by S D Huss
Almost immediately, dozens of Visgo warriors charged forward, raising their hands and unleashing a massive elemental barrage. Two of the Dae-Voh that accompanied Turak raised walls of stone from the ground, several layers of them, deflecting and stopping the deadly blasts.
Turak shouted again, raising his swords in the air, a hint of madness in his voice. The two Dae-Voh pushed, their hands outstretched, and their walls of stone exploded outward, launching thousands of razor-like shards toward the enemy.
Many screamed as their flesh was torn by the shards. Others used defensive measures of their own, raising walls of stone, creating barriers of wind or fire. It mattered very little to Turak, he knew these Dae were lowly warriors of the Visgo, ordered into their master’s political schemes against their will. For their loyalty to their lords and ladies, they would die today. They faced off against Rexunii Elite; powerful wielders of the Dunamis, and the strange sorcery of an ancient spirit.
They wore no colors, no cloaks of their house or clan. Just the pale bone armor of Eleutheros. Still, when Turak surged forward whirling his incisors, using his Dunamis to extend massive blades of water, he felt no pity.
One of the surviving warriors leaped forward. A large bone ax in hand, he swung the weapon toward Turak’s face. The Dae nimbly dodged to the side, using his Dunamis to enhance his speed. In a flash, there was a spray of water, and his attacker fell to the ground in two pieces. Blood and water flowed around Turak as he worked, his precision and skill a marvel to be seen by all around him. The Visgo warriors realized at that moment that they were being overwhelmed at the wall, and turned to regroup, but they were not fast enough. The Rexunii forces moved like wildfire, killing all who ran with short and controlled bursts of Dunamis. They were trained to use precision instead of raw power, which was only for the foolish duels that the nobles seemed so fond of. Here, on the battlefield, they were trained to conserve their energy as much as possible. They never knew when they would get a full night’s sleep again, after all.
Turak saw a flash of lighting beyond the village, behind the retreating forces. It was Yadri’s signal that they had successfully flanked the enemy and halted their retreat. They could leave no survivors, lest they give crucial information about the Rexunii tactics and the Spirit-Sent’s strange power.
They moved past the dwellings and saw several hundred civilians halted and crowded in a large group. Women wailed, clutching their children, and the men shouted in terror at the Rexunii who now blocked them in. Turak could see that there were about twenty or so warriors who hadn’t died in the attack, and who were standing between the Rexunii and the civilians on both sides.
“Well, isn’t this unfortunate,” Richoro said, striding up behind Turak. Blue blood dripped from his cloak and armor as if he had bathed in the gore. “Wrong place, wrong time.”
Turak shook his head, feeling guilt and pity for the doomed civilians. “Do what you have to do.” He said.
◆◆◆
Robert stumbled out of the village behind Turak and Richoro. Demessa had been his shield throughout the battle, cleaving her way through nearly a dozen attackers who tried to kill him. They knew who he was, the expressions they wore on their faces told him as much. The carnage of the battle brought him to empty his stomach several times already, but now he saw a large crowd of civilians. He sighed in relief that the end of the battle had finally come. -It looks like they surrendered.- He thought.
To his surprise, Richoro strode forward, a large bone mace in his hands, and began to attack some of the remaining defenders. The earth shook as Dunamis was exchanged between them, but the Visgo defenders were no match.
“Hey!” Robert yelled, running past Turak and toward the Rexunii warriors. “Stop!” he screamed again, but no-one seemed to hear him. “STOP!” A burst of black wind and smoke shot from him and blew several of the warriors off their feet. The canyon echoed with his booming voice.
All fighting ceased, and the eyes of the survivors and Rexunii warriors alike fell on Robert.
There was silence that seemed deafening to the human, but his rage was liberated, and all he could see was the violent treatment that he had endured at the hands of these creatures.
“I said stop,” he said, his body trembling with anger. “They’re beaten, we aren’t slaughtering them.”
Richoro stood from the mud, his eyes wide and full of rage as well. He had been struck from behind by one of his own. “What did you say!?” He bellowed “What in ge’enna do you think you’re doing!?”
Turak came beside Robert, grabbing him by his shoulder. “Reku, what’s going on?”
“Why are you letting this asshole and our warriors kill everyone?” He asked. “We aren’t doing this, not while I’m here!”
“We can’t let them live, Reku. They’ve seen your power, they’ve seen how we fight. We can’t take so many captives. This is the only way.” Turak removed his mask and looked into his eyes.
“No,” Robert said, walking toward Richoro. “Stand down.”
Richoro removed his helmet and sneered at Robert. “I don’t answer to you, Demon.”
Robert’s heart raced as he stared at the blood-soaked Dae. He had been enjoying himself. -He’s a monster- He thought.
“That’s Prince Reku to you!” Demessa said, standing beside him. “You dare speak to the King’s brother in such a way? To the Spirit-Sent!?”
