Chapter Four: At the Capital

Moskova's coat of arms by Gege16

Quite far from Barkistan and the forest, there was the great city of Ulan Shang Kov, the capital of the kingdom. This place was considered the heart of Moskova's culture and it was attractive because of how extravagant it looked for foreigners, since there was a great diversity of architectural styles in it, some of which at first glance seem to have nothing in common. This extreme contrast of aesthetics could be somewhat beautiful for some eyes, but for others it could be even grotesque. In the center of this ancient population, surrounded by large markets,there was the huge terracotta wall kremlin.This fortress protected the imposing royal palace and some other buildings such as colorful churches and residences for the crazy members of the court.
The wide walls and pointy towers of the palace of extravagant style vibrated due to a thunderous scream of anger that woke up almost all the glamorous and quirky characters that resided in the kremlin. It came from the room that was next to the throne room.
"Those idiots were supposed to have caught them!! Why can't i ask no one for anything ?! For the love of God and all the saints!" Said Tsar Ivar in a whining tone, while he violently opened the heavy wooden door to enter the opulent room.Upon hearing him, the royal guards and servants who were making order in the room lined the sides of the hallway, with a somewhat fearful expression.
This emperor was the kind of person that anyone would fear. He was a tall, big man with long beards and black hair. His eyes were of a rather strange appearance, because they had a bright amber color but with a glassy glow, very similar to the eyes of wild animals in the dark.He owned a very threatening look. So threatening that it was said to be able to make a little children cry by simply staring at him.
He walked with a rough step, dragging the broad robe with elaborate embroidery and jewels. An element that stood out quite a lot from his outfit was the great crown, which was the same one that all the princes of the country had used since remote times. This was a semicircular golden headdress, divided into several sections with relief, which gave it a shape similar to the sun's rays. In addition, on his forehead he possessed the figure of a golden eagle with three heads and a coat of arms formed by a large emerald.
The Tsar sat abruptly on the golden and extravagant throne,blowing his knuckles and having a annoyed expression on his face
" What happened now, sir? " asked one of the guards.
"Nothing important.It is not something that concerns you" he replied reluctantly.
"Maybe your mood would get better with some delight"said the guard with the intention of encouraging him.
However, the idea did not seem to please two of the servants, because they looked at each other strangely and pricked each other with their finger. The monarch looked at them suspiciously.
"Sadly, it won't be possible cause ... someone ate the ham in the kitchen" said Sami, one of the servants who were in this scene looking towards his partner, who felt annoyed.
The Tsar began to laugh in an ironic tone " How funny you are, guys! The truth is ..." and then he shouted " Tell me now, who usurped my damn ham ?! I recommend that you speak now if you do not want to learn to fly through the window as your friends have done!"
Everyone in the room looked at the scene in surprise and tried not to laugh at how ridiculous it was, it was difficult but they had to do it to avoid receiving any kind of punishment.
Vladimir, who was the other servant who was next to Sami, began to move his eyes from side to side, which raised the czar's suspicions.The monarch approached him and grabbed him by the neck.
"It was you, wasn't it?" Ivar said staring into his eyes "Don't pretend that I didn't realize.You know it perfectly, no one can hide anything in front of a king or a god...and for you i am both!!"
The servant could not handle it anymore and said breaking into tears:"It wasn't for me, I did it for my family in the dungeon. They were very hungry, I had no choice!"
It was very common for the king to imprison people because of simple rumors or misunderstandings, which was a very visible proof of his paranoid personality.
After holding the young man in the air for a while, he decided to put him back on the floor abruptly.
"If it was my will, I would split your skull, but just today I have more important matters to attend, so I will give you a unique opportunity" he said looking up" I will let you out of the room and continue with your activities but next time this happen, I'll imprison you in the North Tower of the Kremlin. Right?"
Vladimir, who listened attentively sitting on the floor with the same expression as that of a wet puppy finally nodded his head and then went out into the hall.
"Snitch!" He muttered to Sami very annoyed as he walked away.
