by Nefarious
As most wars tended to finish with, there were no winners here, only losers who would trudge back to their homes with haunting memories.
Burning the scene into his mind, Orion smiled and turned, leaving for the horizon.
*******
6 months. It had been 6 months since the Great War, as it was now known. Due to it, the Tribes had lost their appetite for the Empire, at least momentarily, and the Empire had lost a third of its soldiers. In fact, more now as their southern defence against the Horsemen had been lacking and the vampire support there had done little to tip the scales. Nonetheless, it seemed the Horsemen were content for the moment as they enjoyed their doubling in territory, cutting deep into the Empire.
But it was the east that mattered since no one had expected much from the Imperial Army and the weaker half of the Cruorems at the southern border anyway. It was the opposite in the east where it had been an Imperial Army and the entire Piros household, arguably the strongest House in the Empire, and definitely the flagbearers of the Empire. Everyone had expected a steamroller victory, one so definitive and crushing the foreigners would retreat with their tails far up their arses.
Nope. Despite only, apparently, being the scouting force, the foreigners had come to a standstill with the Empire’s strongest. Orion had anticipated this after Joiroa had told him of Shrien’s strength, the leader of the foreigners, but it was another thing to actually realise it to be true. But it didn’t matter, or at least it wouldn’t soon enough.
After the Great War, exaggerated tales of Orion’s influence and power had spread far quicker than he had anticipated. It seemed the returning soldiers had nothing to talk about but the next dreadful Zakari on the block. Regardless, as much as it pained him to admit to the common fearful man, he had to do just that as he came to terms with his own power. During her death, Eira hadn’t simply given him the energy to leave the battlefield, she had actually sapped the power out of her bones and transferred it to his.
He was now stronger, alarmingly so, and he knew it was all according to her plan. Hell, for all he knew, this could just be an extended Zakari plan, one where he would magically revive them back to life at the end. Maybe the power he had been given by her were small sections his family had passed onto her. Either way, he wouldn’t let them succeed. As much as he had once loved his family, considering the Empire was now crumbling to death and despair, he doubted the last thing it needed was the revival of a power-hungry family. In truth, he didn’t care too much for the Empire. It was instead his unfortunate familiarity with death and despair that made his feelings to his family turn.
No, as far as he was concerned, the world was done with the Zakari line and he would be doing his darn best to keep it that way. From what Eira had said, it seemed she had transported all the younger Zakaris far from their House and into distant cities. If any of them emerged into the world with dreadful power, he wouldn’t stop them. But for the legends of the past who now lay in the ground, they would have to continue doing so and forget any dreams of revival.
And for this to happen, Orion had a plan, one he was sure Eira hadn’t thought through, or at least believed he wouldn’t commit to. But he would after this last necessary evil, because while it went against his urges, deep down, it was far better than the alternative.
“Orion?” Joiroa suddenly asked, intruding on Orion’s thoughts.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Orion replied, breaking out of his daze. “But you’re sure?”
“Yes, this is where they gather. Look at the light and fire and life,” Joiroa replied.
“No.” Orion said, “You’re sure you want to do this? It’s technically a betrayal, right?”
Joiroa released a low guttural laugh, more beast than man, especially one so refined and aged as Joiroa was. “They betrayed me first. Besides, I don’t…” he stopped. “I don’t want to see what will happen otherwise. It is too dreadful, too base, too inhumane,”
Orion nodded at the aged foreigner before turning to Kora who kept a watch for both of them.
“We alright?” he casually said.
“Yeah, but we’ve got visitors. I think the Piros are also launching an attack now, and from the patterns the torches are following, I think the foreigners are expecting them. Don’t get me wrong, they’ll all be there but this is an ambush,” she said slowly.
