by SlyOkami
Kol sighed as he stood up, “We remain where we last stood, fifth.”
“I adjourn this court and thank you all for coming to this disappointing night.” Sol announced as he stood alongside everybody else, his short frame comparable to the dwarves’. “Arch Duke Drew, Regional Dukes and Bishop Samael, I invite you to join me for tonight’s strategic meeting.” Sol then said, glancing over at Henry who did not follow after the rest of the Slayers. “General, gather the Lieutenant Generals for me if you will.”
Henry bowed politely, “I shall your highness.” he answered before rising back. “You will find one of my men waiting for you outside lady Selene. She will show you to your sister.” Henry then told Thea, who only nodded in numb response before walking over to the door. Waiting for the stream of accused to be carried out, before she herself walked out.
Thea walked through the castle’s long hallway, decorated by pleasant art she completely ignored. Slowly she walked through, slow enough that even Henry caught up and overtook her pace. The General nodding politely to her before continuing on his way, something she did not respond to.
Her heart was numb, her mind at a loss for thoughts. The death of her father too sudden, too unexpected. She was Lady now? Incredible yet unwanted, Thea cared not for her new rank. The lingering longing for her mother who passed away only half a year before, now infused with the pain she felt for losing her father too.
It still hadn’t fully ingrained itself into her mind, the fact that he was gone.
She stepped outside of the castle, standing atop the dozen steps taking to its entrance. Thea’s gaze rose at the sudden sound of dozens of feet stomping in unison, seeing before her the entirety of the Selene crimson guard’s officers.
The Selene’s most prized possession, the most powerful mercenary group beneath the Druvian military and Adventurer’s guild in terms of strength and backing. A military power in their own right.
Thea walked past general Henry and his prepared knight, “It seems I will not need of your men, sir.” she coldly said not stopping but continuing to descend the stairs. She stopped before Droy, the crimson guard captain.
He saluted, immediately followed by the rest of his officers, all but the rank and file were present. “We await your orders, Miss.”
“Lady, as of today.” Thea corrected, making it clear to Droy that this was unnecessary.
This, their very presence making it clear to Thea that what she vehemently wished were lies, were indeed truth. Her father was a traitor, Droy probably prepared to invade the very castle to extract their now commander in chief.
Mainly though as she noticed that none of the officers wore their daily uniform, but instead full crimson plate armour, weapons and other dwarven utilities that came with. Utilities provided by the Bjorn corporation. They were dressed for combat, wielding equipment purchased off another traitor.
“Selene, before I forget.” Henry then called out, gaining himself a brief glance. “Due to inconsistencies with the contract you signed on joining the military, mainly due to now owning a mercenary group. Your rank as Colonel within the Druvian military, is forfeit. Your sister Kayle, if she wishes to stay, is to be promoted to Major. Tell her that for me, won’t you?” he said before turning away and leaving alongside his knights.
“Take me to him.” Thea said, turning to face the crimson guard. “Take me to my father.” She coldly told them, finding it strangely easy to retain an empty expression.
Droy slowly dropped the salute, “As you wish, Lady Selene.” he politely responded. His officers stepped aside, breaking into two groups and allowing Droy to walk to the front where Thea followed him through.
They turned about and began to walk with, a formation around their captain and commander, movements that were made natural to them no matter the rank. The group walked through the city’s lamp-lit streets, night time long having fallen upon them. Little to no citizens walked about, only the homeless, late transports and city guard moving about.
Thea watched the dim city from behind the trained guards that escorted her, yet it gave her no sense of safety, no sense of warmth. Her heart was cold, her emotions drifting with dread and loss. A chilly breeze blew by them several times, but she barely felt its light frost before her own.
Then something appeared within her, a sudden warm flame that pulled towards one specific direction. A direction that kept changing, until she glanced up at it. She looked up at the moonlit rooftops, her eyes glossed over a brief shadow while she herself continued to walk
The shadow moved at first with great speed, before abruptly stopping several roofs ahead, now materializing into a person’s silhouette. They were cloaked yet the moonlight reflected the white armour beneath, their long snow-white and braided hair that snuck out from behind their hood glistened as well.
Also as the moon’s light met their eyes, they glowed a dim, beautiful gold. Entrancing Thea as she stared. Thea felt a connection with this being, a strange bond that only intensified when their eyes met. Like lightning surging, filling her body with energy like it had once before.
Like it had when she first pledged to Erik.
Then suddenly the being’s form burst into shadows once more, continuing on its way over the city’s rooftops. Followed by the even more sudden appearance of too many more shadows than Thea could count, within the brief seconds that she did noticed them. Hundreds at least, a wave of smoky darkness that disappeared just as quickly into the night.
And with it the surge of energy went, causing her to stop in her steps.
“Milady what’s the matter?” Droy asked, the entire formation stopping with her.
“Golden eyes…” Thea mumbled as she still gazed at the now empty rooftops.
“Darks?!” Droy exclaimed, gripping his blade and turning to follow her gaze.
“It’s gone.” Thea then said, snapping out of her daze.
Droy scanned the rooftops briefly, “Better to keep moving Lady Selene, the capital is not safe at night.” he said while still gripping his blade’s hilt.
