Second Skin: Unified: A litRPG Adventure (Second Skin Book 3)

by M Damon Baker

  25

  We left the Palace the next morning to a great deal of fanfare. Nearly everyone had come out to see us off, save for Líann, who’d kept her promise and left me with that one last tantalizing image of her lingering in my mind.

  But that image, enticing as it was, wasn’t the reason why Líann had been on my mind for most of that morning. It was the thought of having her as my Táriel—how I’d made her into something special, my lifetime companion, and why it hadn’t been Tási who’d received that unique boon.

  It hadn’t taken me very long to figure out the mystery. It was actually quite obvious. Líann was my darkness, and my shadows were my strength. I hadn’t made Líann into a Táriel, my darkness had.

  Despite the love I had for Tási, and the power of the passion we shared, darkness was my true strength. It called to me, and I knew it was my deepest reservoir of power. It sometimes beckoned me towards unspeakable acts, but that was just it’s nature. I knew right from wrong, and I also knew that the shadows weren’t necessarily evil. It was how I chose to wield them that mattered; I gave in to my darkness only when I could unleash its power on those who truly deserved to feel my wrath.

  If I actually had any choice in the matter, if I could have decided between Tási and my passion or Líann and the darkness, I might very well have abandoned my strength in favor of Tási’s comfort. Unfortunately, it seemed that such choices were never mine to make. Things are not always about what you want, but what needs to happen—Venna’s words echoed inside my head once more.

  Perhaps, with Líann as my Táriel, I might be able to have both. Once she learned to adapt to my other needs, I might even be able to find some balance with her—maybe even find a place in between the darkness and my softer emotions. A place where we could get what we needed from each other without having to dive so deeply into the deep, black pool of shadows inside me… Only time would tell.

  But those thoughts, like so many others, would simply have to wait. It was time for me to go to war.

  Our contingent swelled as we reached the Garrison, and more and more troops joined the procession. Once we marched outside the gates, our group was enveloped by the massive numbers of the Imperial Army, led by the First Marshal himself, and we made a rather grand spectacle as we marched off towards the outpost and the main trade road that would eventually lead us to our enemies in the horse lands.

  Hygan was the southernmost of those two Realms, and would be our first target. Zonnia lay to its north, and we’d have to wait to conquer it until after its neighbor to the south was defeated. While we had worked up several different strategies for attacking both Realms, ultimately the tactics we employed would depend on the circumstances we found when we finally arrived there.

  As an army, we had little to fear traveling the roads. The bandits and orc marauders would steer well-clear of us, and we didn’t need to rely on the fortified campsites for protection overnight. As a result, we marched at a much faster pace than the leisurely caravans, but even so, it would take nearly a month for us to cross the distance between the Imperial District and Hygan.

  Long-distance warfare like this had never been conducted before, at least not in the history records that were still available. Even if they had the desire, none of the Realms had the ability to project their forces over such vast distances. But my alliances gave me the means to extend my power far across the land, and I intended to use this opportunity to make that point clear to any who might think to provoke me.

  The trip began as an almost festive affair, and it wasn’t difficult to see why—the green banners and pennants Nentai had provided, as well as the ones that Wenda and her seamstresses had supplemented, flew throughout our lines. Beneath those fluttering banners, the bulk of my forces wore the gold-trimmed red capes of the Imperial Army, and marched in precise, orderly lines down the center of the trade road. Blue-caped ministry guards dominated a small section, protecting my Ministers, while green capes, trimmed in black again, decorated the personal guard around me. The procession had the look of a summer fair, and with the prospect of victory ahead of them, the Army marched forward with a sense of confident anticipation.

  While Bane typically flew overhead, Tási often walked beside me or rode with me in the carriage that had been provided for my comfort. She also spent a great deal of her time amongst the artillery corps that was comprised of the troops from Ashton. Although she’d been born on Isouri, Tási spent much of her life in Ashton, and several of the soldiers from that Realm were old acquaintances of hers. She enjoyed reminiscing about old times with them, and her presence among them proved to be a great morale boost for the soldiers as well.

  We traveled fast, at least compared to the trade caravans, but the Field Marshal brought us to a halt after the first week to let the Army rest for a full day. Evans thought it best to not over-tax his soldiers, considering it unwise to have them march halfway across the continent only to face our enemy in a state of near exhaustion. So, starting with that first stop, we marched for no more than a week at a time before he’d call for a break.

  I’d been holding out a bit on everyone, and when we made that first stop, I decided it was time for a little demonstration. For the most part, Evans knew what I could do, but I wanted him to see for himself the latest little wrinkle I’d been working on, hoping that he might even figure it into his plans.

  I gathered a small group together, consisting of my companions, Bane, Evans, and both Ella and Saibra, ostensibly as our guards, and led them away from the massive camp we’d made and into the surrounding forest. I’d forbidden them from bringing any other escorts, but with the combined power of those I had allowed to come along, there were no objections.

