by Pirateaba
“Bear this in mind. While my kingdom has waned, powerful new empires have risen. Even in my slumber I heard whispers of coalitions, and a powerful new ruler who had conquered the desert cities.”
Flos frowned as he pointed out, towards the massive desert that lay in the distance. It was close enough to see, but the rolling sands and dunes disappeared forever into the horizon. Trey couldn’t even imagine how far this land stretched.
Orthenon coughed into one hand.
“Assassins and armies will soon be sent against you, my King. Your allies may rejoice at your return, but your enemies are numerous.”
Gazi nodded.
“Word has already reached Izril, my lord, although I know not how. It was how I gained news of your return. If it has spread all the way there—”
Mars shrugged, letting the armor on her shoulders roll as she gestured to the sword at her side and the massive round shield on her back.
“Let assassins come. I will protect my King. It’s armies that will pose the greater threat. But how did news spread to far so quickly? I barely got word of your return a week ago, and I was close by.”
Flos smiled, and Trey felt the iPhone in his pocket, cold and hard. He’d kept it switched off ever since the call, but it had come as a surprise that he’d been allowed to keep it. Yet the King, for all he claimed Trey and Teres as his unwilling subjects, had insisted it was theirs.
“I believe I know how, and I would not be surprised if most nations had heard word of my return by now. No matter; I would hardly have kept it secret in any case. A King does not hide. And perhaps this way word will reach my farthest-flung allies.”
“But will they march to you or stay where they are? Either way, I would not count on this aid before the first enemy strikes.”
Takhatres said it bluntly, and Flos nodded. The King smiled, tugging lightly at his beard as he surveyed his city, bustling with activity.
“How to proceed, then? My kingdom is wasted; it will take much gold to cure their long sickness, and yet my treasury is empty. Those who could fight left to serve in other wars to feed their families, and my armory has only a few relics left in it.”
“You gave arms and armor to the soldiers who left.”
Gazi said it, and Flos nodded without a hint of regret.
“They earned it, and such things would have been useless to me as I was. No, I merely state facts, Gazi. And if arms were my only concern I would be lucky. But the walls crumble, and food is scarce.”
He turned towards the others, spreading his arms wide.
“If I have no army, no coin, few weapons and fewer supplies to feed my people, how should I move?”
It sounded dire, but the twins saw a smile on his face. His eyes were twinkling, and Trey realized that Flos was happy. The King looked at Gazi.
“Is it not wonderful? To be faced with such adversity from the start?”
She smiled a slight, enigmatic smile.
“As you say, my King. It is a fitting challenge for a beginning.”
“Would that life were thus.”
Flos sighed, and looked at Orthenon.
“We must exceed ourselves. For now, my Skills will help mobilize the people, but we must find a source of food to last us through this winter. It may never snow except in the desert, but we may still starve soon enough.”
Orthenon nodded. He gestured out the window at a small line of people, far below. Trey squinted, and saw an orderly group of people waiting to receive food from a wagon. No soldiers were guarding the wagon though, and it looked like the people helping unload the wagon were just volunteers.
“The stores from merchants we have seized will help, and more still have offered us goods at extremely generous rates, or for free outright.”
“For free? Why?”
Mars looked astonished, but Orthenon was not. He looked at Flos.
“They remember your kindness of years past, or they hope to earn favor with the kingdom. But it will still not be enough.”
The King frowned slightly, pondering the problem. He spoke into the air.
“‘Money is the root of all evil’, is that not one of the quotes from your world? Well, perhaps it is evil it engenders, for money itself would save lives and feed the empty bellies of children.”
Trey blinked at him and Teres shrank back even more as Flos looked at them. Were they supposed to reply? Sometimes Flos wanted a response just to hear their perspectives, or to know what people from their world thought. But now wasn’t one of those times. He turned back to the others and gestured out the windows.
“I am a no peaceful King who waits and builds up his kingdom. I understand war; if it is a matter of funds, arms, or aught else, then we will simply have to take it.”
The others nodded as if this were the most natural thing in the world. Mars grinned, showing off a mouth full of perfect, white teeth.
“From whom? Do you have a preference, sire?”
Flos nodded, stroking the beard on his chin.
“There are several large bandit groups that have the might of a small army behind them. And there may be individuals of worth among them as well. Now that Gazi and Mars have arrived, it would be safe to send Mars and Takhatres out while Gazi remains. Her name alone would ward off most threats in your absence.”
Mars and the bird-man seemed pleased by this, but Gazi was not. She turned to her King and spread her hands out, protesting mildly.
“I can still fight, my lord. The loss of one eye—”
Flos was shaking his head, and Gazi fell silent. He looked at her with sympathy and affection, placing one hand again on her shoulder.
“I would never doubt your courage, Gazi. But I will not risk you yet, not over such a trivial matter. We must find a scroll or potion to regenerate your eye, and soon. Mars—Takhatres—”
“It will be a priority, my lord.”
Mars bowed, and gave Flos a sultry smile that made Trey’s heart skip a beat. But Flos just smiled at her, and the tall woman blushed instead.
