PRINCE ZAAKI AND THE KNIGHTS OF THE ALTAR OF TRUTH
By Heba Hamzeh
Prince Zaaki and the Knights of the Altar of Truth is published under Emerge, a sectionalized division under Di Angelo Publications, Inc.
emerge
Emerge is an imprint of Di Angelo Publications. Copyright 2022
Textual copyright Heba Hamzeh in print and digital international dist. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used fictionally, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Di Angelo Publications 4265 San Felipe #1100 Houston, Texas 77027
Library of Congress
Prince Zaaki and the Knights of the Altar of Truth ISBN: 978-1-955690-34-8
Words: Heba Hamzeh
Cover Design: Savina Deianova
Cover Illustration: White Magic Studios
Interior Illustrations: White Magic Studios
Interior Design: Kimberly James Editors: Cody Wootton, Ashley Crantas, Willy Rowberry
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1. Young Adult Fiction --- Fantasy --- Wizards & Witches
2. Young Adult Fiction --- General
3. Fiction --- Fantasy --- Adventure Stories & Action
Bring out the genius within you.
Dedication:
To my angels, my inspiration, my purpose, Lulu, Ella and Zaaki
Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen
Contents 9 21 35 45 55 67 81 87 97 105 115 125 131 145 157 165 181 209
Chapter One
I
When King Zok was a young prince.
Once upon a time, amongst the purple fields of grass in the Kingdom of Luella, an eight-year-old Prince Zok spent his mornings playing with the Zebflas, blueand-gold striped zebras with flamingo legs, and Girtigs, spotted giraffe-necked tigers.
On this particular summer morning, he wore a looselyfitted white shirt with navy blue shorts that quickly became covered in mud and grass. He was made to wear boots that were noticeably too big for his small feet, and so he sneakily took them off, hid them at the bottom of the palace stairs that led into the gardens and replaced them with sandals, which he had tucked inside the pockets of his shorts.
The animals were the little boy’s only companions, but he was happy and content with that and did not long for anything else. The animals enjoyed the little boy’s
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friendship and played with him under the orange and red rays of the resplendent sun, which shone on the gardens of the Royal Palace. The grass gently swayed back and forth as the summer breeze brushed through each strand, lightly tickling the back of his feet. The incandescent light exposed the lawn’s many glittering shades of amethyst, emitting a peaceful ambience as Prince Zok took a deep breath in, soaking up the scents of the well-groomed turf.
Prince Zok was the King and Queen of Luella’s only child, and hence the only heir to the throne of this magnificent Kingdom. And so, for his safety and protection, he was schooled at home. He did not have friends in his age group, as he was heavily protected and guarded within the palace walls of his home. His interaction with others was very limited, and other than his parents, he only knew and spoke with Histrek, his tutor and mentor.
He had one hour after breakfast every morning to play in the gardens with the animals before his day of lessons began. Histrek taught Prince Zok the history of his Kingdom and other Kingdoms within their Alalameatu, their world, as well as teaching him reading and writing in both English and Libnene—the old language— mathematics, science, and about the Kingdom of Luella’s people and places.
Prince Zok attempted to brush his out-of-control brown hair away from his big hazel-coloured eyes with his muddy hands, covering his forehead with dirt. He was cheerfully and quite nonchalantly racing against two Zebflas when a lightning bolt crashed behind a sparse mauve bush nearby.
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It gave him a fright and he stopped running. All the animals quieted and came to a halt as Prince Zok stared at the crash site. At first, he was nervous to approach it. His eyes fixated on the neatly-trimmed bush as it began to shudder. A man appeared from behind the two-metretall bush and began to brush off what looked like unusual grey soot and dust from his clothes. The ominous man looked up, noticed the little boy, and walked towards him. Prince Zok hid behind one of the Zebflas as the faithful Girtigs scurried in front to protect him.
“Hello. You must be Prince Zok,” said the surprisingly calm man, peering around the animals to take a closer look at the little boy.
Prince Zok nodded. Too scared to speak, he just stared at this obscure-looking stranger who wore the most bewildering attire. A futuristic metallic raincoat and strange black platform boots decorated with silver lights. His bright white hair was accompanied by a groomed, thick white beard, which complemented his outfit.