  When we’d gotten far enough away from any prying eyes, I stopped and had them simply watch as I summoned a black orb and brought it forth into the palm of my hand. Evans had heard about my ability to call forth my rage, and Saibra had felt the power of it when she’d been Insleí, but neither of them had seen me project the essence of my darkness before.

  “This,” I told them as I held the orb out towards them, “is pure destruction. I have been practicing with it—learning how I can make it into a more effective weapon. And I have succeeded.”

  I turned away from them and extended the palm of my hand forward. When I chose my target, the dark orb shot from my hand and rocketed through the air and then into the distant tree I’d designated for destruction. The orb struck my target silently, and simply melted into the trunk of the massive tree. Black tendrils of utter devastation instantly began winding their way up and around the trunk, shattering bark and splintering branches as they rotted away everything they touched.

  In seconds, the bulk of the tree was reduced to ash, and the hollow remains of what was left came crashing down to the forest floor, only to be devoured by the blackness as well.

  What I had learned was not how to increase the power of my orbs—that was always within my means, at least up to my own ability to control their shadows. The discovery I’d made was how to project them over a great distance and with almost complete accuracy. The orb hadn’t truly been in the palm of my hand when I sent it out; a portion of it was still within me at the time. I found that if I retained any part of an orb inside me, that by focusing on it, I could push it, and it would go wherever my mind wanted it to. That was the power I’d brought them there to witness.

  “If that will that work against stone, I’m not sure we’ll need the catapults,” Evans was the first to speak, immediately perceiving a military application for my ability.

  “Unfortunately, it doesn’t,” I replied. “Its power only affects living matter, and things that were once alive. Wood, leather, and cloth are all susceptible to my orb’s influence, but not metal or stone.”

  “Pity,” he responded with obvious disappointment. “But I can already imagine some other ways to put this to use. Let me consider it for a while and I’ll see what else I can come up with.”

  “That’s
why I brought you here,” I announced. “This wasn’t just a display of my power. Each of you has your own unique perspective and insights, and I want all of you to think about that same thing: how can we use this?”

  Bane’s fire might have been an even greater revelation, but I wanted to keep that secret for as long as possible. Even as powerful as he was, I was still hesitant to expose him to the dangers of the battlefield. In addition, when we did finally unleash him, I wanted it to take our foes completely by surprise. His flames would be my ultimate secret weapon and would only be unveiled when I knew that the time was right.

  The walk back was mostly in silence as they contemplated what I’d shown them. Even having seen it before in some small way hadn’t prepared any of them for the magnitude of the destruction I’d wrought.

  “You didn’t need me to protect you today,” Saibra spoke to me as we walked back. “Was that meant as a reminder, or did you have some other purpose when you made me witness that?”

  “No, Saibra. My intention was not to stir up any unpleasant memories,” I replied. “Actually, I thought you’d have figured out why I chose to include you. You’ve been very perceptive about these things in the past.”

  “You have intentions for me?” Saibra immediately surmised, quite correctly.

  “Not right now, but yes,” I admitted. “You’re here for a reason, it’s just not your time. Now that I understand that better, I intend to include you in my inner circle, so that when the time does come, you will be ready to take your place with me.”

  That might have sounded quite obnoxious under other circumstances—under normal, human circumstances. But I was Sintári, and I was finally coming to terms with that fact. I needed my Tári, and they needed me; sometimes, they might come to me too soon. Even if I couldn’t make them part of my life at the time, I had to accept them in those instances, not push them away. Saibra had understood that before I had, all I did was confirm what she already knew.

  “I will be ready, Empress,” a very rare smile graced her lips before she left me to walk on ahead.

  Without any more surprises for me to reveal, our other days of rest were less eventful. But during the second week of our travels, the first of our scouts returned to report on their efforts to undermine the nobles of Hygan and Zonnia.

  They had been able to spread word of my promise of freedom from the tyranny of their nobility, and there had even been some initial response from the common folk, but the nobles had immediately instituted reprisals against anyone who spoke out against them, brutally crushing the opposition I’d hoped to inspire under the heavy heels of their boots. It was disheartening to hear, but Saibra spoke up when she saw my mood turn sour.

  “This will work against them,” she proclaimed confidently. “The lords are relatively few in number, and rule over vast lands. They don’t have the means to truly control their people. Their power derives from the ability to intimidate their subjects, and the fact that the people have nowhere else to go. You have given them an option they never had before—to simply leave and start over elsewhere. I think you may find the next reports much more to your liking, Empress.”

  “She makes an interesting point,” Venna mused. “It won’t be easy for them to relocate to a new Realm, but faced with the choice of increasing oppression at home, I can see how many might decide to leave now that they have the choice.”

  Before my Empire, migration between the Realms was uncommon, mostly due to the suspicions they held towards each other, but my Empire welcomed anyone who wished to join, and the common folk of the horse lands finally had the ability to simply walk away from those who’d callously ruled over them for so long.