Orion shrugged. “All the better to deal with them in one strike,”
53. Last fight
* * *
Orion eyed the lanterns drifting in the night with a predator’s patience. He had now watched them for long enough to map out the sentry’s patrol path around the foreigner’s base. He was forced to agree with Kora the whole thing was a ruse though, a sweet cake set out to trap the Piros. The lanterns were flickering in some places, and in others there was no light, just an expanse of black. Considering the foreigners’ alleged strength, there was no way they were lax with their defence, and so the entire scenario screamed out its true nature.
Still, the Piros would fall for it.
While Orion didn’t know the other House intimately, he had known his own family well enough to draw a parallel. The Piros were the actual leaders of the Empire, and Orion was certain their ego, and frustration with the resilient invaders were enough for them to take the bait. But more than these, he believed they would fall for it was because of their magic. Their magic wasn’t transformative like the Metole’s, nor inhumane like the Cruorem’s, nor creative like the Zakari’s. No, theirs was purely destructive, the power to tame fire, and it was strongest at long ranges.
Considering these points, it seemed obvious to him the Piros would set up in one of the surrounding dunes and rain down fire upon the foreigners’ base. And if Shrien was as devious as his reputation made him, then he would use the trap as a tool to get into close range with the Piros, where they had less of an advantage. Of course, there were many counter plays both parties could take for this situation, and that was where the real fight started.
“Do we move?” Joiroa asked.
Orion considered it. They were on a sandy hill, using the foliage as cover as they spied the soon-to-be war scene. Around them were several similar dunes, each providing less of a vantage but still preferable if the trio wanted to stay hidden. However, Orion had a bone to stick with both the Piros and the foreigners, and considering Eira’s power coursing through his veins, the two parties were going to face hellfire from him.
“No,” Orion said viciously. “We’ll take this to them soon, as soon as the sky lights up,”
Joiroa nodded, keeping quiet his opinion. The aged foreigner had said little about what he had done while they were apart. Still, he had been overjoyed when he had seen Orion and Kora, although Orion wasn’t sure if this feeling sourced from friendship or from the aura of strength he and Kora exuded.
“I think—” Kora said.
Suddenly, a bright streak burst through the sky, heading right for the foreigners’ base. A little way off its target, it shattered into several pieces that flew on. But before they could burn the base down to cinders, a large purple barrier appeared metres from the base. The shattered pieces embedded themselves in the barrier, seemingly innocent and pure as they gradually lit up.
Orion realised just in time as he yelled, “DOWN!”
Kora listened, immediately ducking with her head down, but Joiroa faltered, turning to face Orion with confusion written over his face.
In the next second, the shattered pieces budded, lighting up so bright they seemed close to explosion. Orion knew this as he heard Joiroa scream in pain as the light bore holes through his eyes. Then, they exploded. The shockwaves sent the dunes around into chaos, sand sweeping up into the air to form dust screens, the ground itself shaking.
When they settled back down, Orion and Kora were beside Joiroa, holding him still as he tried to roll and scream. Eventually calming, Joiroa opened his eyes and stared right through Orion and Kora who glanced over him.
“I cannot see
,” he said in a cracked voice, “Only circles of darkness with colour around,”
“It’s okay. Take a few deep breaths, give it some time and it’ll all be back to normal,” Kora promised. Though, despite her confident tone, she was doubtful whether the damage could be reversed.
To their luck, her empty words struck true as in the following moments, Joiroa’s vision returned, sending the aged man into a joyous fit.
Gazing into the distance, Orion saw the raid had already begun, or more precisely, the ambush. The barrier around the foreigners’ base had disappeared and what it had once protected was now ash and cinders piled over roasted bones. But just like they had guessed, it seemed no one cared about the causalities as all attention was on the lit-up dune in the far distance. The foreigners had ambushed the Piros right after the initial attack, taking advantage of the blinding light.
Orion faced Kora and mirrored her nod. “Alright, Jorioa. It’s time,”
“Good luck,”
Over the following seconds, the duo sped over the dunes, Kora in her vampire form and Orion gliding over ice. He had never been able to use his powers so carelessly before but now it was different.