“Do not be afraid, Your Highness. I am a friend of your father’s.” He paused and then remembered he had not introduced himself. “How very rude of me, indeed. It is an honour to make your acquaintance; I am Futuris.”
Prince Zok gave a deep sigh of relief and stepped out from behind the Zebfla before gallantly responding, “Futuris! I cannot believe you are here. Father speaks of you quite often. He will be overjoyed to know you have returned safely. He informed me that you went on a journey to a far-away land unbeknown to us.”
“Yes, I did, and I would love nothing more than to tell you all about it. But first, let us go and seek your father.
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I have much to discuss with him.”
“I will take you to him at once,” Prince Zok excitedly agreed, as he was eager to hear stories of Futuris’ latest escapade.
“I would be ever so grateful, Prince Zok.” Intrigued by Futuris’ attire, Prince Zok’s mind was full of many questions.
He could not hold it any longer and blurted out, “What are you wearing? How do your shoes shine like that? Does everyone dress like that where you came from?”
Prince Zok quickly caught his breath before continuing his puerile interrogation. “Where did you go? What did you find? Please tell me everything.”
“Slow down, little one; all in due time. I will answer your questions as soon as we are in the presence of your father,” Futuris replied. The little boy grabbed Futuris’ hand and scurried to his father.
King Zudus wore a long olive-green silk tunic embellished with golden thread beneath his favourite black cloak. He always ensured his dark, regal cloak was in perfect condition, double-checking that there was not a single fray in the aurous Kingdom of Luella emblem, which was embroidered on the left chest. He was a tall man with broad shoulders and strong arms and legs. His heart was as big as he was, and he loved to share his tales with his son.
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King Zudus grabbed Prince Zok and placed him upon his knee. He removed his heavy auriferous olivine crown from his head and placed it on Prince Zok’s little head. It kept falling; Prince Zok held it up with his hand as he giggled.
Prince Zok hushed as Futuris began to speak, and the two Royal family members listened intently as Futuris told them of his travel to a world beyond their world.
They sat in the King’s spacious study with only a desk made of amazonite, known to be soothingly cool to the touch, and four cosy armchairs. King Zudus did not want for many things and liked his space simple and minimalistic with a touch of elegance. The grand silk curtains, fixed behind a viridescent pelmet and embroidered with gilded thread, discreetly danced in the breeze that swept in through the open windows. There were three imposing, arched windows adjacent to one another. The window frames were made of the most exquisite white marble, which matched the white marble doorframe and mahogany door.
Futuris, overwrought with excitement at his findings, spoke with passion of this new place he had stumbled upon. “My King, you sent me in search of new land far beyond our Kingdom, and I come to you with amazement and wonder in my heart and mind at what I found. I not only travelled beyond our Kingdom but also beyond our Alalameatu.”
Prince Zok interrupted as he pulled on his father’s cloak, “Father, what is Alalameatu?”
King Zudus looked at Prince Zok and caringly replied, “It is the world in which we live. It has many Kingdoms,
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and we live in the Kingdom of . . .”
“Luella!” shouted Prince Zok, fervent to show his knowledge.
“Correct, my little boy. Now let Futuris proceed,” his doting father requested.
And so, Futuris continued. “The advancements made in this new world are undoubtedly astonishing. They use the sunrays and the power of the moon to generate power in their world. The energy we extract from the magic pearls and pink crystal rocks in our Kingdom is nothing compared to the energy supply they have in their world. They have transport systems that are made of substances we know not of in our Kingdom. They have bodysuits, which give them the power of flight. I have to emphasize that they do not have witches or wizards concocting spells and potions to do this; they have an advanced understanding of science and astrology, which aids in creating these . . . these objects. And this is just to name a few of the things I saw and encountered. They have something called a UIC, a unique identity code, embedded in their skin, usually on their wrist, which contains all their information and allows them to travel freely, purchase goods and so on.”
In awe of Futuris’ findings, King Zudus propped Prince Zok up on his knee and said, “It all sounds magnificent. Firstly, I am glad of your safe return, Futuris, and anxious to hear more of your adventure. Where did you find yourself? What was it called, this wondrous place you travelled to?”