"The North Tower? I thought that place had been closed down!" One of the guards whispered to his companions."Surely the last time that place was cleaned was when we were still cavemen"
"Now, get out of here! What are you wating for? " the ruler ordered and everyone left the room as quickly as they had occupied it.
The ostentatious hall with red and gold decorations got absolutely silent. Immediately the door opened and a thin, tall young man with blond hair and light blue eyes entered.He was dressed in brown winter boots, blue armor-shirt with pants of the same color, and also wore a purple cape.His superb gaze stood out on his apparently emotionless face. It was Rankash Mikhai, Ivar's favorite and right hand.He was considered Ivar's apprentice and somehow the Prince of Moskova.
"The guards told me that you did strangle Vladimir due a ham and then you let him go. A very strange behavior you are having today " Mikhai said with laughter to the emperor who was sitting on the throne.
"What do you think? Am I not the best ruler that this nasty nation has had in over a thousand years?"
" For sure, your Majesty, nobody is able to face your desires. That is what makes me believe that it is much better to be feared by the people than to be loved by them. You know you are my absolute inspiration" he responded in a flattering way by bowing and kissing his hand" Why do you ask me that? It has nothing to do with what happened a while ago."
" I don't care about the ham, and neither the dumb gossip from that hallway. What worries me is that my reign is endangered. Do you remember that ancient story about the lost northern stars?" Ivar replied getting up and heading towards the door while watching the large sapphire held by his necklace.
" Yes, I remember it. That legend has been circling the kingdom since time immemorial, "Mikhai said thoughtfully as he followed Ivar "It's not supposed to worry you, unless...The chosen ones that legend tells about exist."
Ivar frowned and continued to walk alongside the apprentice through the empty hallway until he reached a painting in which the country's coat of arms was represented. It was a golden three headed eagle over a red background, wearing a crown like Ivar's In the central head. Also, on one leg it was holding a snake-dragon showing the fangs and on the other a curved saber.
He moved the painting to reveal a door that was hidden and faced a dark, dusty and messy room. This one had large curtains that covered all light and various sculptures and devices. The most striking elements were a huge mirror and a table with crystals on it. The emperor grabbed one of the crystals, stood in front of the mirror next to Mikhai while pressing it with his eyes closed. Immediately, blurred silhouettes that constantly changed began to be seen in the mirror. These showed several scenes starring what appeared to be two people and several figures, such as a sword, a star and a tiger among several dark meaningless images. The figures vanished in a jiffy as if they had not existed.
"Did you see it?" Ivar told his apprentice. "The chosen ones are two damn kozzakhi!."
"Argh, those scruffy savages! ... I always wondered why them have not been exterminated yet! Their leader got anihilated long time ago,right? He was supposed to! I hate them so much! "he replied angrily, clenching theet.
" I know, that's why when I conquered and subdued the kozzakhi I tried to make sure that Vladek disappeared from this world.But my main concern are the sabers,no one ever should be able of finding them, neither the chosen ones of the legend, that to top it off, they turned out be of the same tribe!" the emperor added, hitting the table with his fist "This is a disaster! We musn't allow them to find and free the stars, if they do, we'll be ruined!"
"Now I want to know, did you do something about it? " asked Mikhai.
" Yes I did, I sent my beast dogs to destroy those bugs, but surprisingly a tiger got into the scene and turned my plan into garbage. They have never let a prey scape and now this happens!" the tsar responded arrogantly while looking at a large painting that was hanging on the wall.
In this painting, the king was portrayed nailing a sword on the ground, surrounded by a pack of monstrous looking dog-wolves, along with a huge crowd praying and reverending their governor. The scene had a very dark vibe, the sky was bloody red and all the represented characters were surrounded by smoke.
Mikhai stared seriously at the same painting for a little while, swallowed and after replied: "Don't worry, my Lord. Take it easy. I'm gonna solve it all.It don't care if i'll have to lift every rock of this huge kingdom, i would do anything for defending your honor..."before whispering while going out the room "anything that would make me become the next emperor in the end."