It seemed they had been closely watched all this time as the moment they emerged, Orion noticed several men and women tailing them. They kept a safe distance away from the duo, or at least they thought, although Orion knew better. Still, he wasn’t about to do anything just yet – they were welcome to enjoy his show if they wanted. Besides, he wasn’t dumb enough to believe they would retreat after one show of power. No, they were precisely here to hound at his heels and delay his arrival.
His thoughts proved themselves as the duo crested the dune neighbouring the battlefield. The spies got desperate as they closed the net on him, some using spells. His ice shield blocked the attacks with ease, and to the closest man’s misfortune, a monstrous icicle erupted out of the sand, goring the man through the stomach. As the others momentarily recoiled at this, Orion grabbed Kora’s hand and focused his Szu on the ground, sending waves down at a rapid and dangerous pace.
The force propelled them up, shooting them into the sky. While he couldn’t fly like this, he could come crashing down like a broken rocket – a perfect entrance. Orion glanced across the dark-skinned foreigners below him as he fell through the sky. They watched him with wide eyes, some even pointing in surprise, probably more at Kora’s monstrous form than his slight one. To the other side, he saw an even more humorous sight. Waves of fire surrounded the Piros and the very same fire burned in their eyes as they stared at his figure, some visibly gritting their teeth.
Orion laughed at this. He was determined to payback everyone who had razed his family despite everything he had discovered, and the Piros were the last piece on the board: he had no qualms about wrecking their House. As for the foreigners, considering they were invading Orion’s homeland to colonise it, he had no qualms about wiping them out either. This was his last task, and he was going to take every joy in doing it.
As he landed, he waved his hand at the land and a massive lotus of ice sprouted in an instant, safely cradling the duo to the ground, the petals defending them from wild attacks. Despite feeling it chip away by the second, Orion dug deep into its core and placed his hand on the ground, focusing his whole mind and energy into the ground.
From the outside, while the waves of enemies watched curiously as the latest entrant hid away in a frozen flower, large pillars of ice grew around them at the edges of the battlefield. Each of the pillars grew at a visible rate despite being several men thick, and they converged towards the centre, creating an ice cage in a matter of seconds. Some tried to escape during this time but as they inevitably touched the thickly woven ice on the way out, they recoiled back in shock and clutched at their skin, screaming as vicious mana devoured their souls.
Finally, the lotus gave way and Orion and Kora revealed themselves, Orion taking in all the fearful yet hateful stares he was getting. He broke into a vicious grin as Kora disappeared in that second, sprinting into a melee with some nameless. Meanwhile, he knelt and put his left hand to the ground, his heart anticipating the fall.
“Collapse,” he whispered under his breath.
54. Overpowering
* * *
The pillars above were still for a moment, resisting Orion’s order. Each weighed tons, behemoths in their own right. Regardless, the monstrous pillars cracked, the slits in them shining glints of light into the shadows below. They fell instantly, plummeting down with a petrifying force. The moment was too overwhelming for most men to react as they stared up, their legs frozen below. Then the pillars smashed into the ground, sending up mounds of dirt as the barrage began.
It was alike a nightmare as the gory crash landings sounded out like thunder, continuous thunder beating the earth. The pillars’ shadows which had covered the battlefield was now gone, and in their place was an incorporeal darkness, one which fed off the pain and misery around.
When all hope seemed lost to both sides of the war, a radiant light burned through the inky black. The light was dazzling but brought warmth to all who saw it: a dangerous warmth. With no warning, the light grew rapidly, soon revealing itself as a burning ball of magma. Just as it was about to shoot forth, a green feather snaked out of the rubble and into the fireball.
In response, the fireball jolted and shook, growing volatile by the second. Then the green feather retreated, escaping back to the rubble, and the fireball exploded, splattering thick goo into its surroundings. This molten lava was so hot it devoured the flesh of any it touched, the screams only faltering as the dust cleared.
