QUAD-PALS: 007

At the mention of the king’s seal and the chief of staff, King Nebuchadnezzar became suddenly alerted, and cold shivers traveled down his thigh region because a letter with the king’s seal was always penned by the king.

In a flash, he tried to unravel the incongruity in his head. “Could Ashpenaz, the king’s trust, have overthrown the king?” “Was there an invasion?” “Is the king deceased?” were a few of the thoughts that ran fleetly across his mind.

All these presumptions were valid to a good degree because, in the first place, the chief of staff was almost as powerful as the king due to the classified information at his disposal.

His appointment was solely on the basis of trust and tact; he was also deputed the power to give orders to the imperial guard. As a result, the possibility of unseating the king was not out of place.

In the second place, regarding a possible incursion, an alliance between three or four distant nations could pose a disastrous breach on Shinar's borders, as only about four thousand soldiers, under the command of a single general, stayed to secure the state.

Lastly, the king had been infirm and indisposed for a long time now, making his death ineluctable.

The general grabbed the letter from the soldier and wasted no time in unsealing it. He took out the main letter and placed it over a burning lamp to supply the needed heat for the invisible impression made with an invisible ink to appear. The statement of the letter was straight-to-the-point, and it gave credence to one of his conjectures. It reads as follows:

“The King has Passed On
Return Home for the Crown”

King Nebopolassar passed away the night of his meeting with Sage Ashpenaz. However, in consonance with their culture, no announcement was made of his death.

The queen and other royal seeds were not informed as well—it was forbidden to do that; only the chief of staff and the heir apparent to the throne ought to know about the king’s demise.

The people got to know about the death of the king when a new king was crowned because the enthronement of a new king implied the departure of the old king.

The departed king would be secretly buried without any elaborate burial arrangement or elongated and colorful ceremony. This was due to two reasons: first, the dead king was supposed to have passed on into a new life.

Second, the King of Shinar commanded the power that holds the system of the country in one accord, and news about the demise of the king might present an ample opportunity to occasion an unwanted attack from enemy nations.

King Nebuchadnezzar, as commonly called by his subjects, read the letter only once. In a divided second, the desire to satisfy his biting hunger completely died down due to the king’s demise. He had a motto that made his 3rd Decree: “Duty or Death!”

This was borne out of his belief that if a capable man fails to perform his duty, he has no reason to be alive.

The next moment, he had put on his military coat; he called out with a loud baritone voice,

“General Arioch!” Within 10 seconds, the general was standing at attention inside the tent. “Always ready, sir!” he answered anxiously as though he had been anticipating his call.

"Delegate your command to Captain Shadock. Prepare my chariots. We are leaving for Shinar right away," said the king hastily without mincing words. “Right away, sir!” he reacted at once as he swiftly made for the exit of the tent.

Kaptain Lamblion JC

QUAD-PALS: 006

At exactly 1740, the "millennium" was ready to move; it consisted of 200 chariots, 200 horsemen, and 600 foot soldiers. They were battle-ready and are awaiting orders from their commander, General Nebuma.

Their patience was now being tested because they had a long distance to cover.

In the meantime, the king had hardly had any time for meals; he had been engaged with battle affairs since dawn. But now, at dusk, the table had been set and he was seated to eat; he gave a deep sigh of ease and said, "At long last, it’s time to keep spirit and soul together.”

He washed his hands in a bowl, made a round mold of food, and was about to drop a morsel into his mouth when suddenly a soldier rushed in and shouted, “Chief Commander, sir! You have a letter, sir! The soldier had picked up a letter dropped by a heart watcher.

At first, King Nebuchadnezzar became furious and dropped his morsel of meal and shouted, “How dare you interrupt my meal!? Are there no officers capable enough to attend to your letter"?

"It is dire-cted to you, sir! The soldier replied with evident fear in his tone. “Soldier, every letter addressed to this army is directed to me, but must every letter be brought to the Chief Commander!? Why did I create divisions and units in this army for Nebu's sake!?”

He spoke on top of his voice with his anger building up like boiling water.

“But sir!” the young soldier said with a trembling voice. “No objection. Dismiss!”

The hunger eating him up made him shout out of heated anger, so loud that it alerted the troops without. The junior officer was about to retreat when the 5th decree, made and read out loud by a commander each morning, occurred to him.

It reads thus: “It’s a death sentence if a soldier discloses the king’s information to any officer before the chief commander!” And out of fear, he summoned some courage and said hurriedly without stuttering or missing a word, “It is strictly confidential, has the king’s seal, and was written directly by the chief of staff, Ashpenaz!”

