by Brent Tyman
“Do you mind telling me of this great idea?” I asked finally, and both women directed their grins at me.
“We tell the Vulenchian high priests that you would like to visit their capital to negotiate a ceasefire,” Lunara said. “If you tell them you will bring them tribute in the form of accepting Lunarity as your official faith, they will organize a ball for you. This gives us access to the crystal, as they will want you to pray to it to honor their God and the sun.”
This wasn’t such a bad idea, but I still had some questions.
“Why would these high priests believe me, right after their army was destroyed. I even killed their general during this so-called parley. Won’t they spit on my attempts to make peace now?” I asked.
“That will all be forgiven if you claim to switch faith,” Eliandra assured me. “I’ve met a priest of Lunarity before. They are very fanatical and very accepting of those that join them willingly. A king that joins Lunarity would give them a chance to spread their gospel in Fulgrem, and they will not pass this opportunity up. Even if they know it's a ploy.”
The women seemed convinced that this would work, so I believed it too. That just left the specifics of what to do once we were at the castle.
“So say these high priests let us in. They show us around and finally, at the end, they have me pray to this crystal. How do we destroy it? I doubt they will let me in with my battleaxe strapped to my back,” I said. The pair looked thoughtful, but it was Zelenia that spoke.
“My children can destroy the crystal,” Zelenia said. “Take me with you, and I can produce more children if we kill some humans silently. It takes only moments before they are born and hours before they are ready to fight.”
Having these creatures inside the castle would probably cause a lot of damage, especially with how Zelenia destroyed Croydra. The Vulenchians likely would not use that strange light on the creatures, as they risked destroying the crystal themselves.
I nodded as this plan seemed as good as any. The creatures would destroy the crystal and we would escape via Eliandra’s portal right after. I just needed to get one thing straight.
“All right, let me get one thing clear Zelenia,” I said as I leaned towards the table at her. “Once we do this and we destroy this crystal, you can have Vulenchia. You must give me assurances that you will leave me, my people, and Fulgrem alone. I do not want to hear reports that your massive army is heading west towards us for decades, centuries even.”
Zelenia’s face dropped and she let out a hiss which I thought meant she was angry, but then tears rolled down her eyes.
“I told you, you have nothing to fear from me. I would never harm you, never!” Zelenia said as she wiped away the tears and looked away from me.
Huh, that was strange.
“Remember how you fought our children?” Zelenia asked. “Did you not notice that they were hesitant to harm you? If you did not raise your weapon, our children would have restrained you until the fighting was over. I tire of your cold eyes on me. You do not trust me and would rather have me not exist. I thought you were my… friend. Reska will take over any further discussions in my stead, I will see you before this ball.”
Zelenia got up from the table and practically glided away out the door in mere moments. If there was one thing I noticed, it was that she did not entice me at all as she left. She didn’t even give me a final glance.
As Reska took Zelenia’s old seat, my women drew close to me.
“Ordan,” Lunara whispered, “I think you should not be so openly cold to her. The last thing we need is for these creatures to be our enemy.”
“They killed my men. What I am to do? I’ve already looked past that to work with her. What else should I do?” I asked with a sigh.
“While I disapprove of yet another woman after your… seed right after Tessa, please try to be nice to her at the least,” Eliandra said as she watched the door that Zelenia left out of. “I think she genuinely cares for you, but is unsure how to handle your animosity. Especially since you freed her from her prison. Please try to see past her beauty and what she represents. See her for what she is within, Ordan, as you did for me.”
Eliandra gave me a breath-taking smile while Lunara stroked the top of my gauntlet absently. Gods, these women were perfect.
“Fine, I’ll stop attributing my mens’ deaths to her for you two, as heavy as it weighs on my heart. This has just been wholly unexpected and I feel like I could have prevented their demise if I had known what I did now,” I said.
“It's understandable, but you must do all you can to protect your people now. Even if it means swallowing your pride,” Lunara said, and I nodded to her.
“I am to believe this three-way talk of yours is over?” Reska said. He placed his claws neatly in front of him as he looked at each one of us.
“Yes, lets go over the finer details,” I said when something strange occurred to me. Zelenia had mentioned the lizardmen to the north, but she did not elaborate any further on them. Perhaps I should clarify that with Reska before I forgot.
“Reska, Zelenia said earlier that the lizardmen to the north are a poisoned chalice, what did she mean by that?” I asked. Reska didn’t seem perturbed by this question, although it was harder to judge his facial expressions. His snout made him look like he was grinning at everything. I should have him stand next to Dryan and see who could grin the longest.
“Hmm, oh yes, that.” Reska said. “The lizardmen’s country has fallen into a state of war, as they battle demons. A massive surge of prime energy opened a gateway to the red deep, and demons have poured forth ever since. In fact, this surge in energy is likely what caused the Goldera knights to appear. I doubt the humans wanted the soldiers of heavens summoned before they could control them after all.”
Reska said all of this without a hint of emotion, but all I could do was keep my mouth from falling open.
What?
