Shadow of the Conqueror

by Shad M Brooks

  Daylen couldn’t believe what he had just seen. Was she a Lightbringer as well as a Lightbinder? She had just created a sword out of light!

  As astounding as what she had just done was, Daylen couldn’t understand why she needed it. She had a regular steel warsword hanging at her side that was just as useless to her, being restrained by Ahrek’s power.

  She threw the sword at Ahrek, blade first.

  Ahrek raised a hand and caught it with his powers, holding the sword in the air between them.

  Lyrah smiled and raised her fist before pulling it back through the sunforged link. Her whole body jerked forward and the sword was ripped from Ahrek’s hold with a loud cracking sound that split the air. Ahrek screamed in pain, grasping his chest and falling to a knee. Lyrah was released, falling to the ground where she caught the sword as it flew toward her.

  Daylen stared at her, wide-eyed. No link could be so strong!

  The sword in Lyrah’s hand turned into shining light that seemed to flow inside her.

  She looked at Daylen and drew her steel sword with a sneer.

  Oh, black. Daylen had been so stunned and amazed at seeing what the woman had done to realize that he should have been running. It was too late now.

  Lyrah charged and Daylen’s frustration at this injustice exploded. He drew Imperious.

  “Fine! You want to fight? It’s your funeral!”

  Before Daylen could attack, an invisible force knocked Lyrah’s feet out from under her with such power that she spun in the air, and when her body was sideways, another force hammered her down, pummeling her into the pier.

  An explosion of debris, rocks, and dust flew out everywhere from the impact.

  Daylen was shielding his eyes from the dust, but could still see Ahrek kneeling with a hand pressed on the pier before him. He had recovered quickly from whatever injury Lyrah had inflicted, though he still looked to be in pain and was clutching his chest with his other hand.

  “Light’s end!” Daylen said to himself. Ahrek could really do some damage with his powers when he wanted to. Did he kill her? The impact was huge—in fact, it had far greater power than it should have, unless the knight had increased her mass. If so, it meant that several tons had just been knocked into the dock, and it might also mean that she wasn’t incapacitated as increasing mass gave a resistance to injury

  Lyrah groaned, and with the dust already clearing Daylen could make out a human shape starting to move from within the small crater.

  “Daylen,” Ahrek’s voice called to him, “go!”

  Daylen nodded. Using his powers, he leapt high into the sky and away from the port.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  The Lourane Empire honored their treaty with me, and they were easily the strongest nation after my own at the time. They were all too happy to use the might of the Dawn Empire to settle their disputes with Lee’on’ta. But the Lourians were growing too powerful, and I had been betrayed too many times by the other nations to let it happen again.

  Thus, after I subdued Delavie and Frey, I chose to engage the Lourians on my own terms and turned on them during a large battle in the Great Rift—an act now called the Great Betrayal.

  * * *

  Ahrek struggled to his feet as the dust began to settle.

  The constables held their shooters with both hands, looking utterly stunned.

  Ahrek could understand their hesitation. Both Archknights and Lightbringers had certain privileges in society, and thus things got very confusing when an Archknight or Lightbringer broke a law, or as was evidently possible, fought each other. What was the legal recourse?

  Ahrek’s chest ached. Normally it would take a fall to recover from what had happened, his invisible hold having been overpowered. Luckily, he could heal himself. Ahrek did so, and the pain left.

  What the female knight had done should have been impossible. Somehow she possessed the miracle of creation. That was the only way she could have created that sunforged sword, wasn’t it?

  And how did Daylen know this woman’s name?

  Ahrek stood and walked to her. She was just now getting to her feet, covered in debris and dust but otherwise appearing uninjured, which was incredible considering how much force Ahrek had put into the blow.

  She glanced about intently.

  “He’s gone,” Ahrek said.

  “You,” she hissed. “What have you done?!”

  “Assisted a friend, if not saving his life,” Ahrek said, walking to the other fallen knight.