Kaptain Lamblion JC

QUAD-PALS: 005

“General Nebuma, you’ll move out with the millennium under your command at exactly 0000 hours for the onset!” “Slay anyone who attempts to fight back and bring those who surrender, especially the youths who are fit to fight in my army. Table the Babela Treaty before their king and bring Pharaoh Necho back to me!” said the chief commander with a sharp tone. “Yes, sir! responded the General.

He turned left and continued, “Captain Aguga, two days after, move in with your century and capture all their gods of gold, idols of wood, images of earth, and statues of metal from their palaces and in their various shrines and bring them to me!” "Done, sir!” He shouted.

The king looked right in front of him and said in a loud, brusque tone, “General Arioch, divide your troops into ten divisions, assign nine divisions and one division to move behind the millennium and the century, respectively."

"They have one task, and that is to kill any of our soldiers who complains or fights sluggishly!” “Always ready, sir!” shouted the general.

“General Malick, mobilize the reserves for emergencies," the king said as he prepared to dismiss the officers. “At your command, sir!” he shouted as if he was in competition with the others.

“Any question or objection?” asked the king.

“Commander, I wish to know why we have to move out at 0000 hours instead of 2200 hours when the gate of the small bridge ahead will still be open." General Nebuma inquired.

"Remember! You do not have to know; you have to move! Well, I’ll answer you anyway; my decisions are based on the instructions from the gods, and that’s all!” He answered with a tone of finality.

The last statement of King Nebuchadnezzar was true in a sense; truly, most of his battle strategies had been revealed to him in his dreams. For this fact, he never took any of his dreams for granted; in fact, he employed two military sages among his soldiers to help in making meaning of his dreams.

In addition to that, he always offered one fat goat to one of his gods before every sleep to gain its favor in the dream realm. His usual suppliance was “Nebu, give me secrets to be victorious over my enemies as I travel to the dream realm.”

Unknown to him, the God of heaven, Jehovah, had been behind all these ideas, instructions, and strategies—King Nebuchadnezzar had mistaken the Almighty God for one of his inherited gods, Nebu, whom he considered as the god of revelation.

Kaptain Lamblion JC

QUAD-PALS: 004

Somewhere in Syria, about eight thousand soldiers encamped in an isolated valley.

Amongst the rank and file were some who stooped to roast beef, those who sharpened the swords, and others who stood at attention awaiting orders.

In addition to this, there were about 80 captives seated in a large square drawn on the ground, which was manned by ten guardian soldiers standing at strategic edges.

For weeks on end, they had been on the tail of Pharaoh Necho, the Egyptian emperor ruler, after he fled when his army suffered a colossal loss at the battle by the river Euphrates, in Carchemish, against the Shinar soldiers.

The Shinar army was planning an invasion against another Egyptian vassal, where the fleeing emperor had decided to take refuge.

King Nebuchadnezzar, the commander-in-chief, with certain selected senior army officers, was seated in the bivouac around a rectangular table, studying a hand-drawn map and strategizing on their next operation.

The invasion was tagged Operation Babylon XIX. The term "Babylon" was coined out of the word “Babel.” It was the codename given to Nebuchadnezzar’s vision, which was passed down to him from his forefathers that once inhabited Babel, the capital city of Shinar, hundreds of years back when the vision was first formed.

The vision was to bring all the human inhabitants of the earth and their gods under one jurisdiction. This vision was inscribed in a tablet named The Babela Treaty, which the king always carried around to be presented before conquered kings, rulers, or people.

Rising to his feet, King Nebuchadnezzar started off his briefings in a peremptory commanding fashion, “Attention officers! This battle may prove to be the toughest we have ever fought."

"Pharaoh Necho is not your regular puppet emperor that can be easily tamed; remember that it’s on record that the Egyptian Army once put out of action the late, articulate General Ashur-uballit, who acted in my capacity before my commissioning, with the 1000 seasoned soldiers under his command, all thanks to this Egyptian ruler!”

“Besides, the Egyptian Army boasts of possessing one of the best weapons and military minds in the world, which they have successfully employed in destroying other nations and in bringing them into subjection."

"However, that’s history now; we have torn them apart, and we are taking their leader down this time because we are stronger, insurmountable, and unstoppable!”

“Yes, we are! All the senior officers in the tent responded in unison, in vibrating voices that rent the air.

Kaptain Lamblion JC

QUAD-PALS: 003

“Ash-pe-naz, in your honest judgment, do you think I will get out of this room?” the sick king asked in a shaky, sickly voice.

