by S D Huss
Daniel had to pick up his pace to reach her but fell in behind her as she led him out of the castle.
chapter 10
Robert looked down at his hands as he curled them into fists, his mind far from this new and unfamiliar land and on more simple times. Tears welled in his eyes but were quickly wiped away. He knew he needed to be strong, to find the anchor of resolve that would keep him sane through this. His thoughts again wandered home, to his family and friends, and his apartment. He rested his back against the battlements, making sure he was far enough away from the Dae palace that no prying eyes would find him and expose his weakness.
-At least Katrina is here…- He thought to himself.
“Robert!” A voice called from near the keep. Robert looked to see Katrina walking toward him, followed by a large company of Dae. Daniel was there as well. He hadn’t quite formed a full opinion of the man. He was clearly capable, and definitely the most rational of the three; considering their situation. Robert closed his eyes and took a deep breath, putting on his hypothetical mask once again. As his eyes opened, his forced smile returned, and he waved them over.
“Getting started without us friend?” Oros said as he approached Robert. A feline grin stretching across his face. Robert shrugged, struggling to maintain his smile.
Oros stopped in front of him and motioned one of the Dae who was following closely. The creature approached quickly and was holding several bundles of dark green cloth in his arms. Oros grabbed one and held it out to Robert. “Here. Wear this.”
The human took it from him, unfolding it as he did. It was what appeared to be a long cloak. “This is the color of our noble class,” Oros said, passing it to Daniel and Katrina.
“None will approach you while you are wearing this.”
The two mirrored Robert’s inquisitive, but careful unfolding and inspection.
“Thank you,” Daniel said, throwing it over his shoulders.
“Why are you wearing red then, Oros?” Katrina asked as she put it on as well.
“This is the color of our warrior class.” He said, smiling and grabbing at the crimson red cloak around his chest. The Dae motioned for the group to follow and began to make his way down the stone road to the town below.
The city of Vul De Rah was a magnificent display of Dae architecture and innovation. It looked like a city that could rival any back home to Robert as they descended from the perched palace. Dwellings and taller buildings littered the area around them, showing a condensed and well-developed inner city, unlike the open but bustling entrance.
Oros brought them into the streets of the community, past crowds of onlookers who murmured to each other and called to Robert as he passed them.
“Spirit-sent! Bless us!” called a Dae woman from his left. Robert turned to see her getting pushed back into the crowd by one of the warriors. They stretched arms out to them and shouted.
“What the hell is this all about?” Daniel asked Oros.
“They have all heard what happened in the throne room. About Gro’ak and his blessing.” Oros kept his eyes forward, ignoring all of the shouts and extended hands.
“This looks barely under control,” Daniel said, his eyes darting back and forth to the crowds on each side.
Oros made a turn down a larger street, and Robert was shocked at what he saw. Thousands of Dae standing on either side of the road, being held at bay by hundreds of warriors in black cloaks. The roar of the crowd intensified as they caught sight of the group turning the corner.
Robert grabbed Katrina by the hand and brought his face to her ear. “Look at this,” he whispered, smiling as he put his arm around her shoulder. “Wow,” he said out loud.
Katrina shrugged his arm off but did not turn to face him. It was a subtle gesture, but it screamed loudly to the man. She had been acting different since they arrived here. He wasn’t blind. He glanced back to Boros. The young Dae seemed in good spirits, but his eyes were close to her, never wandering far from Katrina.
Robert’s smile was no longer plastered on his face, instead, he clenched his jaw and his mouth became a thin line. He looked around to see if Daniel was nearby. He was, but he was facing away from them, speaking with Oros.
Looking again to Katina, Robert began to open his mouth. He wasn’t going to allow this division to continue, she had barely spoken to him since their arrival. His thoughts were interrupted as Robert was suddenly jerked backward. The man grunted and gagged as he was pulled to the ground by the green cloak he now wore tugging at his neck. There were several Dae who struggled above him, warriors in black and citizens that reached down to grab him.
“Robert!” Katrina called, grabbing at his arms to help him up. She then started to get pulled down as well and let out a terrified yelp.
Robert struggled against the arms that held him down, some around his shoulders and cloak, others around his arms. “What the hell is going on!?” He yelled, panic boiling out of him, trying to look around and make sense of what was happening. There were two black cloaked Dae that struggled above him, their boots stomping near his head as they fended off what looked like hundreds of Dae that all were trying to grab him and Katrina. -Are they trying to kill us?- He thought, his mind frantic with fear. Then he looked closely at a young Dae girls face. It was dirty with mud and grime, and her eyes weren’t that of anger, but of absolute sadness. She stretched her arm out around the side of one of the warriors and rested her hand on his cheek. She smiled for a moment and tears began to stream down her face. “Bless us Spirit-sent! Please!” she yelled.