“Yes, let’s go.” Thea agreed, continuing to move alongside her escorts. Contemplating, (“Were those really Xilfir? Why…did it feel like that?…I hope Erik is not too uncomfortable in that cell…”) as they walked.
-
* * *
-
Moments later, somewhere else outside the capital.
Klein was carried off into the dark woods, the ceremony of Slayer’s Dishonour too gruesome a torture to be done within holy walls. Now being dragged by his arms, bare-backed and stripped completely naked while the rocky earth cut and bruised him.
He would’ve screamed at the pain, but the Slayers would simply punch him in the jaw again as they had every time he made a noise. They walked several minutes away from the city walls, possibly so his screams would not reach the commoner’s ears.
Until finally reaching a large opening in the forest, flattened other than the fenced-out hill in the centre. The group of three dozen or so Slayers lost their formation, moving to stand at attention to the side. All but eight of them, two who dragged Klein with and six who herded six goats into the pen over the hill.
Klein could only watch in despair as he was dropped onto a plate of stone, carved with a runic circle for ritual casting. He dared not move, having given up on life long before the torture even began. The stories of this ceremony enough for him to do so.
The two Slayers that had carried him then stood with eyes closed and palms together on either side of him, chanting while a third began drenching Klein and his surroundings with blood. “Surge through the juice of life, corrupt and reform. Opposing energies collide, conflict…Lightning School, Torturous Voltage!”
The two spoke the spell, then suddenly the magic circle lit up violet. Electricity surged from the runes, filling Klein’s body with agony beyond his imagination. He felt his skin being scorched off, the electrocution so powerful that not a hair or patch of skin remained on his body’s surface after the
brief seconds of activation.
The spell cancelled before regeneration could kick in, the three Slayers now heaving Klein up in-between them as he lay limp, screaming his heart out.
They carried him off the plate of blood soaked stone, over to another plate closer to the pen. They laid him down while five other Slayers brought in a wooden tub full of salt. One of the Slayers crouched before the tub, laying his hand over it he cast a quick charm. Causing the large pile of salt to melt and turn into a jell-like white liquid.
Three of them, different this time. Heaved him up once more, although he barely felt their hands over his burning surface. Still screaming from the electrocution, his screams rose to an even higher pitch when his flayed body touched the salty substance.
The Slayers laid him into the tub, causing the man to suddenly begin to struggle. Wiggling and lashing about, Klein lost his mind entirely from the sheer agony that plagued his body. Before being turned over like a pan-cake, drowned into the jell where his screams briefly paused and were replaced with bubbling.
Seconds after the Slayers raised him out of the jell, now fully covered in the substance. They held him there as the one that cast the charm over the salt came to stand before Klein’s head, hovering his right palm over while chanting once more. “Imbue with body, formulate through this substance what was, Golemancy School; Create Skin!”
Suddenly Klein coughed violently, having inhaled some of the jell he puked it out before screaming out once again. As the jell thinned out all over his body, condensing, changing into what was just flayed off.
The salty jell became his skin, with constant contact to his flayed flesh underneath while also regenerating all of his sense of touch throughout his body.
The other Slayers watched in horror, even the ones carrying him faltered. This hadn’t been done in a long time. “Continue.” Then ordered the one that was casting the spells, an officer of the order. And so they did, carrying the viciously agonized man over to the pen, struggling to keep hold of him.
When they reached the fence though, one on the front accidentally dropped Klein by losing grip over his left arm. Klein’s head fell into the dirt, but his screams did not pause, not by a moment as his throat slowly grew sore. Only stopping to take short, deep and pained breaths before screaming once more.
The clumsy Slayer picked Klein’s arm back up and continued after their officer who opened the fence’s gate for them.
They carried him inside, the six goats rushing away from the screaming madman. The officer closed the gate before the goats escaped, then followed the four carrying Klein. They took him to the centre of the short hill where a log of dark metal lay, connected to the ground through some dwarven mechanism on one end.
They lay Klein face up over the log, all four of them holding him down while the captain came to stand on one side.
Grabbing Klein’s left hand he slammed it into a long nail on the log’s side, piercing the hand in place all the way through. Slowly, loudly and very bloodily, he did so to his other hand and both legs. Klein’s screams rising with each limb, though slowly his throat grew sore, his mind tired.
The Slayers let go of Klein after the officer had secured each nail with a wide bolt fastener, stopping him from freeing either limb.
All five of them then stepped away, leaving Klein to whimper and cry as he lay over the cold metal log, the sizzling pain that covering his body a constant. Four of the Slayers climbed over the fence but the officer stayed inside, unsheathing his dragonscale longsword while raising his free palm towards the restrained Klein.
“Beastiary School; Honey Attraction.” He quickly chanted the simple spell, as a wisp of green smoke shot towards Klein. The green mist briefly surrounded his body, but quickly faded away. Seemingly doing nothing to him, but the goats that were inside the pen with him were a whole different story.
They lost their shit entirely, rushing over to the restrained and naked man.
And once they reached him they began to…Lick him. Feet, legs, arms, hands, face…They licked him all over, his screams having subsided to groans of pain now joined with outbreaks of reactionary laughter as their tongues tickled his now highly sensitive artificial skin.