  The woman’s blue eyes shook with rage. “I wouldn’t have killed him!” she growled.

  “You had lost control.”

  “And you hadn’t? Bringer, you attacked an Archknight.”

  Ahrek knelt and began healing the other knight, feeling his inner light being drawn upon and channeled through his body. His inner light couldn’t be exhausted no matter how much he drew upon it, but his body was limited by how much light he could channel through it. It was possible to reach a point where he wouldn’t be able to channel at all until he rested.

  “I used enough force as was necessary to the task,” Ahrek said to the fuming woman.

  “And because of that you’re guilty of assault and obstruction!”

  “Actually, guilt is determined by a trial, which I’ll happily attend to explain my actions.”

  “You honestly think what you’ve done was justified?”

  The Tuerasian knight sat up, speaking in his native language. “Argh, I’m so stupid!” It had been a while since Ahrek had heard his parents’ tongue spoken aloud. The now-healed knight looked to his companion and asked in Hamahran, “Where?”

  “The Bringer knocked me down, and the boy escaped!”

  The Tuerasian knight looked to Ahrek, horrified. “Seerium, why?”

  Ahrek rose. “Because my friend is guilty of no crime, apart from pretending to be a member of your Order—that I wouldn’t put past him. Still, even then, there was no need for the Order’s presence.”

  “With his powers, there’s no chance that regular law enforcement could subdue him.”

  “You would only have to subdue him if he resisted, which he wasn’t intending to do until he saw you.”

  “You think he would have turned himself in if I wasn’t here?”

  “Well, he seems to know who you are. Do you have some reputation I should be aware of?”

  “No more than any other knight. The boy clearly would have resisted regardless of my presence.”

  “No, we had agreed before disembarking that Daylen would turn himself over to the authorities.”

  “I don’t believe you,” the woman said to Ahrek’s mild surprise.

  What was the name Daylen had called her? Lyrah?

  “You think I’m lying?” Ahrek asked.

  “No, I think you’ve been misled.”

  “About what Daylen would have done? Interesting, because I would assume I know him much better than you.”

  “Get out of our way, Bringer,” Lyrah said, attempting to walk past Ahrek, but he interrupted her. “What’s the real reason you’re here? As I see it, Daylen is charged with no crime that falls under your jurisdiction.”

  “It’s not what he’s done,” Lyrah said, leaning in to speak softly, “it’s what he is. His very existence is a threat to the Order!”

  Ahrek whispered back, “You would only think that if you knew Daylen hadn’t dedicated his life to fight evil.”

  Lyrah’s face twitched in shock, confirming the truth of Ahrek’s statement, but her anger quickly returned.

  Her Tuerasian companion stood beside her and looked back and forth between Lyrah and Ahrek with a blank face, but Ahrek was Tuerasian himself, and had grown up understanding his people’s subtle body language thanks to his parents. The man was very conflicted. Tuerasian culture held Lightbringers, or Seeriums as they called them, in very high regard, and it was clear the man didn’t know whether to side with Ahrek or his companion.

  “Ah, and that’s the real
reason you’re after him,” Ahrek said to the woman. “Your fear for the Order’s safety doesn’t justify taking away a man’s freedom, especially when your fears are unfounded. If Daylen intended to…” Ahrek glanced to the crowd of people around them. Apart from the constables, all the girls aboard the Maraven were standing along the railing and watched everything. Ahrek leaned in and spoke softly as Lyrah had. “If he intended to tell anyone how he received your powers, he would have done so already. I tried to get him to tell me; I’m his only friend, and he won’t speak a word of it. And you know I can’t lie while keeping my powers.”

  Ahrek raised a finger and shone light from the tip to drive the point home.

  “He is the son of…of Dayless the Conqueror!” Lyrah said with venom. “He cannot be trusted.”

  “Daylen despises the Conqueror, and his relation to that tyrant does more to make him a better man than anything else! He is keenly afraid of making the same mistakes.”

  “So he thinks he might make the same mistakes?”

