What’s happening to me? he thought.
Kassina stepped through the portal in her dark suit of armour; symbols of blood enchantments were scribbled on its metallic surface. Her hair was braided tightly behind her head with golden threads winding around like a net. Kassina’s dark chestnut hair was a contrast to her pale face and burgundy lipstick. Two swords poked upward from her shoulders; loose strands of their leather bindings draped over her back. An array of daggers ran down the plates on her outer thighs.
Her words were spoken in a snarl. “Well, this isn’t the welcome I was expecting.”
Mestal and Tusdar dropped to their knees and bowed at her feet. “Please forgive us,” Tusdar said, “All hail the queen!”
The vampires echoed, “All hail the queen!”
Stepping aside from the portal, she pointed toward its glowing surface and smirked as marching and rattling of chains were heard.
“You lack numbers. That is something we have plenty of. As you must always remember. Whatever you need, our lord will provide.”
The first slave stepped through the portal. His wild hair covered his face and his many scars shone in the glow of Zhendur’s moon-like ambience. The slave looked like a startled rabbit and stared at the underground city. Tusdar watched him as if the man was a lamb to a slaughter.
Kassina booted the slave’s back and snarled. “Keep moving to the training grounds ahead of you!”
More slaves were brought through. Skeleton warriors arrived at intervals. Their deep guttural voices clicked and growled.
“Not that I am unappreciative, my queen, but these are not soldiers,” Tusdar said.
Kassina’s face hardened as she turned toward the portal. “Oh, but they will be.”
Two tall warriors followed through, dressed in complete vampiric armour marked with white stripes. Their dark helmets covered their faces, but their confident movements were intimidating as they turned their heads to survey their new surroundings.
“Captains Faowind and Aidan!” Kassina said, nodding toward Tusdar’s position. “See that our prisoners are fully trained in combat, once they have been turned. You are soldiers of Zhendur now and are under the command of General Tusdar. Consider his orders as my own.”
They marched to his position and brought fists to their left shoulders. “General! We are yours to command.”
Tusdar paled and froze. How could this be? He remembered his sword cut through bone and flesh as he plunged it through Aidan’s chest. Confusion clouded his thoughts.
If that wasn’t Aidan I killed, then who was it?
Tusdar realised he hadn’t said anything for too long. He nodded and turned to the Zhendurians. “You all heard. Once they’re in the battlegrounds, turn them all. I want no deaths; or I will have your heads. We have an army to build!”
The vampires stood and nodded eagerly. “Yes, General Tusdar.”
He approached the captains and focused on their masks. They reached up and slid them off their heads to rest by their sides. Faowind’s elven ears poked through his hair. Both of them stared into the distance. They were so still that they could have been standing corpses.
“Aidan?” Tusdar said, staring into his cold eyes.
“General?” Aidan’s voice was devoid of emotion.
After what seemed like an eternity, he turned to the queen of the underworld. She held the key to unlocking the answers.
“Captains, you have your orders,” Tusdar said, approaching Kassina.
She jerked her head and stepped away from the portal. “Enjoy your promotion, but never disappoint me. Come with me now and wipe off that look. When Marithians die, they are reanimated in the underworld. Our lord’s power takes care of that. They were brilliant fighters, and cost many warriors’ lives to contain them. Now that they’ve been prepared and cleansed, they work tirelessly for our cause.”
Tusdar and Mestal followed her to a building with ornate markings of skulls along its walls. It was as large as Jade Inn, back when he used to drink in Marithia and search robbery targets. Two vampire statues stood proudly outside its large front doors. He ran his hands on the surface of the statues, staring into their faces.
“My ancestors,” Mestal said.
Kassina pushed the doors open and moved to a round rosewood table. She took a seat and nodded toward them. “Sit.”
He was unsure of where the best place was for him, but it was a round table, so he surely couldn’t choose wrong. Before he had much time to think about whom he may offend, Mestal chose a seat across from Kassina, and Tusdar sat beside her.
Kassina leant back and swung her long legs to land on top of the table, crossing them at the ankle. “General Tusdar, you wanted an audience with me and now you have it. What do you want?”
His mouth gaped wide and he scrunched his brow. He had a plan to discuss, but his thoughts clouded at being questioned so swiftly. He certainly appreciated that her inquiries were no longer accompanied by torture.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You are wondering about Aidan? Don’t be so naive. The man you killed was not really Aidan, and I’m sure you realise that now. It was a test, which you passed.”
He nodded quietly, and then asked, “Why does he not remember me?”
“I forget how little you know of the underworld and our lord’s spell that connects us with Marithians. Whoever dies here and is reanimated, retains no memories from their past life. Only their instincts and learned skills remain. The man you once knew as Aidan is dead.”
He searched inside himself, knowing that such news should have pained him. What scared him the most, was that he was numb to emotions.
“I understand. The reason I wanted an audience with you has been mostly resolved, with your help. But what’s most important for us is to know what your plans are. What happens next?”
“You ask me for an audience to question what I am doing next. Surely, you are better than that, aren’t’ you?” Kassina said, baring her fangs.