Futuris scanned the study, making sure they were alone and the door was closed, before continuing the tale of
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his expedition. “The spell I used took me to a place named Altaknuj. It is a place full of things beyond your wildest dreams. There are big transportation devices that transport a person from one place to another and hover above the ground. You can travel in a small private pod, or you can travel in a large pod, which fits well over a hundred people. These pods run on something called ‘solar power,’ similar to our energy supply, but it is created from the rays of the sun.”
“I want a trans . . . trans . . .” Prince Zok struggled with this word but endeavoured to say it. “Transportation device. Can I have one, please?”
“I am glad you asked, Your Highness. I have brought with me some hoverboards that are for a single person, but two people can ride them safely. I will need to work on them before you can try them out, but I will call on you first when they are ready, if your father agrees,” Futuris commented, looking to the King for acknowledgement.
“Please, Father, I want to try the hover . . . hoverboard first, please?” Prince Zok begged, wrapping his little arms around his father in a big hug.
King Zudus chuckled and agreed before Futuris continued. “Let me tell you of their attire. Everyone there wears clothes like my coat, which is made of solar material. This stores the sunrays and gives the people electricity or solar power so they may charge obscure objects directly from their clothes. These objects the people carried fascinated me. Your Majesty, this is only the beginning. There is so much more I want to tell you.”
The pods and clothing confounded King Zudus, to say the least, and he urged, “Please continue, my dear friend;
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you have me intrigued.”
Prince Zok interrupted, “Yes, yes, me too. Tell us of where they lived. Do they have homes as big as this palace?”
Futuris looked at Prince Zok, smiled and delightfully answered, “Well, Your Highness, funny you should ask that; they live in enormous buildings that touch the clouds. Within these buildings are chambers and suites, divided by walls and sliding doors, that each individual or family reside in. They call their dwellings ‘DEFTs’ which I came to know stands for Domestic Environmentally Friendly Transformers. These DEFTs are all within sustainable buildings and contain the essential elements of living and nothing else. I use the word sustainable because it is of great importance in Altaknuj. They take into consideration the effects the materials they use and create have on their world, and they try to minimise the harm to their world and not compromise it for future generations. Now where was I . . . Ah yes, the buildings are solely made of solar material that use sunrays to provide them with light and electricity.”
King Zudus interrupted him. “Tell me of these objects the people of Altaknuj carry.”
“I can do better than that.” From his pocket, Futuris pulled out a shiny, slim circular object with straps on either side of it and handed it to the King.
King Zudus held it in his hands and touched the mirrorlike front. “It looks like a watch of some kind, but . . .” he paused as the front turned on and a three-dimensional screen appeared.
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PRINCE ZAAKI AND THE KNIGHTS OF THE ALTAR OF TRUTH
“They call this VS, which stands for Video Screen, and it is a method of calling someone who is not with you. You are correct; you can wear it as a watch. And my coat can charge it,” Futuris explained.
“This is wonderful. I hope this is all to our benefit so that we may learn from the people of Altaknuj and grow. Tell me of the people in Altaknuj,” King Zudus requested.
“They are human beings like us, although further advanced. More importantly, they share the same bodies, minds, souls and emotions. I was astonished to discover that all their worldly belongings are stored in a device called a ‘CompU.’ This contains their money, and they even ask it to create the clothes they wear and the food they eat every day. Their minds are highly more advanced than ours, as they have created astounding cities, modes of transport and high levels of immediate communication and transportation. You can directly communicate with someone in Magnetia, for example, and I will show you now on this device I gave you,” Futuris responded as he pulled out another shiny object from his pocket.
“Can I try?” shouted a bright-eyed Prince Zok, keen to use the VS.
“Of course. Follow me into another room, and Your Majesty, you stay here and wait for me to call you,” Futuris politely instructed.
Prince Zok followed Futuris out of the study and into the hallway. Futuris explained to Prince Zok how to call his father on the VS.
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King Zudus marvelled at the VS as it flashed a transparent light to announce an incoming call. They had a threedimensional video call and could clearly see and hear each other. After a few minutes of speaking through the very small technological device, Futuris ended the call and walked back to the study with a shocked and very happy Prince Zok.
Futuris resumed his seat in the King’s study and Prince Zok climbed upon his father’s knee once again. Once settled, Futuris recommenced the stories of his eyeopening travels.
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