  “And he guards his actions as a result.”

  “I don’t care,” she replied harshly. “His parentage, powers, and knowledge make him far too dangerous to be free. You can’t stop us, Bringer.”

  “No, probably not,” Ahrek conceded. “But I will see him freed, as you have no true legal right to detain him.”

  “Legal right?” Lyrah said, waving a hand to the constables. “He is wanted for several crimes!”

  “Yes, and he will turn himself in to the constabulary for those charges. The Archknights have power of arrest, but this is to deliver criminals to the local judicial authority.”

  “We’re empowered to make judgments and carry out sentences too, Bringer. The Archknights protect the world, and your friend stands as a legitimate threat to the Order, making him a danger to the world. I have every right to take him in!”

  “No you don’t,” Ahrek said calmly. “You cannot prove Daylen threatens the Order based on a subjective accusation. You’re overstepping your authority here, and I can guarantee you the Senate will be very upset.”

  “This isn’t something we’ll drop, regardless of how many senators dislike it,” she said distastefully.

  “And would the Order be willing to go to war against Hamahra for one boy? To fight and kill the very people they’re sworn to protect?”

  Lyrah scoffed. “Don’t be an idiot. Hamahra would never take the issue so far.”

  “I’ll see that they do, and we both know the Archknights would never go to war for such reasons, unless the Order has truly fallen from its noble purpose.” Ahrek shook his head. “No, what’ll happen is that the knights will hand over Daylen before going to war, losing a profound amount of respect and influence in this nation.”

  “You really think you could convince Hamahra to declare war on the Archknights? We protect this nation as well as the rest of the world. No nation would attack the very thing that keeps them safe.”

  “They would if the Order begins to oppress the people they’re sworn to protect.”

  Lyrah seemed to calm a little. “You’re right, of course. We would never fight the innocent, but regardless, you’re only fear mongering. The boy isn’t valuable enough for Hamahra to even think of fighting us.”

  “He is the only known son of Dayless the Conqueror.”

  “Fine, we let the senators question him about his father, and then they’ll have no reason not to hand him over.”

  Ahrek leaned in, speaking softly. “That’s probably true because they don’t know what Daylen does. The knights have done well in hiding the secret. Most people think their powers are directly connected to being an Archknight, in devoting one’s life to fighting the Shade. I thought that once, as being a Lightbringer is directly connected with living one’s life in serving others.” Ahrek stared at her intently. “But we both know that’s not the case, don’t we? Anyone can actually become a Lightbinder regardless of how they live or who they are, and the Archknights have no power to stop them apart from hiding the secret. I wonder how valuable Daylen would become if the government knew he could tell them how to make an army of Lightbinders?”

  “You wouldn’t dare,” she seethed. “You’re a Bringer, and that would throw the world into chaos!”

  “And yet if the Arch Order of Light is willing to intimidate and take away the freedom of the very people they are sworn to protect due to its own self-interest, it’s not worthy of the power it holds, and I can see we will need another group with equal power to oppose them. If that is a nation’s army, then so be it!”

  The middle-aged knight bared her teeth at Ahrek. “You’re a son of a Shade, you know that?”

  “Lyrah!” the Tuerasian knight said reproachfully. “You do not speak to a Seerium this way.”

  “He’s threatening the Order, Cueseg!” she hissed to her companion.

  “I know this, but he is also Seerium, and we must give him honor.”

  Lyrah’s fist clenched and she looked like she was about to hit her companion.

  “You know I’m right,” Ahrek said. “Live up to your Order’s true ideals instead of acting out of fear and prejudice. The local authorities will handle the charges against Daylen, and you won’t so much as touch him until he chooses to join your ranks. It’s the best course of action.”

  The woman turned and angrily paced back and forth. “Fine!” she said.

  Ahrek smiled, truly gratified to see that at least one knight still showed that they were worthy of their powers. Even here, when fearing for their Order’s safety she showed that they could live up to their ideals and mandate over their own interests.