Tusdar swallowed hard. “Of course. But I cannot read minds. How do I plan without knowing the bigger picture?”
Kassina slammed her fists on the table. “Never forget your place! It is not up to you to read our minds. It is your duty to report and follow our commands. Is that clear? Or did I make a mistake with you?”
“Apologies, my queen. Of course.”
Leaning back in her chair again, she raised an eyebrow. “Please share your plan with us, while you still pique my curiosity. Shindar and I can consider how your ideas may aid us to win this war, if you actually have any. And please, forget the formalities.”
They both stared at him in silence.
“Thank you. Before I was granted this eternal life, I lived a life of thievery. I was orphaned from a young age, and left to fend for myself. I found refuge among the company of bad men. Along with cleaning up after their filthy habits and messy kills, I learned the skills of a master thief. I was, as you would say, apprenticed.”
“Is this tale going somewhere? Or are we just getting to know each other better?” Kassina said, snarling.
Bitch.
As soon as he had thought it, he regretted it. She clenched her teeth.
“Have you ever travelled across the seas?” he said, hoping she would forgive his reaction.
Kassina scrunched her brow. “Nobody has, except for the dragons most likely, why?”
“Many years ago, I hid in the cargo hold of a merchant’s ship, The Iron Serpent. I had thought that it was headed to a rumoured trade port where I could find items of greatest value. We had travelled far past the island of dragons, and through wild weather that almost took us under the sea, when we were attacked. But it was not just another ship. There was an entire fleet. Their ships lined the ocean as far as the eye could see. They were pirates.”
Kassina’s eyes widened. “This is proving interesting.”
Tusdar relaxed. They seemed pleased with him.
“You encountered real pirates? How did you survive?” Mest
al said, her jaw wide open.
“Their long range cannons had nearly shredded our ship as we turned and fled. Many sailors bled into the sea that day. I was just a teenager back then, but I remember it well.”
Kassina asked what he knew was coming. “If this was true, you would have been followed back to shore.”
“It was to our surprise, that the ship they sent to chase us appeared to burst into flames as we sailed near the island of dragons. No more ships followed us.”
Kassina pulled her legs back, adjusting herself to sit up and stare into his eyes. “Dragons. As interesting as all this is; how does any of it help us with this war?”
He knew that words held no power, but how could he show them something, anything that would give an indication that he was telling the truth? An idea sprang to his mind.
Tusdar motioned with a hand for them to wait, then searched around the room and finally found a large piece of scribbling bark. He picked up a nearby feather and inkwell, and drew a diagram of Greenhaven, the surrounding lands, and a route through to the island of dragons. He continued to draw a skull and crossbones. “This is where we were attacked.”
“Impressive drawing, but again, how can this help us?”
“There’s an armada of ships out there, capable of decimating any city. Nobody knows what lands are beyond our shores, but if we could take control of that fleet, then we could attack Greenhaven by the sea. I imagine they wouldn’t see that strategy coming.”
Tusdar drew a number of ships near the golden city, then indicated toward the outer wall. “I spent years running around the internal walls of Greenhaven. It is weakest at its north-west corner, facing the sea. If we concentrate our cannons there, then it would bring the entire wall down. We could assault the city.”
“And destroy it from the inside out,” Kassina said, now leaning over the map. “But you forget that we’ve the entire army of humans, elves, and dragons to contend with.”
Tusdar glanced to Mestal, whose smile revealed her approval, but eyes hid her sadness.
“I don’t forget a thing. They are strong from within Greenhaven’s walls, and the dragons are still going to be a problem. But how much can they withstand? We attack them from all angles. You’ve built crossbows before. We just need to load them onto ships.”
Mestal stood, leaning forward to join them over the map. “Too much of this plan depends on chance. How do we even get the pirate ships in the first place?”
The energy and excitement in the air was electric, and with a flash of his pearly teeth, he gave them the answers that he knew would secure his place among them.
“We build ships of our own and follow the same path the merchants took.”
Kassina grimaced as she shot him a glance that could have melted metal. “Yes, and you would be wiped off the ocean with their cannons. It’s suicide.”
Tusdar shook his head. “With all due respect, Great Queen, no. All we need is to get onto their captain’s ship. We build enough ships to hold a small army of vampires and skeleton warriors. Even pirates have captains. Kill their captain, show them the might and strength of Shindar’s armies, and they will follow. Pirates are loyal to no-one, but promise them riches and they’ll fight fiercely for us.”
Mestal’s voice strained as she interrupted them. “All of this is on the faith of pirates and their supposed fleet. How many ships did you see?”
Tusdar was unsure of her motives behind her question, and wondered if she wanted to derail his plan. “Mestal, there were close to a hundred that I saw. If we could command them, we would rule the seas, and even the dragons would be afraid of our power.”
Kassina retrieved a dagger and pounded it through the skull and crossbones, its handle shuddering. “This is a great plan, Tusdar. We’ll build our ships. But I will accompany you on this journey and show these pirates what we are capable of. Shindar will be most pleased. We’ve yet to encounter their ships, and it’s about time that they learn who their new masters will be. I’ve always wanted to see what undiscovered lands are out there.”
