The Rings of Ran Kingdom: A Battle Won but Lost
Prince Trabaki rose to peep through the window in his room where he had been confined for five nights. It was as he had feared and warned his father, the king of the Trabate clan. He had seen it coming, had worked hard to prevent it only to have his plans thwarted by his father and king, Batrinte. Batrinte was not prepared to lose his only child. Now, the people of the powerful Krainke clan were bringing the war to them and if they succeeded, all that they lived for and held dear would be lost.
Of the four clans that made up Ran Kingdom, Krainke was and had always been the most powerful. The other three clans were Trabate, Kinku and Girat.
It is said that the four clans were brothers sired centuries ago by a powerful warlord named Ran with different women. Their mothers had turned the brothers against one another until Ran had reunited them shortly before his death. He had bound them together forever by ensuring that each son received something from him which the others needed to survive the war-torn era in which they lived.
Ran was widely reputed to own five rings that were behind his famous war successes. His bitter rival, Zunta, remained second best in matters of war and tried as it was rumored that he did, he never set his eyes on the rings let alone possess them. The existence of these rings remained at best a rumor even to Ran’s immediate family until the warlord gifted four of the rings to his sons on his death bed.
To Kinku, his first son, Ran gave the ring of wealth. None amongst the four clans were richer than the descendants of Kinku and it was them who mostly provided the resources they needed each time they went to war with other kingdoms.
To Krainke, his second born son, he gave the ring of strength. The Krainke clan was famous for their army of strong and well-built men who always stood at the war front, acting as a shield for the trained armies from the other clans who barely ever got to fight. The Krainke army never lost a battle.
Trabate, Ran’s third son was gifted the ring of wisdom. He and his descendants after him were the masters of strategy and tact. They won battles from behind the scenes.
To his last born son, Girat, he gifted the ring of craftsmanship. Girat had been a blacksmith since his teenage years. It was only befitting that he received the craftsmanship ring. Soon after, his craftsmanship prowess became sought after by people from far and wide. His descendants were not only renowned blacksmiths but were also skilled in various crafts. The Girat clan prospered.
The fifth ring, Ran told them could never be possessed but would exist as long as all four brothers remained united and fed from each other. The ring was called Matsuki meaning “plenty”. Matsuki thrives on harmony, exists as a star in the skies and would watch over the four clans for as long as they remained possessors of the four rings.
As long as it watched from the heavens, it would heal their sick, ensure bountiful harvests, let their lands flow with milk and honey, and so much more. Matsuki would never exist in the face of dissonance among the ring bearers.
Long after Ran passed, the clans coexisted peacefully for centuries, passing the rings and their tales from generations to generations. Kingdoms that rose up against them were defeated such that the Ran kingdom was feared. Not even their arch enemy, the kingdom of Zunta dared meet them on the battleground. The clans of the Ran kingdom, like their ancestor, were warlords and masters of the battlefield.
Peace reigned until Zappa; the new ruler of Krainke was enthroned. As was customary for the people of Krainke, Zappa was crowned king as the undefeated champion of their fighting ring. He had an unquenchable thirst for boundless power and had made it his mission to possess all four rings. He ruthlessly slayed anyone who dared caution or question his quest and pulled out all of the stops. Zappa believed that the fifth ring would not turn its back on him as forewarned if he possessed all four rings. So began his journey.
King Zappa of Krainke sacked a whole village of the Girat clan to send a message to the king of Girat. The military strength of the Krainke clan was feared and this, King Zappa used as leverage. He wanted the ring of craftsmanship and would release his army on the Girat clan if his demand was not met.
Word about King Zappa’s betrayal travelled fast to the other clans of Ran kingdom. When it reached the ears of Prince Trabaki of Trabate clan, he went at once to his father, King Batrinte to ascertain what was to be done about Zappa.
Prince Trabaki was of the opinion that the three clans of Girat, Kinku and Trabate had to join forces immediately to attack Zappa and his people before it was too late. If Zappa wanted the ring of craftsmanship, he would in no time want to covet the rings of wealth and wisdom too. For Trabaki, Zappa’s tyranny needed to be nipped in the bud immediately.
While Batrinte, king of Trabate clan agreed with his son, he and his cabinet of sages insisted they needed to take time to map out a strategy which they would present to representatives of the Kinku and Girat clans at their scheduled meeting. It was true that when it came to military strength, the Krainke clan bested them but the elders believed that if they formed an alliance, they could withstand their brother clan turned enemy.
The Girat clan could forge weaponry that had never been seen, the Kinku clan would provide them every resource their wealth could possibly buy and Trabate would map out an infallible strategy that would guide their battle. Together, they would train their able-bodied men and women to defend their homes and heritage. It was a looming war that needed time for successful execution.