“Take some water, my Lord," Ashpenaz responded. After a while Ashpenaz continued, “You will not only survive this ailment but live for many years to come. You have been faithful in your service to the people and have not failed in your commitment to the gods, and they cannot abandon you now at your hour of need.” He ended on a note that connoted confidence.

“Nothing could be farther from the fact,” said the king in agreement. “However, ‘Is that the truth?'" He asked rhetorically and continued, “I have an army of 12,000 soldiers headed by my venturesome son and a shrine filled with gods from various nations. However, can any of these gods or soldiers stop the angel of death from striking at his time?"

Each of his breaths was deep and heavy and seemed to be his last. He moved his body to sit in a slant position while resting his back on his pillow.

“Ashpenaz, it’s good to be motivational and hopeful, but let’s face reality. I am going to die any moment from now, and you know that’s true," the king said unapologetically.

He took a deeper breath and continued, “You have been loyal and faithful to me and the kingdom; you are the most trustworthy servant in my realm. That’s why I want you to listen to me carefully as I commit my last request to you.”

Ashpenaz moved his chair closer and listened with keen interest. “Ashpenaz!” the king called emphatically with audible stress in his speech.

“At your service, my lord,” he replied faithfully. “I am handing over my son, Nebuchadnezzar, unto your wise guidance. I want you to be a father to him. I know he’ll make an excellent king, but he’ll do better under your watch."

"He had been on the field from his tender age and knows a great deal about battles and conquests well enough, but he hardly spends time with the Senate and the people. I want you to advise him on kingdom matters and manage-nage-ment, and also summon the senate and the royal household. I want to have a parting word with them before…"

He was interrupted by his cough. Ashpenaz offered him another cup of water.
Having taken the cup of water, the king tried to continue his words, but the cough watered down his strength to speak further. He coughed the entire evening and all night long; the cough persisted.

As his custom was, Ashpenaz wasted no time in carrying out instructions; immediately, he sent out letters to each member of the senate through the Heart Watchers. A body that was once an infamous cult group that was lately drafted into the Shinar’s government as a recognized system by the king, in replacement of the popular palace messengers, on the advice of his son.

The Heart Watchers were anonymous; it was made up of 10 ninjas and 15 secret military agents who were trained as couriers, for espionage and assassinations—it was headed by a captain.

They were contracted only for clandestine operations and were known to operate in high secrecy, with an unbroken record of not leaving a single known trace during their operation since their inception. A popular impression about its members is that they were the reincarnation of past war legends.

Kaptain Lamblion JC

QUAD-PALS: 002

Nebuchadnezzar proved himself worthy of this appointment by forcefully advancing the nation’s territory. He practically transformed the military by introducing novel intelligent hierarchy and idealistic strategies to the Shinar Army.

One of the new innovations was a list of 10 decrees made to be read out loud to the soldiers each morning. At first, the soldiers were critical of his far-fetched methodologies, but the numerous far-reaching successes that resulted from his mode of operation were rewarded by an unreserved vote of confidence from them to him.

The new commander was not only brilliant and tactful, but also courageous, aggressive, and composed. He fought day and night, year in and year out, dethroning generals and rulers for the sake of his state.

Prior to his era, the soldiers had been fighting with manageable morale. But his ever high spirit boosted the soldiers’ spirits, and this presented him before the soldiers, including seasoned senior officers who were once his trainers, as a worthy role model.

As a matter of fact, every soldier and officer under his command willingly submitted their loyalty to him; he was indeed a king in the making. They now refer to him as a king even though his father, King Nebopolassar, was still on the throne.

His father found no fault in this because everything had been working just as he had planned it. He knew he could have a long, sound sleep as long as his son was in charge.

The past few months had been tough for him; he had been diagnosed with sibtu sa napisti, an ailment akin to tuberculosis, which had resulted from his carefree lifestyle even though it was believed to be caused by wicked spirits. Heaven knows that he was an addicted cannabis smoker, an unrepentant alcoholic and a hard drug patriot in the noon of his life.

He had not sat on the throne seat for about five months in a row but had been confined to his bed with Ashpenaz sitting beside him to constantly offer him hopeful words, convey the king’s intentions and instructions while intimating him on the state of the nation.

By the way, the king’s private room was built inside the palace, and only the king, the chief of staff, and the heir to the throne were allowed into this room; it was called the Eternal Portal. The room was supposed to be the bridge between the physical realm and the spiritual realm.