Mestal grinned at Tusdar and mouthed, “Well done.”
Kassina stood from her chair and approached his. She placed a kiss on his head and spoke in his ear, her breath causing a stir in his senses. “You are continuing to surprise me and may be more use than Derian ever was.”
Looking to Mestal, she winked and said, “Take good care of him. A good man like Tusdar is hard to find.”
In that moment, when she showed him affection, Tusdar was more afraid of Kassina than ever.
Chapter 5 : Ancient History
“They’ve been in there for so long and I can’t stop worrying about what happened. There are so many questions which nobody can answer.
Should we fear Anakari? Is she dangerous to Marithians?
I can’t believe that to be true after what she did for us in the battle of Greenhaven.”
(Queen Andrielle)
It had been many rotations of the Blood Red Moon since the training room events. The resulting mess had attracted a lot of attention and the first to traverse the flood waters was Queen Andrielle. She had thought she was entering a training room, but it became a war zone. She sent them all to the local healer; the responsibility of the role falling to Trisa, who was well respected in Marithia for her efforts in the war. Trisa was the one who stabbed Kassina through the heart in the Battle of the Elven Woods, and together with Helenia they had saved Vartan’s life. It was a wonder how that wench, Kassina, managed to live. She must have used some kind of spell. It seemed a hollow victory to know that they had only bought themselves time.
Trisa had worked around the clock, seeming to never require sleep. When Andrielle visited, they never spoke about what happened in the training room; they were continually surrounded by the wounded, recovering from the battle of Greenhaven. Some discussions were best left to the right time and place.
Vartan watched over them closely. They spoke of light matters, but Anakari kept mostly to herself, even avoiding Yuski’s gentle advances. Whenever she said she was all right, Vartan grimaced, Keturah telling him that Anakari had lied. It was a tense time, made even worse by the fact that nobody could speak to her alone.
Once Trisa had considered them all well enough, she let them leave. They had a few nights of bed rest, under Vartan’s orders. His parting words were that they would need their strength and he would call for them soon. Nobody else knew how soon that would be. Just when patience could be lost, Vartan called for the dinner meeting they had missed, the meeting that would shape their future. This time, he decided to hold it outside Greenhaven’s walls, where dragons could physically join them. The public would see that they weren’t hiding within the stronghold.
Vartan drew a deep breath and stretched his shoulders before approaching the meeting. He held it near the gorge they had sneak into the castle with, during the Battle of Greenhaven. The Knights of Veldrenn stood guard by the corner leading to the city entrance. They ensured that nobody would disturb them, even though crowds had gathered outside the castle gates and many observed them from the parapets.
This is going exactly as planned, he thought.
They didn’t have to do much more than show that they were planning, and it would bring hope to their people. They desperately needed it.
I will show leadership, not cowardice.
It was an overcast day, but as if the gods edged him forward, the clouds broke to lighten the path ahead. He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight. Nymira, Karven, and his brother Finn, long reborn as a dragon, stood at each end of the circle. They provided welcomed shadows. Princess Helenia, Queen Andrielle, Dryden, Anakari, and Yuski stood and waited for him to fill the last gap. Shanka squawked and glided to Vartan’s shoulder, stretching out her wings before resting them. He was glad to see Sir Dryden standing there, remembering when he led the knight to many battles in the name of their King. Dryden was a different man now, his face having aged years since this war started. He w
as among friends and loyal companions, and was blessed to be with them.
Approaching his own position, Vartan nodded to the king of dragons.
“Silentium redimio nos,” Karven said.
Millions of tiny stars surrounded them in a giant magical dome, joined by a layer of transparent light. The outside world had been silenced.
Vartan looked to their faces, all of them watching him. He didn’t want to upset Kari, but he knew what they needed to talk about.
“I apologise for the delay, and I am sure that many of you are wondering the obvious: What will we do next? And what happened in the training room?”
Anakari gnawed her bottom lip and looked away before returning her face with watery eyes. Her voice trembled as she spoke. “I’m so sorry.”
Yuski put her hand on Anakari’s shoulder. “Kari, it’s not your fault.”
Vartan shook his head. “Fault? If you mean discovering that you are in fact, the god of wind, then I would be more than happy for you to be at fault.”
They all burst in with comments and questions, before Karven blew jets of fire. “Allow Nymira and I to dispel any doubt. We feel the magical presence of those with powers that are greater than others. I felt the presence of Losa, the god of wind, not just here in the training room. I thought I had felt her when Anakari unleashed her at the Jade Inn, when we fought the Triplets of Orkon. I had no idea that it was actually Losa in the flesh, and not just her influence.”
Anakari looked to the dragon king. “But why do I not know her or hear her inside me? I mean, shouldn’t I know?”
Nymira lowered her head to speak. “Because you are her. Unlike Vartan, you were reborn here. You would have been created by the gods themselves, from elements in our world. They constructed you in a likeness that would blend into Marithia without putting your life at risk.”
“What does this mean for us? Is she a weapon in our war?” Queen Andrielle said.
Legends of Marithia: Book 3 - Talonsphere Page 5