“My thanks. Now—”
Someone knocked at the double doors. It was a slight sound, quickly swallowed up by the cavernous room, but Orthenon was at the doors in moments. He opened them, and admitted a man covered in dust and grit.
A construction worker—a [Builder] of some kind? Trey was surprised he was allowed in, but Flos strode over and spoke familiarly to the man as if it were only natural. He returned in moments, and spoke to the others.
“It seems there are matters I must attend to. Construction, a few emissaries—no, Gazi, Mars, I would hardly wish for you to bestir yourselves after your long journey. Rest here. We will have a short break! Orthenon, I will deal with this myself.”
Orthenon nodded as Flos strode out of the room. The tall man went back to stand with the other three, and Trey edged away from them slightly.
Now the mood in the vast throne room had changed again. In Flos’ absence, the smiles on the faces of his four vassals changed. They were still smiling; but differently towards each other.
Teres didn’t have to tell Trey that there was some tension between them. Mars was the first to break the silence. She shifted slightly, leaning down so her breasts were more obvious as she spoke to Gazi.
“It’s good to see you again, Gazi. A pity you didn’t come earlier; I would have dearly loved to see our lord’s face had we walked in together.”
Gazi smiled back at Mars, without a hint of actual joy in her expression. She had sharp teeth.
“I would not wish to sully the joy of meeting our King with your presence. He deserves someone by his side with the least amount of confidence and competence.”
“Oh? And I see you are as impatient as ever, Gazi. You might have waited; our lord was enjoying the poem of the long-dead king.”
The half-Gazer shrugged, almost regretfully and shook her head.
“What a shame he must listen to children from another world for entertainment. It seems the novelty of your presence has worn o
ff already, Mars.”
The other woman’s eyes narrowed and her hand twitched towards the hilt of her sword. Gazi smiled smugly, but before the two could exchange another round of insults, Takhatres clicked his tongue softly. He spread his ‘arms’, two long wings with long feathers and nimble talons at each end.
“Do you two intend to exchange insults the instant you meet? Or am I so invisible that you don’t wish to ask me about how I have been, Gazi?”
Gazi looked at him, and her expression softened somewhat. Mars looked abashed, and scratched at her head as the two turned to Takhatres.
“My apologies, Takhatres. How is your tribe?”
“Right, sorry. How are your sons and daughter? Did your wives lay any more eggs since I last saw you?”
Orthenon moved over towards Teres and Trey as the three began to converse in earnest. Trey was relieved he was the one talking to them; his head was spinning again, and he desperately needed someone to talk to if he and Teres couldn’t get away to discuss things. And if there was someone Trey had to talk to, he’d choose Orthenon.
“How are you two doing, Trey, Teresa? It has been a long day and I believe my lord forgot that you two require food, even if he does not. Should I have something brought for you to eat?”
“What? No—I’m good, thanks.”
“I’m fine, thank you. I had a big breakfast.”
Teres smiled up at Orthenon. Apart from Flos, and Trey he was pretty much the only person she was comfortable talking to.
The tall, mustached man was kind, strict, and absolutely formal at all times. Trey admired him, and he knew Teres did…for more reasons than Trey did. Most importantly though, Orthenon was one of the few people the twins were comfortable talking to. He’d explained most of how this world worked to them, and his advice was always good.
As were his warnings. Orthenon lowered his voice as the three people behind him began to chat, Mars and Gazi trading the occasionally catty remark.
“A word of warning for you two: stay away from Gazi. She may be the weakest of the three, at least without her eye, but she is the most feared, and perhaps the most possessive of our King.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Trey didn’t know how to respond to that. Was Orthenon saying Gazi might hate them because Flos had made them his attendants? But wasn’t she more important anyways?
Teres was clearly thinking the same thing.
“Isn’t she one of the Seven? I heard someone mention that.”
Trey hadn’t heard that, but Orthenon nodded. He frowned at the two of them.
“Has no one told you of the Seven? Takhatres—no, I don’t believe he cares for boasting and I suppose it is considered common knowledge.”
He sighed, and tapped lightly on his pants as he thought.
“The Seven were once King Flos’ personal circle with whom he consulted and relied on. They were his generals, his leaders who each managed part of his kingdom. They were the strongest and best of his subjects. See the three before you; despite their squabbling, their names are known across this world.”
Trey felt a shiver go down his spine as he looked at Gazi, Mars, and Takhatres. Teres looked curiously at Orthenon.
“Aren’t you one of them?”
He smiled briefly.
“My role is different. I am the King’s steward; I can hardly leave his side.”
“In that case, who’s the strongest?”
It was a stupid question to say, but Trey was curious. He could feel Teres’ disapproval and blushed, but Orthenon treated it like a normal question.
“Mars is the highest-leveled, if that’s what you define as strongest. She’s Level 66; the second-highest level warrior class on the continent.”
That was certainly the highest number Trey had ever heard; Teres looked equally impressed as he felt. Both twins had learned the conventions of this world by now, and they understood what that meant.
“In Chandrar she is second-highest, but in terms of levels, you would still be able to count those in the world with a level close or higher than hers between the two of you.