  “I know I would,” Ella added almost reluctantly.

  I hadn’t only included Saibra in my confidences, but Ella as well. Both had become fixtures in my council meetings, and although she wasn’t quite comfortable with the role, Ella had begun to offer her insights as well, albeit hesitantly.

  “I hope the three of you are right,” I replied, considering what each had said. “If we can disrupt things enough, it will make our task all the easier.”

  They were indeed correct, and just as Saibra predicted, the next of Khorim’s scouts who returned to us reported that despite the increasingly brutal nature of the lords’ reprisals, the common folk had begun to flee the horse lands. Fields had been left untended, and entire herds of livestock were led away by those who had abandoned their former masters. Líann’s scheme had borne fruit; the only question left was if it would have enough time to ripen before we arrived.

  After our third week on the road we stopped just north of the borders of Eória, and the Army made camp on the low, rolling plains that led into Hygan. From that point on, we could be set upon by our enemy’s forces at any moment, and Evans decided to remain camped there for a few days to ensure that the Army was completely rested and ready for what was to come.

  Being so close to our enemy’s territory, we set a rigorous watch. Although our own scouts reported no sighting of them, the lords of Hygan had to be aware of our presence on their doorstep. The movements of such a large and powerful army were not something that could simply pass unnoticed.

  Despite the increasing tension of the looming conflict, I found myself in an oddly peaceful frame of mind—I had no doubt about the eventual outcome of this war, and deep inside, my darkness craved it. Weeks had passed since I’d last been able to release my shadows, and they’d built up over that time into a rising pit of blackness. But I was so close to being able to truly set them loose that they no longer sought their freedom. My darkness had become content to wait for me to let it truly run wild.

  I actually began to enjoy the few days that we sat encamped on our enemy’s doorstep, taunting them with our mere presence. The cool breezes that brushed over the land made camping in the open quite pleasant, and without any sign of the horse lord’s vaunted cavalry, there seemed to be no reason not to take advantage of the respite.

  That was precisely what I was doing when I heard a commotion outside my tent one evening. A few indistinct noises were immediately followed by the ring of an alert in my head, and I stepped outside to investigate.

  Once I strode out into the cool night air, I walked to the side of my tent where the disturbance had come from. One of my own soldiers lay on the ground, in a dark pool of blood that matched the crimson cape draped across her back. Saibra stood over the corpse, one of the blades in her hand painted red with the blood of the fallen soldier.

  I couldn’t believe what my eyes seemed to be telling me, but neither could I ignore it—Saibra had killed one of our own, and I needed to know why she’d betrayed me before I took her life.

  I was no match for her with my blades and there was no time for me to draw my bow, so I advanced on her with dark orbs in the palms of my hands. Saibra was completely calm as she stood facing me—the look in her eyes spoke to me of an acceptance with what she’d done, and there was no trace of anger or hatred.

  “What happened here?” I asked her simply.

  “She came for you,” Saibra replied coolly. “Her name was Moiren, and we worked together for a time, but she never learned how to truly sneak up on someone.”

  “An assassin?” I asked, with sudden comprehension.

  “And a fairly good one at that,” Saibra responded in confirmation.

  I dismissed the orbs I’d been keeping hidden within the folds of my cloak, and stepped closer to examine the body. In doing so, I left myself completely open to Saibra’s blades, as a demonstration of the faith I had in her.

  The assassin was dressed as one of my own, and I had no idea what might have given her away to Saibra, but as I pressed my hand against her body, the loot menu popped up, revealing not only the disguise she’d likely killed one of my soldiers to obtain, but a piece of parchment and coin purse as well. I took both before rising again.

  I took everything else as well, leaving the assassin in only her own scant undergarments. Not only was
I not going to let her continue to defile the uniform she’d stolen, but her body was also destined for a rather quick disposal.

  ‘Bane,’ I called to him. ‘I’ve got dinner for you.’

  I laced my words with thoughts and images of the body in front of me, and Bane’s reply came back to me tinged with the unmistakable notes of his hunger.

  Thank you, Sintári. I am coming to you now.

  ‘It’s not mine, it’s Saibra’s,’ I answered Bane’s unasked question when he landed near me.

  I understand, Sintári. It will still serve me.

  He grasped the body in just one of his powerful claws before launching himself into the night sky and carrying it away almost effortlessly.

  “He’s going to eat it,” Saibra stated bluntly.

  I had come to appreciate Saibra’s keen observations and candor, but that fact was not one I wanted to be made public.

  “That,” I glared at her. “Is not for anyone else to know.”

  “I understand,” she replied. “Although, I think you might want to reconsider at some point. Letting your enemies know that they may wind up as dragon fodder could be quite… intimidating.”

  “Perhaps, but for now I’d prefer that you tell me how Moiren was able to get so close to me.”

  “Why, I let her, of course,” Saibra replied with just a hint of a smirk. “I gave her an opening I knew she couldn’t resist, and then made her pay for choosing the obvious path.”