Robert stared back in terror and confusion. “What?” he asked, just before the Dae girl’s face was knocked back into the crowd by a warrior’s spear shaft. The roar of the crowd intensified as more warriors came to force the crowd back. The few hands that remained holding Robert down clawed frantically at his clothes. Robert began to stand, shrugging off the last of the crowds hold and looked up to see Daniel’s extended hand.
Robert took it and was brought to his feet. “Ugh,” he grunted, feeling a sharp pain where his tailbone hit the stone pavement.
“You alright?” Daniel asked.
“Yeah…” Robert said, brushing the dirt from his cloak and looking for Katrina. He saw her standing several yards from him, with Boros tending to her. His eyes darkened, and he fought down the urge to say something he knew he would regret.
“I know,” Daniel said patting Robert on his shoulder. “Let’s talk to her first. Before we do anything stupid.”
Robert shook his head. He was about to say something, but Daniel interrupted him by shouting to Oros. “Do you mind letting us know what the hell just happened? Your people just tried to strangle my friends.”
Oros approached Daniel, his welcoming smile now replaced by the stone face of a veteran warrior. “We must keep moving, the Doulos were not supposed to be here.”
Robert looked back to where the crowd had been mere moments before, but saw no one, save the bodies of around a dozen Dae lying prone on the pavement, with different colors of fluid spilling from wounds and filling the cracks between the stones.
Robert's eyes widened as his realization set in. “Wha…” He stuttered. The young man of twenty-four years had never seen anything dead before. Aside from the occasional road kill passed while driving, but never a human being. -These aren’t human beings.- He thought to himself, turning from the horror regardless.
“Why did you kill them?” He asked Oros. His voice cracked slightly, taking any intended force out of his question.
The Dae looked at him, puzzled, and replied as though it was common knowledge. “These are Doulos. They are worthless.”
“What are Doulos?” Daniel asked, folding his arms across his chest.
Oros turned to Daniel, remembering that he was dealing with creatures who had no concept of his culture or customs. “They are the lowest caste of Dae in our culture. The descendants of the traitors who fought against us during our war with the Rexunii. They are the offspring
of scum and traitors, and may only be redeemed by proving their loyalty to Lokkadonia in battle.”
“So, they’re slaves,” Daniel said bluntly.
Oros didn’t answer immediately. He was somewhat taken aback by the blunt usage of the word. He opened his mouth to retort when he was interrupted again by screams and shouts of the fleeing Doulos in the streets.
“They are paid for their work.” The Dae prince said, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Which is more than they deserve, trust me.”
Robert shook his head. -How the hell did we end up in a fucked-up place like this?- He thought to himself, his mind a numb assortment of questions and complaints. Just a few days ago, he was worried about paying his rent for the month, and if he should invest in a water purifier to cut his monthly expenses. Now he was here, in Vul De Rah, afraid of being burned to death, or torn apart by slaves.
He looked back to Daniel, who was still talking to Oros. Then, as he studied him, he realized that he now knew what to think of him. He was glad he was here, someone with more resolve and bearing than himself. Though he felt it selfishly, he was glad that he wasn’t alone, and that he didn’t have to face the circumstances of this world and feign strength.
Robert cursed himself for his weakness, for allowing himself to think something so pathetic.
Oros finished his conversation with Daniel and began shouting orders to his warriors. Robert watched as Dae clad in black cloaks ran to the fallen Doulos and started removing them. Their movements were precise but showed no hint of respect for the way they treated these dead. His eyes focused on the face of one of the fallen women, smeared with mud and what he could only describe as her blood. It was a dark blue color and streamed from a wound on the top of her head. Her eyes, a dull yellow, stared lifelessly into space, capturing in part, the moment of her death.
Robert scanned the others as well, fighting back the urge to vomit. His thoughts then went back to the young Doulos girl who touched his face. Was her body amongst the dead here? Robert let out an uneasy breath and began to walk toward Daniel, who he now noticed was staring at the carnage as well. But he seemed different. Robert noticed he was slightly pale, and sweat beads dripped from his head down the side of his face.
“Are you alright?” Robert asked, causing Daniel to jump slightly as he turned to face him.
“Yes.” He said in cold reassurance. He shook his head as if to regain his composure. “Let’s go.”
◆◆◆
The walk through the rest of Vul De Rah was a solemn one compared to the energy filled celebration that resounded through the streets mere minutes before. Katrina kept her eyes down to her feet, the stress and shock of the incident still lingering like a wet blanket.
“I’m sorry, for all of this,” Boros said walking beside her. “The Doulos were… unexpected.”
Katrina made no effort to acknowledge him; she had no reason to. There was a knot of fear making its home in her stomach that felt as though it would bring up the lunch she ate earlier if she opened her mouth.
“I wanted to show you our beautiful village and its people, but like all things, there is an ugly side.” Boros continued. “The Doulos are descendants of the Dae who were loyal to the Rexunii when we fought them for our independence. The newly appointed King Gurmo decided to make an example of these people, and their children.”