“Raise mechanism.” The officer chanted, causing the dwarven machinery to activate. Slowly the log began to rise to one side, raising Klein to standing as the goats continued to lick him.
Gripping his sword tightly, the officer then walked back over to Klein, staring him right in the eyes as he groaned and laughed. “Before the Order, Slayer Klein. With this blade, I absolve you of your sins.” The man said, before suddenly stabbing his sword into Klein’s gut.
Klein’s eyes though could not widen further, his expression only briefly pausing as blood gushed out of his mouth. Yet he continued to laugh, his mind broken by hysteria.
He laughed.
Klein laughed hysterically.
Klein then froze.
As the officer’s head was lobbed off before his very eyes.
He watched with horrified eyes, yet continuing to laugh. As Slayers were cut down left and right, their blood splattering over the forest opening floor as crooked white blades sliced by. Held by strings of raw lightning the blades flew in and out of the forest shadows, hundreds of them flying by. Not one clashing with another, the strings of lightning sparking briefly as they passed through each other with ease.
Within moments and without even what could be considered a struggle much less a fight, the entire Order of Slayers lay dead or bleeding out on the ground.
Klein, barely clinging on to life as he continued to chuckle then groan in pain, watched as the shadows moved out of the forest. Materializing into black cloaked men and women of greyish purple skin, wearing bright white plate-armour and dragon-shaped helmets.
The hundreds of Dark Elves spread out through the opening, stabbing to death any Slayer that remained alive.
“Collect the armour and weapons, then extract their hearts while collecting as much blood as you can carry.” Ordered a deep, crackling voice from behind him.
Erik appeared out of Klein’s left field of view, walking in casually and causing the chuckling mess to whimper. The goats were still viciously licking him, which was slowly turning painful too.
“Well well, we meet again Slayer. Or are you not one anymore? I’m not sure how your fate works yet, well…How it used to work, seeing as I’m eradicating it.” Erik said with a cold sneer, flicking his long white sleeves as he turned to fully face the mental wreck that was Klein. “Now I was going to give each and every one of you a slow, torturous death for daring to wear my brethren’s skin as clothing but…Truly this display took even my appetite away.”
Erik chuckled as he watched the goats lick away at Klein’s salted skin, “I must admit though, creative if anything.” his amused gaze rose back to meet the man’s eyes causing him to whimper once again. “Now I imagine this would take several more hours before you die of blood loss, but I cannot take the chance of you being found alive, nor do I have the time to waste watching you die.”
Erik raised his right palm towards Klein’s face, “There must be a merciful god watching over you, Klein.” He said when suddenly a small explosion occurred before his hand. The goats scattered at the sound, more blood now dripping down Klein’s limp body as everything from his shoulders up was incinerated.
“Master~” said Makaela in elven as she appeared in a burst of shadows, leaning into Erik’s back. Her breasts squashed in-between them as she laid her arms over his shoulders and tied them across his chest.
“What is it.?” Erik snapped back in elven, growing tired of this one’s extreme affection.
“Not including this one’s suit, which was carried with by the Order. There are still two missing~” Makaela reported as she giggled at his tone, sensually caressing his chin with her right hand while also moving her left across his chest.
“Who’s missing?” Erik asked less sternly, not entirely disliking the physical contact
.
“General Henry Kolbert’s black dragon set and~” She began while moving her right hand up his cheek and opening her mouth around his left ear, “The white dragon set of Alan the immortal hero-”
Yet before she even had time to finish her sentence, less so sexually bite his ear. Makaela was suddenly thrown back, due to the explosion of raw mana that burst out of Erik’s body. She tumbled back through the air but expertly landed into a kneel, raising her gaze to see Erik’s entire form surging with bright blue sparks of lightning.
“Did you just say…Alan?” Erik asked, his draconic voice completely unleashed over the entire area, causing each Xilfir to suddenly fall to their knees before it. The fury, hatred and excitement that filled his tone, every bit of it clear to their sensitive ears.
Makaela had to admit, never in her century and a half of elven life has she ever felt hornier…
Ch 12 - A Warning, and the Melody
The next day
Late afternoon
A sweet melody played, the expert violinist only adding to the dispiriting atmosphere within the graveyard. The ceremony of crimson guard officers heaving the large and expensive looking coffin through, while the rest followed behind them.
From family friends, work associates and political friends. Dozens had appeared for Fjorn Selene’s burial. His actions and plans against the crown aside, nobody present saw them as misdeeds. In fact, most would have probably agreed with him, they all thought their king a coward.
Most, but not his daughters.
Kayle too disheartened to say a word she stood by, waiting for her older sister Thea. Who, now that the priest had said his part, stepped towards the magically hovering coffin to say hers.
Thea stared at the carefully carved coffin, trimmed with gold and silver to form the family crest on the lid. A golden bow, stringed with silver but nocking not an arrow. Instead the bowstring was drawn with a silver rose, held by the bottom while the rose itself lay as the arrowhead. A magical rose as her mother would tell her when she was young, it would rain petals of beautiful silver upon all it flew over.