Chapter 11
Reska didn’t have any new information about the north other than what he provided. In some aspects, I didn’t really want to know. I knew it was the chaos orbs’ doing; it had to be. It was the only thing I knew of that could create so much energy in a short space of time.
To think it created a gateway to the red deep… Gods.
Demons were meant to be brought into the web of lands sparingly. Once my people found that the cost in prime was too much to bother using them, I thought I would never encounter one again.
They were also far too much trouble than they were worth. Everything they said was deceit designed to make you trust them, so they could escape the confines of the binding spell used to summon them. Even when we raided other lands, we never let a demon loose in them.
Demons with no shackles in this world was fairly chilling news. It surprised me that Reska was not more concerned.
The rest of this meeting consisted of how we would enact our plan for organizing a ball in the Vulenchian capital. Eliandra would send our proposal to the Vulenchians as soon as possible. After that, we would wait for a date and time from them. I would need to learn about this Lunarity faith to sell my conversion to the Vulenchian high priests, but both my women told me it would be easy to do.
Once we had the date, Eliandra would first portal us to this camp to pick up Zelenia. Then we would travel to the Vulenchian capital. I could probably only bring a few guards at the most, so the rest of the army would need to stay in Fulgrem.
From there, I would mingle with the other guests and find a quiet place to kill some guards so Zelenia could create her spawn. We needed to delay for a few hours after, but then they would destroy the crystal from the inside. We would finish up by escaping through Eliandra’s portal.
There were still a few unknowns, as I had no clue about the layout of this castle in the capital, and neither did either of my women or Reska. Eliandra had only been to the Vulenchian capital once, and it was for trade with a merchant, not to visit the royal castle. She had never seen this crystal with her o
wn eyes.
I had to admit; I missed Zelenia. It wasn’t the same discussing all these details with Reska, but he didn’t seem the least bit bothered with why Zelenia left as she did. I wanted to see her before I went home. For a reason I couldn’t quite put to words, but Reska didn’t allow it and urged us to leave to perform our plan. He assured me they had already released the riders back into my custody during my meeting with Zelenia and would be outside.
I joined up with my army outside Zelenia’s palace. My army had camped out just outside the gates and put out a few tents already. I could tell they were wary of Zelenia’s children, as she called them, but I couldn't spot any hostility just yet. I saw my riders also milled about and mingled with the rest of the men. The horses seemed to be averse to Zelenia’s children, however, as I saw one back away from a Melask as it neared.
Raina was, as always, drilling the troops near the center of the army. Her hair flowed against the wind as she had the men go through push up after push up. She was definitely more pretty compared to any of the trio. One of them usually took the place of my second in command. She seemed to have the aptitude to be a leader of men, which made it even more strange that I had picked her out at random essentially for the position.
As I neared, Raina spotted me and shouted out more orders for the men before she rushed over to meet me. Her eyes met mine as she stopped to salute.
“Sir, I am glad you are safe. The riders have returned to us, and I have accounted for all of them. None have any injuries.” Raina said. I smiled at her display.
“Perfect. I have news, but we are returning to the capital. Have the men ready to leave,” I ordered. Raina nodded as she went off in a random direction, no doubt to spread the word to the unit leads.
I looked over at my women. Eliandra had grown more quiet ever since we heard the news of demons in Asterlia. She likely knew more of its implications because she was a mage. Lunara didn’t really see it as a problem, as they were not in our territory. That was true, but there was no telling what these demons would do in such large numbers.
“Ordan,” Eliandra said as her eyes went wide. “We need to do everything we can to stop these demons. We cannot allow them to exist in such numbers.” She had come to the same conclusion as me, but if only it was easy to stop them with simple words.
“I know. I would add it to a list of things I need to do, but then we wouldn’t have enough parchment for it all,” I said with a small smile. Lunara chuckled at that.
“Or enough ink. My parents are probably still waiting for you to come back to Dunara for the wedding too,” Lunara said. She looked around wistfully for a moment before sighing.
“Don’t you remember the time when it was just us Ordan? The night we made love?” Lunara asked.
I knew what night she meant, but I wouldn’t call it love. More like a rough tumble. Lunara was insatiable in her desires.
“Yes, I remember all the… love you gave me,” I said as I thought back to that moment. Lunara grinned at me as she drew closer, her breath hot on my cheeks.
“Things were simpler then, more intimate,” Lunara said. “We were just on a search for your people, which could have taken days, weeks or even months. It was such a short time, one night essentially, but we didn’t have the weight of the nation on our shoulders. Now it seems we jump from one problem to the next.”
“Your right,” I agreed, “But that is our lot. My people sometimes went days without food at points where the raiding parties could find nothing to pillage on certain worlds. Many a time, some would starve and die with empty bellies. First the slaves of a household and then the people themselves.”
I looked around at the men that gathered up their tents and belongings. The faces of the men that struggled for decades upon decades for a mere chance of a better life.
“I wouldn’t trade this for anything. Life can be hard, life can be cruel, life can seem like an everlasting pit of despair,” I said. I turned to look over at my two women, who stared at me with rapt attention.