Richoro squeezed the handle of his mace in frustration but stood down. “Well then, ‘my Prince’” He said, with as much hatred as he could muster. “What would you have us do with a couple hundred civilians? Carry them on our backs?”
Turak strode forth, his face unreadable. “This was your idea, to attack this village. To strike fear into the hearts of the Visgo. And you want us to take prisoners?”
Robert hesitated, unsure of himself. “Well, I…,” he said.
“Calm… little human…” Dio’Mar’s voice said in his head. “I know what we… shall do… have them imprisoned… create cages of stone… guard them… I can help… but it will take time to teach you…”
“How long?” Robert asked, relief flooding him.
“That… is up to you…”
Robert looked at Turak. “Create cages from the stone. Get our Dae-Voh to do that. We will put a watch on them tonight.”
“And then?” Turak asked, his irritation starting to show.
“By then, I'll have a solution,” Robert said, with much more uncertainty than he intended. “Trust me.”
chapter 34
Robert closed his eyes and tried to relax as best he could. After the battle, he had taken refuge in one of the dwellings that had been abandoned; Turak only gave him until morning to come up with his plan, otherwise, they would be forced to kill the captives. Robert understood his reasoning. They could not stay in a place where more enemy warriors might show up at any moment. Still, he felt like it was too cruel to even consider killing everyone.
“Concentrate, Robert…” Dio’Mar said her sprite now the size of a grown woman.
Robert opened his eyes and found himself again floating in a sky. -Back in the dream world-, He thought to himself.
Often, he found himself in this place. The ‘Dunum Dae Espae’ was where he was able to tap into and learn directly from Dio’Mar herself. He had grown very fond of it. After she had shown him how to come here mentally, he made it a point to return when he could.
“Very good…” She said, floating up to him. “What I am going… to teach you… is a technique used by a very strong Dae… a man that nearly conquered all of Pelemont.”
Robert nodded, doing his best to pay attention.
“He is remembered as a demon… but he was only a Dae who acted like one… this knowledge... will… change your perspective on many things, Robert… are you ready?”
Robert hesitated her words, and their implications heralding caution. He swallowed hard, and said, “Yes.”
Dio’Mar lifted her hand and used her power to summon a
small cyclone in her hand. A vision of a dead Dae then manifested itself before him, bloodied and cleaved in several places.
“The Dunamis can be used for many things… as you well know by now… the Dae have forgotten how to do more than just hit each other with large blasts of it… the equivalent of wild beasts in a library…” She extended her hand toward the corpse, and a stream of wind flew into the wounds and orifices. Suddenly the body jerked; Robert was startled by the movement but stayed calm. The body then began to stir, lifting its head and then beginning to stand.
“What?” He said, his mouth agape. “Oh my-”
The corpse, now standing, looked at him with glowing green eyes. It stood completely normally, as though it were a living and breathing Dae, save its strangely colored eyes.
“Unbelievable…” Robert stretched his hand out to touch it but watched his hand go through the projection. “So, I would be able to animate the dead?” The words left his mouth, and a chill entered his body. This was something very dark.
“Yes…” Dio’Mar let her hand fall to her side, and the corpse faded into nothing once more. “It is extremely difficult to maintain… but you, as a human, have a significant advantage over many of the Dae… not to mention… I have an idea how to keep them active while you travel…”
“Well, how is this going to help me save these villagers?”
Dio’Mar’s small mouth again curled into a sinister smile
◆◆◆
Turak sat against the wall of one of the dwellings. He ordered his men to create cages from stone and imprison them until Robert had his plan ready, something that took every ounce of strength he had to agree to. Of course, he knew this was a terrible idea and a blatant waste of time. Still, he had to have faith in the Spirit-Sent; he had proven himself once before, during the attack, so the least he could do was wait until morning.
Fires burned around the village, as to make it look normal to any scouts or warriors who saw it from a distance. This gave the Rexunii elite an opportunity to hide in plain sight.
“Lord Turak,” Yadri said, rounding the corner of the structure he was resting on. Following close behind was Richoro, still clearly angry from his confrontation with Robert earlier.
Turak waved them over and adjusted himself. As he did, he saw one more person follow the two officers. It was Demessa.
“My Lord,” Yadri saluted. “We have many concerns about the… um, Prince Reku. We have spent the entire rest of the day creating cages for people we should have dispatched during the attack. This puts us in a very vulnerable position. What if their patrols return? What if one of them escapes and runs for help?”
“You have guards on them,” Turak said, leaning back and looking to the night sky above. “We also have lookouts and can use Prince Reku’s ability to conceal ourselves. As long as you don’t screw up in watching those prisoners until morning, we will be fine. I told Reku that if he hasn’t come up with a solution, we dispose of them and move on with our mission.”
“Ridiculous…” Richoro said under his breath.
“Is there a problem, Richoro?” Turak asked calmly.
