank from the stream waiting in earnest for the life giving properties of the water to heal his wounds. But the wounds did not heal no matter how much Angus Julian drank. Two minutes later the guards found Angus Julian’s lifeless body at the edge of the stream soaked with blood and water.