  “But we’ll be accompanying him wherever he goes until he finally chooses to join,” Lyrah added after stepping in close. “After all, the best person to ensure that your friend doesn’t give away the secret of the Archknights is an Archknight.”

  “He won’t accept that.”

  “He doesn’t have a choice. I trust your word when you say he’ll turn himself in, but I can’t trust him. So I need to ensure he does what you say. If he’s cleared of all charges as you believe he will be, the Order won’t simply take it on faith that he’ll eventually join us, that he won’t abuse his power in the meantime, or that he might inadvertently or purposefully reveal what he knows.”

  Ahrek certainly hadn’t expected this, yet he couldn’t fault the knight’s request, for truthfully he would probably have asked the same if the roles had been reversed. “Well, I suppose that is reasonable enough, so long as you don’t try to control him.”

  “Except in the cases where he might do those things I’ve mentioned.”

  “If he does, it wouldn’t be on purpose.”

  “But you just admitted there’s a chance, which makes our presence all the more necessary.”

  “Very well, and I’ll be there to ensure that you don’t abuse your powers or act in any way unjustly toward him.”

  “Good. We’re in agreement.”

  Ahrek looked away from her and toward where the Conqueror’s son had been. “The problem is that I highly doubt Daylen will be.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Due to my betrayal of the Lourian Empire, both Zantium and Tuerase declared war on me.

  I had crippled the main Lourian fleet, but needed to call back my armies to protect the Hamahran border from my new enemies, which gave Lourane time to recover. The threat of the Dawn Empire was so great that Lee’on’ta, instead of striking at Lourane while they were weak—which was my hope—put aside their centuries-long dispute and made peace, turning their attention toward me with Tuerase and Zantium at their sides.

  Lee’on’ta and the Lourians working together: I could barely believe it.

  Azbanadar, the Endren Kingdom, the Orden Empire, and the divided city states of Ma’queh saw they needed to choose a side by this time, as it was inevitable they would be dragged into the war eventually. Endra, Orden, and half of Ma’queh sided with my enemies, who called themselves the Allied Empire
s. Azbanadar and the other half of Ma’queh sided with me.

  Thus started the First World War of Tellos.

  * * *

  Daylen sat on the small brick fence that encircled the top terrace of a high-rise building. The building sat on a darkstone foundation and floated above the Ground City several kilometers away from the skyport. A darkstone elevator led to it in the sky.

  Daylen dropped his head into his hands. For an instant, during the fight with the two knights, he had lost control. If not for Ahrek, he would have fought to the death with that Archknight… Lyrah.

  It was impossible to not recognize her. She had become an Archknight of all things. The guilt from the memory was almost unbearable—but even having been face to face with that poor girl once more, Daylen had let his rage overtake him. He had been ready to kill her. Of course, with how strong she was, Daylen might have been the one to die. Oh, how wonderful that would have been, Daylen thought bitterly, to be finally released from this torturous life.

  Daylen growled to himself and stepped off the fence, letting his mind dwell on less emotionally taxing thoughts, like how under the Light the girl had created a sunforged sword.

  Lyrah. Guilt surged within Daylen as he saw her in his mind.

  Daylen growled again. He didn’t have the strength to face that yet, so he tried to focus on what she had done, not who she was.

  She had created a sunforged sword. Ahrek had said Lightbringers couldn’t become Lightbinders, and he couldn’t lie, so at least Ahrek honestly believed it.

  Daylen remembered what he had sensed during the battle. He could feel the woman using her powers, and there was a familiarity about it. But her companion was different. The light he had drawn in had left his body. Indeed, when Daylen was struck by that bolt of lightning, there was something in it: light. The bolt of lightning had been controlled, or called forth, by light. Daylen had no idea how the Tuerasian knight had done that, but considering that the knight hadn’t bonded any light to his body—and in contrast the woman hadn’t bonded any light to anything other than her body—meant that there was at least two types of lightbinding. Daylen and the woman must share a type, while the Tuerasian was the other.