After days of arduous travel he had journeyed from the arid badlands and travelled east into the wetter and greener landscape of the Ardema Plains. The soil here was fertile, well watered by the river Iontar and tall grass and bright flowers grew by the roadside.

  Heat shimmered in the afternoon air as his wagon caravan approached the ruined city of Trazia. Its high city walls towered above them as they drove past, constructed out of massive grey stone blocks. The architecture of the old ones was flawless and the stones fitted seamlessly together like they had been made for one another.

  At the city gate two massive stone columns supported two huge wooden gates.

  The Gates of Trazia were open.

  A group of twenty people had assembled there. They raised their hands to their foreheads in salute to him.

  “Welcome Ascended One!”

  It was a kind gesture, yet the title “Ascended One” was never something he had asked them for.

  He stood up in the wagon. “Thank you, my loyal band! For the Ashok!”

  "For the Ashok!" they called back.

  The members of this welcome party were young and enthusiastic men and women who formed the core of his loyal band. Today their faces shone with an earnest belief in his vision, their eyes bright with the promise of a united Ashok people. Tal Eko waved and thanked them as he drove past. All these people had left their homes and tribes to answer his call, trusting in his leadership. He hoped they were the seeds from which a even greater movement would grow.

  At this time he had two hundred followers in his loyal band. All volunteers.

  His great plan was to reconstruct this place and turn it from a ruin into a thriving city, as it had been once before. Abandoned after the civil war this place was ripe for renewal. Yet such an ambitious plan would take years or even decades to accomplish. The weight of this challenge pressed down on him as Jantar drove the wagon through the gate and into the ruins.

  Wagon wheels rumbled on a stone road as they made their way up the Avenue of Grand Parades. On each side of the road rose magnificent but decaying buildings, their stone fascias draped with vines hanging down, wild and needing cleared away. Their rooves were open to the sky. He tried to imagine the place, restored and magnificent, with banners hanging from the buildings and Ashokan flags flying high above.

  The caravan continued towards the Great Square at the city center. It was a green space with trees and bushes growing wild where once there had been gardens and ponds. Within the undergrowth the Sky Circle monument stood, leaning sideways. The Sky Circle was a rock sculpture of a wheel with spokes that represented the Ashokan constellations. It’s shiny black stone and gold star inscriptions glinted in the sunlight.

  In the east of the city was the Arena of Champions, its circular shape rising above the surrounding buildings like a crown of weathered stone. Laden carts rumbled towards it. There was much work being done to the arena. Builders and workmen stood on scaffolds as they hammered, chipped and cleared away the old broken stones and rubble.

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  Some builders noticed him and the other new arrivals."Greetings! Ascended One.”

  “Loyal band! It’s good to see you. Where is the overseer?”

  A workman pointed to a tent near the Arena of Champions.

  Tal Eko got off the wagon and walked to the tent. He opened the flap and went insiide. His overseer, Gella, was there, looking at a plan of the site.

  Gella was surprised to see him. "Ascended One!” He put his hand to his forehead.

  “Thank you Gella. How is the work going on at the Arena?”

  “We are almost done. Just another two days and then it will be ready for use.”

  “That’s as good as I could hope for.”

  “Do you think the Games will go ahead?”

  “I hope so - but we will have to see!”

  He left the tent and returned to the wagon. “Jantar let’s go up to the Citadel.”

  The wagons proceeded from the square along the Avenue of Temples towards the Citadel. The citadel was a place were the old ones once had their sanctuary and workplace. It was surrounded by newly restored gardens and ponds and the drive up to its entrance was lined with trees full of flowers.

  Outside the citadel a welcoming party was waiting for him. They were dressed in bright and colorful robes. A tall grey haired man stepped forward and bowed his head. It was Xan, his housekeeper.

  “Welcome Ascended One.”

  “Thank you. Will you see to it that my equipment is taken to the workshop.”

  “Yes indeed.” Xan gestured to servants who began unloading the wagons.

  “I see you've been clearing this place up.” He looked at the Citadels stone walls, their surfaces gleaming in the afternoon sun. From the courtyard he and the others followed Xan up a stairway and through a hall into a dining room of marble and polished stone. A long table covered with white cloth was in the center of the room. He took his place at the head of the table with Xan beside him on the one side and Jantar on the other.

  Some servants brought out trays of fruit and meat, bread and pastries, while more brought pitchers of wine and water.

  He ate slowly, savouring each mouthful, enjoying the taste of spices. “We are home now. The tribes will all be arriving soon!”

  “Yes, Ascended One. The future shows great promise, ” Xan said.

  Jantar proposed a toast. “To Tal Eko and his New City! To *New Trazia!”

  The others around the table stood up and raised their glasses.They all responded in kind, “To New Trazia! They drank together.

  He spoke to Xan about the arrangements for the arrival of the tribes. His housekeeper was cautiously optimistic.“ All have said they will come. The city will be open to them and they can camp at the gate.”

  “Good. I want them to be impressed.”

  A servant brought a silver plate with a silver dome on top. She put it on the table before him and lifted the dome to reveal a dagger.

  She took it and lunged forwards at him, intent on killing.

  He leaped backwards and dodged the point of the knife.

  Jantar grabbed the woman from behind and restrained her. She struggled hard and screamed, “You will never control us!”

  His voice shook, “Guards! Imprison her!”

  Jantar passed her to three guards who took her, screaming and shouting, out of the room. The sound of her shouts continued for a while until she was out of earshot.

  He sat down, still shaking from the experience, angry and resentful at the assassination attempt.

  “Are you alright, Ascended One?” Xan asked

  “No. I am not. You have failed me badly!”

  His housekeeper knelt on the floor and begged. “Please spare me! I’ll do anything! I beg of you!”

  “You were responsible for my safety and for choosing the servants. Look at what has happened! Guards, take him to the cells.”

  Xan was taken away.

  Jantar approached. “I shall assign two guards to you. Only you and Tenter will be allowed into your chamber. Anyone else will need my permission.”

  “Good. Will you interrogate her and Xan to see if any others are in on this? I am putting you in charge of my security here.”

  “I see. In that case I will arrange for a spymaster to help us learn what is really going on.”

  “Yes, do that. I’m going to my Chamber to rest. See that I am not disturbed.”