Time that Prince Trabaki felt they did not have. Trabaki like his ancestors was a wise man, but his love for his people and hatred for evil sometimes made him act on rage. King Zappa was on a rampage, sacking more villages and wreaking havoc on the people of Girat. And so it was that Trabaki going against his father’s counsel, secretly assembled some youth from the three clans. They planned to steal into Krainke clan and murder Zappa.
Batrinte, king of Trabate got wind of his son’s foolhardy plans and ordered his confinement. He was not only averse to losing his sole heir to Zappa’s tyranny and betrayal; he was also averse to poking Zappa until they were ready. Knowing what he knew from experience, King Zappa would have to be a fool for Trabaki and his cohorts to succeed with their shallow plans.
While this went on, the myth about the existence of the fifth ring, Matsuki was proved true. It became obvious to everyone including King Zappa that Matsuki had turned its back on the kingdom of Ran. Asides from the wreckage and streams of crimson Zappa caused to flow wherever he visited, things were slowly turning around for the worst.
The abundance of good tidings and peace which the kingdom of Ran had known for centuries was no more. Rival kingdoms who heard of the tear in Ran’s loincloth wanted pieces of it which they had so longed for. These were trying times for the people of Ran.
These changes did not deter King Zappa who was blinded to everything else but achieving his goal. As far as he was concerned, this was a small temporary price to pay for when he would eventually unite the four rings harmoniously in his care.
Sparing no time for the other clans to gang up on him, he executed his plans swiftly and mercilessly. Soon, a great number of the descendants of Girat especially women and children had abandoned their homes to seek refuge in Trabate and Kinku. The men who remained worked towards creating weaponry as planned for the war to come. The king of Girat would not give up his ring.
Next, King Zappa decided to topple the Trabate clan. The influx of those who had survived his attack on one of the Trabate villages into the palace was what Prince Trabaki had noticed through the small window. The people had come to their king for justice.
As he watched them, the door opened to admit servants who prepared him to meet with his father, Batrinte. In the five days since his confinement, a plan had been made.
For the first time since his birth, Trabaki saw doubt color his father’s words as he spoke of his plans. Batrinte agreed with his son; they barely had time to strategize if they were to survive Zappa’s onslaught. This time, their weapon of warfare would be different and entirely reliant on the charm of a woman.
King Batrinte was obviously worried as were the kings of Kinku and Girat. They were not accustomed to leaving their fate in the hands of a woman, much less one they had never met.
Every man has a weakness or a soft spot. For King Zappa, it was a woman named Drede.
Word came from Drede of Krainke through her trusted servant girl disguised as a man. Drede said she knew a war was looming and that they were coming for Zappa. However, they were to give her seven days to do away with Zappa without resulting to a full out war which would inadvertently lead to the loss of innocent lives.
Apparently, many of the Krainke people were opposed to their king, Zappa’s goal and lived in silence for fear of the ruthless punishment that would be their fate if they dared speak up against him. King Zappa had set examples with scapegoats in the early days of his quest. Drede’s father had been one of such examples. While Zappa adored his late adviser’s daughter, the love he had for her clearly did not exempt him from his wrath.
On the fourth day of the seven days allotted, King Zappa slumped to his death from his horse. He had been on his way to sack yet another Trabate village with his army of warriors. At his death, his army laid down their arms and returned his corpse to Krainke. At the news, the people of the four clans rejoiced in victory of a battle won without arms and ammunition. They finally felt safe.
It remained a mystery what had caused King Zappa’s death. The greatest physicians could not name it, not even after examining his corpse for days before it was thrown to the vultures.
Drede of Krainke would not speak of it either. For her, Zappa was part of a past best forgotten. The people of Ran Kingdom celebrated her nonetheless for the feat she achieved without swords or daggers.
Now that the reign of the tyrant, Zappa was over and the clans once more felt safe in their villages, they looked forward to when Matsuki, the fifth ring of plenty would shine its bliss upon them again. This was never to be.
Matsuki had departed permanently from the Ran Kingdom and as they soon discovered, so did the four rings of wealth, wisdom, strength and craftsmanship, never to be seen again. Although King Zappa was no more, his rampage had caused bad blood among some of the people especially between the clans of Girat and Krainke. The time when they coexisted harmoniously was gone. Again, the myth was proven true; Matsuki would never exist in the face of dissonance.
Soon, the people of Ran Kingdom left their homes and villages in search of greener pastures; an end to their strife and hunger. What was left of it was soon conquered by the kingdom of Zunta who had waited so long for this opportunity.
The sages of Trabate kingdom are remembered for their words; “It is not always he who fires a shot that pays for it”.
The Kingdom of Ran had fallen.
The End
All images were obtained from pixabay.
Fiction authored by 
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