On one side were the foreigners, their leader, Shrien. He stood amongst his men, easily distinguished by the five green feathers revolving around his body. He had smooth ebony skin and stood in a tensed soldier’s pose. Despite this, his head was cocked upward and the disdain from his eyes was tangible.
On the other side was the Piros Household, alongside the remaining Imperial Army. The Imperial Soldiers had taken the brunt of the foreigners’ ambush so their numbers were thin and injured. Still, they had nothing to fear with the tyrants at their back. In the middle of this cluster was a man with one foot in the grave and a winding red beard coiled around his body. The man was slim-built, but this did little to hide the tyrannical aura he released. He was Azar, the head of the Piros House, and also the one who had released the fireball, before being intercepted by Shrien.
Azar glared at Shrien with enough venom to kill a titanbeast. However, he soon slid his anger towards the figure walking out of the dust.
Grinning, Orion strolled out from the dustcloud, coming to a stop as he assessed the two other leaders. Neither of three moved while this happened, even though violence sang loud and clear around them.
“Gentlemen,” Orion said in faux modesty.
“Zakari,” Azar screeched out, his frame shaking.
“El pero weael,” Shrien proclaimed state-of-matterly.
While Orion had no idea what the man meant, he had heard Joiroa enough to know it was the same tongue. Joiroa had also told Orion the best way to stop Shrien’s plans was to kill the man and to take the key he held under his clothes. This key was a transporter, and when activated, would release the teleporter, which they could then destroy. The reason Shrien hadn’t left the teleporter in some hidden spot to continuously spit out new soldiers was because it required a ridiculous amount of resources to work, and his latest attempts at procuring those had been foiled by the Piros.
What Orion wanted to do to Azar was a lot simpler: kill him. After which, he aimed to kill the remaining family elders to make sure the family would only crumble from now onwards.
Unsurprisingly, Shrien was the first to break the tense ceasefire between the leaders. The green feathers floating beside him were simply twirling one second, but in the next they were spearing towards Orion. Azar immediately joined this assault as he cast a fire cage around Orion, locking him in place. While Shrien and Azar hated eac
h other, they were both smart enough to acknowledge Orion’s dreadful power after his arrogant display.
The green feathers pierced through Orion’s flesh, and the fire cage closed in, tightening around his skin. But instead of blood and flesh, steaming water poured down as his figure turned to ice.
His two enemies reacted quickly, scanning their surroundings with fear. Moments before he was caught by their searching eyes, he leapt out of the ground as if it was water, a dagger of ice in his hand as he lunged towards Shrien.
The foreigner smirked at this attempt and sidestepped, taking hold of Orion’s wrist before thrusting down. But instead of hearing the satisfying crack he had expected, he instead felt ice crunch in his hand. Just as he realised he had attacked another clone, a biting pain flared through his back. He screamed as he rushed away from the source of pain, mule-kicking back with all his strength.
This attack made contact with Orion but failed to make the Zakari recoil. Instead, Orion snatched the foot with his left hand and used Szu on it as well, cracking the flesh and peeling the skin. Here, he let Shrien go and watched the foreigner trip up in distress, simultaneously setting up an ice barrier to block Azar’s attack.
Orion ignored Azar and walked up to Shrien, kicking the man down, before using another burst of Szu on him. The pain he was inflicting didn’t please him at all, no, it was the power that pleased him. These were men who he had once been warned against, fearsome characters who always felt so out of reach. But now they weren’t!
Hoping the momentary respite meant Orion had gotten distracted, Shrien edged away, pulling himself forward with his arms. He failed, however, as a blade of crystal ice tore through his neck, decapitating him.
Then, Orion turned his attention towards Azar, who had been setting up a grand magic spell all this time. Orion had willingly let the old Piros do this…
Finally, Azar ended, striking the ground with his open palms. The ground under Orion cracked, similar to when Szu was used on it, only this time gold-coloured lava seeped out, scorching the very dead ground they spread across.