Katrina swallowed hard and calmed her irking stomach. “That’s horrible.” She said weakly to him. The Dae’s eyes lit up at the sound of her voice, but it was a brief glimpse as he quickly returned to his somber expression.
“These creatures deserve nothing more than they have. Even so, my father allows them to squire under the warriors of our clan. Many have proven themselves in battle and redeemed their bloodlines, but the majority continue to wallow in their misery and cowardice.”
Katrina kept quiet this time, her mouth sour with the taste of bile. The taste reminded her of the dead who littered the streets, and this again caused her stomach to bubble and lurch.
She clenched her teeth. -Come on Kat, pull yourself together.- She thought to herself.
For most of her life, Katrina was what many would consider sheltered. Her parents were married still, her dad owned a successful business, and she lived comfortably. She had all the characteristics of a normal life; she went to college, got her degree in finance, and had spent the better part of the last year working at her first real job. -So why?- She thought. -Why is this happening to me?-
She started to look around finally. Robert was to her left and behind her. The man was talking with Daniel, who didn’t quite look like himself. His face, normally difficult to read, was now slightly pale and unsettled. “Maybe this is getting to him as much as it is to us.” She thought.
Suddenly, she bumped into the Dae in front of her, who had stopped. “Oh shit!” She said, startled. “I'm sorry!” She patted the Dae’s armor instinctively, brushing off the area she had hit. The Dae chuckled but gave her a slight nod in reassurance.
“We are here,” Oros said, turning to the group.
chapter 11
Daniel looked in awe as they entered a large, open area. It looked somewhat like a massive stadium, but all the seating areas that surrounded the open center looked as though they were grown from the earth itself. The odd bleachers were littered with many warriors in crimson cloaks, who observed hundreds of warriors in the center, who all wore black cloaks. There were what looked like stations of different combat techniques and executions; spears, swords, and various weaponry, all being used in different ways.
Daniel noticed there were Dae warriors walking amongst the rest that wore dark yellow cloaks. They were carrying small batons and carried themselves with an aura of authority. This was clearly a training field for their warrior caste.
Oros lead the party into the open field of the training grounds, and as he walked, he explained what he could of the surroundings. “This is where our whelps come to practice their abilities.” Oros gestured to the mass of black-cloaked Dae. “They are observed by our warriors in the hopes of being chosen to join one of their squads. It isn’t easy for them, I assure you. Many of our squad leaders bid for some of the more talented whelps.”
Oros walked over to one of the whelps, grasping his black cloak and turning him about. The young Dae’s eyes were wide with fear and shock. It’s not every day you are grabbed by royalty and put on the spot.
“M..mm my lord!” He said, his voice stammering with fear.
Oros gave him a small nod in acknowledgment but continued
“This young Dae is Norii. A fine example of the new generation of warriors.”
Norii bowed his head graciously to the party but held it for just a bit too long. Oros gave him a small nudge and a grunt, and the young Dae raised his head back up quickly.
Oros gestured his hand again to the surrounding stadium. “Too many of us, this was our home. The sand under our boots is packed with the blood and sweat of Vul De Rah’s children, who honed and perfected the art of combat.”
Daniel looked to his feet and beheld the fine sand between his boots. Even here, he thought, even in a different world, strange and alien, even here there were warriors and conflicts. The thought brought a small bit of comfort. Even if it was a small one, at least there were some similarities. His thoughts turned dark for a moment, the smell of the sand bringing some of his mind back to the war he fought in the sands of the Middle East. He clenched his teeth together and shook it from his mind.
“Tonight, we dine in the hall of Lord Regios, the overseer of our warrior caste,” Oros said, patting Norii on the shoulder and leading the party further into the large stadium.
Daniel looked up to Oros, gaining his composure and clearing his throat.
“Oros!” He said with less authority than he intended to muster. “Where do your people train with…” He paused for a moment, wondering how he should refer to the strange power they possessed. “Your… Magic?” He said, bleeding uncertainty.
; Oros’ face spread with a wide and wild grin. “Ah, of course.” He said, not saying another word, but he changed direction.
While moving through the stadium, Daniel had time to marvel at how large it was. Not necessarily tall, with massive walls and bleachers like the ones back home, but the field was vast, like several football fields side by side. His eyes studied the young trainees next. They had focus, and discipline, bringing their weapons down and shouting. He then noticed the sweat that dripped down their faces. He noted another similarity the Dae shared with humans. -They bleed, they sweat, they drink and eat.- He thought to himself. Obviously, they share similar bodily functions. His mind began to wander again, but his eyes caught something large and looming before him. He looked up to see an enormous dome structure, made of what looked like stone. He blinked in disbelief, it was large and as smooth as marble. The daylight shined off of its curved roof and sparkled strangely.