“So she’s stronger than Gazi?”
Orthenon hesitated. He looked uncomfortable.
“If the four of us were to fight here and now, Mars would likely be the one who walked away. But I would not place money on such a bet. The Seven were chosen because they excelled beyond all others at some aspect.”
“And why are they called the Seven? Do you mean they’re like the Seven Deadly Sins or something?”
Teres had clearly been thinking the same thing, but the look she gave Trey reminded him that not everything was a manga. Orthenon looked perplexed.
“Seven Deadly…? No. No names. Just the Seven. There was no history of them before Flos named the first four. And then he slowly added to their ranks. The number has no meaning; if there were another worthy of it, we would have been eight. As it stands, we might as well call ourselves the Five.”
“Why?”
“Two of the Seven are dead. They perished before our King went into his slumber. And two more have yet to return. Amerys, the Calm Flower of the Battlefield and Drevish, the Architect.”
“Why do they have those titles? I mean, sorry, what do they mean?”
Orthenon paused, and a rueful look appeared on his face.
“I believe they would not like me to tell you. If you must know, it would be wiser to ask them yourselves.”
He nodded, and Trey unwillingly walked over to join the three with Teres. He hadn’t asked because he wanted to put the question to those three themselves. But Teres wanted to know, and she was going to make him ask, he just knew it.
Mars was speaking to the others as the twins and Orthenon moved back into earshot.
“—Still surprised Amerys isn’t here. Drevish I could see; if he’s got some sort of project going on he wouldn’t abandon it even for our lord, but Amerys?”
She paused, and smiled at the twins as they approached. Trey tried to smile at her and meet her eyes and nothing else while Teres ducked her head.
“You two are the ones who woke my liege lord, aren’t you? I owe you a huge debt, Trey and Teres, was it?”
She bowed formally to Trey, and he shifted awkwardly with Tres. He took Mars hand as she offered it and felt a callused, strong grip that nearly crushed his fingers.
“Um, it’s really nice to meet you.”
“And you.”
Mars gave Trey another smile. He blushed and tried to keep his eyes…anywhere above her shoulders, really. She looked exactly like someone out of an anime or video game, which was to say, stylized, unrealistic perfection of the female form…according to males.
His head was confused, and he was about to do something stupid, so Tres kicked him. Trey blurted out the question on his mind.
“Why—why do they call you the Illusionist? Can you do magic?”
Mars blinked in surprise, and Takhatres chuckled lightly in amusement. He saw Tres edging away from Gazi, towards him.
Trey knew Teres liked the bird-man, and he’d been nothing but kind to them in the week since he’d arrived. But still, the curved beak and predatory look of the Garuda bird-man made him look ten thousand times scarier than Falco. He had a habit of moving his wing arms out slightly and shifting from one clawed foot to another when talking.
Mar scratched at one bright red lock of hair in embarrassment as the others chuckled.
“I’m no [Mage], if that’s what you’re asking. My class is [Vanguard]—a variation of [Warrior]. I can’t do any magic, actually, although I have several magical items. That’s what the name refers to.”
That sort of made sense. Did she use illusions in combat? Trey wanted to ask more, but Mars looked uncomfortable, and Takhatres stepped in. He bowed his head so he could look down at Trey—the Garuda was quite a bit taller than he was.
“Most of our titles were given to us by our enemies. They’re true, but only to an extent. You might learn the full behind them later, but
for now—”
Takhatres smiled, and gestured towards the window.
“—Pressing matters await.”
It was as if a switch had flipped in the group. They looked towards the doors, and then abandoned the quiet bantering and casual conversations. They spoke quickly and decisively, as the twins listened. And the two realized they were having their own council before Flos got back.
“It is good you two are here. I’ve brought my warriors, but even with Orthenon here I was deeply troubled. Now that you two are here I believe we might truly begin to fulfill our lord’s ambitions.”
Takhatres spoke to Mars and Gazi frankly. Mars nodded.
“It’s good I didn’t stick around to confirm the rumors either. When I heard he was back—I was overjoyed, of course, but concerned. Now that I’ve gotten here, things are worse than I feared. Our forces are so weak any army could walk in here. Aside from us, who could protect our King?”
“We must simply fight and defeat our enemies. Now that our King has returned, what other choice is there?”
Gazi shrugged, as if unconcerned. Takhatres frowned at her.
“There is a difference between confidence and foolishness, Gazi. Perhaps alone you could slay an army, but can you protect our lord in the midst of battle by yourself?”
“Especially with your injured eye.”
Mars gestured at Gazi’s eye, and the half-Gazer frowned but made no retort. Takhatres nodded slowly.
“We must simply build up our strength as quickly as we can. I’ve brought my finest warriors here to act as security for now and my tribe is preparing to move into this area. In a few days’ time we’ll have an army.”
“But we need a legion to take this continent, let alone the world.”
“So? When he first began his conquest, our lord had little more than this.”
Mars frowned at Takhatres, but the bird-man did not look reassured.
“That was then. Now, the world knows of his might and our enemies will come at us full-force from the beginning. If we do not act, we may be wiped out before we even begin.”