The Dae captain shook his head, sitting down across from Turak. “Nothing, my Lord. I just think taking the hum-- ah, Prince Reku, was a bad idea… that's all.”
“It was not an idea.” Demessa chimed in. “It was an order from our King. and you might not be standing here if it wasn’t for the prince. Have you ever seen a Dae use the Dunamis like that? Or ever seen a Dae-Jin use black wind before? No, we were able to sneak up on the enemy, by running directly down their throat, and we didn’t lose a single warrior.”
“Lady Demessa, we don’t mean any disrespect,” Yadri said. “We just don’t see how we can solve the problem of the prisoners.”
“Lord Turak has given Prince Reku until sunrise to solve this problem; I think it would be best to save our doubts and wait until then.” Demessa proceeded then to sit against an assortment of boxes across from Turak.
Hours passed as the Rexunii warriors waited for their human prince to finish his meditation. Turak noticed how his warriors were skeptical of his strange behavior; locking yourself in a small hut for a day and night with no food, water, or interruptions was bizarre, to say the least. Regardless, they waited, keeping a close eye on the civilian Dae that they had locked in large stone cages. They wailed and screamed as they were packed in like animals, but what did they have to complain about? They were alive, and that is more than Turak had expected for them at this point.
Throughout the night, several of the captives attempted to escape by using their meager Dunamis to try and break free of the cages, to no avail of course; these were created by extremely powerful Dae-Voh. The Rexunii guards made quick examples of them as to deter any further endeavors. After that, only the weeping and moaning remained.
Turak opened his eyes, taking in the cool morning air. The first beams of light were beginning to shine over the large mountains that surrounded the village. -Times up.- He thought to himself. He stood from his makeshift bedroll; just a blanket and his cloak that had been rolled into a pillow. All their normal field equipment was packed and stored for a quick getaway.
Turak made his way to the small hut where Robert had been meditating. Nothing had been heard or seen of the man since he’d locked himself inside the afternoon before. He knocked heavily on the door. “Prince Reku! Are you in there?” He waited several moments, hearing nothing from within. “It is dawn! We need to move as quickly as possible. Do you have your solution?” Nothing still. Turak brought his hand back to knock harder when the door opened suddenly, and a very tired looking Robert greeted him.
“Hey, Turak,” Robert said, quite informally. “Morning already?”
Turak looked at him, crossing his arms over his chest. “Yes. Do you have anything?”
Robert stepped from the hut and yawned. Turak noticed that he was far from calm, but completely exhausted.
“I do…” Robert said, turning to meet his eyes again. “Just… be ready for it… it’s… pretty strange.”
Turak raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ll see.” Robert began to walk, but stopped, turning again. “By the way, where are the bodies from the battle yesterday?”
◆◆◆
Demessa clenched her fists in frustration, listening to the disgruntled blasphemy of the two officers Yadri and Richoro. She was far enough away that they believed she couldn’t hear, but their raised voices and insults directed at Prince Reku were too much to ignore. She sat up from where she had been attempting to sleep through the night and began to stride over to them.
“Good morning, my lady,” Richoro said, bowing his head. “Seems that morning has come. Does the little demon prince have a plan yet? Perhaps he will think better after he has had some breakfast.”
Yadri giggled behind him. “Why waste good food? One look at the corpses again and it’ll all come back up!” Her giggle turned into a laugh, and the two of them erupted. Demessa even saw the warriors who were around them stifle laughter of their own.
“Impotent fools.” She said. “You know nothing of what he is. I will have words with the King when we return.” She turned to leave and saw Robert walking with Turak toward where they had hidden the bodies, in a large warehouse for food storage. Richoro and Yadri must have seen as well, as they quickly began moving toward them.
“Here,” Turak said, pointing to the door. “They’re piled in there like shit. I wouldn’t open the doors, the smell will knock you on your ass.”
Demessa walked up behind them, followed by Richoro and Yadri. “Good morning Lord Turak, Prince Reku.” She greeted them.
Robert looked at her and smiled. It was a genuine smile, it seemed. But spirits, he looked tired.
“Do you have a plan, Prince?” Yadri asked, looking less than happy.
Robert ignored her question and looked again to the door. He approached it slowly and placed his hand on the stone hand
le. He hesitated for a moment, then spoke over his shoulder. “Whatever you see come out of here… don’t attack it.”
The Dae looked at each other in confusion. -What?- Demessa thought. -What is he talking about?-
“Do you understand?” He said, clearly waiting for a response.
They just nodded, bewilderment still plastered on their faces.
Robert creaked the door open, and almost instantly the air was filled with the foul smell of death. He took a step back and lifted his hand toward the opening, and closed his eyes to concentrate. Again, Demessa saw the strange black wind flow from him, into the stone warehouse. Robert’s hand began to shake, and sweat beads began to form on his face. He was clearly struggling. What in the name of all the spirits was he doing?