“But life is also where you can laugh, love, and live. Where today’s problems seem less when you have the ones you love at your side. I’ve never been one to express much of what makes me tick, I prefer the cold bloodthirsty slaver demeanor. I just know that while you two, and Tessa are with me, we can carve out our own slice of happiness in this dangerous land.”
The women looked at me with awe in their eyes, before they both darted forward and smothered me in crushing hugs.
“Gods, how did I end up with such a romantic barbarian,” Eliandra murmured into my neck.
“How did we end up about to marry the barbarian? That’s the real question,” Lunara said with a laugh.
I spotted black smoke that wisped around my feet before a third pair of arms hugged my back side.
“Gods, I love this ability. It's so fun to spy on my master, hearing him say such nice things,” Tessa said as she purred into my ears.
“You heard all that, did you Tessa?” I asked, but I already knew the answer. She sometimes used her shadow ability to appear at the most unexpected of times. Usually when I bathe alone, she would slip under the locked door and surprise me.
“Of course master, I had been watching the gates of the palace for your return. I never imagined you would say such sappy things in front of us,” Tessa said, and I rolled my eyes as the women released me.
“Right let’s help with getting the army out of here, best to get moving as soon as possible,” I said. I turned to find the nearest unit lead to help with coordinating the army. I could feel all three of the women's eyes on my back the whole time.
It didn’t take long to get the army ready to go, and I had Eliandra open up her portal to the capital. The orange orb glimmered in the air over her hands before a portal manifested in Zelenia’s camp.
I kept a close eye on the Melasks and Ralasks that watched us. They acted like stray pets as some paid us no mind while others seemed interested in examining my soldiers.
Raina would make sure that none of the creatures followed us. The last thing I wanted was for them to cause a panic in the capital. I entered through the portal and after the world peeled back from my eyes, fields of farmland appeared before me.
The portal inhibitors prevented any portals to form near the capitals vicinity, but it also meant that it affected friendly troops too. Eliandra had to walk a fair distance to reach the capital during her trips back to report on our situation. Only Andra had a way to circumvent these inhibitors when he transported a huge army near Kalis, to stop me from raiding it. He was dead now, so that knowledge had likely died with him.
I waited for Eliandra, Lunara and Tessa to appear before I looked around to make sure there were no surprises. There were some simple farmhouses in the distance, but otherwise the location we were in seemed safe enough.
Once my army had all trickled through, we started our march to the capital. Which took around an hour. It helped that the land was flat and there was a road nearby. I saw peasants give my army a wide berth, but seemed to relax somewhat when they saw our colors. No doubt some news of the Vulenchian army had spread after Eliandra reported it to the capital.
Once the capital came into view, I had Raina split off the army so most of the men would disperse as we entered the gates. Only my personal guards and a group of soldiers would escort me to the palace for protection.
The people I saw were mostly humans, with a select few Frostburnians in the mix. My own people waved and gave me nods as I passed, but the humans moved to get out of my way more than anything else.
“Ahh it feels good to be back here, after such a massive battle,” Lunara said. Her eyes watched the humans who made way for us. “Even if it isn’t the welcome we deserve.”
“Everyone is just scared,” Eliandra said. “They have had war after war, even under the old king who instigated invasions to the south. Between that and peasant revolts, the commoners have developed a distaste for ones in authority.” Her own personal
guards seemed to keep a close eye on the peasants, just in case they tried something. It seemed the men assigned to her were a supremely careful lot.
“Master will make sure that these peasants fall in line,” Tessa assured her.
“Yes, once things calm down, I’ll see if I can placate the masses somehow. News of the demons and Zelenia’s children will make them extra fearful for their lives,” I said.
“We should spread news that you are handling these threats, even if we are helping Zelenia. Once we deal with Vulenchia, news of an alliance between us and the strange creatures of the Fancern forest might finally put people at ease,” Eliandra said.
“Or make them think Ordan is crazy to consort with an age old monster,” Lunara said with a smirk.
“True, it could go either way,” I said as we passed through the market square of the capital.
Stalls of all varieties surrounded us as we walked past. This was where the largest concentration of peasants were in the city. The market square was central to our trade, so there were also lots of my soldiers posted here to keep the peace. A few of them saluted me when I neared.
Since I had barely left the palace after becoming king, I realized I hadn’t really seen the capital I now ruled from in any detail. I walked straight from the palace to the gates without stopping to go east to Pernra. This could be a prime opportunity to see how life was here.
“I want to spend some time here, you three go ahead,” I said as I came to a stop. My three women looked at me in confusion.
“Here? What for?” Lunara asked, for all of them it seemed.
“I think some time alone in the city will do me be good, no ulterior motives I swear,” I said. This seemed to placate them, but Tessa looked at me with a pleading expression.
“Are you sure you don’t want company master? I can…” Tessa started, but I waved a hand.
“Yes, I’m sure. Go on without me and I will head to the palace in an hour or two,” I insisted. The women all looked at each other and again, some silent communication seemed to go between them.