It was one of the national monuments of Shinar; it had a spacious section where tombs were built for dead kings. Whenever a king’s ailment was tending towards death, he would be moved into a compartment of this room. If he survives the sickness, he will return to continue the kingdom business, but if he dies, he will be buried in the king's sepulcher.

Kaptain Lamblion JC

QUAD-PALS: 001

The land of Shinar was an offshoot of the formerly colossally congested nation of Babel, founded by the great hunter, Nimrod, who once gathered the entire people on earth to live as one tongue—united in purpose, in power, and in pursuit.

The direct descendants of Nimrod were the marauding nomadic Chaldean tribe, which had lost their existence as a known state after pulling out from the colonies under Babylonia, founded by their ancestor.

In the process of time, some of them got separated and settled on highlands in the wilderness, where they became magicians and astrologers, thus splitting the former united tribe into two.

Afterwards, the Assyrians got the Chaldaean magi tribe incorporated into their empire for the sake of their physical hardiness and crafty artfulness and assigned unto them the land of Shinar in their own country, Assyria, which was originally a former colony of Babylonia founded by Nimrod, whose capital city later became Nineveh, and they dwelt as a recognized state thenceforth.

In good season, when they had gained strength with sustained guidance, they rebelled against the Assyrian empire in the year 626 BC, and fourteen years later, they overtook Nineveh, subsequently assumed ascendancy, founded the Chaldaean empire, and began the restoration of the state of Shinar, in the furtherance of the "Babela vision."

In spite of the agelong formations of far and near nations, they forged ahead and broke through their ancient fortresses, all due to the leaders’ tenacity and fortitude divinely instilled into them to set the stage for future foreordained events.

In recent times, she had experienced significantly rapid growth in every sector. Many nations had been taken as captives by Shinar while others had become tributaries of this fastest-growing nation.

All thanks to her present leader, King Nebopolassar, who maintained the tempo of his predatory predecessors and sustained perfect pitch to the core, dancing to the beats of the rhythmic progression of the chords of the Babela vision, which was given by Nimrod and passed down to him through his forefathers.

He had given his talents, treasures, and time to the emancipation and expansion of the state of Shinar—he was a king of note, a man of battle, and a 'peace-lover.' He was now very advanced in age; most of his years had been spent on the battlefield conquering territories and nations to the glory of Shinar.

All the same, this would not have been possible without the leverage of his agile, astute, but austere son, Nebuchadnezzar.

The king had put the Chaldaean sage, Ashpenaz, who doubled as the officially designated wisest sage of Shinar and the most powerful palace official, in charge of the training of his son.

Nebuchadnezzar became a man at an early age; he was taught to shoot at seven and made his first kill at eight. By fifteen, he had come to the fore as a man of responsibility, courage, and tact. His character, ideologies, values, and virtues were formed on the field.

Ever since he became man enough, his father decided to commit the affairs of the national army, Shinar Armed Forces, into his hands. He was first given command over a small battalion and then made the commander over all the military generals of SAF, with the exception of General Nebuzaradan, the youngest among the generals and commander of the imperial guard, who was saddled with the responsibility of maintaining homeland security.

Kaptain Lamblion JC

ABOUT "QUAD-PALS"

Their fall was fermented by a faulty foundation and forced, without a fight, by a forceful federation; yet, they forgot not His manifold favours and stood fast and firm in faithfulness to their faultless Father who was falsely deemed infamous by not a few folks for forsaking them to their fanatical foemen.

They were tagged fake and foolish; still, they followed His former fitting formula as one fold; which the fibbing flocks found too formal and far-fetched for their flawed furnished fortresses and offices.

The few faithful continued in fellowship with their Father against the famous free feasting, festivities and fanfare, having full foresight that their fall was only fatal but not final.

In His faithfulness, He fortified them against the fatalities intended by their foes’ ferocious facilities, and favoured them with flair, like falcons, far beyond their natural facilities, forte and festered fate – and they forged ahead to become fantastic among fanatics and flourished ten times more than the fortune-tellers of their times while flying His flag in a foreign land.

Furthermore, they fared fervently and fearlessly in the face of flame and fury, and came out as fresh as flowers, leaving their foremen with their foes flabbergasted, and making them fumble for their faith which ended up in a flood of flop right before their face.

Finally, they finished their flights with freedom in sight, and forgoing all offences; they fully fulfilled their destinies, despite their fathers’ failure – all thanks to their unfeigned faith, unflinching focus and unfailing fortitude in their forever faithful Father who neither falters, faints nor fails.

Quad-Pals sets forth the adventures of four friends who are fitted in one purpose and pursuit, in a progressive pilgrimage.

Kaptain Lamblion JC